Race Report:Plainville 4/12/2008

It should be race reportS, since I did back-to-back races again on Saturday.  But I didn't do Bethel Sunday as I'd planned.  You'll discover why if you read on . . .

Actually, I didn't know if I'd be racing at all this weekend.  The forecast all week was for rain.  Then, miraculously, Friday morning's forecast called for overnight showers & clearing up on Saturday - Sunday to be even nicer.  That's exactly what ended up happening last Saturday - I skipped Plainville since I woke up and it was wet out.  By 11a the sun was out and it was a top 5 day.  I determined to not let that happen again this weekend.  Racing was on!!

The weather gods had something up their sleeve though.  I planned on racing both the Cat 4/5 and Cat 3/4 races, so I had to wake up EARLY Saturday morning.  I checked weather.com and there was a Weather Advisory that said "Conditions as off 6:55 am: A severe thunderstorm with wind gusts of over 40 mph is centered over Plainville, CT"  I kid you not - it actually called out Plainville!

But I would not be deterred.  I loaded up the car.

While the roads were very wet, it wasn't raining and when we arrived at the track, it looked like things might actually clear up as forecast.  So I registered (tip: print out the release forms the night before and fill them out to save time at registration), Mrs. Suitcase pinned on my numbers (tip for back to back races: 2nd race number on first, 1st race number on second, have scissors to cut 1st number off between races), I got dressed and on the trainer.

I should have figured the worms that I saw all over the pavement as I was warming up wouldn't be confined to the parking lot . . .

We had a good team turnout for the first race.  Our newest member, (another) Joe (JoeP), was wearing the yellow jersey of the Series Leader and Dave, Bruce and Dillon were on-hand to help him keep it.

As you can see, it was pretty wet and foggy.  You can also see that we were on the front a lot.  Too much as it turned out.  We chased everything and the resulting pace was the fastest for a 4/5 race so far at Plainville - about 25mph average.

Fortunately, despite the pace and the fact that we were all burning too many matches, Dillon was able to collect a couple of points for the team by winning one of the primes.

The only thing I was able to collect was worms.  Lots of worms.  I was prepared for rain and racing in wet conditions.  Even though my rear wheel threatened to break free just about every time I hit corner #1, I was prepared.  A guy crashed in that corner early in the race - tire blew out and the slick pavement kept him from keeping it together.  Still, I was unfazed.

Until I swore somebody blew their nose and it hit my hand.  It took me a couple of laps to get up enough nerve to assess the damage.  You guessed it.  Not a boogie - a worm.  At least it was easy to shake off.

Part of the reason the pace was so fast was that a guy took off up the road fairly early on.  I later learned that a German time trial specialist had run away with our race an unattached guy with a cool accent had snuck away and we just couldn't seem to chase him down.  But we tried.  By the time we got to the finish though, our team was pretty well toast.  I think we caught the break near the end, so it was a field sprint.  Joe wasn't feeling well so I came around him, appreciative for the lead out, but it wasn't enough.  I came in 7th - just outside of points.  Good thing Dillon had legs early on.  Dave and Bruce, their admirable and hard work done, came in with the rest of the pack.

At least it had really cleared up - and the sun was out.  No time to appreciate the weather though.  I was burning up, having overdressed.  Time to take off the base later shirt, get one of my numbers cut off, and line up for the next race.

All the CCR guys from the first race lined up to help out JoeK in the Cat 3/4 race.  ChrisB (yes, another Chris) was there too bringing our team numbers up to 7 - close to record participation.

It wouldn't last for long.

Not surprisingly, the Cat3/4 race was even more difficult and faster than the 4/5 race.  As has been the case with just about all the Plainville 3/4 races this season, there was an early break.  And also true to form, Joe was in it.

But that's where the plot twisted.

The pack caught the break and at some point (I wasn't sure, since it was all I could do to just hold wheels at that point), another break got up the road.  Joe didn't make that one, and all the CCR guys tried to chase it down to give Joe a chance.

