Winter Shart Track Series: Race Uno

Wake up late, mount a computer on my stem so I can keep track of time out on the course, check the weather, and bundle up for the ride over to the shart tarck.

The day before, I dragged out the stationary trainer that I bought The Pie years ago to keep her running fitness through an overuse injury.  I checked to see if my rear 142X12 axle would fit.  No buenos,  Headed to Bike Source to pick up something I'd ordered, Tumas told me about an adapter that would solve my bike/trainer issue... $40.

I don't wanna be properly warmed up for five short races that badly.  I guess I'll just be one more guy pointlessly tooling around the parking lot before the start.

Get there, roll around to see what's new and/or different and also how well the course held up to the deluge last night.

photo cred: Steve Barker/Icon Media Asheville

One new gravel-strewn turn and some slick diarrhea on the upper parts of the course, otherwise bueno.  I do notice that my bike computer jiggles in its mount and makes an annoying noise, so I toss it in my pocket.  I won't get those wasted five minutes of my morning back.

Line up towards the front of the other 50+ men, starting one minute behind the single speeders.  I wonder if my presence in the old guys class with a one gear bike will cause any confusion.  Watch the single speeders ride away... wait for our turn.

Go.

I'm madly spinning up the gradual climb in the parking lot, throttling towards the hairpin turn before entering the woods.  Mobley comes around me as we make the turn and one more rider clicks his shifty bits and gets into the woods in front of me.  Damn it...

photo cred: Steve Barker/Icon Media Asheville

The thing about getting into the woods on lap one is that if you get stuck behind someone going slow, it's gonna be a long time before you can make a pass.  As I sit in third place riding the wheel of someone who likes their brakes too much, I see Mobley opening up the gap on us both.  Meh.

photo cred: Steve Barker/Icon Media Asheville

I get to one of the few climbing opportunities for passing and get by second place. I start to shut down the gap on Mobley...

And then we pop out on the gravel to pavement and click, click, shift, smash... he blasts away. To make things worse, Cardozo catches my wheel, and I can see that we're going to run into the back of the single speed field as soon as we get into the woods for lap two.

Cardozo is calling out "on your left."  I'm 99% positive he thinks that I'm one of these slower single speeders we just caught.  I don't yield the trail because... racing.  I manage to slip around a couple guys, as does Cardozo.  Out of the woods and onto the gravel, click, click, shift, smash and he's gone.  Third place is still podium...

Another clean lap skipping the fun lines and hitting the faster ones every time.

But still, pop out on the gravel to pavement and click, click, shift, smash... shart tarck racing stalwart Dwayne comes by on his iconic Moots garvel bike followed by Faster Mustache teammate BC (also on garvel bike).  Just like that, from third to fifth.

A couple laps later, I'm able to get close enough to BC's wheel to see that either he's sitting up a bit or the wheels are coming off his bus.  Mebbe I'll get him back eventually?

More laps of self-doubt and internal struggle before another Charlotte fast racer man Stauffer comes around me on the pavement.  Sixth place now and starting to think about bailing on next week's race and going to the Icycle instead. 

I hold Stauffer's wheel on the single track well enough that I don't feel like I'm entirely out out of the hunt and BC is still in sight.  Dwayne and Cardozo are far up in the distance.  Mobley's on another planet.  I see Stauffer take the B-Line outta the woods, and I take the A-Line again... putting me ahead of him and back in the top five hunt.

I keep Stauffer behind me and get right on BC's wheel.  Mebbe his gears will get me in a final sprint or mebbe his bus will be wheel-less by then?

photo cred: Steve Barker/Icon Media Asheville

And then a rider baubles in front of BC and he can't get around... I feel bad, but as Peter Sagan once said, "Race is race."

photo cred: Steve Barker/Icon Media Asheville

Get on the gas and I'm closing in on Cardozo on the final gravel to pavement... although he doesn't seem like he really wants to let his third place go.  I give 'er until it's obviously pointless... look back, sit up and finish four seconds back in fourth place.

Some valuable lessons learned for next week's race and changes need to happen before then for sure.

Oh yeth, ironically, assuming my time woulda been the same, I woulda ended up fourth place in single speed as well.  Dammit.

Double dammit.