Awaiting the 2010 Race Calendar
My first racing season has always been “months” away. Many months. Enough nice, long monthy-months to instill confidence in me that there’s plenty of time to prepare. The summer was so hot and so endless, the days of late sunlight seemed permanent. And then I looked at a calendar: Sixty-four days. That’s how long I have.
Although hitting refresh ten times on the Texas Bicycle Racing Association’s Web site isn’t going to make the 2010 calendar appear any faster, I don’t need to see that first race on the list to know when it is. I have been looking forward to the Castroville Criterium for almost a year, pining away for something that is neither sane, safe nor suited to my abilities.
Last night, I realized all of this as my head hung low over my handlebars. I was sweating profusely, suffering under the heater vent, and looking out at the soccer field brightly lit behind my house watching little kids run around in jackets three sizes too big. That’s when it hit me that winter has arrived, and the arrival of winter means the nearness of February.
I’m not sure if I should be in panic mode or not. During my morning training rides, I have learned a few things, some very bad for crit racing. I lack the explosive speed to come out of a decelerated turn or to make quick chase. I also can’t hold a fast sprint for longer than half a mile and my on-the-bike recovery is sorely inefficient.
Fortunately, there is a large gap between the season-opening race and the vast majority of the race calendar. The in-town crit series starts much later and runs weekly into late July. The Castroville Criterium will be a great race to figure out what really needs to happen in the next couple of months.
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