I didn’t sleep well Saturday night. It’s typical after a race…I feel hot, restless and generally can’t pass out and sleep peacefully. All the more frustrating after a weak performance at Ione and a desperate, desperate need to get some rest for a good ride come Sunday.
Granite Bay, Sacramento. I‘ve raced there before, in fact I think it was the first B’s race I ever finished, a few years ago on the brown Rock Lobster, and I finished top 10. I recall being pleased about that even though the field was dinky. But that was then, and this is now…I ride for a big, proud team, I have a coach and allegedly, some fitness. Or so I thought until yesterday’s weak-sauce ride. Today will be different…gotta keep telling myself that…today will be different.
And it was different. Bigger field, and a better course. There were four distinct nasty sand sections in the course, two of which made for crippling runs. My plan today was simple: don’t go ballistic at the start, follow Jim and Eric, let them set the pace and make a move when they fade. Or rather, /if/ they fade. From the start, those guys exploded. Along with us went Mike (the punk that got 3rd ahead of me the day before) and Dan Dixon, who missed the party in Ione. The five of us pranced off and never saw any element of the rest of the field after the start.
Right away, Eric and Jim started attacking, and it was Mike who stepped up and did some work with me, but I was not trying to pull away at this early point. Perhaps I should have been…but with so many long flat sections it seemed unwise to go it alone against the group. Before long I found myself at the front, going hard but not attacking, looking to Eric and Jim to take the lead. Eric attacked and I figured I’d let Jim do the chasing, but he was playing tactics. He’d sit in on me, attack, and then sit up when I’d catch him. Eventually I got bored of this and just let him go. In retrospect, I should have attacked him but at the time, I just didn’t have the legs or the will, or both.
And that’s pretty much how it ended. Eric and Jim way off the front, Dan and Mike chasing just seconds behind me. I finished 3rd overall, theoretically winning the 30+ group depending on how you play the age game. It’s not a bad ride and I definitely feel better about things than I did the day before, but I expect more out of myself than this. I still didn’t have the kind of jump that I’ve had earlier in the year, and if I’m ever going to beat those guys, I’m going to /need/ that jump. I’ve vowed to diligently do my recovery rides, eat better, sleep more and drink no beer this week, and stay motivated. I have to keep in mind that in the first race, I could have beat Jim, and at SuperPrestige, I dispatched with both of them, and 90% of the field, with little trouble. It’s in me, I just have to get back on track.
Granite Bay, Sacramento. I‘ve raced there before, in fact I think it was the first B’s race I ever finished, a few years ago on the brown Rock Lobster, and I finished top 10. I recall being pleased about that even though the field was dinky. But that was then, and this is now…I ride for a big, proud team, I have a coach and allegedly, some fitness. Or so I thought until yesterday’s weak-sauce ride. Today will be different…gotta keep telling myself that…today will be different.
And it was different. Bigger field, and a better course. There were four distinct nasty sand sections in the course, two of which made for crippling runs. My plan today was simple: don’t go ballistic at the start, follow Jim and Eric, let them set the pace and make a move when they fade. Or rather, /if/ they fade. From the start, those guys exploded. Along with us went Mike (the punk that got 3rd ahead of me the day before) and Dan Dixon, who missed the party in Ione. The five of us pranced off and never saw any element of the rest of the field after the start.
Right away, Eric and Jim started attacking, and it was Mike who stepped up and did some work with me, but I was not trying to pull away at this early point. Perhaps I should have been…but with so many long flat sections it seemed unwise to go it alone against the group. Before long I found myself at the front, going hard but not attacking, looking to Eric and Jim to take the lead. Eric attacked and I figured I’d let Jim do the chasing, but he was playing tactics. He’d sit in on me, attack, and then sit up when I’d catch him. Eventually I got bored of this and just let him go. In retrospect, I should have attacked him but at the time, I just didn’t have the legs or the will, or both.
And that’s pretty much how it ended. Eric and Jim way off the front, Dan and Mike chasing just seconds behind me. I finished 3rd overall, theoretically winning the 30+ group depending on how you play the age game. It’s not a bad ride and I definitely feel better about things than I did the day before, but I expect more out of myself than this. I still didn’t have the kind of jump that I’ve had earlier in the year, and if I’m ever going to beat those guys, I’m going to /need/ that jump. I’ve vowed to diligently do my recovery rides, eat better, sleep more and drink no beer this week, and stay motivated. I have to keep in mind that in the first race, I could have beat Jim, and at SuperPrestige, I dispatched with both of them, and 90% of the field, with little trouble. It’s in me, I just have to get back on track.
posted by the seamus at 2:15 PM
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