The Season Begins

Barry Roubaix

My first race this year was a 35-mile gravel grinder in Barry County, Michigan. I went in without expectations, just wanting to get out there and re-familiarize myself with how it feels to race.

The morning was cold and windy, but nothing compared to the deep winter freeze we'd endured for the past several months. Despite being in only in the mid-30s, blue skies and embrocation made it feel like spring to me.

The course was beautiful. Beginning on a peninsula on Gun Lake and rolling through forested roads of the surrounding area, it consisted mainly of rolling hills and well-maintained gravel roads - challenging at times, but manageable.

One feature of the course was a loose, sandy two-track climb early in the race. At this point, the field was still mostly together, and the subsequent congestion seemed to add to the chaos. I found a line along the edge of the trail that was mostly unridden, and covered in a dense layer of wet leaves that seemed to keep my tires from digging into the loose sand below if I kept my speed up. Only once was I forced to dismount and shoulder my bike, but this proved to be wise, as I was able to run past many of the folks struggling to push through the deep sand up the short, steep incline.

Once the challenges of the short, sandy section had been met, the gravel and occasional asphalt roads that made up the rest of the course weren't much trouble. Aside from 2 or 3 longer climbs, most of the hills were short rollers that didn't require an outstanding effort to get over. Over the winter I had worked on improving my climbing through a combination of strength training and on-the-bike drills, and it seemed to pay off. Hills that would have gotten to me a year ago seem to be little more than minor obstacles.
Of the few hills that did take a few minutes of hard effort to climb, one was made even more interesting by a collection of drummers on both sides 0f the road at the top of the hill, some wearing skull masks. Or did I just imagine that?

In any event, I took this one easy, really more of a ride than a race, testing myself a few times, but mostly working out the kinks. I crossed the finish line with a lot of energy left and a feeling that I was ready for the season.

To see photos of Barry-Roubaix 2010, check out the following galleries:

Steve Balogh
Ten Mile Media
Andrea Tucker
Jack Kunnen Photography
Hays Photography

"Tuesday Night Worlds"

Then came Tuesday. I showed up for my first large group ride after a day at work, my legs and head feeling like they just weren't ready for this sort of thing. The ride is 40 miles of flat-to-mildly rolling paved roads zigzagging through farmlands south of the Michigan State campus, and is open to anyone willing to show up and see what they can do.

On the Tuesday before last I was among around 30 riders. The first 10 or so miles went fine. I had no trouble sitting in the middle of the pack at 20-25 mph, and could keep up with gradual increases in pace. But at about 15 miles there was a small surge. I made a poor gear choice, first too high, and then too low, and in the seconds it took me to go from mashing to wild spinning, the group was accelerating away from me. I caught up with them about two miles down the road, but I'd wasted so much energy trying to catch them that I fell back about 200 yards within minutes after another brief surge.

I caught up again when the group stopped at an intersection in one of the towns, and after another few miles, I was dropped again. This went exactly the same, I was left behind after not hanging in during a brief surge, and then sat a hundred yards or so behind, at the same pace as the group.

At a few points it looked like I might catch up again - the gap was beginning to close, and I was enjoying trying to close it.

And then my pedal came off.

It landed in a ditch along the side of the road, but I was going fast enough that I had to walk slowly along the side of the road for at least 30 paces before I managed to find it.

I was able to screw it back on by hand, but by this time, there was no chance of me catching up with the group, or even figuring out which roads they had taken. So I was on my own for the rest of the ride.

I'd ridden in the general area we were in many times, so I had a good enough idea of where I was. Since I was at about 25 miles into the ride, I figured I'd do my best to get a good ride in, if nothing else, by trying to make the return trip about  10-15 miles.

Of course, riding on my own, I managed to get a good workout in, but I couldn't help but feel a little depressed about the whole experience. I was a week away from my first race in which staying with the pack would be essential, and I had failed at being able to do that.

But then again, I also felt that I knew where the problem was, and was determined to work on fixing it.

Waterford Hills Raceway

Waterford went better than expected.

No, I didn't win, or make the top three. Or five, or ten.

In fact, my pedal fell off (yes, again) on the third lap and I had to pull to the side to get it back on while the packed raced away from me.

I spent the rest of the race battling the wind on my own. If I wasn't going to finish with the pack, I was at least going to try to catch them. Of course, I knew this wasn't possible, but it made for a good mental game, and a great workout. But it was possible to catch and pass a few other solo riders before the end, and I managed to keep avoid getting lapped.

The main thing was that by getting out there and staying near the front/middle of the group, until the mechanical failure, I was able to overcome the idiotic nervousness I have before I do anything new, as well as the lingering self-doubt I picked up while sitting 200 yards behind everyone else on the group ride a few days before.

Now I can focus on actually trying to do well, rather than worrying about whether or not I'm capable of hanging on. Maybe the group ride was just a bad night for me. Maybe the group I was riding with on Tuesday were too far above my level for it to be worth the effort. In any event, I learned a great deal, found an important limiter, and can focus on improving it in the months to come.

The course at Waterford was excellent. Usually an automobile racetrack, it's wide and smooth, with many turns and a few small climbs. It was a great experience to ride on a course like this, and I hope to do it again soon. There are regular Thursday night races there throughout the year, so I'll definitely have to try to make it out for a few.

Waterford was also a great opportunity to meet with several members of the team and talk about plans for the season. We also planned a weekly "skills and drills" session to work on learning how to race smart and safe. I wasn't able to make the first session, but I'm defintely looking forward to next Tuesday's session. I think I'll get a great deal more from this than from a weekly hammerfest, not only by learning and practicing road skills, but by getting to know the people I'll be racing with. The more we get to know one another, the easier it will become to work together when we race.

I'll be doing another training race this weekend - A criterium put on by the Ann Arbor Velo Club. I've replaced my faulty pedals with a new set of Speedplay Zeroes, so hopefully I'll manage to avoid mechanical problems and be able to focus on working as hard as I can to turn out a peformance I can be proud of.

For the moment, finishing with the main group will be enough for me, but I'm going to try for better.