Life in the Big Ring

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Detroit Invitational of Cyclocross

I've had a deathly cold since last Wednesday, but that hasn't stopped me from riding over 100 miles in that same time (: 2 of these rides finished after dark, sub 50 degrees, which probably doesn't help my situation, but it can't hurt either, right?

*an unofficial podium picture w/ the best racing pal

I rode with the Wednesday night gravel group and we ended up all the way down by almost Three Rivers. It was a lot of fun, and I"m looking forward to riding lots of gravel races in the Spring. I'm planning on riding the Michigan Gravel Series Long races in the Spring, with the rest of the fastest guys in Michigan and surrounding areas. Super stoked! The Wednesday ride finished about 8:30 and it was super cool to be able to hang w everyone comfortably. My lungs exploded with about 2 laps to go today though, I think I might have overdone it a little too late in the week, oh well.

*Kal-Haven trail, sometime mid-week

School is going fantastic. My motivation for anything school is at an all-time low. People always talk about 'Senioritis' but its pull is so strong. It might be the fact that my two classes right now are Professional Writing and a Business Internship thing that is all online. Believe it or not, I can cite just about anything in APA format, perfect preparation for my career in the accounting field. Speaking of which, I'll begin studying for the CPA exams this next week, with plans of taking the first test in January. Planning to finish the fourth and final CPA exam early next summer, and then it will be all bikes all the time; it kind of is right now, but school and CPA exams will be a welcome distraction (not really).

As with most of my cyclocross races, it is a lot of fun but my CX skills are still developing. I'm in some pretty good fitness right now and I've been losing weight!!! but I can't seem to go around a corner very fast without falling. No worries, we will get them next weekend!

*Not fantastic, but best result of the year!

A week from this Wednesday I'll be flying out to Cali solo to spend some time with family out there and get away from the office and school! I'm very much looking forward to getting away and riding bikes in the mountains; this time my focus will be on not crashing (: hopes are low, but I won't ride by myself so all will be good!

Ha! I didn't write about it two weekends ago but I raced up in GR and I crashed on the second corner! My computer said my race only lasted :34 seconds, ouch! I landed pretty hard on my shoulder and it is still pretty sore at times, but not bad! I was second place and feeling really good but just hit some wet pavement/bricks just right and my front tire slid out. I crashed in front of the entire field. I feel really bad about it, especially on the first lap, but these things happen (: We continue learning!

3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel) 81st Overall (215) / 9th AG (24)
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel) 27th Overall (239) / 8th AG (15)
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel) 216th Overall (1342) / 6th AG (18)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI 11th Overall 4/5 (48)
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain!!) 7th AG (13)
6/1 The Waterford Races, Clarkston, MI 21st Overall 4/5 (24)
6/5 Grattan Race Series, Grattan, MI 20th Overall 'B' (37)
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel) 1st AG (11)
6/14 Zeeland Crit, Zeeland, MI 27th Cat 4/5 (40) / 30th Cat 3/4 (38)
6/15 Ada Crit, Ada, MI 16th Cat 3/4 (25)
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI DNF Cat 4/5 (81)
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI 16th Cat 4 (25)
9/7 Alma Grand Prix of Cyclocross 18th Expert 3/4/5 (20)
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel) 2nd AG M 21-26 (9) / 10th Overall (322)
9/15 Art Van Sports Complex CX 14th Expert 3/4/5 (17)
9/29 Kisscross - Richmond Park DNF
10/12 Detroit Invitational of CX 37th Expert 3/4/5 (55)

I'm pretty sure this is by far my biggest year of racing, and by even more far my biggest year of training. YTD I am at 6,707km for the year; which for my less-European friends, is 4,167 miles. This is pretty insane, but I for sure think 5,000 miles is well within sight for this year! If I can keep my fitness somewhere near where it is now in the Spring, I'll be competing quite well in the early-season gravel adventures!

I have two goals in mind for the rest of the year:
1) Get to 5,000 miles
2) Top-ten finish in a CX race!

