My first year as a masters racer has been pretty good. After doing this (fill in the blank adjective) sport for 25 years, I've finally gotten my head/wallet/diet in the right place. Not to mention a lot of help from Seth Hosmer and endless, ENDLESS patience from my family.
But enough sentimentality...here's a race report:
Stage 1 The Columbia Hills Have Eyes Road Race:
My goals
1) Protect the obvious GC men, Dave Z., Dr. Slater and Mr. Chase in any bid they might make on this epitome of solo breakaway courses.
2) Freaking survive. Have you seen how big I am?
The day started with BANG! Mick Walsh flatted and about 30,ooo (really 5) Z Team riders dropped back to pull him back to the field. This was not easy, since I hear someone put things on the rivet as soon as they heard Mick flat.
Once we got Mick back, it was just about time for the first climb, which was....anticlimactic. I've ridden harder than that from the police in when I was in coll.......never mind.
Dave Z got away and we fought like dogs to let him build a gap. I was called every name in the book and accused of everything from negative racing to monkey buggery. But at the end of the day, my teammate built a substantial lead and that's what matters.
In the end, he got caught with about 2k to go. I was demoralized for about 5 seconds, but then realized the road opened up at 1k to go as the field swarmed around me. I absolutely went ape-dung and managed to pass enough people in the 1K long sprint to get 6th on the stage.
Afterward, my legs felt like liquid death.
Thanks to Mrs. Z, we had a Z Team dinner that night that could not be beat. And I am here to proclaim, wine is an excellent and truly satisfying recovery beverage.
Stage 2 TT:
My goals:
1. Place high enough in GC to remain something of a factor despite my lack of recovery/hangover.
2. Pass Tim Butler and take time out of his mountain biker ass
3. Not get passed by Mike Larsen; a daunting goal to be sure.
This is absolutely the most kick ass, fun and rewarding time trial course I have ever seen or had the privilege of participating in. I felt like dog meat on the way out and could barely turn my 12 on the way back. But being on that road on a tt bike with a disc was a zen experience.
I ended up 6th on the day.
Stage 3 Cherry City Crit:
My goals:
1). Win; there was no chance I was going to tak any real time out of our GC guy by being aggressive. And this course was a big guy's fantasy. 4 corners, lots of wind, no chance for little people to get away on their silly little bikes.
I wanted to get away and was willing to go with everything that had a pulse to make it happen. At one point, I was so brain dead and oxygen deprived, I actually yelled at Todd Gallaher for attacking the break, forgetting there was a $20 prime on the line.
Persistence paid off and I nailed it. But I almost got nipped on the line with my hands in the air like Boonen did with Cavendish and Cavendish did with Farrar, etc......
Stage 4 70 mile hill Road Race:
My goals:
1) Freakin' survive with minimal embarrasment.
2) Only get dropped by half the field.
We all knew Dave Z. would make a move fairly early. He and I ride this road all the time; he rides it very fast. I ride it like an elephant in a room full of lab mice; very animated, but ultimately simply a pathetic display of floppy ears and flailing trunk.
The first thing I remember from climb one is Dave Z. and Todd Gallagher initiating a trackstand on the wall (before the sheep farm). The next thing I know, Dave was rocketing through the field and gone. I tried to hold onto his little group, but I 'sploded and watched as several small, skinny people herfed their way past me in the first switchback.
I managed to collect my wits and hold onto some wheels in the main group over the top. We collected a few riders from the lead group after the second climb. I made a move right before the Rowena descent that shook off Mike Larsen, my big GC worry and rocketed down the loops. It helps that I've ridden these things about 100 times.
It is here that my hats go off to Matt Slater and Clint Chase, my Z-Team compadres.
Matt stayed with me on the climbs, making sure I didn't get shelled and attempting to keep things sane. He then helped me ensure we put plenty of time into Larsen on the run into the finish. Neither one of us cared about the finish, but we knew significant GC placings were on the line.
We lost Clint somewhere early in the second lap. But suddenly he appeared in what I thought was an absolute balls out drive to the line. Which means, he chased us down at an approximate average speed of 60 mph. Sound impossible? Clint pulled it off and then kicked my ass in the final sprint. Take that you skinny little 22 year olds with pro contracts! Clint rode as fast as you AND he has a life outside this ridiculous sport. Amen!
Overall, it was a splendid event for the Z-Team masters. And furthermore, this is an excellent race! My hats off to Chad Sperry for pullling off what is possibly the most fun event I've had in 25 years of bicycle racing.
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