TDS Journal Entry

A cold wet day

Joan and I travelled 7 hours to Merced on Friday 21 March to race the McLane Pacific Cycling Classic criterium and road race.  Our plan was to compete in both races and then continue northward to Fairfield where we will meet the full TDS team for the Solano Cycling Classic.

The criterium was held on Saturday and was a 32 mile race, held on a technical 1km loop.  The circuit was wide and fast, but was also bumpy due to the cateyes (road reflectors) all over the circuit.  Joan and I positioned ourselves well and made the most out of a day where we were completely outnumbered by teams of 7 riders who were able to dominate the race.  We both sprinted well and finished in the top 20 out of 90 starters.

On Sunday, we were up at 6am and watched the skies become overcast as we drove out to the race start.  Soon the heavens had opened up and we both pulled on our purple TDS raincoats which kept us dry.  The big question was now to decide how many layers of clothing to wear during the race.  The rain continued to get heavier and I pulled out two SockGuy base layers, knee warmers and booties to wear during the race.

It rained steadily during the first 2 hours of the race and we were soon completely drenched and covered in grease and oil from the road, as well as sand and mud.  Although I wore Rudy Project red lense glasses my eyes were soon stinging from the grime that was being kicked up from the wheel in front.  I can honestly say that we weren’t having a particularly pleasant time.

The first 24 mile lap was really fast and although I hadn’t warmed up, my legs felt good and I covered a lot of early moves.  A duo break containing (Lyn Bessette) Saturn and a T Mobile rider formed on the 2^nd lap.  I bridged across solo to it, but everything soon regrouped.  Almost immediately, Mannon Jutras (Saturn) attacked and this was the break that got away.  After my solo effort I didn’t have the legs to go again, and I watched in disappointment as the break went up the road without a TDS rider in it.  Joan’s legs felt terrible today and without a warm up she was suffering out there.

By the end of the 2^nd lap both Joan and I started to feel miserable.  I was getting cold and we both had headaches.  We rode another lap and then called it a day.  Unfortunately, after being mentioned as a pre race favourite on the daily peloton site, I didn’t even finish the race!

During the drive to Fairfield, I developed a sore throat, my head still ached and I now have congested sinuses but with a few easy days I know I will be ready to race Solano.

Stay tuned.