Methow Valley Stage Race

The short version: Judd and Jeremy from Joe Bar raced their bikes for 2 days in the Methow Valley.

The long version:
SAT 6/14
Time Trial: 9.6mi. of rolling hills, out and back in Mazama. The last hill on the way back was the killer. I felt good thanks to suggestions for a solid warm-up and Charlie's TT bars. Also, I had the opportunity to pre-run the course a couple of times. Since I registered so dang early, I was 2nd out the gate. The guy behind me (30 secs back) caught me on the first hill, about 1-1.5mi. in. I made up for it by passing the man in front of me :). I, of course, had to mess something up, so at the turn-around, I swung a little wide and rope into the gravel by the side of the road :) I recovered without falling or getting off my bike (thank you cross season!). I ended up with something like a 25min time, putting me in 29/46. I think Judd's bro, Andy got 7th or so and Judd was a bit further down the list from me. I averaged something like 22mph which seemed reasonable, given the course and my TT experience (which is none).

Crit: 40mins around 4 blocks in old-town Twisp. A few chunky bits of pavement, but nothing too bad. Turn 3 was a bit sketch since it was downhill into the turn, then a bit off-camber and uphill comming out. It also featured several small potholes in just the right places to make it interesting. My plan was to get behind Judd or Andy and just stay there. It sounded good in theory, but in execution, not so much. Just like my cross race starts, I didn't really jump on the gravy train right away and missed my chance to get behind Judd, who was already moving up before turn 1. I tried to relax and wait for things to spread out before trying to move up. On lap 2, I went for an opportunity to pass a dude from Der Sportsmann and blew past him on the back straightaway. This of course meant that I entered the infamous turn 3 much faster than I had before, and took a different line. This "new" line featured at least 3 potholes previously described and as I bounced around, I tried to self-correct by sitting up. This was not smart as it meant that I stopped turning mid-turn and (go on, guess...) I rode into the dirt on the side of the road (anyone catching a theme?). Again, cross handling came in handy and I managed to not go down, but by the time I was back on course, I was now at the very back of the pack. A la cross season as well, I started to pick people off and re-advance. Every time I caught someone, they would slow down, hoping for me to pass them so they could ride my draft up to the next people. Every time, I bit. It seemed like good racing strategy to them (and I would have done the same if someone came from behind me), but we weren't getting anywhere by playing games with each other, so, like I said, I bit. Slowly we advanced, catching person after person. I was feeling good, but couldn't go any faster than I was. Apparently the main pack was much faster and after 22mins, I got pulled. I can at least console myself because I was one of the last people to get pulled. Oh well. I got to watch the rest of the race go down. Andy got a prime (free massage!) and with Judd, made it to the end of the race! (sorry, I forget what places they got). Our race started with about 50 and only 23 finished, so again, I don't feel so bad.

