Slobberknocker, Turkeys, and JMSR

I have done two races and been on one awesome turkey hunt since my last post so I have some ground to cover. I got a little carried away on my last post so I am going to try and condense a little with this one. The first of the two races was a really fun event right here in Central Arkansas called the Slobberknocker. It is a Mountain Bike event event but most of is on fire roads so it is perfect for a roadie. It took place this year on Saturday, April 21st,  on what was a very cool morning with not a cloud in the sky. Perfect conditions for suffering! I had to catch a flight to Kansas at 2:00 that afternoon for an annual family turkey hunt with my dad, my youngest son, John Collier, as well as my brother and his son. Given the logistics, I had to race the shorter of the two races which was 55 miles of hilly, rolling, classic Ozark Mountain terrain. Adding to the allure of the race this year was the fact that several of my childhood buddies were going to race. Dave Grundfest, David Snowden, Larry Carter, and Michael Lasiter all strapped on their helmets and let the dirt fly and the rubber roll in what turned out to be a really fun day for everyone (some might argue the definition). The longer race was 75 miles but we all started together with the short course racers making a different turn at mile 40 and heading back to the barn.

The first climb was only five miles from the start and is commonly referred to as "Thornburg". It is about two miles long and steep enough to break things up before the course turned off onto the dirt. As we hit the base of the climb I was sitting second wheel and looked behind to see over 100 riders starting to string out down the hill. My goal was simply to be with the front group at the top but I had no idea how many there might be. The guy setting the pace was going hard and I never got out of the big ring in order to keep up. At the top there were seven riders left and we began to work together to open our gap further. At mile 35 after several climbs we hit the first technical section and I was a little nervous about getting dropped by all the mountain bikers since my technical skills are a bit rusty at best. I guess it got my adrenalin going because I slowly began to ride away from the group. In all fairness, however, they were probably not worried about me as I had shared with all of them I was racing the short course and they were all racing the long one. I hit the check point at mile 40 with about a one minute advantage and soloed in to finish in 3:28. My buddies all finished shortly thereafter with very impressive times. All of them placed well in our advanced age group! David Snowden even won the 50+ category for the short course race. After I finished, I grabbed some schwag that was on offer then headed to the car for a quick change, then I was off to the airport for four days of turkey hunting!

My son, John Collier is only 10 years old but is already an avid hunter. He killed his first Gobbler on the second day of our trip on what was a memorable experience for both of us. We called the bird in ourselves, without a guide, and John Collier made a perfect shot for a clean kill. He was beside himself and could not wait to share the news with his ten year old cousin, Silas. The weekend could have ended right then and there and it would have been top five, but it got even better when I was able to take my biggest bird ever. The cream on top is that three generations of East were all together making and sharing lasting memories. We came back to Little Rock on Tuesday and I had to figure out how to lose the 5 lbs. I had gained on the hunting trip by the following Saturday which is when the Joe Martin Stage Race was to begin for all amateur racers.

Evan and Dustin after the Podium ceremony.

The JMSR, as it commonly reffered, is one of the biggest stage races in the country each year with all categories well represented. This year, I would be racing the Masters A Race in the 40+ division and Evan East would be racing the Cat 4 race. The first stage is a horrible Time Trial that ascends into hell as you climb 2.5 miles to the finish racing against the clock. I simply cannot get my body to cooperate with the effort and guys that I can ride away from in races beat me like a yard dog in the TT. Evan, however, thrives in such horrible conditions and stomped the TT with a time that was good enough to put him in 2nd place going into the next event which was a 50 mile road race for him and a 69 mile road race for my group. I, unfortunately, was starting my road race in 14th place due to my dismal performance in the TT and I was itching to take out my frustration in the road race by trying to bend the cranks on my bike! Around mile 30 I got away in a "doomed from the beginning" solo move that saw me gain about a minute on the field at one point. My whole goal was to get to the big climb first in order to be able to take it easy up the climb and hopefully hook up with a small group that made it to the top first. Unfortunately, I got caught right at the base and suffered like a madman to stay with the leaders up the climb. Cramps came soon thereafter and I began to wonder if I could even finish, much less stay with the front group. We had already shelled over half of our field and I was glad to see JD still with the front group and looking strong. I, on the other hand, was looking anything but strong and drifted to the back to try and stretch out my cramps. One of the other "crampers" offered me some Enduralytes which I gladly consumed and then prayed for relief from what has plagued me all season. I must say, however, that on this occasion, I may have earned my cramps with my little 10 mile time trial effort that saw me go nowhere fast. Fortunately, the cramps did begin to subside enough for me to hang on, and even enough to get back toward the front of the group. Three cheers for Enduralytes!!! As we neared the finish there were several of the usual attacks from the guys that can't sprint that took a toll on all of us fighting cramps, and at that time that would be most of us. All the attacks were covered and as we neared the 200 meters to go sign I accelerated hard and got a nice gap that was enough to win the road race. I wish I could say I knew I would win it but I have never been more surprised to win a race considering how I felt with 20 miles to go. The good news was that my teammate, Frank, got a pack finish and held onto his 3rd place in GC. Evan also finished with a pack time in his road race and held on to second place GC. I moved up to 7th place GC as we had dropped several guys that had beat me in the TT.

