Title 167

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="02c285a1erlcgo.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>REI Austin Cycling Team</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="REI Austin Cycling Team"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> back to  <A HREF="id164.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Race and Ride Reports"><U><B>Race and Ride Reports</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="02ad2c00dkelyh.gif"> <div> <A HREF="id164.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Race and Ride Reports"><U><IMG SRC="03b0e0e0.gif" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>   <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14">     <A HREF="id177.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Title 167"><U><IMG SRC="02f0e0e0.gif" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>  <A HREF="id168.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Title 168"><U><IMG SRC="0300e0e0.gif" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> <B>Gila Race Report</B></div> <div> <B> ...David James</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Hi everybody, </div> <div> I got back from Gila last night! I raced against some pretty incredible 4's... we raced three days for a total of 145 miles and 10,530 ft. of climbing. (John and Travis in the 3's did about 50% more of both, I believe.) </div> <div> Stage 1 Inner Loop Road Race </div> <div> ------------------------------------------ </div> <div> 61 miles, 3690 ft of climbing and some treacherous descents </div> <div> We started off at Pinos Altos, a small village in the Gila National Forest. A small two line road (with no marked centerline) winds through the trees at an elevation of about 6000 ft. The race got going and we zipped around the corners and climbed at a respectable pace. We climbed up a Category 3 climb of 1000 ft to Meadow Creek. Then we descended about 500 ft. through some rollers (up and down and side to side as the road wrapped around the mountains) for about 5 miles. These roads are truly incredible to bike as long as you keep it under control! Yes, New Mexico has forests -- its not all desert! </div> <div> At Wild Horse Mesa, the view was awesome -- we were at the top of the forest and could see for miles around in all directions. There wasn't much time for siteseeing, though, because we soon started the technical Sapillo descent. (or Sopapilla as John and Travis called it ;) The Sapillo descent goes 1200 ft down in 3 miles, and had very few straight sections. This is the kind of descent that puts a few gray hairs in your hair and makes you wish you had practiced it about 10 times beforehand. (I rode it once on the bike and several times in the car, but that wasn't enough.) There were about four 180 degree turns -- including one off camber turn and one totally unmarked turn. I rode down carefully -- people zoomed down around me (At Ft. Davis I would typically lead the pack down the descents so that I could choose my own lines, but out at Gila I would have just been in the way of these alpine descenders.) I passed a few riders that had lost control and crashed on the turns. Luckily, I don't think there were any major injuries during the descent. Upon reaching the bottom, your hands are achy from gripping the brakes, but you are glad to be there without smacking a tree or sliding out on gravel. </div> <div> I had to hammer for about a minute to make contact with the front group who charged down the descent. Luckily, the peloton took it easy through the next 25 miles through the valley. Most people who were dropped during the early climb or slow through the descent still were able to come back up to the front group. Next was a 700 ft. climb over 10 miles which felt as flat as Houston compared to the climbing and descending we had just done. I laugh because we crossed the Continental Divide and I didn't even notice. </div> <div> We hit the last climb with 14 miles to go. It was not nearly as steep as our earlier climb -- 1000 ft. up over 7 miles, but the pace was brutal. (I think I averaged 16 mph up the climb.) As usually happens to me, I needed about 5 minutes to establish my rhythm. By that time I was about 20 riders back but was setting a good pace up the Category 3 climb. I started following wheels and moved up slowly. I guess we were about 1 km from the top of the climb. There was a group of about 6 people in the very front, and I saw them crest the final hill. A little behind them was two more. I was with a group of about 8 riders, and they were hurting -- standing up and grunting. </div> <div> My HR had recovered a little, so I dropped down a few gears, stood up and exploded away from the group I was with. It was definitely the coolest moment of that day for me. I looked back to see if anyone was coming, but they were history. I had to catch a group in front or I would be stuck in no man's land. After a few minutes of bridging on the downhill, I caught up with two guys, Mark from Colorado and Patrice from France. Mark would end up winning the 35+ CAT 4 GC. Patrice, I heard later, was Jeannie Longo's husband or partner. Patrice was quiet and not very courteous. Everytime he pulled through on the paceline, he almost clipped my front wheel. Mark, on the other hand, was a nice guy. Though he was about 180, could climb better than most people I've met. </div> <div> The three of us worked well together, stayed away, and almost caught the front group of 6. It looked like it was going to be a three way sprint for 7th place. Then </div> <div> Mark cracked with about 600 m to go. Now it was down to two, but I couldn't really gauge Patrice. With what I though was about 200 m to go, I took a flyer for the finish. I got a great separation from the French wheelsucker. Unfortunately, I misjudged it (it must have been more like 400 m!) and I was almost out of gas with the real 200 m to go. So I sat up and waited. Patrice caught me and I jumped on his wheel. With one last effort, I came around him at the finish for 7th place. </div> <div> Stage 2 Silver City Downtown Criterium </div> <div> ------------------------------------------ </div> <div> 1.1 mile circuit, with about 60 ft. of climbing per lap. </div> <div> Since I was in 7th place, only down 32 seconds from 1st place, I just sat in during the Crit. The next day would be the showdown. The crit started off really fast and squirrely -- the roads were rough and not anywhere as smooth as the Travis County Expo Center course. It almost every corner, riders were not holding their lines. I was towards the back of the pack, getting yoyoed back and forth. Eventually I realized that the outside corners were the place to be, and it allowed me to carry my speed through the corners. When the time came for the $45 prime, I blasted up the 25 ft. climb on the backside of the course. I had maybe 2 seconds on the group, and had to weigh if I could hold that lead for about 800 m. Considering the layout of the course (a downhill and then a gradual uphill to the finish) I thought it would be unwise to spend all my energy in the attempt. I was hoping someone with attack with me, though -- if that would have happened we probably could have stayed away. </div> <div> I finished in the top 30 with the pack time. </div> <div> Stage 3 Gila Monster Road Race </div> <div> ----------------------------- </div> <div> 66 miles, with 5,420 ft of climbing </div> <div> We started off at Gough Park in Silver City and headed east. The course today would be basically the same as stage 1, but in the opposite direction. That meant that we would finish with the Category 2 Sapillo climb (instead of descending it), continue through Wild Horse Mesa (with its blind corners and curves), climb about 500 ft. to Meadow Creek, have a quick descent and finish with a 500 ft. Category 4 climb to Pinos Altos. </div> <div> A few people started a breakaway in the first 15 miles so that they could snag the first bonus sprint. After the sprint, we made our way up an 800 ft, 5 mile, Category 4 climb (with a few quick downhills). I was really unhappy with how the peloton was descending -- everyone would bunch up and brake at the bottom of the hills, losing lots of momentum. So I made my way to the front and started the descent. This one wasn't twisty or scary -- it was more like Ft. Davis -- just full speed 40 mph descending for several minutes! We ended up in the valley and the pace was pretty slow at first. However, then the attacks came. The pace surged several times -- I suppose we were trying to catch the breakway. I didn't pay much notice -- I was saving my energy for the final climb. We crossed the Continental Divide and everybody was pretty much back together. </div> <div> We went through the feed zone and Cindy from Houston was nice enough to give me a feed. (She was there for John and Travis as well) Getting a feed during a race of this difficulty is essential! </div> <div> With about 18 miles to go, we hit the bottom of the Sapillo climb. Some New Mexico and Colorado guys cranked up this thing and the pack fell to pieces. I lost contact with the front group, but kept a good rhythm. I worked with various people up the climb so that I wasn't in the wind the whole time. I don't think I've ever climbed that hard. I think I averaged 90-95% of my max HR whole time up the climb. After about 2 miles, I had the front group in sight again. Of course, "in sight" in a climb like that means probably 100 m. Since you are going 10 mph, 100m is really quite a bit of time to make up. I wanted to catch them, but I was roasting. We reached Wild Horse Mesa, and I started working well with a group of 4 people. The guy in front was climbing very steadily at a solid pace, and I could barely hang on. We were catching quite a few stragglers. </div> <div> We came through the section with the fast curves and blind corners, and I was beat. I got a little lazy on a turn and picked a bad line. Before I knew what happened, I was a little too wide and in the dirt and gravel, approaching the side of the mountain. I braked hard, and took a little tumble. My group rode past and asked if I was ok. I was a little shaken up but not hurt. I had a few scratches and bruises but I didn't care; I got back on the bike and kept going. I was relieved! My last crash before this one resulted in a separated shoulder, so it was nice to have crash that didn't involve a trip to the hospital. </div> <div> I probably lost a minute or two because of the crash, and was a little conservative on the next several corners. Fred Brito from San Antonio and I started working together on the flats and downhills. We were both really hurting. We made it the next several miles and then hit the finishing Category 4 climb. Though only 400 ft up over a few miles, it was an unwelcome sight. Fred fell back some, and I struggled to continue. Cindy drove past in her Jeep and told me to sprint. I smiled. At that point, I was struggled to keep my speed in the double digits. I kept peddling at my slow pace and 90% max heart rate. A younger rider came up to me with about 200 m to go -- I don't know if he was in my category or not. We were side by side. I looked over, and dialed it up one gear (probably putting me in the 39x25 or something ridiculously easy) and struggled to pull away. He matched me. </div> <div> "Oh yeah?", I thought to myself. I struggled again and dialed into a 23. I stood up and sprinted (probably at 15 mph because I was destroyed) so that the kid wouldn't take me at the line. The crowd apparently really liked that. It was like a race between two snails or something. </div> <div> I came in 23rd on the stage, losing 6 minutes to the leader. </div> <div> GC </div> <div> ---------------- </div> <div> I lost 9 GC places in stage 3 and ended up in 16th place. I was disappointed, but the guys that won were mountain goats from New Mexico and Colorado. I was pleased with my efforts and was confident that I gave it my best shot. I was very happy that I had the determination to get up after the crash and keep going. I believe about 60 CAT 4,5 riders started the race, so I finished ahead of many. </div> <div> I'll be back next year -- who's going with me? </div> <div> David</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>