Three-day weekend

The view from inside the van, where I slept wrapped in sheet metal and the warm orange glow of the halogen security light in the Marty's parking lot the night before the race.

Breakfast time at Lewis Morris Park. Oatmeal anyone?

The mobile bike mechanic. Last minute prep before race time.

I'm failing to come up with any creative way to describe last Sunday's race. To put it simply, it was just about the best weekend I could have had, and a much needed one at that. I've been working two jobs, seven days a week so I haven't had much time to myself. With the 4th of July falling on my normal day off, I was awarded an extra day off for an awesome three-day weekend.

Friday I worked at the bike shop, which I don't really consider to be work, and came home to celebrate my brother's 19th birthday. Saturday was spent at a BBQ/birthday party with friends from the shop and of course, Sunday was H2H race #4, the Lewis Morris Challenge sponsored by Marty's Reliable Cycles. Rather than drive home the night before the race only to return to Morristown the next day, I parked the van at Marty's and spent the night inside it.

On raceday, I woke up feeling fresh and walked over to Rico Pan Bakery for a large coffee then drove over to Lewis Morris to secure my parking spot and begin cooking my breakfast, tailgate style. I love the moments leading up to the start of a race. I threw my bike up on the stand to swap out my rear wheel for my other one with a smaller cog. Most SS racers were running a 32:20 gear ratio, but I knew that LM was a park where I could gear up and not be at a disadvantage. I opted for a 32:18 and it proved to be the best idea ever.

I've grown used to mashing a big gear from all the time I've spent riding my fixie and SS almost exclusively for almost a year before beginning my training. I knew I would have the strength to clean what climbs there were and be able to really kick it down on the flats and descents when my competition would be spinning out. My plan worked perfectly. Not only did I claw my way through the SS field, I also caught countless geared riders who began their races ahead of me. I not only overtook racers on the flats, where I really thought I'd make my moves, but also on the climbs. When they would downshift excessively and slow down to a crawl, I had no choice but to gun it and hammer past them. I surged on the adrenaline rush I got when I crested a hill and still had the power to sprint after it. At any moment when I allowed my cadence to drop on a flat, I yelled at myself, "Come on! This is why you chose this gear, NOW F*CKING PEDAL!"

Lap 2 saw a great cat & mouse battle between me and mtbNJ's own Woody. He would pass me on climbs only for me to reel him back in on the flats and descents. We went back and forth into the first climb on the 3rd lap when he finally dropped me and secured 7th place. I then waged war against a rider named George from team NYCmtb. We traded spots for all of lap 3. One thing I really love about racing is how, even though it's a heated race, one can still have a conversation out there. George was humbled by my courage to run such a tall gear and cheered me up each hill. On the last climb before the final downhill, he blew up and I never looked back. I powered to the finish line to learn later that I took 8th place, my best finish ever!

On another note, a rivalry of sorts has developed between myself and my friend Joaquin from Team Marty's. I beat him in the first two H2H races by only a small margin and he caught me in the final turns of Singlespeed-A-Palooza in a total upset at Stewart. I sought redemption at H2H race 3 at Stewart and I beat him by 6 minutes, but I learned later that he was dealing with a stomach bug. A win is a win, I guess, but I didn't feel I could count that one. Last Sunday, I smoked him! Fair and square. That made me very happy. =) We're very evenly matched, so I'm looking forward to seeing how we do in the second half of the season.

After my race, I exchanged my riding gear for my camera gear and hiked out onto the course to shoot video of my friends. They thank me like it's a chore to do it, but I enjoy it immensely. It's a great scene around the Start/Finish area and I meet great new people at every event. Marty's provided each racer with a commemorative pint glass with a coupon for a free beer at Sona Thirteen in Morristown, so a group of my closest friends and I headed over for a post-race pint and some much needed carbs. I savor these moments. Some coworkers of mine showed up just as my friends were upping to leave, so I decided to stick around and hung out with them until almost 10pm. I really wasn't looking forward to returning to work the next day, so I was milking this good time for as long as I could. One highlight from the evening was after we left Sona, my friend said she needed some sweets for the energy to drive home. I proceeded to say the creepiest thing I have ever said to a girl, which was, "Why don't you come with me? I've got some candy in my van." A riotous laugh ensued and rightly so.

Next Sunday is race #5 in the H2H series at Kittatiny Valley State Park. I haven't ridden there before, but I hear it is a little more technical and less steep than LM, so I think I'm going to stick with the taller gear. We'll see how it goes!