Sprinting for USED tires!

Evan's 2nd Place

The next day was the criterium and I must admit that is where I am most comfortable. I like it fast, short, and technical. Our crit was only 45 minutes long and on a fairly technical course with a short but steep climb to the finish line and a fast descent on the back side with a 90 degree corner right at the bottom of Dickson Street. It makes for a very difficult, kind of scary course. As the race got under way I was never further back than fourth or fifth wheel and felt really good for the entire race. I even sprinted for a $50.00 prime that was on offer and nobody else even contested it. I also sprinted for a "merchandise prime" that ended up being a pair of USED Vittoria Clincher tires. They were white and very dirty with most of the tread completely worn off. Really? I handed the tires back and the nice lady gave me some butt butter instead. Bruce Dunn may get an email on that one, but that's another story! :-) As we started counting down with three laps to go my teammate, Frank, went to the front to hold the pace high in order to discourage attacks. He rode the perfect lead out as there were no attacks until about 400 meters to go. I was able to easily jump to the wheel of the attacker and sit until 250 to go when I launched my sprint. Going into the last corner I already had  a winning gap with only 100 or so to go before the finish. The win felt good but it is very frustrating to win the road race and the crit and only get 6th place in GC. Such is the life of a sprinter. Frank held his 3rd place GC so the team id well.

 Evan was able to defend his 2nd place with another good finish in the crit and stood on the podium for the second year in a row at one of the biggest races in the country. Dustin and I were very proud of him and I think he was also happy, although, I know he really wanted to win it. Evan has moved up to Cat 3 after his Joe Martin performance and will now be on the receiving end of what he has been dishing out this year. One thing I have learned in life is that no matter how accomplished you are at any given talent, there is always somebody better! So enjoy the journey because you might not even like the destination! Thanks for reading.
   

The Mississippi Grand Prix Stage Race

     I have traveled to Brookhaven,  Mississippi to race the Grand Prix for at least five different versions of the event throughout the last several years. Usually Dustin and all the kids come along and Dustin visits some of her classmates from Millsaps College in Jackson, Ms. which is less than an hour from Brookhaven. This year she opted to stay at home while Evan, JD McCay, Kris French, and Wes Wolfenburger and I took what is supposed to be only a five hour easy road trip in the Rockstar bus. All the guys showed up around noon on Friday, April 13th. We were running a little behind as Kris and Wes both had to race a criterium that evening at 7:00 PM in which only the category 1and 2 racers would participate. The Masters and CAT 3, 4's,  would not do the crit that night, but would race the 55 mile road race Saturday morning, and the 3 mile time trial Saturday afternoon, and the 25 mile circuit race Sunday morning. It is a timed stage race and the person with the lowest time at the end of all the stages wins. Throw in time bonuses for stage wins and one time bonus for crossing the line first in the middle of the circuit race (called a Hot Spot) and scoring these stage races can get a little complicated. I'm getting way ahead of myself because we have not even gotten out of my driveway at this point.

