In the early spring, hardy cyclists from assorted northeastern colleges and universities gather to do some racing and demonstrate who possessed the will and fortitude to train through the winter. The past two weekends, I have found myself in NYC/NJ and at the University of Delaware to participate in these friendly but painful festivities. The tenor of collegiate racing is inspiringly good natured. Sure, there are extensive crashes and injuries, yet tempers rarely flare.
I do one thing well on the bike: ride up hills. I do at least one thing very poorly on the bike: take corners fast. Thus I yearn for wars of attrition in the mountains and fear crits like the devilish inventions they are. The New York – New Jersey Weekend was composed of two crits. So be it. The point was to enjoy the racing ambiance more than anything, as riders crushed it around Grant’s Tomb at Columbia University. Fun to watch. Not fun (for me) to ride, and I pulled out at some point. It was supposed to be a rest day anyway after a heavy Build week.
The next day at Stevens Institute of Technology was truly wild. The course consisted of a single steep hill that you thrashed up and immediately plummeted down, making two sharp rights to repeat, all in under half a mile. There were crazy spray-painted potholes and safety hay bales everywhere. It unfolded like cross race in every field, and it was common to have some riders lapping other riders as many as three times. After 5 minutes, one completely lost track of placing, as a continuous string of people stretched around the course. The insanity was exhilarating. I would pass 10 people on the climb and then get passed by all of them when I slowed to a crawl on the descent around the turns. My goal was not to place well given the technical aspects but to test my climbing relative to others and get some good efforts in. This proved very successful. The 60 foot elevation gain of the hill felt blissful and comfortable, and I surged out of the saddle for the duration each time. We completed 26 laps and apparently I finished 18 of approximately 40. Whatever. The thrill was in the process.
Delaware. On Saturday, I relished the chance to do a 51 mile road race (a good distance for this point in the season) in the warmer climate of the Delaware-Maryland border. The terrain was pleasantly undulating enough to make it interesting, though ultimately not enough to break up the pack in light of the team tactics controlling the front. I knew it would likely come down to a huge sprint finish, which I would not contest, so I was content to mess around pulling the field a bit and chasing down an ill-fated break. It feels really funny to race hard after a full week of Build 2 intensity, as the legs lack a certain snap. But the whole thing felt reasonable, nonetheless. The next day, my teammates and I awoke at 5am to drive to the early morning 5 mile Individual Time Trial. Ugh. I sure messed this one up. I went out way to hard, pounding a huge gear down a descent, and my right quad seized up after 2 minutes. Soft pedaling and hitting it with my fist for a bit fixed the problem, but the damage was done. I got passed, and my recovery in the second half of the course limited my losses but couldn’t compensate for my initial collapse. I don’t want to even describe the hilariously embarrassing watts profile this generated. The result: 16th of 25. Umm, I’m kind of surprised I didn’t get last.
I had to skip out on the afternoon crit to drive to my grandparents. I was there long enough to see the lead motorcyclist crash on the wicked downhill turn deviously designed by Delaware. Next week: Philly! Do I do two circuit races in one day (Mens B and Cat 3) on the very last day of Build 2 Week 3? Please advise.