Sandbagger...A Race Recap

Click the picture for a tutorial on sandbagging

So I raced in the Hell of the South Road Race over the weekend.  I raced in the Cat5 field with 50 other riders.  I was able to pull out a win as well.  I'm pretty stoked about the win however, I should have built a wall of sandbags around me to prepare myself for the flood of criticism I've received since the race!  Seems as though everyone thinks I'm a sandbagger for winning the Cat5 race even though this was my first ever road race and I had no other option besides entering the Cat5 race.  99.9% of my racing experience has been in Mountain Biking and Cyclocross.  So, I guess if winning the Cat5 race makes me a sandbagger, then so be it.

Saturday morning, I woke up nice and early.  I had the hardest time sleeping due to the excitement of entering my first road race.  I loaded up the truck, checked to make sure it would start and headed off to Lewisburg, Tennessee for the race.  I showed up just shortly before 8am and there was quite the showing already.  Made it through registration where yes, they checked my road license to make sure I registered in the correct category.  I then suited up and did a little warm up with my team mate, Chris W.  Everyone was talking about the gravel section of the course.  As Chris and I warmed up, we found a little gravel area and tested our skills.  To my surprise, my road tires handled the gravel chop pretty well.  Anyhow, we finished our warmup, hit some energy gels and lined up with the rest of the Cat5 racers.

At the start line, the officials went over a bunch of the race rules.  Many of these I'd never heard before, because I've never raced in a road race.  After a long introduction, we were given the ok for a rolling start.  As soon as we crossed the start/finish line, the group was still chit chatting with each other.  The pace was around 17-18mph.  I just kept thinking through my head that this would only be a 28 mile race.  Why were we going so slow?  Before the race, I had heard from some guys that raced last year that the group led out a really slow pace till nearly the gravel section (mile 6).  Instead of me hanging around and chatting, I decided it was worth the effort to go ahead and make a breakaway since I figured no one would take it seriously off the start.  When I started my break, I was in a full on sprint.  About 200m into the break, I looked back and realized that no one followed!  This partly excited me and also somewhat concerned me.  I now knew that I would be riding by myself for some portion of the race at the very least.

About 2 miles into the course, the road was a little rough and started to cover some rolling hills.  At the crest of each hill, I would give a slight glance behind me to see if anyone was in pursuit.  Still no one.  The lead vehicle was keeping a great pace and never allowing me to get too close.  I have to admit, I was trying to catch the officials vehicle as best as I could.  I considered the officials vehicle to be like a dangling carrot.  Around mile 6ish I was descending pretty fast and noticed "Slow Down" painted on the road.  I told myself, "Hell no, I ain't gonna slow down!"  This turned out to be the section where the road turns from paved to gravel/dirt.  Luckily, my CX instincts kicked in and I made the transition turn perfectly.  My heart started pumping out of excitement for being on a dirt road.  I picked my line which turned out to be flawless and made it through that section with no problems.

Following the dirt road section, there were more hills but the roads weren't as bad.  At this point in the race, I was starting to focus on ways I could keep the pack from catching me.  Each hill I hit, I hammered it.  On the descents and most of the flat sections, I made sure I was down in the drops.  I concentrated on my each and every move.  I also concentrated on giving myself a little recovery when needed.  When it was time to drink, I drank.  When it was time to eat, I ate.  Even though I was by myself, I was still racing.

Finally, I came across what was setup as a neutral feed zone.  As I passed the feed zone, I heard a few cheers from some familiar faces.  I knew the feed zone was placed near the close of the loop and was intended for the Cat4's and higher.  This gave me the signal to really gun it to the finish and not allow any gap I made to be closed.  I gave one last look back and still didn't see anyone.  On the last stretch to the finish, I gave it all I had.  I was seated in the saddle, hands in the drops and sweat pouring from my brow.  I saw the 2k mark, then the 200m mark.  At the 200m mark, I was filled with so much excitement that I nearly teared up crossing the finish.  I won my very first road race!!

I waited around the finish to watch for the 2nd and 3rd place finishes.  8 minutes after my finish, a group of 3 came riding in.  At the 200m mark, you saw a paceline break apart and a sprint ensued.  This did not look like a Cat5 sprint finish.  This looked like these guys had some experience in what they were doing.  And to be honest, I'm glad I wasn't in that group because they probably could have beat me if it came down to a sprint finish.  Anyhow, they crossed the finish nearly wheel and wheel.  It was a spectacular finish!

After the race was over, I stood up on the podium and accepted my trophy and some prize winnings.  I was elated by the experience.  I was also proud with the showing that our team made.  The Harpeth Bicycle Race Team had 3 spots on the podium between the Cat5 race and the Cat4 race!  Of course, I've got the heckling from all my friends calling me a sandbagger.  Again, if winning your very first race makes you a sandbagger, than slap me and call me Shirley!  Somebody has got to win!

Chrome Ivan Rolltop Backpack (A Review)

Living car-free has the demands of a good way to carry your stuff.  A few weeks ago, I went on a search for the perfect bag.  I've been using a messenger bag for the past few years but I just wasn't satisfied with the way it felt when loaded down.  I've always had great respect for bags that are manufactured by Chrome Bags.  I've already got a pair of their shoes and a hip pack.  Both products have been great.  Not to mention, their bags are manufactured in the good ole' U S of A! 

After reviewing several companies (Mission Workshop, Seagull Bags, ReLoad, Timbuk2 and Wig), I finalized my decision with the Chrome Ivan Rolltop Backpack.  Several of the reasons I made this decision were based on pricepoint, function and size.  Chrome was a little more expensive than the Timbuk2 but cheaper than some of the others.  One of the main components of the bag was that it had to be weatherproof.  The Ivan is lined on the inside with a heavy duty truck tarp fabric.  With the bag's main compartment being sealed off by a rolltop, anything inside the main compartment was water tight.  I got a chance to put it to the test in a downpour ride home one afternoon.  Everything stayed dry in all compartments.  My laptop even stayed dry in the laptop sleeve thanks to the rubberized zipper and over flap.

The pack rides very stable on my back regardless of how much is loaded into it.  I have carried up to 50 pounds of groceries just fine.  The only issue I have had has been with the back panel.  There is a foam panel sewn into the back of the pack that tends to fold into a crease at the small of your back.  It hasn't been too uncomfortable.  However, it has been a little annoying as it keeps the pack from resting flush against your back while hunched over on the bike.  I am still waiting to hear back from Chrome regarding any solutions for this.

The organization of the pack is great!  You have two smaller pockets on the outside with a flap to cover the pockets.  These pockets work great for small items such as a u-lock, phone, wallet, tools and such.  There are daisy chains to separate the two pockets.  These are great for attaching your rear bike light or a carabiner.  The Ivan pack also has a laptop sleeve that zips right above the two outside pockets.  The sleeve is big enough to carry my 13 inch MacBook Pro.  I'm not sure if it will fit a laptop much bigger than a 15 inch.  The zipper is rubberized to keep moisture from getting into the sleeve.  The last compartment is the main one.  The main compartment is massive.  I have been able to fit an entire case of Red Bull in it with a hoody and a rain jacket.  The compartment completely lined with the truck top and closed off with a roll top.





Overall, I give the bag one and a half thumbs up.  It would get two thumbs up if the back panel rested flush against my back.  Again, this isn't too big of a deal.  For the price, $180, you really can't beat it.