Early the next morning we rolled out to the start of the road race which was being held at chicken processing plant. The aroma... Well, let me just say, its not the sort of thing you wish to smell first thing in the morning before a hard effort! The race loop was around 17 miles & would be taking us up and over nearby Pine Mountain. While the ascent was not particularly steep, there was plenty of climbing to be done that would progressively sap the strength of the racer's legs. Frank's race was set to do 3 laps, while myself & Preston had 4 laps on tap.
As Preston & I rolled out with the other Elite Men, the pace was sedate with the peloton aware of the task that lay before them. As we crested the first serious ramp of the climb on the first lap, one of the strangest things I have ever witnessed occurred. A deer ran out from the trees straight into the peloton, t-boning a rider in the process! Fortunately, the rider was not seriously injured. However, his bike did not fair so well as the impact sheared his fork! Good thing we were only doing about 10mph at the time.
As the laps wore on, the lead group steadily shrunk. Preston & I tried to economize our efforts as much as possible, so we would have something left for the last lap. A compounding factor was now it was very hot (road temp was about 105 F) and we were starting to run low on water.
With about 10 miles left to race, I followed a small move by one rider. I pulled through, pushed for about 15 seconds & looked back. The rider who had started the move had sat up & I now had around a small gap over the group. Sensing an opportunity, I took off. Pushing as hard as I dared, I quickly opened a large gap. However coming off of the mountain, I was now being broiled by the midday sun & driving solo into a headwind. To make it worse, I now had no water & was starting to cramp! A quick glance back confirmed my fears - seven chasers were gaining inexorably. With the run-in to the finish being a long uphill drag, I tried to hold my tempo but it was not to be & I was swamped by the chasers within sight of the finish line. Argh! 1k too far! Oh well, 8th place was still a good result though. Preston hung tough to come in 10th, suffering cramps the entire last lap. Frank also did well, finishing 14th (I think) in his race.
The drive home was long & hot, but we were very glad to be back. We both repeatedly cramped in the car which was hilarious for the non-crampee - until the tables were turned. Now, its time for a little recovery and then starting to built towards our next events in mid June.
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