Williams Crit

On Saturday night I went up to Williams College, home to plenty of bad memories, to visit my friend G.P. and prepare for Sunday morning's Williams College Criterium. It was, in addition to the race, a weekend of good food: on Saturday night we ate at the Thai restaurant in downtown Williamstown, and I had something that had mango, chicken, shrimp and veggies in it, and it was delicious.

[This is where I realize that this blog isn't that interesting without photos]

We woke up on Sunday morning and hit up a little coffee shop for a bagel and a muffin, pre-race. Good stuff.

I had decided that I wanted to be very aggressive in this race, especially after the frustration of the last criterium that I had done. As the race started, I found my way toward the front, which wasn't too hard if I worked a lot on the long, sloping uphill.

About halfway through the race, I went up the hill a little harder than I had been as I stuck to the wheel of the guy in front of me. All of a sudden, the guy behind me started yelling about making a break, since we had about 20 yards on the rest of the field. He shot forward, and I followed him, and the two of us were off the front.

I chased him for a while, and pulled a little, but I didn't have the legs to stick it out, and I lost him with about 5 laps to go. I dropped back and found another guy, and the two of us worked together for another couple laps. Before I knew it, I heard the bell, and I was on the last lap.

I didn't feel that good yesterday, so I couldn't stay with that guy, either. He left me behind, and I ended up fourth behind him, the other guy who started that break (he ended up winning), and a guy who went off the front at the very beginning and only got caught with a lap to go.

I was thrilled to get 4th place (results here), especially since I didn't feel that great. I won a saddle [I should have another picture here] and it constitutes the first thing I've ever won from biking.

Yehaw!

Gearing Up

I don't yet really have any specific way to prepare for races. Tomorrow I'm doing a criterium at Williams College, and I've sat around for a couple hours (actually, I napped) wondering what type of ride I should do today, and how long it should be. In the end I think I'll probably go for about an hour and a half, a mostly rolling course with a mile long climb at the end. We'll see how that works.

So tomorrow's race is a Cat 4/5 criterium, and my first race in about three weeks. I'm excited for it, but I've also decided that I'm going to stay very aggressive. I'm going to force my way to the front, try to stay there, and maybe even attempt to break once or twice. The last crit was disappointing so this time I'm going to go for it early and not think about getting a result - just focus on being aggressive. Maybe I'll wear myself out and then get dropped, but I'm willing to take that chance. I've decided I won't be wearing Middlebury gear, so nobody will really care about me.

Plus, I'm back on track. Which is nice.

And... I'm Back!

So I haven't written in a while, mostly because I've been in a bit of a biking funk for a week or so. I didn't ride a few days last week, and I've lost some of my momentum in terms of eating well. It's been frustrating to lose some of the discipline I'd been working hard to build up.

But today I had a bit of a chance to redeem myself. It was another time trial around the lakes by Salisbury School, and two weeks ago I'd finished the roughly 10 miles in 27:18. Today I got a better warm-up in (and a nice early afternoon nap) and was feeling ready to go. Though I got passed by Chris Fisher earlier than halfway through the course, I held off the other school's youth national teamer until the final hill.

Final time? 26:03. My momentum is back.

More to come.

Ice Cream and Flat Tires

You learn something every day.

This afternoon I rode out to Millbrook to visit some friends, getting there at about 2:00 after about an hour and 15 minutes. While I was there, I went to get some ice cream at a little place that is about 20 miles from here (sounds like a good ride - 20 miles out, ice cream, 20 miles back), and it was awesome. I love ice cream.

Because I was having a good time just hanging out with my friends, I didn't get out quite when I wanted, leaving there at about 6:00, expecting to get back around 7:15 or so. About ten minutes in I flatted my rear tire and had to change it on the road, almost ruining my spare in the process. I suck at changing tires. It took me a while.

So I started getting worried that it was getting too dark, and cars wouldn't see me, etc. I was hammering to get home, riding as hard as I could, and finally got back on campus at about 7:30. It was pretty dark, and I was still a little nervous that I'd been riding in such dark.

Then I remembered I was wearing sunglasses. Turns out it wasn't actually very dark out.

