Been a while since my last post. Haven’t been feeling very, I dunno, literary lately I guess. That said, lots going on these days. Race season is one day away and I’m sitting here just counting the minutes.
Ran a couple of races in the off-season. First up was the Hangover Harescramble @ Virginia Motorsports Park back on New Years day. FUN race, despite the complete and total clusterfuck that was the start. No starting rows were marked out which meant a large portion of the field left off with the wrong class. But, the mood was light on this day and everyone, including yours truly, just took it in stride. Of course, when the gate dropped, everyone’s gate dropped except mine. So there I sat, watching the last of the field disappear in a cloud of dust while trying to back my bike up enough to get around the stuck gate when it finally dropped. I was on the gas from that point forward and made up a ton of positions by the time it was all said and done. I don’t remember my finishing position….it wasn’t spectacular, but it was a good time all the same.
Next up was the Burnt Gin race down in Sumter. This was a national, and I blame nobody but myself for the disaster that of a race it turned out to be. Got a great start and hung with my class (those local boys are f-a-s-t), but about 15 miles in started getting lapped by the pros. You know, Mullins, Bakken, Raines, etc…, and it got to the point that I had to spend so much concentration on what was coming up behind me (do YOU want to be the guy who holds up Charlie Mullins? me neither…) that it totally blew my ability to focus on what was in front of me. After several stupid and otherwise totally avoidable crashes, I decided the rest of the afternoon might be better spent watching these guys and maybe learning a thing or two rather than continuing to hammer the living shit out of my knee for nothing but the privilege of being a rolling roadblock.
I did come home with a really cool orange t-shirt though.
Otherwise, not much seat time since Pipsico but I’ve been spending a lot of time in the gym, as in every single day. Originally my goal was to lose weight but I screwed up nutritionally and ended feeling weak and tired much of the time, losing a bit of muscle along with the fat I was trying to target. So, after getting the nutrition thing sorted out, I started wandering from the elliptical machines over to the weight area from time to time and messing around a bit, which evolved into some minor weight training being incorporated into my workout, which has since evolved into a full-on weight training program along with my already fairly intense cardio program. My weight as of this morning is @ 167 (down from 202 in August) and I feel great. The real test came last weekend though when I took the bike out for the first time in about a month. I don’t know if I was any faster but the level of control I had over the bike was massively improved, as was my stamina. Took a half day off from work and went out again yesterday to make sure all the kinks were worked out for Sunday’s VCHSS season opener, and it was all good.
On the down side, the knee has been starting to hurt again. I don’t know if the CTI unloader brace is doing what I’d hoped it would, and may have to go back the the less riding-appropriate but more effective Ossur unloader for the first couple of races and see how that works out. In any event, I will be approaching this season as though it’s my last and giving it everything I’ve got for as long as I’m able.
So, it’s on to South Hill! Race report to follow…
-Bob