2016 Tour of Tucker County Road Race

Each year for the past five or six years, I start the Memorial Day weekend with a drive to Tucker County, WV for the Tour of Tucker road race.   Each year, I look forward to the challenge, and yet dread the agony of this race.  And each year, I struggle to finish in the top 15 of the Masters 40+ class.

A seven mile long climb up Limestone road is a difficult but manageable start to the 56 mile race.  Then, a ride across a rolling mountain ridge eventually drops to Route 50 in Aurora which puts racers into one of the fastest three mile switchback road descents in WV....quite possibly the only real opportunity to rest the legs.  From there, Rt. 50 to Rt. 72 offer some "relatively" flat riding with two steep climbs back to Saint Thomas.  Finally, the true test of the legs and lungs begins at mile 48 with the steep 1900ft climb up Sugarland road to the giant windmills at 3500ft elevation on top of the mountain.

Every year in the past, I've gone out too hard from the start, only to fight wind alone on the ridge, and eventually suffer leg cramps on the Sugarland climb.  This year, however, I managed to hang on to a small chase group of Masters 40 and 50+ racers to the top of Limestone Road.  At that point, the group dwindled to just myself and a racer in the 50+ category.  We traded pulls, picking up and dropping other racers along the way until we reached Saint Thomas.  From that point on, he pulled ahead in his own race with other 50+ guys, leaving me alone to tackle the final climb that I know from past experiences will cause leg cramps, overheating, and doubt that I would ever come back and race again.

During the final climb, I was passed by another 40+ male.   Struggling to stay within 30 yards of him, I contemplated lying in the creek adjacent to the road to lower my core temperature.  For miles, there seemed to be a power threshold that muscle cramps in both legs.  As the competitor reached the steepest grade next to the cemetery, I noticed he was beginning the fight with cramping muscles as well.    My last gulp of water was enough to get me past him with only a mile to go.   Then, after the final surge to the top I rolled across the finish line for a 5th place spot on the podium

Bye Bye School and Hello Cycling!

It took me a second to figure out what photos I wanted to go along with my post, but then the idea popped in my head to use a picture of my “racing wall” in my apartment. TADA! I was surprised to see how many ABRA races (17 pictured here and a few random 5Ks) I have done in the last year and a half.  What surprised me even more were the improvements that I have made despite not being able to ride my bike much this school year!

I started pharmacy school in the past year, and was I surprised to learn how much time I would have to dedicate to school and work instead of exercise. It turned out to be a major adjustment period. I spent an hour here and there a few times during the week on a stationary bike and ran on the treadmill. Some days it was difficult because of how fatigued I was from my near nonstop days during the school year. Not ideal circumstances, but I would go hard during those sessions to make the most of them. If I wasn’t able to get out on a bike for a few hours at a time, mind as well make the hour sessions worthwhile! Apparently I was doing something right with this method of training.

Now that the school year is done, I have been able to do a bit more with cycling. A 6^th place finish in the Women’s 3/4 race at Steel City Showdown was a great way to start off the summer. Let’s see if I can keep this going later in the year!