A few minutes ago we celebrated the birthday of a kid on the hall with homemade brownie sundaes that his mom dropped off earlier - nice ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, awesome brownies, Shrek M&Ms (they're huge!) and sprinkles.

I'm going to pass into a sugar coma now. Peace.

Raceday!

So, good news and bad news from today's race in Plainville.

Start with the bad? Okay.

Bad news: I suck at tactics. I'm not confident enough to be aggressive and assert myself at the front of the pack; as a result, I'm always near the back and I can't sprint enough at the end to finish near the front. I started the sprint in about 15th place and probably moved up to 9th or so, which I'm not that psyched about.

Good news: I didn't flip out on any turns, I was much calmer throughout the race, nobody yelled at me, and I kept my line most of the time. That's a start. Also, I feel like my fitness is pretty good.

So now I just need to learn how to race bikes.

Good Day!

My favorite thing about biking is the high that comes from it. And I’m not saying that I get loopy, or that I starting thinking deeply about the past and the future, or that I shouldn’t operate heavy machinery. I just mean that after a good ride, I feel drained – and this opens me up a little bit.

About 13 months ago I went for my first-ever bike ride outside, led by the certified badass Chris Fisher, ex-pro and colleage of mine here at school. We decided to do a short ride around the lakes. It was time to put the new bike to use.

However, there was a problem. I had been sick for a few days before the ride, and I hadn’t eaten very well (or exercised at all). I also hadn’t had breakfast, which brought my total to about one full meal in four days. I wasn’t quite ready.

About two miles in I was already feeling pretty awful. I felt like I was about to throw up, and I could barely keep up with Chris, who was not riding very fast. I was pushing through it, but with about two miles left I got a flat tire.

Unprepared to change the flat, we had to press on. With a wobbly rear wheel I tried to press through the last leg and up the hill toward campus, but I was feeling really sick and had nothing left. Chris rode up the hill next to me, his hand on my back, pushing me along.

It was a pretty inauspicious start.

Which brings me back to the natural high. When I got back to my apartment that morning, I decided to rest by watching an episode of Scrubs. I happened to choose the saddest episode of this comedy, and when it ended, tears were streaming uncontrolably down my face. I don’t remember ever crying that hard.

The ride had totally drained my ability to put up a strong front. I was just so tired that I couldn’t fight the tears.

While I realize that I’m forever debunking the idea that I’m a tough person (but who really thought that anyway?), this is something I love. I think it makes me a better person to be around – more agreeable, mellower, more open. It’s a nice way to live.

On Monday I rode the trainer while watching the Boston Marathon on TV. I saw the first “speed rim,” or wheelchair, participant cross the line – a Japanese man who had been propelling himself for 26.2 miles using absolutely incredible upper-body strength. He couldn’t contain the tears as he fought the excruciating pain and got his reward of sheer and utter joy.

It’s the thought of working myself to the bone and winning a race that keeps me working hard.

Today, I rode that same 10.2 miles that I failed on last year – and did it about 20 minutes faster. It’s our time trial course, and I completed it in 1:04 slower than I did a week ago, but today I rode it after doing two hours and fifteen minutes of intense climbs and false flats (okay, there were some downhills mixed in there, too).

I’m feeling pretty good right now. And that’s why I love biking.

First Time Trial

So it's not exactly sanctioned or anything, but Salisbury School ran its first time trial of the season today, and for once the weather was actually nice! They decided to send me first on the course since I was hoping to get back quickly since I was technically on duty during the race, and if anyone else got hurt (cycling or otherwise), I was going to have to drive them to the hospital.

It was on a nice, 10.3 mile loop around the lakes in Salisbury, and about halfway through I started to feel like I was in a groove. I hadn't warmed up enough, which definitely hurt me - but it's good because I'll be readier for the next one. In the end, I finished in 27:18, averaging 22.63mph. This was fourth best - 3:20 behind Chris Fisher who won the thing. In between us were two kids from Trinity Pawling School who had time trial bikes and funky helmets - and I'm now determined to beat at least one of those guys in one of these time trials.

It was fun, and now I'll have a time to measure my progress.