Metchosin Masters, Sunday May 27

[barton bourassa]

Wow! That was intense! 6 times up Kangaroo and Lindholm, oh ya and back down the other side! The up was so much fun! My legs are killing me and my lungs are still on fire!. the 50 somethings rolled out, about 15 to 20 of us. I was at the front! It was so cool! Knowing it would not last very long, I relished the moment. Basked in it even! Sadly, I was unable to stay with lead 10 or so and got dropped half way up Lindholm, the first time up! Then I spent the rest of the time more or less alone. I passed a number of riders, some older, some the same age group (only a few of those). The 40's went by before the I was finished the second lap. I managed to tuck in and hang on for about a half K. Then Stefan and another fellow in the 30 age group came by. I tucked in with them until the first moderate rise in elevation and was again alone! The goal was to not get lapped by the lead 40's and to see if I could maintain 18 minutes a lap consistently. I succeeded on both counts with the resulting searing lungs and screaming leg muscles.
It was a great ride. I kept telling myself that this was just like Wednesday hills, only harder, and longer, and more hills. Self delusion is such a gift! I finished strong and as they say, had nothing left to give at the end. Then Marcus and I rode home
Can't wait till next one!

[JohnT]

Bill was the man of the day today. It was a great race and he had his whole family out taking care of registration, corners, etc. Thanks, obviously, to the others that volunteered too. Sunny with a bit of wind and, as Barton said, a hilly course. For those who don't know, these races start with 10-yr age groups each getting a 5 min head start, beginning with the oldest. There was a big 50's group (incl. Barton and Marcus and Jimmy) and a big 40's group (incl me and Andrew). I felt bad for the 30's, which included Stephan and two or three others. They were faced with the herculean task of chasing down a large 40's group (5 minutes up the road) and a large 50's group (10 minutes up the road). My hero, Dave Mercer was there. He won the VCL B championship a few years back at the age of 65. Several other +60's there too. I guess that included Duane M. They were all gone (i.e., started) before I was paying attention and, in for a few (e.g., Duane M.) I never saw them again.

The 40's started fairly quickly - I was worried about keeping up (several VCL A racers set the pace early on). Someone went off (straight) on a very fast sharp left hand curve half way through the first lap. Andrew stopped to see that he was OK and that was the race for Andrew. Good going - there was some talk in the peloton after that - mostly people trying to come to terms with their decision to continue. It did look like a big fast tumble, but on the grass. We're lucky that he was OK (i.e., that we aren't now regretting our reluctance to pull over). At the same time I had a scary wobble - too much front brake at about 65 km/hr.

On lap two, Steve B. and another guy that I recognized as an A front-runner ran away from us on a climb - not exactly an attack, but none of the rest of us wanted to ride into the gap. This left seven or eight of us in the 40's peloton including Chris Paul and Kevin Ford. For the most part we worked together to keep a decent pace. I was hanging on with each climb and then drafting like crazy (chewing the bar) on the way down, so that I could benefit from the pace-line on the back straight.

It took us until the second last lap to get close enough to the 50's to see them. At that point there was about 10 in their group. It took us the whole next lap to catch them. By then they'd been dragged apart (probably by John Guthrie) and I know that at least a few were very happy to be brought back up to their race-mates by the 40's.

I managed to hang on until the top of the last climb on the bell (6th) lap (to a group that included our 8-man 40's peloton and about six 50's). But, I couldn't quite stay with them over the top and no matter how low I tried to go, the draft wasn't strong enough to bring me back. I did the last 4 km with them in sight, but off the back.

Barry McGee, now with IRC (what's up with that?) had stayed with the 50's until that last climb when we (the 40's) made contact, but he lost touch on the hill, not at the top like me. So, he was behind me and also alone on those last 4 km. With less than 500m to go I made the mistake of taking a drink - that small change in body position lead to a painful cramp in my right calve. I couldn't move it at all for several seconds. Barry passed me. I managed to get my leg into a position that eased the pain and, without any ankle flexing started driving my leg up and down again. IRC eh? I snuck up on him. Afterward he said he'd considered stopping, but then he looked at his new red kit and didn't (I had screamed with the pain, but in a way that made it clear what the problem was - I think serious leg cramps illicit the same scream from everyone). However, I got him on the line. Competitive to the end, that's both of us.

I am trying to come back into shape after a few weeks of less-than-regular riding and this race indicated that I am getting there, so I'm feeling good about it. That we caught a big 50's group was, to me, very satisfying. Finally, I should compliment Ronda C.: She jumped out of the 50's group when the two 40's guys that left us in the dust went past the 50's. That was brave and she stayed away with them. So she was one (maybe the only one) in the 50's group that we never caught. Speaking of never caught: Stephan and his 30's partner dropped Dave S. early on and despite what was no doubt, a herculean effort, didn't catch us. Good going nonetheless Stephan.

JT

[Marcus]

Well that didn't quite go as I hoped. I think I was about 4 minutes slower than last year and after the first steep hill never really found a wheel to follow. It seemed that every time someone passed me it was on one of the two steep sections whereas last year I managed to follow riders when they passed me on the flatter portions. Of course riding 44 kms. before the race with an additional 650 m. of climbing might not have been the best idea.

Thanks to Bill and all the volunteers. This race is very satisfying to finish.

Marcus

[Stéphane Tran]

Hey guys, are we not using the Stats and Race Reports section of the forum anymore? I posted my report here: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3501