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.
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| 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.
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