Back in the saddle again
Well, a week after my last post, I broke my hand in the Berkeley road race. A couple of guys crashed right in front of me on a muddy, off-camber corner. I tried to go around them and after skidding sideways for a few feet, I hit a piece of gravel, sealing my fateful rendezvous with the guardrail and the ravine beyond it. When the dust settled, both my hand and my carbon bike were smashed.
A month later I was back on the bike. I got my thesis done and I celebrated graduation with my classmates down at Mission Beach in San Diego where we rented a house for the week. My goals for the summer include 3 or 4 stage races, assuming I survive each one: Mt Hood Cycling Classic (mthoodclassic.com), Elkhorn Classic (Eastern Oregon), Cascade Classic (Central Oregon), and maybe Tour of Utah.
To ramp up for racing again, I have been doing a few fast group rides here and there. Sam just arrived at the house, and Mom and Dad are providing the perfect setting for race preparation: lots of food and sleep. Sam and I scouted out the last stage of Mt Hood on Saturday. It is brutal: every turn you see a new steep hill that just makes you want to cry. The course winds along paved logging roads with Mt. Hood the backdrop for a true battle. Then yesterday we did a road race in Silverton, OR. It was our first Pro/1/2 race and we did admirably, but more than ever it was apparent there is a lot of strength and experience to be gained. At one point, every rider around me was about 6'2" and 30-40 years old, with claves the size of my quads. Super strong. I got dropped just before the last of four laps, and I rode at my tired pace until the end. I probably finished 30th out of 40 or 50. I was happy with the performance though.
We will see how all of this prepares the legs for the days to come.
A month later I was back on the bike. I got my thesis done and I celebrated graduation with my classmates down at Mission Beach in San Diego where we rented a house for the week. My goals for the summer include 3 or 4 stage races, assuming I survive each one: Mt Hood Cycling Classic (mthoodclassic.com), Elkhorn Classic (Eastern Oregon), Cascade Classic (Central Oregon), and maybe Tour of Utah.
To ramp up for racing again, I have been doing a few fast group rides here and there. Sam just arrived at the house, and Mom and Dad are providing the perfect setting for race preparation: lots of food and sleep. Sam and I scouted out the last stage of Mt Hood on Saturday. It is brutal: every turn you see a new steep hill that just makes you want to cry. The course winds along paved logging roads with Mt. Hood the backdrop for a true battle. Then yesterday we did a road race in Silverton, OR. It was our first Pro/1/2 race and we did admirably, but more than ever it was apparent there is a lot of strength and experience to be gained. At one point, every rider around me was about 6'2" and 30-40 years old, with claves the size of my quads. Super strong. I got dropped just before the last of four laps, and I rode at my tired pace until the end. I probably finished 30th out of 40 or 50. I was happy with the performance though.
We will see how all of this prepares the legs for the days to come.
posted by Unknown at 7:02 PM
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