     JD showed up with all our groceries and we began what has become a well rehearsed bus loading ritual. Since we had TT bikes, we had four bikes on the receiver hitch bike rack and four bikes on top of the Master Bed (with a protective old blanket on top of course). We use one of those "boards" that has four fork clamps on it to hold the bikes upright on the bed. It works great. We finally pulled out of the driveway around 12:45 P.M. We were still going to arrive one and a half hours before the crit started so we were looking good until.... Evan said "Dad, why is the bay open over here on the side of the bus?" Whoops, one of the "basement" bay doors had popped open so we pulled over close to the University mall only a couple miles from my house. The boys hopped out to shut the door and reported the bad news. Two wheel bags gone. One had Wes's two Zipp 404's in it and one had Evan's rear Fulcrum in it. So... we have deposited onto the road about $4,000 worth of rolling stock somewhere along one of the busiest thoroughfares in Little Rock. Wes and Kris grabbed a couple of bikes and started riding down the road to find the wheels. Wes made it all the way back to my house about the time I called Dustin to report or predicament. She loaded Wes up into the car to drive back down the road for another look. In the mean time Kris had come back and posted something on Facebook about the wheels. About five minutes later, before Wes and Dustin had even made it back to the bus, Kris got a ping back on Facebook. Community Cyclist Bike Shop had the wheels! They had just been dropped off by some exterminator that happened upon them in the middle of Cantrell and University! Dustin and Wes went to go get the wheels, came back, and we were off again.... it's now 1:15 P.M. We can still make the crit in time.

     As we roll down the I 540 towards Pine Bluff we were all laughing about the near disaster. About that time I wondered if our bed linens that had been washed, had made it back on the bus. Another call to my sweet wife, "Honey, did you put the sheets back on the bus?". Her answer, "Really?". She had washed all the sheets, put them in separate bags for each bed, and set them by the door. Somehow, in my rush to leave, I forgot the freakin' bed linens. Another fire drill. Dustin hopped in her car to meet us at the Dixon Road exit with our sheets that we cannot do without. She arrived in record time and we filled up our fresh water holding tank while we waited, something else we had forgotten to do. As I maneuvered the bus around the gas station to leave, I realized I could not make the turn around the back side which required me to back out of what was a tight squeeze to begin with. In what seemed like an eternity we finally got back on the road.... it's now 1:50 P.M. If we make it in the estimated five hours we will arrive with only ten minutes before the race starts. Kris even questions whether he should even go since he would not be able to start any of the other races if he does not start the crit. I did not even acknowledge his comment and just put the hammer down determined to get he and Wes to the race on time. I even called my buddy, Frank Moak, who promotes the race to request some special consideration for the boys given our mini series of disasters. He said if we get 'em there before the gun goes off they can race. 

     We arrived at 6:35 to the venue in Brookhaven and JD and I and Evan proceeded to pump up tires, pin on numbers, and do everything necessary to get Kris and Wes ready to race. When the gun went off, not only were they on the line, but they had warmed up for at least ten minutes. The crit was fun to watch but I was itching to be racing with them. While I can't hang with the young guys in the longer road races, I can still go pretty fast in the crits and for about two seconds wished I had registered for the Cat 1,2 race instead of the Masters race. After seeing a couple of crashes, I soon purged those thoughts from my head and just sat back and enjoyed watching a good race. Kris and Wes both did really well with Kris taking 4th and Wes taking 7th. After the crit we had a fine meal at Foxy's Pizzeria. It was then off to the venue where the road race would take place the next morning.

     With the races starting at 8:30 we were up around 6:30 for breakfast. It is amazing how hard it is to get a 15 year old out of bed... even when he has a race in one hour! We all finally got suited up and ready to race in what was perfect weather. The temperature was in the low 70's heading for the low 80's with not a cloud in the sky. As I rode to the starting line I looked around at the group and recognized several familiar faces. A big part of racing is knowing your competition. You have to know who to watch in the race, who to chase down, and who to let ride away, knowing they will be back in the pack soon enough. Sometimes those decisions are more difficult, especially when there are teams represented by multiple riders. A team with large numbers can have a significant impact on how the race plays out. One team had eight riders and another had five. Then there was also my old rival, Donnie Davis, a very strong Cat 2 rider out of Florida. I have raced several races against Donnie and he always has an impact in a race. Winning races is something Donnie does well so one is wise to pay heed when he is on the starting line. 

