2023 STATE ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIPS, FT HOOD (CAVAZOS)

This post starts at the awards ceremony for the USAC Nationals in Augusta.  Marilane and I were sitting with Fred (I've written about Fred for years) and his wife and a few other members of Fred's team, Geri Atrix.  Since I regularly am on the podium, Susan asked why I wasn't on their team.  I replied that I'd never been invited.  A few days later I received the invitation, which was quickly accepted.  Team leader, Whitney, opened a purchase window with Voler so I (and others) could order a team kit.  Besides individual awards, Geri Atrix won Best All-around Team.  Whitney did some minor changes to the jersey, including putting Best All-around Team 2023 on the back.  But these wouldn't be shipped until late October.  Wanting me to look part of the team, Whitney said he had a loaner jersey I could wear at Ft. Hood.  

I'd taken a few preview rides this year, both had strong south winds.  Both giving me times in the 2:25 range.  I hoped for a north wind, but alas, it was even stronger out of the south.  When I first started racing here, we raced in the afternoon.  This year our start time was 7:50am.  We were scheduled to start with the 60+ guys, but enough of us 70+ signed up that race director, Andy, gave us our own group and a five minute delay behind the young guys.

I need to give a shout out to Andy Hollinger.  His race-directed events are always well run.  This year's race is called the Bill Weidlein Memorial honoring a longtime race assistant who was killed while riding his bike.  All of the races honored deceased cyclists, most of whom were hit by cars.  We were reminded of this at the start, then Andy just said "roll on out" or words to that effect.  No count down or Go!, just roll out.  It took about a hundred yards to get into some racing semblance, and I had a fleeting hope that we could go at a reasonable pace.  Didn't happen.  I hung on while we were going downhill but once it flattened out, I was gapped and they were putting the hammer down.  

One guy with a neck brace on passed me so only Fred was behind.  In past races I was always ahead of Fred up to the first big climb, would be first off the climb, and then he would either catch me soon after or maybe after the turn, but would always catch me.  Well, we got to the climb and I caught neck brace and put maybe a minute into him.  At the turn, 15 miles, I didn't see him so figured maybe two minutes.

Now I had 15 miles into a headwind, not to mention some long climbs and a couple of steep climbs.  On one of the long straights, I thought I saw a rider.  I was twenty watts (or more) low and only doing eighty rpm's, and when I inventoried my energy, I concluded there was no way to up anything.  With about eight miles left, neck brace passed.  I tagged on for awhile, but couldn't hold his wheel.  With a mile and a half before the turn out of the wind, I could see him just topping the last steep climb as I started up.  Finally the turn came and I relaxed a bit.  I'd been passed by the really young guys who had to do two laps, and now a few of those stragglers starting passing me.  I kept checking the mirrors for Fred, but he never materialized.  He's finally slowing down more than me.

I'm not happy with my time or performance.  I wasn't able to access my leg strength, for whatever reason.  I'll ponder that for the next few months.  What I am happy about is being on the Geri Atrix team.  For this race there were 12 registered riders, but only 11 raced.  7 of them were Geri Atrix.  Andy really likes us old guys.  Even though the official registration was for 70+ he expanded the awards to do 75-79 and 80+.  The results were 70-74, Tom and George 1st and 2nd; 75-79 Whitney and Tom 1st and 2nd; 80+ Jerry and Fred 1st and 2nd. 

My history of racing Ft Hood:

2010  1:59:13

2012  1:41:51

2013  1:43:16

2014  1:49:03    

2015  1:54:43

2019  2:15:55

2023  2:17:02

CLIMBING ACHIEVEMENTS

 Awhile back someone asked me if I had cycled up "can't remember the name" mountain.  The answer was "yes" but it got me to thinking of all the mountains I've been on.  And as I listed them out, some of the other significant climbs that weren't mountains came to mind.  I'm sure I've blogged about all of them, but this post is a list of those adventures.  

The first group was on the Cycle Washington ride.  Then we took our first cycling vacation to Vermont.  Next came Cycle Montana and our #1 tourist destination, Glacier National Park.  Bicycling Magazine listed their top Ten roads in North America and I planned to do five of them in one trip.  The Koocanusa Highway is pretty, and it does go up, but not like a mountain, so it didn't make the list.  The Kananaskis Highway in Canada was a possibility that didn't pan out.  On the way home from Montana I cycled the West Summit in the Beartooth Mountains and Rim Rock Drive, Utah.    The West Summit was an up-back ride.  I planned to ride clockwise on Rim Rock, giving me a relatively short climb and long descent, but ended up counter-clockwise resulting in a long climb but thrilling descent.  In 2001 I cycled coast-to-coast.  Later, after retiring, I went with Marty Jemison on two Tour de France trips and rode in the Pyrenees and Alpes.  

I've ridden the Blue Ridge Parkway three times, once with Black Bear Adventures, once with friends, once by myself.  Each time, I climbed Mount Mitchell.  On a New England vacation I cycled up Cadillac Mountain (but didn't make it to Mount Washington).  I put some books on consignment in the bookstore in Leadville.  The ride down Independence Pass was cool.  I've cycled up to the McDonald Observatory once, and stopped a bit short on another occasion.  Velo View Tours allowed me the opportunity to ascend Bobcat Pass.  I made it up three-quarters of the Flagstaff climb in Colorado before needing to stop.  Which is why it isn't on my list of places climbed.

Brasstown Bald is the highest point in Georgia at 4,784, although the parking lot, which is as high as a bike can go, is 4,593.  This is two and a half miles, with a couple of 16% ramps and a 24% ramp.  I guess because it goes by "Bald" instead of mountain, I didn't list it, or the six gaps that I do in Georgia.  So I'll list them now: Wolfpen Gap (3,260, three mile climb); Woody Gap (3,160, five mile climb); Neel's Gap (3,091 eight mile climb); Unicoi Gap (2,949 3 mile climb); Jack's Gap (2,940 five mile climb); Hogpen Gap (3,525, ten mile climb).  My highest speed was 49.x going down a long straight on Hogpen.  It is almost as strenuous as Brasstown Bald.

Climbing a mountain is not like climbing a hill.  I have one day of hills that stands out, and is mentioned here: On the coast-to-coast trip, from Chillicothe, Missouri to Kirksville it is only 82 miles, but we pushed up 214 hills.

Nowadays going up takes a lot more effort, but I haven't lost the thrill of descending.