River Gorge Omnium

This weekend I had the pleasure of racing the River Gorge Omnium here in Chattanooga. Being a Cat 3 and over 30 I had a dilemma. Race Pro-1-2-3 against teams like Jittery Joes or race Masters 30+ against "retired" 1's and 2's. I chose the latter.

Saturday Race 1 - River Gorge RR, 62 miles, 2 mountain climbs including a mountain top finish. We rolled out around 8:30 AM. Neutral rollout until we got onto the two lane highway. As with any long RR it was pretty tame for a while until everyone got warmed up. Then guys started trying flyers before we got to the hills leading up to the first major climb. I went off the front myself, but it turned out it was right before the first hill. 500 meters, right turn and uphill we went. Turns out I was setting myself up for sag climbing. I started at the front and was mid-pack at the top of the hill. We then rolled through some small ring climbs and flats in Tennessee and Alabama before the first big climb, Sand Mountain. Sand Mountain got my attention. Narrow, shady and steep would be the best description. This is where the big hitters went nuts and took off. I tried to stay in contact but wound up in the second group, just ahead of the moto official. Once on top we had a group of about 6 chasing and I must say I never felt so pro. We kept the front group in sight across the top of the plateau and descended like crazy trying to catch up. Once we descended and were on the flats we wicked it up and started making up ground. Then we actually had to work our way through the caravan which consisted of the wheel truck and a couple of chase cars that had passed us on the plateau. Unfortunately, they weren't offering rolling handups as seen in the TdF. We finally caught the front group and caught our breath. But bad news was on the way. I started cramping right as we started a vicious stair step climb. I drifted back through the pack and off the back. I managed to hold the gap at about 75 meters the rest of the way up the climb. I started making up ground but the peloton hit the top of the hill and began zooming down while I was still chugging my way to the top. Game pretty much over at this point. I kept plugging along by myself for the rest of the race which was about 12 miles. On the final ascent to the finish I managed to catch a few folks but still only finished in 32cd position.

Saturday Race 2 - River Gorge TT, 4.3 miles - The legs were feeling a little nasty from the morning exertion. I didn't have TT bars but did have some Cane Creek clip-on drops. I warmed up well and rode to the start. Nice course, mostly downhill. One booger of a climb about 1.5 miles in. Back to the small chainring for that! On the steep descent to the flat section, I got a huge speed wobble from using the Cane Creeks. My hands were too close together and the slight wobble was hugely magnified at the back end of the bike. The hands then went straight to their normal position on the regular drops, and the wobble was gone. Sometimes I miss my old bike! Flat across a dam a hard right and downhill to the finish. Time 10:34 or so. Second to last place. But a lot less guys were racing.

Sunday Race 3 - Downtown Chattanooga Crit - 50 minutes, 4 corners, flat and fast. I warmed up good and felt good at the start. We started and I was mid pack, which is where I stayed until a guy tried to pedal through a corner. When we went down I was right behind him. I locked it up, got sideways and thought I was going to save it. Then my balance deserted me and the back wheel came up. I landed on the left side of my ass and my left hand. Then a guy behind me clipped my shoulder. Immediately my gluteus felt like it had a tennis ball inside it and my wrist was hurting. I got up, put the chain back on the chainring and headed to the pit for my free lap. I got pushed back in but things weren't the same as before. I rode in the pack but my wrist and rear kept letting me know was up. I managed to hang in until the last lap when I let go on the back stretch and just rolled in. Post race shake down: slight road rash on left elbow and shoulder. Big, fat hematoma on butt and very sore wrist. I may be getting an xray on that tomorrow.

All in all, I'm not real happy with the results, but I have to keep in mind that I haven't raced since LTC and have been moving, starting a new job, etc. Wait'll next year! Next up on my agenda is the Six Gap Century in Dahlonega, GA. It goes over some of the sick climbs of the Tour of Georgia.