Another Redlands Classic Come & Gone
Three stages and a prologue, in my opinion, made for a somewhat less exciting race. Saturday’s criterium actually turned out to be entertaining because a group of three riders – a Jelly Belly, Sea Silver & the other team I can’t remember – went on a break that lasted for about 20 minutes. Just when it looked like it may stick to the end of the 90-minute crit, Colavita & Health Net drove it home on the last lap & caught the escapees. An Argentinean from Colavita took the sprint with a blown apart field behind him. Dudes were popping off left & right, especially in the last 30 minutes.
Turns out the same guy won Sunday’s stage, however Health Net’s, & new Durango resident, Chris Wherry won the whole deal. Apparently the Durango weather didn’t hurt his fitness much. I was proud to see mountain bikers Trent Lowe & Liam Killeen second & third in GC. Only 60-some guys made it to the finish. After hearing about Friday’s windy Oak Glen stage, for once I’m glad I wasn’t riding.
I actually slept in on Saturday morning, which didn’t mean much since I woke up with a mean headache. I figured I’d skip the Saturday RBC ride thinking it would be lame due to the Classic, but I ran into Steelman Steve at GFE later that morning and he said it was business as usual. Probably a good ideal I did skip it because I didn’t have the legs for Sagebrush on Sunday as it was. I probably put in 2 hours total on Saturday & in that time I put in zero efforts. In hind site I should have gotten my heart rate up.
Another Sagebrush Safari Come & Gone
Never drink anything new an hour before a race. I dealt with stomach problems for half the race and I’m thinking it’s because I drank one of those weight loss drinks an hour before the start. They’re packed with carbs (go figure) & they’re a great recovery drink so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to down one prior to the start. Bad idea. Plus my wrist is still bothering me from the Nova crash a couple weeks ago. I rode like a freaking beginner on the upper portion of the course, like I was walking bare-footed through broken glass. It was just one of those days where I wasn’t willing to suffer. I ended up in 9th place & since it was a CA State & an AMBC Race, I qualified for the Nat’l Championship in Mammoth this September. Thank God I don’t have to go to Castaic (a.k.a. Crapstaic) next weekend. I could race only the remaining Nationals for the rest of the summer and be content. I say that now, but before I know it I’ll be on the starting line at some Am Cup race.
Thanks to Denise & Jeannie for the excellent feed. Josh turned in a second place in Exp 30-34 so his bid for a Semi-pro upgrade is well on its way. Poor guy. For Josh the race was somewhat ceremonial because it marked the final voyage for the Home Grown. Yes, it’s true. The Bass Boat is being replaced with a SRAM-equipped titanium hardtail that will be race-ready by Sea Otter. Josh has had a love/hate relationship with the Homegrown since I’ve known him, so it was only fitting that in their last race together, they finished runner-up even though he wasn’t able to shift the son-of-a-bitch into the big ring for most the race. Goodbye old friend.
I think Sagebrush is actually one of the best races all year, but the last four miles plain sucks because of the course split near the final decent that is always littered with Beginner & Sport riders. Over half of them refuse to get out of your way. This year was the worst. I even accidentally stuck some guy in the bushes, but I don’t feel too bad because I had been following him for far too long. He should have let me by sooner.
Let the Suffering Commence
Day Light Savings Time means two things and one of them is Tuesday nights on Sunset. The first few Tuesdays will probably be lack-luster because the days still aren’t long enough to do more than two laps, but as soon as the days grow longer so will the suffering. I can’t wait. The other thing that the time change means is that I’ll finally be motivated to do the riding I should be doing. More daylight and warmer weather is a great motivator since I’m anti-nocturnal and don’t fancy cold weather.
Lil’ Punk Still Nameless
So Denise thought she’d send an internet pole asking people to vote on Shane, Grant or Ryder. It seems that Shane is most popular, followed by Grant & then Ryder. The results from Florida aren’t in yet, but if only everyone knew the inspiration behind the name Shane, they’d think twice before clicking their mouse on that e-chad.
I promise, no bike stuff in the next post...
Apr 4, 2005
The Classic, Sagebrush & A Nameless Infant
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