     As the race progressed, I quickly assessed who I thought might be an animator. After only 20 miles a two man break went up the road that contained one member from each of the two largest teams. I quickly accelerated across to the two escapees and looked back expecting the field to be chasing... but they were not. As soon as I saw the peloton hesitate I went to the front and started taking long 30 MPH pulls trying to establish a gap. It soon became apparent that one of the guys would simply not be able to help as he was gassed just riding wheels. We knew, however, that we could not drop him as he was a member of the largest team and they would chase us if he came back to the group. We let him sit on and got down to the business of getting out of sight. The other guy that was helping was taking shorter pulls but he was giving me enough of a break so that we started putting serious time into the field. After about 20 miles of going full gas I knew we would stay away. We could not see the pack even on the longest straights. At mile 46 I started to feel twinges of cramps. Both of the other guys were hurting also but we felt we could stay away with only 7 or 8 miles left to race. At 51 miles I attacked as hard as I could and neither guy even tried to come with me so I focused on time trailing the remaining four miles to the finish. I came in about 1:00 minute ahead of 2nd place and 1:30 ahead of third. I was a full 3:00 minutes ahead of the field, so barring total disaster I felt like a GC (overall) win was in the bag. That afternoon in the Time Trial I rode a 6:02 over the three mile course but may have paid for my long effort off the front earlier in the day. That time was good for enough for 4th place in the TT so I was still in 1st Place GC by a comfortable margin. Evan rode a 6:10, only 8 seconds slower than my time for 4th place in the Cat 3,4 race. I could not believe he rode such a fast time on a flat course. I think he will be crushing me next year! JD also rode a good time considering he was on his regular road bike and most of us were on TT bikes.

Taking the first win of the season in the Circuit Race!

     After a good ole fashion Mexican fiesta at El Sombrero's we headed to the race venue for the next mornings circuit race, which would be four times around a six mile loop through a state park with little to no traffic. The next morning the ritual started over and we all began the process of getting race ready. A very pleasant surprise was the arrival of my childhood friend, Kyle Jennings. Kyle lives in Jackson, Ms and is married to the "Sweet Potato Queen". She is the famous author, Jill Conner Brown and has written several books, many of which have been best sellers. Kyle came armed with a camera which is where the picture came from which is attached hereto. Since our race was only 24 miles I knew all I had to do was manage any breakaway and keep it within the 3:00 minutes I was ahead. I spoke to 2nd Place before the race and he agreed to have his team help JD and I keep things under control. I was pleasantly surprised that both of the larger teams sent riders to the front to keep the pace high which discouraged attacks. I guess they were happy with their 2nd and 3rd places and were going to just try to keep what they had. Donnie Davis had other ideas but every time he tried to get away he had eight guys working to bring him back. I felt a little sorry for him because I have been in similar situations before and it can be frustrating, but today everything was working out just the way I hoped it would, with the race ending in a field sprint. Before that, however, another sprint would take place at the end of the second lap where time bonuses would be awarded to 1st, 2nd, 3rd place riders across the finish line. They would receive 6, 4, and 3 second bonuses respectively which would be deducted from their overall time. As we approached the line for the Hot Spot my goal was to provide JD with a fast leadout so that he might get one the time bonuses available. He was sitting third wheel when I accelerated and he barely missed the third place time bonus. I had gotten a gap when I jumped and ended up with the 1st Place Hot Spot which I did not really need but was glad to have in case I flatted later in the race. You never know when you might need a little time! 

     After the Hot Spot JD and I and Donnie Davis ended up off the front for about 5 minutes but the pack was chasing with all regiments so we were going nowhere. JD continued to close gaps the entire race making sure I was never in the wind. As we approached the finish I slotted in about third wheel and hoped the pace would remain high so there would be no last minute attacks. The two big teams did a great job of ratcheting up the pace so it was strung out single file with 1 Kilometer to go. At that point, a guy that looked like a 6' 4" track sprinter took the pace up to about 25 MPH uphill! He blew up with about 500 meters to go and another guy went to the front as we jostled for position at the front. When we hit the 200 meters to go cone I jumped hard. I looked back with 100 to go and had a winning gap of around 15 or 20 meters. I crossed the line and was relieved to have the first win of the season under my belt! Later I found out JD had held 2nd place until the last 20 meters where he was passed by two riders right before the line. We almost had 1st and 2nd, which really would have been an accomplishment against the larger teams.

     After my race I learned that Evan had attacked his group with 3 K to go and held it until right before the finish where he was swarmed by the field sprint but still held on for 4th place. Kris and Wes both missed the winning break in their race which contained about eight riders. Kris won the field sprint for about 9th place and Wes was just behind him. In spite of some bad luck on Friday the 13th we had a pretty good weekend. I apologize for the length of the post but these stage races are long in and of themselves! Thanks for reading.

