Spring Fling & Paris to Ancaster

This past weekend was a tough weekend in the saddle. Things started off with the final Waterford Spring Series race of the year on Saturday. The expected rain (that never came) kept the field a little smaller than usual with maybe 40 people showing up. The race was pretty tough right from the gun and I didn’t exactly race my smartest race which I’m sure didn’t help. Less than ten minutes in a pair of Lathrup riders went up the road so I bridged up along with Simonson and after a couple of laps we were back in the field, and for some reason I was already feeling that effort. The field continued to split and come back together almost the entire race and the pace was really high. I also found myself at the front of whatever group I was in more than I probably should have been, but it was a training race and I certainly got my money’s worth in that regard. I ended up coming in alone after a split in my group happened that I missed getting on the back of but my efforts to chase broke me away from the others who missed out. I finished on the lead lap, but nowhere near Simonson who took the win. I rolled in for 16th on the day.

Sunday was my second trip to Paris to Ancaster and this version proved to be just about as wet and muddy as last year. I rode up with Mike right after Waterford and the trip went pretty smoothly, up until the sky decided to open up and start pouring just as we were about to warm up. Still we got a good warm up in and despite the hard effort on Saturday the legs were feeling pretty good. Courtesy of my top 100 placing in 2011 I managed to get a spot in the front corral for the start. I still got to the line later than I would’ve liked and was lined up at the back of the first 100 but still a better position than last year. Things started off pretty quick but then as soon as we bottlenecked on to the rail trail section the pace dropped but there was no where to go to move up. I was further back than I wanted to be and as soon as we hit the first loose climb somebody in front of me couldn’t ride it and the whole group was off and running. The leaders were already gone at this point so all you could do was get with the best group you could and chase. There were two groups up the road but no more than 20 guys ahead of my group so I knew I was still in pretty good position. From there it was ride as hard as possible through the crazy terrain that makes up the P2A course, dirt roads, two track, rail trails, single-track, farmers fields and mud chutes. I was riding well and we were picking off riders here and there until after a rough single track section I drop my chain. There goes that group. Another group passes me and as soon as I get the chain back on (which took longer than I’d like due to it getting wedged between my bash guard and chainring) I chased hard to get on the back of them. I’m not happy I lost my first group but I was still in pretty good position and feeling alright. As we started going through the final mud chutes that group started to split and I was off the front of it with one other rider. Then it happened, just under 3k from the finish, my race was over. I went in to the last trail section, dumped gears and my rear wheel locked up. The rear derailleur went in to my rear wheel and I knew there was no way the bike was rideable anymore. I shouldered the bike (since the back wheel couldn’t turn) and walked/jogged the last 3k. It was rather depressing watching all those people pass me, but that’s bike racing. I still managed to cross the line in 2:16:42 good enough for 127th out of 1,275 finishers overall and 25th out of 120 in men’s 20-29. Not the result I wanted, especially based on how the legs were feeling but all things considered a good finish.

Then it was attempt to cobble the bike back together so Mike and I could ride the 20 miles back to our car that was parked at the start. This didn't really work so well and after we were about half way back and stopping every mile or less because something else wasn't working Mike took the keys and went on without me. It wouldn't be a trip to a race with Mike without something going wrong, last year Naish's wheel fell off the roof on the 403 after this very same race. It's always an adventure.

Next up I'm thinking about crossing the border to race again, this time a little closer to home with the Ciociaro crit series over in Windsor on Thursday. Then it will be a little break from the bike as I spend next week in Ireland on vacation with the family. I don't know if a week of Guinness and Irish food will be great for my cycling form but I'm sure it will be worth it.

Cat 3, Here I Come

After spending 3 days last week sick in bed I wasn't really sure if I’d be up for the local Spring Series races this past weekend but when I woke up on Saturday feeling better and without a fever I decided I might as well have a go at it.

I did the B (Cat 3/4) Race on Saturday at Waterford and it was fairly uneventful. I think it was 50 minutes plus two laps and things stayed together for almost the whole time with a few little attacks but nobody getting much of a gap at all. Just inside 15 minutes to go as we were pulling back one of those attacks I countered and managed to get a little bit of a gap. I was hoping someone would bridge so I could have someone to share the work with but when I realized nobody was coming I dug down and did what I could. I was still feeling a little weak after being sick and what I had wasn't enough. As I was crossing the start/finish inside two to go I realized the gap was down to about 5 seconds and there was no way I was holding the field off for two more laps. I sat up and joined the field to try and salvage something for the finish. As things ramped up at the end I didn't have anything left after my solo time off the front and I rolled in with the field for 19th.

Sunday I doubled up and did the C (Cat 4/5) and B (Cat 3/4) Races for the Ann Arbor Spring Training Series. The course was a short 1km football shape with a 200m rise to the finish from the last corner. The C Race was first and you can hardly call it a race it was so short at 15 minutes plus 3 laps. I spent a lot of time at the front and felt pretty within myself. I managed to win the sprint for the prime and at the end I positioned myself pretty well going in to the final corner in 5th position but I didn't seem to have enough jump to contest the finish and came across in 3rd. Next up was the B Race, again pretty short at 25 minutes plus 3 laps. Attacks were coming from the gun and I got in a couple that had small gaps in the first few laps but nothing that stuck. Then about 5 minutes in a rider for AAVC jumped and I noticed he had 3 teammates at the front of the field slowing things up so this was my chance to get in something that might have a chance at staying away. It took me almost an entire lap to bridge and once I got up to him we really went to work. We got in to a great rhythm of each pulling half a lap and we grew our gap to over 30 seconds over the field. As things wound down a couple chasers left the field and got within twenty seconds of us as the field fell back to 40 seconds down. As I heard those gaps as we came around and saw 2 laps to go I knew we had things locked up. Again I couldn't sprint (I'm sure the uphill finish didn't help since I probably had 40+ lbs on my partner in the break), which seems to be a common theme for me lately, and took last in our two man race for the line, but good enough for 2nd place. Still a result that I'm really happy with and even happier with the way it came together. I've never been able to get in a break in a crit that worked before this result which makes it that much more satisfying.

Two races in one day with a 3rd place and a 2nd place finish was my first success of the year and it felt great to finally get some results. On top of that it was also enough to get me my upgrade, so Cat 3, here I come. Next up is another running of the Waterford Spring Training Series on Saturday.