Zanesfield Road Race

Today's race was one of the toughest days I've had on the saddle in a long, long time. I arrived at the park in Zanesfield under sunny skies and figured that maybe the 70% forecast for rain might end up being wrong. I signed in, coated my exposed flesh with SPF 30, got dressed and started off on a 30 minute warm up ride. After finishing my warm up there were only about 10 minutes left until the start of the race.

Today's route was originally laid out to include Corkscrew Hill which is near the Mad River Mountain ski area. I was looking forward to this part of the course since I haven't been climbing too bad this season. As it turned out, the course was changed and this climb wasn't part of the course. We ended up racing 4 laps on a fairly flat course and the Masters were combined with the 2/3/4's.

My Masters compatriots, Cadillac George, Marco and Luca Brasi (Dave Chambers) did not attend today. I think they demonstrated superior intelligence and chose a good race to skip.

So, promptly at 1:30 the referee called the 2/3/4/masters to the line. With timing that could not have been better orchestrated by a Hollywood director, the sky darkened and thunder rattled in the sky. Sure glad I was wearing that sunblock. A few miles into the race the rain started to fall and it ended up coming down hard the entire race. There was a fairly steep, fast decent coming into Zanesfield and by the time we hit it my visibility was limited, I was soaked to the bone and chilled to the point my whole body was shaking. I hung with the group two times down the descent but lost contact the third time down. Once the course leveled out I buried myself to bridge up but burned lots of matches getting back on. When the inevitable attack took place I was off the back and time trialed my way home on the final lap. I was pretty cold and all I could think about was getting to the end of the race. I crossed the line in 4th place for the Masters.

Fortunately everyone stayed upright today - but this is pretty close to how hard it rained on us. Maybe if I had an umbrella with me...

Fortunately the rain was reduced to a light drizzle as I limped back to the car to change out of my kit (my calves were so cramped that walking was a major effort). With limited use of my fingers I used my teeth to pull off my gloves and then managed to shed the rest of my wet gear. I got into dry clothes, started the car (I had to use 2 hands to turn the key and start the car), turned the heat on high and rolled home.

Tym raced with us today and after we finished he told me he had speed wobbles on the descent and kept control of his bike by squeezing his legs against the top tube. I'll have to remember that the next time I find myself racing in these rainy conditions.

Deciding how I raced today depends on whether you look at the glass as half full or half empty. Each time around the course there were a few (smart) riders who called it a day and dropped out as we passed the start/finish line. So I guess I should be happy I finished and that my result was where it was. I probably would have dropped out myself but I needed the series points.

Joining me today were teammates Josh Morrow, Farmer John Price and Dan Tinderholt. Congratulations to John who has found his form on the bike and had a much better day than me by winning the 3/4 race - way to go John!!! Josh and Dan were winners as well for racing and battling today's elements.

Next week's race is in Somerset and all points are doubled since the course is so difficult - I can't wait.