Sunday, May 10, 2009

Berkeley Hills 2009

Arg. I started this race feeling like garbage again. Legs moved OK but my head was full of snot once again. I can't wait for summer so everything will just go and die. I wasn't having any problems sticking with the pack and started to think I actually had a chance when a crash separated me from the field. I turned around to check on my teammate who also went down and he told me to go for it. I tried, but my bike was skipping gears. I stopped and tried to straighten the wheel, but it turned out my derailleur hanger was bent. Unfortunately, this was at the top of the course, so I had to chase back on with a two minute gap.

I nailed the descent (why can I go faster on my own?) and drilled it down Camino Pablo, where I could finally see the field and all of the minor attacks rolling off the front. Head down, I cranked away. Finally, I got to a line of cars and used the draft to get myself back on. Now I was tired.

The last time up the main climb, I thought I should mitigate the damage and just go hard. That was a mistake - I should have gone all out. What's to lose? Anyway, finished up 20th or so of 60. I feel really good about getting back on with a flat/downhill TT (at <135 lbs, I don't go all that fast on the flats) but am disappointed with my mental performance where it really counted. Lessons learned.

For a change of pace, I think I'll do the Sonoma 100 km mountain bike race this weekend. I've been surprised at my ability to recover recently, so hopefully it won't impact Mt Hamilton.

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