Folsom Cyclebration Omnium - The Old Gear Makes a Comeback

As life goes on, we seem to find different value in the accomplishments that never would have registered previously.  While I still have a burning competitive desire when I race and I'm driven to succeed, I also have a more simple desire to just... fit into my old skin suit.  At least one dream was fulfilled this weekend during the three day Folsom Cyclebration Omnium.  For the uninitiated, an Omninum is a series of races where you get points for your finish on each day and the rider with the most points wins the whole thing.  Here, we had 3 days of racing - A Time Trial, Criterium and Circuit Race.

Putting out the effort, constrained by a super tight skin suit.

Day 1 - Time Trial
Friday started with an 11 mile Time Trial on an out-and-back course along a canal that was very exposed to the wind (which kept getting stronger all weekend).  Nothing kills my spirit more than seeing all these new TT bikes at a race while I'm still stuck in the days of putting aero-bars on my road bike, adjusting the seat and hoping that my carbon wheels will do the trick.  Needless to say, my rear wheel flatted before my race and I ended up with an ancient spare wheel in place of the super light and fast Bontrager light carbon wheel.  Yeah, that would have made the difference.

Note the non-aero helmet, rear wheel and bottle cages. 

But to top it off, when I joined the Rio Strada Cycling team this year I was barely riding in the immediate let alone having not turned the pedals much in the last ten years.  Therefore, all the jersey's I was given were of the large variety and now work best as a sail rather than an aerodynamic functioning jersey.  I've slimmed down to the point that I'm feeling good about myself and to where girls aren't that excited about my thin arms and exposed ribs.  This slimmer version of me wanted to be aerodynamic and so I decided to try and fit into my once gloried Team Oilme Cycling Skin Suit.  It took some effort (and I did a pre-run the night before just to make sure I wouldn't rip the zipper on the day of) but I got into that tight lycra wrap and felt fast simply wearing it (albeit, young kids were warned to look away and the women just did that instinctively).  So, what's more impressive, that I kept and used my decade old cycling kit and bike, or that I was able to fit into that skin suit?  Obviously the race results were of a lower concern... and mission accomplished on the skin suit.  See, it's the small things now that matter.

Oh yeah, the race.  I did NOT clock a great time but I did in fact take 2 minutes off my attempt at this same race last year (last year was done with less than 2 months of training and just about 6 months post Achilles surgery).

DAY 2 - Criterium
The 2nd day was the criterium race and since I had a teammate (Casey) in 11th place from the TT the plan was to work for him to get a good result and hope to move into the overall contention.  As it turned out, the finish was crazy fast with a nasty windy section and I tried my best to grab the leadout (Aptly named "Team Leadout") from a rival team as they took 1st, 2nd and 4th on the day.  I managed a 9th place but felt disappointed as I had more in my sprint than the result showed.  What resulted however, was that I got moved into 8th overall for the 3 day event and only a circuit race left on Sunday.  My friend and teammate Nate Dunn of Data Driven Athlete put his camera's on the Team Leadout guys and if you want to experience the last lap of a criterium at full speed, watch this.  These guys have it down (and they are crazy strong).


Day 3 - Circuit Race
Typically, from my former days of racing, the more days we raced (up to a point) the better I usually would feel and perform.  And my 9th place in the criterium was case in point.  So I was feeling great for the circuit race and expecting that if I rode smart I should end up with another top 10 finish on the day garnering me a top 10 or better overall - and maybe a few cheesy prizes!

Feeling great during a race can in a rare circumstance be a bad thing.  While I didn't try to get into any breakaways like I had in the criterium, I just felt powerful enough all day to lull me into a sense that I would be blasting the final sprint when the time came - if I was in the proper position.  However, as things worked out a teammate (Rocky) got into the winning break leaving Casey (now 10th overall) and I to simply watch and not be expected to work at all.  This plan was perfect but on the last lap I found myself having to spend a ton of energy to move up and around other riders to get to the front where it mattered.

The break blows up as the Mike's Bike's rider solo's for the win

The final right hand corner opens up from a downhill run-in and is about 400 meters to the finish.  This is far to long of a sprint for me, at my advanced age.  And as we approached that final corner, I had spent a huge amount of energy to grab Team Leadout (again) as they blew past the entire field on our left.  I went way to the right and around to get their wheel just as the corner approached and then all guns were fired.  I spent my cannon fodder in the first 250 meters and then tried to hold on as the debris of riders I had just passed now blew back and around me.  19th on the day and over were my chances of a top 10 overall finish, netting an 18th overall.  Sadly, my teammate Rocky, miscounted the laps remaining and didn't know he should be sprinting for the finish and got swept up but still managed a 7th place on the day.

Hey, it was a great weekend of racing and it has me fired up for more in the coming weeks and months.  It's a great feeling to have fitness again and I really need to remember that it hasn't even been a year since I took up racing again and it's almost 10 years from the last time I had any type of fitness.  Give it some time, and just help others realize their potential.  Oh, and get a new bike, TT bike and maybe a better fitting team skin suit.