As professional amateur cyclists, we on the Embrocation Cycling Journal often have to take time for other things in life, you know, jobs, significant others (my wife and daughter for example), even, if i dare say, dishes and laundry. All these things take time away from our passion that is cycling, both training and racing. Once we get out and get things back in order with said training, its always the mental schedule that comes about of “ok, what’s on Bike Reg and what’s the team doing these upcoming weeks?” This is when we know things are getting back to the way they should be. It had been about a month or so near the middle of July since I raced last after a busy spring and August comes along and I was itching to get back into competition mode.
I found my chance with some low-pressure rides and time trials, which I had done before and knew they would be a great chance to simply check the legs and make sure the form is still there for the end of the season races. My first opportunity came with a Lance Armstrong Foundation Charity 50 mile ride that always turns into a world cup style race in the last 30 miles or so after all the chatting and niceties wear off. I rode down with a friend of mine from my house for the “race before the race” with a hard 40 minute tempo ride to make sure we got down there in time to get signed in, chat and of course stop into Chrissy Beans to get a cup of coffee and pin up. The race started and as I suspected, we ride pretty easy until we hit the head wind and guys started riding pretty hard. This shed the weekend warriors and left about 40 of us left in the pack at mile 10! I figured everyone was watching me because of the lack of cooperation in the group unless I was on the front or vocally making sure people were not just sitting on all day. Just before the section leading into the half way point in the course, I knew the winds would be at our back in about a mile’s time so I went to the front and rode hard until the left hand corner which put the wind at my back. Everyone knows the feeling when you have been grinding out the big gears in the wind and then have it at your back when everything gets silent and it’s as if someone is pulling you from the front and pushing you from the back. It’s sweet. I continued my high pace until I could hardly take it any longer and I looked back and saw myself and only three others, knowing I did my job I pulled up and hoped they would have enjoyed sitting on me enough to pull through and keep the gap going. They did and we flew for the next 45 minutes. As is the case with the charity rides, there was a water stop and I needed to stop. At this stop the gap we had established plummeted from five minutes to only about a minute or so. The group from behind caught us a few miles after we resumed riding and I decided to sit in the back for a while and wait until my last effort to either solo or bring the strongest guys to the finish and they feel confident about my chances of my small group sprinting ability. That’s exactly how it happened and i brought two guys with me to the finish, attack again with 2 km to go then had one guy left to get around in the sprint. To my amazement, the guy came around me with a about 500 to go and led me into the right had corner and then whipped up the pace. I saw the cones telling me it was time to come around and put the arms up in the air. Always helps to see your mom cheering at the finish, adds a few watts for sure. That was that, 50 miles in a hair over two hours, not back for a charity ride. Good day, rode home after to finish off the day.
The Great Race is another leg check that I have done with the same group of guys for the last four years or so. This year was no different. I had come in 3rd, fouth and fifth in this race, had the course record on the tt course and was itching to win the damn thing this year. I take the Great Race quite seriously and when I saw Cameron Cogburn was there, it was game on. Everyone that is reading this in the east coast knows Cameron as a super strong guy this year and basically untouchable in the time trials. We had chatted a bit before the start and figured we would ride together and really light it up and then let the race play out in the boat section with our respected paddlers. Well, it kinda worked until I dropped my chain about 10 km in out of the 30 km race. Cameron was gone and I was on my own. I caught everyone I could on the way in, Glenn Swan who was three minutes ahead at the start and some tri guy who was almost 5 minutes up on me at the start of the tt. We ended up second and I was second to Cameron on the day by about 1:45. Sounds like a lot but I was messing with my mangled chain for about a minute and so the 45 seconds I feel I really lost was perfectly fine with me considering I was 1 minute behind Cameron after only 8 miles in the Tour of Connecticut in late May. I was pleased. One last test for me before this coming Green Mountain Stage Race in early September with the Chris Thater memorial crit in Binghampton. Good stuff, see you at the races.
Cory
The elite amateur team sponsored by Embrocation Cycling Journal, International Bicycle Center and Mad Alchemy Embrocations. With contingents of racers in New England and the Pacific Northwest, Team Embrocation races road, cross and mountain throughout the US and a little bit beyond sometimes. Now entering their second season, the team features a deep and diverse roster.
