Ted’s first bike only road race. How exciting!
The race was called “Check Your Legs” put on my CNYC (Central NY Cycling)
and is held in a very hilly area of upstate NY called Garrattsville. The starting point is at the New Lisbon Town Hall. 2 or 3 laps depending on the wave choice.
with limited parking but a nice little playground in the back, if it were a nice warm day which it wasn’t.
The temperature was low 40’s with about a 10 mph wind BUT, the sun was shining.
We arrived in plenty of time for check in and set up.
As it was our first experience with road racing, we had no clue that those tri-bike aero bars are NOT ALLOWED. Five minutes prior to the pre race announcement, Ted did a quick removal of illegal equipment. I guess if a cyclist gets in an accident, those bars could poke fellow cyclists.
After the pre race discussion, the cyclists were ready. They went out in waves with Cat. 1, 2, 3 cyclists first at 11 AM, then Cat. 4, followed by the women then finally Ted’s wave Cat. 5 and Juniors.
We saw Rich Karaz of The Sneaker Store (…and I thought he was just a runner. Check out Rich’s profile at The Sneaker Store). Rich is quite the accomplished cyclist AND runner.
Rich took time to offer some good advice to Ted for his first bike race experience. Thanks Rich!
Lined up and ready to roll.
He’s Off!
While Ted was out tackling the hills, I was trying to stay warm in the truck until it came time to rush up the road to catch the cyclists coming around the first lap.
That’s me spectating. When I wasn’t sitting in the car, I was either taking photos of the many streams in the area…
or getting my ears blown out by the fire station alarm (bad place to stand for photos or to watch your favorite cyclist come down the hill).
Here are the leaders coming in on lap one.
Here’s Ted
He sounded very happy as he passed by so I knew everything was ok and going well. He said he was sweating up a storm up those challenging hills then freezing his fingers off on the down side.
He’s finally riding up the hill to the finish. 1 mile up hill to the finish line.
Finished! Success! First bike race and no crashes, no bad experiences…I’m thinking there will be more.
Congratulations Ted!
Hi Joanne. That’s great news to hear we will be seeing Ted pin on a number again. The first few bike races, heck, the first few years of bike racing are truly a learning experience.
My day went well with my result not really reflecting my performance which I was pleased with despite getting crushed by my competitors in the final 200 meters. Believe me, I tried but had nothing for the final. It’s early season, we’ll get better with some cooperative weather, yes?
I would encourage you guys to consider doing the next event May 3 in the Cortland area. Lots of participation but low key. I think you’ll have a good experience. See you guys soon.
Regards.
Rich
Thanks Rich. Ted had a good time and is ready to go again. As for me, I love spectating ’cause these events
get my heart pumping. I get more nervous than Ted does. We’ll look forward to seeing you again this summer. Congrats on a good race. You were amazing.
This is the 3rd time I’m trying to comment … seems like everything’s a go, yet nothing appears after the screen departs.
Ah well. If this does suddenly repeat, it’s okay because it deserves repeating – – WAY TO GO, TED!!!!! Judging by the happy face at the end I guess you’ll be ready for another soon. Great Job!
And excellent job of picture-taking and “spectating” Joanne. Never heard of the town, but sure is pretty.
Thank you Nancy. It was so enjoyable for him, he’s doing another in Cortland this coming weekend. He’s hooked!