Posted by Dan on 25. April 2011 04:01
Our plans for Easter weekend were shaping up to be very exciting (as far as races go). On the menu for Saturday was the second running of the Dismal Dash Time Trial and everyone's favorite course, the Meadows Farm Circuit Race. Very hard to decide which to do, so we chose to do both. A polite request ensured us an early start time at the DDTT so Frank and I could make it to Doswell for the 1/2/3 race before the 1:30 start. I set about designing a recovery plan that would surely restore me to peak condition while making the two hour drive north.
Wednesday brought the cancellation notice. DDTT would not be taking place due to lack of volunteers. Very disappointing news as I've learned to base my self-worth on my time trial results. Fortunately, I'm only as good as my last time trial, where not only did I take first place, but I did so with a one minute time bonus so I'm in a pretty good place mentally. On the bright side, Frank and I could now do the Cat 3 race, part of the GamJams Cat 3 Cup p/b Mountain Khakis series and take our place in the 1/2/3 painatorium. Jerry would also be changing his weekend plans to include the Cat 4 race in lieu of the TT. The promise of 70 miles on the Meadows Farm course helped dispel the disappointment. This is a very fun course, complete with "9 - 90 degree turns and a few sections that will split the field into two separate groups out of a fast downhill." Awesome.
Once again, the weather was a craptastic grab bag of spring dismalness. Reports predicted mid-50s with winds around 10 mph and 30% chance of rain. Apparently that means it'll rain for 30% of the time. It rained on and off the whole way up to Richmond, quitting around 9:30. A thick blanket of clouds kept the sun from coming out and drying up the rain, so it sucked (and that is why I do not write children's songs). The forecast also called for mid-afternoon sun with temps soaring above 80 degrees. Didn't seem possible at 9:30.
It was still 53 and some change when the 3s lined up. No rain, but the new pavement was wet with standing water. It took a lap or two (or more) for everyone to get comfortable with the various hazards, such as the crumbling patch job in the second 90 degree turn, the mud on the outside of the third or the puddles on the back stretch. Eventually, lap times increased, brake pads cooled and we could get on with the business of racing.
A few early break attempts were shut down, but they took a little longer to catch each time. When Mickey Turner (CBC/HPC) took off with Tom Jeffery (Richmond Velo Sport), Tony Abate (District Velocity) and a handful of others, it looked promising. We'd eventually shell the handful of others and then Mickey. Somehow we picked up Jose Nunez (Haymarket). The four of us would stay away with a chase group of about a dozen or so followed by the remnants of the field. On the bell lap, Tony and I opened a small gap on the other two. He led through the final turn and started his sprint right around the 200m to go sign. I managed to close a 10' gap and pass him on the line for first place. Tom took 3rd and Jose got 4th. Mickey took 5th in the bunch sprint and Frank got 7th after a monster chase effort to bridge from the main field to the chase group without much help, or as the high school kids would say, "He celeritied the nonsense out of that gap."
The Cat 3 Break (workin' that corner). Photo by dbg produxtionz.
While we ate, drank and rested for the upcoming 1/2/3 race, Jerry lined up for the 4. Jerry was on course warming up when the 4s started massing up so he started off in the back row. Not an ideal position for such a technical course. He fought to maintain contact, but like many (60% to be exact), he was soon cut loose and time trialed it until he was pulled near the end. The Cat 4 field was shredded, just like last year. Lots of carnage.
Jerry having a blast or the worst time ever. Photo by Jerry S. Altares.
Celerity Cycling's last race would be the 1/2/3. Frank and I had no delusions of doing well in it, but we both certainly planned on a respectable pack finish. We were so naive. First off, just like Jerry in the race before, we were caught out on course, spinning up the legs when everyone began lining up so we took a seat on the back of the bus. It's always a lot more fun in the back because all the serious guys jockey for the line and second row. The guys in back are much more jovial and relaxed. So our Chief Ref says go and our lofty expectations of staying with the main field are instantly in jeopardy. The pace started super-fast and stayed that way forever. The pack was a single line, stretching out for miles and miles ahead of my position, which was somewhere near dead last. I was feeling fine and knew the pace would ease (eventually... maybe) so I took the opportunity to bounce my theory of what gold REALLY is off Jeff Craddock. He wasn't in a talkative mood. No one was. Within a few laps, gaps started appearing in the line all over the place. It was like explosive charges had been placed throughout the field and they all went off at the same time. I remember sitting in the back with a clear view of the entire race from my vantage point in the back, thinking "I can get up there by leapfrogging from group to group. No sweat." Except that the gaps grew exponentially and in the time it took me to move to the next group, the next gap was virtually unbridgeable. Frank was right there with me in the groupetto with many of the guys that had done the 3 race, but I didn't wait for him. I made my leap and picked up a few riders along the way, but it wasn't to be. I feel that the words "epic fail" are fairly apt here.
Frank giving us Magnum while he drags the other 3 Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Photo by K. Horvath.
Results that were posted before I left:
