One revolution at a time

Another night at Mondello and another lesson in humiliation. Stayed in a lot better and not as intense as the club league race. One team were controlling the front of the race like a pro team, subtle but well done, they let a few of their own off on a break, slight soft pedalling but very well done, you wouldn't notice only I know a few of them and their actual capabilities. Anyway, I had a few digs but not much, when I could see my teammate bridging up from A2/A1 so I blatantly went to the front and soft pedalled for a lap or two, and everyone just tolerated it, with the other team marking anyone who came around me. Anyway, they caught and I went into the bunch to hide. Ended up at the back and found out the back was harder than the front so started to work my way up again. UCD lad came flying up the outside and I went after him, couldn't quite get his wheel but I did end up flying off the front, realising I was about to blow I kept going but not as hard and let the rest fill in the gap he had amassed over us. With the rest of the A1 field joining us the pace upped and I lost the group on the next lap. That was that.

https://www.strava.com/activities/5476379059

Mondello round 2, and to say I see the warm embrace of lady death as tempting today is an understatement.
First of all, the race went far better than last week, I took a few turns at the front and while I didn't turn myself inside out, I kept my HR over 180 for almost all of it. I held a steadier pace and felt far better than week one. 2 juniors jumped off the front at some point and I went to catch them, I missed their wheels by a few metres after I broke away from the bunch. Those 2 metres would turn out to be the difference between potentially doing well and getting dropped. The two young lads would go onto stay away and have a substantial gap over everyone in the end. Anyway, no one else seemed interested in attempting to get to them. I settled in with a small group at the front taking turns, we thinned out the A3 field fairly rapidly, reducing it to about 20. There were a few laps of 3 different groups within 20sconds of each other and I buried myself to stitch mine up with the group in front which eventually worked. Held in for a long stretch and was still with the group at +50minutes. We got caught by a UCD A1 rider who really sucked at moving in a bunch. His teammate was better at it. Anyway, shortly after he caught us, I found myself tiring and starting to drift. I spent a lap and a half threatening to get dropped before it finally happened but then after a short stint at recovery I managed to grab the wheel of the main A1/A2 chase group and hold on with ease to my surprise. Myself and a Sundrive rider grabbed on and they towed us along. 3 laps to go and I was feeling confident, we were 10seconds shy of the front bunch and it all seemed easy. As I approached the start of the second last lap my gears stopped shifting and I was stuck with 53x11. I drifted off the back almost immediately and with no one to tow me my speed, cadence and everything else died a slow death. With one lap left I decided I would finish it out grinded round out of the saddle at a snails pace.
Huge improvement fitness wise in just a week, but my BS dropped on the way home, tire went soft, tried to pump it and then a CO2 cannister took the valve out. No collection as my partner had just had a drink, I was getting delirious with the low BS and I was on a road with no open shops. I took a chance after waiting for a taxi and took off my wheels and tried to make it look as much like it wasn't a bike as possible. Thankfully the 145 driver took pity on me and let me on. Got home to stomach cramps and a cold feeling I couldn't shake, spent the rest of the night in the foetal position and still can barely move right today.

Tough night last night but more due to weather, small numbers and still being wrecked from Tuesday. Scratch/Semi Scratch set off together in a small group. It took us a long time to reel in Semi Limit and Limit, although my Wahoo died so no idea if that was actually a long time or not. My wheels felt a bit squirrelly on two corners so I was very apprehensive on them, felt like it was about to go on a few occasions but it didn't. Others obviously felt the same way as very few were gunning it into corners. I gave up on tactics this week and just sat in and then randomly attacked every lap or two. Never got far but it did thin out the group, with a rider getting dropped after every decent attack. By the end we rounded the last corner with about 10 of us I think, 2 of whom were semi limit who tagged on. Coming into 4 laps to go I was near the front and nearly got dropped but the A1s kept staring at each other so everytime i got dropped I could ride back into them after the next corner as they went wide to look at each other. Shane Baker from Lucan went on a solo attack with 3 laps to go and stayed away, between the others staring at each other, no one was able to pull together a chase. I did have a few gos and at the start of the last lap, I rolled through the bunch, and went for a bit, gapped the bunch but once I hit the head wind it was only a matter of time, held them off for 1/3 lap, they caught me, I sat in. Just as I recovered, Andy from Lucan made a go at a sprint from 500m out, I couldn't wind it up, 2 lads went after him and I caught the last ones wheel. Got pipped at the line by 3 of my clubmates but I never opened up a sprint anyway as my legs were fried. Andy got 2nd, think I got 9th, if I had pushed a bit more, I probably could have gotten 6th but the heart was not in it.

Turned up at Mondello last week after 3 weeks of no racing, dehydrated, tired and generally miserable but my BG stayed level and I finished with the bunch only a few seconds down on the eventual winners. There was a near miss when my front wheel jammed into a friends rear wheel and I somehow unclipped. Stayed balanced, literally in the middle of the bunch. It was a culmination of about 5 things at once, he got squeezed, I got squeezed, a few pulled brakes but we all got through it. I laughed as one A1 gave out to me and said it was bound to happen the way I was riding, which was weird as I had been in the top few riders for most of the night and the only thing close to dangerous was me gradually slowing at the front to let the breakaway get away (which never worked). The A1 giving out though had been the same one who was shouting at people to get out of his way when they merged with us, and he nearly took himself and others out multiple times, so I decided that while it was partially my fault, I was going to ignore his opinion. Talked to the rider I hit at the end and he said that was fine, it was the two lads who squeezed him that was dangerous, he felt my wheel but there was no real pressure on it.