Las Vegas

Ah, Las Vegas. A town I love and hate all at the same time. A true-life love/hate relationship. Everytime (almost everytime), I've ever visited Vegas I've come away swearing I'll never visit again. The reason for this declaration usually involves large quantities of alcohol, and the hangover that accompanies that. Last year around this time was no exception. A friend of mine and myself loaded up the car and headed out to Vegas on a Friday morning for the Mt. Charleston Hill Climb. The race was on Saturday, and it was the primary reason for making the trip, but partying all night after the race was running a close second. Needless to say alot of alcohol, and a large amount of fun was had by all. As far as the race went I managed to finish 24th out of a full-field of Cat 4/5 racers, with a time of 1:44 and some odd seconds. I returned this last weekend to try and better that time and finish in the top-ten. I knew of at least one racer who was signed up for this race that specializes in hill climbs, so I had no delusions whatsoever of actually winning this one. 17.5 miles, all uphill, starting at 3300 some odd feet, and climbing to 8600 and some odd feet. Beautiful climb, and I must say, one of the most well organized races I participate in throughout the season. Needless to say, I managed to shave about four minutes off my time last season, finishing around 1:40:19. I'm still not sure where I placed, as we decided not to stick around for the unofficial results. What did I take away from this race? For starters, I know I can crack into the 1:30's. I think I let the HRM dictate how I rode most of the race, which isn't neccesarily a bad thing, but with 1km left and a group of three up the road, had I threw caution to the wind, and attacked, I'm almost sure I could of caught them. Second, I'm stating this now, for the first time in public so to speak.........I am finished racing crits! Ontario #5 was my last one. Why you ask? Try as I might, I still don't derive that much pleasure out of racing in a crit. Bumping bars, the yelling at each other, dealing with juniors or any bike rider for that matter that can't hold a line, and the constant fear of the inevitable crash, all add up to an unpleasant experience for me. The risk/reward just isn't high enough to be worth it. Not to mention the overall vibe at a crit as opposed to a road race is just worlds apart. The crit scene is just oozing nerves and attitude. Not necesarily a negative one, but there seems to be far more tension in the air then at a road race. Racing at Charleston this last weekend reminded me of just how much I prefer the road scene over the crit's. So, with that said, the bike will be receiving compact cranks at the end of the season, and my training will be tailored specifically to perform well in road races and time trials. Of course this means I'll be racing far less next season, but with school scheduled to take up a larger portion of my time, and the possibility of a part-time job soon, that's OK. Until next time.....