Strava: http://www.strava.com/activities/110515249
There are things in life that we are likely never going to see: A Kenyan Olympia level bodybuilder, an all white NBA champion team, a famous Asian porn star, etc. In this list, you can also add me winning (or even making top 10) a hilly race like the Boulevard. #truth
Now I'm not going to make any excuses, folks, because as with anything I enter or try to do, I always put it all out there and aim for a W. Otherwise, I wouldn't be doing it. However, the reality of the situation is I know my climbing on a road bike is nowhere near what it needs to be in order to be competitive in a race like this. This is truly a venue for the likes of real climbers like Shannon, Todd, etc., but I'm glad I got to experience it nonetheless. It truly confirms that conditioning for one type of race (time trials) does not automatically carry over to hilly road races...unless of course you're Shannon or anyone else who can go into what I like to call "beast mode."
Shannon and Dina ended up staying in Viejas the night before the race, but I opted to drive out from home given 1) the race wasn't until 10:15 a.m and 2) I'm trying to save money. It was a pretty good drive from my place, so I was glad Lisa came with me to keep me company. We left around 7 a.m. and managed to arrive around 9 to the Golden Acorn Casino after picking up some Starbucks along the way. Shannon and Dina arrived a little after us.
When we got there, saying it was cold would be an understatement. It was definitely a lot colder than the Stagecoach, but I was prepared given that I brought arm and leg warmers, a base layer, and full fingered gloves. However, after warming up on the trainer, I opted to take off the leg warmers as did most of those in our class including Shannon. As a testament to how cold it was, we did see snow falling around us after the race. Brrr.
When we lined up for the race, we were close to the front and we saw John Lenell there also. He was across from us where we really couldn't chat, so all we could do was just say hi to one another. We didn't recognize anyone else out there despite having 60+ people in our class, but it looked like a legit class of racers considering the majority were of the typical rider built. I also heard before the race that a lot of good mountain bike racers were in this class to prepare for their race season, so I knew it was going to be a fast one.
The race starts out from the casino parking lot, and you're led out with a motorcycle escort where it's neutral until after he lets us go. The pace didn't pick up too much after we were let go, but I pushed up close enough to the front hoping that this would be a good position to be in. John was just a few cyclists in front of me, while Shannon stayed behind me. There really wasn't a lot of room to move around as there was a rule in effect where no one was supposed to cross over to the other side of the road. Thus, there wasn't too many people jockeying for positions early on.
There were some early climbs early on, but nothing too significant. However, some would try to amp up the pace on these kicker hills early on especially after making a turn to create that accordion effect as part of their race strategy. Fortunately, I was able to respond to these little hill sprints as did John and Shannon.
The majority of the first part of the race was descending though, so doing this in a group of 60 was pretty intense. In my mind, I'm always hoping that everyone would be able to hold their line, and fortunately everyone around me could. The biggest challenge on the descent was not so much pedaling to keep up as it was braking enough to not run into the guys in front of you. My forearms were getting more worked than my legs from all the braking, but I was glad hoping to save my legs for what I hear were some legitimate climbs on the latter part of the course. It felt like I could have pushed up to the front on the descents, but races aren't typically won descending.
When we got half way through the course, I was still in a good position but we made a right turn to another hill and this was where I ended up getting sheared off by the top group. Shannon passed me as we were climbing up the hill and he offered me some encouraging words, but I just couldn't respond to the uptick in pace. I literally felt like I exploded trying to keep up, so all I could do at that point was watch people go by as I tried desperately to recover. While I know it wasn't 60 people who dropped me at that time, it sure felt like it.
I didn't drop off too far and was able to see the lead group ahead of me through the rollers after that climb, but they were definitely pulling away at that point and I had no one to work with. I just had to fend for myself at that point, so that's pretty much what I did.
When we hit the real climbing, it was a long climb with just a little reprieve near the top but it was reminiscent of climbing NPC and Vista but a lot longer. I got passed by a couple people on the climb, but I eventually was able reel in everyone who had passed me on the 2nd lap. I did think to myself that quitting after the first lap wouldn't be too bad given it was cold and I wasn't really in the race anymore, but I didn't drive this far out just to do a 22 mile ride.
I got passed on the descent by a couple guys, but I was able to reel in one of them along with some other guys who eventually fell off the front group. The descent was definitely more fun on my own while chasing others down, but I realized that there was a good headwind on the descent, which wasn't something I felt on the first lap being in the peleton.
On the final climb, I felt better than the first and managed to reel a guy I had seen for a while back where we started working together. After a little reprieve on the climb, however, he had popped off so I was on my own again. A few people passed me on the climb, but they were in different classes. I jumped in one of their lines during the climb, but I couldn't hold it when they started maneuvering for position before the finish. When I hit the finish, it was anti-climatic given that my class had made their way past it probably 20 minutes before me. John and Shannon were in that group, so they definitely had a good race and I believe both landed in the top 10 yielding a 20+ average on the course. Amazing!
When I arrived at the casino parking lot, Shannon had already changed and John was ready to try out the $7.77 prime rib they offered whereas I just needed to go pee. I saw other guys rolling in after me, so I didn't feel too bad knowing I wasn't last. HA.
I'll probably never do this race again, but it was a good experience nonetheless. Things I learned or would have done differently would be to only bring one water bottle and definitely bring the lightest bike with a compact crank. I don't think doing this would have made a difference in my competitiveness, but it would have just made it easier for sure.
Congratulations to John and Shannon for their monstrous efforts. For me, I'm just going to chalk this up as something I got to do and be happy with it.
Thanks to Dina and Lisa for coming out and supporting us. It's always good to have support there...especially when they're able to drive our drunk asses home. Kudos!