Have a great evening everyone! Cheers!
CE

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Art Van CX

My road cycling skills don't necessarily translate into being able to go around corners even semi-quickly, but that's ok. I figure each week will be a learning process, and in a couple weeks I'll be able to hang with my best pal and CX coach, Tyler.

Again, my warm-up laps are feeling good, but once the race begins, I've tended to slow down quite a bit. As in all my life, my true goal is to feel a little more European everyday, and today's race was a good example of that. Not only did I bunny-hop a very small wooden plank in the ground on an uphill every lap, I was also able to ride through a pretty size-able sand pit every lap.

All my cross practice with Tyler is certainly paying off, where I have been losing ground is on the flat, real-bumpy sections. I think I may be running too much tire pressure, so all the little bumps in the ground are being exaggerated, which is throwing me all over the place, slowing me down.

This week of riding I'll certainly focus on working on these sorts of sections on various local trails, but the barrier jumping has been a strong point of mine. I'm certainly not losing any time getting off my bike, hopping, and getting back on, I'm losing a lot of time on the sections I would think I would excel at. I suppose the only way to continue getting better at cyclocross is to keep racing it, so I think I will.

I've been vegetarian for a little over a month now and that is going very well. I'm able to find something vegetarian at every place I've been, most places are super helpful in pointing out my options. These last two semesters of class are going by very slowly but I'll figure out how to get through them. I suppose this happens to everyone, but it seems like all the classes I'm taking are just to fill out my degree, I'm never going to use this stuff I'm learning in my life again.

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Alma Grand Prix & Uncle John's

Good evening!

From a small and particular circle in my life, the blog posts have been requested; and thus have returned! It has been a very busy couple of months for me, and it doesn't seem like life is going to slow down any time soon. I've just got back to Kzoo from Alma (did you know it is pronounced El-ma, according to a billboard), after I stopped at the bar there to fill up a growler a teammate won, and generously donated to my cause. I slept in my car last night, which was exciting, and this weekend has been the closest to a vacation I've had in about a year (:

Yesterdays first cyclocross race of the year was a bit underwhelming. I started in the back, and followed wheels for most the first lap before I fell trying to carry my bike up a flight of stairs. It was pretty embarrassing and I was shaken up for the rest of the first lap. I wasn't able to recover and I cruised in for 18th/20, one place above where I was predicted to finish; better times ahead!

*Best bud and CX coach Tyler takes third at Alma GP

I had a great set-up to sleep in my car Saturday evening. I was one of two other cars who decided to camp after the cyclocross race, I thought it would be more of a party! My good pal Nick texted me around 7 and he was set up in his van at Uncle John's Cider Mill, so I drove down to St. Johns from Alma and set up camp next to his van with Nick & Kelly. After a fantastic evening of conversation, I had a pretty restless night in my Chevy Cruze, but it feels pretty pro to sleep in a car the night before a race, I'll probably chase this feeling.

*A beautiful evening for camping awaits

Today was much better. One of the local favorites; Uncle John's Dirty Ride! The race started fast, and didn't disappoint as it went forward. Of course, when you are racing only 24 very flat miles with the fastest people in Michigan, it will always be a questionable experience. I was quite nervous throughout about wheels touching around me and causing me to crash, but I managed to get to the finished road unscathed. I was able to stay about mid-pack, protected from the wind, and fresh until the last mile or so. I knew I needed to move up to the front and a gap opened up on the left side the road and I was able to come all the way to the front with less than a mile to go.

3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel) 81st Overall (215) / 9th AG (24)
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel) 27th Overall (239) / 8th AG (15)
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel) 216th Overall (1342) / 6th AG (18)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI 11th Overall 4/5 (48)
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain!!) 7th AG (13)
6/1 The Waterford Races, Clarkston, MI 21st Overall 4/5 (24)
6/5 Grattan Race Series, Grattan, MI 20th Overall 'B' (37)
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel) 1st AG (11)
6/14 Zeeland Crit, Zeeland, MI 27th Cat 4/5 (40) / 30th Cat 3/4 (38)
6/15 Ada Crit, Ada, MI 16th Cat 3/4 (25)
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI DNF Cat 4/5 (81)
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI 16th Cat 4 (25)
9/7 Alma Grand Prix of Cyclocross 18th Expert 3/4/5 (20)
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel) 2nd AG M 21-26 (9) / 10th Overall (322)

