ABD Fall Fling Road Race – 38.5 miles
October 6, 2007 – Pecatonica, IL
Cat 4 – 38th
244 watts – 21.6 MPH
I admit it. I’m a pansy. OK, maybe that can be a good thing at times, but it can also come back to bite you.
Saturday, October 6 brought the last road race of the year—the ABD Fall Fling. The “fall” weather was some of the hottest we’ve had for any race this year. Temps were in the low 80s with dew points approaching 70. A 10-15 MPH wind from the southwest helped cool things down a little. It was definitely time to load up with extra fluids! I had two full 16 oz water bottles racked up and many riders had a third in their jersey pocket.
The course for the Fall Fling has been described many places before. It’s roughly an 8-mile rectangle with rolling hills, but no wind protection. Road surfaces are in good shape, though there were a few potholes near the shoulder. There are very few places for gaps to form in the pack unless there is a strong crosswind (or a few crashes). This course usually just experiences the usual pre-turn slowing and post-turn accelerations.
After getting dropped due to my cold muscles last year, I made sure to get in a nice long warm-up. Riders staged in the parking lot before the start for a brief reminder about race safety and the enforcement of the centerline rule. Considering the tragic loss of Beth earlier this year, I’m glad race directors are cracking down on centerline violators. With the rules done, we rolled out to Smith Road for the start.
The pace at first was nice and easy with no one really wanting to pick things up. Compared to last year, I think people were more sensitive to the heat. I was hanging towards the back third, and planning on moving up on the second lap. This road race was a last minute change in plans for me, since an old teammate got smart and decided not to run the Chicago Marathon. With my Saturday now free, I though the road race would be a good workout for cyclocross. This “pansy” attitude might have killed my race for the day even before it began. Here’s why…
On the backstretch, halfway through the first lap, a couple of riders touched wheels in front of me and went down taking others with them. I went straight towards the ditch, but was able to stop on the shoulder. I hesitated for about 10-15 seconds and asked if everyone was OK and the chase vehicle immediately stopped to help everyone. A few riders behind me had also been held up, but the guys on the outside were able to circumvent and get back up to the pack right away. My hesitation killed me. I restarted expecting to find I had been dropped when the pack accelerated after the crash as they usually do. This was not the case much too my surprise. Unfortunately, my hesitation had left too much of a gap for me to hammer and catch the pack (a few other riders who hadn’t hesitated were able to catch up and rejoin the peloton). Ironically, I was able to keep them at a good distance for about another lap before I realized my chasing had become fruitless. I had pretty much killed myself and just set into a good hard tempo/light threshold ride as a workout.
On another “pansy” note, I had been riding right near the shoulder. I’m not sure if this was because I had Beth’s accident in the back of my mind, but I find it interesting since I usually ride towards the centerline with the specific reason of moving up and being able to easily go around crashes in the pack. Had I been in my normal spot, I probably would have avoided the crash and stuck with the pack.
I ended riding the rest of the race by myself and picking off a few riders. I didn’t notice the heat that much with the wind, but I kept drinking fluids just out of habit. On the last lap, I noted signs that I was becoming dehydrated and backed off the pace. Yep, it’s a pansy thing to do, but when you’ve blacked out from heatstroke before, you learn to be careful.
When I finished, I found out that there had been a couple of crashes right before the finish. Both Tim and Kirby went down. Tim had some pretty nasty abrasions and his bike was pretty much done for the year. Since I wasn’t around to witness the crashes, I don’t know the circumstances, but I wouldn’t be surprised if heat and dehydration had something to do with them.
I really appreciated the support from ABD for the race. There were course marshals at each corner and I saw them holding up several cars for me at turns. I hope the local residents didn’t mind the delay, because it’s a decent race venue. Whether you’re a pansy or not, the road race is a nice way to end the road season.