Having never done a 60 mile RR before, I wasn't sure what to expect (can you ever be in racing?), but I knew that I would need some nutrition to be able to race for nearly 3 hours. I decided to bring 2 bottles of HEED, 1 bottle of water, a power bar, and 2 gel packs which I could tuck into my jersey pockets and not have to try and deal with the zoo that is the feed zone. It seems like I see more bottles dropped there, then actually passed off.
So the first 30 miles were fairly uneventful, a few riders had gone off the front in small groups, but early in a 60 mile RR no one was really concerned. Quaker City Wheelmen had a good group at the front of the pack for much of the race, no real chase was necessary, because the miles and hills brought these early Cat 4 riders back to the field.
We came around to one of the climbs of the course and maybe it was because I just ate a gel, but I was feeling good and decided to move towards the front. I was moving up the side and saw a Shippensburg rider moving off the front. I started to hesitate, but then figured that I had good momentum and was feeling fine, so I'd move up also and just see what happens. Some other riders were moving up, and by the top of the climb some 5 of us had a good gap. We had 2 Shippensburg riders, a Guy's Racing (eventual winner Calvin), a Quaker City Wheelmen rider, and myself.
So we started going and working together. I had no real experience riding in a break, so it was a good learning experience. I was advised to take shorter pulls, which was a good suggestion because I'm prone to making the inexperienced mistake of doing too much, too soon. So more or less, we settled into a rotation and started flowing pretty smoothly. Our first time check came back at 30 seconds which didn't seem like too much for how we were working.
At one point I was pulling on an up hill a little too enthusiastically and the Guy's Racing rider came up and wanted to go with just the two of us. I definitely didn't have the legs for that, and thought the best move was just to regroup and keep it steady.
The next time check came at 40 seconds, good news, the gap was going the right direction.
More miles, and we get 1:10. Awesome, I think we might have a chance.
Something happened around mile 52, I thought I was doing just fine, but then all of a sudden, my legs weren't listening to my brain anymore. Somebody flipped a switch somewhere and they just shut down. I tried to cling to the back of our break, but we were all starting to splinter apart. I watched The Guys' Racing rider and one of the Shippensburg racers disappear into the distance and I knew I was done.
I figured my best bet was to slide back into the peleton and make a pack finish out of it. Soon I heard the sound of the moto coming up behind me and the pack came flying by like I was standing still. I jumped in and rode for a few more miles with the group, but kept dropping back positions. It wasn't long before I dropped back one place too many and popped off the back.
Then I was really toast, without even the motivation of a pack finish, it was a struggle to the end. Finally I peddled through the finish, dead last, someone give me the Lantern Rouge.
So dead last, but that was awesome. Unless I try things like that, I'm just going to be pack fodder, and I'm no sprinter. I'd rather have made a move, and run out of legs trying, then sit in the pack all day and go along for what amounts to little more then a group ride. This is supposed to be racing, after all.
The best way to learn is by doing. I need to ride smarter, riding in a break isn't easy, and it requires knowing one's limits and abilities. I'll know better next time. It also takes legs, and undoubtedly I need many more miles to be able to sustain that sort of pace. I had never even ridden more then about 50 miles in one go before race day. More food would have helped, one little gel pack isn't going to cut it for 60 miles of racing.
Lessons learned.
Before this race, I had really felt like I was winding down and getting tired of the typical road race scenario: ride in pack, stay in pack, get a middle of pack finish. It was getting old. I was planning on switching to triathlons (still might try some) in order to get some real racing. The upside, besides being a good learning experience (and a ton of fun) is that I'm more motivated then ever to get some real winter training in and come back stronger and fitter next season.
Congratulations to Calvin and Michael for making it.
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