Morgantown MoJo

APRRS #1

The 2011 season got underway with the annual April pain fest: the Morgantown RR. This year it was returning to the 2009 course, which begins and ends at Mason-Dixon park, which sits just on the PA side of the WV-PA border. 

The monkey in the wrench for this year was the weather! One week out, the forecast was mid fifties and partly cloudy sky. But by mid week, the forecast was 40's and rain showers. 

Race day morning, here is the picture as I emerged from the garage.

About 70 miles to the south at the start-line parking lot, it was barely better. 

Giant snow flakes melted on the windshield of my car as I waited for the start.

Because I was coming off a poor training offseason with this persistent left leg injury, my goal for the race was only to not DNF. Last year, I finished with one series point for this race. So I surmised that so long as I did not DNF, I couldn't get worse, right? (With 25 racers registered for my class (40+ men), I would get at least one point if I didn't DNF).

So the race started, about an hour late to wait-out the snow showers, and I set off with my group: the masters men. The foul, early April weather caused about a dozen no-shows for my class alone! The leg felt okay in the early miles, I packed the correct nutrition (Hammer Perpetuem for the bottles and Gel for the back pocket). 

So we're off: the first few miles were wet and freezing. Then at about mile five of fifty, I felt that sickening wobble of a slow puncture! Flatted--on a sweeping down hill, no less. But I managed to slow down and ease it to the side of the road without seperating tire from rim. Once stopped, it took about 8 minutes to replace the front tube: in the tire carcass my frozen fingers found a shard of brown beer bottle glass, which I threw disgustedly to the side, as the women's group and the cat 5s, who started about five minutes behind, passed in a whoosh of color, water, and cold air.  

By the time I got back on course, I was all alone. Just me and my bike and the occasional irritated motorist, who all seemed to be in a hurry on a Saturday afternoon. I eventually caught and rode with a cat 5 named Rob from Koeles Sargent Electric team (I learned from him after the race that Koeles has a group ride out of Sewickley), and we traded back and forth, pass for pass lanterne rouge honors over the next twenty miles.

By about mile forty, I was feeling in my bones the wintertime lack of preperation. But I knuckled down and got through the race without a DNF. I came in with a tenth place finish, but picked up 16 points, which will mean a lot come August. The left leg felt okay, and I seem to be on the upswing with it. The next month will be telling. 

Overall, this race is epic because of the wacky early April weather plus the great course with sweeping vistas and smashing climbs. It is the closest thing we have to a spring classic ala The Ronde van Vlaanderen, which is held on the same weekend. While we don't have the cobbles as does the Ronde, we have those crappy WV-PA potholes! And we have the snow!