On memorial day, Sylvan and I decided to drive down to Kennebunkport, ME to take part in the Cape-Able Memorial Day Classic bike race. It was the first real road race for either of us (I have done two legs of a triathlon before), so our expectations and goals were all over the map. I have been riding a fair amount this summer, so I decided to be ambitious and sign up for the A race. Sylvan is relatively new to biking (this is his first summer ever riding), so he signed up for the B's in order to get a feel for riding in a pack and experimenting with tactics.
The race began at 4:00 PM with the A's going out first. The course was twenty eight miles and flat. It began with a two mile stretch that connected with a four mile loop that we did six times before heading back on the two mile stretch for a sprint finish. There was a tail wind heading out the two mile section which ultimately meant for a brutal headwind coming into the finish (this was not fun). On such a flat course, breaking away was nearly impossible. I found this out on the first four mile lap. I knew I was in a competitive field, but everyone was sticking in a huge group, so I tried to break off with two other guys who looked pretty good. Needless to say, this was an awful idea as it was only four miles into the race and my legs were already screaming with lactate. After the pack came screaming past us, I decided I would sit in for a while before trying the same stupid move a little later. I tried two more times with some bigger groups of guys, but it was too hard to gain any distance on the 30+ riders in the main pack. I stayed close enough to the front to watch a certified professional, Dan Vaillancourt, break off of the front with one other guy, and that was the last we would see of them until the finishing stretch. I stayed in essentially the same position until we headed back on the two mile finishing stretch. I tried to get into a good position heading into the last two hundred yards for the sprint. I saw a few guys take off from the front and when I moved out to the left side to sprint, my legs said "NO!", and the head wind gave me the big middle finger (I also suck at sprinting on a bike). I got passed by a few guys in the last little section, but finished anywhere from 10th-15th (I think), but haven't seen results yet.
Sylvan experienced similar events in his race. He tried to break off the front a few times, but realized it was nearly impossible. At one point, he and another guy made a move, and were riding extremely hard (hard enough to think they dropped their competitors), but turned around to see that the other races were sitting in their draft (a real pansy move). Sylvan says that he tried to sprint too soon on the finishing stretch, and eventually got passed by about five of the guys in his pack. His legs also told him "NO!" during the sprint. It is interesting that, while we raced in different races, we both experienced similar occurrences with cycling tactics and our bodily reactions.
We are quite sore today, but are taking the day off to go camping with Chewy the graduate, Abner, Ingrid, and Connor. Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather. PIECE.
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