The Way I See It

The Twin Rivers Cycling classic (TRCC), a stage race I did in 1992 with poor results. But 1994 was supposed to be different. I'd raced three races that week and started the TRCC very tired.

...when you've had your butt stomped into the ground, the only way you can go is higher...>>>

I raced the opening criterium in the rain...30 laps of a short 1-km course of hairpin turns and short, steep climbs for sprinters (I'm #701 wearing my Baddlands Bicycle Club Jersey that Mitch let me borrow). My weaknesses...bicycle handling and sprinting hurt me here. Two riders

...though the victor has taken the covetted crown...>>>

crashed in front of me and I lost so much time I was pulled from the race after only 15 minutes because I'd lost so much time. I was devastated and sat silently in the car with Miimii...comeback year? It's hard to come back to where you've never been. Later that day I rode a very short six-mile time trial along the Snake River. The wind was gusting to 30 miles an hour, but I managed 26th place of 63 riders, and must have been one of the only riders not to use triathalon handlebars.

Funny thing is I'd owned a pair of aero-handlebars since 1988, before they were ever popular. I always liked trying new things. But I'd never felt comfortable using them, so I left them off in most races which cost me about a 3-5% speed deficit.

The next morning was the final 57-mile road race with four climbs. Ten miles into the race, feeling very tired, I broke away with four other riders. What did I have to lose? I was second from last place! We stayed away for a mile and were caught. Okay...bad move I suppose. Ten miles later we hit our first climb, and while riders were falling off the back trying to keep up, I managed to hang with the leaders, but by the second climb they'd dropped me. When I did my first TRCC in 1992 I was dropped on the first climb and never caught back up to the lead group. I was improving. In the 1994 race, the stragglers and I regrouped on the downhill and hammered all-out to catch the lead group, who were minutes ahead.

I stayed in a paceline doing about 50 km an hour for ten miles to run down the leaders. It was the fastest paceline I'd ever been in...we were flying! They went so fast, I came off the back in the last mile to loosen up my stiff, tired legs. They caught the leaders and amazingly, I too caught them about a minute later. I'd never re-caught the pack in a non-military race after being dropped. This was amazing! Though tired, I was recovering very well.
We hit the third climb and I was literally stuffing my face with rice/tuna treats which Miimii had prepared. Try to eat in a pack of 63 riders during a race...it's not pretty! Rice was flying everywhere, and I flubbed a gear shift, lost my momentum up the hill, and the leaders rode away again!
I chased and chased but eventually got with five other riders and we closed to within 1/4 mile of the lead pack but didn't push the pace too hard because we were approaching the final climb of the race. We hit the 8-mile climb up the side of the Snake River Gorge, which took us up over 2000 feet above the Snake River.
In 1992 I'd run out of water on this hill and nearly had a heat stroke and in 1994 I was out of water again! Some riders had support personnel on the side of the road handing them bottles. So I just yelled,"Water!" and some stranger tossed me a bottle that was clearly marked for another team. Oh darn...I was fueled now and stormed away from my group of riders. I was picking off riders all the way up the side of the mountain, never to be re-caught. I was flying up that mountain almost as if it was flat. On some sections I was doing in excess of 20 miles an hour. Somehow I never did catch the leader but I did make up a lot of time. I moved from 62nd place overall to 42nd place in one race, and although my placing was not good, I finished with pincache. I guess I'd gotten my climbing legs back again.
May 29-30 1994