#freewheel-britesport

[britesport]

Things I learned in Winters, Ca. : Baby's First Steps

This past weekend was my first foray into the wonderfully competitive world of a category 2 cyclist. the race at hand was being held in Winters, California and is called …wait for it … Winters Road Race! the P/1/2 group was scheduled for 4 laps of the 24 mile loop. during the 96 miles i had a lot of time to observe and ponder my surroundings, here is a brief list of some of the things i learned along the way:

• hot air balloons are REALLY big.

• neutral roll outs can, and will, surge up to 30mph.

• 30mph is approximately 48kmh.

• it is possible to strike your right pedal and drop your chain while descending through a sharp left.

• it is also possible to shift a dropped chain back into mr. big ring while descending and pedal onward.

• rotating pace lines are crucial.

• personal space is all but nil within the P/1/2 peleton.

• casual conversation during a race is PRO.

• it is possible to find a kick ass burrito in winters, ca.

• fig newmans are loved by all.

• finishing is always worth the work. 

with love,

kevBRITE

**image courtesy of Argentum Imago

[britesport]

Mt. Diablo Hill Climb

It was my first race back since my big injury. So instead of a road race where I could fake it or sit in, why not pick a brutally short "Race of Truth"? Maybe I needed to know "The Truth"? Connor and I got up stupid early and began our drive to Mt. Diablo, blaring some good hardcore to get pumped. It was just like the good ol' days. We got on our trainers for warmup with plenty of time. The mood was a little nervous, but pretty relaxed, and when Kevin showed up, I was amped to be warming up for the first time with my team.

My new warmup felt good, if a little easy, and I rode to the starthouse feeling ready to rip. A short, fast, sub-30 minute climb is always hard, but I knew this was going to be fun as hell. The weather was sunny and not too hot.

   As I left the start I felt great. My cadence was high, my power was good, and I was moving along quickly. I was shooting for an average wattage that was appropriate for my fitness level when I was "On Form" around this time last year. I knew I was currently nowhere near that fitness level, but figured it was a short enough race that it would just be extra hard. 

    Between the start and the halfway mark, I held the average power I was looking for, and was even about 5 watts higher, and feeling good, and optimistic.

Then.....I utterly cracked. Apparently my body was not ready for this kind of effort, and when it blew.......oh man....it blew! All of a sudden my power dropped by about 60 watts and my lungs felt like they were about half the normal size, and my heartbeat started trying to smash my eardrums out from within. The suffering began. I couldn't turn around and give up, and I refused to soft pedal, so I dug in and kept trying.

My pace had slowed radically, and I felt like utter garbage, but I marched on. My eyeballs were dangling out of my skull. My heart was going "WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM!" in my ears. I was slowly dragging my blown cylinders up the hill. The engine was out of oil, and failing, but I kept the gas pedal completely floored. I was suffering. I dug on as people that had started behind me passed at good clip. I refused to relent.

I dug a grave deep enough for my casket, then kept digging, each pedal stroke a shovel full of wet stinking earth. A gnarly screaming Cold Word chorus kept my robotic unrelenting deathmarch-loop brain company as I slowly hacked at my legs with an utterly blunt axe. Suffering.

I gave everything I didn't have left at the last 200 meters, crossed the line in a foggy almost blacked-out state, pulled over, and gripped my bars trying not to fall off the bike. My heart wouldn't stop trying to smash my ribcage out from the inside, and i just stood there clutching my bars with white knuckles, sucking air. Connor rolled up and watched over me while I gathered myself.

Once I got my breathing and heartrate down to human levels, we turned around to roll back down Diablo. As we descended we yelled encouragement to our friends, and thanked the cornerworkers.

About halfway down the descent a wave of elation swept over my body. I DID IT. I started this year unable to walk for three months. I had to learn to walk again with the physical therapist pulling me along with rubber straps. I walked first with crutches, and then with a cane. My first bike ride, I watched my friends wince as I struggled to mount, then wobbled awkwardly with one of my legs as skinny as my arm. And now 7 months later, I had finished a brutal time trial.

I got last place in the Pro1/2 Field, but was extra amped that Kevin had demolished the Cat3 field, and enjoyed the post race parking lot chat session before we drove to HighTechBurritos for lunch. Here's Kev's race report:

Thank you SO MUCH to all my friends and family for helping me when I needed it most. Inspiration takes turns, and luckily I'm surrounded by it. I've said this before: I do this more to inspire others than for myself. If you want something bad enough and refuse to relent, you will get there.

-Travis

[britesport]

Race Report: Leesville Gap Road Race

if i recall correctly, it was at about mile 10 when the 60 of us rolled onto one of the worst pieces of road i've ever ridden. craters, gravel sections, over-filled potholes, huge rocks - you name it and we did our best to navigate it. somewhere between dodging flatted riders and trying to find a clear path i was one of at least 20 riders to lose a water bottle. considering we had just settled into the notoriously rough 60+ mile course and were quickly approaching a 1500' climb in 80˚ heat, this worried me. looking ahead i could see Naveen at the front in good position (as usual) and used him as a target to move forward. i eventually found his wheel and things seemed to smooth out. at some point i mention to him that i lost a bottle and he insists that i take one of his - what a gentleman! it was mile 17ish when the road kicked up and i found myself climbing with a lead group of 10 to 15 riders. we kept a solid pace and i found it best to ditch the wheel sucking and just look for a clean line up the jagged hillside - keeping pace with the riders around me. a davis rider went off the front and a few people reacted, but i kept myself under wraps knowing that we had a lot of road left to cover.

the race was shattered and there were only a handful of us grinding along as we came over the top of the climb, a few seconds behind the lone davis rider. we dropped into the descent which is just as horribly maintained as the the approach, but, the smaller group managed to keep the speeds up and everyone kept it cool. the road flattened out a bit and there were a few riders who caught on. the davis rider seems to have flatted out so we were now at about 10 in the group. we'd rotate through the smoother sections until we hit a gravel patch where everyone would fishtail and do their best to keep upright. the rider in front of me flats and while i'm in the process of working up to the wheel ahead another guy decides he's going to pass me. as he's moving up my right side, the roadside seems to disappear and down he goes - ouch. we finally hit a properly paved road and everybody snacks. i now count 7 of us: 2 berkeley riders, 1 team bicycles plus/sierra nevada rider, 1 taleo guy, one rider (whose team escapes me), matt from fusion sport, and myself. we quickly establish a pace line and the group of us work well together, keeping the rotations smooth. i couldn't see any groups behind us and felt confident that the road was rough enough to deter any bridge attempts.

fast-forward through a few sharp rollers, a speedy descent at the heels of a pick-up truck and a much-needed feed zone, and we're closing in on mile 50 — from here it's a dead flat 14 mile run into the finish. all of us are still working together fairly well, but at this point there are a few riders who seem to be skipping pulls. the rest of us look to be feeling good and would rather work than risk being caught by a chase, so we keep the rotation going. at approximately mile 59, i look back and am sure i see a chase group …oh shit. i announce my findings and do my best to get everyone moving a bit faster. the pace quickens for a bit, we take the farmland equivalent of a chicane: left …right and eventually a left turn onto the finishing road. we can look back now and clearly see there is nobody within striking distance so the cat and mouse dance begins. the pace eases up and everyone is doing their best to sit in and conserve energy for the inevitable sprint finish. i'm at about 4th wheel when we come up on the 1k to-go sign. not looking forward to battling out a full on sprint, i decide to go for it. i jump and go around the left, take a few pedal strokes and soon realize i'm being reeled in. i immediately let off and slot back in at about 5th wheel. the 200m sign shows its face and the sprint goes! i manage to jump onto a wheel, my legs start to fade and it slowly pulls away from me. there's two riders battling out for the top spot while a berkeley rider and myself are giving it our all — i'm able to give it one last kick a few meters out and seal 3rd on the day.

sandwiches were later consumed.

-kevBRITE 

image courtesy of the homie google.

[britesport]

Photo's by Emily Jayne Alexander

www.flickr.com/emilyjaynealexander

www.myspyphone.tumblr.com

[hocroad-blog-blog]

Looking forward to it.

It's a really good feeling when you see the fruits of your labor... AKA one too many mornings spent at the polo fields. All worth it. 

A quick shout out to Saskia, Travis, Connor, Naveen, Rainier, Naveen, Kevin, Chcuk, Whole Athlete, Freewheel bike shop, and Peter my coach. These awesome people have supported/inspired/encouraged me since I started racing 3 years ago now.

[britesport]

race report, in haiku.

copperopolis. shaking skeletons abound— many cracked. took fifth.

-kevBRITE

[britesport]

Wards Ferry Road Race - 2012

with the go-cart packed and de la coffee in hand, i headed out around 4:30am, en-route to Sonora, California for the 14th Annual Wards Ferry Road Race. The long drive gave me more than enough time to rehearse the basic plan i'd established for the race: stay up front. 

My genius** plan seemed all but dashed when i rolled up to the start line and learned that the P/1/2, Masters 1/2/3 and E3 groups would be lumped into one field. We were set to complete 5 laps of the hilly 12 mile course.

Fast forward and our 43 man group is dropping into a fast, bumpy descent. Yours truly — somewhere in the back half. After managing to gain a few spots, we hit the first hill and I settle into a comfortable rhythm, someone jumps and we all rush to close the gap. This is the scenario. Rinsing / repeating, climbing / descending. I'm working hard to keep myself relaxed and alert. There's a hill at the beginning of each lap that they're calling the "feed zone" (i'll call it Feed Hill). Feed Hill seems to bait everyone into hitting the gas. At one point, possibly lap 3, I'm doing my best to hold on to the lead group, and my breakfast, while we frantically rush up Feed Hill. Coming over the top, I glance back and see that our group has shrunk to about half of what it was. This smaller group keeps an efficient pace through the descents and along the rough back stretch. We approach the right turn onto Feed Hill for the last time and someone turns it up. I work myself into the red to get around a few riders and latch onto the back of the 3 man move. Coming over top we've got a solid gap and I'm doing all I can to recover while not losing contact. I couldn't muster up a pull and sat on for a bit while a maniacal bike racer in an iron data/thirsty bear kit, who shall remain nameless, pulls the 3 of us around. My legs decide they want to respond again, and I do my best to help keep our distance from the group. The four of us share the work the best we can and there's still no sign of a chase. At about 2k to go, the aforementioned maniacal bike racer tucks into TT mode and basically rolls off the front of our now splintering group.  I cross the line 3rd overall - taking the top spot among the E3 field.

Tough race, and there's a picture of my pain-induced donkey face floating around the interwebz to prove it.

-kevBRITE