Strava: http://www.strava.com/activities/115667674
Photobucket Story: http://s13.photobucket.com/user/rlaureano/story/121139
I was really looking forward to today's race only because the sooner I can get back on the horse after falling off, the better. I wasn't sure whether a week would be enough time to be fully healed, but for the most part I was good to go. I had a tegaderm patch on my leg after a couple suggestions of this product, so this let me run stealth on the course given it was transparent and didn't call any attention to my booboo.
Shannon had done the Harding TT the day before, and he did great getting 3rd in his category. I was amazed that he was still out doing this race given that the TT yielded him ~3500 ft of climbing in just over 9 miles. Yikes. I also rode yesterday, but it was a moderate tempo ride so the only muscle I only ended up really working was my sphincter when a dog nearly ran in front of my path at Trestles....definitely not comparable to Shannon's monstrous efforts.
Shannon had gotten there ahead of me and was checking out the prior race and the different corners of the course. I expected that being how calculated he is in the races, so I just texted him to let him know I arrived and just started to get ready after getting my number. I ended up parking fairly close to the start, so when Shannon was heading back, he saw me and moved closer to a nearby spot. Sweet!
The weather was warmer than I expected, so it was nice to wear white for the race. It didn't take long at all on the trainer to start working up a sweat, and I got to stay warm when I rode out with Shannon when he took off to warm up. It didn't feel too bad when we were actually moving though.
The 1.2 mile course had 7 turns all together (6 lefts and 1 right), which I had mixed emotions about. I was glad to be doing more than just 4 corners, but that also meant more opportunities to get pinched or worse yet...crash. It was a fairly flat course, so there weren't too many opportunities to pick people off on inclines. As with the previous crits, it would mostly be a matter of positioning, positioning, positioning. The only other concern was one manhole and all the raised reflectors on the course, where you really had to pick your lines carefully so that you don't tuck your front over the reflectors.
Our category was full meaning there were 75 of us all together sharing the grid. We looked around trying to see if we recognized anyone else out there, but it was just Shannon and me. I'm glad he was there with me as doing it alone wouldn't be fun. My hope was that I could ride with him as much as possible, and see if we can help finish strong in the end. We had different strategies originally, but we never had any real opportunities to enact them.
When we started out, one guy had trouble clipping in right in front of me, but fortunately that didn't cause any problems despite being so tight with everyone else. Shannon and I were together for the most part, but we did get separated on occasion. Every time I would get separated though, I'd look for him and work my way toward him as best as I could.
While the pace was fast, it didn't really seem like we were working too much in the beginning. In fact, I thought we were hardly working except for when we hit some of the corners and had to sprint out of them when we were a little further back. However, there weren't really any corners we came out of where we worried we'd fall off. Personally, I wanted to save some and just get a feel for the turns as well as the rhythm and flow of the group. Plus, it helped to identify those who couldn't turn very well during this time.
At one point, Shannon pointed out who the point leader was for the race, so we stayed behind him for a while just to see what, if anything, he would do. That lasted for a couple laps or so, but without any real attempts to break, we eventually started to look to improve our positions ourselves.
During the primes, there weren't really any breakaways and in fact, I actually thought about going for one of them. Instead, I opted to save it for the end given I'd rather stay with/near Shannon since I thought we could do better together. I didn't seem him around me at the time, so I would just wait until the last couple laps and see whether we can set up for a strong finish. I knew I could move up a lot on the last half of the race, but it would take being able to come out of the one right turn fast in order to set up the last 3 turns.
When they announced two laps to go, I saw Shannon ahead of me, but I pushed up on the inside some just to see what kind of position I could get on the last lap. Shannon stayed a little ahead still, but before entering the last lap, another inside move pushed me closer to the front but still in the unfavorable inside position. I didn't think pushing the pace on the inside would be safe (call it a little nervous after last week), so I checked up a little and lost some position after the first turn. I saw Shannon get ahead again, so I was working my way to get up to him again and was closing just as we were coming up on the one right turn on the track.
After Shannon had gone through that turn, I was coming in hot, and then wham...4-5 guys biffed it in that corner just in front of me. I was headed straight for one of them who was still on the course where I worried I wouldn't be able to brake in time. I actually unclipped my right foot and dragged my shoe while I was braking doing what I could to stop and just managed to do so just before rolling over the guy...literally. I didn't want to change my line not knowing who was behind me, so I was just hoping no one would take me out as I tried to stop. Fortunately, no one did.
After getting around the guy on the road, I clipped back in and got going again. I did look around to double-check and make sure Shannon wasn't in that pile up, so once I didn't see him, I took off. Okay, so I know I was no longer in contention for a good finish, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to soft pedal all the way to the finish. I'm pretty sure I was close to last when I stopped, but in the end finished 36th, which to me was good enough since last week I was literally last given my crash.
Shannon had gotten through that corner, and was able to setup for a strong finish and originally thought his efforts led to a 15th finish. However, after we reviewed the posted results, he actually finished 11th, which is downright incredible given his race yesterday and that he had no one to work with. I REALLY wanted to be there with him so we can help finish strong together, but that just wasn't in the cards today. All I can say though is it could have been worse...it could have been a lot worse. Thanks, JC!
Celebratory beers were definitely in order at the end just because it was a race we both could walk away from free of any injuries, so Shannon and I hung out and shared a few. It was perfect considering how warm it was, and I got to try out some new choice beers courtesy of Shannon's selection. Thanks for the brew, buddy, and next week's race should be equally fun.
