A lot of thoughts were going through my head during the race this past weekend....
I wish I would have had more to drink....
I'm getting dropped right now...Lap 1, Lap2, & Lap 3
Lucky for me I'm riding a Top Fuel and Tristan is on a hardtail....
Jesse and Marko can kill the singletrack like no others, wish they were here...maybe not cause then i'd be dropped for sure...
I hope Barry does a WORS race later in the year when I'm a little better prepared so I can battle him...
Things started with a trip to Madison for Elicia's graduation from UW. We finished it all of with a pretty intense wiffle ball game. The best new rule we made up was being able to throw the ball at the base runner to get them out!
Sunday morning we made the long drive up to Rhinelander. Fatigue was beyond normal. I was at the end of a big base period and slept like crap for about 5 nights in a row. Andrea was in the same boat. Lucky for me I spotted a lg Red Bull out of the corner of my eye in the gas station about an hour out of Rhinelander. I told Tristan about my secret weapon and he laughed telling me my HR was going to spike to 190 and then stay there.....exactly what I was hoping for...otherwise I would have been suffering not being able to get the HR above 150.
The race started good and I filed into the singletrack about 5th wheel. I was loving the bike and felt like I was riding smoother than everybody else. I moved into 3rd wheel only to get a stick caught between the chainring and bb and almost got dropped when I had to dismount to get it out. Again I used the Fuel on the descents to bridge the gap.
Starting lap 2 the race blew apart....I felt pretty good and made one good effort to catch Barry as he was attacking, but it only last about a mintue.....and it was the beginning of the end for me. 15 minutes later the cramps started. I was way behind the hydration game.
Lap 3 was almost comical for me....I had to use every ounce of energy I had, every bit of experience I learned over the past 15 years, and I used every ounce of performance the Top Fuel had to offer. I suffered like a dog and I wondered what I was doing out there. I sat 3rd wheel behind Tristan and Chris P. Getting dropped on every little climb....legs twinging, but then risking it all on the descents to close the gap. I don't think the others could see that they were gapping me over the top. My hands even started to cramp half way through the lap. Chris went to the front a couple times and started to gap Tristan and I thought it was over, but he wasn't strong enough on the climbs to match T's fitness. Tristan would go back to the front and I would close the gaps on the descent and the suffer over the climbs with what had to be the worst pedaling form ever, trying to use the muscles that weren't about to go into a serious fit.
I wish I would have had more to drink....
I'm getting dropped right now...Lap 1, Lap2, & Lap 3
Lucky for me I'm riding a Top Fuel and Tristan is on a hardtail....
Jesse and Marko can kill the singletrack like no others, wish they were here...maybe not cause then i'd be dropped for sure...
I hope Barry does a WORS race later in the year when I'm a little better prepared so I can battle him...
Things started with a trip to Madison for Elicia's graduation from UW. We finished it all of with a pretty intense wiffle ball game. The best new rule we made up was being able to throw the ball at the base runner to get them out!
Sunday morning we made the long drive up to Rhinelander. Fatigue was beyond normal. I was at the end of a big base period and slept like crap for about 5 nights in a row. Andrea was in the same boat. Lucky for me I spotted a lg Red Bull out of the corner of my eye in the gas station about an hour out of Rhinelander. I told Tristan about my secret weapon and he laughed telling me my HR was going to spike to 190 and then stay there.....exactly what I was hoping for...otherwise I would have been suffering not being able to get the HR above 150.
The race started good and I filed into the singletrack about 5th wheel. I was loving the bike and felt like I was riding smoother than everybody else. I moved into 3rd wheel only to get a stick caught between the chainring and bb and almost got dropped when I had to dismount to get it out. Again I used the Fuel on the descents to bridge the gap.
Starting lap 2 the race blew apart....I felt pretty good and made one good effort to catch Barry as he was attacking, but it only last about a mintue.....and it was the beginning of the end for me. 15 minutes later the cramps started. I was way behind the hydration game.
Lap 3 was almost comical for me....I had to use every ounce of energy I had, every bit of experience I learned over the past 15 years, and I used every ounce of performance the Top Fuel had to offer. I suffered like a dog and I wondered what I was doing out there. I sat 3rd wheel behind Tristan and Chris P. Getting dropped on every little climb....legs twinging, but then risking it all on the descents to close the gap. I don't think the others could see that they were gapping me over the top. My hands even started to cramp half way through the lap. Chris went to the front a couple times and started to gap Tristan and I thought it was over, but he wasn't strong enough on the climbs to match T's fitness. Tristan would go back to the front and I would close the gaps on the descent and the suffer over the climbs with what had to be the worst pedaling form ever, trying to use the muscles that weren't about to go into a serious fit.
I somehow survived and thought to myself I might as well give it a whirl in the sprint. I timed the jump perfect but had to go to the outside...I had no power and my legs where fully cramped...Tristan came by on the inside, but I had timed it good enough to just get Chris on the line. All in all a sweet race...best on the WORS circuit.
This morning I couldn't straighten the legs where they had cramped when I got out of bed.....am I getting to old for this stuff? All I know is that Red Bull saved the day.
This morning I couldn't straighten the legs where they had cramped when I got out of bed.....am I getting to old for this stuff? All I know is that Red Bull saved the day.
6 comments:
You were to old at least two years ago. Go get a desk job and enjoy the dream....
You were to old years ago. Get a job and live the dream of a corprate rat!
maybe I won the sprint cause I was on a hardtail...
I word Brian for the "I am too old for this bike racing" -- TILLY
Too old, I have like 5 years on you! Cramps suck, that was the same thing that kept me from hammering the hills more! What a fun race though!
Just wait till your 37 like me, working a desk job, AND still racing with the young guys, then you can complain.!
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