Perfect little thinktank moment while crushing the pedals during Sunday's Modesto road race. About 10 miles into a 63 mile race, there's a break of three up the road which includes my teammate Peter Allen.
Someone punches it in a crosswind section creating havoc in the peleton. We turn onto a tailwind section, still full hammer mode. Whoever was on front relents for a moment and one of the strongmen left in the field, Bubba Melcher, gets on his bad motor scooter. I jump onto Bubba's wheel and we're off. Bubba pulls at 36 mph for a long time, then lets off the gas just for a second as if to say to me, "well, I ain't draggin' your ass all the way up there."
Before pulling through, I check under my arm and it's "Clean Up! Aisle Six!" Tiny groups of what was once the peleton litter the road like broken eggs on a grocery store floor. My brain starts chewin' on: helping put Bubba into the break would probably cement the break's success, but right now Peter has at least a 33% chance of winning from a break of three. Is Bubba a good addition or bad one?; if I don't help, how likely is Bubba to make it up there on his own?; if Bubba comes back to the pack, he'll certainly launch again, and he'll have other strongmen to help him. Will the break survive that condition?
Pondering those three scenarios in a blink of an eye didn't get me any closer to the answer I sought. So I decide to ask Bubba for his opinion.
Me: "So whaddya think?"
Bubba: "Don't think! Pedal!"
He was right of course. I'm still laughing at myself over that one.
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6 comments:
asking Bubba for advice in a bike race is sort of like the mouse asking a cat if it's safe to come out of its hole.
he's not really going to have your best interests at heart.
bottom line, it's those who think while they're pedaling who win.
and Bubba thinks.
evil things.
PS.
you should have worked with him ... just a little bit.
you had a man in the break and the majority of responsibility to get across was on his shoulders. yeah, it benefits your team to have 2 of 5, but - it's early and the break is unlikely to succeed. there's no need for you to waste a ton of energy in that situation.
If you get across, good - if you don't, you're still sitting well.
and since it's Bubba, when he got you within' striking distance to Allen's group, you should have attacked him to get across solo.
... because he'll do it to you in a heart beat.
every time.
I'm a big believer in an honorable Sun Tzu approach to bike racing. If I had the fitness, Peter and I could have had a lot of fun waging war against our fellow breakaways. Sadly though, sparse training the past six weeks left me unarmed and merriless.
I did combine with Bubba on the bridge. He did about 70% of the work, including a leg-burning pull into a headwind to close the final 200 meters. I made certain that if he was to get there, he'd have earned it.
Once we got there I sat out a few rotations, hoping to recover. Bubba got in the rotation before I did. When I finally joined in, the pull made me go crosseyed. I knew right then and there I couldn't hang with the break for 45 miles without becoming the unhonorable type of racer I abhor, The Wheel Sucker.
So I dropped back and regrouped with two teammates still in the field. Once we were certain the break was solid, instead of covering attacks we would make little efforts to help get a second group up the road.
Sure enough, a group of seven formed which included me and my teammate Rick Bradley. This group, though, was not willing to work together. Very negative racing, lots of gutter time in the cross wind sections. Two guys were committed to the effort and rightfully led the guttering, three kinda half-heartedly contributed (I put me and Rick in this category) and two others wheel sucked.
The four man break stayed away. Jim Matamores (Team Davis) won, Bubba (Team Clover) got second, Tim Lubmin (EMC2) came in third and Peter (Specialized/Sierra Nevada aka "the good guys") got fourth.
Our seven man group stayed away too. I wound up getting eighth.
Sun Tzu wouldn't have been proud, but hell, bike racin' ain't life or death either.
The Golden Rule
"never get dropped from the break ... ever"
it's not dishonorable to be knackered and have to sit on. it's dishonorable to sit on when you're fresh and you're under obligation to work (ie, it's actually in your interest to make the break stick).
sitting on when you're knackered is just fine. it's survival.
never sit up from a break just because you can't work in it. if you have to sit on, do it ... just don't sprint at the finish. but, you never leave the break unless your body implodes and you couldn't turn another pedal if your life depended on it.
metaphor.
OK. There's a bike racing golden rule. Learn and live. I thought it dishonorable to sit on a break, but I see your point: just don't sprint.
"sitting on when you're knackered is just fine. it's survival"
Fuck I have to remember that one from MH when his mates (Martin et al.) are thrashing me in a break.....if you think about it we helped em win the race at the end of the day
At least you didn't have someone screaming obcenenities at you for attacking em :) Really wanted to get back up and finish with you guys! I'll attack upon disorganization again in a heartbeat.
clarification - I got yelled at at Modesto for attacking a disorgainized chase group not by DM at Rancho
cheers,
J
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