I was watching the radar all night, looking for the storm that would be passing over the coast. a massive low pressure system was coming in with massive northbound wind and rain. the wards ferry race was already canceled, and I hoped that the regalado race would still be on. morning came, and I checked e-mail for any velo promo updates. none. the race was still on. I packed the car up, threw down some dayquil, and headed out. my head felt a bit congested and my body just ached, it wasn’t the best situation to say the least. but I still wanted to race. hell, I should’ve switched it up yesterday and raced the central coast circuit instead of not racing at all since the wards ferry was canceled. ugh…
anyway, after two hours of driving, I had arrived. the weather was kind of bad…rain, lots and lots of rain. on the way out there, the rain was on and off, I was hoping it’d be clear by time the race rolled off the line. unfortunately, it was still raining. jimmy (taleo) had actually registered and left because he didn’t want to race in the rain. then, right before the race started, he showed up, ready to ride. apparently, he made it 20 minutes down the highway, received a text from someone who had just raced in miami, decided not to be a b*tch, turned around, and got ready to race. more on that a bit later. temperatures hovered around the high 40′s, but the air wasn’t thick like how it is in marin. it was cold and crisp, which made the rain bite against my face. everyone’s race would also be 1 lap shorter, due to the weather conditions. our 51 mile race was now cut to 2 laps, 34 miles total. familiar faces were all around: jason (de la paz coffee, in a freewheel kit), gabe (mashsf), jimmy (taleo), steve (chica sexy, also a badass courier), yuri (chica sexy, good meeting you, yuri!), and maybe someone else I knew…either way, our field was small. 13 riders total. yea, that small.
soon, we were off, lead by a motorcycle ref out to the course. somewhere along the way, we missed our first left hand turn, and had to turn around. interestingly enough, there was a cop at the turn we missed, but no one to tell us to turn left. I guess that’s why the guys in front kept riding straight…either way, we had a neutral support vehicle following us that told us what was up. as it passed us, I looked at the passenger and thought…man, that guy looks really familiar. oh, of course, it’s michael from team metromint (was on godspeed before, I believe), yo! so we made the right turn, and we were off. the winds were pretty strong, and the runoff from the cattle farms made everything smell dank. I guess the worst part was the water on the road would kick up onto everything. let’s just say you could taste the dankness.
the course was more or less a big rectangle. flats, rollers, sweeping turns like snelling and the merco almond blossom road races. I was hanging onto the back of the group the majority of the time, I didn’t have the legs to be near the front today. the wet roads made everyone a bit more cautious and twitchy. I didn’t feel great out there, especially with the strong winds, rain, and that damn feeling of not being able to breathe fully. I had also heard that there was a gravel section, I wonder when that’s gonna–oh, here it is. unpaved, littered with potholes and a washboard texture that made bottles rattle straight out of cages. jason’s bottled popped off. a rider from another category had a flat. I was praying that the bike would make it through. I was picking horrible lines, being behind all the other riders I couldn’t see the potholes or dips coming up. and the potholes were filled with muddy water, it was like a wide technical cyclocross course. soon, the gravel portion was over, and the road was paved again.
I made my way back to the group and we passed the finish line. at the top of the two rolling hills, a race official rang a bell. yep, just one more lap to go. uh oh, the group is getting away from me on these rollers. oh sh*t, I don’t have a wheel in front of me. more headwind. I was dropped off the back of the group. they were just 100m in front of me. I put a hard effort in, and they came closer, but were still out of reach. the first left hander came, and the wind came from in front of us. the group surged in speed, and I made another attack, attempting to snag a wheel. they were still far out in front of me. I noticed riders starting to refuel, tapping their bottles, and such. I attacked one final time, and caught back up to the back of the group. ah yes, now I just need to hold on until the end of the race.
more rollers, flats, turns, descents lined with water. here comes the unpaved section. a handful of riders were in front of me, they had a few seconds on the back half of the group, the part I was in. I passed a couple riders, making my way to to more smooth patches of gravel. now that there weren’t as many riders in front of me, I could pick better lines across the road. I was able to dodge a ton of potholes, making back a couple seconds on the leading group. I could see one rider off the front, three guys in a chase (jason, jimmy, and another), then me, and yuri a couple seconds behind me. but he was catching up, slowly but surely. after a short descent, left turn into a sweeper, the road straightened out and rolled to the finish line. the 3 chasers pulled and yanked each other through the wind, making sure no one would catch them. yuri was still behind me, making his way closer and closer. I was still saving some energy for the uphill finish, hoping it was enough to seal me off for 5th place or so.
200m to go. the chasers are already at the line, it looks close! who took the 2/3? can’t think about that now, yuri is so close behind me. I’m out of the saddle. the line is coming up fast…held him off and landed 5th! I looked behind me as I crossed, and he would’ve surely caught me if the line was farther down. he was only a couple bike lengths away from my wheel. whew…
congrats to jimmy for placing 2nd, and jason for placing 4th. unfortunately, gabe flatted on the first lap, but still managed to finish rolling solo on the second lap. that takes some guts, a solo ride would’ve slayed me for sure, being dropped off the back has kind of the same feeling. either way, it was a hard race, and I’m tired, but definitely glad I wasn’t completely dropped off the back of the group.
the weather was much nicer in san francisco!
some dailies from yesterday:
and for joseph:
everyone loves an inca orange ’02!
