Lake Louisa Circuit Race #3 Recap

Ron and James showed up at the third installment of the 2008 Lake Louisa Circuit Race series this past Tuesday night  to test their training.  Both of us had only been on the bike seriously for about a week and a half.  My work schedule and Ron's injuries from the Deland crit kept us from doing any serious training in the weeks prior, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, allowing us both a well needed rest from the early Florida racing schedule.  We are both ramping up for the State Road Race in Ocala in June, so we figured we'd try our legs on the rolling hills of Lake Louisa.

With only two Cycle-Logic teammates showing up, and about 6 Armada teammates present, we saw immediately we were outnumbered.  I gave Ron explicit instructions not to start any fights (he's bad about that sometimes J).  Seriously though, with that many of one team showing up, we figured they would ramp up the pace, and hopefully take some responsibility in pulling in any early breaks.  Although we watched them intently waiting for one of them to charge off the front, it never happened.  One unattached guy got away early, and two more joined him in the following laps. 

Ron and I both tried to share in the work, attempting to keep the pace high enough to wear out some of the other riders while diminishing the gap at the same time.  With the wind in our face on the final descent, Armada put their big guy on the front and he hammered his way down hill, reducing the gap to mere seconds.  After the turn around, Ron immediately got away from the group, and with no intentions of slowing down, immediately caught two of the three guys who had been in the wind off the front for nearly the entire race and expeditiously passing them on the first small hill.  Unfortunately, one of the Armada guys (Dave Perry, I believe - a lanky hill-climber-looking guy) was right on Ron's tail and stayed there until they were halfway up the final hill. 

I still being in the pack approaching the final ascent to the finish, attacked the field with the craze of a rabid mongoose.  Keeping an eye on my shadow to make sure nobody was following, and watching my heartrate steadily climb far past my comfort zone, I kept my head down, and stayed as aero as I knew how.  Although we did have an uphill tailwind, I pegged my HR at 185, and reached deep to keep my momentum as I approached Ron and Dave.  Once I reached them, they stood up and started accelerating again.  It took all I had to not give up at that point. 

 

I mean, I was dying!!  

 

The hopes of possibly getting a 10 second draft off of these guys was all that kept me from passing out!

 

 …and they stand up and accelerate?

 

Looking back, I could see the pack far enough away to tell that if I held my pace, I should be able to hold my current 4^th place spot, so I just pulled whatever motivation I had out of my burning legs, and aching lungs and kept it going.  Although I sounded like a steam engine with my huffing and puffing at the finish, I kept my 4^th place, with Ron coming in 3^rd.

 

We both came out to test our legs, and get a good workout, and came away with a 3^rd and 4^th. 

Congratulations Ron.

With three and a half weeks to go, I think we should be ready for the Ocala Road Race.

 

See you there.

 

JP/ CL