Holy cow! Welcome back to the whirlwind that is my life these past few months. Let’s see, we left off wishing pain and suffering among those who ran over my sunglasses. I got new ones. Since then I’ve done my first real road race, the Oregon Grand Fondo. I got a spot with the Rolf Prima guys,they were trying to fill a team roster. Lauren and I headed south to Eugene for the race & stay with Rob & Misha English at their B&B (best team housing ever). It was awesome to finally race with Rob. We started the 117-mile race as a large group and the pace picked up significantly once the police escort pulled ahead signaling the race start. This was my first road race since my crash last March, and I knew my descending skills weren’t top form and my group riding was only decent. I didn’t realize how many matches I was going to burn in order to catch back on after each climb. At some points the road turned a bit rough with numerous potholes (keep in mind we’re racing on backcountry logging roads), my nerves shot up to a whole new level: think violin orchestra playing suspenseful music. Getting myself worked up and unable to relax meant that I didn’t eat and drink because I wouldn’t dare take my hands off the bars. This is a bad thing when you’re out riding for 5 and a half hours. I did manage to choke down some sustenance, but not nearly enough. Making it to mile 90 in the lead group before Rob and the Rolf Prima guys turned the screws a little tighter: I was blown sky high. I came up to the final aid station in a daze, ate something, no idea what it was, halfway listened to the high school jazz combo playing on the side of the road and then continued on. I settled into as high a tempo I could sustain in hopes of catching some folks but knowing I’d never touch the main group again. About 3 miles out from the finish there was a group of 8 or so dropped riders that came whizzing past me in formation. I jumped onto their train and went all in as I soloed off ahead of them to cross the line without conceding too many spots. It was a futile move but I had to do something to render the imminent defeat of not making the final selection.
This race was by far the most difficult thing I’ve ever done on a bike, not in terms of fitness, but stress and managing emotions. I was on the rivet for nearly 6 hours and once I crossed the line it hit me like a ton of bricks. Lauren was waiting for me at the finish and we went off into a corner as I had a mini meltdown. I’ve never been so scared on my bike before and burned so many matches trying to catch on for miles at a time I was completely fried. I’m sure I would have been there for the final move had I been more confident in my riding skills. In a word: damn.
In the end, I took 3rd in my age group and 37th overall out of 190 riders. The Rolf Prima team took 1st in the team classification.
This race was by far the most difficult thing I’ve ever done on a bike, not in terms of fitness, but stress and managing emotions. I was on the rivet for nearly 6 hours and once I crossed the line it hit me like a ton of bricks. Lauren was waiting for me at the finish and we went off into a corner as I had a mini meltdown. I’ve never been so scared on my bike before and burned so many matches trying to catch on for miles at a time I was completely fried. I’m sure I would have been there for the final move had I been more confident in my riding skills. In a word: damn.
In the end, I took 3rd in my age group and 37th overall out of 190 riders. The Rolf Prima team took 1st in the team classification.
The next day I was scheduled to fly out to Colorado Springs to attend a two-week Master Bicycle Mechanic course through Barnett’s Bicycle Institute. All packed up and ready to go, Lauren and I spent the morning together before she drove me to the airport. I checked in and boarded the plane for Colorado. I brought a borrowed Bike Friday from Rob, so I could check it as a regular suitcase and have something to ride for 2 weeks.
**That concludes Chapter 1 of the series, there will be a short intermission before starting Chapter 2**
Tune in tomorrow for the next segment: Colorado Springs & the wild buckaroos!
Cheers,
-Andrew Neill-
**That concludes Chapter 1 of the series, there will be a short intermission before starting Chapter 2**
Tune in tomorrow for the next segment: Colorado Springs & the wild buckaroos!
Cheers,
-Andrew Neill-