The Dirt Field

The Race: 19th Annual Carl Dolan Memorial Circuit Race
The Course: 18 laps of a 2.1-mile lap
The Field: 1/2/3 Men
The Finish: 28th

The races before the men’s 1/2/3 at Dolan had seen a bit of what the officials described as ‘carnage’ (always a welcome word in the pre-race instructions) and as a result, my nerves were a mess. I tried to relax by circling the course over and over, but after 20+ miles of warm-up, I’d only succeeded in making myself sweaty, thirsty, and still anxious. Wise riders advised me to stay in the top 20 to avoid sketchy, inexperienced guys at the back (to which I couldn’t help but ask “uh, aren’t I one of them?”), so I lined up near the front. I thought about babbling nervously to the people corralled next to me, but settled for commenting, “Men don’t talk about their feelings before the start, huh?” The answer is no.

Then the race started. There were attacks, but people were responsive in shutting them down. At one point there was a guy just up the road and, while I knew it was unlikely that he was a real threat, I wanted to do something other than just sit in the whole time, so I went to the front and drilled it up to his wheel. Then there was a lot more circling of the course, the key break got away, and it was on and off the pace until the end. Contesting the sprint was neither part of the training plan for the day nor a reality based on the distance between my place in the field and the guys at the front, but I rode steady across the line and felt tired but good.

The point in riding with the 1/2/3 men was to get practice with positioning and riding comfortably in a bigger, more aggressive field in a race similar to the speed and distance of the women’s races at the NRC/NCC level. It worked out perfectly – other than one admonishment from a teammate early in the race to get out of the wind, I felt tactically smarter and smoother than I did at any point last season. The anxiety faded after a few minutes and I quickly started to feel comfortable in the field. My only complaint about racing with the men is that they kind of start to smell after a number of laps. Not that I’m a blooming rose or anything, but if we could all just agree on using some coconut shampoo or something, the peloton would be a much fresher place to be.

At the end of the race, there was a tray of clean cotton cloths soaked in cool water waiting for racers at the refreshments tent. Then I got back to the car and saw that the results for the race had already been emailed to me. If this is what it’s like to race as a 1/2/3 guy, I’m never going back. And also, props to DC Velo for putting on a top-notch race. The only thing missing was a flock of podium chicks with palm fronds to fan me and the other sweaty dudes at the finish line. Maybe next year.