I decided that I was going to keep racing. I knew that I had not done so well to this point but I dont like to give up on things. I decided it would be fun to compete in a multiple day event. The Dana Point grand prix was April 10 & 11 in Dana Point California. I did a lot of traveling in the Army and accumulated enough hotel points to get a free room for Saturday night. We decided that it would be nice to go to the race Saturday morning, spend the rest of the day playing by the ocean and then staying in the hotel that night to avoid waking up too early in the morning. The race on Saturday morning was the Killer Cove Time Trial, Sunday the criterium. The time trial was 2.25 miles long and contained a climb with a grade that reached 20%. So I started working on climbing and going as fast as possible downhill.
Saturday morning arrived and we followed the regular schedule; wake up early, drive to the race, register, warm up and then move to the start line. However, this time there were no instructions, only a few people near the start and pop up tent to start under. I had seen time trials on TV and had a good idea of what to expect. They are the ultimate test of individual skill. They normally include a mix of climbs, descents, and flat ground. They are an individual test because each ride starts 30 seconds apart, there is no drafting, no team tactics, and no time to recover. You have to hard as hard as you can as long as you can. I was the 3rd person to start and it went well from the start. The course started with 2 quick right hand turns, follow by downhill ending with a right turn. Then it was flat for about .75 miles before turning right and going up the steepest hill I never want to ride again. It was on this climb that I actually was past by the person behind me. It turned out that rider was 14 years old and the 14-16 year old time trail champion. I made it over the top and headed back to the finish line. I didnt care that I had been beat my a teenager at that point. I was just happy to make it up that hill. I never thought that it would end and the worst part was that when you made the right turn at the end of the road you think you are at the top. You actually have about another 500 feet of road that still goes up hill. It was the hardest hill I have ever ridden. We watched stayed to watch the pros struggle up the same hill but were saddened to hear that a pro cyclist was hit by a car on the day before and died about 30 minutes north of our house. He had just signed his a contract to ride with a good domestic team and was scheduled to partake in the Dana Point race. We spent the rest of the day exploring Dana Point and Irvine near the hotel. We went to the outdoor mall and watched a kids band and relaxed the rest of the day.
Sunday morning we headed back over for the criterium. Like the previous race in Redlands it was all barricaded in so that we knew exactly where to go. We arrived and went through the normal routine and I lined up. This race was actually shorter than my previous criterium. A criterium is a timed race, near the end they put up laps to go counting down from normally 7. They guess the amount of time it would take to complete the last 7 laps and then start counting backwards when the time reaches their best guess. Normally they are pretty good at hitting it close to the money. A normal CAT 5 is 40 minutes, but Dana Point was only 30 minutes. We started and I got towards the front of the pack. I was able to stay with the pack for the better part of 20 minutes then ended up falling into a chasing group about 20 seconds behind. There were 6 of us in the group and we made it until 2 laps to go before they pulled us off. We were all mad knowing that we could have finished the race and not been in the way, but we were also tired and didnt fight. Even Anne was upset that they didnt let us finish. When I pulled off the course I talked to another guy in that was in my chasing group. He pointed to my stomach and said "You have the same problem I do", I was fat. While I was in the Army I weighed about 175 pounds. Once I was at the hospital and then home sitting around after surgery I ballooned up to around 210+. I thought that the cycling would help but I needed more than that. I started asking Anne if I could get the new bike again. It was the easiest way to make the weight I was carrying around the course a little lighter. She made a comment that really rang true, made sense, and helped me put a better perspective on racing. She said "The bike doesnt make you go fast, you only ride train twice a week, a new bike isnt going to make you finish any better." At this point I realized that if I really wanted to be competitive in these races I would have to train more than I was. Not only would I have to train on the bike but I needed to become a better racer in general.
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