Part II: From Repachage to Podium (kinda)
APRRS #4: Smokin’ on the Tygart RR (June)
The first week of June I made a setup change with my pedal that ultimately caused an injury on the inside of my left knee (the opposite leg from the dirty dozen injury). So while the right leg was basically cured of injury, I damaged the other leg, which had season-long implications. Grrr. The Smokin’ race kicked off the second half of the Appalachian Road Race series (the “smokin’” part of the title is because the race is part of a chili festival in the funky, but venerable, town of Philippi, West Virginia.)
This race, as is the case with all the races in the series, involves hill climbing, lots of hill climbing. It’s not the flat lands of Iowa here in Appalachia. So the basic tactic is attempt to stay with the group on the hills because if you get dropped on a hill, then the group that makes it together over the hill will have flat portions after the hill allowing them to put significant time into those who fall off during the climb. While this tactic is a basic tactic used since bike racing began, and even though it’s straightforward and clear in its implications, it is hard to do, especially if you’re a big guy like me. Ultimately, 7th place for 19 points.
Track interlude: From June through August, the Pittsburgh Masters Velo Club (headed by the great Oscar Swan) runs Friday Night at the Track races, held at the (newly renamed) Budd Harris Cycling Oval, which everyone in Pittsburgh just calls “the Oval.” Oscar, who I consider a Pittsburgh Cycling treasure of a man, runs it so that alternating weeks there are time trials and fixed gear (track) bike races. The Oval is not a true velodrome mostly because of its length at 800 meters and because there’s a small hill on the start-finish line. But even though it’s not a UCI velodrome, the Oval is a cool place to race and ride.
I did every fixed gear race during the 2009 season. But this year, one race was rained out, and a few other nights had races the next morning, such as the Erie Crit (I am not able to race until 8PM on Friday night, and then race the following morning—although some guys can do it). So I only got one race in for this season, in late June. The highlight of the evening was the sprint series. The way it works is, depending on how many show up, there will be preliminary heats where the top two of each heat will go on to the semifinals. In the semis the top two go to the finals, and the third and forth go to the repechage(a French word meaning to grant someone a second chance, not a consolation because one or two competitors can earn out of the repechage). So I made it through to the semis, but got third place, meaning that I was in the repechage. The winner of the semis and the winner of the repechage advance. I won the repechage (and earned the coolest prime of the night: a six pack of Magic Hat—which I gave away to five thirsty spectators after the races).
So by winning the repachage I’m in the finals against the four thoroughbreds, Heffner, Zimmerman, Kurpiewski, and another guy. Two laps, the first lap is usually slow so that everyone can catch a breath and also maneuver for position: no one wants to be in first position on the last lap because of the drafting advantages to second, third, and fourth place positions. As we are coming to the start-finish line for the bell lap, I’m thinking if I hang out in the back until the sprint is on, I have zero chance of getting around any of these muscle men. So I do the only option I have, and start my sprint as soon as we start the last lap. The crowd roars with delight as I attack, I can hear my name get called out by someone from the stands. I knew that 800 meters was way too far for me to last, but this was the only strategy that I had available. I’m out in the lead going full speed until 100 meters from the line, and I start to falter and I hear the four horseman coming behind. And they roar, literally, with a yelling roar, as they pass me in the final 50 meters. I cross the line last place in the sprint finals, but I got one point. Season goal met even though the prior season I got 5 or 6 points. The knee is starting to hurt, but I didn’t think much of it.
APRRS #5: Barbour De Tour (Fourth of July weekend)
This race takes the circus back to Phillipi, WV, and runs on a different but equally challenging parcours as the Smokin' on the Tygart race in June. I like this venue, but it has a deadly hill immediatly out of town that always splits up the group. Both the Smokin' race and this race use the same starting hill. The winning group survives intact at the top, and the also-rans form into grupettos here and there to survive and hopefully make up some ground to the end. I ended up riding with Tina, the women's cat 4 points leader. I know her well and our riding abilities are close (we raced the New Martinsville RR together after finding ourselves in another grupettoVercors, the fabulous New Hampshire summer home of our dear friends Laurie and Mary. It was a fantastic week of hiking and biking, grilling and eating, and general lounging and loafing in one of the most relaxing and monastic pastoral settings one can find on the east coast. I went on 4 massive, blow-out 50 milers around the Mondadnock region of southern New Hampshire in Temple. I found the routes by using the mapmyride search feature. The roads in New Hampshire are amazing. The weather was terrific--low humidity, perfect sunshine. The culminating ride ended by going up the auto road of a mountain called Pack Mondadnock. This climb was not as severe as Beech Mountain, which I rode during a vacation in 2008 that we took in Boone, NC. Instead it was similar, but not as steep, as Brasstown Bald, the highest point in GA, which I rode in the summer of 2009.
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| On the top of Pack Monadnock mountain |
After the ride up Pack Monadnock, the next day we hiked as a family up Mount Monadnock (similar name as Pack Monadnock, but a different mountains). The kids loved it and I have to say, they are tough because this was not an easy climb to the summit of Mount Monadnock.
This week while wonderful athletically, spiritually, gastronomically, ended up completely exacerbating the condition in my knee. My remaining season was coming to an end because of this knee.
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View of Mount Monadnock from the deck of Vercors at
sunset. The pointy summit is where we hiked. |
APRRS #6: Appalachia Visited RR (mid August)
Between the New Hampshire vacation in mid July and this race a month later, I did another race called the Tour De Bemus in southern NY. I also tried to train. But I was forced to scale back and rest for several days in an attempt to solve the left knee issue. It kept getting worse. I came into this race in poor form. The fact that it was the longest race of the season at about 60 miles only exposed my poor form. I picked up 11 points with a dismal 17th place, and a final series spot of 6th place. After this race, I took a month off the bike, which helped but did not solve the problem. It seems to be a bursitis issue in the medial side of the knee. The goal for the off season is to resolve this problem before 2011 arrives.
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Sixth place for the 2010 series. Gunnar wins the
jersey. Gerry Pflug second. Photo JR Petsko |
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