Bariani Road Race

This was Sarabeth's 3rd race and Abbey's 1st race (both first races with a teammate!). Abbey and Sarabeth each had a great first race with DBC women! The field size was 56, the biggest for either of us. Abbey worked hard to keep the group moving fast, and the two of us got a pace line going with some Mike's Bikes girls at one point. Neither of us knew the field had broken up until after the finish, so it seemed our attempts to make it hard for the other riders paid off! The crosswinds and rough parts of the road also played into the race, as one poor rider dropped her chain going over the potholes and Sarabeth's chain jumped down onto her small ring at an inopportune moment. Luckily, she was able to get back in gear (pun intended) and keep up with the group. There was still a solid 20 person group together with a mile until the finish, so we knew it was going to come down to the sprint. Everyone got a little jittery on the long, straight, slightly-inclined road leading into the finish, and there was a bit of bumping and jostling as people fought for good position for the sprint. But we stayed calm and smooth and finished strong!

Bariani this year had great weather. For the Cat. 3's, it was Chris Bowlus, James Sears, and myself for DBCRT. The first lap Chris and I set the pace for most of the lap. Nothing really happened. Chris was a Monster and continued to set the pace up front as I settled in with the pack. Jason Arrino told me to get on his wheel so I did. Around the start of lap four Jason attacked and bridged up to a few riders that got off the front. I got pinched off and figured that we would catch back up to them. Then the referee neutralized us for the 45+ 123's to come by. Those guys were nowhere in site so the referee let us go. James attacked and got with a few riders up the road and was able to stay away. Halfway through that lap we got neutralized again, but for real this time. The 45+ went by and then we were free to go again. I shut it down with a Squadra rider. As we were approaching the finish we scooped up Bowlus who lost a bottle towards the beginning of the race and looked very thirsty. I handed him one that I still had and continued to the finish stretch. The pace built up for a what was left of the pack finish. A couple of riders did a good job of leading me out. I thought, "what the heck....let's sprint it out!" I was able to hold them off at the line, but it was only for 25th.  

 

 

It’s been nearly 18 months since I did a road race, and only the 4th of July Crit in between. My personal travel has made consistent training a thing of the past. That being said, I put in a few weeks of regular exercise, and reduced my Big Foot pouch significantly. 

 

Bariani looked to be the best way to ‘re-enter’ the racing scene. With a couple of long rides under my belt, I decided to take the risk of showing up day of and try the wait list for M35+ Cat 4. My goal was to finish; my stretch goal was to finish with the lead pack. With 75 registered, and seemingly near that number on the start line I thought I would be amending my goal to finish with the rear guard as I was certain a break would form at some point and I had no intention of covering any attacks.

 

We got off to a slow paced start on a 3-lap circuit. I checked the winds and lines on lap one to make sure I found the paths of least resistance. On the first lap, the corners proved to be the jettisoning spots for 1-2 riders each time. After two laps, that brought us down in size. I felt pretty good, which was surprising to me. There were a few break attempts, but only one or two and none of the 5 or 6 well-populated teams did much to either increase the general pace nor put riders out front. So, I sat in middle of the pack on my smoother lines and windward side to conserve energy.

 

At the beginning of lap 3, the peloton got a bit angry and there was a swarm of side move-ups for better placing. I waited until this settled, and then made my way from the back up the right side. I gave three or four strong pedals about midway and found myself propelled off the front. I spun, and looked back seeing nearly a 100-yard gap already, with 12 miles to go. Knowing I had neither the lungs nor legs to do a sustained 12-mile TT, I fought my inclination to channel Big’s ferocity, and the pack actually accelerated to catch me sensing maybe I would try and escape. The pace was a bit faster on lap 3, but no escapes, and as we turned on to the frontage road for the long lead in to the finish we had a very tempered and safe turn. Then all hell broke loose as there were two amoebas working up – I chose the wrong side (wind) but still got some benefit. I hit my limiter on the heart rate, so eased off the gas and moved right for better drafting and hammered to stay at the back until about 50 yards out and coasted in on the lead coattails. No one else passed me and I ended up with my stretch goal. Wish I was in just a bit better shape to move up and contest or make a move on the escape.

 

So, this big hairy-legged bigfoot made a showing, ended 43/62 and was very happy with the result. Now looking for another local race to try and make more than a pack-showing.