Another weekend, another race. Actually two, which was supposed to be three. But more on that later.
Saturday, Race #1: Georgia Cup TT Series #1-Gillsville. Woke up this morning in the pouring rain. Sounds like song lyric. It's going to be a wet day. Not a little bit wet like last week but really wet. I get to the school parking lot that's the staging site. Getting set up to warm up is a pain; everything's harder when it's raining. My wife's back at the hotel dry and warm and still asleep. I envy her. I start the warm up. Not as good as last week at Tundra. I don't know if it's physical or mental but it's definitely not a "no chain" day. But it's a more structured warm-up. No decisions about wheels today. I get to the start house. The take off is downhill. I love those. The countdown starts and I'm off. My legs feel strong but they're also my limiter. They hurt before my breathing gets ragged. Still, in several sections I feel like I'm crushing the pedals. The wind is pushing the bike all over the road and the water makes the wide, sweeping curves treacherous. The bike feels loose somehow but I power on. I feel fast. I catch my 30 second man. Then my 2 minute man. And then I hear and feel a little pop as I go past the eight mile marker and I pray that it was just a small rock getting shot out from under my front wheel. Thirty seconds later it becomes clear that it wasn't. I have a flat and my race is over. I cruise into the turn around just as the wheel goes completely flat. I talk to the marshal there for a about 90 seconds before I think to ask her the time. 21:30...If I subtract off the time lost as I slowed down and the time chatting with her I've done 9 miles in about 20 minutes. That's twenty seven miles per hour. Did I really ride that fast? I don't know for sure but I was flying. But the result is the same...DNF. That's bike racing. When I get back to the hotel, the tubular peels right off the wheel. The glue has failed. Maybe the flat was a blessing in disguise. I would have hated pulling a Beloki on a slick, sweeping downhill curve at 30 mph.
Race #2: TopView Cycling Classic-Dacula Road Race. The rain has stopped but the conditions are questionable. The field is small but I've got a teammate. Robert is lining up with me and we're talking strategy. We decide to make it hard. Attack from the gun. I go first. The field shuts me down after half a mile. Robert attacks at the catch. Perfect. They don't react right away. He stays out for about three miles before they finally pull him back. It doesn't look like anyone's interested in getting into a break or letting one go. We'll see how people are feeling on the two hills in the seven mile circuit. We'll climb them five times. The hills hurt and I'm not sure I'll make the whole race but I hang on. By lap three we've shed half the field and I think I'll be ok if I ride around on the back but I don't want to leave it to the sprint if I can get away somewhere. On lap four I put in as brutal an attack as I can on a long 2% uphill. At first I think I've got something but a big Iron Data rider who remembers us from last year decides he can't give me any rope and he shuts the whole thing down. Now it's survival. I don't know if I can hold on if there's a big attack up one of the climbs but I'm going to try. Who knows what will happen in a sprint finish. I nearly die trying to hang on up the hills on lap four. The attack has torched my legs and I can barely stay with the group. I duck in behind everyone and try to conserve my strength as we ride around the last lap of the circuit. I get gapped on the last climb but the group marks each other and I claw my way back. There's nine of us left for the sprint. Maybe I can finally pull off a top five. I mark the field and don't go to the front too soon. Robert puts in a big attack at about 1 K Cancellera style. It doesn't stick but the strong riders forget about me and I drift to the left hand side of the road where the lane will open up the last 200 meters and I'll get an unobstructed run to the finish. As the lane opens up I go hard. I keep expecting someone to come around me from behind but it's just the two guys I'm even with. They're stronger than me but I might get third. Just then I see Robert surging on the far right. He and I bike throw at the finish for third place. It has to be the slowest sprint in Georgia bike race history for the two best time trialists in the race to be doing a bike throw for third. I think he's won. He thinks I have. The results show that I beat him by 0.003 seconds for third place. Less that the width of a tire. Crazy. I still think he beat me...I'll buy him a beer after Lent.
Sunday, Race #3: TopView Cycling Classic-Winder Road Race. It's Sunday and it's wet again. But the weather looks like it might clear for a couple of hours around race time so I pack the car and we go. There's a threat of snow and there's lots of wind. Not much fun but the team's paid my entry fee and I need to represent. Still, I'm praying that the promoter cancels. As we get close, the sky opens up. It pours. Torrents of rain driven by wind gusts that rattle the car. Oh man, I think. This is going to be bad. I keep telling myself that if I race I'll be the team "flahute" and I'll have a story to tell for the ages. I'm not very convincing. I get to the start and there aren't many cars. The pro/1/2 race is going on though the start/finish and I feel really sorry for those guys. They look completely miserable. As I walk up to the registration tent it starts to sleet and I hear the official tell the promoter that this is the last lap. The rest of the racing is canceled and I'm off the hook. I breathe a huge sigh of relief. I would have raced I tell myself but I'm really glad I don't have to put that to the test.
So all-in-all it was a good weekend with good sensations and good results. But for a flat tire I would have been 3-for-3 on podiums this year. Next weekend is Adairsville and Albany. One end of the state to the other for another time trial and road race. Wish me luck.
Thanks for Reading.
