Valley of the Sun for me was a planned low. I had an awesome time getting to know the team, but after a long season of cyclocross (40 minuet efforts) I knew my road form (2+ hour efforts) would not be "Super". Unfortunately I was correct. Hard races put me int my place and lit my fuse to begin my tarmac training. I had been training for about a month in Bend, Oregon and had seen some improvement in my endurance. I was lucky enough to be able to ride with Chris Horner and Conner McCutcheon a few times to really get my humility back. If you ever need motivation to train harder I would highly recommend racing Chris Horner up a hill... Group rides began and the season was about to get into full swing. I expected definite improvements from my attempts in Phoenix. Though was not entirely confident in my shape in regards to the southern California pack I would be racing.
The opening time trial was uphill, around 17-18 minuets, and twisty. Perfect for all 126 lbs of cross racing me. But one factor I underestimated was the 95 degree heat. I took off hard and held a good rhythm for my personal standards until around 2 kilometers from the finish. The heat broke me in less than 15 minuets and my pace payed the price. I ended up with a time of 17:10 and in 16th place. Not terrible for a 90+ rider field, but as always a result that could be improved upon.
The road race was 8 laps of a approximately 7 mile course with 100 meters of climbing per lap. A lot of data that ultimately means the race was going to last around 2.5 hours, and should begin to hurt by the end of the second lap. And that is exactly what occurred. Personally I was riding well, not too deep into the pain cave and was looking forward to when the pace would be high enough to dwindle down the field. On lap 5 of eight the race started to get harder. I looked at my Garmin to see if the speed had increased. We were going about 1-2 miles per hour slower than the previous laps. I thought to myself " Dang, the wind has really picked up." Almost as soon as I monologged that my rim hit the pavement and I had the realization no cyclist ever wants to face... I have a flat. I thought "Only two and a half laps to go, I bet I can make it." so I proceeded to ride the flat tire about a third of the lap before we started to go downhill. I had no control of the back half of my bike at the high speeds and decided to take a wheel change. By the time I got off, was aided by the follow car, and back on the bike, I had gone from racing to win; to attempting to make the steep time cut. Fortunately for me I crossed the line within the time limit so I could race another day. This was an unexpected valley for me. I hoped and truly believed I would take a good result, but one must roll with the highs and lows as they say.
The Crit the next day was not all too eventful. All the big dudes laying down big watts. I was happy to sit near the front and stretch my legs when the time arose. This past weekend at San Dimas was a true roller coaster foe me. Though everyone and every sport comes with its peaks and valleys. I am thankful I am not Lewis and Clark who quite literally had unexpected peaks and valleys and that my highs and lows are bike race results. I am also thankful for the support from the Northern California Cycling Foundation, and all the sponsors that make this team what it is. Hopefully Sea Otter Classic will bring some peaks in the near future.
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