RACE REPORT from Shane Ruggieri – Categories 4/5
I’d like to start this with gratitude for LGBRC and its members. While I’ve not raced since I did the Cat 5 30+ Red Kite on Feb 7 in Livermore in 2016 under LGBRC colors, I told myself this was the year that I’d get back out there and do “at least one race”. It made me nervous to even consider it because since 2016 I’ve watched my power and speed decline and frankly, I don’t like losing or being dropped, however, age has a way of changing your perspective. Last year, I bought my dream bike (Dogma F) and I had the feeling I’d want to use it for what it was made to do… race and thus the itch was born and on Sunday, March 23rd in the Santa Cruz Classic Criterium (SCCC), that itch was scratched.
At this time I’d like to thank Salvatore for the final push over the edge, you see, on the prior Wednesday the 19th, he and I were discussing his race in Bariani and how I “almost went” to watch because I was looking for something to do on Sunday and he says, you should come race the Santa Cruz Classic Criterium on Sunday, it’s a great race. Well, he knows I had planned on racing “sometime” this year and there I was on the spot. I said I’d consider it, to which he replied… registration ends tonight… to which I say… ok, I’ll SERIOUSLY Consider it TODAY.
I opened the NCNCA.org calendar, selected the dot on March 23 and began to read about the race… for about 2 min, then something clicked, or clopped, dinged or whatever broke and made a noise inside my head; I knew I was going to do this race. Trying not to think, I clicked registration, found my category and clicked Registration. Before I knew it I had entered.
After texting Salvatore back my a pic of the registration with the subtext “OMG what have I done” I figured I best tell my wife the news.
She was thrilled for me. In fact, she was more excited than I was. I now realize that my complaints about my weight, speed and power effects more than just me…and doing something like entering a real race, means something “more” than joining TrainerRoad or doing Zwift workouts or even chasing the Saturday and Sunday teammates up the hills… she was thrilled that I was following my passion.
The evening of Wednesday the 19th was a blur… I must have watched 20 races from the past 8 years so I could learn the course, where to pass, what to avoid, where to gain time, where to save time, where to catch my breath and where to put down the power. I really didn’t want to come bring home the lantern rouge on my first day back…but I was prepared to if it mean I didn’t get a DNF because I was pulled. So, it was on. By midnight I knew the course, I knew the ST in the STOP painted on the ground at the U-Turn was where I needed to aim, that the downhill that follows was where I could catch my breath, that the small hill-ette on the back side was less steep on the right side and that there was a metal drain-cap that should be avoided as you turn onto the hill into the finish line that should be avoided at all cost if it’s wet. Course learning…Check!
The next few days where pretty much dedicated to the following activities… packing, watching more race-videos, buying 2x GoPro’s, testing GoPros, mounting GoPros, figuring out weather gear, questioning my preparedness, eating carbs, more carbs and then carbs, fretting, not sleeping well, taper workouts on TrainerRoad, and finding a hotel because I was not going to get up at 5am for that drive over the hill. I survived, figured it all out..well enough of it anyway, and found myself on the road to Cat’s Hill to watch a couple races before heading over to Santa Cruz.
The Bay Front Inn is located on the left side of the street at the bottom of the race’s downhill section. I could have watched the racers come down from the balcony…it was perfect, other than being a 2 star hotel with a dog barking and whining in the next room over until 11pm because it was left alone… it was perfect. I arrived at 2pm and before I checked in, I hopped on the bike and did 3 laps confirming that I indeed had the course in my head and noted any particularly bad road surfaces…that took up a lot of space in my head…but it fit in there and was now noted. Armed with IRL laps on the course I went back to the hotel, checked in, unpacked, set the GoPro’s to charge, prepped my kit, then “chilled” to the soft rolling thunder of a lonely monster dog’s musings as I watched The Pirates of the Caribbean on the flimsy yet tiny TV precariously pinned to the wall. I was ready..ish.
