GPS stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/73921717
Race results:
http://www.y-events.com/11cpbikeciv.htm
Let's start out with some pictures:
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| Last minute race prep |
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| Did NOT get the memo on black jerseys |
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| Sexiness |
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| Ready to take on the 35-39 |
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| Mental preparation |
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| Turning up the turbo boost |
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| In disbelief we're racing in wet weather...again |
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| Shakin' before the race |
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| Leading the pack |
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| Working for #1 |
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| My sprint breakaway |
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| Mixin' it up for the finish |
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| Looks like a post mountain bike race pic |
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| Broadcom's back! |
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| Medal finishers - congrats! |
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| And he wonders why he has 15% bodyfat |
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| It was actually night time but Todd's shirt provided enough lighting |
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| Proof that you don't have to have abs to be fast |
A day of racing with medal finishers, no mechanicals or injuries, and hanging out with the boys is always a great day. It didn't start this way though. Getting up, you can smell the rain outside although it hadn't really started to rain at my house. By the time the guys started arriving, it started to drizzle but we opted to take a chance and make the best of it. Worst case scenario...it starts pouring and we'll just pack it up and go home. Why not?
On the drive down, it was raining for a bit but it cleared up some as we neared Camp Pendleton. We thought if that held up, we would have a perfect day of racing. It started to rain some when we were getting ready to leave the cars, but of course, Todd said "let's just do it...we're here already," reminiscent of last year's SD Gran Fondo. By the time we got to the staging area to watch Noah go off on his wave, the rain picked up and when Shannon and Mitchell left, it was raining even harder. I guess worst case scenario is that we're going to do it anyway.
When Gary, Todd and I went to line up, they turned Todd and I away saying we needed to get numbers written on us first while Gary got in. No one ever told us this, but we took off running to the booth and had to run back just to get in the line at a decent spot. That was pretty much our warm-up for the ride. When we went to line up, I guess the water and mud must have not done the pedals well, as I had a hard time clipping in and out after. Thankfully, there was no need to do either after the race started until it ended.
When we took off, it wasn't very clear when the race started but as the pace started to increase, I knew it was on. There were 47 in the bunch including military, so it was pretty tough to jockey for a spot. I saw Todd push up and Gary up front, and when I was going to give the front or near front a try, I was worried that no one would let me in after. I did manage to get near the front a couple times (especially on the small hills), but people kept coming around and pushing me back after.
Before the turn to the hill in the middle of the race, we went down the hill heading toward Oceanside and I thought this would be ideal to get up front. However, it seemed sketchy given how wide across the peloton was so I opted to stay mid pack. Big mistake. It turned out the left turn to the big hill was a clusterf@#$ where we had to ride in-between actual cars to make the turn. This in essence blew up the peloton. By the time I rounded the corner, I could see Todd and 3 others making their way up the hill already breaking away. I knew then it was time to work. I tried to accelerate up the hill, and made my way past probably about everyone else including Gary but the top 6-7 at the time. However, doing so did me in, and I eventually got caught and passed by 2 others with Gary right behind the 2nd guy. I was able to pick up Gary's draft (thanks) and ride with him and the one in front of him, and then we started working together the rest of the hill. Near the top, we saw Todd and the others on the opposite side of the hill but pretty much lost sight of them on the way down.
The 3 of us kept working together down the hill, and we managed to pick up the guys behind the top 4 before climbing up the hill after the right turn. Going up, I was a little worried these guys would try and break again given they had that tall, lanky cycling build and were wearing kits, but we pretty much stayed together from then on.
We ended up taking turns, and through some sections, I thought we weren't going fast enough, but that's probably because we weren't working that efficient. Instead of alternating right away, the rotations were slow and I had to come up from the back a couple times just to kick the pace up. One guy was just hanging on for the draft the whole time, so I was keeping an eye on him in case he wanted to make a run for it in the end.
One guy we passed from an earlier wave jumped up front at one point, and we took advantage of the draft but that slowed our pace down some and it took a while for someone to kick it up again. We were already on the road back up to the finish, so I only took a couple good pulls at this time and was not going to blow up before the finish.
Once we were getting closer to the end, one guy tried to make a move with his buddy and started to gap, but I closed that up shortly after. Then, his buddy tried to make another breakaway, and I neutralized that too. As I saw the parking lot near the finish, I knew it was now or never so I bolted (see breakaway pic above). I wasn't sure if we were suppose to slow down with people on the course, but it turned out we were suppose to run hard to the finish. I almost got caught at the line, but I jumped to finish ahead of the pack I was in. The cool thing about it was that despite the competitive finish, we all thanked each other at the end and traded high 5's. It's cool to be in one of the "mature" packs.
It was good to know that the rest of the guys did very well. Noah got top 3 overall (on his backup Cannondale bike to boot), Shannon 3rd in his group by seconds but with a great time, and Todd taking tops in ours. Mitchell and Gary represented very well also. I missed a podium spot by one in the civilian grouping, which is a little disappointing, but the racing experience was invaluable.
It was nice to see Craig after the race and hang out a bit for the post ride ceremonies. Someone forgot to invite him over for the post ride festivities at my house though. Too bad Mitchell and Shannon couldn't join us as well. It was again another highlight of the ride. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed my hallway pictures enough to mock them as shown above. I LOVED seeing the pictures of my son's car on my camera along with a close up of Noah's medal as well. Classic.
Overall, it was another great BRCM outing and it continues to prove the caliber of our team. Looking forward to the next event. Did someone say San Diego Gran Fondo?
Thanks for the celebratory brew after Rich, that really hit the spot!
ReplyDeleteHi there, nice report. I guess your report confirms that it rained at the race. I was planning on doing the Bulldog bike race, I got up on race day and it was raining, I looked South and the sky looked even darker, so I decided to skip it since I'm not exactly a fan of riding in wet weather. But I'm sure it was still fun. I was wondering if you know of any other bike races like the Bulldog Bike Race? Competitive, but not very agressive, and non-crit. I can't say I don't like crits because I have never done one, but they don't appeal to me. I would prefer a road race, perhaps with some hills, longer course, and not extremely aggresive. Please let me know if you know of other races. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Odraude. The bulldog race was actually our first, so we're just as interested finding out about more ourselves. I've only heard someone mention a road race up at San Luis Rey at the end of April, but I actually don't have any details as to where one would sign up. Additionally, we have conflict as another ride (Alpine Challenge) we expect to do is on the same day. Please keep us in mind if you find out about another race as we would definitely like to sign up for another one.
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