Season’s over. Stick a fork in me, I’m done. The USGP weekend was huge and I had one good race and one mediocre race. The crowds were great and there were lots of folks out on the course cheering me one. On Sunday, my teammate Bill, who had shoulder surgery the previous Friday, came out and cheered. The team ran from the shelter of the tent to ring bells and yell for me every lap. Even though it was pouring rain and cold and windy all day long. Teammate David stood in the pits with a bike for my whole race, each day. While it was cold. While it was raining. Those guys are wonderful.
I had a good season. I was faster than last year and raced smarter too — most of the time. I had wanted to score a top ten finish at a Crusade race but I never quite managed it even though I was close a few times. I think the masters race was faster this year over last. There were five new names in the top ten and eight in the top fifteen (including me at fifteenth). At any given race, there were at least fifteen guys who could score a spot in the top ten. Here’s a list of racers who scored a top ten in the 35+ race. Names with an asterisk also won races.
- Hendricks*
- Bannink*
- Bravard*
- McCaffrey*
- Cramer*
- M. Wilson
- Bradway
- Schindler
- Benno
- Leitheiser
- Myers
- Anderson
- French
- Butler
- Baker
- Enderle
- Henry
- Mitchem
- Marcoux
- Bowen
Sure, a few of those guys only raced a race or two. But the point is, the competition at the top is pretty fierce. Even breaking into the top fifteen feels pretty good.
What’s on tap for the offseason and next year? Here are some things I’d like to do:
- Get faster off the bike. I knew that having decent foot speed would be an advantage for the USGP races yet I didn’t spend any time running. None. I hereby resolve to incorporate some running into my training.
- Eek out a few more watts. Running and technique practice might shave some seconds, but pushing more watts will make the biggest difference. I’ll have to put together some kind of training plan that works for me.
- Lose the last ten pounds. I’d like to race next year between 160 and 164. Ten more pounds will put me in the 162 sweet spot.
- Consistently apply all the racing lessons I’ve learned over the past few years. Some races my head was in the right place but I managed to lose it in others. I know I’m not going to have luck or legs every race but I’d like to have my head screwed on right.
- Meet more people at the races. Hey, if you see me, say “Hi.”
I guess that’s about it. I’m not going to throw out any numbers this time. I’ll work on what I can and the results will be what they will be.
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