Waynesboro Grand Prix #1

Posted by Dan on 27. April 2009 05:01

Today's race in scenic Waynesboro, VA served to teach us many lessons. So many lessons that I'm going to think of this race as a "learnin' race". For example, I learned that when you have a serious upper respiratory infection that settles in your lungs and lasts more than 2 weeks, you really need to wait until the cough is gone before you try racing. Failure to do so will not result in cramps or sterility, but it will guarantee that your performance will make you question your athletic choices (like "Why did I quit the ping pong team?"). This seems too important to get wrong, so I'm going to retest this theory at Wintergreen and again, if necessary, at Fort Lee if it doesn't clear up this week.

I also learned that racing in Tidewater spoils you. Our pancake-flat terrain with a few lousy bridges does not make us climbers. We enjoy a nice fast race where the guy with better technical skills leads the pack through the corners and into a bunch sprint. That's what we like. Throw a hill in there and we're all discombobulated, fragmented and sucking wind. That's why we decided today that my son is going to UVA. I can't bear to watch him doing ineffective intervals on the Campostella Bridge like his old man.

Here's another one: when you're receiving the pre-race briefing while waiting for the police to give the "all clear" and the ref says, "We've decided to allow feeding on this 60 minute race", there's probably a good reason for it. Until today, our races have been in held in the low 40's to mid-70s. I think there were two that made it as high as the 80s. Today was 94, sunny with calm winds. That brings us to the three most important things in bike racing: hydrate, hydrate and hydrate. I think I took exactly zero drinks while I slobbered my way around the streets of Waynesboro.

Lydia, the kids and I loaded up the van up with bike stuff and a dog and headed west this morning around 9:00. If you're interested in a half-hearted recap of the trip, see my tweets. We pulled into town and parked in what seemed like the designated parking area. While the registration office was just across the street, the start/finish line and everything else that makes a race a race was up the hill about half a mile. While Lydia setup her spectator/photog/kennel station across from the judges tent, I went about getting dressed and tending to last minute bike things. Wick and Kyle had also sashayed up to the VIP parking lot and were doing the same. The juniors (10-18) were on the course and Steve Knott and the other Cat 5s were warming up wherever they could. Little did they know they'd get plenty warm as soon as they took to the course. Steve said later that he could feel the road getting hotter with each lap as the sun rose overhead.

The start/finish line was on a relatively short and flat section between two climbs. On go, riders made their way up a slight hill and made two left turns while continuing to climb. At the top of the climb, they'd zig right and immediately zag left to begin the descent which was by far the greatest part of the race: high speed, no effort and a cooling breeze. The descent lasted a few blocks where a left hand turn led to another and then the Waynesboro Wall. Having come home and watched the 95th Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Versus, I guess it wasn't THAT bad, but I'm from Norfolk. See lesson #3 above.

The start proved to be a little problematic for some but all gaps were quickly filled and the pack would take the first left turn as a happy group. They'd all explore that first climb up the back of the course together. At the top, they'd all make sure they were in their big chain ring and tuck in for the quick run to the bottom. Here's where things would get strung out. Once again, the heavier guys would lay down and let gravity draw them to the bottom with blistering speed while the light guys couldn't lay down enough. So now we have this nice long string of riders barreling down the hill towards an upcoming left turn. They'd all make it around and start to bunch up a little. After maybe a block and a half, they'd make the next left and prepare for the hill. This is where the charges were planted. The pack would explode with each pass until there were roughly 10 people per group plus a ton of stragglers. The stragglers usually rode until Ruth would point a bony finger of death and utter those terrifying words, "You'll be caught by the pace car within a lap. Pull off!" So ended many a race today.

All the races seemed to follow this pattern, more or less. The Cat 5 race was like this. Steve was unfortunate enough to be left by the main field, but at that time, there really wasn't a "main field". He finished the race and did not get yanked by Ruth, so I consider that a victory.

The Cat 3/4/Masters 30+ ride was a little bit sadder than that. This race had a strong Team Fitness Together showing with Wick, Kyle and me in the field. After getting the "all clear", we rolled out, except that I couldn't clip in. Big surprise - I upgraded from old-school Look pedals to new Keo Carbons and moved the cleat back about 1 cm. It's like learning to ride with clipless pedals all over again. Our group happily made its way up the hill to begin the descent where we formed a giant line all the way down the hill. Fattest guys first, then the scrawny guys and finally those of us that struggled up that first climb. Oh yeah, it was going to be a good race. I remember seeing glimpses of that awesome new Team Fitness Together jersey here and there. Wick and Kyle were both moving around mid-pack. I know this because I was right behind them near the back. Bad place to be. I stuck it out for a few laps then lost contact with the pack. I remember thinking that if Ruth didn't get me and I didn't drop dead, I'd keep going at whatever pace I could muster. After two laps, I motioned to my wife Lydia, who was taking pictures of the contorted faces of Tidewater climbers, that it was all over. For whatever reason, I kept going past the parking lot.

A few more laps and I was about cooked. I could no longer see Wick or Kyle or the field for that matter. I was "working" with one other dropped rider until I moved up to pull, turned around to see where he was and couldn't find him. I'm guessing he pulled off as there were no open manholes. As I was making my way up the hill toward the next dropped rider, imagining how awesome it'd be to pull off, Lydia shouted, "One more with your jersey zipped up!" Bah. So I took another lap after zipping my jersey up. And then another. And then... Ruth. Bam. I was out. Game over. Wick had already made it back to the car and was clearly not happy with the way things played out. We shared our stories while Kyle took another 4 laps before he too was pulled out. The constant climbing in intense heat with no acclimation period took its toll on everyone. There were about 24 starters and only 9 finished.

And that's our story. Lydia ran to the backside of the course to get some descending shots and then the camera battery died. The kids and the dog and the heat and dead camera battery were all saying, "Time to go." So we went.

Thanks again to Lydia for taking some great pictures of the Juniors, Cat 5/Cat 5 Masters 35+ and the Cat 3/4/Masters 30+ races before the battery died. If she didn't get your race and you're interested in donating a backup battery, please leave a comment.

Thanks to the Van Dessel Factory Team and the officials for putting on a great race, even if it did teach me things.