But he was. Fast.
I awoke at 5:45 yesterday AM to head to Oklahoma City. I had heard about the Team PG13 Winter Classic through
http://panhandlesport.com/index.html. It was 90 minutes long and Open-Category... a recipe for pain. Though I'd only done one official cross race before yesterday, I'd been doing a lot of pick-up races, local hammerfests, hot laps, whatever you want to call them. Riding with the gang up here has really pushed me and I felt I could handle this race. SRAM had warrantied my right shifter after a previous 'cross mishap and I had everything installed and ready to go!
It was pretty cold in Amarillo at 6 AM, and the forecast showed a high of 40-something in OKC, but I decided to stick it out. I almost turned around and headed home when I encountered a frozen fog that deposited a layer of ice over everything in the truck, but I drove on.
I'm glad I did because it turned out to be a great day! I prerode the course in full kit, including a jacket and wind pants, but by the time we staged it was warm enough for just arm warmers and knee warmers. As I was warming up on the trainer during the women's race, I was sizing up my competition, included a fellow in a pink skinsuit, and going through some serious waves of confidence and doubt (hence this blog's title). I had set an initial goal of 30-percentile when I first decided to do this race, but seeing the size of the field (much smaller than I had imagined at just 20 riders) I started thinking of a top-5 finish.
My usual 'strategy' this season, my M.O. so to speak, has been to have as fast of a start as I can manage, shoot for the hole shot, and then do damage control. This is easier for me than trying to reel in riders who are in front of me. This strategy was thrown out the window for the race. No way was I gonna get the hole shot and be 'that guy' slowing the entire field down only to have a technical mistake in the single track and cause a pileup. Luckily the start featured about 300 yards of pavement, so I had a bit of time to shuffle around and see who to get behind. We made the first turn, a small barrier into the grass leading into more grass and the woods, and I was in 5th position. This was really a pretty good start for me, as the first four guys were immediately pulling away.
Let me take this time to explain what happens to my brain in a cyclocross race. My heart rate goes from around 140 pre-race jitters bpm to 175 or higher in a split second. My brain says to himself, "Ian will be fine without me right now. I'm going to send my blood elsewhere." I start seeing stars and making technical errors. For this reason I had a tough time making my way through the woods but (initially) held on to my position on the totem pole. I settled into a fast (for me) but steady pace at around 172 bpm and started ticking out laps at 6.5 to 7 minutes per lap. Over the next few laps I lost a few spots and passed a few guys, though I'm not exactly sure (that whole lack-of-blood-to-the-brain thing). Around this time I heard someone approaching from behind and coming FAST. I held my speed but moved to the right a bit as a pink blur flew past me. To my astonishment, I'd just been passed by the leader of the race in 19 minutes! He ended up lapping me three more times.
After about 30 minutes I realized my right shifter pod, which I had just replaced, hadn't been tightened down to torque and was quickly coming loose. I'm gonna have to take it back to where I got it and complain. That guy should know better... During the next lap, around 37 minutes into the race, I began experiencing some spongy handling in the rear end of the bike and knew that I had pinched. Luckily I was parked in the feedzone/pit area so I pulled over really quickly to pump some air into the deflated tire. I was hoping that the pinch was small enough to be repaired by the Stan's in the tube. I hoped. I started the next lap and quickly realized the pinch was too big or the Stan's was dried out. Either way, I was flat again. My next time through the pit I went ahead and threw a new tube in the wheel and continued. No way I was gonna drive 8 hours round trip to DNF. Fortunately this was the end of my mechanical issues.
I was able to continue my fast pace until about 20 minutes left. By this time, I had lapped several riders and been lapped by the first three, but I had no idea where I stood in the field. I just put my head down, put my hands in the drops, and hammered. Halfway through my bell lap I came through the trees to see a lone rider about 100 yards in front of me. I had no idea if I was catching him or lapping him, but I'm never going to NOT sprint someone at a finish line, or a city limit sign, or whatever. I stood up immediately and gave the rest of the lap everything I had. I caught him at about 20 yards out and just narrowly edged him out. I still don't know my position relative to his.
I ended up finishing 9th out of 19. Though I was hoping for a top-5 finish, I'm more than happy with this result. Given the high caliber of the field and the few technical and mechanical problems that could have ended my race, a top-10 is pretty sweet!
Stay tuned for updates on my upcoming trip to California!
Until next time,
Ian