My ever fearless teammate Matt came up with me and we took turns for a moment keeping the pace very high into a very sketchy left turn into the apple orchard. I was able to cut the corner and miss the ditch, but I hear plenty of people went down right there; I was ahead of all the crashes and feeling good. Another teammate, Mike, ended up taking the victory! as Matt and I cracked under the slight elevation at the finish! Rolling into a second in my age group, I was super happy being able to influence the finish! I am hoping to be able to take this form into the rest of the CX season.

*Hoping I can keep stacking podiums with CX season here, this picture was actually very posed, they were only doing podiums for the age group winners

Next week I head up to GR for a CX race on Sunday, the anticipation builds! For now, I really need to get started on some homework.

Cheers!
CE

Monday, July 15, 2019

Who crashed? -- Detroit Cycling Championship

Good afternoon,

I stayed home from work today in an effort to speed up the healing process (also because I can't sit on anything without wincing). Another race in Detroit, another day of super solid positioning, and another super disappointing result. The question becomes: when does this hard work pay off? I've ridden more this year than I ever have done, I've been training smart and hard, I feel like I can hang with just about anyone, but I still can't win anything (or even come close). I know at this point it is just a game of luck and getting a good break, and I'm really hoping it happens soon.

The race in Detroit on Saturday was huge, a field on 80 to begin. I met my buddy Joe before the race started and we had a nice warm-up with him and one of his teammates. I didn't have any teammates in this race, which was too bad. Having somewhere there to keep me safe and towards the front would have been great. Anyway, I started the race in the second row, perfect positioning, and it started fast! The pace finally let up after about 4 or 5 laps and I was able to get my heart rate back down from it's thunderous pace. I was sitting pretty good, probably about between 7-10 guys off the front, but feeling good and pedaling through most corners (which is good as you won't lost momentum).

We get to about 5 laps to go, and I'm feeling super good. Holding my positioning well and not burning too many matches before the finale, I am this feeling that I might actually have a go at the sprint! 2 laps to go, things are starting to get dicey, people are making moves that aren't smart in an effort to get towards the front, and I'm following their wheels getting a free ride to move up a couple places.

Last lap comes, and I'm in the perfect spot. I'm on the outside coming into the first corner, about 6 guys in front of me. I was thinking, I will use the back straight away to move up another position or two and get behind a guy I had chatted with before the race, who I knew was very strong. As we come into the first corner, I have a guy pretty close to me on the left, and then someone else tries to fit between us. He does, but then moves to his right as we are coming around the left-corner (to get into position to take the inside line on the upcoming right-turn) and he takes someone out, who then brings me and a couple other guys down. We all slide across the pavement into the barriers.

I lay on the ground for a couple seconds, assessing the situation. If feels like no harm is done, and I didn't really hit the ground that hard. It's just the sliding across the pavement at 28mph that does the damage...I tell the paramedics I'm fine, hop on my bike, and finish the race. Of course, it seems as though I wasn't placed as I'm not on the results list, but I did ride my bike across the line. I immediately went over to the medical tent, they patched me up, and in good spirits and high hopes, I am on my way!

3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel) 81st Overall (215) / 9th AG (24)
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel) 27th Overall (239) / 8th AG (15)
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel) 216th Overall (1342) / 6th AG (18)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI 11th Overall 4/5 (48)
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain!!) 7th AG (13)
6/1 The Waterford Races, Clarkston, MI 21st Overall 4/5 (24)
6/5 Grattan Race Series, Grattan, MI 20th Overall 'B' (37)
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel) 1st AG (11)
6/14 Zeeland Crit, Zeeland, MI 27th Cat 4/5 (40) / 30th Cat 3/4 (38)
6/15 Ada Crit, Ada, MI 16th Cat 3/4 (25)
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI DNF Cat 4/5 (81)
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI 16th Cat 4 (25)
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel)
11/2 Iceman, Traverse City, MI

As the road season winds down already, I'm looking forward to cyclocross! I will shift my training to that discipline for the rest of the summer (high miles) and then pour on the intensity when we get closer to those races. The Cherry Roubaix is the state championship race for road racing, so I'm looking forward to that race.

