Whew. It has been a whirlwind few
weeks. A few things to cover, namely the Versailles DINO race. As detailed in
our last episode, the race in North Vernon left me without a saddle and in some
pain. While initially things felt mostly good, the leg continued to bother me.
This may have contributed to what I can only call a mid season slump.
For some reason I was lacking the
spark in my rides. When I needed to go fast, it just wasn’t there. Not sure how
else to describe it, but the whole training side of things did not happen. I
would wake up some mornings before work for a ride, and instead just roll over
and go back to sleep. Just not feeling like
getting on the bike. Then, the Tuesday before Versailles, I had a bout of a
stomach illness which knocked me on my heels. I won’t go into details, but I
have never been that sick before. No sleep in the early morning hours followed
by terrible weakness once the sun rose. An impending vacation required me to go
to work, but I still took a half day, and by mid morning I was feeling somewhat
better, but still very tired.
That night I had a softball game,
and my wife and some of our friends commented that I didn’t look that good, and
that I seemed abnormally thin. So…the rest of the week I was trying to recover
from that adventure, but not with much success. My rides were slow, heart rates
low, and there wasn’t any fire. I drank lots of water and started to feel
better before the weekend. Day of the race I was feeling just ok. I got to
Versailles early and pre-rode some of the course. While the course is hilly,
Versailles does not have sustained climbing. Most of the elevation gain is
rather gradual and not terribly noticeable. The one exception is a climb up a gravel
fire road which is somewhat longer, but not enough for my tastes, and a short climbing
section near the beginning.
We had a decent sized 30-39 group
and the start went well. Due to my fun sickly week, I was going to hold back a bit and
work my way up over the course of the 16-17 mile race. I went into the woods at
about 7th or 8th position. The pace was slower than I
would have liked, and once on Cliffside, a racer two places up faltered on the
waterfall crossing, which required some effort to avoid.
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| The only photo I have from the race. I'm just under the 'S' in Start looking down the row at all the racers who are about to beat me. Photo: DINO |
Once on the Grandview trail, I
passed another rider and then set off in earnest to catch Bryan D. whom I kept
spotting through the trees. Not too long afterward, Brian W. caught me and
passed me. I tried to keep with him, but the power just wasn’t there. I kept
him in sight for awhile, until the twisty and vegetation covered back portion of
Grandview. All of the sudden I came around a corner and found both Bryan and
Brian in a pile. Apparently they had mixed it up and while they seemed ok, they
were still trying to get their bikes in order. I passed them, but they were
just too strong and just before a downhill, I allowed them both to pass.
Soon thereafter we came to the
gravel climb I mentioned above. I pushed as hard as I could, and spotted both B
& B (easier than typing their names again) ahead. I closed, and during the
downhill following the climb and got around Bryan D. when he downhilled off the
trail for a bit. He got going again and was behind me, while Brian W. was
within sight ahead. Thus ended the first
lap.
I was starting to feel good. I
was not in the top three, but I felt that if I could keep Brian W. in sight,
things would work out. My only concern was my cornering. It seemed like my
front tire pressure was too low, and I was having issues with it washing out as
I ran into corners and turns. This bit me on the Cliffside Trail during the
second lap. I got a bit close to the edge of the trail, and I suddenly started
to lose traction. Glancing down at my front tire it looked like it was doing
its best to run off the rim. Again, air pressure was a bit low. I actually
started to go off the cliff which gives Cliffside its name. I managed to stop the
unexpected downhill run, but I was off the trail on the downslope and in a
tangle of weeds. Bryan D. came riding up and passed me before I could get back
on the trail, and then I was off again.
I was pissed about the unexpected
detour but figured both B & B were not too far ahead. After getting off the
cliffy part of Cliffside, I tried to use my new gel flask. In my continuing war
to stop my gels from falling off when taped to my top tube, I bought a flask
and figured it would be easier to take gels. Eh. Not so much. I took one swig,
and before I could take a second, I hit a root on a relatively easy section of
trail and the flask bounced out of my hand. My reaction was an out loud, and
very little kid sounding “aw man,” but I continued onward.
After this, not much happened. My
legs were never really there, and my cornering issues continued. I could spot a
few riders ahead of my at times, but couldn’t close. In the end, I came in at 6th
place in the age group, and 25th overall. My worst finish in quite
some time (aside from the DNF at North Vernon).
Seemed like a lot of others had
rough days. Some racers typically at the head of the standings were down, while
others had nasty crashes or mechanicals or flats due to the numerous rocks on
the course.
So what happened? I think I can
trace it back to the illness on Tuesday. That was rough and my body took a hit.
While I was recovering, I didn’t bounce back as quickly as I would have liked
and I think it hit me hard. Like I said, I seem to be a rough mid season patch
now. Motivation is down and the results aren’t there. Something needs to happen
to right the ship, get the train back on the tracks, etc.
Now for something not cycling
related. The day after the race my wife and I left for vacation. You might
recall the last vacation in 2012. Yeah, not exactly a yearly thing for me. Like
Vermont two years ago, we spent a week in Maine, splitting our time between Bar
Harbor and Portland. It was a great week, and while there was a bit of biking,
generally other activities were pursued.
For one, we climbed Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. Topping out at just over 1,500 feet, it is no Mount Mansfield (4,400) but the hike up (and down again) was tough. Lots of boulder hoping and steep grades. The reward was a kicking ass on the hike while others drove to the top, and taking some great photos.
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| Marsh near the trail head. Lump of rock in the background is Dorr Mountain |
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| Junction of the Canon Brook Trail and the South Ridge Trail. Hike to summit was above the treeline from here on out. |
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| Summit! |
I think all vacations from here on out should include a
mountain climb if possible.
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