Vindication, Hillsboro style

2008 edition recap
Cat 4/5 44 mile race
dropped in the first 10 miles or less
bonked after 30ish
road another 5ish before getting off the bike and walking. thankfully com car 2 (i believe) picked me up and took me back to the start.

2009 edition
Cat 5 22 mile race
dropped ?? i dont remember when i but i am a big guy who doesn't go uphills well, i try but we all know how well that goes, of course unless your Ulrich.
no bonk!
I FINISHED!!!! 40, but i finished, and i wasn't even last!

Now of the details

The 2009 edition of Hillsboro started with a trip to and around chicago on a friday afternoon, bad idea!!! i started with a trip to my wonderful teammates Julie's work to get my brand new spank'n kit, i heart our kit, than to teammate Mia's apartment to gather her things and head to Hillsboro. The idea was to leave around 3 so we can miss as much traffic as possible on the way to Springfield, the location of the hotel for the night. We failed, we hit bad traffic, and our 3ish hour drive ended up taking 5+ hours, and with the forecast of 60+ degree we were both drinking plenty of water which means plenty of pee stops.

once we were out of the traffic, it was pretty smooth sail to our hotel, which is were we planned on meeting some other teammates of ours. The reason Mia and i traveled together was with my huge bike, her small bike was an easy fit into the back of out Honda Element, ie big bike plus tiny bike make an easy fit into any vehicle. once we checked into the hotel it was off to Subway for some rude service and some good food. than back to the hotel for more waiting and sitting around until the teammates arrived. Upon there arrival it was bed time for the 7am rise to get to the course early enough that Mia could register... yes it is good to be female somedays, like those days were you stay up all night to make sure your still awake 2 months before a race just so you can register, yeah she did not do that, she just walked in and registered same days..... no fair at the least.

the drive the next morning was uneventful, and before we knew it, we were checked in and preriding the brick section of the course. being the non-climber i am, i tried my best to convince my legs they had to climb today by climbing all the hills i could at a nice slow study pace, it seemed to work. several pee breaks later its go time.

being a cat 5 race you expect stupid things to happen, but not normally within the first 200 meters after the neutral zone. But that day, someone locked up there brakes and slide sideways, on a DOWNHILL! they didnt fall but to prevent running into the back of everyone, as they slammed on there breaks, i had to swing out past the yellow line and ended up passing the whole field, opps! in my attempt to avoid a penalty because if i didnt swing i would have started a pileup, i slowed and waved everyone past me, so i could just back into the spot i started. i got there with no momentum at the bottom of the hill, bad news for any big guy. a nice hard effort to stay attached ensued which involved a lot of dodging in and out of traffic. i stayed with the group for a few more climbs but as with all hilly ride i got snapped off the back.

After the snapping, it became ride for vindication, sure it was a shorter distance, and i had actually ridden my bike during the off season, but i still wanted it finish, and not finish last. knowing that i wasnt the first one dropped, it helped the mental part of riding alone while being passed by small juniors who can cut thought any headwind, while i act as a parachute for the slightest gust. finally a guy passes me, we worked together for a little bit, but it was one side and not in a good way. so i let him go, but kept a close eye on him. as we neared the end of the race, we had the final 2 climbs still to do i could still see him.

i decided if i kept a nice steady rhythm on the pedals i could probably cut into his lead on these hills and just use my weight advantage and pass him before the brick section. And slowly, pedal stroke by pedal stroke i slowly closed. with lactic acid reaching the eye balls, remember i dont live near hills and i am 240lbs, i just kept climbing. at the top of the final hill i was within 5 bike lengths, with only one left hand turn until the bricks. he lead thought the left and as the road rose slightly before starting the downhill into the bricks i attacked, went over the top and hopped into my 53x11 and hammered down the hill. with it being a short hill i hit the bricks around 45 mph, and held on for dear life. (the cobbles travel by a lot faster and are a lot smoother when your flying over them) another left at the bottom of the hill and over more bricks, and i attempted to keep whatever pace i could, I DID NOT WANT TO BE CAUGHT! one more left and on to the final straightaway, take a look back do i need to sprint? i saw nothing, where did he go, check the other side, still nothing. i guess i keep pedaling until i hear someone yell or i cross the line.

He, the guy i was chasing, never caught me and ended up 15 second behind me. but the important thing for the day is that i finished and wasnt last. My legs did hurt, and my winter training proved to be nowhere near enough, which means i have lot of work to go still. but the season is young, and i still have no DNF on my record, lets hope it stays that way.