Jumping Back In

Just to spite my broken collarbone I jumped in the CCCX Road Race finale today.

It's been 18 days since I crashed out at the track. With questionable fitness and a broken bone near my subclavian artery, why not race my bicycle on a fast, technical course? 

A simple plan

My plan was to tailgun and then move up with three to go and contest the sprint. If teammate D3 got in a break I would block.  

Feeling OK

I felt OK throughout the race, just hanging out in the back. But the field of 30 strung out single file through the tight turns and little gaps opened up into big gaps as riders struggled against wind. I could see and hear riders working hard I didn't want to get caught in a chase group. More than once I leapfrogged small groups of riders as they lost contact and got shelled out the back. Hanging in and wheelsucking wasn't difficult; closing those gaps and bridging was the hardest part of my race. 

Dénouement

On the fifth to last lap I hit a blue road reflector at speed and instantly flatted my front tire. This was on the fastest part of the course--a downhill, right hand sweeper--and I barely stayed upright. I wanted to get a new wheel and jump back in. I spotted a teammate on the side of the course and asked to borrow his front. He responded, "I can't, I'm racing next!" as if I wouldn't ever give it back. Thanks buddy...

That flat ended my race and ended my season...for the second time. 

Again, I felt OK during the race but my legs were not super snappy. The time off the bike took something from my fitness. The broken bone made me a little less assertive and a little less aggressive. I felt less invincible, especially while careening towards the curb at 30mph on a blown out front tire. All things considered, even without the flat I question whether I would have made the podium. But I would have liked to finish with the field and given it a shot. (Click this for a friend's video. He made it to the finish.) 

Winter Training?

I've never followed a training plan before. Now it's time for gym work including squats and lunges, as a certain (in)famous cycling doctor said that weights and crosstraining may be helpful. I'll stay on the bike with long rides, singlespeed cyclocross races and 2X20minute and later 3X20minute efforts @ FTP. (I read that "FTP" is something important for cyclists but I haven't quite figured out what the letters mean.) I'm just learning about structured training and off-season training, can you guys tell?

"Jogging"

Speaking of winter training, I'm going to get back into jogging twice a week. That same doctor says that cyclists may benefit from an occasional jog when they are not racing on their fancy carbon bicycles. So I will slowly build up a running base. During the first few weeks of December I'll sharpen up with fast jogging sessions at the MPC track on Monday nights. Then I'll jog the Rio Resolution Jog. I jogged to victory in the 5K last year and plan to defend. Teammate Brownie expressed interest in jogging the 10K. It would be great to see even more MBRT faces out there, in addition to the usual suspects from the Wednesday Night Laundry Joggers. After that race I'll retire from jogging for another year.


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I spoke too soon.
Andrew just sent me a text. He says I can't drop the mic until after the Placer Valley Grand Prix on September 30th. So it looks like I'll continue the charade for another two weeks...

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Or did I?
Time for the updated update: Andrew's race bike tried to kill him on Monday morning and he's looking at $$$$ in repairs. PVGP isn't going to happen.


Oh, and stay tuned for some legal blogs.