237: I got my Paris-Roubaix...

I did the Fairhill race today. I was pretty relaxed, more so than usual. The fact that my favorite waitress brought me one more beer than I needed or planned on helped with that a bit I'm sure. That and when looking at the pre-reg list I was pretty sure I was about to take a serious beating. So I went out today with the goal to ride as hard as I could and get a good work out.



as best I can describe it, it is like the fatguys (domestiques) in the tour taking suicide attacks early in the race, with the hope of stealing a stage. Rarely do they ever work, but every once in a while one sticks...



Would today be my once in a while?



Essentially this is how it went down:



Lap 1:
Auer and I take off the front from the start. I am on Auer's wheel, the start is hard, but not cross hard. Auer pulls off an lets me go through. I roll down the hill and get a little gap as Auer is joined by the group. We enter the single track, and Auer's on the front of the scrum. Maybe he wasn't so motivated to chase, as I was up the trail. Who am I kidding, he was blocking like mad, that's the entire point of having teammates right? Working together. I have I mentioned I love riding for C3 lately?



I was on on a suicide break by myself. I was out there, kind of expecting to get caught, but also staying as aggressive as I possibly could.



I kinda figure it would be cool to lead the first lap, and see what happens. So I do.



Lap 2
The second lap starts and I'm still out there by myself. No one is coming around. I wonder when I will be caught. I end the lap leading again. As I came through the start finish, I dropped into my middle ring, the grass there was tough to get through, I hear someone in the crowd yell, "get back in the big ring!" So I do.



Lap 3
I cross the river and hit the single track.
"shit, I might actually win this thing... Is that possible? I mean I never even podiumed at a MASS race before, fuck at any expert age group race."



I usher my doubts out of my head. I tell myself I've done my work, if anyone is going to take this from me, they are gonna have to kill it this lap.

I keep charging along. I am hurting, trying to keep my pace high, but not as aggressive as the previous two laps, I don't want to make a mistake and flat or crash out.



I enter the last section of trail. A little place I like to call the "twilight zone" it's one of my favorite trail section anywhere. I punch it, I punch it again, I got my mojo, my karma, and my flow going full speed now, I get over the last rise and I look back. For the first time this entire race, I see two chasers as Matt and Travis are right there. "fuck, fuck, fuck" I think to myself. I am pretty spent. I stand up for one last surge, this is all I got left. I'm leaving it all on the line...



If this race was one mile longer, I would have been third, thankfully, it was not, and I held on for the final 500 meters and a completely unexpected, but super sweet victory.

I never dreamed of winning an expert level race, but when I was out there, I refused to let myself be satisfied. Don't get me wrong, I was gonna be stoked to podium, but I've looked at a number of fairhill victories before and had then slip through my fingers. Today was my day. And there it was, unfolding in front of me... Amazing.

That's right, after years of let down, years of untimely flats, years of just dieing out there, after a race last summer that had me resolved to never race cross country again, I finally ended the day on the top step of the podium at Fairhill.

Later looking at the results, some dude said to me, "man, you barely held them off, they were right there, only 5 seconds back."


My response wasn't this cool, I think I said something like, "I don't care, I got there" but the reality was this:


5 seconds, 5 feet, 5 millimeters, I doesn't fucking matter, because today, today I got my Paris-Roubaix. I put my beast of burden behind me. I got my Fairhill win!



In closing I have a couple of people I want to thank:


First Diane, my wife who supports me through thick and thin, and understands what I go through, and my weirdness, my idiosyncrasies, and never falters. She's there when I need a shoulder to cry on, there when I need a foot in the ass. Without her support, none of this bike shit would ever happen.


Next, my coach Chris Mayhew. You know, I know my body, and I've been doing this a long time, I'll admit I never could seem to put it together on my own. Chris has helped push myself forward. Trust me, it didn't click right away. Mostly my fault, doing endurance races I was insistent on more miles. This year, and the past cross season I'm riding 1/2 of what I was last spring, but getting the most out of my time, and having a ton of fun riding the bike.


Mayhew has taught me how to be stronger, train smarter, and frankly to believe in myself- to have the ability to win, and very frankly, that was something that I didn't used to think I was capable of. If you think that's a glowing endorsement it is. The last 9 months I have raced better, ridden stronger than at anytime in my life, Mayhew my coach, my friend has largely been then architect of that. Thanks man.


It goes without saying how lucky I am to have the DccoD and the folks I get to ride and hang with. How can you go wrong chasing around a guy named Buddy the keg breaker? E-town or Jeb Bagger? Very frankly, if I didn't have the great folks around me supporting me, pushing me, I'd likely have quit this game a long time ago.


Thanks to Slick Rik for being a sounding board for what I'm thinking and for making sure my Frankenstein bike fits, and always works great. Slick Rick got me on the path, he taught me to learn myself and recover. Rik's guidance has and continues to help me.

Thanks to my local bike shops. The support of Henry's and Newark Bike Line help me be able to do the things I love to do. Fridays with Howard are something I always look forward to.


Thanks to my team director Kris Auer, and all of my C3 teammates. Aside from having great black kits, which are incredibly slimming, C3 is just a great program, a very focused team with like minded members, we race our asses off, and have a ton of fun. Not too shabby for a bunch of crossers.


Thanks to Wes, who after my meltdown last summer said, "perhaps you have taken the single speed thing as far as you can..." he was right. I heart my big ring.


Finally, thanks to everyone cheering for me along the route. As racers, you all know how much that helps keep you on target, and motivated.


Unbelieveable. Freaking unbelievable. It's been a long hard mountain bike season. I'm 2/3 through, and have another big weekend ahead. It's a long tough season for sure!

thanks for reading.

much respect,
faticus

btw: I had fish tacos with some friends after the race, they were freaking the best ever.

thanks to Linda and Dennis for the advanced pictures...