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Blueberry HillAugust 29, 2004A few hardened souls braved this sweat fest. Talk about your hot temps. Sounds like the lake was a highlight of this one. Race Results
Race Commentary Andrew Jacobs
Tom Lemaire Not a good race for me. I thought I started at a reasonable pace, but I guess it was still too fast. I'm really not used to riding in heat and humidity like that. I bonked early and never really recovered. Started last, finished last, and felt like crap. Not much fun. Oh well, I'll do better next time! Anyway, swimming in the lake afterwards was good. On to Harding Hill!
Dawn Kaczor it was hot alright! thankfully it was a short race with 4 mile laps. the course was easy with one tough climb. there was a water stop and a guy with a hose. the womens field was really small. only 3 of us in sport. after the race, the awards were given out in a timely fashion and there was a beautiful lake to swim in right at the race site. so in spite of the heat it was a fun day at the races.
Dan Hurwitz That plunge into the lake after the race, uniform and all, instantly transformed this into my favorite race venue of all time. The only thing wrong with this race was that it was not long enough - not enough time for this tortise to catch up with the hares. It certainly was hot, but that is why God invented Camelbacks. I felt like I rode a good race - again no significant spills, no pit stops, and no mechanicals. Now if I could just pick up the pace a bit, especially on the downhills, maybe I will see the podium again some day.
Michelle Wilson The course was short but the climbing and the heat made it tough. So after my crash in the last race I go get ice, xrays, chiropractor, pain meds, massage, rest, and do a bunch of road riding to stay in shape. I'm feeling great and 90% healed. Now why in the world didn't I treat my bike with the same care, afterall it crashed too? After that race as usual I cleaned it up and looked it over for any breakage which there was none and put it in it's room (yes, it has it own room in the house), never turning a pedal on it until...race day. My first lap was a troublesome shifting experience. The derrailleur must have bent in the crash. I had to stop twice to put the chain back on the drivetrain. The second time I had to struggle to unwedge it from between the rear cassette and wheel losing a big chunck of time, ugh. By the second lap and in last place I decided not to shift to low gears and just ride/run the bike. Surprisingly I caught up and jumped into first place going into the last lap. Hank was kind enought to even pull over to let me catch the woman in front of us. Thanks. He did however managed to get in front of us and off he went to finish his race. Then... holy hot tomalies near heat exhaustion set in. I had to slowly walk up that horredous hill AGAIN seriously hoping not to pass out. The younger woman competitor walked a bit faster and passed me. We battled it out for most of the lap. Then my saddle decides to come loose and angle backwards preventing me from being able to climb. I finally surrended with nothing left in the tank and off she went to the finish line before me. Boy was it a hot one. Whatever weight I'm sure I lost I gained it back that night with nonstop fliuds and food. Thank goodness for the nice lake to jump into afterwards. Did anyone go down the slide? The awesome clean, hot (not that I needed hot), high water pressure showers were another highlight. Oh yeah and the driving distance was a bonus too. I'd reccommend adding this to the NECS series next year because the venue was excellent.
Tim O'Loughlin An absolutely terrible day of racing. I bonked about half way through the first lap. No sleep, bad breakfast, definitely not used to the heat. Guess the only saving grace was that there were only 4 clydes and only 2 of us finished. Did a superman over the bars on the first big descent. It was a good wake up for training for Harding though. Having the lake for a dunk afterward rocked too. I soooooo wanted to Jump in after the first lap instead of going around again.
Hank Kells This was a fun race in spite of the heat. It was great to take a dip in the lake after the race. I was the only Sport Clyde so I raced with the Sport Women instead. The first place woman (Rosie) passed me in the first lap but I caught up and passed her at the end of the second lap with Michelle close behind. I was able to hold them both off during the third lap but Rosie passed me right at the end when I went straight instead of turning right to cross the finish line.
Matt Juros You know with Scotty K. gone I just can't find my mojo out on the race course. I did a full lap to "warm" up and was totally spent. After the first lap of the race I just couldn't deal with the heat. I was dizzy and starting to crash in stupid places. I was hydrated and properly fueled but just couldn't get it together. Oh, well. |