First Race

I searched the Internet and found the Bicycling Coalition of Maine's Calendar. On it were a series of Time trial races. I had no idea what that meant, but with the glorious Internet i quickly discovered that it meant I did not have to ride side by side with anyone. I was still working on having a conversation with the rider next to me on our group rides, and could not hold a line if I look to my left or right for too long. Time trials sounded like the format for me. I went to a local Bike shop and asked the owner what kind of average I would have to have to be competitive at a time trial. He had years of experience and was happy to share. It was disappointing to hear that 20 mph was the low end for a 15 mile TT, and if i wanted to see top 10 I would need be at least that fast. My average at the time on a good 14 mile effort was about 15-16 mph.
I started reading more about performance training and invested in a heart rate monitor, which I now consider a necessity for any level rider. I continued riding outdoors, and put some intervals in on the trainer. My friends I rode with started to get suspicious when I would tell them that I needed to skip the group ride because I was going to ride the trainer indoors.
I set a date for my first race, and set up a makeshift schedule for my ride times and types. I grabbed an old note book and started recording information on performance, weight, duration and efforts. May 5th, 2007. My first race. I was nervous, excited, but as soon as I was on my bike warming up, I felt connected to the group of people around me in a way I never have. I felt a strange sense of equality, and even though I was the new guy, I was welcomed into this little club of foolish bike racers. I warmed up the best I could on the surrounding roads, and took my spot at the line. One moment I am sitting in line, waiting to go, and the next I am looking down at my heart rate monitor wondering how my heart rate could possibly be at 202 BPM. It was a flat 4 turn course, I got into the best aero position I could (still riding a regular road setup) and tried to get my heart rate with in the ranges I had been reading about for the prior months. Chris Carmichael's Time trial video was a spring training favorite of mine, and his voice echoed through my head as I focused on my cadence and tried to stay at my lactic threshold. Unroll like a carpet... I was racing. I was alive. I finished up 30th overall that day, out of 66 starters, and 7th in my age category, out of 12. I was happy. I rode a time of 33:21
The rest of the race series went well, I also dabbled in a few road races, which I will blog on later, but the TT was my main focus. I ended up buying a Salsa tt bike from Bikeman.com, and informally riding for their team. I was proud to wear a "sponsors" jersey, and finished in the top ten in all the races in my age category. Overall, for the series, I was 6th in my age category, and proud to have raced to the highest level I could have pushed myself for the entire season. At my last race, I averaged 24.66 mph.
As much as I loved racing in the time trials, road races peaked my interest a bit more, so I set off to attempt a few of those....

http://www.bikemaine.org/maine_ttseries_2007results.htm

Intro to Blog

Welcome to my blog. My intentions in setting this up were to create a history of my daily training, plans, and progress. Will anyone read this? Me, maybe. I may forget after a week or two also. Kinda play it like I race. My goal is always to finish well, but the actual plan creates itself as the race unfolds and the pedals turn.
I have been racing now for two seasons, upgraded to category 4 in July of this year, and have set a goal to upgrade to 3 by July of oh-nine. I started riding a road bike in August of 06' primarily for fitness. I was a rock climber, avid hiker, and out of shape. At 6'2" I was pushing 230, drinking a bit above moderately, and even occasionally smoking. The first season of riding was painful - I was embarrassed to be on a road bike, uncomfortable in spandex with the flab hanging, and could average nearly 10 mph on a 8 mile ride. But, regardless of how painful it was, I was smiling while I rode, and I was king after. It gave me a sense of accomplishment, and genuine pride. I decided to buy a magnetic resistance trainer for the winter and see if I may be able to shed a few pounds for spring riding. Maybe even keep up with the guys I rode with.
At the time I lived in a small 2 room basement apartment in Union, Maine. I worked for 9 hours a day at the office, came home, and hoped on the trainer while I watched the Simpson's from 6 to 6:30. Eventually got away from the TV, and I set up 20 minute rides using my ipod, then 40, then 45. I still listen to the same tunes when I train now.
I also invested in a scale, and was amazed when I realized I had lost nearly 10 pounds. I monitored my weight pre and post ride, and was delighted to see the pounds melt off. I set a goal of 210, and started watching what I eat. Then a goal of 200. I counted calories. I remember the day when i saw 198.2. People started asking if I were sick. I smiled, and replied "I may have caught some sort of bug"
That spring, on a new Fuji newest 4.0 that I had treated myself to, I went out for my first ride with the group I had rode with the previous fall. They were amazed as I glided up hills, and powered out tempo on the flats. Someone asked if I had trained to race, and up until that point I had never thought about it. Since that moment, I have not been able to stop thinking about it.
In fact, I need to go right now to get in some miles on the rollers. Late season training for me is rollers to fine tune my form - I have the Portsmouth crit on Sunday. Tomorrow I'll talk about my first racing season. Spin. Go.