Why Race?
April 30th Greenbrier State Park
We're heading up to do some racing today in the Appalachian Mountains of Western Maryland. I've got the family in tow and I'm anxious to do well in front of my littlest one, Steffi. It's her first race. Awake at dawn and fire up the waffle iron.
I've thrown some gears on the back of the singlespeed to help tackle the climbs. I'll regret this later as going single would have been a better choice. After a little warm up in the parking lot, I'm ready to go. I'll use my usual race strategy which has yet to help me win a race. A few podiums, but no bottle of champagne. The strategy goes like this:
1.) Drink plenty of coffee leading up to the race so that my heart is ready to explode before the gun goes off.
2.) Go like "a monkey with his ass on fire" at the start.
3.) Continue going like said monkey until I either can't turn the pedals anymore or have crossed the finish line.
4.) Drink beer with fellow competitors afterward.
(This last one may not appear to help performance, but if you are looking forward to it while out on the course, it can have certain psychological advantages).
So that's what I did. Thermos full of high octane, waffle in the gut and a good luck kiss from the littlest one.
The start is great. I'm on the wheel of a skinny guy who just looks faster than hell and we move up through the pack on the initial climb. Sitting around 6 or 7th and I can see the leader. We are screaming down the backside of this rock infested course and so far the plan is working, heart starting to come out of my chest and my rear end is smoking! A quick glance over my shoulder and there is no one in sight, we've got a gap. Then it all comes crushing down. The chain comes off. Not once, not twice, but every time we hit a rocky downhill section it pops off the chainring. Repeated stops to put it back on has the field all coming by and I'm left in last, with 2 laps to go and a f'ed up bike. The littlest one will not be impressed. Now I fast forward to step 4 of the racing plan and start having some fun! Poor preparation as I should have put some sort of chain guide up front. I do manage to catch a few others in my class.
At the finish, I'm greeted with a smile, then a confused look as to why I'm so dirty. Steffi has no idea where I finished and neither do I! Actually, I couldn't care less. And that's why I still race.
So we all grab some refreshments and head to the playground for some real fun! Pete and Greg share their mini keg of Heineken and we all enjoyed a beautiful day in the mountains.
We're heading up to do some racing today in the Appalachian Mountains of Western Maryland. I've got the family in tow and I'm anxious to do well in front of my littlest one, Steffi. It's her first race. Awake at dawn and fire up the waffle iron.
I've thrown some gears on the back of the singlespeed to help tackle the climbs. I'll regret this later as going single would have been a better choice. After a little warm up in the parking lot, I'm ready to go. I'll use my usual race strategy which has yet to help me win a race. A few podiums, but no bottle of champagne. The strategy goes like this:
1.) Drink plenty of coffee leading up to the race so that my heart is ready to explode before the gun goes off.
2.) Go like "a monkey with his ass on fire" at the start.
3.) Continue going like said monkey until I either can't turn the pedals anymore or have crossed the finish line.
4.) Drink beer with fellow competitors afterward.
(This last one may not appear to help performance, but if you are looking forward to it while out on the course, it can have certain psychological advantages).
So that's what I did. Thermos full of high octane, waffle in the gut and a good luck kiss from the littlest one.
The start is great. I'm on the wheel of a skinny guy who just looks faster than hell and we move up through the pack on the initial climb. Sitting around 6 or 7th and I can see the leader. We are screaming down the backside of this rock infested course and so far the plan is working, heart starting to come out of my chest and my rear end is smoking! A quick glance over my shoulder and there is no one in sight, we've got a gap. Then it all comes crushing down. The chain comes off. Not once, not twice, but every time we hit a rocky downhill section it pops off the chainring. Repeated stops to put it back on has the field all coming by and I'm left in last, with 2 laps to go and a f'ed up bike. The littlest one will not be impressed. Now I fast forward to step 4 of the racing plan and start having some fun! Poor preparation as I should have put some sort of chain guide up front. I do manage to catch a few others in my class.
At the finish, I'm greeted with a smile, then a confused look as to why I'm so dirty. Steffi has no idea where I finished and neither do I! Actually, I couldn't care less. And that's why I still race.
So we all grab some refreshments and head to the playground for some real fun! Pete and Greg share their mini keg of Heineken and we all enjoyed a beautiful day in the mountains.
posted by Steve at 7:42 AM
1 Comments:
AWESOME PHOTOS
HOW DID THE RACE GO
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