CycloBadger: Holy Hill Superweek Road Race

Alright, I'm almost caught up on posts.

Chris, Karl, and I made the trip over to Hartford on July 21st. Somehow I thought it would be a good idea to ride 5 laps of a hilly 8.1 mile course. (I was about to find out that it wasn't such a good idea....well, for me anyway.)

Chris and I loaded up the Element and made the 1 1/2 hour drive to Pike Lake State Park. Fairly uneventful drive over, without much traffic. Karl and Becky were driving separately, as they had to retrieve the pop-up camper from Becky's parents after the race. We made our way to pick up our numbers, and were a little surprised, for such a big event, the registration process was pretty slow. (and one woman was not what you'd call "customer service friendly") We eventually got our numbers and made it back to the vehicles. Other riders really started to pile in, and the lot was filling up fast. Karl and Becky got a spot right next to ours, which worked out well. I spoke with a few Brazen Dropout Masters riders before the race....trying to get some advice from them. Basically, ride fast, stay towards the front, and of course....watch out for crashes. I was able to watch out for crashes....but that was about it.

The atmosphere was pretty cool. A lot of big name teams, and the SRAM neutral support vehicles were sweet! We rode around checking out the scene, and eventually rolled out on the park roads for a quick warm-up. The actual "warm-up" didn't take very long, as it was already getting pretty toasty outside. The heat was definitely going to be a factor today. We were luckier than most, as the sun came out full force for the afternoon races. The starts times were running about 20 minutes behind schedule, so we rode around the parking lot waiting for the Masters race to go, and we were right after. I elected to do the Cat 4 race instead of Masters. Mostly because I didn't think I had the legs to go 50 miles, and I also wanted to race with Chris and Karl. (the young guys)

All 3 of us had pretty good start positions, but that didn't last long for Karl and myself. The "neutral" roll-out wasn't exactly neutral. There was a lot of jockeying for position on the way to the start. Unfortunately, Karl and I ended up towards the back. (we were "foolishly" following the yellow line rule) Chris was smart and wedged his was towards the front....while still obeying the yellow line rule. As I was to find out, a good front position was going to be key. (as it always is...)
The gun sounded and we were off. No real accelerations materialized, as it was mostly downhill for awhile. A few hard brake checks, but nothing too crazy. We eventually made a hard right, after a steep downhill....and the s@@t hit the fan. The first short kicker hill induced a hard acceleration, and I knew I was in trouble. I told Karl earlier that he should try to move up in the pack....I wish I had taken my own advice. I was off the back by about 20 yards, and try as I might, I just couldn't close down the gap. The group kept on the gas, as they knew they had some of us in difficulty. Karl fared better than I, but he never really made it back into the main group either. Chris was smart and strong, he stayed in the front half of the group and matched their accelerations.

I spent the rest of the race in time trial mode. I'm too damn stubborn to just admit I was out of contention. I gave it all I had for the rest of the race. I'd eventually catch a lone rider, and we'd work together for awhile....until they said, "oh, there's my support vehicle, I'm done." So, I'd move on to the next rider, or small group. I started cramping on lap 3 or so, and it only go worse from there.
I caught a guy just before the downhill on Cty E, and recovered in his draft for awhile. I eventually pulled around to take my pull....unfortunately, he never returned the favor. He looked like he was in his mid-twenties, and in decent shape, so I'm sure he was capable of taking a pull. (come on, we've been dropped big time, I'm not able to pull you back up to the group) He eventually came around and slowly pulled away from me on one of the climbs. I latched onto a couple of dropped Master racers, they were flying, and I took my turn at the front. Unfortunately, two of us couldn't hold the pace on the next climb....so I was all alone again. I dragged myself around for the final lap....the thought of getting caught by the field was enough to keep me moving. While it was close, I managed to not get lapped. I "sprinted" in by myself for DFL. I'm pretty sure there were a lot of guys who called it quits. (maybe they were racing the series, or maybe they just had enough) Either way, I finished the race.... dead last, but I was NOT going to quit.

Chris had an awesome race, even though he had a few close calls. Apparently there was some close quarters fighting for position, and one guy bumped another rider....sending him towards Chris. He thinks a quick release, or maybe a pedal made into his spokes. He managed to keep it upright, and stay in the group! (now there's some bike handling skills for you) He fought hard to the finish, and managed a well deserved 15th place. (in the money no less)

Karl managed to catch onto dropped rides throughout the race. He'd try to get them to work together, but didn't have much luck. He ended up hammering it to the next group, then the next, and so on. He pulled a young guy to the finish line, where Karl barely lost the sprint to youth....and good looks. (both of which Karl is in short supply;) I shouldn't talk, because I rolled in quite a bit later....for 45th place. I was cramping so badly at the finish, I couldn't bend my left leg. I managed to lean on the finishing barriers for a few minutes....until I could actually move.

Overall a fun race, but bad positioning, and a lack of experience made it a tough go. I wish I could have hung in there for a few laps, but hopefully I learned a little bit for future races. Here's a link to the results.

We did stay around to watch the Pro 1/2 guys race. I have to say, they are at a totally different level. The Rock Racing Team was there with the Escalade, and the CTS.....pretty sweet set-up. Karl and Chris both took some nice pic's, check them out. Here are a few of the hi-lites.