Okay, this one is for you Dr. X.......
.......Rodney's Race Report from Zamora.
Race: Elite 4s
Teammates: Johnny and Daniel
Distance: 50 miles
Conditions: Tornadic
Short report:
Showed up. Raced. Got a hug. Went home.
Long report:
Okay, so, I haven't raced a sanctioned bicycle race in years and years and years. Sure, I grew up racing road bicycles and mountain bikes and cyclocross and Big Wheels(???), but haven't been out there for quite some time. I thought the Zamora Road Race would be a perfect first race back - it's out in the middle of nowhere, it's pretty flat, it was only 50 miles and I thought it would just be a good ice breaker race.
The first thing we noticed driving to the course from Chico was the wind. I tried to just stay mentally ahead of the game by realizing the fact that wind is just a condition we all have to ride in. I mean, who cares?? It's windy - it's windy for everyone. No big deal. Just race.
The weirdest part about this whole experience was that I didn't even feel an ounce of nervousness - not once. I have no clue why, no reasons for it - just wanted to show up and race, and have a good time.
We started off and I immediately became concerned because I thought Johnny had missed the start(I was wrong - I just didn't see him). Once we hit the headwind section, I felt great - I decided to cyclocross up the side of the road to stay in the top 15 riders. Once up there, I just planted myself in a nice protective cove of wind protection. No problems at all. We made the next right-hander on to those little bumps in the road, and I felt great - no problems staying with the group, felt protected from the wind, felt good, just stayed right behind Kurt Haskins from Chico Corsa and wouldn't let myself get off of his wheel.
Here's where I made my bonehead move of the race. On that right-hand turn at the bottom of the tiny rollers on the nice road(turning towards the KOM section), I was severly overgeared in the corner, trying desperately to go from 10mph(people slowed way down in the corner) up to 25mph in a 53x13. I immediately found myself caught doing Power Starts and the legs turned to rubber. BUNK!!!! Bunchabunk man - just sucked. Daniel flew by me yelling "Get on Rodney!!"
Well, I tried.....but couldn't quite hang on. OTB I went. So, I went into training mode and spent the race trying to memorize the course for next year. After 3 laps, I was toasted and ready for a nap, or a cup of Peets......or both. So, I opted for a hug instead of another couple of laps. Gotta watch that schmooopy stuff.....it can either ruin or help your training.....or both!
So, I'm back - and looking forward to racing more. Next up - probably Clobberopolis and definitely Wente.
Now, gotta work on those Tuesday sprints. Not sure about the veggie diet though - I like to eat BBQ too much.....and summer is right around the corner.
Race: Elite 4s
Teammates: Johnny and Daniel
Distance: 50 miles
Conditions: Tornadic
Short report:
Showed up. Raced. Got a hug. Went home.
Long report:
Okay, so, I haven't raced a sanctioned bicycle race in years and years and years. Sure, I grew up racing road bicycles and mountain bikes and cyclocross and Big Wheels(???), but haven't been out there for quite some time. I thought the Zamora Road Race would be a perfect first race back - it's out in the middle of nowhere, it's pretty flat, it was only 50 miles and I thought it would just be a good ice breaker race.
The first thing we noticed driving to the course from Chico was the wind. I tried to just stay mentally ahead of the game by realizing the fact that wind is just a condition we all have to ride in. I mean, who cares?? It's windy - it's windy for everyone. No big deal. Just race.
The weirdest part about this whole experience was that I didn't even feel an ounce of nervousness - not once. I have no clue why, no reasons for it - just wanted to show up and race, and have a good time.
We started off and I immediately became concerned because I thought Johnny had missed the start(I was wrong - I just didn't see him). Once we hit the headwind section, I felt great - I decided to cyclocross up the side of the road to stay in the top 15 riders. Once up there, I just planted myself in a nice protective cove of wind protection. No problems at all. We made the next right-hander on to those little bumps in the road, and I felt great - no problems staying with the group, felt protected from the wind, felt good, just stayed right behind Kurt Haskins from Chico Corsa and wouldn't let myself get off of his wheel.
Here's where I made my bonehead move of the race. On that right-hand turn at the bottom of the tiny rollers on the nice road(turning towards the KOM section), I was severly overgeared in the corner, trying desperately to go from 10mph(people slowed way down in the corner) up to 25mph in a 53x13. I immediately found myself caught doing Power Starts and the legs turned to rubber. BUNK!!!! Bunchabunk man - just sucked. Daniel flew by me yelling "Get on Rodney!!"
Well, I tried.....but couldn't quite hang on. OTB I went. So, I went into training mode and spent the race trying to memorize the course for next year. After 3 laps, I was toasted and ready for a nap, or a cup of Peets......or both. So, I opted for a hug instead of another couple of laps. Gotta watch that schmooopy stuff.....it can either ruin or help your training.....or both!
So, I'm back - and looking forward to racing more. Next up - probably Clobberopolis and definitely Wente.
Now, gotta work on those Tuesday sprints. Not sure about the veggie diet though - I like to eat BBQ too much.....and summer is right around the corner.
posted by Chico Cyclist at 6:08 PM
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