Milk Ras Stage 4
5/23/01
Well, the Ras is half over and I’m definitely
starting to get tired, so
please excuse the deterioration of my writing. Today’s
stage was
fairly
short, but it took it’s toll on my legs. We rolled
out of town in our
usual
slow procession and literally, within 10 seconds of
the lead car
pulling off
we were up to 30 mph. We stayed above 30 and up to
35 for the next
hour
even while going through the towns and across some
very rough roads.
Riding
at these speeds with no visibility is incredibly dangerous
as you have
no
warning of islands in the middle of the road and suddenly
have to dive
to
the right or left as the pack splits around them.
After an hour of 30 mph + racing, we hit the base
of the race’s first
category 1 climb and the pack immediately strung out
with many riders
shooting out the back. Fortunately, I was more than
half way through
the
pack and was able to crest the peak in the top half
as well (first
American
as well). This climb was absolutely epic with just
a short rock wall
separating us from a sheer drop on one side and the
rocky side of the
mountain on the other. Down below was the ocean and
we even saw
mountain
goats running alongside. At the top, there was a big
crowd and the
descent
was fast and furious. At the top of the next category
3 climb, a group
caught up to me which included two of my teammates.
After another
climb,
two teams of two got to the front and ramped up the
pace from 25 mph to
35
mph for the remainder of the race. We caught another
group right at
the
line and finished less than 10 minutes back from the
main group. It’s
hard
to tell exactly where I finished but it was most likely
in the top 100.
Unfortunately, because of my terrible second day,
I am still over 160
back
in the standings. Still, everyday I am feeling a little
stronger and
so far
I am pleased with my performance.
A few side notes. We are testing some new products
here so I figured
I’d
give a review. The Sugoi shorts we are riding haven’t
come on the
market
yet and in fact, we will be sending back a few to
the factory to have
the
wear and tear on them analyzed (I feel bad for the
guy that drew that
chore!). Although they are not particularly comfortable
and I am
riding
mediums when I would have preferred large, I have
to say I am amazed
that so
far I have almost no saddle sores or irritations.
Coming here I was
worried
that wearing an unfamiliar pair of shorts for 4 hours
a day would wreak
havoc on my nether regions but so far, so good. I’d
give them three
and a
half stars out of 4
We also have several cases of cafinated strawberry
clif shots that
taste
like jam. Although the flavor is new, the real innovation
is a little
piece
of plastic that connects the tear off top to the body
of the shot so
that
when you tear it off, it stays connected. We’ve
found this to be very
handy
since instead of spitting out the cap and then throwing
away the empty
gel
later, you can throw them both on the ground at the
same time.
(Apologies
to the environmentalists but that’s racing.)
It’s only 9:30 now, but we’re going to
bed since tomorrow looks to be
the
hardest day of the Ras. It’s only 90 miles long
but contains, 10, TEN!
Categorized climbs, three of them being Cat 1’s.
