Wednesday night Wild Bill, Scott and I drove down to Ninigrit after work (Lynn had to work late). Scott had a very strong race, finishing 5th and winning some taco money in a sprint. Wild Bill rode strong as always, especially since he was fighting a stomach bug, he said it felt like he swallowed broken glass. The pace was very fast with an average speed of aprox. 27 mph. I was able to keep up with out a problem, but doing anything more felt impossible.
This going to sound incredibly dumb on my part; I raced almost entirely in the drops. I was amazed that my bike corners so much better when I'm in that postion, I felt like I could arc through the turns much better. I also noticed that when the pack gets strung out single file, being in the drops really creates less drag. My neck and shoulders were sore, but it felt much faster.
Saturday, I can't race due to family responsibilities, but Lynn is going to race Stering. She is also racing in the woods at Brialee on Sunday. Look for results here first. I plan to race at wells ave Sunday, any takers?
2 comments:
Prepare to get "rocked" at Brialee, oh yeah and a little wet too. Good luck out there! I'll think of you while I'm selling parts at the swap..
Racing in the drops is hard.. especially for guys like me with a little bit of "nutritional reserves" in the way.. makes it harder to crouch over like that.
You're absolutely right though- the best way to get your head into the game is to get in the drops as much as possible. It makes you leaner to the wind, gives you more leverage, and makes it a lot easier to dive fast into corners, react to moves and accelerate. If you're racing on the hoods, you're not into it 100%, or you're really struggling, you're apathetic about the race, or maybe recovering between the really hard parts.. or maybe you're in a really big crowded field where it's sometimes safer to occasionally have a taller vantage point to see what's going on in front of you..
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