OUCH!!!

Hi All! Well another race in the books. Yesterday was the infamous Devil's Punchbowl RR. For those of you who've done this race, hats off to you. For those of you who've done this race, and continue to do it year after year, you're as sick as I am! All kiddin' aside, this really is a great event, and a great race course. It's definitely a "hard man's" race. If you're game is weak in any aspect, this race will expose that weakness and shove it down your throat until you puke!

Looking at my results for the last four seasons I've raced Punchbowl, you'd never guess that I like the race. Yesterday was no exception. I finished 34th, that doesn't sound good, but considering there were no field limits in any of the categories except the "5's", and our Cat 4 field may of been the largest of the day at 128 riders, and the usual starting line chaos that always takes place at Punchbowl (yesterday being no exception), which resulted in me starting about 120 riders back, I'LL TAKE 34TH!

I arrived at the race course about 8:30am, plenty of time before my scheduled 10:30am start. My father-in-law Marv came along with me for support, and to work as my "feeder". I began warming up on the trainer about 9:15, because one thing I've learned at Punchbowl, a good warm-up is a must because the climb comes only a mile in to the race. As I was warming up I took a sip of Cytomax I had mixed in my bottle, and within ten seconds I had an overwhelming feeling of nausea come over me. For the next two to three minutes it was all I could do to not vomit right on the side of the road. I kept thinking that would look real nice to all the others standing nearby! Just like a rookie with a case of bad nerves before their first race!

As you probably know, I've been sick for the last two weeks, and I've come to the conclusion that something in the drink mix must of stuck in the back of my throat on my gag reflex. Fortunately the feeling passed, but I was a little worried that it may resurface during the race. Fortunately that didn't happen. Back to the race...

As it turns out I was so far back in the starting line up that I couldn't even hear the race official read the rules of the race. Me and a few other guys standing next to me commented that they really should of split the Cat 4 field in to two groups of 65. Pack dynamics play a huge role in racing, especially road races. And when the pack is 128 riders in size, who knows what's going to unfold once that whistle is blown. Somehow I managed to hear that whistle blow, and off we went.

The race started out fast just as I expected, and I immediately began to focus on getting as close to the front of the pack as I could before we reached the climb. I'm not sure, but I think I managed to get in to the top half of the field by the time we reached the base of the climb. Not good enough!

The strong guys up front were really laying it down. I just kept my focus on putting the power to the pedals and trying not to get caught behind other riders who were already beginning to fall off. One thing about Punchbowl, the field gets blown apart quickly. Near the top of the climb a group of about twenty riders managed to break free from the rest of the pack. Myself and about fifteen other riders became chase group number 1. It stayed this way the entire length of the first lap. At the bottom of the descent on the first lap we were approaching one of the four 90-degree turns on the course. There was a CHP officer working the corner and waving for us to slow. Three riders just ahead of me entered the corner, and the next thing I know, I see them hit the deck! WTF!!! This is a road race, not a crit! I manged to get around them, and sprint up the road to catch the rest of my group.

Back up the climb we went on lap two. The leaders at this point had about a one-minute gap on us. Big, but not out of reach. As we rounded the same turn the accident took place on the last lap, the group I was in had a loud mouth who kept yelling at all of us to work together, keep it smooth! The problem was, our pace kept slowing, we were adjusting to the pace of the weakest rider. I could sense this happening, and decided that we were never going to catch the leaders if that kept up, and no one seemed to want to work to make the catch happen. At this point I made what was either a good or bad decision, I'll never know, but something had to change.

I threw my bike in to the big-ring, and sprinted around the rider who was taking a pull at the front. I immediately settled in to a hard pace, put my head down, got as low as I could, and basically went in to TT mode. The rider who was yelling at us to work together must of latched on to my wheel because the next thing I know I hear him yelling at me to slow down! Rather then waste my breath yelling back at him, I just kept pounding on the pedals.

As we rode over the slight rise in the road, low and behold, there were the leaders! I just kept pedaling hard. After a couple of minutes I found myself latching on to the wheel of the last rider in the lead pack. Finally I could rest! Apparently so could the rest of my group that came along for the ride!

We rounded turn four, and began the climb up to the start/finish, blew through there, and made our way to turn one, then on to the climb for the last time. I counted heads and realized I was sitting about fifteen riders back as the road began to rise. I thought to myself, "Not bad for starting in 120th!". The problem was all that work I did on the back half of the course to get back to the lead group really took its toll on the climb. I was reduced to riding in my 25-tooth on the climb, where earlier I was pulling the 21. I watched as the other riders began to pass me one at a time. That's a horrible feeling, especially when there's nothing left in the legs to react to it.

As I approached the feed zone, my father-in-law Marv was waiting with a fresh bottle in hand. I threw one of my bottles to the ground and took the new bottle from him. He informed me the leaders were exactly one minute up the road. Upon hearing that I grabbed a few gears, stood and attempted to increase my speed in hopes of catching them before the long descent. I knew if I didn't, I never would. Unfortunately I didn't.

The rest of the race was fairly uneventful. I just soloed most of the way in, keeping an eye out over my shoulder in case other riders were approaching. I wasn't sure where I stood overall at that point, but I never like giving up any spots. As I approached the finish line, another rider did manage to catch and pass me to pick up a spot. I saw him coming, I stood and tried to out sprint him up the hill, but I quickly had to sit back down. I had nothing left!

Well, one more week until the next race...San Luis Rey. That will cap off four straight weeks of road racing. I'm hoping I can shed the last of this cold and have a great showing on my home turf. I entered a category I've never raced at San Luis, Masters 30+ 4/5. I'm not sure they've ever offered this category, but what a good one it should be. Unfortunately the start time is 7:30am! Thank God it's close to home! After San Luis, I get a break from racing, but not training. The State Championship RR in Bakersfield is June 6th, so I'll need that time to get in top shape. Hope all is well, and a BIG congratulations to Eric Landman on his solo victory in yesterday's Cat 3 race!!! Until next time...