But apparently, most of the rest of the pack either had a guy in the break, or didn't care to bring it back.  Clearly, the series leader in this race wasn't interested in working.  He's third wheel in the pic above.  I'm in front (sans base layer - note bare arms) trying to give Joe a much-needed break.  If another CCR guy wasn't leading, Joe was.  The whole time.

Unfortunately, CCR guys were getting shelled.  Having raced the first race and worked so hard, the numbers eventually dwindled down to Joe, ChrisB and me.  While Joe did the lion's share of the pulling, some others did share the work. Special mention goes to Sebastian from the CVC team for helping too when he could.

For some insane reason, I've been in the front a lot lately.  I'm usually more than happy to stay sheltered, but as you can see, with it all strung out there's not much shelter anyway.

I could only give Joe temporary relief though.  I was fading pretty fast, only able to pull for about a half lap at a time.  I'd been able to catch the back of the line each time, but after an especially long pull (for me), my legs just didn't have anything left.

I watched as the line pulled away.  I'd been dropped.

This, I am happy to say, was a first for me in a race.  Because I've gotten so adept at holding wheels, I can usually finish with the pack.  Not always a great result, but a finish.  This time I was committed to burying myself for a teammate - something you don't get to do when you're unattached.  It was a good feeling, if not such a great result.

But I should have noted the lap cards.  If I had known there were only a few laps left, I might have tried a little harder to catch back on.  But I didn't see the cards.  Consequently, as the break lapped me, I dutifully made note of the timegap and - I thought helpfully - yelled it to Joe as he (still leading the pack) passed me.

What I didn't know is that they were heading into the finish.  You can't make up 16 seconds in 250 meters.  I thought they were going faster than before.

But I didn't realize that until I got to the finish line.  Actually, I was going to drop my bike on the sidelines and watch (what I thought was) the finish when I heard Dillon and Mrs. Suitcase yelling that I should at least cross the line.  What I thought was the finishing lap, was actually the cool down.  I could still cross the line and at least finish.  The stupid comical result is in the video below.

The break never got caught and, surprise!, was a break of only 5 guys.  So there was one point up for grabs in the field sprint (the "field" consisting of only about 7-8 guys by then - everybody else had cracked).  As usually happens, the guy that did the least work conserved the most energy won the field sprint.  And, in this case, the last point.

So, no points in the second race either.  But I did get SOMEthing out of the race.  A nasty sunburn on my arms.  I never imagined when I put on my tights and baselayer LS shirt that morning that NOT ONLY would the sun come out, but that it would be so strong.

But even if I had known, there was no way I would have had time to put on sunscreen between back-to-back races.  Yet another learning experience.  Just what these "training" races are for (admitting they're only "training races" when you don't do well in them LOL).

Despite the results, I was happy to be able to race so much - and stay upright.  Celebrating a year crash-free, especially racing on wet pavement for the first time, was a personal accomplishment.  The fact that I got to do it with a lot of my teammates just made it that much better.

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I was stoked to do Bethel the next day.  One of the best things about doing a race the following day is that you can leave your bike/wheels in your car and not have to repack the following morning.  But after a very restless and uncomfortable night, I woke up Sunday morning feeling pretty lousy.  My arms were on fire and the thought of having ANYthing on them, baselayer or otherwise, was anathema.

So I decided two races in a weekend was enough.  Bethel will now, unfortunately, have to wait until next year.

Now I gotta figure out how best to get hundreds of caked-on worms off my bike . . .

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As threatened promised, here are the finish-line videos of the two races:

Video of the finish of the Cat 4/5 race:

Video of the finish of the Cat 3/4 race:

Comments

[Andrew]

Wait, you haven't shaved yet? Did you know that it's the middle of April?

[sarah]

Ouch! That's pretty crazy getting a sunburn in April around here! Hope you are feeling better now. The worms sound gross..hope you didn't wash those off inside in the tub ;-) Nice to see you in the pics and glad you enjoyed the spring training races so much!