Going to Alabama
April 20, 2010
This past weekend I went to Alabama to race in the Sunny King Criterium, which was part of the NRC, and the Foothills Road Race. The races were in Anniston and Piedmont, Alabama. I did not have any teammates this weekend, so my Dad accompanied me on the journey to the Deep South. We stopped in Clemson, SC on the way down; my Dad is a Clemson alum and I haven’t been to Clemson in a long time. I got to ride around the campus for a bit and do some exploring, while my Dad did a 5K running race before we left town. He ran cross country for Clemson while he was in school, so he didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to run a race at his old stomping grounds. He got 4th in his race. After the Clemson excursion we made our way to Alabama. Alabama is in the Central time zone, so we gained an hour on the way there. Once we were in Alabama we saw a sign on the interstate that said “Bridge may ice in cold weather.” I thought it was kinda funny.
We eventually made it to Anniston for the Crit which was being held on Saturday night. It was your basic 4 turn downtown crit, with an uphill on the finishing stretch and a downhill on the back stretch. I was able to start on the second row and the race was fast from the gun. I tried an attack about 10 laps in, but it was of no avail. So I sat in for a while, I was not feeling so hot. Then with about 18 laps to go I tried again. This time I got some ground and was able to stay away for 4 laps before I was caught again. This attack took some out of me, so for the rest of the race I just stayed and finished in the field.
The road race on Sunday started less than 12 hours after the crit finished, we had an 8 am start. The road race was in Piedmont and the course turned out to be hilly. Most of the climbs were like stair-steps, which made things even more difficult. After the first few climbs a group of 9 got off the front. I tried to bridge with 2 other riders but I didn’t work. A few miles later I tried again, this time with 2 different riders. This time it worked. About 10 miles later more guys joined the group to bring the total to around 25 or 30. There were some attacks but nothing seemed to stay until about 20 miles left in the race a group of 3 went up the road. That group stayed clear until the end. I stayed near the front of my group the rest of the race, and tried a few attacks in the remaining few miles. Nothing really stuck so my group came to the finish to sprint for 4th. I attacked with 400 meters to go and had a gap. But a few guys came around me in the last 150 meters and I finished 11th.
One of the cool things about these races is that food was provided after each race. This was especially nice because food is usually one of my major expenses when traveling.
I’d like to thank my Dad for going on these crazy cycling trips with me. This was the first time I have been to Alabama. And cycling has taken us to some pretty weird places around the country.
