Sunday, July 3, 2011

Tour of Lawrence--"Africa Hot"


Tour of Lawrence circuit race was this weekend.  This race is on a great course that goes through the campus and is HILLY

When I got out of the car it was 98 degrees with a heat index of infinity.  It was "Africa hot."




This ended up being a race of attrition.  Every lap we lost more and more people--riders would just pop on the sunflower hill and lose contact.  We started with around 40-50 riders and with three to go there were less than 20 riders left in the group.  I was feeling fine and under no real pressure....then the heat hit me like a ton of bricks.  Suddenly, with about a lap and a half to go, I found myself dangling on the back of the group.  By this time there were about 15 riders left in the group.

With a lap to go I began to lose contact on the sunflower hill.  I reached down in my "suitcase of courage" and realized I'd only packed a "man-purse of mediocrity."  The group of 15 riders road away from me.  I road the last lap solo and finished 17th.  By that time, I was ready to get the hell out of the heat and out of Lawrence.  Such is racing.  I should have packed two more water bottles full of ice water to spray on myself and keep my body temperature regulated--that would have helped.  Hardest race of the year but fun.  Highlight of the race was soaking in the fountain on campus post race.

Tour of KC- Day 2

Tour of KC day 2/3 was held at the Kansas City Police Academy.  Although Steve Guttenberg failed to make an appearance, it was nonetheless a chance to bring out the big guns--"Tackleberry-style:"




The course was pretty fun.  It had lots of sweeping, fast turns on a closed driver training course.  I felt great the entire race and never really felt stressed.  I was in one short break away that only stayed away for about a lap and I still didn't feel like I got into the red zone.  Unfortunately, a lot of other people were feeling good as well and the last lap was a struggle to get into the right position.  I was about 5 or 6 wheels too far back and didn't get a chance to contest for the win.  Instead, I sprinted past four or five people and ended 7th.  After Friday's disastrous last lap and feeling pretty cooked from Friday's heat, I was pretty happy with my finish.  Guttenberg would be proud...





Tour of KC- Day 1

Friday night the Tour of KC kicked off at the Longview lake course.  The course is more of a circuit than a crit course.  The course has three technical turns--one that is especially nasty-- a long slow false flat, and a short punchy hill after a 90 degree turn. 

I hate this course.  It seemed like I constantly was out of the saddle closing gaps.  Plus, I (stupidly) cleaned up my rims prior to the weekend so my brakes were extra "grabby."  That was stupid and didn't help my cause.  With about three laps to go my calves were cramping up and I was just hoping to sit in and salvage an okay sprint.  Unfortunately with about a half lap to go I got pushed to the shoulder and had to lock up my back wheel to avoid a crash.  A small gap opened up that I never really managed to close up to the lead group of about 10 guys.  I finished 11th about 30 yards behind the lead group and one spot out of the money.  So it goes.