Snake Alley Crit

Cat 4/12 laps/65 starters/39 finishers

Still recovering from the wreck of 6 weeks ago, training plenty but unable to do any intensity without my legs locking up. One would think that Snake Alley is the worst possible race to do, and one would be right - however I had already paid my money and wanted to experience the most famous crit in the midwest just once.

Not a lot to say about this except that it showcased my two biggest weaknesses, accelerations and downhill cornering. Nothing can prepare you for the shock to the system that is the opening two laps of this race. I went from a good starting position to halfway when we hit the snake, to two thirds of the way back by the time we hit the top. I thought I had decent strength but guys I can usually beat easily in cross were rocketing past me as I hit my max power for the 30 secs up the hill. Same story on lap 2 where i fell even further behind. The hill was dog rough and I was having some problems with my front wheel lifting - plenty of shoulder bumping which I always enjoy.

Laps 3 and 4 I found some better lines, rode the Snake much smoother and started to get the hang of the corners. People were starting to blow up already and I was beginning to pick off and pass people. My slowtwitch diesel engine self was now coming out to play and I was optimistic about moving up for the rest of the race.

Then I got pulled.

I pulled over and waited for the leaders to come through - which they did, quite a while later.
The pace had slowed up considerably after the insanity of the first two laps - a lead group of 4 or so, chase group of six and second chase group of about 10. All separated by 10-15 seconds. Everybody too exhausted to attack and just trying to save themselves for the hill.

That was how it played out until the the last lap. Nothing much happened until the pace increased for the final dash. Skinny-ass teens came first and second, older geezer came third. So goes it.

What I took from the race - My trips up the hill were probably the most intense experiences I have had on a bike, that is something I will remember forever. The corners weren't as bad as I had expected and I need to work on this over the summer. Don't know what I can do about the start - my sprint power is close to untrained level and I have had very little success in trying to change it. I think I was one of the last to be pulled, so if I can just corner with more confidence I should at least be able to finish the race.

Not sure why the officials pulled so aggressively in some races and allowed folks to get lapped in other races and impede others. I'm all in favor of doing what it takes to ensure safety, but it's usual to give riders a chance and pull them when it's clear that they are just about to be lapped. Even at my slowest, it would have take 3 or 4 more laps for me to be caught, and, given the marked slowing of the pace, I think I even stood a fair chance of finishing unlapped. Pulling so early for merely being out of contention is disappointing. Such is life.

Stayed on and showed my support for the rest of the races and spent quite a while noting the cornering techniques of the good guys. Tilford is a master.

The rest of the weekend was unremarkable. I decided there was no point in doing the quad cities crit because the 14 lap race lasts 22 minutes and I wouldn't even be warmed up at that stage. Drove up there to spectate anyway and enjoyed it. Highlight of the day was getting passed on I-80 by a Smart car doing over 90 mph - in the middle of a torrential shower, with traffic cops every five miles. Someone's got cojones! Second-best part was seeing Steve Tilford take the bunch sprint for 3rd place. How a skinny 49 year old with no noticeable upper or lower body can beat out some of the musclebound midwest sprinting divas is a mystery to me - I guess Steve knows how to work them over.