Apr 27, 2023 at 03:37 PM
A brief report on my Brinkeroff showing this year:
-- I feared a repeat of last year where it was miserably cold/wet and I got dropped pretty quickly (unlike Greg who had a major showing). My hands nearly got frostbite. Luckily, weather looked perfect and my fitness was better this time around.
-- Rolled up an hour early. Lowers the stress level to have plenty of time to suit up and get a decent warm-up in. Do this every time!
-- First race of the season so I was a bit nervous. This is why I chose Brinkerhoff to launch season. It's a safer bet than Prospect Park. No runners and dogs to contend with. I recommend this for anyone just starting to race. Nice to ride in circles around pretty countryside.
-- My goal was to not get dropped. Race was tough on the climbs and lazy to hard on the undulating flats. There is one key hill before the turn onto last 4k stretch to the start line. This is where the race gets decided for me. The 1st time at it, I was mid-pack and fell back before the the turn. Still, I managed to cling to the pack. After that, I focused on slowly moving up whenever I could as we headed into lap 2. There were limited options but I made some progress. Then, before the big deciding hill something odd happened. There was an obvious opening on the shoulder side of the pack and I took it, along with another rider wearing Skratch kit. I barely made an effort but found myself flying past the peloton with ease (the Parlee excels on downhills). I took the lead for a few seconds before Skratch Man got in front seemingly to break-away and I held tight his wheel. I was thinking, I shouldn't be wasting energy on this, but part of me was tempted. I was working harder than I should have to hang on to Skratch Man. We hit hill at the front and quickly lagged to near the back as we made the turn. On lap 3, approaching the hill I was not so lucky. I couldn't move up to the front as before and was near the back when we hit the incline (a short steep part and long, gradual incline). I steadily drifted back, feeling my legs burning, as we made the turn onto final stretch. That's when I fell off, along with 4-5 other riders. We worked together on the last 4k to finish line and were going pretty fast at 26 mph but not fast enough to catch the pack. They slowly moved outof sight. I finished 37th out 70, 1:34 behind the winner. I didn't quite meet my goal of not getting dropped but, still, a big improvement over last year!
-- Lesson learned: sure, take those free rides when you can to move up, but don't waste the money you saved on on breakaways or attacks that won't stick. My easy roll to the front was good fortune, but burning a match with Skratch Man was a mistake. The last time up the hill I could feel my legs had been more drained than expected.
-- I rode a bit after the race to cool down and it was a gorgeous spring day. A satisfying race and glad I could represent Kissena in decent fashion for an old man!
-- I feared a repeat of last year where it was miserably cold/wet and I got dropped pretty quickly (unlike Greg who had a major showing). My hands nearly got frostbite. Luckily, weather looked perfect and my fitness was better this time around.
-- Rolled up an hour early. Lowers the stress level to have plenty of time to suit up and get a decent warm-up in. Do this every time!
-- First race of the season so I was a bit nervous. This is why I chose Brinkerhoff to launch season. It's a safer bet than Prospect Park. No runners and dogs to contend with. I recommend this for anyone just starting to race. Nice to ride in circles around pretty countryside.
-- My goal was to not get dropped. Race was tough on the climbs and lazy to hard on the undulating flats. There is one key hill before the turn onto last 4k stretch to the start line. This is where the race gets decided for me. The 1st time at it, I was mid-pack and fell back before the the turn. Still, I managed to cling to the pack. After that, I focused on slowly moving up whenever I could as we headed into lap 2. There were limited options but I made some progress. Then, before the big deciding hill something odd happened. There was an obvious opening on the shoulder side of the pack and I took it, along with another rider wearing Skratch kit. I barely made an effort but found myself flying past the peloton with ease (the Parlee excels on downhills). I took the lead for a few seconds before Skratch Man got in front seemingly to break-away and I held tight his wheel. I was thinking, I shouldn't be wasting energy on this, but part of me was tempted. I was working harder than I should have to hang on to Skratch Man. We hit hill at the front and quickly lagged to near the back as we made the turn. On lap 3, approaching the hill I was not so lucky. I couldn't move up to the front as before and was near the back when we hit the incline (a short steep part and long, gradual incline). I steadily drifted back, feeling my legs burning, as we made the turn onto final stretch. That's when I fell off, along with 4-5 other riders. We worked together on the last 4k to finish line and were going pretty fast at 26 mph but not fast enough to catch the pack. They slowly moved outof sight. I finished 37th out 70, 1:34 behind the winner. I didn't quite meet my goal of not getting dropped but, still, a big improvement over last year!
-- Lesson learned: sure, take those free rides when you can to move up, but don't waste the money you saved on on breakaways or attacks that won't stick. My easy roll to the front was good fortune, but burning a match with Skratch Man was a mistake. The last time up the hill I could feel my legs had been more drained than expected.
-- I rode a bit after the race to cool down and it was a gorgeous spring day. A satisfying race and glad I could represent Kissena in decent fashion for an old man!
