New York City Spring Bicycle Racing Series - 4/3/2010 - Prospect Park (Brooklyn)
22.4 mile circuit race, 7 laps, 50 entrants
4:30am. Wake for 6:30am start. Eggs, apple, milk, juice. Dark. Wife groggy but supportive...coming. Load car, out the door. First race of season...too tired to be nervous. Arrive Prospect Park. Still dark. 45 mins to start. Dress, prep tires, check bike. Apple, cleats, Gu, heart rate monitor. Register, pin-on race number, hit bathroom. 5 mins to start. Sun rising. No time for warm-up. Line up, relax, breathe. "3-2-1...BANG!"...race underway. Immediate multi-rider crash ahead...pass safely. Seeing course for first time. Gradual climb - 1000 meters...small chainring, middle cassette...18mph to top of rise, then gradual descent...big ring, middle cassette...smooth strokes...36mph. Middle of pack. Wind whistling through helmet. 1/2 lap done. Roadway narrowing, cones/barriers either side. Pack nervous. Road leveling off. Loose debris hazard...Race Marshalls waving pack around. 3/4 lap done. Easy rise to start/finish... Cheers from wife...1 lap complete. Middle of pack. Heart rate up, legs good, nerves on edge. Pace quickening, gradual climb (19mph), breathing hard. Backside descent (38mph), working hard. Pack tight and twitchy. Sun is up. Through the narrows...watching cones/barriers...crash to my right. Hanging on, last 1/4 of pack. Past hazards, back to start/finish...more cheers. "5 laps to go!"...winded, fighting to stay in, looking for shelter, guzzling liquids. "4 laps to go!"...course becoming familiar, feeling better, climbing strong, settling in...pack tightly bunched. "3 laps to go!"...moving up through pack...hydrate, spin, breathe, climb, breathe, hammer, breathe. "2 laps to go!"...commit to big chainring for remainder...climb faster, descend faster (40mph). No breaks yet, moving up smartly, pack still bunched. "Bell lap!"...front 1/3 of pack. Big ring climb (19.4mph)...feeling strong to the top. Should I break?...decide not...let others work, take shelter, stay alert, save strength. Fast descent, 1/2 lap to go. Safe through narrows, 1000 meters left. Still no breaks...gotta' go NOW!...looking for a lane, boxed in tight, too late to wait, throw chain down casette, out of the saddle, around the outside...300 meters. Passing, grinding, panting, pulling...no lane to sprint...some power in reserve but nowhere to go. Final kick, squeeze past one more at the line. Now sit up, coast, breathe, count riders ahead ("3, 6, 9...maybe 10"), stretch, recover...consider how to improve.
Results not posted yet, but I believe I was 10th or 11th of 50. Headed to Plymouth South Criterium next Sunday (4/11). GOOD LUCK TO COMPREHENSIVE RACE TEAM MEMBERS!
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