The most
common question I’ve heard lately is “Do you have any more races coming up?” I
always assume people are asking about triathlon since I’ve been doing running
races for so long that they only register in my mind as training days. But
lately I’ve been excited to reply “I’m doing a bike race”. After a handful of
cyclocross races over the last two years and listening to Rick regale me with
stories of bike racing, I decided coming into this season that following my
early Ironman I’d venture into a couple of road races. But my result at IML
didn’t impress. Hold on road racing, I’ve got one more big triathlon to train
for. OK, impressed. And then the body started to feel fatigued. So I cut back
on training for a couple of weeks hoping I’d be fresh for the return of team J-Force
at Sylvan Lake with my girl Ms. Reid. After going solo last year, I teamed up
again for this year’s race. I managed to set PBs on the swim and run, while
Erin hammered the bike leg, giving us a podium spot with 2nd team
overall. Outcome? What was a disappointing start to the season with Alcatraz
and Lanzarote (in regards to my performance, definitely NOT in regards to the
races themselves, both of which I highly recommend) ended on a positive note with
GWN and Sylvan.
Okay, NOW cue
the bike racing. I competed in the Tour de Bowness road race on Saturday. Well
actually competed may be a strong word. But I did finish. After making a rookie
mistake right off the start, I was stuck at the back of the group early on and
soon learned that if you lose contact with the peloton, you better find some
buddies real quick. Asides from that one mistake, I was pretty happy with my
performance on the day. Funny how a similar result in triathlon would have left
me disappointed. So will road racing and cyclocross ever reach that point of
good enough to be disappointed, or will they continue to be the just-for-fun
cousins of triathlon? I hope it’s a bit of both. But until then, I’ll look
forward to the Prairie Roubaix road race, a Fall full of cyclocross, and Banff
triathlon...this one just for fun.
