Road racing can be so damn lame sometimes. Since I'm pretty new to bike racing at a more serious level this was the first time I felt used and abused. As i've mentioned many times I would like to be a roadie at times...but i'm not. This past weekend at Lowell 50 I felt used. An early break happened. A few of us strong guys eventually chased it down. Then another very well executed attack happened that I didn't make, I didn't have the legs, I didn't taper for it and continued to train hard through the week. After the initial attack they were not far up the road and moving forward much, so I thought we could catch them. I'm with a group of maybe ten racers, so i'm thinking the guys who broke away have no chance, we can chase them down. Only a few of us got the memo. Myself and three at most different people were working to close the gap, a big part of it being me. Fueled by anger and slight embarrassment that I didn't make the break, I was charging hard. I got really mad at some of the riders in the pack. I get that when one of your teammates makes the break it's not cool to help competitors chase your boy down, but don't try and impede the race. It's not the tour, don't be a tool. Get in back or pull off immediately and don't slow the train down. Additionally, I thought it was pretty lame that after the majority of dudes sat in the train and did not help, to attacked for a non-podium finish at the end added insult to injury. I'll admit that I'm only pissed off because i'm inexperienced and this was the first time in my life my soul was wheel-sucked out of me. For that reason i'm not sure I could ever be a roadie. For me the race was 57 miles, not till I missed the break or till the gaps became to big to close. In my opinion calling the race early isn't or acceptable or admirable, no matter the reason. Anything can happen so why wouldn't you keep pushing? Lowell wasn't all bad though. I did enjoy myself. I wanted to race like I train and I felt like I accomplished that. I took some risks, I got burned a little bit, I attacked, I tried to be relentless. I can sleep at night knowing I gave what I could and didn't call anything too early. Plus it's always great to spend time with two of the nicest and positive people Mike and Michelle Simonson.
Sunday: Taytertot, a Brisk Tempo and Ruining Peoples Mornings at Island Lake.
Sunday morning I met Taylor AKA Taytertot at Island Lake for a two loop light tempo workout. The purpose was to get the heart rate up for around 100 minutes at about 155 to 169 beats per minute for the duration and to have fun riding with my Boy. Island Lake is always a good place to get a sustained effort because its relatively flat, not very technical, and is fun. We somewhat accomplished the goal of the workout. We were hindered quite a bit by other riders. I really like seeing other people out enjoying the trails and getting the same connection with nature that I do, however, that doesn't mean that passing some people isn't painful. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I made someone crash because of me passing them at the wrong time. Therefore both Taytertot and I are patient when passing in the single track. Most people are really great about it. During faster workouts we come up on people really fast and they can see and recognize that the faster we get around them, the less time we waste. Typically we yell out that faster riders are coming up to them fast and they get over. This past Sunday was not typical. There was a ton of people on the trail for how early and how cold the morning was. The workout splits were pretty slow compared to the effort put out. For the first time it took a lot of time and emotional energy to pass what seemed like ever rider. My favorite pass was when Taytertot and I were told we could pass when he said as long as we didn't suck. But as annoying as that was I would rather have a busy well used trail than a dead one. Despite this the workout's intention was accomplished. Iceman is now two weeks away. The taper has started. The next race will be Bloomer CX. I'll be using it as the last tuneup before Iceman.
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| Tayter Tot in all his glory. |
Uphills are scientifically proven to be longer at the end of a 6 hour ride. Look it up.
Scotty Albaugh Jr.
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