SUN 6/15
Road Race: 54 mi.; 4 laps on 13-ish mi loop on rolling country roads
The biggest hill was right at the beginning, so I was happy when I found out that we would roll neutral up that then begin racing. Some of you may remember my (in)famed performance out at Longbranch, which I did not want to repeat. I had a healthy b-fast early on and a good 30min warmup on the trainer. I showed up early to the lineup and got a good spot. We took off at 8:30 and I felt great. we went up the hill at a nice gentle pace and even when we began racing, we only picked it up a bit. I was holding 5/6 wheel in a 2X2 train and having a pleasant conversation with a guy from Byrne. The course starts by going up several small hills, so I don't think anyone was complaining about the pace. Once we hit the first downhills, however, things started to get fast. Then we hit another hill and dropped to 9mph :).
Finally, after 1/2 a lap, the strong kids got bored and we were racing. Every time I got too close to the front, I tucked in behind someone who looked safe. I was feeling warm and strong (and NOT blowing up) and grabbed an awesome spot behind Benny the teenager. We moved up a bit more and I moved over behind Der Sportsmann again. BEEP!!!! WRONG ANSWER!! Please goo to jail, do not pass go and do not collect $200. For whatever reason, on a perfectly flat section of road, he locked his rear wheel and started to fishtail. I did the same, only I was a bit to the right of him and fishtailed into (any guesses? c'mon just one...) the dirt. Now I'm 3/3 for stages during which I end up in the dirt. I dabbed one foot and quickly made it back to the road as the last man in the peloton passed me. The follow car was nice and sat behind me, giving me a chance to catch back up, which I did in about 1 mi.!
Feeling strong and psyched, I immediately started vocally announcing my way back into the pack. "One your right!" "Comming through!" "Oh sh@#t!". The reason I caught the peloton was because it was accordioning at the beginning of an uphill. Some DB pulled directly in front of me and locked his rear wheel up. "Not again", I thought to myself. YES, again. I was in the ditch. I am now entirely convinced that the Bike Race Gods have chosen me for off-roading and not for road-racing. I wasn't the only casualty though, 2 other folks had gone down on the pavement near the back of the pack. Unscarred and undeterred, I was back on the bike while the follow car took care of the other two. I was off on another TT to catch the pack, only this time I was on empty. As hard as I could try, the pack still got gurther and further away. Eventually the follow car passed me and I was left to the warm sun and smell of flowers. I made an honest effort for nearly 20 mins to regain the group, but eventually I just settled in for a 40mi. TT behind them (it was like a break, but backwards). I thought about it for a few minutes and finally decided to "pass" this race, regardless of position.
On the back half of the 2nd lap I caught a guy who had been dropped, so we chatted and pushed each other a bit to keep the pace up. He left once we got back to town, but thankfully a break had gone off the race behind me, so I got to go through all the stop signs in town between the break and the pack (it was womens 1/2/3). Their peloton passed me on the main hill and I went back to smiling and enjoying the sun.
As I crested the next hill, I could see their follow car way ahead. I got closer, though, but it hadn't moved. Then I got even closer and saw Der Sportsmann standing behind it. As I slowly rode around the car, I saw the carnage. Probly around 12 men 4/5 standing, sitting or in one man's case, lying down with a blanket over him. Bikes were strewn across the road and in the ditch, one was even broken in half. The guy on the ground wasn't doing well. Complaining of chest pain, shaking uncontrollably, labored breathing and a slew of other issues didn't give me much confidence that he would re-enter the race anytime soon. The official had already called an ambulance, but I put down my bike anyways and talked to the guy a bit to try to calm him down and get him as relaxed as possible. As I looked around, I realized that several of the people who were involved had been people I had picked out as "safe" wheels to follow. I was able to piece together the story that someone had tried to swerve a bump, crossed the yellow line and pulled back in ASAP, knocking the guy next too him over and taking out the entire middle line of the pack plus some (including, I found out later, Andy, Judd's brother, but I think he is alright). A very sharp reminder of some of the dangers of road racing.
After the ambulance arrived, I hopped back on my bike, still intent on finishing the race. While I had been with the accident group, though, the Cat 4 women passed me, so I was now at the back of everything. Whatever.
As I finished my 3rd lap, I saw a rider with a bib number ahead of me. A carrot. With renewed psych for hunting people down, I chased this person up the steep hill and soon caught her. She seemed quite content to hop on my wheel and after a few mins of pulling, I backed off and started a covnersation. It turned out she had been in the Women 1/2/3 race and dropped her chain and just never caught her race again and, like me, just wanted to pass the race. It was nice to have company to push me a bit and to stay focused even on the windy hills. With the 200m sign in sight, we agreed to sprint for it and soon crossed the finish line, much to the amazement of the 1 official eating her lunch there (she had to throw her food down to write down out bib numbers). I only chatted with Judd for a few moments after the race, but it sounds like he only arrived a bit before me. After dropping his brother off at the car, he and his friends did the same as me and simply finished.

All in all, it was a really fun event. It was great to have small fields (none were bigger than 50), especially for my first crit. I felt happy with how I did, not necessarily my results, but my physical efforts and my attempts to try new tactics. I especially liked doing the stage race. it was fun to get up early and do an event and have to spin out and stretch and eat, then do another the same day, spin, stretch and eat, then race the next day! the whole process of it, i guess, is what i liked.

sorry for the novel!
-jeremy