I'm aiming to be back on the bike for the Pedal Thursday night ride. My wounds don't feel great, but my bike is fine and I've got a deep hunger to succeed now. I know my fitness is there as I was in the mix in one of the bigger races in the country, so I'm hoping for some good results and to be able to Cat up by the end of the year!

Cheers! CE

Sunday, June 16, 2019

Zeeland and Ada Crits

What started out as a terribly disappointing race weekend turned out to be one where I can take some confidence. In an epic Charlie Eaton move, I decided I would try and race my gravel bike at the Zeeland Crit, a race I look forward to every year and keep on my 'A' list of races. My pink cruX is a fast bike, but it does not compare to an aero road bike, which I desperately needed in the howling wind through downtown Zeeland.

Team Clark Logic controlled the 4/5 race very well. There were 5 of us racing (Tim, Dan, Elliot, Kevin, and myself) and we all stayed towards the front the entire race. One of us would attack, making the rest of the field chase that person down, while the others on the team were able to stay in the draft and not do any work. As soon as the field brought back the rider in front, someone else from our team would attack. This went on for the first 25 minutes of the race and things were going very well for me. I could tell that I was at a disadvantage being on my gravel bike with far less gearing than my road bike (meaning I had to pedal much faster to have any sort of speed), but I was hanging around in the top-10 of the race the entire time and feeling pretty good.

Eventually, we brought back Elliot and it was my turn to make a move. I attacked up the right side at the start-finish straight-away with about 4 laps to go, and I completely blew up. I was away for 2 corners (super not great) and the field caught me on the back stretch which was completely into the 20mph wind. I had nothing left, trying to grasp the back of the field but I couldn't do it. I was dropped. I heard the announcer the next time we crossed the line say, 'here is Charlie Eaton, he has done his work for Clark Logic and is off the back', in truth, I hadn't done that much work and I just couldn't hang. But I won't tell him that. I cruised into the finish towards the back of the race, and it was a bummer. Lesson: no gravel bikes at road races, it just doesn't work.

Next was the 3/4 race in Zeeland. It was super, super fast and I made it about 15 minutes before I was off the back and there was no catching the field. I pulled myself out of the race and I was broke, the calamity was setting in and I was pretty heated. A race I had been looking forward to for months was over and it was my worst race of the year.

As they say, the best way to get over a bad race is to race again. So race again I did. I went up to Ada Saturday and did the 3/4 race. I wasn't planning on going, but the forecast seemed like the rain was going to hold off and my legs were feeling fresh. The race wasn't until 4:30 and it only takes an hour to get there, so I had until about 2:00 to decide if I really wanted to go or not. I did some yard work early in the morning before the rain began (we still love owning a home) and then went to my parents house to hang out with my sisters (everyone is home this weekend for father's day) (the driveway at my parents house has 6 cars and a boat right now) and do some laundry. I didn't really have anything else to do so I decided I would go race.

Got up to downtown Ada around 4, went for a nice little warm-up and the race began. I was on my road bike this time, and the race was just as fast if not faster than Zeeland, but it was so much easier for me to stay with the group. I felt my positioning was good, top half of the field, but I lost focus for 20 seconds and there was a gap. I had found myself behind a couple riders who weren't paying attention and before I know it, 15 or so riders have a gap on about 5 of us. Once I realize what is happening it is too late and now I'm chasing.

There were 5 of us in the chase group and it didn't seem like everyone knew what was going on. I hate to sound full of myself, but there was only myself and one other guy who seemed to know what we should be doing. Quick pulls to chase down the group. When we began to chase the gap wasn't too large, maybe 10 seconds. If we would've worked together well from the start we probably would have had a chance to catch the field. Alas, a couple of the guys with us were taking far too long at the front and it really slowed us down. Looking back, I really wish I would've taken off with the other guy that was sort of trying to direct our group and we might of had a chance working together.

