Durand Road Race (Cat 5/Citizens Race)

April 21, 2007
near Durand, Wisconsin
27 Miles

I am not in great shape. Yet I still really wanted to get my 2007 season started so I chose to enter the first race in the vicinity of my house that involved a road bike. the Durand Road Race this past Saturday fit the bill and I was eager to get the racing started. While mid to late April weather in Minnesota and Wisconsin usually stinks, we've been pretty lucky this year as the spring has been quite warm. Race day turned out to be no exception with temperatures starting in the 60s and climbing into the 70s. The temperature was lovely, now the wind was another story, but I'll get to that in a few minutes.

Pre-race
I just got my road racing bike the week of the race. Given my lack of time on the bike, and my overall condition, I came to the race with very modest goals. All I wanted to do was have fun and finishing the race without crashing was the main way I saw that happening. Since I have not road raced in a few years, I entered the shortest of the races, the Category 5 and Citizen's race. Our race consisted of 2 laps of the 13.5 mile circuit. While the 27 miles did not look too intimidating, the course profile looked hard enough with a few steep hills. Have I mentioned the wind?

After my warm up ride, I knew very well that the wind would be a huge factor in this race. The course was a rectangle, with most of the course traveling east and west. At first that seemed good as the south wind blowing at 25-35 mph would not be a head wind for too long.

I lined up towards the back of the field. I was calm, despite my lack of confidence in what was coming. I had a fear that I'd get spit out the back of the pack and have to race by myself. While I am used to riding by myself, even in races as that is the norm during triathlons, I didn't drive 2 hours each way for a solo ride. Soon enough we start and the pace is pretty high. I then realize that the wind is actually from the worst direction possible. We were heading east, so the southerly wind was blowing from the right. The only shelter to be found is on the left side of the road. Towards the end of the pack, where I am, I am having trouble finding anyone to ride on my right. I tried a bit to work up on the right and was making some progress when someone flats and goes zig zagging through the field. After avoiding him, I'm off for the back of the pack. I work myself back to the end of the field, but the only space is on the right side. I'm there but getting hammered by the wind. I'm at a loss as to what to do as I know I can't keep this type of effort up for to much longer and I can't get anywhere to pick up a draft. I stay put for a bit but become increasingly nervous as the pace continues to be high and I am suffering. Soon enough, my answer comes as the pace in the pack jumps again on a roller and I'm gone out the back.

I suffer by myself in the wind for a few minutes feeling pretty down. I tried to hold the pack and/or close the gap but I wasn't making any progress. There is not anyone close behind me either. I decide that I might as well lower the effort a bit as I'm going nowhere in my pursuit of the pack. I drift back a bit and a few of the other early casualties catch me. I look around and try to get some guys to work with me. One guy tries for a bit but he doesn't have much left to offer. Luckily I can see a few guys in front of me who appear to be coming back to me. I go after them and within a few minutes I'm not alone anymore.

I catch a draft here and a draft there but none of the riders are matching well with me. I keep leapfrogging guys and I end up around 4 other guys who all look to be about my level. We start working together and the race takes on a new life. Getting spit out the back so early was a downer. I was happy to be near these other guys who all looked pretty fit. As we get organized, all the guys are taking pulls and we start making good progress. We catch and pass a number of riders who are unable to hold our pace. We keep this going through the second half of the first loop. As we roll through the end of the first lap, I am really happy we're all together. The side wind that earlier had shattered the pack seemed stronger. Continuing to highlight how cool this group was, we all spread across the road into an echelon. Everyone keeps taking their turn and we move through the first half of the lap in pretty good shape. The pace was solid but tolerable with the shelter. Once we hit the hills on the back half of the course, things start to fall apart a bit. We pick up a couple of guys but the hills and the wind are startingto take their toll. The organization of the group starts to fall apart. I get everyone back in line and we're making progress again.

With about 5 miles to go, I hit the front feeling pretty decent. I pull for about 15 seconds and quickly realize that I don't have much left. I pull off and drift to the back. I hang there for a bit until we hit one of the steepest hills on the course. Away goes my group as I go "pop!" I keep it moving, as much as I can. I try to catch another guy who fell from our past group and realize that I'm running really close to empty. The steepest hill awaits me. I end up pedaling more squares on that hill than I have in a long time. Luckily I make it over and continue onward towards the finish. I suffer a good bit on my way there but finally I make it across the line.

Post Race Review
I had no idea where I finished in the race at the end. I really didn't care a whole lot as I had fun, finished and didn't crash. Later I found out that I ended up in the middle of the 40 person field, which was pretty humbling for me. In triathlon and duathlon, my rides are usually pretty solid as were my TT results from last year.

For anyone who is interested, my power file from this race is available here. When I looked at the file, I immediately realized why the first part of the race felt so hard. With a threshold around 250 watts, I averaged about 340 watts for the first part of the race. Riding at 135% of threshold will make you tired, real quick. In the end, the race was a great experience. I got back in touch with my inner road rider and I think I like him. I'll be doing some more road races for sure, and next time, I'm holding the pack! See you out there.