Reflections on my first year in Cat 5

Today brought my first year as a competitive cyclist to a close. Unfortunately it was an inglorious end as I was caught in a crash with 4 miles left to go. Over the next few paragraphs you’ll come to see a pattern of that (hopefully not a permanent one). I thought I would post a note and share a few memories and some of the key lessons I learned over the past season. (Sorry for kind of a long post.)

1. “I guess you need to keep your eyes on the road” – This pearl of wisdom came from my wife. I had returned home from my first Bethel Cat 5 crit in March with grass stains on my kit. Having made the most rookie of mistakes – losing the wheel of the guy in front of me - I fell off the pack, unable to make up the gap. Late in the race, tired, depressed and defeated, I lost focus, and allowed my front wheel to touch a curb, spilling onto the grass. When I arrived home and described my humiliation to my wife, she offered this penetrating analysis on becoming a better cyclist.
2. “Downtown crits can be nasty” – Matt Baldwin shared this with me the day before the downtown Hartford crit. It had been some months since my initial foray in Bethel, but I was convinced I was a stronger rider by now. Surely all those early morning workouts should be having some benefit on my strength. At about the half way mark of 15 laps, I was feeling good. The pace was fast but I was hanging in the top third. Just then light rain started fall turning the downtown loop around Bushnell Park into a mine field – grease marks, sewer grates and manhole covers suddenly meant danger lurked everywhere. Riders began going down all over the place, one right in front of me that pushed me off the course. When I made it back on I was off the pace and so decided to just finish it with some safe solid laps and….next I know I am being pulled off the road by two marshalls. I had slipped at a corner with cross walk paint! I now knew what Yoda Baldwin had been trying to tell me. Man vs. pavement is always a bad contest and the result was two hair line fractured ribs and weeks’ worth of trying not to laugh or sneeze.
3. “Ok, we’ve dropped the field so let’s just stay together” – This came from rider 142 in the Tour of Greenwich. I had gotten assigned to the slow heat when I indicated on my registration form that the course would take me more than an hour to ride. I didn’t mind so much since this was my first road race and any experience was valuable in my painful struggle to become a bike racer. After about 8 miles Rider 142 rolled up alongside and shared the happy news. Yes! The highlight of my season so far. For the next 12 glorious miles he and I rode together, sharing pulling duties, working as a team and never being caught by the field. I was elated. For a short time that Sunday I was like one of those lesser known professional bike racers in a grand tour that makes an early break and miraculously finds a way to stay away. I thought I could even hear Phil Ligget commentating as the miles clicked down.
4. “Drive, Drive, Drive” – Anyone who has taken a group cycling class knows where this one comes from. Eneas drives us hard and at insanely early times each morning. I mean, its 6:15 and your heart rate is 170! That’s insane. As he walks around the room I know he’s sneaking in behind me, looking at my power output. Doh! I respond by going just a bit harder, so as not to let him think I’m dogging it and that maybe I’m not just wasting my time here each morning. But in the end its exactly this kind of quiet pushing that keeps me honest.
5. Despite all of the ups and downs, I think that I will also remember 2009 for all of the support that I have gotten from the TT staff. Rick, Eneas, Max, Carlos, Dom, Matt, Brett, Suzie and everyone at Target has at time one or another provided a few tips, hints and lots of encouragement to keep me going. Its one of the things that has keeps me coming back.

But the thing I will remember the most about this season is how much inspiration I have gotten from my fellow TT clients. Its hard not to feel challenged by the work ethic of Bob LaBanca, the dedication of Megan Kelly, the cycling power of Rob Weiss, Tom Stevenson and Bill Schwartz or Andy Kaplan’s ability to leave nothing in the tank when he really needs to lay it all out. So many of the TT clients surrounding me everyday are people that are so easy to admire. This more than anything is what gives me the motivation to hang in there and make a go of it next year in season two.

Comments

[Max L./ Masters Elite Racing]

You've got the right idea...learn from others and learn from your mistakes. Be persistent and you will be rewarded! Good luck in 2010.

Max L.

[Eneas Freyre]

Great to have you on our team :)