Torelli Spring Classic -- Tour of Hocking Hills

I was disappointed with my results. I trained hard to do well in on this kind of course, but for the second time this year my hamstrings started cramping. It is a tough pill to swallow when you can’t give it your all.

Outside of being a short course, I liked it. Although on a good day, I think I would have preferred Old Man’s Cave because of its difficulty. There was an early break that I think almost lasted because the smaller field did not want to chase (despite Dave’s pleas) and especially because of the head-wind. The hills and a sketchy descent aided in the breaks favor.

Into the second lap I headed to the front to help bring back the break. Will acknowledged my form and urged me to hold back for the climbs- thanks Will. I felt great up until the tip-top of Jack Run when my hamstrings started to “bite” a little. They never quite came back and I had to “pace” up Cantwell Cliffs. I hope I can get to the bottom of this.

Like Will said, I only saw skinny climbing types. It was nice being in a small manageable field for once. The descent down O'Possum Hollow was hairy at the time, but seemed like a lot of fun after it was over. I made the final selection two bikes back from Steve but a bunch of Stark County boys converged at the base of Cantwell Cliffs and pushed it up the first half of the climb. Once they gapped the rest of us they all seemed to soft-pedal together for a team finish neither gaining or losing any ground.

I guess the course scared everyone off, because there were only 25 people in the Bs race. All of them could climb.

Things started off pleasantly enough with a easy stroll to the base of Jack Run. I tried one minor attack to see if people were paying attention but then settled in to wait for the upcoming carnage. On the climb two guys got away. They were two young kids: one from the Ada bike team and Billy from Breakaway. These kids were tough. The chase after the climb was so fast it was shattering the field into little pieces. But the two kids were maintaining their gap. Eventually the chase slowed and the field recongealed. After a bumpy descent down Opossum Hollow rd (hold on to your bike!) John O'D took over the pace making along the valley road and kept the gap steady while the rest of the team rested their legs for Cantwell Cliffs climb.

The Cantwell Cliffs climb seemed to hurt me a little more than Steve and Mitch. With John O'D now gone I decided it was up to me to work the chase and keep Steve and Mitch fresh. Once I recovered from the hill I moved to the front and started pitching in, much to the delight of Team Dayton Dave who was screaming in an attempt to motivate the field. A few of us were taking pulls and, despite the disorganization, the gap was coming down slowly. Capture seemed inevitable. But the Ada kid looked back, made Billy take one last long pull and then attacked and dropped him. As quickly as Billy came backwards towards our field, the Ada kid jumped away, out of site. I took a few more easy pulls with Breakaway, who moved up to chase, but the Ada kid was long gone.

Jack Run loomed on the horizon and I was far from fresh. I felt ok for most of the climb. But when I rounded the last bend and saw the final 50 meters kick I had forgotten about, I cracked mentally and physically. I was just a hair off the field over the top, dropped it in the big ring and jammed, but didn't make the selection. Oh well. I was briefly joined by Breakaway Billy on the run into the finish before he cracked completely and couldn't even hold my wheel. I waited once, but eventually left him behind. Just before the final Cantwell Cliffs climb John O'D comes flying past me riding on two Ada guys who were dropped from the As, and subsequently the Bs race - but were still trying to get their money's worth for the day. John and I ended up soft pedaling up the last climb together pretending we were spent domestiques on l'Alpe d'Huez.

Some clues that this wasn’t going to be my day: sore throat the night before, elevated resting heart rate the morning of, and a look at one of the climbs on the drive in…

Actually it was a fun race: a gorgeous day, a beautiful setting, and a manageable field. How could you not have a nice day with all that?

The racing commenced after the first trip up Jack Run. After a couple guys attacked and got a little room, SHC put two riders in a promising group but it didn’t stick. Oddly enough, Stark Velo chased the group—despite the fact that, like SHC, they had two riders in it. I didn’t understand, but I think that their chasing teammates in a break was intentional. (Whereas last week, BreakAway’s similar move was unintentional—oops.)

All of this helped the original two stay off the front. After the Possum Hollow descent (thrills and chills) I went to the front to make tempo and chase down a Dayton escapee. After catching him, I was hoping to recover for the Cantwell Cliff climb. Unfortunately, Cantwell is different from the other climbs we’ve done this year. It is more than just a steep, power climb. It is long enough to tax the anaerobic endurance and to test the power to weight ratio—both of which are lacking in my present form. So disappointment set in as I finished my second race in a row off the back.

But what motivation it provides. First, it showed me a vivid picture of where my fitness is—and where I would like it to be. Second, it was great to see, and be a part of, SHC racing as a team. Now that’s motivation.