Don't Let Him Go

This month has been rather uneventful for me on the bike racing front. I started in two races, but only finished one, due to an unfortunately timed injury.

The first race of this month, the Fort Classic Road Race, was a lot of fun, I raced in the 4/5 heat, and ended up with a pack finish. I was initially worried about the race because of some of the sharp turns, but, after the first lap on the eight mile course, I was pretty confident. I didn't have much problem keeping with the pack, it felt almost like a long criterium to me.

Me enjoying my new CAAD10 at the Fort Classic.

With three miles to the finish, another rider took off from near the front of the pack, I realized who it was, and decided that I wouldn't let him get away, Willem is a very strong rider, and I thought if we worked together, we may be able to make it stick until the end. With that thought, I surged and caught him. We were really moving, each taking short pulls at very high speeds. After the race, I learned that my teammates, Jeff and Jerry were blocking for me, thanks guys!

Our break held until the finish line was in sight, I could see the silo and could almost taste victory. I signaled for Willem to take a pull, and looked back. The pack had caught us! I attempted to keep in the front and sprint for it, but I was completely out of juice, and just coasted over the finish line.

After the race, Willem and I pondered that if we had another man in the break, we may have had the victory. Well, next time we'll both be much wiser in situations like this.

My other race this month was the Hilly Billy Roubiax, a crazy 70 mile dirt road race. I entered the race in the single speed category, fully intended on finishing, however, there was an event that prevented just that.

On the Wednesday prior to the Hilly Billy, I was riding in a fast paced group ride when my right quad started cramping, I did as I usually do, and just pushed harder. This time however, my leg had different ideas, it kept cramping even after I got off of the bike, and didn't subside until the next morning. When I woke up, my quad was bruised and swollen, and seemed to cramp every time I moved it. It didn't look good.

Early in the race, when I was feeling good.

Before the Hilly Billy Roubiax, I took some anti-inflammatory medicine and hoped for the best. By mile thirty, I had to give up, my leg had started cramping again, and bad! I stopped at a turn and asked the corner marshal how long until the next rest stop, he could tell I was hurting, and offered me a ride back to the start. I was overjoyed to not have to ride another mile.

Next month, I'll ride in the Barbour de Tour, the race I crashed out of last year, this time around though, I'll do my best to avoid that.

Take care,

Jonathan