Opus 2

After some brief legal hassles, the OPUS crit series was back on for this week, with some minor changes.

I have no pictures this week because I apparently filled up the camera at this past weekend's Thrill on the Hill, in which my team TBA went 4-2 and won the loser's bracket to capture the Chumpionship (5th place of 12). I might post a recap of that later, for those who care. I love ultimate but bike racing is much more exciting.

The most personally significant change for this week's race was that the Category 4 racers (near-demigods) were split from the Category 5 racers (wobbly-kneed rookies). Also, I think a lot of the beginners who got shelled last week and heard it was temporarily canceled neglected to show up for this week.

That meant we had a pack of riders more closely related in talent and experience all trying very hard not to get dropped. I think very few in the Cat. 5 race were nearly as focused on placing as not crashing. So the pack stayed together for almost the whole race--a giant dense field of muscle and carbon, all scared poopless.

And it showed. From the very first lap there were bumpin' bodies and wheels. I personally bumped shoulders twice during the race, and felt someone rub my back wheel. There was also a lot of unannounced braking, which is never good when you're drafting at 28 mph.

Later an unattached rider to my left decided to split off to the right edge of the road, running me completely into the gravel. After about 10 yards I recovered and managed to grab back onto the back. Soon after I found that dude in the pack and he recognized me and apologized. So at least we're all learning.

The biggest hairiness was this guy getting crazy wobbly in the very middle of the pack on the way up the hill. I mean his bike was going maybe four feet side-to-side. Everybody yelled, and one guy yelled for the riders on his team who were at the front to attack. It turned out miraculously that nobody crashed, but it sucks that some guys want to use a crash as a springboard for an attack off the front. I guess that's just part of the game, though.

My goal for the year was to finish with the field for one race, so now I've done that. Next weekend is the Ken Woods Memorial Road Race in Cannon Falls. It's 2 laps on a 21-mile loop, with no major hills except one big one right before the line. It's also super-windy, so getting dropped is bad news. It's another 4/5 race, so I'm going to make staying with the pack my priority again for this one. Hills are known for splitting up packs, so I'll try to save as much energy as I can for the hill and bridge up to the best pack I can while on the hill. The rest of the time I'll just focus on sitting in and finishing without a crash.

First race of the year: OPUS 1

Tuesday night, April 18th was the long-awaited first race of the 2006 season: Tuesday Night OPUS Criterium Series, Week One.

Before I go any further, let me talk a little bit about bike racing, which will help make sense of the rest of the post. Bike racing is unique due to the overriding importance of drafting. A rider tucked in behind another can go at the same speed but at 30% less wattage. So any rider without someone in front of him is doing almost half again more work than everyone else. Anytime you see me not tailgating someone, I am very tired.

Now, to the photos! I am in every single one of the following shots, but it's kind of like Where's Waldo. (My suggestion for finding me is to go to the end of each sequence and trace them backwards.) [Courtesy of skinnyski.com]
This sequence is very early on, probably the first lap (out of nine). I am the guy in the grey jersey and blue helmet wayyyy in the back. Third to last, just in front of those two guys in red.
That is my directeur sportif off to the left. He is like the coach or team captain, and we're not allowed to draft off him. At that point he is telling me "Don't be afraid to pass people." Which is true. I had a really awful start to the race because I was too freaked out to pass anyone.

Ok, new sequence. I think this is still the second or third lap. I am the last rider in the first photo. At the end of it you will see me drafting the guy in bright blue. You will see a few of my teammates farther up in the pack, early in the sequence.Alright, last sequence. I am the last guy in each of these shots. In the first one I am growing out of the shoulder of the second rider in blue with red armbands. In the second shot I'm just a helmet. The third is easy.I am killing myself trying to latch onto the back of this group. I just crossed a big gap and I am really really dead in this picture.

I 've almost caught up here. I ended up catching this group and breaking off the front with the guy in brown, right in the front and center of that big pack. I followed him to the very end of the race, and then pimped him and another guy at the finish. (I know the word is "pipped", but I like "pimped" better.)

Here are two shots my lady took:This is me about to pass my teammate Tuffy, who is riding the red/white/blue Fuji to the far left. He doesn't know I'm there. A few seconds later he will take a drink from his water bottle and spit it back out off to the side, just as I'm passing him! Good thing I wore shades (which I found on the street last year, btw).

This is either the finish or the second-to-last lap. That's the guy in brown whom I drafted for the last part of the race and pimped at the line. He had a Team Wookie Juice jersey.

I also have a few short movie clips af various parts, all of which show how hilariously far back I am from the main pack.

All in all, I think it went pretty well. I didn't crash and I finished ahead of a lot of great riders. Still, I have a long way to go before I'm in shape enough to be top 10. And I made plenty of tactical errors, especially in letting the pack slip away so early. I'm not sure if I could've held on to the pack, but I didn't even get a chance to try. I kept drafting behind weaker riders who would get dropped, so I'd have to sprint up ahead to try to close the gap. Next time I will try harder to stay closer to the front and not get strung off the back like that.

I had a great time and I can't wait to get back out there!