2010 Crossroads

Sometimes you just need a break. I am typically one who likes to be over-prepared and over-trained for any competitive environment I jump into but this time, I just needed a break. I had two weeks in a row off, two weeks I was on vacation. The only substantive bike time I had during those weeks were found in the saddle of beach cruisers with a child on the back. I did get a few sprint intervals in to the delight of my five year old whose response was "Do it again daddy! Go fast!" My own relaxation being the driving value for those two weeks, I entered into the Crossroads series with quite a bit of suspicion as to my fitness and level of competition.

Crossroads is a series of five criterium races that take place on five consecutive nights in small towns around Charlotte. Lasting Tuesday through Saturday this year, my family and work schedule permitted me only to race on Thursday and Friday nights.

Thursday night saw me driving to Salisbury NC in the middle of an apocalyptic lightning storm. Strong winds, severe lightning, torrential rains, and periods of hail accompanied the cold front that rolled through the piedmont of the Carolinas that evening. The cat 4/5 race was the first on the docket, slated to kick off at 6:15 in the evening. Preparations, registrations and warmups were made in the rain. As we lined up at the start to receive instructions, the field, nearly 60 in all, listened with a nervous energy that was heightened by the spectacular lightning strikes all around. The whistle blew and the field was off. I missed the hole shot as I was in the back. Crash 1 took out 4-5 guys in turn 1, a foreshadowing of the carnage that would take place over the next 30 minutes. The first three laps I worked my way from the back to the middle of the pack. Not taking too many chances in the corners and accelerating coming out of the turns. In turn 7 of lap 3, there was a crash in front of me. A junior went down hard, bike and body sliding across wet pavement. Sparks flying from the bike and the sound of flesh sliding on asphalt. The guy in front of me was caught out. Nothing he could do but go straight over the fallen rider, falling in spectacular form himself. I was next in line, locked my brakes momentarily then ran out my line to avoid falling. My line led me to bunny hop the curb and ride through sidewalk and grass back onto the road before continuing.

"That will get your heart going!" I said to the racer next to me who also managed to avoid the pileup. The wild look in his eye said he understood exactly what I meant. The remainder of the race was a tale of piles of bike and people in every other turn, some of which forced us to slow and avoid. I was with five other racers who were strong enough to be at the front but were caught up in the madness. We formed a chase group and held the gap to a minute 12 seconds behind the eventual winner. Soaked to the bone, road grit all over, I stayed upright and felt fairly good about my performance considering all.

The next night we raced in Statesville. 10 minutes to the start the skies opened up again for a repeat of the night before. Fortunately, the race unfolded in a completely different way. This was a day for the breakaway. The roads were soaked which prevented overly aggressive riding on my part. I maintained a good pace and finished between 15 & 20 in the main field out of the 60+ who started.

The best part was I enjoyed the racing. Last year, if I didn't win, I was disappointed. This year, I raced hard, made a few tactical errors but walked away at the end of the day having enjoyed the war. That is true progress!

I am not sure if I am to race again this year. I will see what opens up. I am excited about enjoying the group rides and continuing to build my legs. A seasoned racer told me earlier this year that it takes quite a few years to build the muscle memory that is necessary for strong racing. That being said, I feel great that year 2 of racing I had 3 criterium races and rode competitively as a cat 4 for each of them. The future is wide open.