Northwest Arkansas Classic

Well, since no one wants to read about a guy getting massive cramps after only 46 miles of racing, I have been struggling trying to come up with what might be considered interesting reading for this particular post. Certainly none of the guys on our bus had what any of us would desribe as a great race, but none of us crashed so I guess there are some bright spots. Anyway, Sunday, April 1st was to be a hot one for early Spring racing. The temperature during the race peaked around 91 degrees and that combined with a 15 to 20 MPH south wind made for tough racing conditions. I decided late in the week that I would race the Cat 1,2 event in order to try and help Kris French who the week prior had finished the Vuelta De Mexico competing against the likes of Oscar Sevilla and Javier Acevedo and other Tour De France Stage winners. In addition to Kris, Wes, Paul, Brady, Frank and I would be representing OKC Velo on the starting line.

The evening before the race Evan, JD, Kris and I had a nice dinner of Bartolli's Chicken Pasta with some good ole Texas Toast cooked expertly in the RV. After dinner, we settled in for a pay-per-view movie, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Not exactly the best movie to gently lead you  into peaceful slumber, but definitely a thriller. The next morning we all had our favorite, Jimmy Deans Sausage, Egg, Cheese Biscuit and an espresso, and then began the pre-race ritual of registration, pinning on numbers, etc...

When 10:00 arrived I felt ready to race. The field size for the 1,2 race was bigger than I had ever seen it in several years of having participated. I would guess there were between 40 and 50 guys on the line. Normally, this category has the smallest field because there are simply fewer Cat 1 and 2's in every state so it was a pleasant surprise to be lining up with so many. When the field is that big you can always expect the racing to be fast. Almost immmediately after the neutral start a Dog Fish rider attacked into the crosswind....solo. No one, except for maybe his teammates, thought he would be away long in such harsh conditions. He was out of sight realtively soon but there was still no panic in the field as we still had 70 miles to race. The first of three 21 mile laps was fairly steady with the occasional attempt to bridge to the lone rider off the front. The Dog Fish team, however, did a great job of controlling all the attacks and brought everything back. Wes Wolfenburger, one of my OKC Velo teammates, sat on the front and rode tempo most of the first lap trying to keep the lone break away within grasp. He totally sacrificed his race for the team and demonstrated the kind of selfless attitude you love to see in a teammate.

The second lap began with what felt like a little more urgency on the part of the field. The pace picked up and there were a lot more attacks. OKC almost always had a man in the attacks but every single attack eventually came back to the field. The second time up the only climb on the course I was in the front and feeling strong. On the false flat after the climb everyone is scrabbling for wheels into what was a fierce headwind. It was then after only 46 miles that I got a debilitating cramp in my left hamstring muscle. I got the kind of cramp that simply won't let go. I stopped pedaling and watched as the entire field rode passed me. I knew my race was over. As we were only 5 K from the start finish area I stopped, stretched out my legs, and eventually got back on the bike to ride back to watch the finish of the Masters and Cat 4 races which were only racing two laps. 

As I sat there in the grass at the finish line I was so damn frustrated. You train your ass off and then get these strange electrical currents that pass through your body and render your muscles useless well before you're fatigued. No one really knows what causes cramps, but everybody has an opinion and there are no shortage of  "secret" formulas for preventing them. For me, so far nothing has worked. I was adequately hydrated and had plenty of electrolytes in my system. My newest theory is that someone told me that to much spinach in your diet will cause cramps. I eat quite a bit of spinach so I am going to eliminate that from my diet to see what happens. What do I have to lose?

As I pondered my plight, the Masters race finished and I was ecstatic to see my teammates roll through in 1st, 2nd, and 4th place, Les, Peter and Jay respectively! JD had missed the break but still came in about 6th or 7th. Next the Cat 4's came through with Evan leading out the sprint from way to far out. He was swarmed at the finish but still managed to place just out of the top ten. A little later the 1,2's finished and the solo breakaway Dog Fish rider won the race after an extremely impressive 72 mile effort! Our best placed rider was Brady (7th), then Frank(8th or 9th), then Paul and Kris. A tough day for OKC in the 1,2 race.

As we packed up the bus to leave, our band of brothers was more quiet than usual with no one really happy with their result. As I reflected on the race during the trip home, I tried to put things into the proper perspective. More important than results is spending time with good friends with common interest, and in my case, spending time with my oldest son. Regardless of the outcome, these times are to be treasured as they are fleeting in this short life of ours. OK....I think I made myself feel better, but I'm still pissed about cramping! I can't wait for the next race! Thanks for reading.