There are things in life that we are likely never going to see: A Kenyan Olympia level bodybuilder, an all white NBA champion team, a famous Asian porn star, etc. In this list, you can also add me winning (or even making top 10) a hilly race like the Boulevard. #truth
Now I'm not going to make any excuses, folks, because as with anything I enter or try to do, I always put it all out there and aim for a W. Otherwise, I wouldn't be doing it. However, the reality of the situation is I know my climbing on a road bike is nowhere near what it needs to be in order to be competitive in a race like this. This is truly a venue for the likes of real climbers like Shannon, Todd, etc., but I'm glad I got to experience it nonetheless. It truly confirms that conditioning for one type of race (time trials) does not automatically carry over to hilly road races...unless of course you're Shannon or anyone else who can go into what I like to call "beast mode."
Shannon and Dina ended up staying in Viejas the night before the race, but I opted to drive out from home given 1) the race wasn't until 10:15 a.m and 2) I'm trying to save money. It was a pretty good drive from my place, so I was glad Lisa came with me to keep me company. We left around 7 a.m. and managed to arrive around 9 to the Golden Acorn Casino after picking up some Starbucks along the way. Shannon and Dina arrived a little after us.
When we got there, saying it was cold would be an understatement. It was definitely a lot colder than the Stagecoach, but I was prepared given that I brought arm and leg warmers, a base layer, and full fingered gloves. However, after warming up on the trainer, I opted to take off the leg warmers as did most of those in our class including Shannon. As a testament to how cold it was, we did see snow falling around us after the race. Brrr.
When we lined up for the race, we were close to the front and we saw John Lenell there also. He was across from us where we really couldn't chat, so all we could do was just say hi to one another. We didn't recognize anyone else out there despite having 60+ people in our class, but it looked like a legit class of racers considering the majority were of the typical rider built. I also heard before the race that a lot of good mountain bike racers were in this class to prepare for their race season, so I knew it was going to be a fast one.
The race starts out from the casino parking lot, and you're led out with a motorcycle escort where it's neutral until after he lets us go. The pace didn't pick up too much after we were let go, but I pushed up close enough to the front hoping that this would be a good position to be in. John was just a few cyclists in front of me, while Shannon stayed behind me. There really wasn't a lot of room to move around as there was a rule in effect where no one was supposed to cross over to the other side of the road. Thus, there wasn't too many people jockeying for positions early on.
There were some early climbs early on, but nothing too significant. However, some would try to amp up the pace on these kicker hills early on especially after making a turn to create that accordion effect as part of their race strategy. Fortunately, I was able to respond to these little hill sprints as did John and Shannon.
The majority of the first part of the race was descending though, so doing this in a group of 60 was pretty intense. In my mind, I'm always hoping that everyone would be able to hold their line, and fortunately everyone around me could. The biggest challenge on the descent was not so much pedaling to keep up as it was braking enough to not run into the guys in front of you. My forearms were getting more worked than my legs from all the braking, but I was glad hoping to save my legs for what I hear were some legitimate climbs on the latter part of the course. It felt like I could have pushed up to the front on the descents, but races aren't typically won descending.
When we got half way through the course, I was still in a good position but we made a right turn to another hill and this was where I ended up getting sheared off by the top group. Shannon passed me as we were climbing up the hill and he offered me some encouraging words, but I just couldn't respond to the uptick in pace. I literally felt like I exploded trying to keep up, so all I could do at that point was watch people go by as I tried desperately to recover. While I know it wasn't 60 people who dropped me at that time, it sure felt like it.
I didn't drop off too far and was able to see the lead group ahead of me through the rollers after that climb, but they were definitely pulling away at that point and I had no one to work with. I just had to fend for myself at that point, so that's pretty much what I did.
When we hit the real climbing, it was a long climb with just a little reprieve near the top but it was reminiscent of climbing NPC and Vista but a lot longer. I got passed by a couple people on the climb, but I eventually was able reel in everyone who had passed me on the 2nd lap. I did think to myself that quitting after the first lap wouldn't be too bad given it was cold and I wasn't really in the race anymore, but I didn't drive this far out just to do a 22 mile ride.
I got passed on the descent by a couple guys, but I was able to reel in one of them along with some other guys who eventually fell off the front group. The descent was definitely more fun on my own while chasing others down, but I realized that there was a good headwind on the descent, which wasn't something I felt on the first lap being in the peleton.
On the final climb, I felt better than the first and managed to reel a guy I had seen for a while back where we started working together. After a little reprieve on the climb, however, he had popped off so I was on my own again. A few people passed me on the climb, but they were in different classes. I jumped in one of their lines during the climb, but I couldn't hold it when they started maneuvering for position before the finish. When I hit the finish, it was anti-climatic given that my class had made their way past it probably 20 minutes before me. John and Shannon were in that group, so they definitely had a good race and I believe both landed in the top 10 yielding a 20+ average on the course. Amazing!
When I arrived at the casino parking lot, Shannon had already changed and John was ready to try out the $7.77 prime rib they offered whereas I just needed to go pee. I saw other guys rolling in after me, so I didn't feel too bad knowing I wasn't last. HA.
I'll probably never do this race again, but it was a good experience nonetheless. Things I learned or would have done differently would be to only bring one water bottle and definitely bring the lightest bike with a compact crank. I don't think doing this would have made a difference in my competitiveness, but it would have just made it easier for sure.
Congratulations to John and Shannon for their monstrous efforts. For me, I'm just going to chalk this up as something I got to do and be happy with it.
Thanks to Dina and Lisa for coming out and supporting us. It's always good to have support there...especially when they're able to drive our drunk asses home. Kudos!
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