Topham Racing

I ride City Creek Canyon at least three times a week. So, I figured I should probably do the City Creek Sprint. This is a very short bike race up City Creek Canyon. The entire distance is only 5.7 miles, but it is a steady grade with very few breaks. It is also a very fast pace–just think of it like a 27 minute interval.

I sort of forgot it was a road race, and I jumped out in front like I usually do in my mountain bike races. This was a mistake. There is no single track or slow riders in groups ahead–just pavement and headwind. I would have been better off letting someone else set the pace. Oh well, it was fun to lead the race for thirty seconds or so.

I ended up having a personal best of 27.29. That was good enough for fourth place in the 40 to 50 category and 17th overall. Before the race, my best time to the top of the canyon was somewhere around 29.30. The best part was that I rode to the start line from my house (2 minutes 37 seconds) and I rode home from the finish line, which was almost entirely downhill.

Photos of the race are available here:

http://www.zazoosh.com/events/searchPhotos/246

Racing season is over, so I generally don’t write new posts this time of year. A few weeks ago, however, John sent me a link to a great video from our Solitude race. I meant to publish it earlier, but I got distracted. The video does not come close to conveying how difficult the Solitude course really is. On the other hand, it does do a good job of showing how easy it was for John to pass me about twenty minutes into the race. Anyway, here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW3NssmdD-Y

This race did not mean much in terms of the overall season. Kevin was assured of first place, Brad assured of second, and I was going to finish in third place overall for the series. Nothing that happend in this race would change that, but this race still mattered for other reasons. It would tell us whether Kevin could win another blue ribbon, and whether Keith could keep his late season push alive. It would tell us whether Brad could break into the top three again after missing Jackson, and whether Stan could put it together enough to show us that his love of skiing is the only thing that keeps him from winning bike races. It would solidify the progress made by Mike and Jason–reminding us that progress is really the only worthwhile measurement in this sport. Most of all, however, it would tell us whether we could all survive a race approaching two hours on a hot August day.

I’ll skip the details on this one and simply say that I finished fourth. I felt good about fourth in light of a head cold and a crash on the second lap. Besides, fourth is probably where I should be in this group if Kevin, Keith and Brad are riding at 100%.  Next year may be different. Actually, next year will inevitably be different.  If I learned anything this year, it is that past results do not predict future results. Our entire group got faster this year, and I expect it will get even faster next year. Even if I follow Brad to spin class all winter I can’t be certain I will be as fast as he will be next year.

As much fun as racing is, I have also learned that it is important to take a break. Spending a couple of months rediscovering the joys of riding is one of the greatest benefits of completing another race season. I look forward to riding the BST and City Creek Canyon without worrying about whether I am turning too hard a gear–or where my heart rate should be and for how long. I am not good at that stuff anyway, but at least now I can enjoy the ride guilt-free.

After a couple of months it will be time to start looking forward to next year–and there will be plenty to look forward to. We have at least a half a dozen guys in our group who are capable of being really fast on March 6, 2010. One of them, Kevin, is already there, and despite the fact that I jokingly told him he needs to move up on Saturday, it would be fun to keep him in the group next year. Of course there may be some out there who would argue that Kevin, Brad, Keith and I should all move up next year, but where is the fun in that?