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April 28, 2007, Saturday, our team race is today, Whitnall Park Spring Classic. The weather is perfect for racing. A breeze out of the West will make a section of the course challenging for those racing. The course is a 1.2 mile loop with a climb that levels off turns right and then climbs a little more, which is were the wind will come into play. For me I can handle the first climb, but there is no recovery time and the second hill will take its toll as I estimate we will do about 15 laps. The finish is another hill, which should make the final sprint tough but safe. Our team has set up a King of the Hill point’s race in each of the events which will spice it up a little.

 

I arrive at the park at 5:45, as I had a hard time sleeping after my wife, Stephie, came to bed at 4:15. She was up late getting food (which included wraps, brownies, and other goodies) ready for the Team Wheaton crew and the officials. Her efforts will be appreciated by everyone when we get hungry during the day.

 

I put up about a dozen signs around the park showing where to find parking, registration, etc. Mack and Strings show up first at 6:30, others follow shortly after with everyone just finding something to get us ready for a day of racing, it is like a well orchestrated symphony watching everyone contribute with little direction, as Strings would know. Hey, maybe I am the conductor.

 

It is evident early that we are in for some large fields. The Jr 15 – 18 has 37 riders, the Women’s Cat 4 has almost 25, and the 45+ has almost 35. While my race, the Master 4/5, officially has 81 riders at the start. These are huge fields; we will end up with 407 racers for the day, an awesome number.

 

Team Wheaton will have a good showing for the Master 4/5, with Dr B, Sap, Engine, Chevy, Juice, Oh Henry, 13 Pin, HP, and me.

 

The Master 4/5’s roll out at around 10 AM, I start out in great position, maybe 12th from the front. However by the 3rd lap I have allowed myself to slip back to 50th or 60th. I was stuck in the middle and watched as riders moved up on both sides. A tactical error on my part. I realize that I need to move out of the middle or I will be sitting in the back by the end of the next lap. I adjust my position to the inside, (I remember talking to Psych before the race and we agree not to make the same mistake as last year by being on the outside, where I was involved in the only crash of the day). Being on the inside I find that coming up to the finish line I can pick off 10 spots with ease. I try to hold my own going up the hill, then try to recover as much as possible, and pick off a few more spots as we approach the start/finish line.

 

The pace is high, and the suffering picks up where we left off last week. I start thinking of the Topo I ran Friday on the layout of the course and where there are some 4 – 5% grades, and a couple spots just a tad higher. I try to stay focused on my breathing and efforts. I quickly notice that my HR is in the 170’s each time I climb the hills. Which means I am approaching my limit each time around.

 

I hold my inside position which has allowed me to move back into the top 20 or so. The negative on my line is that when I take the sharp turn on the inside I practically come to a stop with each lap. Then it is out of the saddle and a sprint to the top. I see Kitty and T-dog who cheer me on each time around. They are walking the course so they are in a different spot each time around.

 

It seems to be a pretty safe race when all of a sudden just past the finish line I see a rider run into a curb and flip over. It looked like he wasn’t paying attention, but what I would find out later is that another rider flatted and bumped him into the curb. I see Stephie headed over to give medical assistance, seems as though the injury is a broken collar bone. Ouch!

 

The pace is unbelievable and we are dropping riders on each lap. Then with about 4 or 5 laps left, we make the sharp turn and another sound of a crash behind me. The field splits and we are down to a pack of around 40. I have a choice to make sit in or try to move up. I have been on the edge now for several laps; in fact I had let a small gap open up and was close to being dropped just moments earlier. Mentally I was prepared today, so I decide to give it a go and move up. I am successful and go from the back to the top 10 in one lap. In fact Kitty said she almost missed me when we came by because she wasn’t looking for me towards the front. On the last lap I hold my position going into the sharp turn and was able to take it with some good speed.

As we took the right at the top of the hill I was maxed out. The rest is a bit of a blur, I remember getting passed by everyone in the pack as we made the final turn to the finish. My finish continues to be my weakness, and I end up in 40th place. Of course I would have liked a better finish or help my mates with some high places, but right now with where my fitness this course is really tough on me. So I was please to hang on while those 150 lb guys screamed up the hills on each lap.

 

As a team we were not as successful as last week in Madison, but I think a lot of us were mainly focused on running a great race. And based on that we had several first places today.

 

The day continues and is picture perfect. We have put on a great race, and the team shinned as everyone contributed in ways that made me proud to be associated with Team Wheaton.

 

We conclude the perfect day with a perfect stop, Ecky, Bartman, Scoots and I stop at Mo’s Irish Pub for dinner, which I wash down with a couple Black & Tans.

 

I love this sport. I love the training, the high speed racing, the suffering; yes I said the suffering, but most of all I love the people involved. And today was a day to mingle with some of the best.