Teammates in the race: Steve Stewart and Dave Puglia
CCCX race site: 7 laps of 4.5 miles per lap. Rolling terrain
A bright and sunny Saturday. The final race day of 2011
written by Andrew A
Race reports are a fun way to whittle away a good 15 minutes of the work day in an act of ego inflation. So with my knife sharp and my piece of wood in front of me I will endeavor to entertain as best I can. Let the hyperbole flow!
It is dark and all other senses have been eliminated. Pain is ever present. I should have turned left or right, but instead I went straight and ended up deep in the pain cave (how is that for hyperbole?). I spend time here because it is part of our sport. This is what we sign up for when we decide to race bikes. We guarantee ourselves a visit to the cave when we pay our money to race. I paid my money and thus am doing my penance. How did I get here?
It started innocently enough. Teammate Steve Stewart casually points out the rider next to me as "one to watch". Said the guys name is Steve Heaton and he is going for the overall win in the series. The man has big legs. For some reason this caught my attention and it registered in my brain. I also noted that in a race of 17 guys, three were wearing the Safeway kit. For those reading this and smart enough to avoid the pain cave, Safeway has a strong team, and these three are strong. I also had managed to pick up a nasty bug from my kids, so mentally I was going to take this race easy and ride in the pack. No chasing breaks for me this race!
Seven lap race with each lap being 4.5 miles long and full of "rollers". Nothing too steep, but this is not a flat course. First lap is mellow, almost enjoyable. The cave is far from my mind. Onto the second lap a flash of white and yellow catches the corner of my eye. Like a dog that spots a squirrel, instinct takes over and I chase the flash. When I glance back, it is just myself and Heaton. The pack is fading behind. My mind races. I don’t want to be here. It is too early in the race and there are just two of us. This squirrel has some big legs. I look ahead and see glimpses of the cave. If I stay, I know I will visit.
From behind, another rider is coming. We slow a bit for him to join. It is a Safeway rider (Robert Pasco). Now we are back at it, but Pasco does not want to help. He also thinks it is too early for a break (We have almost 25 miles of racing ahead of us and a hungry pack behind us). After each of my turns on the front, I try to reason with Robert. My conversations go something like this, "Robert, your team will not chase, my team will not chase. I can not keep taking pulls with this beast (Heaton). You have to help." Nothing. So I try a new tactic. "Robert…please, please, please help." I think my groveling did the trick. Lap four Robert starts to pull!
It is too late though. I have gotten too close to the cave's entrance. Heaton goes to the front again and ups the pace on the next roller. I cling to his rear wheel. I can feel my vision starting to fade. My mind starts to reason with my legs. "If you stop pedaling so hard, I will stop this knife like pain I am putting into you." My lungs join the conversation and side with my mind. The crack has happened. I let a small gap form between myself and the other two. My legs argue for a brief minute and catch back on but it is futile. From deep in the cave I watch as Pasco and Heaton ride away from me. I am alone.
Now what? I have one and 3/4 laps left to do in the race. I take a step out of the cave and look around. I can not see anyone in either direction. My two tormentors are out of sight ahead and the chasing pack is nowhere to be seen behind. I contemplate just riding off the course and licking my wounds. Instead, I reason that I will go until the pack catches me. After 3/4 of a lap, still no pack in site. Well hell, I am still in third place and already visited the cave once. Another visit would not kill me. I put my head down, take a step back into the cave and go. I hold on for the full lap and cross the line. Race over, pain over, senses return. I get third place. Heaton won and Pasco took second.
I have signed up for one more race. I do end up racing, but that is another 15 minutes of whittle time, so that story will have to be told latter.
AA
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