Here's the rest of the pictures Lisa took for your viewing pleasure: http://s13.photobucket.com/user/rlaureano/library/Ontario%20Crit%202014?sort=2&page=1
Photobucket Story: http://s13.photobucket.com/user/rlaureano/story/121139
I was really looking forward to today's race only because the sooner I can get back on the horse after falling off, the better. I wasn't sure whether a week would be enough time to be fully healed, but for the most part I was good to go. I had a tegaderm patch on my leg after a couple suggestions of this product, so this let me run stealth on the course given it was transparent and didn't call any attention to my booboo.
Shannon had done the Harding TT the day before, and he did great getting 3rd in his category. I was amazed that he was still out doing this race given that the TT yielded him ~3500 ft of climbing in just over 9 miles. Yikes. I also rode yesterday, but it was a moderate tempo ride so the only muscle I only ended up really working was my sphincter when a dog nearly ran in front of my path at Trestles....definitely not comparable to Shannon's monstrous efforts.
Shannon had gotten there ahead of me and was checking out the prior race and the different corners of the course. I expected that being how calculated he is in the races, so I just texted him to let him know I arrived and just started to get ready after getting my number. I ended up parking fairly close to the start, so when Shannon was heading back, he saw me and moved closer to a nearby spot. Sweet!
The weather was warmer than I expected, so it was nice to wear white for the race. It didn't take long at all on the trainer to start working up a sweat, and I got to stay warm when I rode out with Shannon when he took off to warm up. It didn't feel too bad when we were actually moving though.
The 1.2 mile course had 7 turns all together (6 lefts and 1 right), which I had mixed emotions about. I was glad to be doing more than just 4 corners, but that also meant more opportunities to get pinched or worse yet...crash. It was a fairly flat course, so there weren't too many opportunities to pick people off on inclines. As with the previous crits, it would mostly be a matter of positioning, positioning, positioning. The only other concern was one manhole and all the raised reflectors on the course, where you really had to pick your lines carefully so that you don't tuck your front over the reflectors.
Our category was full meaning there were 75 of us all together sharing the grid. We looked around trying to see if we recognized anyone else out there, but it was just Shannon and me. I'm glad he was there with me as doing it alone wouldn't be fun. My hope was that I could ride with him as much as possible, and see if we can help finish strong in the end. We had different strategies originally, but we never had any real opportunities to enact them.
When we started out, one guy had trouble clipping in right in front of me, but fortunately that didn't cause any problems despite being so tight with everyone else. Shannon and I were together for the most part, but we did get separated on occasion. Every time I would get separated though, I'd look for him and work my way toward him as best as I could.
While the pace was fast, it didn't really seem like we were working too much in the beginning. In fact, I thought we were hardly working except for when we hit some of the corners and had to sprint out of them when we were a little further back. However, there weren't really any corners we came out of where we worried we'd fall off. Personally, I wanted to save some and just get a feel for the turns as well as the rhythm and flow of the group. Plus, it helped to identify those who couldn't turn very well during this time.
At one point, Shannon pointed out who the point leader was for the race, so we stayed behind him for a while just to see what, if anything, he would do. That lasted for a couple laps or so, but without any real attempts to break, we eventually started to look to improve our positions ourselves.
During the primes, there weren't really any breakaways and in fact, I actually thought about going for one of them. Instead, I opted to save it for the end given I'd rather stay with/near Shannon since I thought we could do better together. I didn't seem him around me at the time, so I would just wait until the last couple laps and see whether we can set up for a strong finish. I knew I could move up a lot on the last half of the race, but it would take being able to come out of the one right turn fast in order to set up the last 3 turns.
When they announced two laps to go, I saw Shannon ahead of me, but I pushed up on the inside some just to see what kind of position I could get on the last lap. Shannon stayed a little ahead still, but before entering the last lap, another inside move pushed me closer to the front but still in the unfavorable inside position. I didn't think pushing the pace on the inside would be safe (call it a little nervous after last week), so I checked up a little and lost some position after the first turn. I saw Shannon get ahead again, so I was working my way to get up to him again and was closing just as we were coming up on the one right turn on the track.
After Shannon had gone through that turn, I was coming in hot, and then wham...4-5 guys biffed it in that corner just in front of me. I was headed straight for one of them who was still on the course where I worried I wouldn't be able to brake in time. I actually unclipped my right foot and dragged my shoe while I was braking doing what I could to stop and just managed to do so just before rolling over the guy...literally. I didn't want to change my line not knowing who was behind me, so I was just hoping no one would take me out as I tried to stop. Fortunately, no one did.
After getting around the guy on the road, I clipped back in and got going again. I did look around to double-check and make sure Shannon wasn't in that pile up, so once I didn't see him, I took off. Okay, so I know I was no longer in contention for a good finish, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to soft pedal all the way to the finish. I'm pretty sure I was close to last when I stopped, but in the end finished 36th, which to me was good enough since last week I was literally last given my crash.
Shannon had gotten through that corner, and was able to setup for a strong finish and originally thought his efforts led to a 15th finish. However, after we reviewed the posted results, he actually finished 11th, which is downright incredible given his race yesterday and that he had no one to work with. I REALLY wanted to be there with him so we can help finish strong together, but that just wasn't in the cards today. All I can say though is it could have been worse...it could have been a lot worse. Thanks, JC!
Celebratory beers were definitely in order at the end just because it was a race we both could walk away from free of any injuries, so Shannon and I hung out and shared a few. It was perfect considering how warm it was, and I got to try out some new choice beers courtesy of Shannon's selection. Thanks for the brew, buddy, and next week's race should be equally fun.
Here's the rest of the pictures Lisa took for your viewing pleasure: http://s13.photobucket.com/user/rlaureano/library/Ontario%20Crit%202014?sort=2&page=1
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