As knowledge always improves with time, it may also be found to be true that Entropy increases with time. This fact was well manifested in the presence of what became known as the "boulders". Sometimes, on a dirt road, the town will just dump a pile of large gravel... well, ROCKS, into the areas which have become overly pitted, rutted and full of potholes. Last year we simply raced over the pitted areas and kept the hammer down. This year, however, you had to be very careful going over the boulders as there wasn't going to be much steering going on. You basically plowed a field of boulders, then some mud, then more boulders, and finally, smooth dirt for a while.
Flats were going to happen.
This year was also going to be different for the Masters as we finally had a good sized combined field with a fair bit of pretty strong riders in it. The previous two years had always been two-man breakaways and I had sprinted away with the overall last year. I figured this year we'd have a pretty big breakaway group looking at the folks in the field.
I was right. On lap one, I kept the pressure on all the way to turn two at the end of the dirt climb, planning to see who remained. To my surprise one of the new riders (who I did not recognize) was not only still there, but was able to push the pace even more at the final little climb before the main descent. I made a note to pay attention to him all day as he appeared to be the strongest guy in the field. I also thought that sneaking away from the eventual breakaway was going to be far more difficult now.
After the first ascent of the Wall (which was totally covered in loose sand this year and forced me to climb a 20% grade in a seated position and robbed me of the ability to answer surges) we seemed to have formed up a group of about 7. I figured that would be pared down slightly over the next lap and found that to be true again. Chuck was riding strong and I only saw one other 40+ man in the mix, so I figured I could try to help Chuck get away from this field of mainly 50+ guys.
After lap two was completed, we were down to 5. Looking over them (and knowing who was who) I decided that these five would survive to the end barring any bad luck. This wasn't the luckiest day however, and both Armin and Chuck flatted on the third time through the boulders. This left a three-man group consisting of myself (the only 40+ guy so I simply had to make it to the end to win) an two 50+ guys, both of whom were very strong. I figured I could get away from Mark McCarthy if I really pushed hard, but I could already tell that Dennis Williams (the new strong guy) was going to be impossible to lose. In fact, I sensed that he was waiting for the two of us after each time up the steepest section of the Wall, where a little gap would inevitably open.
Again, I was right. On the final ascent of the Wall, Dennis again found himself gapping us. This time, however, he didn't wait up but increased the pace near the top. I gave everything I had to close the gap, but the legs simply would not do it. I watched him ride away. Mark was on my wheel and I had to make a decision...
(First of all, Dennis wasn't going to be caught. I simply did not have the strength at the end of the race to get back the 200m gap he now had on us.)
(Mark was clearly not going to help. He was racing for second.)
(I figured if I took it easy I could play cat and mouse with Mark and win the sprint but it made no difference to the outcome of my race, which I had already won.)
(So I decided to make it into a good training session and pulled hard the whole way.)
Knowing that Mark attacking me before the final corner was inevitable, I simply kept pushing hard and used my last match to answer his attack. I thought at the last minute about slipping by him in the corner, but there was only one safe line through the sand, so I sat up and followed him through the corner.
Whoever hits that corner first wins the race. It's always that way. I gave what I had in the sprint, but it wasn't enough. Third overall, but again, taking the win in my division.
The thoughts went through my head about how different the motivations are when you know you have already won, versus the concept of needing to keep fighting until the end in order to win. It really does change things a lot.
Congratulations to Jon for 6th in the Cat 4 mens' race!
Next up, Battenkill.
No comments:
Post a Comment