6/14/04 by George Liolios
For once the sun was out and this years Ohio State RR Championship was a hot and humid affair. For the second consecutive year the race was held at Caesars Creek State Park located 35 miles north of Cincinnati on a 16.7 mile circuit featuring a fast, twisty descent, one 10% climb and gradual, big ring climb through the feed zone.
Regardless of results, Kudos to those riders from our club that came and "Through Down"!
Hydration would be important today, and should have been started several days prior to the event. Many riders would be paying the price as they suffered with cramps and dehydration as the race wore on.
Typically I'm pretty meticulous with my pre-race routine, starting with my arrival and finishing with a last minute good luck kiss from Joanne. So a 45-minute delay for the start put a crimp in my preparation. The staging and start was located several miles away from registration so as the spectators waited for the riders to pass by they wondered if the course had changed?
Our pre-race staging resembled a gaggle of geese until the officials finally decided to start staging us on the road allowing us to work on our tans a bit more. Many of us waited out the staging beneath the shade of several trees along the road, shaking our heads and muttering unprintable comments (FUBAR, & Cluster _ _ _ _ come to mind) as the official barked out orders.
As a more experienced rider (older) and as the clocked ticked on I was concerned that the delay was dangerously encroaching on my afternoon nap. At long last the first pack rolled up the road. We would be one of the last to start and with out notice the official apparently had an epiphany realizing we needed to get started so he decided the remaining riders would start together which included all women, juniors and the rest of the old guys for our 3 laps, 48-mile race.
I rolled up the road nice and easy at 23 mph and was joined by three other riders on Clarksville Rd as we rode into the wind. Hot, humid and windy a real super size combo. The four of us worked well together in nice tight pace line. However, one of the riders was adamant that everyone rotates in the correct direction with respect to the direction of the wind. Okie-dokie. I noticed that two of the riders struggled a wee bit in the feed zone so I upped the tempo in hopes that this would cause some more difficulty. As expected they hung in, but with gritted teeth.
Not that I'm much of a conversationalist, but this group didn't utter a WORD the entire time! Shy by nature I wasn't sure if I should say something or continue to ride in silence. I commented on the smoothness of Clarksville Rd. but still not a word from this pace line of brothers. I concluded that is best not to comment on, "I don't think we should stop at the yard sale up ahead".
Our paceline was reduced to three after the first climb and on the second time up I dropped my companions. I hadn't planned on time trailing, but I had 18 more miles before I could rest. I glanced down and read the four simple words taped to my stem, "COURAGE HAS NO LIMITS' and shifted to my TT mentality as I began my battle against the chase, the course, and elements in a solo effort. I never underestimate my opponent; doing so is disrespectful so I rode scared, but determined. The first few miles were crucial that I ride at my best TT in an effort to crush my opponent's sprit so that their hope to bridge would be futile.
With about 3 miles to go I caught a paceline of five Cat. 4 riders so I finally relaxed and found out quickly that these guys had the gift for gab. "The three hour drive was well worth the fun were having", I commented. One of the riders was from Stow and I'm from Munroe Falls and we have never seen each other before! Who would have thunk it! I quickly dropped by new companions on the final climb, but half way up I got an awful cramp on the inner quad of my right leg. I pedaled about 10 strokes, and then straightened my leg to stretch continuing this routine for the next quarter of the climb until the cramp stopped. I big ringed it and hammered to finish 3:10 up on 2nd place.
As Bob Grimm mentioned to me earlier this season, God blessed me with the desire and ability to ride the bike. I won't forget.