Racing Report

February 4, 2012, McDowell Park CR, Category Masters 50+
NE of Phoenix, AZ 14.4 miles
Report from Lionel Space, Phoenix AZ

This was a circuit race NE of Phoenix on a 1.6 mile course in a park. I've usually done well on this course and have won twice previously. The weather was only in the mid-50s while getting prepared, but it felt warmer and the sun was shining.

There were about 30 riders in the 50+ at the start of the race, plus a few 60+ and 70+ riders that would be starting about half a minute after us. The race was to be 40 minutes, which should take us about 10 laps. There were to be 5 primes available, possibly a double place on one of them. The siren on the bull horn would be used to announce the coming of the prime sprint and the officials announced that it would also be used for the final lap.

There were some heavy hitters in the mix, so it could be a tough race. Mark Fosenburg, Keith Brodhagen, Brian Lempke, Scott Baker, David Bixby and some other strong riders could really make it fast. A new twist this year was to have us ride the course counter-clockwise. This made the final sprint somewhat uphill with a left bend at about 120 meters and a right bend at about 300 meters. The wind was coming slightly from the right in the finishing stretch.

I started the race fast, being the first to go around the first corner. Nobody took an interest to join me, so I meandered back into the noisy pack. The road was very rough tarmac, so the bikes were constantly being rattled. Plus there were many loose pebbles, especially on the back stretch, where rider's wheels would throw them up into our faces. The road was a bit narrow, so there were only a few places that made it easy to move up in the pack, especially with cactus hanging over the edge.

I settled in and kept a close eye on Brian. He had usually opted for the faster races and this was his first time in a 50+ race that I was in, so he could be strong. After the first lap, we got the siren for a prime. I kept near the front as we approached the sprint to join any breakaways that may result from it, but everything settled back in.

The next lap, we got another siren for a prime and when we came back around for the sprint, I took an early flyer from about 300 meters since the pack had decided to slow at that point. I got a bit of a gap, but I was not feeling particularly strong and I certainly didn't want to burn all my matches. Two other riders gave chase and passed me easily with about 75 meters to go, but I tried to keep them close in case they kept up their pace for an attack, which I was hoping would turn into a successful break. We all settled back in, but I was surprised at how much the effort had drained me. During the previous Wednesday night crit practice (average overall 24.4 mph, some laps over 26 mph), I had felt very strong and quit early enough to avoid burning myself out for the race on Saturday. I sat in the middle of the pack to recuperate, but my legs were feeling like lead. We were doing each lap in roughly 4 minutes, which is only 24 mph. At 22.5 minutes, we were just half a lap past the half way point and I started struggling. This felt very strange as I thought I would ride this race as a protagonist and race it with strength rather than on tactics.

A lap later, Keith made a move off the front and it was not immediately challenged. Eventually the pace surged when Brian made an effort to bridge the gap. I found myself just barely hanging on to the back and wondering why. We were only averaging 24 mph and I should have been up there with Brian instead of floundering.

Apparently another prime lap was called. I was not aware of it as they were using the siren on the bull horn at the front of the pack and those at the back couldn't hear it. With all the banging of gear on the rough road and the tire noise, you could only hear it if you were within 15 feet of it and the officials assumed anyone within 200 feet would certainly hear it and therefore only played it for a few seconds, thus ineffectual for anyone at the back. My parents were watching the race just 12 feet away from the officials and sometimes they could barely hear it.

Brian eventually gave up and there was a lull in the pace. I was able to move up to near the front on the back stretch. As we approached the line, now at 32 minutes into the race, I thought I better start checking the lap board to see if they were counting laps yet. I was expecting it to be 3 to go, which would put us over the 40 minutes of the race. To my surprise, when I spotted the tiny lap board it had a 1 on it. I never heard the siren and when I passed the officials, I held up my index finger and asked "Is that one to go?". The official then yelled back to me "Last lap", but I still never heard the siren and it looked like over half the contestants were not aware that this was an early last lap.

As we approached half a lap to go, I was in what I would normally consider to be a good position at about 6th place, but none of the riders ahead of me were premier riders. I kept waiting for the stronger sprinters to come surging past on my left and I kept to the left side to latch on them when they came, but nothing happened as we approached the last corner. I felt so out of control, no good plan, no sprinters to watch, an unfavorable road layout for a sprint. As we hit the right hand bend at 300 to go I was anxious, but I knew from my previous effort that this was still too early. Finally the surge began as riders passed on my left and I jumped into the small group. Unfortunately this was just before the left hand bend and everyone started pressing towards the left side of the road. Right in the middle of the left bend, there was cactus overhanging a bit and then there was a section of pavement missing right in front of me. So I found myself braking hard at 120 meters to go to avoid the hole and the cactus. I never was able to sprint, but just rolled in with the lead group, finishing about 5th in the pack, putting me at sixth overall, crossing the line in under 36 minutes. Keith was never caught as the abbreviated race gave him the advantage that we did not have time to reel him in and most of the riders not being aware of the urgency. Surprisingly, the last lap was the fastest, taking 3:47 and averaging 25.2 mph; speed in the final sprint was under 31 mph and that was before I hit the brakes.

So a bit of a weird day for me. No real strength or speed, no luck with good tactics and no chance to contest the sprint; it very well could have been caused by lack of sleep over the previous two nights due to work commitments. At least with the mediocre performance, I didn't need to wait the 2.5 hours for the awards to be presented.

***Summary***
Start Time	Distance (Miles)	Starters	Duration	Speed avg (MPH)	Speed Max (MPH)	HR avg (BPM)	HR max (BPM)
10:10 am	14.4	33	35:56	24.0	30.9	168	188

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