My first Real Bike Race:
Boulder Center for Sports Medicine Criterium

March 21, 2004

Actually I have entered some other bike races, but they were all hill climbs. I've entered Mt. Evans three times, but that only stays together as a pack for 6-7 miles. I entered the Horgan Hill Climb last year and that pack only stays together to the base of Magnolia (4.5 miles). I've also entered the Mt. Taylor Quadrathlon twice and that is a mass start with 300 bikers and it stays together for 5-6 miles or more sometimes. All of these are very different from a Criterium race, where the circuit is only 1.1 miles in this case, and the pack stays together frequently for the entire race. These races are known for crashes as well and I was reluctant to enter one because of my lack of experience and strong aversion to any injuries. Nevertheless, hanging out with Jilayne and Jeb and Eric (all crit specialists to some degree) had piqued my interest. I figured I had to give it a try.

I entered the Cat. 4 division because they didn't have a separate Gumby class. I arrived only twenty minutes before the race start and was looking for an excuse not to register. I asked how big the field was and was told it was currently at 75 riders. Dang. That was enough for me to bow out and just watch one of these races instead. The 39-degree temperature was also a strong incentive. But for some inexplicable reason, probably to just get it over with, I signed up.

They gave me my number and told me to put it on my right hip. To me that meant attach it to my bike shorts. Luckily before I did this, I noticed that all the other riders had it on their jersey, turned sideways and down pretty low. I had to strip my upper body to attach the number and not only didn’t I get it on very tight, but, and I wouldn’t know this until Jeb mentioned it after the race, I had it on upside down.

I started at the very back of the pack. I knew I should start up front, but I got there a bit late and it isn’t easy to weave up to the front like in a running race. The starter gave us some instructions and told us that lapped riders would be allowed to stay in the race as long as they don’t interfere with the lead pack. I figured he was talking to me. I vowed not to get lapped too early.

The gun went off and I couldn’t get my left foot in my pedal. I was gapped already. I trailed going up the hill and was surprised how fast everyone charged up that hill. I hung on to the back of the pack for a lap and then worked real hard the second time up the hill to move up into the front half of the field. I got nearly run-off the course on one sharp corner and had to brake hard when someone took my line and then charged hard to get back on. At one point a guy was crowding me and I learned that sticking out my elbows and just leaning on him was an effective way to move him off me. Further into the race I put a hand on another rider when he swerved into me. Things are pretty intense in this race as you’re going about 30 mph and frequently within two feet of riders on all sides of you. I’d find out later that there was a crash on the third lap. Luckily I was in front of it and wasn’t even aware of it.

This race was 45 minutes long. The race director sees how fast the group is moving and then after 35+ minutes they start counting down the last laps from five. About 15 or so minutes into the race, I found myself near the front and decided to take the lead position for a lap. I led from the top of the hill all the way around back to the bottom of the hill, where it seemed everyone flew by me. At around twenty minutes I heard the announcer say that the “front group is probably 40-45 riders.” This surprised me as I just assumed we were still all together. I knew we had popped a few off since we had already lapped a few slow riders, but looking around me I could see 40-45 riders next to and in front of me. I figured I must be at the end of the pack, but at least I was still in the front group.

It was a bit windy and no solo breaks succeeded or even got very far off the front. I was just thrilled to be in the pack and didn’t think about taking a flyer…yet. Around 25 minutes into the race a rider went down on the hill, of all places. People are hammering this hill a few more riders plow into him and a number get greatly disrupted or forced to stop. I zigged right and avoided the carnage and the pace seemed to pick up again. I figured we were all taking advantage of splitting the pack even more.

I was watching my clock intently and trying to do as little work as possible. I knew from riding with Jeb, Eric, and Jilayne that a sprinter I am not. I knew I had no chance in this race. It was my first race and I’m sure I had the cheapest bike and the hairiest legs in the field. Yet, I wanted to at least do something. My plan was to wait until maybe ten minutes to go and then try to get off the front for at least a lap before I got swallowed up. You might ask, “Why not go with one lap to go and take a flyer?” Because there is no chance the pack would let you go if you waited until then.

Ten minutes to go came and went. I waited another couple of minutes, but moved up to near the front. I was in second place as we passed the start/finish line and was shocked to hear the bell. This was the last lap! I never even noticed the “Lap To Go” sign. Apparently just keeping my bike and myself vertical was all I could handle. Oh well, I was in a good spot and would at least finish in the pack with a minimum amount of suffering. Being so far to the front, I took the sharp turn onto the hill at high speed and with no traffic, but once again it seemed everyone went by. I was back into twentieth place before the top of the hill. I picked up the draft at the top and rounded the next two turns at high speed. I went hard from the last turn to the finish and moved by a bunch of riders and finished in tenth or eleventh place. I was very satisfied with this result.

