May 3, 2011, Boxwood Criterium #2
Nanaimo BC

For the first time in a long time, my training rides during the previous week didn't feel like I was flailing. I was able to have some controlled power and didn't die off long before my hour was done. Hopefully this is a sign that I can be on a path of improvement. With the new development in my cycling career of basically starting my strength all over again, I'll primarily stick to club races and only the short criteriums.

The weekly Tuesday night criteriums continued with race #2, put on by MIVA (Mid Island Velo Association), where Peter McCaffery is almost a one man show of president, race organizer, promoter, and official. The races have been receiving low turnouts due to a scheduling conflict with the hockey games (Canadians are big hockey fans, in case you didn't already know). I was sure I could improve on my results from last week. The small turnout and lack of strong riders would fit well with my lack of fitness, so this was great for me. The weather was nice (for here), with no rain (it had already rained twice earlier in the day) and warm (i.e. 50 degrees Fahrenheit = 3 layers on top). Since we had a women novice in the group, the first two laps were to be at a neutral pace so that she could get some pack riding experience; thus I could use those 2 laps as my warmup since my endurance was limited. The six men would do 40 minutes plus 5 laps (laps generally taking less than 2 minutes on the 0.72 mile course). I was not familiar with any of the other riders.

As we lined up, the women rider was not wearing a helmet, so Peter told her to go back and get a helmet and drop into the race later. With that he started the race and Chris Cameron took off like a dart. Ian left the group to go after him and I chased him down, catching him after half a lap of all out effort (the first lap speed was 24.8 mph). We worked together for the next 4 laps with Ian doing 75% of the work and caught Chris at the end of lap 5. Often when an attack is caught, there is a regrouping and a slight slowing of the pace and I was looking forward to some recuperation (the last two laps were at 24.5 mph). However, Chris just put on more pressure on the slight rise after the start line and my legs didn't give me enough power to keep in contact. Possibly if I had the 2 neutral laps I had anticipated, I would not have blown so easily, but that's the way it went.

I eased up and waited for the rest of the group, which was about half a lap back, so it took them 2.5 laps to catch me at my leisurely pace. 5 laps later the 2 leaders caught us. Peter immediately announced a prime, but we thought it was just for the 2 leaders, so Ian easily took it with nobody else contesting it. We stayed together as a group for another 4 laps, easing up to about 22 mph.

At the beginning of lap 17, Kyle Waring made a solo attack and Chris went with him. I could not afford to lose another place, so I powered up to them and the three of us were away, averaging over 25 mph for the next two laps. At the beginning of lap 18, Peter announced another prime. As we came to the last turn, Chris was worried about Kyle and powered it out of the last turn with still 260 meters to go and I latched onto his wheel. When I slingshotted by him with 50 meters to go, he was shocked and jokingly called me a cockey youngster (we're both the same age). So I added $10 to my pocket (which covered the $5 entry fee).

Chris then put his head down and got back to work and Kyle was nowhere to be seen. I kept on his wheel and we averaged 23.7 mph for the next 9 laps to the finish. I would occasionally take a short turn, but I was not the powerhouse he was. I was already a lap down, so we were not in contention with each other; he was looking for a workout and I was looking to not get dropped and be forced to ride alone. I was hoping that we might catch the other group which would allow me to try for second place, but they finished a half lap down on us.

As we came into the final 2 laps, I began to feel twinges of cramps in my legs. On the final lap, I told Chris that he deserved to cross the line first and I'd not steal that glory from him. He said that he wanted to see if he could beat me in the sprint, so I agreed to give it my all. I allowed him to continue to lead and as we approached 200 meters to go, we were still at a moderate pace. He'd glance over his left shoulder, then look straight and repeat. I timed my jump for when he just started to look straight with about 175 meters to go and jumped on his right, but he jumped at pretty much the same time. I got up to about half a bike length from beating him and both my calves started cramping, but not locking up. I continued to push it and got to within a half wheel, but he eventually won out.

The pack finished another 58 seconds back. Chris was happy with his win and his sprint. I was happy to have some strength back with the hope that I can finally start to improve.

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