Wow! What a weekend of racing here in SE MI. This was the first ever Tour of Kensington Valley stage race. It started with a short time trial called a "prologue" on Saturday morning. This was a very short, very intense time trial down a long hill, turn around and right back up that same hill. I knew this would be a very focused volume of riding but the ones who could endure the pain would do well. Check out the awesome start ramp for the TT on in the pic on the left! That's Alexey Vermulian one of our junior riders and the eventual winner in junior men 10-14 category. 
James rolls down the ramp
My tactic was to really get cookin' down that big hill, build up momentum and try to carry that all the way through. Because of the length of the course the time differences would be small but very consequential in the overall standings called the "GC" or "General Classification." (That is kind of a euro-cycling phrase I think.) Actually, I can tell you after it is all over, that prologue set the winners in place for the entire race. I finished the prologue in sixth place and at the end on Sunday I was still in sixth place. Well, as I was saying, my thinking was to really fly down that first hill and that is what I did. I don't have a computer on my bike but my eyes were watering from the wind so, from experience, I was somewhere over 40 mph. I backed off the pace a little after feeling a little gassed at the bottom of the hill but just kept tapping out a steady rythmic pace. Going into the turn around the 180 degree turn around I had a lot of speed but I was warned that folks were overcooking that turn and not selecting the proper gear for after the turn so I made sure I carried a lot of speed but slammed on the brakes in a small gear then sprinted away. Now it was all uphill. A slight grade at first then it began to build and build. The finish line seemed to come into view very quickly and I was flat out huffing and puffing with every once of energy I had left. This is where seconds are saved on your ability to suffer. I rode through the line and back down the hill on the other side grateful to be done with stage 1.
Our team leader, Joey Schaard, won the stage and the yellow jersey! That meant we had to defend it in the criterium and hopefully the road race. He set a blistering pace that would have landed him an envious position in the cat 1-2 field.
Something I haven't mentioned was my back problem the day before. I am getting old. I was sitting in a chair changing a tire on my bike. I stand up and pain like a mighty river flows through my lower back. Geez it hurt. I could stand up straight and I couldn't carry any weight. I thought it was over for me. There seemed to be no way I could compete. I am fortunate in that my sister is a physical therapist and I was going to be seeing her that night. She quickly gave me her best guess as to what was causing the pain and told me to bend my back as far backwards as I could essentially arching my back to an extreme position. It was like magic. My back just felt better instantly. I reported that to my sister and she said the pain would be back but keep on doing that exercise. By the end of the evening I felt confident I could ride the event. It did hurt climbing out of bed the next day but I figured I would know the story as soon as I got on the bike. I was pleased to find that instead of making the pain worse riding the bike improved the situation. This was also something my sister predicted. She said there is a ligament that runs down along your spinal column on the outside and it would help push my bulging disc back into its correct position.
Stage 2 was a criterium at an office park nearby. We had to arrive by 1200pm or so to get James ready for a 1230pm start. Since this was the first year, there was bound to be glitches and here was one of them. All the stuff that needed to be in place at the office park had to be set up after stage 1. So, the racing was about 40 minutes late getting going and it just kept getting worse as the day went on. By the time my scheduled race time of 530pm came around, we were not even into the cat 4's. BTW, they were the preceding race to ours. Anyway, there was an incredible confluence of events that further prolonged the start. First, there was a crash in the cat 4 field while, simultaneously, someone was having chest pains and another an asthma attack. When 911 was called, the dispatcher thought there was a bike car accident along with everything else. So, the Green Oak TWP folks rolled what must have been every vehicle in their emergency and law enforcement fleet. We had at least three EMS type vehicles with crash rescue and the police. The course was alight with rollers. Apparently, when they show up, everyone who wants treatment gets treatment so while the asthma and chest pain folk were getting attention, the bike crash folk were getting patched up. By the time we got back to racing we all just wanted to go home. it was now 730 or 8pm, (I don't know for sure), and we agreed to do 11 one mile laps and that would be it. About a half hour. The racing was fast and furious being so short. We battled to the time bonus prime where we blundered and allowed a break that ended up costing us the yellow jersey by .1 seconds. I let my team down on the last lap. Dominick Z. was putting the hammer down on the front and I joined him. As he slowed I moved by him and continued to roll up the pace. I looked back and it wasn't Joey on my wheel but someone I didn't want to help. At that moment, I thought the smart thing would be to not work for someone else so I let up on the gas but that was just what I shouldn't have done. Joey was back there in a good position and my slowing allo
wed the winner to jump before Joey did and it cost us the stage by a hair. That is bike racing I guess and it is also how you learn. Dominick told me before the race that we would have to keep the tempo high on the last lap to prevent this. I am a sloooowww learner. That's the eventual yellow jersey winner Matt Prygoski barely edging Joey out in the sprint in pic on the left.
Stage 3 was the usual Kensington road race course. The cat 3's were slated for 39 miles. Not a very long distance for a road race but after the long day we just put behind us, that distance sounded okay. Longer distances are generally in my favor given the hours I have had available to train.
Our field was painfully slow at times with riders conversing like it was a group ride then someone would try and make a break and all heck would break loose as the field hosed them down. Dominick stirred the pot early while Rune and I kept our powder dry. It wasn't until the midpoint that we started our own attacks. All were brought back. My best opportunity came when a friendly rider jumped and I went with him. It was just the two of us and we did get some separation. We immediately started smooth rotations trying to build our lead but the group just stepped on the gas and caught us. They were not going to let anyone get away. Rune tried to get away with another rider at a different point and we had Joey and myself at the front blocking. They gapped the field nicely and it looked promising as Joey and I faked like we were working hard. Riders rode around us and hosed them down too.
It all came down to that last hill by the farm. I felt that this was where it would happen. Either we would be positioned well at the top of that hill feeling strong or it was over. I tried to stay in top five at the top and did manage that but I was real tired. My hope was that everyone else was too. I made the last turn to the finish in the top five but man I was blown. I gave it everything I had but riders were going by me. I managed a 12th place finish. Joey and Rune were in 6 th and 7th which wasn't good enough to get the jersey back. Because Joey and I had good prologues, we were able to manage 2nd and 6th respectively.
James and I came home, watched the hockey game and slept. At least I did.
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