Back in the Saddle

Yeah, no postings for days, much to report. I raced for the first time in over two years, returning to El Dorado Park after crashing there in the spring of 2005. I seem to have gotten into shape the last two years in September (or later) which kind of messes up the road racing season. At age 51 I've finally realized that maybe if I want to do something, I'd better just get to it. So after a springtime full of fairly random riding I went out to the Rosebowl ride for four weeks running and tuned up the anaerobic system, logging more time above lactate threshold than in the past eight months or so.

The Eldo is put on by CBR, AKA Chris and Vera. The level of commitment they show for bike racing is awesome and I, for one, am grateful for it. The personal touch they add to the sport is something special. After I had been out of action for two years, Vera remembered me and noted that they'd gotten my license application and just hadn't printed it up yet. How cool is that, when the organizers recognize you on sight! This is a throwback to the 70s, when it seemed like the racers, organizers and supporters all knew each other.

Oh yeah, the racing. El Dorado is near the coast on the LA/Orange County borderline. Last week's start was at 6:30pm, but it will be moving earlier at some point. Parking is four bucks, so the cheap among us park at WalMart and ride a mile down the San Gabriel River bike trail. Not me, although I'm usually a real skinflint, I'd like a car on hand in case of anything unforeseen. The race costs seven dollars for CBR licensees. Join. There are three packs, 1/2/3, 40+ (the "+" represents Juniors and women, although anyone can ride in their USCF men's category) and 4/5 spaced on a course a little more than two miles in length. There are two points primes three deep and the finish is picked to tenth. Three series of nine races each are run from March to August. There's talk of more in September.

As for me, things went way better than I expected. I entered the 40+ race and was able to get near enough to the front to see the really good sprinters ignite their jets and take off. I have training to do yet, but felt like a top ten finish wouldn't be too outrageous in the final sprint. After the second sprint with about 30 minutes to go four strong riders jumped. I had been observing the competition and felt they had a chance so I bridged the gap (barely) and thus began a five-man TT. It worked, so I eked out fifth place.