1st Annual Memorial Day Race Binge

I seem to be living my adult life in reverse sequence. After spending 15 years in a dungeon of mundane, middle-aged routines, never going anywhere, doing the same chores around the house week after week, I've now regressed to living life on the no-plan plan on the weekends. In the case of this past Memorial Day weekend, throwing everything in a backpack and driving across the state to race, all on two days' notice. All humour aside, it's not so much about regressing as it is having a partner with the same hobbies as you, and who has the attitude that you're never too old to play as if you were still in your early 20s. So with that in mind, we decided at the 11th hour that we would follow the extended weekend racing action as it wound east through High Point and ended up in Fayetteville, participating in as much of it as our bodies would tolerate.

It all started innocently enough. Amy registered for the Hearts for Heroes 5k, held in Valdese as part of the Founder's Day Festival on Saturday, May 29. Amy won the inaugural running of the 5k last year and was back to defend her title.

The course winds through the residential back streets of Valdese and consists of several short, steep hills.
Despite focusing primarily on cycling this year, Amy improved her time from last year, finishing in 24:32, good enough for second overall female.

So then we figured we'd hop in the car and head to High Point to race in the second of their weekend crits. Amy, being all young and all, figured that it wouldn't be an issue racing a late afternoon crit, since the 5k was overwith by 8:30 that morning. With my category racing even later that evening, it was a no-brainer.

The 1k course was very technical, featuring multiple corners and placing a premium on bike-handling skills.
Above, Amy is coming through the start-finish area, in the High Point furniture convention center bus terminal, at the start of her final lap. Amy had great position going into the last lap, but was knocked out of position by a fellow competitor whom she rubbed wheels with for several seconds. She recovered and gained a few positions back with a strong sprint to the line, finishing 10th in the Cat 4 division.

Below is a short video of the women's field rounding the last turn before heading into the start-finish area.

I raced in the Cat 4/5 Masters division, which started at 8:50pm. Despite still suffering from a lack of form, racing through downtown at night was a total blast, especially as we moved from sparsely lit streets into the bright bus terminal start area with cheering spectators. I emerged from the dark city streets in 17th.

So then we said, "Well, we're already halfway across the state, we might as well go on to Fayetteville and race down there, too." So we tossed Amy's time trial bike in the back of the truck and continued east to compete in the Dragon's Challenge time trial the next morning. Our start times were mercifully not until after 11:00am, since we didn't get to our hotel until around 1:00am. The event was actually in the town of Wade, just outside of Fayetteville. Every town east or south of Raleigh feels like it's in the middle of nowhere, and Wade is no exception. I suspect that cartographers may be able to prove that Wade is, in fact, the actual center of nowhere. The 22-mile circuit was flat, devoid of any scenery, and cursed by the meteorological phenomenon that ensures that cyclists always have a headwind, even if travelling in a circle or the trees aren't moving. The flat course, constant headwind, sensory deprivation and hot temperatures combined to make the time trial a very physically challenging event. Amy crossed the line in 1 hour, 1 minute, 44 seconds, taking 7th in the women's Cat 3/4 division.

After being plagued by heat, toe-staining weeds, and fire ants during my warmup, I finished in 1 hour, 38 seconds, good for 8th in Cat 4/5 Masters. Take that, all y'all who are always wanting Amy to beat me at Lowes.

So then, we decided that since we were already basically in Fayetteville, we might as well stay for the criterium on Monday since we had Memorial Day off. The short, 4-corner circuit took place in historic downtown Fayetteville, with the finishing straight being on the tree-lined bricks of Hay Street, pictured above.

Racing past the colonial center of town.

Despite being in her 4th event in a little over 48 hours, Amy was aggressive throughout the entire race, working with racers from other teams to animate the race and to try to get a break going. Above, Amy is accelerating to the front of the field during the latter stages of the race. Her efforts yielded a 5th place finish.

Below is a video of the field coming down Hay Street and into the first turn.

After all that racing, what's the best reward? Bux. Amy finished in the money and scored her first cash prize in road racing, earning $19! Whee! We were stymied by the amount of the check, given the fact that, with a $200 purse and the top 5 places winning money, the check amount was a prime number. Despite the mathematical conundrum, we did not look the gift horse in the mouth, and we headed away from nowhere back to somewhere with a little cash in hand and memories of fine dining at the Wade Waffle House.