Bike Racing 101 – BAR…who knew!

The last Saturday in May I spent at my first official bike road race in Hugo, Colorado. Hugo is southeast of Denver in the plains. It is a tiny welcoming town that has a store that touted it had been serving cold beer to Hugo for 32 years! Booya! About 5 years ago I entered into a 4-day bike race and got spanked at all 4 events. And what a blast it was! 4 years later I am being coached by a former pro-cyclist who has seen it all and has decided that a bike road race would be a “good experience” for Michelle, Sonja and me. Of course we were all ready to try something new so we signed up as Category 4 racers. There are 5 categories in bike racing and “Cat 4” is the highest level a person can register for without having acquired points to get there. So Cat 4 racers are seemingly a wide range of cyclist; strong cyclist with no race experience, strong racers with limited strength and lots of attitude, strategic racers and everything in between.

Steve spent some time with Michelle and me the day before the race so he could share his experience and try to set some expectations for us. Speaking for myself..I was clueless. In a former life I had a husband who race Cat 3 & 4 but I only watched and had no idea what it would really be like to ride in a tight group. I also don’t think that all my years of watching the Tour De France really qualifies me as a solid bike racer so I was really excited to hear what Steve had to say. I was actually a little disappointed at first because as Steve spoke I felt as though I was being discounted from the event. You know, I am the old lady who travels and doesn’t have what it takes to hold on…of course this is what I was HEARING NOT what was bring said. Steve was very fairly trying to set our expectations on NOT getting dropped and remaining strong through the race. Needless to say I started the race the next day with a bit more determination than I might have had because I realized had discounted myself and I needed to prove to myself that all my hard work and training is paying off.

Michelle and I also had a chance to practice some bike skills in the grass with Steve. This was really fun as we learned to hold our line, push someone off and hold our bikes if we were hit from behind. We both had a wicked aversion to running into each other’s back wheels. I suppose this is good however it made me laugh because I was busting on MF for not hitting me and then when it was my turn I had an equally hard time. It was really fun!

Race day came and we were blessed with a coach, crew and bike maintenance team; Steve, Troy and Annabelle. Plus Sarah Mussard rode up with us and Nicole Horst was there racing with the Damas. Hugo is way out on the rolling plains of Colorado and the only real shade comes from 18 wheelers as they blow by you on the highway. It is hot, dusty, windy and rolling…just the way we like it! Steve and Troy helped us put on numbers, assembled our bikes and generally treated us like princesses as we were getting ready. It was an experience I haven’t had in a while and Steve better not let me get used to it. I realized after Steve asked me a couple times if I was nervous that he was nervous enough for all of us. We had kidded the night before about not embarrassing him or Practical Coaching and although it was all in good fun there was something to be said for making a good showing. We all wore our new PC kits and we looked pretty sharp and not like triathletes. Apparently there is some disdain for triathletes among “real” bike racers and I only have one thing to say to that…wanna go for a run after the race? J

While we were edging our way up to the start line for the race we were surrounded by women who clearly had all the gear and attitude necessary to race Cat 4. A woman came up next to my bike and asked me if I had raced yet this season. I told her “No, this is my first race…ever”. Wow, what a reaction that caused. After the look up and down she explained to me that she was “2^nd in BAR and her friend was “1^st in BAR”. My race rules had not yet begun so I took the bait…what is BAR? Well, it is the Best All Round Results this season. Then she explained that she was #1 in the state for Time Trialing so I had to ask…why are you Cat 4? Oops, apparently that offended her. She explained to me as she pushed up in front of me that you don’t get points for time trialing. Who knew! I can assure you that both Sonja and I were incredibly impressed with our introduction to BAR.

The race itself was a fantastic experience. I was amazed at all the banter, yakking and politking of the women in the race. Steve told us it was all about posturing and attitude and wow was he right! The race was 78 miles that covered a huge rectangle. The head wind was consistent to the point that I got used to riding with it. When Steve asked me if I was nervous before the race I found there was only one thing that made me anxious…if I actually managed to stay with the group I was concerned that the “feed zone” could be very hazardous since I had never ridden in s tight group before. As it turned out it was crazier than any of us expected because the Pro Men that started behind us caught us just as we all entered the feed zone. Sheer chaos ensued and all I could see was Steve yelling “go with the boys go with the boys!” So I started pedaling like crazy. As I was hammering I only saw a couple women ahead of me including Michelle…she heard the same instructions I had. Then we both got reprimanded for “making a move” in the feed zone. We thought we had done something wrong when in fact we had broken an unstated expectation but no rule. There is nothing saying we couldn’t have kept right on going but we didn’t know so we both settled in and soon enough the group was back with us. I kept thinking we would shake the back of the pack but the front group was so interesting and many of the women in the middle were so squirrely! Many of the women were solid riders and I learned to stay close to them…many were freakin squirrely and I tried to stay away from them as I never felt comfortable riding behind them and I know it made it hard to ride behind me. All the jawing quieted down for about 20 miles but after the 2^nd feed zone some gals really started jabbering again. Yelling at each other about not pulling, not pulling off, slowing down the group. Women in the middle of the pack were yelling at the women in front to speed up. I thought that was classic…if you want them to speed up then go up there and pull! Geesh!

I only had 2 assignments from Steve…don’t get dropped and keep my mouth shut. He knows me well enough to know that this is a setting where I could really join in the jawing going on. But I didn’t. Outside from an unsightly belch, a quick conversation with both Michelle and Sonja and a chat with one of the Cat 2’s that was riding with us, I never reacted or responded to anything that was thrown at me or near me. Those of you who know me can appreciate how challenging this was at times but I channeled all that BS into my legs and just kept pedaling. After the 2^nd feed zone Steve and Troy drove past us again and yelled to me that the 3 of us should start to alternate up front. Very cool. We all tried different tactics to pull, pull away and jump but none were successful. For my part I was never sure how hard to go out because I felt really strong and felt like I could pull away but I didn’t know what I really had left and I didn’t want to get shelled by the group. Sonja and I made a couple string efforts and MF nearly had the lead for good but our efforts to slow the lead pack failed and we caught her with about 5k to go. The last 5K was a freakin game and sprint and I loved it! My legs just came alive and I hammered to the finish. I was shocked how much I had left in my legs! The three of us finished in the top group in 3:35. 78 miles in 3:35. That is HOT!

The highlights were being with my friends and watching all of us thrive on the energy we generate as a team. We worked like a well oiled machine before, during and after the race. Steve guided us and we took the reins and rode like the wind! I loved being in the pack and seeing Sonja make a move or Michelle jump and then it was my turn to roll to the front and pull. I learned how important recovery in the middle of the pack is. I knew this was an option but only in Hugo did I learn what it means to recover and still keep moving. I learned that I am stronger than I thought and that I LOVE BIKE RACING!