The View from the Launch

There is some threshold between optimism and delusion, one that with 20-20 hindsight I failed to recognize while curled in bed Tuesday with some food poisoning / stomach flu, sleeping 14 hrs. Wednesday morning a friend at school, watching me struggle to walk down the street carrying a bag of exam blue books, asked if it were a good idea to race. I almost reassessed, but I had been looking forward to Joe Martin all year. The courses suited me, we had a good team including Sue, and because of Mt. Hood this would be a race where Advil-Chapstick could be a real force. I rallied somewhat for the time trial, and I guess I should be pleased with 10th given the circumstances, but I wasn't. On day two I was struggling mightily at the back of the tiny field before the racing even got hard, and by mile 20 I was off the back on a flat part, depleted and going backwards. Tim pulled around after maybe three miles and I got in the van, having lost six minutes already. It was pretty awful, but I was not going to repeat El Salvador. The team has been racing well, but yesterday is one everyone is second guessing. Trying to conserve and doubtful a break would succeed, the team let Cheerwine rider Robin Farina drift off the front, which seemed like a good idea given the wind. But there was no concerted effort to control the gap (Colavita's responsibility, but everyone's loss), which was aided by neutralization of the field, and Robin gained a whopping 10 minutes to seize the gc. Awesome ride by Robin, but also major errors made by others. There is a lot of regret and questions about how you change a race plan midway as well as "aren't we here to race our bikes?" I wish I could have been there, though who knows if I could have changed the outcome. Hanging out and trying to be helpful is kind of tough, but like in most sports when you get sidelined for injury or another reason, it's a chance to observe and learn and take stock. I am feeling well again and let me tell you, I plan to race my bike. Today is the final stage - a very challenging crit - and the team is extremely motivated to race. I am psyched to watch them rock!