Auspicious Beginnings

This past Saturday I raced in the NE road race championships put on by the friendly folks of the Elkhorn Valley Cycling Club (EVCC). I had an awesome time, but going into it I was still a bit suspicious of this road racing thing. I've always considered myself a mountain biker, and scoffed at the idea of joining the ranks of the leg shavin' roadies. I guess you could say Saturday was an auspicious occasion for me. Which in the parlance of my ancestral lands means it was both awesome and suspicious! Anyway...

I arrived at the Stanton Co. fairgrounds early in anticipation of the experience ahead. All of the talk of the randomness and unpredictability of cat. 5 races had me a little on edge, so I wanted to get there early and have some time to just "chill" before warming up. Driving into town I got a feel for the lay of the land, and I excitedly took note of some of the big rollers that were on course. Going into the race I knew my fitness was good, and I felt that a tough course would suit my strengths well. Not long after I arrived the Trek/MWCC crew rolled in. We proceeded to chat intermittently while getting prep'd for the race. After the boys learned that I was racing the 32 mile cat. 5 race I was informed I would not be allowed to return to Omaha if I did not win. Sweet.

After a decent warm-up I hung around the start area waiting as the lower categories were sent off. I talked to my fellow VV teammate Troy Perry, and we formulated our plans for world (or at least cat. 5) domination. I made sure I had a position at the front at the start and off we went after the neutral roll-out. The first couple miles or so were pretty mellow as nobody was in any hurry to get to the front and hammer. I took some pulls, and duly sat in while others took theirs. EVCC junior racer Glen Houts got to the front and finally put a little zip in the pace. There was some mild sketchiness as guys rotated through, but I stayed close to the front and was never really too worried. Although we had not previously discussed it, Troy valiantly and unselfishly proffered his wheel as he guided me out of trouble and into the hills. Unfortunately, not long after that Troy had some mechanical issues that took him out of our pack and left me alone to fend for myself.

Earlier we had discussed the fact that there were some pretty tough hills around the 20 mi. mark, and I tentatively decided that I would bide my time until then and get some pack time in. Going up the first set of decent hills on the course I was first wheel and rode a steady tempo up and over. One of the guys just behind me said something and I looked back to see...daylight. I had inadvertently ridden us off the front. Great, we had a break going about 10 minutes into the race...isn't this what people told me to avoid? At any rate, I wasn't feeling too taxed and just decided to roll with it.



As the race wore on it seemed apparent that the main group was not going to catch us anytime soon as they were nowhere to be seen. Shortly after we made the turn on highway 32 heading west we hit THE hills, at which time I went to the front and laid down a steady but hard tempo. I figured I'd test their legs a bit and see what they had in the tank. If it was necessary I could attack later. As it turned out, no attacks were necessary and i was able to ride both guys off my wheel. I figured this was my chance to take the race so I maintained the hard tempo and the gap grew.

The last 8 or so miles of the race head north over a couple big rollers and then finish with a good long flat section. On this day there was a pretty stiff north wind, and I started to worry that if there was a big group working together that they'd be able to bring me back as I fought the wind alone. I thought of all the grand tour stages I've seen where the breaks that had been away all day long get caught with only a mile or less to go. I put my head down and turned the cranks as hard as I could. Fortunately for me this was a cat. 5 race and not a grand tour, and there was no pack bearing down on me. I was able to cross the line solo for my first win on the road. I gave the double arm salute as EO'B informed me it was now acceptable for me to return to Omaha without shame.



I'm hoping for a category upgrade after my victory, and looking forward to learning more about racing on the road. In the meantime though I have some business to attend to on the trails.

This weekend I'm off to Winter Park, CO for some R&R and I'm hoping that the trails there aren't covered in snow still. Seems weird to think of snow when it's blazing here in the big O. The next weekend is the Psycowpath Ponca XC race, which I believe is also a NE state championship race. I'll be vying for the cat. 2 title there against some strong competition. This will also serve as my final tune-up for the WORS Subaru Cup Midwest Regional Championship at Mt. Morris, WI.

Finally, I just wanted to add that Mike took us out on a really nice road route through Council Bluffs and into the Loess hills on Sunday. Thanks Mike that was cool!