It's been a little slow recently as far as the cycling scene goes, but I finally had a race this past weekend. Tripower Cycling Club hosted the Senior State Crit Championship at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex (aka Scorchplex) and man was it HOT!!! My race started at 11:30 and it was already in the 90's! The racers that started later in the day had the pleasure of riding in temps above 100! Pure insanity!!!
As for my race... it was a typical Cat 5 race. Lots of squirrley new riders in a field of approximately 30 riders. One rider that stood out amongst the group was none other than the famous Casey Crit "Don't Touch Me" guy! If you ever see this guy, somewhat young, skinny, tall, and at first glance looks like he should be really fast.... STAY AWAY FROM HIM!!!!! The first couple of laps had him riding in the middle of the pack doing bunny hops and chanting. I think the chant was something about everyone around him doping or something like that. Then there were a couple of diliberate nascar style swerves. Maybe he thought that would help warm up his tires. Later in the race he flatted after drifting in to one of my team mates wheels. He was on the left side of the course when the tire blew. Rather than going off to the left side he locked up his brakes and went right across the entire pack to go in to the gravel parking lot on the right. Riders were locking up and sliding every which direction to avoid him. He did at least announce to everyone at the top of his lungs as he was skidding through that he was "DNF and flatted" I am sure it was our fault that his tire flatted because we are all doped up!
There were a few other instances with riders not holding their line and other typical Cat 5 adventures, but overall it was a pretty fast and fun race. Matt Keane and someone from Tripower succeeded in a break away that had them about 30 seconds ahead of the peleton until Matt overheated and had to drop out. Poor Matt! The last lap had another wreck in the third corner of the course. This was, I think, the third accident of the race in that same turn. All of which were caused by the same thing: riders going in to the corner thinking that they were going too fast and drifting out in to other riders. Luckily I was clear of the mess because it occured right behind me as I started my sprint towards the finish. I finished fourth! My computer showed an average of 23.6 mph for 16.5 miles during the 40 minute race. I do not react well to too much heat so immediately after the race I packed up and headed home to get a shower and cool down. Otherwise I would have been hurting the rest of the weekend. This was almost a BIG mistake!
I learned that it is not good to leave before results were posted because..... mistakes happen. As it turns out the finish camera malfunctioned and did not record the finish. To make matters even worse no one had been hand scoring! Luckily, my sister, who happens to be a USA Cycling official had been watching the race as a spectator. She caught the fact that the results were hosed up and protested for me. The initial results listed Matt Keane, who dropped out, as finishing in first and I was not even shown as finishing at all! I could have potentially done all that work and sweating for nothing! Fellow Fat Frogs team member, Matt Williams, whom was positive he finished in the top 15 was not listed anywhere either. So this weekend taught me a few lessons: avoid the "Dont Touch Me Guy" and don't ever leave the race before the results are posted!
It felt good to be racing again even if it was way too hot!!!
On an unrelated note.... my three week old Mini Cooper S isn't new anymore. An 87 year old lady who didn't know her own phone number or address plowed in to the side of it on First Colonial Rd on Friday afternoon. Amber was driving it home from work when the lady pulled out of a parking lot and ran right in to the side of it. Then didnt even want to stop because she didnt realize she hit the car! Luckily no one was injured and the Mini was still driveable.
As for my race... it was a typical Cat 5 race. Lots of squirrley new riders in a field of approximately 30 riders. One rider that stood out amongst the group was none other than the famous Casey Crit "Don't Touch Me" guy! If you ever see this guy, somewhat young, skinny, tall, and at first glance looks like he should be really fast.... STAY AWAY FROM HIM!!!!! The first couple of laps had him riding in the middle of the pack doing bunny hops and chanting. I think the chant was something about everyone around him doping or something like that. Then there were a couple of diliberate nascar style swerves. Maybe he thought that would help warm up his tires. Later in the race he flatted after drifting in to one of my team mates wheels. He was on the left side of the course when the tire blew. Rather than going off to the left side he locked up his brakes and went right across the entire pack to go in to the gravel parking lot on the right. Riders were locking up and sliding every which direction to avoid him. He did at least announce to everyone at the top of his lungs as he was skidding through that he was "DNF and flatted" I am sure it was our fault that his tire flatted because we are all doped up!
There were a few other instances with riders not holding their line and other typical Cat 5 adventures, but overall it was a pretty fast and fun race. Matt Keane and someone from Tripower succeeded in a break away that had them about 30 seconds ahead of the peleton until Matt overheated and had to drop out. Poor Matt! The last lap had another wreck in the third corner of the course. This was, I think, the third accident of the race in that same turn. All of which were caused by the same thing: riders going in to the corner thinking that they were going too fast and drifting out in to other riders. Luckily I was clear of the mess because it occured right behind me as I started my sprint towards the finish. I finished fourth! My computer showed an average of 23.6 mph for 16.5 miles during the 40 minute race. I do not react well to too much heat so immediately after the race I packed up and headed home to get a shower and cool down. Otherwise I would have been hurting the rest of the weekend. This was almost a BIG mistake!
I learned that it is not good to leave before results were posted because..... mistakes happen. As it turns out the finish camera malfunctioned and did not record the finish. To make matters even worse no one had been hand scoring! Luckily, my sister, who happens to be a USA Cycling official had been watching the race as a spectator. She caught the fact that the results were hosed up and protested for me. The initial results listed Matt Keane, who dropped out, as finishing in first and I was not even shown as finishing at all! I could have potentially done all that work and sweating for nothing! Fellow Fat Frogs team member, Matt Williams, whom was positive he finished in the top 15 was not listed anywhere either. So this weekend taught me a few lessons: avoid the "Dont Touch Me Guy" and don't ever leave the race before the results are posted!
It felt good to be racing again even if it was way too hot!!!
On an unrelated note.... my three week old Mini Cooper S isn't new anymore. An 87 year old lady who didn't know her own phone number or address plowed in to the side of it on First Colonial Rd on Friday afternoon. Amber was driving it home from work when the lady pulled out of a parking lot and ran right in to the side of it. Then didnt even want to stop because she didnt realize she hit the car! Luckily no one was injured and the Mini was still driveable.
what you also missed by not sticking around was "dont touch me guy" causing a major scene and seemingly trying to get into fights...
He finally did leave without incident.
my diagnosis is an unfortunate chemical inbalance which quite possibly can be treated medically. Untill then, i prefer not to see him at any races, or anywhere for that matter.
Good job out there, and sorry about your vehicle.
seeya
kevin
Chemical imbalance or whatever else might be the cause of his issues aside, he was a hazard out there on the course and was endangering the other riders.
Hopefully the Mini will have a fast recovery and be back looking good as new soon. The driver of the other vehicle is insured by USAA and I hear they are good.