TST Race Report

The following is what I sent to my team after last Saturday's (4/16) Tahuya-Seabeck-Tahuya road race. 65 miles, 4,000' of climbing. Winter conditions.

Short version: The weather conditions were bloody miserable. In a decade of racing that was the worst weather experience I've ever had. It sucked. I almost froze to death. I got dropped on the Seabeck hill and I think Jason took3rd.

(Really) Long version:Even though Rick and I had planned to leave at 7:30, pick up Christine, and get there in plenty of time for a good warmup that didn't happen at all. We left late, I needed gas, we stopped at Safeway (inBelfair), and before we knew it we were scrambling to get ready on the road near the church. I think Rick got 6 or 7 minutes on the trainer and I had maybe 12.

It was pouring down rain with no sign of it letting up. So much for the little sun breaks we saw halfway there. It was also very cold. We lined up and waited what felt like a half hour as we got soaked before even starting. Once we got going and the road spray came up I was totally soaked except my saving grace. Thank Buddah/God/Your Choice that I decided to wear my clear rain cape. That really saved my torso.

There was a lot of talk leading up to the race about all the big hills, but I was really concerned with the first one that didn't get talked about. It's only about 3 miles in and it's not major, but enough that other people I talked to said a lot of people get dropped right there and never catch on again. I sure as hell didn't want to get dropped 3 miles after the start and it was a real concern of mine. So, I made sure I was right near the front going up it and pushed it hard so that when I faded back I'd still be able to hang with the pack. That worked and I thought I'd at least make it to Seabeck now.

As we rolled along I went to the front and put in a hard effort to speed things up a little and to try and get warm. After that I drifted way back and was worried I was toast already. I rested up and went back up near the front. There were a lot of Byrne guys at the front. Two of them had gone off and had a gap. I didn't see any other Zoka's nearby except Rick. I thought, well, this is my job. Go get those guys now as they had been out there awhile and we weren't gaining on them while some Byrne guys were blocking. I asked Rick to get around the two blocking Byrne guys, and I grabbed a Second Ascent guy too. The 3 of us worked together for a bit and the SA guy was quite strong so I began slipping back into the pack again. Other SA guys came up and took over.

About 25 miles into it I looked back and saw that a lot of people had bailed out already. I was feeling pretty frozen at this point with my hands being the worst off. I had chemical toe warmers in my shoes so that helped a little, but my hands were going numb.I saw Adam nearby and asked him if he wanted to go get warm. He said yeah! So the two of us worked our way up to the front and began working together for a couple miles to bring the pace up again, but the main reason was to simply try and heat up our bodies. After that hard effort I felt okay except my hands. So we hit the Seabeck hill and I couldn't hang on anymore. It didn't help that my legs were having"cold" cramps, but we were all in the same boat, or water I should say. And by the way, it's pretty much been pouring this whole time! Visibility was very poor too.

I hooked up with a Garage guy and we worked it for a while with the pack just a hundred yards in front of us but we couldn't close the gap. At this point about40 guys had already been dropped or simply abandoned. And there were only 5 or 6 Zoka's left in the leadpack. The Garage guy dropped me on Anderson and then I pulled over at 44 miles because I absolutely could not feel my hands at all. I couldn't operate the shifters or brakes and could barely tell if I was holding the bars. I was envisioning frost bite and my fingers turning black and having to be amputated! I forgot to mention that it started snowing as well! I fumbled for some food and drink and tried rubbing my hands between my legs. I started getting a little blood flow back and my hands were stinging so bad I wanted to lay in the ditch and die, or at least cry. Okay, so I'm a wimp with the cold. But it was BAD!

Now I'm thinking how am I ever going to ride another 20 miles back to the finish. I really didn't think I could do it. Just then a car comes by and the window rolls down and I see Adam. He asks if I want in and I say, Yes, Please!! So this local guy that had picked up Adam makes room in his junky old car full of garbage, which I don't mind at all, and I jump in. The heat is cranked, but Adam and I were shaking uncontrollably. Thank you,Adam, for having this guy stop for me!!

This guy ended up being really cool, not to mention a life saver, and we was actually interested in the race and not pissed off that cyclists were all over his roads. He said the temp was 35 degrees! We caught up to the follow car and watched more and more riders get dropped going up Dewatto. A few more Zoka's were coming off, but I thought we still had a couple in the lead group. There was a flat bed truck/sag wagon of sorts in front of us and I could see several riders under a tarp with all their bikes strewn across the flatbed. There was a Zoka arm poking out, but couldn't tell who it was.

So in the end a solo guy won, second place was alone as well, and then our dedicated team leader, Jason W, outsprinted a few he was with to take third. I could be off on that, but I think that's what took place. Christine was at the finish line and said less than 15 people actually finished anywhere near the winner. I think a couple other Zoka's will be in the top 20 or better. I'm done racing in the rain this year!! Although, if it had been 55 today instead of 35 that would've made a huge difference.

Z "Soggy, Frozen, Frostbitten, Black Fingers" Dog