OK. So the title is a little overkill…but you have to understand that here in the DS, a little snow or ice goes a loooonngg way. Of course the media jumps on board and gives it a name like a hurricane or something. After my races in Columbia, I was really looking forward to the races this past weekend in Chattanooga. I had been doing the intervals suggested by Bryan and felt some improvement. But one of the kids got sick, then the next one, then me, then my wife. The kids were starting to show symptoms before we left Nashville. We all ended up with sinus infections of varying degrees. My son got a lot in his chest as well and that is where mine seem settled too. So, I was just hoping that the doctor would give me something that would knock it out so I could still race in CrossaNooga. Then came the reports of Winter Storm 2010.
At first the conservative media downplayed the whole event. Then the liberal media called it all a conspiracy. Then they all said no real accumulation. But it did arrive. It started Thursday right after lunch and by the time the Tide had washed over the Longhorns, the roads were covered with ice/snow. Down here, it is not “fiscally responsible” to have enough equipment and manpower to actually handle this type of storm. It doesn’t happen enough to warrant the expenditure. So, if we get a little bit, it just about closes everything down. They do have some equipment and by Friday afternoon, many of the “Main” roads were drivable. But the local streets and roads were still a mess.
I still wasn’t feeling great and with it staying below freezing, I decided that it wasn’t worth it to risk the icy roads on Saturday morning. By Saturday afternoon we could venture out as long as we stayed on the busier roads and were careful. My soon to be 4 year old son loves Monster Trucks, so Saturday night I took him to see Monster Jam with 65,000 other people. Quite a show, didn’t get home til after midnight though.
But early Sunday “some ice still on the roads” and “a lack of sleep” were kicked to curb by my desire to race. So, I headed out early Sunday morning to drive to Chattanooga. I didn’t have any real great expectations after being off the bike all week and not gettng much sleep. But I just wanted to go up and give it a go. It took a little longer than expected since there was still some ice in places, so I only got there about an hour before my race. I didn’t pre-register because I wasn’t sure if I could make it. So, I had to do that and then started getting ready. Not quite as cold as Nashville, but it was still in the low 20’s. But I hurried and had just enough time to get an almost decent warmup.
Since I didn’t pre-reg, I had to start at the back of the group. We only had a little over 30 guys, but the start was a little narrow. We started up a small hill on a paved road and I manged to move up to about 15th before we left the road the first time. BTW, got a question for you…Who puts pea gravel down in their play ares? Booker T. Washington State Park does. So, instead of sand or woodchips, we had to ride through pea gravel to cross 3 seperate play areas each lap. Not easy to do. But other than that the course was pretty cool. It was fast. Had to really hit the barriers in full stride or slam on the brakes. The ground was still pretty frozen, so the off-camber sections were tough. There seemed to be quite a few true roadies out there. I would pass them in the technical sections, but then they would motor past me on the flats or the small climbs. I just couldn’t seem to get my breath to stay with them. Managed to pass a few and hold my spot the last 2 laps, but I couldn’t really move up. Just didn’t have the lungs. I had to spint at the end. But I ended up in 11th place. Not too bad considering my sickness and such. But I would have loved to have a go at this course when I was healthy. Except for the gravel pits, it was a good course for me. It had some climbing, but not real steep or very long. It also had enough technical stuff to hold the roadies down.
I ran my clinchers as low as I dared since the ground was so hard and slippery. I could feel it bottoming out in some places. But looking at the tires afterwards and the mud that was left on them, I could tell that I was pushing them pretty good through the turns. I felt like I handled the conditions well. I really think that I will have to give tubulars a try. So, it still speaks well for my continuing to improve and feel like I can ride with the leaders. Not sure about next weekend yet. Can’t do a Saturday race because we have a birthday party for my son, and the closest race for Sunday is 4+ hours away. So, I will probably just do the training race here in Georgia.
Talk to you later.
DS
