This Saturday marked the beginning of a new team and the ending of this season... or so I'm thinking at this point. There was a time in the not so distant past when I refused to see myself racing as a Master level cyclist. Although my passport keeps telling me I'm in my late 40's, my easily persuaded ego keeps convincing me that I'm a 28 year old Cat 3 (actually I am a Cat 3, just no where near 28) and poised to "cat up" to a 2 and race alongside our country's most promising amateur racers. This past spring, I decided to do my first Masters race thinking it would be an easier introduction to the racing season given my late start to training, which began in earnest towards the end of February. What I found was Masters racers are fast as hell! Most of these guys are Cat 1 and 2 USA Cycling road racers as well as a bunch of strong Cat 3s. They almost all have a ton of experience, which means they know how to make you hurt and when to do it so you suffer the most. This season I've raced against an ex world track champion and an ex Olympic gold medalist and a bunch of other guys that are just plain strong, for any age. So after experiencing Masters level racing and just how much fun and difficult it was, I decided to make an effort to establish myself with the regional masters ranks and start knocking out some strong results. I knew it was going to take a lot of work and it's been since 1994 since I raced with any consistency. Oh yeah, it was going to take a LOT of work.
So now we're at the end of the 2011 season and I've switched teams and joined forces with the OKC Velo Masters Team on the coat tails of my good friend Hunter East. If you know Hunter, you'll understand what I'm talking about. If you don't know Hunter, google him and you'll see his name at the top of a lot of race results (He was the top ranked Masters road racer in the country a few years ago.) Hunter is a talented and very hard working friend who happens to share my love of cycling and bow hunting. Yes, you heard me, bow hunting. It may sound odd to some of you but the two have a lot in common and while I'd love to s'plain myself in more detail, it would require a lot more words than I have time to put down in this blog today. Having this unique blend of sporting passions as well as some similar outlooks on life and living, Hunter and I have forged a close friendship and one we wanted to share as teammates. So, Hunter and I are now on the same team with a great group of guys that are loosely based out of Oklahoma City. OKC Velo races primarily in the south central and KC areas and every year fields a potential national champion or two. They're good.
Everything was in place with OKC Velo and now it was time to communicate my change of teams to some of my teammates and friends at CARVE, which proved more difficult to do than originally thought. Not that they were being difficult about my turncoating, it's just that I'm a very loyal guy and making any split like this one can be challenging for me. However, after all of the formalities were completed, it was time for Hunter and I to drive up to the Har Ber Meadows Criterium in Springdale, AR for what should be our last race of the season. I was eager to prove myself as a selfless teammate with our new brothers in arms and after some brief pow wowing, we had a race plan in place and I knew what I had to do to get our team the Win.
As we lined up for the start of the short 40 minute race, I noticed some very strong riders in our bunch and a large field to boot. I love larger fields as it keeps the race fast and interesting and also a good place to hide when you need a rest. We had 7 OKC guys at the start line and it was time to have some fun racing with a plan. The race started out quick and I was well positioned to chase down the first lone attacker and did so easily as he was right next to me when he went off the front. All I had to do was stand up out of the saddle and accelerate to his wheel and off we went. The guy made a great effort and we got a decent gap quickly of about 10 or 20 seconds. After about a lap, he looked around and motioned me to pull through and do my share of the work. He wasn't very happy when I shook my head and told him it wasn't in the plan for OKC Velo today and I wouldn't be helping him out. We had a certain race winner in Hunter and I had every intention of making sure we chalked up the big W in my first event with the new squad. Besides, I hadn't raced in a while and this guy was sure to beat me in a sprint in the event we managed to stayed away until the end. Getting second was not what we wanted so I did the right thing and made this guy to do all of the work. It was only a few laps before we got caught but in the mean time he and I won a 1,2 Prime and I netted $25 for the effort. Bonus!
The race marched on and I chased breaks and generally kept up at the front for the first third of the race and was happy to be an active participant in our team plan. However, the legs were getting a little tired after not racing for a month and they needed a lap or two recover. So I went back in the pack to settle in for a short rest when the decisive attack went up the road. I missed it! If only I had raced in the past month, I wouldn't have needed the recovery time and could have made the break. But not today, I didn't have the legs at exactly the wrong time and I suffered the consequences. As the break gained a few seconds on us, I looked behind me and we still had over half the field in our group and 4 teammates up in the break, including Hunter. Our plan was still viable and I knew the other OKC guys would be marking attacks and making sure Hunter was positioned to win. So it was time to make some decisions, chase back up to the break to help the other guys, and potentially drag a strong sprinter up that might possibly beat Hunter, or control our group and insure the break succeeded. We chose the latter and, while it was no fun not being a part of the pointy end of the race, it was the right thing to do at the time. The race ultimately ran its course and Hunter, having one of the best days he can ever remember, had chased down a lone attacker and ended up winning the sprint from his breakaway companion... sorry, I don't remember his name, but he was a huge bald guy that looked like an NFL linebacker complete with menacing tatoos... he was also strong as hell...just not as strong as Hunter on this beautiful day.
So the end of the season and the beginning of a new team venture turned out fantastic. It was also very rewarding to see my old teammates at CARVE win the Cat 4/5 and 3/4 races as well as my junior prodigy, Zack Lavergne, establish solo breakaways in both the 4/5 and 3/4 races for a total of about 40 minutes off the front! Those were some huge efforts by Zack and he almost pulled off the win in the 4/5 race but got caught with half a lap to go. I felt so bad for him but knowing he has many wins in his future helps ease the pain a little.
Now it's time to start prepping for archery deer season and try and maintain enough motivation to stay fit so I start next season with good legs and a fresh team.
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