This past weekend marked the end of a extended hiatus from racing due to hip problems. The problems still persist on and off, but are significantly better than before. However, the lack of riding has left me in less than spectacular form, as one would expect. To combat the state of lethargy that marked the recent months, I opted for not one, but two days of racing to shock my system back in to motion. Nothing like a little overcompensation for lost time eh?

Friday afternoon I headed out to Trexlertown with some teammates to hang out with old Penn State Cycling folk, who conveniently lived about 200 yards from the Velodrome. I also had the opportunity to hang out with people much more dedicated to cycling than I will perhaps ever be. People such as Tash, who is part of the New Zealand national team, and Iggy Silva, who is the young, talented rider from Rock Racing and also the U23 National team. Watching these riders on the track was truly an amazing experience, but I digress.

On saturday we were awoken early by Iggy's coach, who stopped by to get directions to a race in Lancaster. After a breakfast at the diner, we headed over to the velodrome for a full day of racing. To keep it simple, I did not do too spectacular, but the track proved to be one of the more exciting days of racing I had in a while. By the end of the day I felt very comfortable with the dynamics of the track, but I kept making the mistake of boxing myself in down low during final laps, thus preventing me from having space to sprint. Now that I learned that mistake, I should be able to do a bit better the next few times out. But for my second day ever racing on the track, I was happy with my results.

But the big event for the weekend was the Tour de Tykes mountain bike race in Danville, PA. Originally, I had planned to head down to the Massanutten Hoo-Ha, but travel arrangements made the PA racing weekend much more cost-effective and convenient. After the previous day of racing at the velodrome, I was suprised to find that my legs felt pretty good... or so I thought.

The expert/elite race was 18.5 miles, but had a claimed elevation change of 4500 ft. To add to the fun, it was a hot day. The course was a single loop, with no real good locations for a feed, so I made the decision to carry three bottles. I found out later, this would not be enough for me.

The race started out on a fireroad climb. After about a mile of climbing, I discovered that my legs had not recovered quite as well as I was hoping, and that I had no substantial power. The climb continued for another mile or two, and was a very brutal start to what would be a very long race. More climbing on open fire roads, the sun blaring down, ensured that I would down water fairly quickly, and before a quarter of the race was over I was well into my second bottle.

As I reached mile 10, sluggishly pushing the granny gear up some steep inclines, I took the final sip from my third and last bottle. Halfway through the race, and I had drained all my resources. I pressed on regardless of my hydration status. Shortly after began the cramps.

Cramps come in a few different flavors. The easy ones to deal with are the ones you know are coming. You start feeling a small tinge in one leg, so you back off a little, but eventually the cramp catches up with you. These you can usually stretch out pretty quickly, or even ride through. The bad cramps are the ones you don't suspect. You're riding along, often hitting a good pace, and then bam. Full leg seizure. These are the cramps that I had, and they took a few minutes each to get through.

No water, legs seizing up every so often, stomach problems, heat, and no power in the legs. This was how I returned to the racing scene. I came through the finish line in an embarrassingly slow time. 2 hours and 53 minutes for a 18.5 mile course. The leaders of the Expert 19-34 class had a solid 40 minutes on me. I was on the edge of delirium coming through the finish. The volunteer was telling me something and handed me something. I think I heard "shwag" somewhere in his talk, but I was too out of it to process anything he told me. I then lowered my head in shame, and rolled over to the main area of the venue to find some water, food, and shade.

I knew this year was going to be tough when I upgraded to Expert/Cat1, but I seem to be making steps backwards rather than forwards when it comes to my fitness. If any of you more experienced folk have suggestions on how to get out of a rut (other than not riding, I've taken enough time off thanks to the hip) I would greatly appreciate the advice.

On a lighter note, I did get my new crankset in!

I decided to try a mountain double set-up for a few reasons. First, except for this past weekend, the little ring is useless. Second, getting rid of external bottom bracket brings the cranks in a little more, which should alleviate the hip problem. I still have to find the right derailleur, but a preliminary test ride shows promising results. I'll give an appropriate review of it once I get some miles in.

The Stoopid 50 is this Sunday, which I will be entering regardless of how poorly I'm riding... If any cyclingdirt members/cohorts are planning on racing the Stoopid, feel free to get in touch with me. I will be happy to show off the local trails and/or pubs and may even have a couch or two to crash on.