The race ended about five minutes early and apparently this is normal. This messed up my plans, but probably worked to my advantage as going off the front would have just blown me up and I would have been lucky to even stay with the pack. Of course, I didn’t think I was going to stay with the pack anyway. So, it ended quite well and I’d like to do another one for sure.

I hung out in the sun on the grass with Jeb’s beautiful wife Tracy while Jeb competed in the 1h15m Cat. 3 race. Those guys were moving fast and there were a lot more attacks. The attacks stayed away for a number of laps as well. The pack had to chase most of the race and it did come all back together in the end. Jeb stayed near the front most of the time and seemed in a good spot at the bell lap. Apparently he got boxed in on the penultimate turn and couldn’t get a good position for the sprint. He finished in the top twenty, I’d guess, but not the top ten. He was a bit disappointed with how the race unfolded. The very fast pace didn’t work to his advantage, as he is a premier sprinter and just needs a good line at the end. Last year he won the State Criterium Championships for the Cat. 4’s and this year he will definitely be a contender to win the Cat. 3’s.

Andrew Couch, the captain of the Rocky Mounts Bike Team, which is also Jeb’s team, was in the Cat. 3 race as well. He crashed hard on the straight near the start/finish and a few other bikers went down with him. He trashed his wheels, but had spares, so he got up, changed wheels, shrugged off his injuries, and jumped back in the pack the next time it came around. They let you jump back in the race after a lap if you have a crash or mechanical problem.

After the race a number of the Rocky Mounts Bike Team were going for a “spin” for 2.5 hours or so. Jeb and I joined the group that included Matson (Big Mat) and Kevin, two very strong riders. Jeb provided me with a PowerBar and a bottle of Gatorade and I joined in the fun. We had eight riders and rode most of the ride in a double pace line, single where there wasn’t a big shoulder. I didn’t do a lot of pulling and was just spinning along and chatting to Matson, Kevin, Jeb, or whoever was next to me. Big Mat put the hammer down on a long hill and strung out the field a bit, dropping a rider or two. I nearly popped off myself, but hung in there until he shut things down to regroup.

We rode east and then north to Longmont, then west to Lyons and did one of the “Fruit Loops” that are a staple of the famous Bus Stop rides. Kevin was pulling into Longmont and he was hammering. I thought, “Who does he think he is? Matson?” We dropped two or three riders here as well, but regrouped in Lyons and then did the Fruit Loop. I was on the front and hammering back into town, trying to do a modicum of work for the group when Matson grabs the back of the seat and pulls me back. He says, “We’re stopping for a cup of Joe here.” I was thankful to be getting off my bike for a bit. We had a nice 15-minute break here before heading down highway 36 back to Boulder.

We weren’t that far down 36 before Matson goes to the front and starts hammering. A break of four went off the front and I missed it. Jeb and I worked together for a bit until we caught one of the riders, who had also been popped. These two dropped me, but they waited for me to get back on and we worked together, catching another rider and then working in a continuously rotating paceline of four. This was cool. As soon as you pulled by the guy on your left, you moved over to the left as well and let the next guy pull through as you slowly worked to the back. We never did catch Matson and Kevin before they turned off to ride Left Hand Canyon up to Lee Hill. The rest of us had been out riding long enough and we continued to Boulder. Jeb and another guy were in front and they shut things down to a very comfortable speed and pulled Tom and I along for at least three miles. I felt guilty just sitting back there on the draft, so I eventually came around to do my share of the work. I figured Tom would do the same and we’d just change positions for a few miles. I didn’t go hard and I didn’t even try to pick up the pace. I was just going to continue the nice spinning. I was surprised when, after a minute or so, I looked over my shoulder and no one was there. What the heck happened?

I soft-pedaled for a bit, but they never got any closer. I waited some more and they still didn’t catch up. It was already passed two and I knew Jeb needed to be back in town by 2 p.m. Oh well, I needed to be back home as well, so I kept going. Once I decided to keep going without them, I cranked it up and passed a bunch of more casual riders. The roads were infested with riders today and I don’t think it ever got above sixty degrees, but it was beautiful out. It was a great day of riding.

Results should be posted here: http://www.americancycling.org/results/2004/mar/march04.htm, at least eventually. They frequently only list the top few riders.

Figure 1: Heart rate, speed, and altitude for the Crit. My heart rated only peaked at 168. That's way low and indicates I could have gone quite a bit harder.

Figure 2: This is a similar plot for the Magnolia hill climb I did on Thursday. Here my heart rate is continually above 160bpm for the entire climb and maxed out at the same value.