A Call to Arms.

After a near victory in a Dixie crit a few years ago, to a horrendous crash fracturing a scapula and clavicle at the same venue, to a near-miss of a parking meter at 25mph in a Brevard, NC crit, I left the adrenaline-junkie-world of crit racing behind.  I've rarely missed it.

Her Siren song has again filled my ears, however, and putting aside most of my good judgement I am heading back to the short-course phenomenon known as the criterium.

This weekend, I'll be in Wilkes County, NC racing at the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway.  It's a former NASCAR track, and though it's been out of use for many years, Pirate Race Productions has resurrected it with a non-technical course along its banked corners.

I have to admit trepidation is creeping in, but I might just use some of that fire to grab a prime or antagonize a breakaway.  We'll see.  I haven't been training specifically for crits and being a bit skinny, it's not my best discipline.  Enough with the excuses, though, let's line 'em up on Saturday and see how it goes.

Dirty Work.

Yesterday, I got the itch to do an evening ride.  So, I text up the CLM folks to see what's happening...no luck for a group ride as people are scattered about.   Miraculously, Cam writes back to say he might do a few laps at Salem Lake.  Fo' real!?  Unfortunately, "Lawyer of the Year" Elise was snarled in traffic meaning Cam had to bail just before the ride.  My solution?  Go solo and get an indy ride in for good measure.

I was a little worried about the conditions at Salem Lake, as we had some fierce rain on Wednesday night...monsoon material!  So, with 25c Gatorskin Hardshells in place, I hit the road.  Easing toward Salem Lake, there were some signs of earlier flooding - clumps of leaves and twigs on the side of the road, streaks of red mud across pavement.  Once on the greenway, things became more ominous...especially when I came to the portion that passes under Reynolds Park Rd.

Alrighty then!  I dismounted and hiked up the berm to Reynolds Park Rd and down the other side, safely avoiding the water.  After cruising another 1/2 mile or so, I was again greeted by the swollen stream.

 
No way around this one, and with the path descending to just above creek level when the water is low, I was hesistant to end up on the 11 o'clock news.  I backtracked to the Reynolds Park Rd berm and hopped up to the asphalt.  I headed out RP Rd to Waughtown and Linville Rds, hoping to access the far side of Salem Lake then backtrack to the main parking / entrance area.  To be honest, I'd never ridden those two roads and was happy to find myself on the far side of the lake within 10-15 minutes. 

Once back on the lake trail, I was off and running.  It's not too hard to hold 18-20mph on a road bike over that section when the rain has packed down the dirt.  Of course, slowing for corners is not to be overlooked and I almost ate it a few times. 

Once back to the pavement, I rolled home through the Research Park and 4th St.  Amazing to see how busy 4th St is on a Thursday night.  I remember in my childhood wondering if Winston-Salem even had a downtown, now it's a bustling area of shops, arts, and restaurants that really charms.

What didn't charm, however, was the mud I picked up en route.  I feel like Barry posting a pic like this, but hey, if the shoe, uh, fits...

A New Adventure.

http://www.vsporthealth.com/

For a few years now, Jill and I have been talking about the prospect of starting a small coaching / first-aid / sport company-type-thing of some kind.  Well, following our relative success with pre-season training for my trip to Battenkill and a few others local / regional races, we thought we might be on to something.  She likes to build, tweak, and analyze training plans and data, and I like to get the word out, ride with folks, race, and help from behind the scenes on the electronic end.  In addition, we're teaming up with Debra Benfield to offer nutrition support as part of our design.

After a fateful meeting with a racer from a growing national cycling / promotions group (to be named later, once agreements are finalized), we started thinking - why not start out with a group of interested racers / competitors and see what we can do?  Once our proposal was smiled-upon, we got busy finalizing plans and working on the organizational / PR side of things - webiste, twitter, facebook, and yes even legal stuff. 

This is Jill's operation, but you might read "our" in here from time to time as I'll be in a supportive role wherever possible.  The short-term goals are to build a base of very happy (and speedy) folks benefitting from our plans and support.   Long-term?  Who knows - but you can be sure that if this takes off a bit, we'll be bringing some well-prepared folks to Cambridge, NY in April 2011. 

Stay tuned...

Champs.

http://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?year=2010&id=1947&info_id=28256

Results from the USA Masters Road Cycling Championships.  Two of our own (from W-S) landed stars-and-stripes jerseys.  I'm happy to say that I've raced on a team with Tussey and been reeled in on a hill more than once by Rip. 

Kudos to these two champs!  Can't wait to see em' back in The Dash.

Repost from the CLM blog.

So I decided to stick the ride report over on the CLM blog since a few of us rolled the metric century together.  Check it out and keep the rubber side down.

Prep.

Oatmeal.  Water.  Bananas.  Big Lunch.  Big Dinner.  More water.  Another banana?  Yes.

Saturday brings the Hurt, Pain & Agony 66 mile ride to benefit The American Cancer Society. 

I will have at least 3 allies in the ride, and I hope a few more.  Pics to come Saturday afternoon with a ride report.  The only downside?  Weather - it's supposed to be in the upper 90's on Saturday.

de Gaps! de Gaps!

Well, really only one gap.  As you will also see evidence of this on the CLM blog and Barry's blog, I won't overdo it.

Next week is the (in)famous Hurt, Pain, & Agony ride and we're all stoked to hit it.  That said, we needed to hit some climbs longer than those we typically find between our front doors and Pilot Mtn.  Barry suggested to do part of the Tour de Gaps route and the idea stuck. 

Today, I found myself in a gravel parking lot beside Reeves Community Center in Mt. Airy at 8:00 am with Barry.  Mitch and Cisco were to arrive shortly to make our group a merry 4.  Our plan:  Hop on the Tour de Gaps route up to the top of Squirrel Spur (4 mile climb at around 7%, I would guess) and on to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Shortly after departing the parking lot, we crossed into a state known to be for lovers.

The roads to the bottom of Squirrel Spur were perfect for a morning ride.  Farmland as far as one could see, until one could see the Blue Ridge Mtns creep into the frame.  On the lower slopes of the climb, the humidity made itself truly known and we all began to sweat buckets.  Climbing around the first two corners, we could already see across the valley and back to the roads below.  At this point, Cisco increased the pace a bit and I latched on with my elastic band.

The climb up Squirrel Spur is actually very nice.  The grade is mild and the pavement very good.  Very little traffic exists here so you are indeed left to your thoughts and free from distraction.  Unless, of course, you are distracted by the worrying amounts of sweat leaving your body.  I did a little math and quickly surmized that I would run out of fluid on the way back.  Other distractions?  The sveltle cyclist in front of you dancing on the pedals and looking rather fresh.  True, he does not have a front derailleur on his bike and that is like, 70 grams, but surely that couldn't help him TOO much.  Or could it?

My previous experience on the climb helped as it is a steady, unrelenting grade.  Overcook it once, and it will nash its teeth into your cramping gastrocnemius.  Cisco and I regrouped at the top with Barry rapidly closing.  Impressive.  The descent was downright hair-raising and may have taked a few years off my life as I maxed out at 49 mph.  Not bad for a toothpick on wheels!

Apart from the wonderful friends on this outing, a key highlight was the stop at a corner store.  We grabbed some Gatorade and yes, some homemade fudge.  The woman behind the counter essentially convinced us to buy it and I am glad we did.  Yummy sugar goodness.

In summary:  Climbing was good, friends were better, and I think we're as ready as we can be for HPA.  Oh, and Mitch won the haybale climbing competition.  You should've seen him bunny hopping across that row!  Yee-haw!