Best DNF ever

The Piece of Cake race was always going to be tough for me. Two weeks off the bike. In that time I had consumed about 30 buffalo wings, 50 beers or so, taken 11 rollercoaster rides (Simpsons ride at Universal is the goods), enough fried food to choke Gigantor and some one-on-one manatee time. Looking forward, the consequences of all this hedonism would probably be a less than glorious final sprint in Piece of Cake. With this in mind my strategy was to work up front for as long as possible to soften the field for one of the other HV guys to bring home the Cake. Our race was in the afternoon at 1.35. I was there for the morning races as well and witnessed the carnage in the Cat ½ field. The rain and cross winds devastated the field causing at least 20% to retire after the first one or two laps. It was going to be a long and uncomfortable day for all.

Besides myself, the Cat 4 posse included Kolben, James R, Ryan, Curtis, and Keith. The field included around 8 Team Oregon riders - these guys had a major role in how the race played out. I had purchased a 1500g wheelset from Singapore recently and fitted some nice Vittorio tyres (OK, OK…tires) on them. Contributing a wheel set for the pool made me feel like a grown-up racer.

After the neutral start there was a long lead-out to the 12 mile loop that we had to complete 4 times before being funneled back down the lead-out stretch and the finish line – 54 miles in all. The loop was to be completed in a counter-clockwise direction. The tailwind that pushed us for the initial 4-5 miles got us up to about 30mph. Then we turned left into the cross winds and the first real attack began. A group of 4 (I think) jumped off the front and were joined by another rider in the next few miles. Significantly, there was a Team Oregon rider amongst them. I was close to the front and could see this unfolding. Since it was early in the race there was not much enthusiasm about chasing. However, it soon became clear by the presence of 5 or 6 Team Oregon riders glued to the front of the chasing pack that they were shutting down the race. They were clever about it too because they made sure that was little room to pass (file under: tactic for blocking when you have lots of teammates). Like a 17yo virgin in a cathouse, I waited for an opening and went for it. Curtis and Ryan, who were lurking nearby, came with. Other non-Team Oregon riders burst through the dam and the chase was on. We traded pulls for a while until the team Oregon rides reasserted their control and the race slowed a bit. This herky-jerky racing continued for a while into the cross and head winds and I cannot say that we were totally effective in reeling in the breakaway but the race was still early stages and there was plenty of time left. At one point Kolben stormed ahead and I went with him and we swapped the lead dragging the pack with us. I would drift back a few paces and then be let back into the paceline by HV teammates. It was interesting to ride in the crosswind- headwind mix because the best place wasn’t ALWAYS on a wheel - instead the echelon formation often made sense. One lap down.

By half way through the second lap the group up the road were 1m50s ahead. This alarming news seemed to spark the pack into life. There were more non-team Oregon riders at the front now and we worked pretty well to keep the pace high. Of course the TO riders never pulled, or if they did then it was an anemic effort. Towards the end of the second lap there was a crash - I understand that someone wedged a wheel between the spokes and rear derailleur of the rider ahead. It was enough to send one rider just ahead of me to the ground. Another rider leaned into me in an evasive action and pushed me across onto the oncoming lane - I was able to ride around him and escape - it was a close call. We continued on.

After 2.5 laps the lead was down to 35 secs. This was very encouraging news, we had nearly reeled them in with still more than 20 miles to go. Up until that point I had felt very comfortable and has carefully measured my attacks and chases so as to keep the pace high but not to overdo it. Then I noticed that I was slowly drifting back through the pack - I could not find any power in the tree trunks. Holy crap !! I was BONKING. I knew the signs - no power, jelly legs, strange backward cycling motion. Soon I was out of pack-mates and all alone. I quickly downed a Hammer gel but it was too late, I was screwed. All the work at the front had drained the glycogen from my muscles. My legs were as useful as tits on a nun. I had lasted about 2.5 laps. I limped back with a group of masters 123 dropees after completing only 3 of the 4 laps, about 42 miles in all.

I glumly waited for the Cat 4 field to come in. It ended in a bunch sprint that included all the other HV guys. James R and Keith finished very well, around 5-7 with the others a little further back. The highest any Team Oregon rider finished was 10th. It was a great effort by the team and was more teamwork than I had seen in previous races which bodes well for futures races with this group.

My downfall was not the lack of condition but fueling. I should have had some Perpetuum on hand to sip on during the race of this length. I normally just use Perpetuum for the longer endurance rides. Clearly, I need to consider taking this with me on races longer than 30 miles. I was surprised to have bonked after such a long time off the bike when muscle glycogen would be expected to be maximum. Well there you go…….

I was pleased to have worked at the pointy end of the race for a long as I did and help reel in the breakaway. Despite the DNF, it was satisfying to work for the team in this way.