Afternoon Tea aka Spring City Cycling Weekend

By Trish Albert 

Race: Spring City Road Race
Date: 8-9-2003
Place: Huntsville, AL
Distance: 38.5 miles
Speed: 19.7 mph
Time: 1 hour, 48 minutes

The Spring City Cycling Club hosts an annual race weekend in Huntsville, AL. For those of us that are climbing challenged, the road race provides a good change from the constant up and down of the Georgia and North Carolina races--and an opportunity to stay with the main pack for once. The road course was a 9.4 mile flat loop with one small hill through the countryside and industrial areas of Huntsville. Police were at several intersections blocking traffic, although there was very little of it. The road surfaces were not horrible, but there were a few large wheel eating potholes that were marked.

Ten women started on the line. The entire first lap was spent at an afternoon tea pace. We chatted and found out where each other was from, who we rode for, and other important details. I took a short pull at the front but did my best to stay in the second or third row. I didn't want to be much farther back because if someone attacked, I wanted to be able to stay with the group being the absolute horrible road racer that I am. Donna "Supa" Kerby (C4) pulled a good bit of the way as did an unattached rider from Atlanta. GCC, with four riders in nonmatching uniforms, did nothing to help us out. On the second lap, the unattached rider attacked in the first straightaway. Donna pulled the group back with the GCC riders clinging on for dear life. A glance back revealed that we'd all come back together. We caught our breath until the hill. A GCC rider tried to go off of the front, but the group was having none of it and quickly brought her back. The rest of the lap was spent "gruppo compacto" at a chatting pace. The third lap was where things got really interesting. Until now, my legs and lungs were happy. Although the pace picked up on the rolling hill, I was able to control my breathing and stay with the group. Steady is good; stop and go-go-go is bad. GCC finally decided to start attacking. Having 4 of the 10 riders was an advantage. Although Donna and I were working together, I'm not much help on the road. Give me some dirt, rocks, and roots, and I'm a much better rider. Maybe one day I'll get the hang of this road thing. GCC launched the first rider off, and Donna and the unattached rider brought her back in. After a mile or two of peace, they tried to launch an attack again. It was unsuccessful. One or two more attacks were brought back in before the group slowed down to come through the finish area. GCC must have been resting. Once again, they attacked on the hill. I stood up to try to follow them, and my lungs protested severely. I had to sit back down. I saw them just ahead and tried to chase. It was no use. My lungs were seized up so badly that I could hardly pedal. Several of us got dropped and rode in together. GCC continued to launch attack after attack. Their sprinter was finally able to get away and solo to the win by several seconds. GCC blocked Supa in, and she was 4th. I was 5th in the Cat. 3's.

Race: Spring City Crit
Date: 8-10-2003
Place: Huntsville, AL
Time: 30 minutes

Sunday's crit course was .7 miles through Downtown Huntsville. The start/finish was located on a 4 lane downhill road. Turn 1 funneled riders into a single lane left turn before opening up on another 4 lane road. Turn two was left and up a hill to a right hand turn into the chicane and an immediate left hand turn onto a narrow road. Turn 5 took riders back to the start/finish road.

Only six women showed up for the crit, and two of those were GCC. As I would later discover, everyone was working for GCC except for Supa and I. My entire goal for the day was to try to get Donna in a position where she could get off of the front and start her amazing time trialing. I got on the front from the start of the race doing what I do best--going slow. Donna was at the back trying to position herself for her attack. I continued the slow pace up front as Donna came around. With only me on the front, I did my best to block the stronger GCC rider and Rebecca Falls (Velo Clips). I weaved all over the road as we went through the chicane and Donna nearly got off. Someone sprinted to my right and caught up with Donna. The rest of the pack followed. We went around another lap, and Supa was ready to try again. I moved to the front to try to slow the pace down. Donna went off of the front at the bottom of the hill and got around the pack. This time, another rider chased her down. I was done for. My legs were toast, so I sat up. The nice thing about crits is that you can get back in. A few laps later, I was back on the train. I hung out at the back until they called for a prime. Knowing that the GCC rider was going for it, I moved up to the front. When she took off through the chicane, I was on her wheel, but I went a little too wide in the corner. She gapped me by about 2 feet. I nearly caught her at the line, but she rolled ahead of me by about half a wheel. I sat up again and tried to recover. My legs were gone, so I sat up and waited for the Cat. 4 that had gotten dropped to come around. I sat on her wheel the rest of the race until the final lap. She glanced back at me wondering if I was going to try to outsprint her. Going into the chicane, I took the lead. I looked back, said goodbye, and took off. I beat her to the line by several bike lengths. I was last in the crit, but I felt good about trying to help Donna.

Next, it's back to the basics. Some base miles, some mountain biking, and fun. I am not planning on racing for about 4 weeks until the GAP series picks back up again in Sept. It's time to concentrate on a slow build up to cyclocross season, which begins in October. I want to give my body a few weeks of relatively easy riding with 1-2 days of intensity during the week but nothing at race pace.

Web Page Report:

Spring City Cycling Weekend A large contingent of Atlanta cyclists headed over to the Spring City Cycling Weekend in Huntsville, AL. In the Pro Men's race, a small breakaway got up the road, and Krystal and Backyard Burgers shut the race down. In the end, Krystal took the victory. In the Women's Open race, Atlantans did well. Linda "Cicpolinda" (Cycleworks) took first in the Women's 4 division with Shelly Walters (Cycleworks) taking 5th. In the Women's 1/2/3, Donna Kerby (C4) took 4th with Trish Albert (Boneshakers) in 5th. Unfortunately, the Men's Cat. 4 race was marred by crashes. One crash claimed a collarbone. Kerry Millar (Cycleworks) sprinted to second place. In the Men's 5 race, another crash took a collarbone. Sunday's crit course was .7 miles in downtown Huntsville and had 4 left hand turns and a right hand turn up into a chicane. The Pro/1/2 Men took off from the gun. In the end, it was Tim Henry (West Virginia) taking the victory followed by a Krystal rider and a Nalley Rider in 5th place. The Cat. 3 Men took the first spill of the day when a John Deere rider from Athens clipped a pedal and slid across the pavement. He was taken to the hospital, and there is no word on his injuries. Charles Rossingol (APB) took the sprint for 2nd place, Chance Regina (Cycleworks) came around the crash to claim 5th, and all Atlantans finished with collarbones and skin intact. The Cat. 4 stayed together most of the time. Mountain biker Clint Tomassino (APB) snuck in between the roadies to claim his first crit victory, and Kerry finished in the Top 10. In a repeat of Saturday, in the Women's crit, Donna got 4th, and Trish got 5th. In the Men's 5 race, a little itty bitty 14 year old RBM rider won 5th, and Shawn Geagan (Cycleworks) placed in the Top 10.