Anyway, the official pulled our group with 4 to go (if we would have kept going, the officials had calculated that our group would have finished the race at the same time as the main field, only a lap down, which would have been extremely dangerous) so we got the bell with 4 laps to go (meaning it was my groups last lap). I was determined to be first in the group I was in, so I took off on the climb on the back side of the course and came flying down the down-hill into the finish. I was able to have a real go at a sprint and I was able to maintain it for a while. I finished first in the chase group, and I was feeling super good.

3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel) 81st Overall (215) / 9th AG (24)
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel) 27th Overall (239) / 8th AG (15)
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel) 216th Overall (1342) / 6th AG (18)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI 11th Overall 4/5 (48)
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain!!) 7th AG (13)
6/1 The Waterford Races, Clarkston, MI 21st Overall 4/5 (24)
6/5 Grattan Race Series, Grattan, MI 20th Overall 'B' (37)
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel) 1st AG (11)
6/14 Zeeland Crit, Zeeland, MI 27th Cat 4/5 (40) / 30th Cat 3/4 (38)
6/15 Ada Crit, Ada, MI 16th Cat 3/4 (25)
6/29 Port City Crit, Muskegon, MI
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI
7/14 Corktown Crit, Detroit, MI
7/20 Whiskey City Twilight Challenge, Lawrenceburg, IN
7/26 - 7/28 Make-a-Wish, Traverse City to Galesburg
8/10 Rose City Crit, Jackson, MI
8/18 Gaslight Crit, Grand Rapids, MI
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel)
11/2 Iceman, Traverse City, MI

What started as a disastrous weekend, thinking I had washed-up and was never going to be fast, turned into something that I can be proud of and take some confidence from. I know I can hang with the 3/4 guys, I just need to be attentive and not let gaps form. I'm strong enough to stay with just about anybody, now I just need to prove I can finish well. We will get them next week.

Cheers! CE

Monday, June 10, 2019

Dirty Donut

The struggle is real. I have to wake up at 5am now in order to get things done (:

The Dirty Donut was fantastic yesterday! With rain and mud and donuts, what could go wrong? Before the race, no rain. Fantastic. As we begin to line up to start, the rain begins. It is pretty warm out so no big deal, but it still wasn't great and it was a prelude to a questionable race. The race began with all the TCL guys up front and we set the pace for the first few miles before the hills began. I was popped on the first real big, steep hill (no surprise) and at that point it was all about the donuts!

A couple teammates picked me up and I rode with them to the first donut stop. I was the only one of the 4 of us to stop for donuts, and I ate 12 at the first stop (: I didn't eat them super quick, but they all went down pretty easy. I left this stop with another teammate, under the idea it would be a pretty chill ride the rest of the way in. There were 4 of us again, and I rode off but missed a turn (: I was worried I had missed the turn so I turned my head to see if the people I had just dropped had turned, which they did. I turn around and do my best to catch them quickly before the third and final donut stop. Here, Albie and I had both eaten 12 donuts at the first stop, so I was pretty certain he was the only person who had matched my donut count. That being said, I knew I had to eat as many as he did and make sure I had the same number of donuts when we left the last donut stop.

He ate 6 very quickly and was off. The 6 I ate here took a long time to eat and Albie probably left the donut stop 10 minutes before I did and there was no catching him, he is too quick. I still took some risks and got back as fast as I could, my legs felt very good. I ended up getting 'first' in my age group, after my time being adjusted for donuts eaten (: I ate 18 so I got 1.5 hours taken off of my time. I crossed the finish line about 3 hours, so my ending time was about an hour and a half, taking my age group and tying Albie for the most donuts eaten, my prouder of the two accomplishments. However, I didn't win the King on the Donut award as Albie had a better finishing time than I did. There is always next year I suppose.

