Kick-starting the Road Season

Amy and I headed in opposite directions this past weekend to ring in the new road racing season. After a seemingly never-ending winter of snow, then snow, then wind, then rain, then snow, we were both glad to get outdoors and do something purposeful on our bikes besides toiling away on our trainers.

I did my first road race of the season on Sunday, racing in the Greenville (SC) spring training series. The 21-mile circuit race traversed a rolling, 7-mile loop around Donaldson Center, a technology and aviation campus south of Greenville. Conditions were about as good as it was going to get for this year, with the air cold (but not as cold as it has been), windy (but not as windy as it has been), and nothing falling out of the sky. Starting my first full season of road racing, I raced in the Category 5 35+ division along with 20-some-odd others. I was pleased that my first winter of structured training is paying off, as I was able to stay with the field for almost the entire race. If you've read my posts from last year, you will know that this is a dramatic improvement over what used to inevitably end up as solo rides. The field took a more relaxed start to the race, in contrast to what typically happens in a criterium, in which the field jumps from the start as if shot from a cannon. By the second lap, things began to ramp up, and I made the first big selection as the field accelerated through the roller hills on the back part of the course. On the final lap, I responded to an attack, which, although unsuccessful, got me to the front of the field in about 3rd or 4th position. However, just as the field was accelerating up a hill, the rider in front of me inexplicably stopped pedaling and started to coast. I got caught out behind him as the field sped by. By this point, the field was winding up for the closing miles, and I was unable to catch back on for the finish. However, this may have been for the best, as there was a crash in the field about 200m from the finish. Although I finished 17th, it was good start to the year and an excellent gauge for my early-season fitness.

Amy headed to Chapel Hill for the weekend to rendezvous with her new teammates on the Performance Racing Team. The training camp was the first for the fledgling squad and gave them a chance to meet and greet and get in lots of miles. The primary sponsor of the team, Performance Bike, rolled out the red carpet for the team and provided support for the camp. The team is comprised of two squads, an elite-level squad that will focus on larger regional and national events, and a developmental squad (on which Amy is a member) that will focus on local and regional events. The team has drawn talent from several areas of the southeast, particularly the Asheville area, Chapel Hill, and Atlanta. Both squads were on hand for the weekend. After gathering Friday evening, the team set out Saturday for a long training ride, and the spirited pace of the ride indicated that the team intends on being an immediate presence in women's racing. Sunday's riding consisted of a charity ride to benefit the victims of Haiti. Before dispersing for the weekend, the team recovered from the weekend's riding with a session with internationally recognized yoga expert Sage Rountree. Interspersed throughout the weekend were meetings about the organization of the team and of the sponsorship support by Performance.

Amy's first race of the season is coming this Sunday, also at Donaldson Center, and I will be hitting the pavement for the event as well.