The 6am alarm ripped me from what could only be described as “sleep” by the fraction of a fraction of a hair, but I was awake, up out of the bed and actually wishing I brought my slippers because the darned floor was cold. But I was up. Popped my rice and eggs into the microwave, slammed the K-Pod down and brewed some delici… decent coffee and began munching on dates as I dressed…socks first so I didn’t get frostbite before getting registered for the race. It all came together so fast, I could have been accused of being over-prepared or something ridiculous like that but there it was, me ready and it was still 35min before registration was to open. Alas, I needed to be out there on the course 1 or 2 more laps to make sure all new potholes and leaves were catalogued as “to avoid”. Cataloging done, registration done, chatting with fellow riders done, pinning on the bib number 152 and dropping off my phone back to my room…DONE and dusted let’s go race.
Lining up with the Cat 4’s reminded me why I was right to be nervous about racing again.. no wrinkles .. not even in their skinsuits or aero-socks… or their chipper “I’d card that guy for bubble gum” faces.. damn this was going to be fast. But I was on the front row and jokingly said to the guy next to me…”look I’m leading, please take note as it’s the last time this will happen today” we chuckled, I pulled my tire back behind the starting line and clipped in for the starting whistle.
The whistle blew.
The end.
….. well the wait was at an end… and in the first 20 seconds a 450watt and 600watt were glimpsed on my Garmin before ripping into the first U-Turn. Confident in the corner, I listened for the gear changing to get a feel of when fast folks changed gears I was already in my big ring and laying some serious zone 2 power settling my heart down the hill. It was good to be back in the bunch, the peloton, I was in the peloton. For you folks that ride in the peloton regularly this may be missed on you..but for me, this was almost as good as the first ride on the new bike…almost… it was delicious… and hard… frack.. really hard and fast. Wasn’t this supposed to be “slowish” like 22-25mph…like what I was watching on the videos!?! Maybe I got the time wrong, 29mph on the flats before the big blue building… ..Watt the Spindle … fine I managed to hold my own for the first ..well most of the first lap… and as the PELOTON (small victory)….cornered to the bottom of the hill avoiding the drain-cap, I watched as my 535watts was not enough to keep me in the bunch and thus I was now hoping for a groupetto…but first I needed to get to the top of this rise.
There were riders behind me so I simply spun 100+ and smiled through gritted teeth and crested still in throwing distance to the “leading group” as I’d call them now.. this was just a big breakaway, consisting of most of the fast people, and all of the cat 4’s and all but 6-7 left in the Pelo….fine…groupetto. But I was not alone…yet.
I crested, crossed the start/finish, shifted and heaved a heavy breath out to clear any remaining lung of cobwebs. I was in it to finish it so let’s go go go… I was passed by a few straggling and possibly late starting Zwifters…and I settled in to my pace..which, to my surprise was about 28mph with a 102-105 cadence. My race “chasing rabbit” Alejandro Restrepo #149 I’d later learn, just passed me at the bottom of the hill and I knew he was my mark so I locked in and tried to get smooth and aero.
For the next 13 laps there were 3 things that happened, I’d ride alone and eventually catch Alejandro, he’d proceed to pull away and we’d both get passed 2 times by the group. Now, you might be saying to yourself.. 13? … the race was 15 laps what happened in that last 2 laps… well, I caught that Alejandro with 1.2 of a lap to go (at the bottom of the hill) and in the downhill portion proceeded to “break away”. Surging where my legs and lungs would surge I got to the bottom of the hill alone and laid down a blistering 6second – 615watt sprint to beat him up that darned hill and across the finish line to take 15th place out of 18 Cat 5 (Novice’s)…YES!! I was not last, I did not crash…success.
I hung around after the race chatting and meeting great people- some racers, some spouses of riders, and the a guy named Bill who claimed to have written the 3-foot-law for cyclist that was passed in California by a reluctant Jerry Brown- interesting story that guy had. I drank tasty lemonade, cheered on Dan, Salvatore, Eric and Elvis in the Masters 35+ 3/4 Race .. captured some good footage of pain-faces, nearly lost my voice for shouting and just really, really enjoyed the day and the fact that I was a…uhum….I am a racer for Los Gatos Bicycle Racing Club.
Shane