3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel) 81st Overall (215) / 9th AG (24)
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel) 27th Overall (239) / 8th AG (15)
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel) 216th Overall (1342) / 6th AG (18)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI 11th Overall 4/5 (48)
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain!!) 7th AG (13)
6/1 The Waterford Races, Clarkston, MI 21st Overall 4/5 (24)
6/5 Grattan Race Series, Grattan, MI 20th Overall 'B' (37)
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel) 1st AG (11)
6/14 Zeeland Crit, Zeeland, MI
6/15 Ada Crit, Ada, MI
6/22 Athens Brick Criterium, Athens, OH
6/29 Port City Crit, Muskegon, MI
6/30 Great Lakes Classic Road Race, Marne, MI
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI
7/14 Corktown Crit, Detroit, MI
7/20 Whiskey City Twilight Challenge, Lawrenceburg, IN
7/26 - 7/28 Make-a-Wish, Traverse City to Galesburg
8/10 Rose City Crit, Jackson, MI
8/18 Gaslight Crit, Grand Rapids, MI
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel)
11/2 Iceman, Traverse City, MI

Super excited to kick some a$$ in Zeeland this Friday. Last year, this race was super fast and I didn't even get close to the front. My positioning was poor and I wasn't aggressive enough, things I have been much better at this year. I need to stay towards the front but not too far in the front. The danger of being too up-front is that I'll be doing a lot of work bringing back riders who take off. The danger of being too far in the back is that after every corner I'll have to do a little more work to accelerate back up to stay with the group. A fine line between the two, but I have big hopes. It is about time for me to start getting some upgrade points so I can move up to Cat 3 (the big time). I'll be racing twice in Zeeland on Friday night, it'll be super cool, you should go.

Cheers!
CE

Sunday, June 2, 2019

The Waterford Races

I may need to rethink my racing strategy (: I don't understand how I finished nearly last in this last race over in Clarkston, MI. I was first at the start of the last lap, right? I was pushing the pace with a couple other guys and I came around to the front as we crossed the line on the bell lap.

My answer to being on the front (where I didn't want to be) was to sit up (go real slow) and I'm thinking this was a mistake. After a lot of thought on the way home, I should of kept the pace fast. I had done a lot of work throughout the race, chasing people back, trying to form moves with other riders, etc., but I still had a little bit of gas left. Everyone came around me and I was pretty well boxed in (meaning I couldn't move left or right because other people were there) so I didn't have a go at the sprint at all. My co-worker Evan can attest that I told him, 'the one thing I really want to do in this race is have a real go at the sprint", and it seems like I did not.

Well, I can take some serious positives here. I held on very well to the front of the race the entire time, something I wanted to work on from last year. Yeah, I had to dig deep a couple of times to keep in contact, but it was impressive I was able to hang at the front. Overall, I raced just about exactly how I wanted to until the end, I believe this bodes well for the rest of summer! Hooray!

I just got back from a 100km ride with Tyler. I don't do many long rides and I really need to start. It felt good but my hamstrings are still suspect, I should really be stretching more but you know, that takes too much time. Instead, I'd rather write blogs.

My new house is amazing, I love being a homeowner! I always have something to do, and it is so lovely not having my mother asking me a million questions all of the time (I love you Ma). I've got a cat, his name is Zipp. He is super perfect but the little buddy likes to knock around his water bowl and spill water everywhere, does anyone have any suggestions with this? (:

*this is Zipp he is just so purrrfect*

This Saturday is the Dirty Donut!!! 5 minutes is taken off your overall time for each donut you eat (and don't throw up) at the 3 donut stops throughout the 40 miles. As all the people at my office (and former offices) know very well, I don't blink at 6 donuts, so I'm looking forward to see how many my body can handle during a bike race!

After this weekend, we head up to Zeeland on Friday for two races. This is probably my favorite race of the year, at dusk on a Friday night, right through downtown! It was super fun and super fast last year, and I'm hoping I can put on a super good showing for myself and the team! The next day I head over to Ada to race again, I have no idea where Ada is so I'm going to figure that out. Sunday is up in Grand Haven, I haven't done this race before but it is a road race, so I'm hoping to sit in and draft off of everyone and then out-sprint the field at the end!

*my spare bedroom has been taken over*