Fun time in Baldwin City...

This past weekend I decided to not do the mountain bike race in Ponca, NE; instead I decided to go down to Baldwin City, KS for some road bike racing. I loaded the car Friday after work and headed down with my dog. We stayed at the Days Inn in Olathe, KS. The hotel was okay, but I had that sense that I was glad I didn't have one of those "black light" things.

Baylee, my 8 year old mutt, was so tweaked at being in a different place she was barking at all the odd noises all night long. It didn't help either that a basketball team was staying in the rooms above mine either. We arrived around 10 PM. I set the alarm clock for 5 and tried to get some sleep. Sleep came in spurts, between sleeping in odd surroundings and the dog getting jumpy I awoke at 5:15 AM. As I was staring at the clock I was wondering why the alarm didn't go off. To my amazing stupidity I had set the alarm for 5 PM not AM.

After getting halfway to Baldwin City I realized I forgot my jersey, so it was back to the hotel. We arrived around 7:30, plenty of time to register. The TT was scheduled to start at 8:45 AM. Took the dog for a little walk around town and realized that I also forgot to pack my camera. Baldwin City is a neat little town. There are some neat things in that little town.

Placed Baylee in the car with some water and the windows down. Don't worry too much, I found a nice shady place for the car; also, the TT was only 10k.

Got on the bike and decided to do a casual ride of the course to get warmed up at 8:30 AM. The course was in no way flat, it was all rollers. At least they weren't "femur creamers" like I have experienced before. I pulled up to the start line to find out when I would be scheduled to start; they stated that they had a small computer glitch and they didn't have the list yet. Also they wouldn't be starting until 9 AM. At 9 AM they stated that the cat 5's wouldn't be starting until after 9:30. So it was back to the car, pull out the trainer and keep the legs nice and loose for the next half hour. At 9:30, I headed back over and my "posted" start time was to be 9:50 AM. So I spun around on the streets a little while and headed back.

The cat 5's were getting lined up. While in the line I heard what I can only describe as a starters pistol going off, I even saw a little powder cloud too. Well, it was the guy three places ahead of me. His tire decided to pop. If a tire blows at 120 psi, it sounds like a firearm. The guy pulled himself out of the race because he didn't have a spare. After talking with him after the race he had only signed up for the TT and didn't think he would need a spare.

I pulled up to the starting line and I was off. After 5 seconds my right foot unclipped. Damn! Took a couple seconds and got it back on. Here I was feeling really good and ready to hammer it with everything I had in me. The hills seemed almost non-existent. Arrived at the turnaround and my time was looking good. I tried to coax more out of my legs and lungs. This race was to see if I have improved personally and I could feel it. The greatest sensation is being able to feel the lungs on fire, the hams screaming, and that lovely cramp beginning to form in the side. At this point I pushed it a little more. Crossing the finish I knew I did my personal best to date. The speed was much better than the past, and the time proved it. I didn't make the podium, they apparently breed them lean and fast in Kansas. I accomplished my own personal goal and can only be proud of that. There is definitely room for improvement and sure hope Marc will help with that. I want even more time to be shaved at my next TT.

The Crit for Saturday was to start at 4:40 PM for the cat 5's. I went to the little wheat pizza parlor for some sustenance. I even brought some back for Baylee. Then it was back to the hotel for some resting for the afternoon race.

The temperature and humidity seemed to have gone up considerably and I decided to keep Baylee at the hotel. The crit course was very interesting. Half of the course was on the cobblestone road, there was even a small climb and a small descent too. Racing on cobblestone was definitely not fun. It felt like I was rattling loose all of my fillings. Once again I didn't do so good in the overall picture. I was dropped by the pack after the second lap. My rear tire did a little slide too on a turn but I was able to keep it upright and continue. I finished the race and accomplished my personal goal. It was fun and I definitely need to work on staying with the pack and build my confidence on riding such a tight course.

It was back to the hotel for some food and rest. The weather reports were saying that Sunday was going to be hotter and more humid than Saturday. The Sunday race was supposed to be a 47 mile road race. At this time I started to do some serious thinking. One, I was more than likely going to get dropped from the pack, my skills just aren't there yet; two, I was feeling apprehensive of keeping the dog in the car that long of a time with those high temps; three, my body wasn't really feeling it, I just didn't want to overstress myself and ruin the training I have received at this point.

I hated to make the decision, but I think it was for the best; so we headed back home. After 10 hours of sleep my body was feeling real good and Baylee was glad to be back home. I think I will just take this coming weekend off of racing and just pay attention to training.