First bike race ever. Starts in Panguitch and loops up red canyon turns at Ruby's inn and heads north behind the Dunton mountains all the way to Otter Creek, then down Kingston Canyon to Circleville and back down to Panguitch. So the race started out with BIG drama for Clyde. Got to the start at 6:50 a.m and thought the race started at 7:30. Got out or the truck and started getting my bike out and shoes on and everyone vanished. Still needed to pump up my tires to the right tire pressure and go potty but rolled over to the starting line and the guys says "is everything ok". I said what's going on... he said the race started like ten min's ago. Then all hell breaks loose as I just jump on the bike and start blazing my way down the road. Couldn't believe I'd made this mistake. Left my wife sitting there scratching her head and I was just screaming all the way through town now well back over EVERYONE. After two miles of hard pounding a motorcycle came up (guy for my home ward) and told me to hold on and he'd pull me to the lead group. I didn't know what to think but at this point I just wanted the experience of the day more than the result so I did it. That was the scariest things I've done in a long time. I swerved all over holding on with one had and trying to steer the bike and balance with the other. With a lot of luck I didn't go down and he pulled me for about 5 miles down to the lead group. I quickly peddled up the masses and found Bob told him the story and then tried to settle down and make the best of the day. Within about a mile of joining the group we all merged from the road to the bike trail that runs up Red Canyon. This was super tight, shoulder to shoulder, wheel to wheel all the way up. But it wasn't fast. Very ez and I wanted then to use my strength in climbing and mover up but it was impossible. You were just caught in the river of riders all the way to Ruby's inn where the road comes to a junction and we went north. Soon after hitting the road I was right up in the lead. But something was up because NO ONE would go. Nobody lining up, nobody pushing the pace at all. Turns out that 3 of the big dog riders for a local team got flats coming up red canyon and because of this the entire led group of about 40 riders wouldn't push the pace. Everyone was content to just sit in and wait for those guys to catch back up so they could control the race. This was super frustrating for me. I kept trying to get a group together to take off and nothing ever got going. There were a several riders who also wanted to make something happen but it just didn't for miles and miles and miles. Meanwhile by mile 30 I had to go potty... bad. Other riders would pull off and go and then work to get back with the group. This happened several times between miles 30-75. But I was too scared that if I pulled off that would be when "they" would take off and I'd be left. I also couldn't bring myself to "go" on the bike as I've come to learn is an option as well. By mile 80 I was in sever discomfort. Having missed my pre race potty and now just grinding out a race it was killing me. I led the race over and over again getting up and pulling and at some points creating a pretty big gap between me and the group but no one would ever come with. So I'd let up and fall back into place. There was no way you can break a lone with the last 20+ miles of this course fairly flat and wind exposed. I started to think about how the race would end. I knew my fitness was great and legs felt pretty good through 80+ miles. I was only fighting the bladder issue and a sore bum. But I couldn't break a lone. Not with the headwind we were pushing and a 40+ rider group licking it's chops and I also knew that I wasn't a sprinter. And in the end would get eaten a live by all these sharks who've been riding our wheels the whole race. With 1.5 miles left I was in the led taking my last and (worst) pull of the race. As I slowed from that pull and waited for someone to come around so I could recover... Everyone started breaking! Super strong surge that left me way back in the group as people started flying past. I pushed hard and got on someones wheel but it got dangerous. Bikes cutting each other off here and there. Handle bars hitting each other and I was boxed in. With about .6 to go I rallied and got around to pass my blocker and hammered it passing most of the people who had just passed me. I worked really hard and was now in around 5th but then Everyone started hammering again and I had no answer. I finally got tired of fighting for place and just cruised in right in the middle of the big group. The finish line was a super dangerous left turn at full speed that saw several wrecks during the day. In the end bike races are dumb. Not a true reflection of the guy who works the hardest, trains hard. Not because I didn't win or I think I'm this total bike stud. But because there were 20+ people who road in that race in our group who NEVER could ride like that without being pulled. Anyways I like riding, training. But I don't like cycling races. I'm doing LOTOJA and that may be my last regular bike race. I like Tri's where every man has to do his own work.
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