A few weeks ago we saw the Brownstown Road Race come to town. I figured I'd have a go at it being my first road race for the season. Prior to this event, it's been four crits for me so I was looking forward to sampling something new.
The morning started off with me oversleeping. Not by much, 15 minutes, yet enough to receive an alarming, 'Are you getting up?!' from my lovely wife's side of the bed. Two seconds of processing the statement, one second of unconscious fact checking with the last stored thought before passing out the night before. Yup! Looks like you've over slept Mr. Mahler, better get your tail moving!
I spring to action, throw on the morning hoody and chase the steps down to the kitchen to kick it with some press pot coffee and a hearty sized bowl of Kashi Harvest and soy milk. That's cereal, 2 cups of joe, glass of OJ and vitamins are all I need to carry me for the next three hours. I packed two water bottles of mojo knowing it would be a hot morning, yet used one on the bike for the 32 kilometer race.
The race was 5 laps for us 40+ Cat5 guys. We had a neutral first lap, after that, it was every man for themselves. I started marking guys immediately; "there's one from Race Avenue Crit, there's the guy who won the Smoketown Crit for the 5s". This is something I'm learning as the races go by, who's strong, who will work in a break or not.
The yellow line rule was in effect and it kept this group skitsh to say the least. With two laps to go, I'm sitting in safely and roll up next to a guy from Team Artemis, blurt over to him, 'Let's grab your boy and with one to go, we turn it up a notch.' With a nod of agreement, he and I started to move up to the front. Two guys from Philly with Cadence Bike Shop kits moved up with us too and started to stick their nose out off the front for a stint. After they both pulled through, I'm up and take a turn for 30 seconds, check under my left arm, flick the right elbow and smoothly pull to the yellow line. No one pull through. Waiting. Still no one as I look over my right shoulder.
Really guys?, I'm thinking. No one comes up so I sit up onto the hoods and start to lift my pace. Look back to the right, still no one. Now I'm up on on the flats of the handlebars and glance back again. Still, they're all staying behind me and everyone is 4 and 5 wide in one lane. I start coasting and according to Mark Price who humorously informed after our race, the field slowed down to 16mph. This was sad.
photo courtesy of Julie Elliot
By now we're approaching a section of the course that's a quick left and an immediate right. A few guys take off entering the left turn and I jump on along with the one Artemis guy and the 2 Philly boys. We're back up to 24mph and the field is getting strung out a bit. Sadly, the guys with me are a bit gas'd as we hit the last left turn before the straightaway to the non-yellow line stretch of the race course. This results in too much brake checking by the handful of riders in front of me, ugh! 10 guys or so latch on to us as the result of the brake checking. We rolling down hill to the base of the road where the yellow line rule lifts and many guys jump and take off.
photo courtesy of Julie Elliot
I remember Craig telling me that morning to be patient at the base of the road as many guys will haul by you and then end up popping halfway up the hill. Which is exactly what happened. I throttled on a bit more as the shelling started and stayed with the guys I marked earlier in the race. Picking a lane on the right side of the road, I got a second kick and reeled in a few more guys, hitting the line in fourth place. Satisfied for my first road race. Me peaking over on the left of the photo above.
In the Cat 3/4, Craig St. Onge finished 49th and Kevin Shaeffer was 60th in a hot and furious field.
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