First Week Back

The weekly to commute for bike racing was much shorter this past weekend. With races in Bow and Concord, there was little more than an hour spent driving. Good for the environment, good for the legs and good for the wallet.

Saturday was the Concord Crit and my first race in about a month. I was skeptical how my knee would feel. The tendonitis is by no means healed, but I was hoping to at least get through the race without pain. During the warm up, I became overwhelmingly aware our team is perhaps the funniest, most obnoxious team in New England. I pee a lot before races, but I found myself close to wetting my chamois from laughing too much. Anyway, we warmed up then crammed onto the starting line. So far, the knee was holding up. Suddenly, we were racing. Round the corners, up the hill, down the hill, repeat. I was surviving. My heart rate was THROUGH THE ROOF. But, I was surviving. Forty minutes into the race, a break formed and I found myself sitting fourth wheel in the pack. The three guys in front of me clearly wanted to hangout with the guys in the break, including Vinnie, so I was desperately trying to hold their wheels. Normally, this is no problem. However, on this day, after three weeks of no racing and little riding, I was nearing death. My pack slide was what I imagine snow tubing down an icy Alp d'hueze would be like, unavoidably fast and unstoppable. With the field pulling away from me, I decided to sit up and soft pedal until they caught me. I very shortly had the pace car honking at me and Vinnie pulling alongside me. He was still in the break. Good. I waited a second longer and the field overtook me. I ramped up the pace and stayed with the peloton until the finish. All I needed was that little break. Unfortunately, coming through the second to last corner, a small crash took out Duncan, Dylan and Ryan. Everyone was okay, thankfully, but it took a bit of steam out of the finish line express.

After the race, I made the WONDERFUL decision to ride home to Durham. My knee felt fine the whole race, so why not get in some extra hours? Bad idea. About 30 mintues from home, my knee stiffened up and was really hurting when I pulled into my driveway. Obviously, 2+ hours is okay, but 3+ hours is overboard at this moment. What can I say, I am dumb and anxious to get my legs back to racing shape.

Sunday...I skipped the race. My knee was sore and racing 64miles was a bad decision even I wouldn't make. I guess it rained and was cut short at 32 miles.

Racing resumes this weekend with Gate City Cyclone in Nashua. My knee continues to feel better, so I should be there. Hopefully, some hard riding this week will get my legs and lungs jump started. So, keep an eye out for us at Holman Stadium.