Best race ever – again!

I’m in my post-season – Last week’s Bethlehem Cup is my traditional end-of-season race. Boy would that have been a mistake to end my season with my end-of-season race. My first post-season race was so great I’m thinking of re-defining my season.

The 2015 HRRT race team application included the question; “What was your best race ever?” Review of my race reports indicate that my best races have a common theme; I have a plan, I stick to the plan and as a result, I think, end up exceeding personal expectations. Day-1 of the Supercross Cup just made the list of best races.

Key ingredients to Don having a successful race: (1) Concentrate on the pre-ride. It’s not only about the legs. I personalize the course, try several lines and build Don’s plan “A” cognitive race map with plan “B” backups – for when it gets backed-up. (2) Decide how to address the hazards. It’s a race – get from point “x” to point “y” as fast as possible, not a pretty as possible. In this particular race the fastest line involved diving into the mud ruts. (3) Use proven nutrition. Oatmeal laced with nuts and berries and sweetened with pure maple syrup two hours prior to the start; a banana a half hour before go time; and a delicious GU Roctane at precisely T-15 minutes to launch.  Just typing the word Roctane makes me feel like I need to race someone – very Pavlovian.  (4) This is a new one. Park next to the guy who is always a top five finisher and do what he’s doing, under the neighboring tent, to keep legs warm and blood flowing.

What made day-1 of this week-end of racing best of the best is that I caught my mark. I thought of what Dave says “Race the guys ahead, pay no attention to those behind”. I chased from the start – never letting my mark get away. I passed everyone my mark passed. I thought of what Jens says “If it hurts me, it must hurt the other[s]…” I beat my brains out.  Then in lap four, my mark showed a moment of weakness and I attacked. Now it was time to pay attention to the guy behind me. Twice before the end of lap four there were counter attacks, but the counter attacks didn’t hold and I went into the bell lap ahead. I don’t know how far ahead, I was afraid to look. My mark rode past me on a run-up half way through the final lap. That must have been the burning of his final match because I overtook him on the slight up-hill grind that followed.

The race ended with in a 30 MPH sprint to the finish. I had bested my mark by one second on the clock, a bike and a half in length. As Roy, the dying replicate, says after the final chase sequence in Blade Runner, the best sci fi movie ever, “time… to die…” Well, time to recover anyway. I've got one more race weekend.