Cone-Azalia

2011 Mileage: 2,183

Cone-Azalia is a road race that is about half dirt roads and half paved roads that aren't much better than the dirt. The attrition rate for this race is usually about 50%, meaning about half the people who start don't finish, mostly due to flat tires from the massive pot holes and sharp gravel covering the dirt portion of the course. It rained a fair amount last week and even a bit on Sunday morning so the first dirt section was still pretty wet and the potholes were all full of water but the rain stopped before race time and it was a pretty comfortable overcast day in the high 50's.

My Cat 5 to Cat 4 upgrade got denied earlier this week so I had something to prove going out and racing Cat 5 again. I was just hoping I could prove it having put in over 200 miles during the week leading up to the race, mostly commuting. The legs felt good though despite the fairly long week.

The race starts heading out and over a set of railroad tracks and on to the worst section of dirt roads within the first mile. I had decided up front that on the first lap I just wanted to lead through this section to avoid being ridden in to a pothole and flatting, but I wasn't really going to push the pace, and then on the second lap I would probably try and break away here. Things didn't work out that way. I went to the front early and was leading as we went over the railroad tracks and on to the dirt. Water bottles were everywhere and guys from the earlier fields were walking there bikes back to the start. It was pure carnage. I snaked my way through the potholes at a comfortable pace and then after about a quarter of a mile I looked back and realized without much effort I had a good gap. I decided to just go for it and drilled it and by the time I reached the end of the first dirt road I had a really good gap. I'm not great at judging time on a gap but I knew I was going good. I pushed hard for the entire first lap and by the end of the lap any kind of cat 5 field that may have been left was out of sight. From there I rode my own race, going hard but trying hard to avoid any potholes and the mechanicals that could come with them. It worked out great for me and I was able to easily cross the line in first with a gap of over 4 minutes on second place and what was left of a field. That was quite a bit of time to put on the field in only a 30 mile race, especially riding alone all day so I was pretty happy with the result. Also I hope it proved that I am strong enough and really do deserve an upgrade.I felt pretty bad that I made Tim, Kate and Andrew hang out for over an hour to watch me stand on the podium, especially since my "prize" was a bottle opener. Oh well.
I'm really not looking forward to cleaning the bike. There is a thick layer of white mud coating the entire back/bottom of the bike.Now it's time to try and figure out how to recover quickly while still putting in over 40 miles a day commuting. Next up is Waterford Worlds on this Wednesday Night.