Last couple weeks have been off for me. I finished up with ToWC thinking I was moving into some good form. I took a trip up to the Adirondacks and managed an injury to.. well.. we can call them “tender parts.” I spent three days on Motrin just to walk around. On day 4 I could move with tolerable pain sans motrin. So, it ended up being a 7 day stretch completely off the bike. Great.
Got back into DC on the 12th of July and first hard efforts back on the bike these last two weeks have been miserable. I’m starting to feel stronger now and feel like there’s some kick in there. I don’t think I’ll recover the uppermost kick I felt like I had in June, so I can focus on good steady state intervals and plan to crush TT’s the rest of the season.
Giro di Coppi Report:
Either this race was exceptionally easy, or I’m getting more fitness back than I expected. The Cat 3 race was pretty much a bore and centerline rule was a typically key player on the MABRA road races. I made some critical mistakes on positioning on the run in to the finish and by the time we hit the feed zone there was no room left to move up. No clue what place I got - wasn’t really an objective for the day.
Two thoughts on Giro di Coppi:
1. The EDS guy that felt the need to nudge every rider in the peloton has issues. I’ve never seen someone take their hands off the bars to let the guy next to them know they’re there. I get the occasional tap, we all do that. But this guy was incessant. It actually became comical as he gave me a nudge over to move around on to the second wheel and proceed to go backwards when the road tipped upwards.
2. The guy on my wheel telling me to “Slot right Whole Wheel” so he could move by was dumb. I’m riding the yellow line. There’s space at my handlebars where sure - if I wanted to go right, I probably could have. But I knew there was a 540 rider with his front wheel abeam my rear wheel. I finally got fed up with hearing “Slot right Whole Wheel” and told the guy as much. His response was “Well, if his front wheel is overlapped, that’s his fault!”
Yeah, so sure - I could “slot right” and put my derailleur in his spokes and say “well, that was his fault.” But it ain’t happening.
Myself, and the remainder of the pack behind you sincerely thank you for not heeding the request of that douche behind you.
I don’t know what the $*#& that guy was thinking.
Not like we weren’t riding 4 wide at the time either. Not quite sure where the guy thought he was going to move to - and I sure as heck wasn’t giving my spot up.
that guy was most likely Greg Vadas, former Cat 3 RR Champ from 2007. He’s a little animated but has been cycling in these parts for years and knows how to ride a bike. Maybe he just likes you.
Seemed like a Cat4 race. So conservative…