Opening Weekend

Although the weekends of February 27 (for recreational cyclists, the Chilly Hilly 2011) and March 2 (for racers, the Icebreaker Time Trial) are probably the closest to the “official” opening weekends for Seattle-area cyclists, this Saturday March 12 felt like opening day for me. This was my first “real” day on the bike for 2011.

With rain in the forecast for the foreseeable future, I headed to the rain shadow in Sequim to ride the “Tour de Dung #1” with teammates from Seattle Cancer Care Alliance/Starbucks Cycling Team. Race distances ranged from 36 to 72 miles.

I felt just a tad intimidated as I hadn’t ridden a road race like this in about 5 years. My immediate goal was simply to finish the race; it’s hard to know how the body is going to respond to race intensity in the first outing. A secondary goal was to help support a teammate with ambitions to have a strong finish. I’m happy to report that I was able to achieve both goals, although my legs did eventually blow up while responding to an attack on a small hill about 1/2 mile from the finish.

Sequim Road Race #1 Results.

Amateur bicycle races in the US are organized by skill levels ranging from (beginner) category 5 or 4 up to a very skilled level of category 1. New racers start at the beginner level (5) and as they compete in more races they can earn points that enable them to upgrade to a higher category (designated with a lower number). Dedicated and persistent male racers eventually upgrade to category 3–above that takes dedication, persistence and increasingly more athleticism. Some races also include age categories, though I’m not convinced these level the playing field much. I do think racing against older guys does tend to be less twitchy than racing with 20- and even 30-somethings. I race in what I call the “old and in the way” category–Masters 35+ category 4/5.

For perspective and comparison to what you might experience on a group ride, the pace of Saturday’s Masters 35+ 4/5 race varied between a Cascade Bicycle Club “strenuous” (20 mph on the flats) to well beyond “super strenuous” (over 22 mph on the flats) depending on race tactics at any particular time. My Garmin recorded an average speed of 22.3 mph for ~48 miles. The average speed for Saturday’s men’s category 3 race was about 25 mph for ~60 (or 72?) miles.

Road racing can be a total gas. You get to ride at high speed shoulder to shoulder with the testosterone and adrenaline turned on full blast–and not have to worry about traffic. Cycling for 2+ hours without having to touch the pavement or stop is worth the price of admission in my opinion.

Although local racers were out at Sequim (and Mason Lake on Sunday) fighting for bragging rights and upgrade points, I think the real racing was happening in San Antonio, TX at the 2011 Hill Country 600k. Local hard men Chris Ragsdale and Mick Walsh were there to represent Seattle.

Between Chris, Mick and many of the Seattle International Randonneurs, Seattle must have the deepest bench of long distance enthusiasts in North America, don’t you think? Pretty amazing and inspiring considering that our conditions are just slightly less than perfect for cycling about 6 months of the year. Maybe that’s why we excel at these distance events.

Chris had a very strong solo race, finishing 2nd and a mere 26 minutes behind ultra cycling legend Marko Baloh. Mick was on a 2-person team that cranked out the 360 hilly miles in 20:41.

Hill Country 2011 Results.
Mick Walsh’s blog post.
UltraRaceNews Report.

Here’s another bit of perspective as you ponder your next race or group ride: This weekend Chris averaged 18.3 mph for 360 miles. Solo. Chris isn’t earning upgrade points, but then categorized racing doesn’t apply to the likes of him.

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