Year: 2025

Apex hosts this race in collaboration with the Tour de Bloom team and so I raced in the morning and then drove the follow car for the afternoon 35+ Masters A race

The rain held off for the morning race and we had a decent size field as we were combined with both the 40+ and 60+ divisions, although scored separately. This helps with having a larger field but makes it difficult to know exactly who you are racing against.

We’d come into this with a plan to get Frank into a break on the second lap and for Jeff to try to win the first lap wine prime. This race has a decent hill up to the finish line (about a 7 min rolling climb) which you hit each lap. I was ok the first couple times up it and Jeff managed to take the prime as planned after chasing down one rider who started his sprint very early at 1 k out. We celebrated that briefly once he fell back to the pack and then carried on with the rolling roads of the backside of the course. I felt fine on these sections but for some reason just couldn’t stay attached to the field the thrid time up the hill. I have a tough time adjusting and recovering after summiting a hill and need to work out how to train that transfer point better as it keeps getting me. Looking at my data I wasn’t maxed out in any real way, although it felt it at the time, and should have been able to hang on. I actually then averaged 20W more for the rest of the race after being dropped.

I rode by myself for a little and then got joined by two riders from the 4/5 field and eventually reeled in a couple more riders up front who had been dropped from my field. It kept the last hour more enjoyable as I had people to ride with. I asked if anyone wanted to sprint coming up to the finish and got some takers so was able to see what kick I still had left. (40+ rider beat me but I beat the two 4/5 riders who I’d been riding with, Scott sat out the sprint and just spun in).

Due to some confusion we got shorted a lap for our race but I just went off the lap board and final lap bell so everyone had a fair idea that it was the end. Frank had created a break with one rider from the 60+ field and took the win. Their lead car had to eventually stop and pull them off the road to tell them their race was over as they had just kept going thinking they had 1 more lap still. Jeff came 2nd in the pack sprint for 3rd overall so all in all a great result for the team.

I wasn’t too far back at the end so rolled back to the car park with the others.

Then it was time to shift into volunteer mode for the rest of the day and 3 hours in the car with the race official and Susan following the Masters A race. It was good fun, chatting and trying to keep track of how many people were up the road in a break and chase group. We had to neutralise our race briefly when the 1/2 field caught us which proved a good opportunity for a roadside pitstop to make the rest of the race more comfortable.

All in all a good day out though a rather dissapointing race.

I’m planning on doing a full brevet series this year as part of my training for LEL in August. I like riding down in Olympia and so it was up at 5am to head down for an 8am start from just near Evergreen. There were about 30 people riding and my plan was to ride with Yonnel for as long as I could and see how that went as I reckoned he’d be the fastest one there.

We started out pretty hot for a 200k (22/23mph over rolling terrain) and were soon wittled down to about 6 people. I’d had enough after about 10 miles and decided a slightly slower pace and less surges on the climbs would make my day more enjoyable so dropped off what was now a group of four other people and watched Yonnel, Travis, Matthew and a rider on a fixie vanish up the road. I eased back a bit and after another 10 miles or so Adam caught up to me and we rode together for a while. We caught up with the fixie rider who’d dropped off the front group and the three of us rode together until about mile 40 when they too drifted away from me on a hill.

Reckoning I could well be solo now for the rest of the day I settled in to a steady rhythm and started ticking off the miles. As the day was heating up I stopped to take off my jacket and the crest of another hill. As a side note, most of the climbing, 15 climbs in total, was front loaded in the first half of the ride. Most of the climbs were only 2 minutes or so and all very comfortable at a non race pace.

As I started rolling again I saw a rider behind me so sat up to let him catch me. It turned out to be Matthew who had also been dropped from the front group and had then stopped at a gas station in Shelton. It later emerged that both Adam and the fixie rider had stopped there too and I’d unknowingly passed them too.

So from mile 50 or so Matthew and I rode the rest of the ride together. He’d thought he’d be by himself today and had aero bars on his bike so was able to get in them and do some great work on the front. I’d like to say I contributed to the effort but apart from moral support I basically just sucked his wheel for the rest of the ride.

It was a great sunny day for April, perfect conditions and I’m in decent shape but it felt unusually difficult to just stay on his wheel for 4 hours or so. The pace wasn’t too high and my effort levels were fine so a lot of it was mental I think and the lack of long rides so far this year. With 50 miles to go I really wanted to just let his wheel go and ease up a bit but just kept telling myself that the efffort wasn’t too bad and ultimately I’d be way better off and faster if I stayed on. I’m pleased with getting through the mental hurdle and sticking with it.

I was also trying a new fueling strategy this ride with Meuten 360 in both bottles for carbs. I think I missed my usual electrolye stategy as I had cramps threatening for the later third of the ride and will probably just keep that fueling strategy for shorter races instead and try to eat more on the ultra rides instead.

There was a welcome manned control at a state park at 67 miles which was my only stop for the day (apart from pausing to fix a quick mechanial issue for Matthew on the road). These manned controls are always appreciated, both for the friendly faces and a chance to refill bottles, down a coke and eat a couple home baked brownies.

Ultimately we finished in 7 hours and 15 minutes (just over 7 hours riding time) and averaged close to 18 mph. That’s a decent pace for a 200k for me these days and my best time in about 3 years so I’m happy enough with my form. Yonnel and Travis finished nearly an hour ahead of us and averaged 21 mph so I made the right call as that would have been a greuling day for me at that pace.

Matthew was great company on the road and we enjoyed a nice burger and beer at the finish before heading back to our respective homes.

For the upcoming 300k I think I’ll throw my aero bars back on my bike and rely on electrolyte mix and real food to stay more hydrated and keep energy levels up during the ride. You’d think I’d have this all worked out by now!

Mentally I just couldn’t get into this race properly. I struggled right off the bat going into the first climb and felt like I barely hung on which shook my confidence a bit. In hindsight I think everyone was suffering as the pace consistently let up as soon as we crested any of the short climbs throughout the race. When I look at the stats for that part of the race neither my heart rate or power were particulary high so it may just have been an issue with taking longer and longer to warm up these days. By the third lap I felt relatively comfortable going up the same climb at a similar pace.

I stayed mid pack or so for the entire race and don’t feel I impacted the race in any way (unlike the previous week). On the last lap I moved up a little but struggled with motivation and confidence to fight for the front. I ended up 9th in the sprint, finishing mid pack but pretty dissapointed with myself for not trying to do more during the race itself. I clearly had more left at the end and could have done better.

My team mates took 4th and 7th just ahead of me and I should have been able to help one of them do better.

Oh well, longer brevet next weekend before back to my next race at Racnsdale. Hopefully I’ll be more mentally fired up to influence it in some way.