Cycling Race!

    As I transition from swimming to cycling, I notice some similarities, and some differences. First of all, left me start off by saying that I recently started racing. My first race was on August 25th, 2012. This was a 48.6 mile road race that started in Winters, a town near Davis, and proceeded along a 24.3 mile course. We did two laps in the Category 5 race.
    Waking up in the morning instantly reminded me of waking up for swim meets. I’ve traveled to many towns and cities for swim meets, but never for a cycling race. I was about to experience something incredibly different. I woke up at 5:00am, ate breakfast, and got my bag ready, just as I have done hundreds of times for swim meets. I went with my father, but unlike any swim meet, I actually drove to the cycling race. We arrived in Winters with about 45 minutes to spare before I needed to warm up, and we parked in the parking lot. But for a cycling race, the parking lot is also the area where people warm up on stationary trainers, do maintenance, and watch race starts. I was very interested in this “culture” that my new sport has. Unlike swimming, the average age of these athletes was far above mine, and I was one of the people there. Another feeling I got was that I was not special, nor was I the best, nor could I even be considered a challenger to anyone, even in my own category. I was no one, I left no impression, I didn’t even have a registered team. I was just a 17 year old, in a field of people above the age of 20, who had a blue, white, and gold jersey on.
    I started the race, and felt fine. I was near the back of the pack of riders, 50 in all, and the pace wasn’t excruciating. Unfortunately, the flow in the back of the pack is quite stop-and-go, so I had trouble holding the pace. Eventually, I got caught behind some slower people, and with a headwind and a slight uphill gradient I had a very tough time making it back into the draft of the main group. When I finally did, we hit a couple of hills and I moved up a few places, only to be slowly brought back to the rear of the field. We hit the feed zone at mile 12, just before a small climb, and the group accelerated. I was caught in a gear too large for me to push up the hill, and I was dropped. I fought hard on that climb, and passed more than a few people on my way up. I descended alone, and pulled hard on the last 10 miles of that lap, averaging speeds of over 30 miles per hour on some sections. I worked hard, both alone and with others at times on the second lap, and felt like I was going to die at times. I just kept turning those pedals over and over, passing others who had been dropped by the front group on the second lap. I never made it back to the leaders, and finished alone, ahead of a guy I had been working together with on and off for about 15 miles. I averaged 19.8 miles an hour for 48.6 miles, faster than I have ever averaged before in my life, and my average heart rate was 178, which is very high. I sustained that intensity for the two hours and 26 minutes it took me to complete the race. I thought I had had a bad day, but I found out that my limit of endurance is much higher than I thought, and that I actually finished 30th out of 50 riders, which is not too bad for my first race.
And I am quite hungry for more.