I got truly lucky this year and rather than starting with a frigid Charge Pond or a rainy Marblehead, I was able to begin my 06 campaign in St. Croix, under bright sun, and 90 degree temperatures. Endurance Sports Bike Shop http://endurancesportsvi.com had my bike all ready for me when I picked it up Friday morning. Jamie Keys, the bike shop manager and island strong guy, spent about a half hour getting me dialed in on my rental rig even though the shop was quite busy. Jamie and some other local racers, who were in the shop, told me about Sunday's road race on the island's hilly east end…it seemed like a great idea, if I could survive riding on the left side of the road until then! As I left the shop for my first ride I heard Jamie yell from the back of the shop, "Zach, remember, stay left!"
With stay left echoing in my head I had great rides on Friday and Saturday, exploring the windy mountain roads and taking in the gorgeous views. St. Croix is only about 35 miles long and five miles wide so as you corkscrew up the numerous one and two mile climbs you're treated to 360 degree views of the ocean, and on the north side you can see far away St. Johns and St. Thomas. It was truly spectacular riding, coupled with the gracious and polite St. Croix drivers, who give you plenty of room when they come past, usually with a double toot of the horn and a wave.
Race day started a bit too early for my liking with a 5:45 departure from my friend's hilltop apartment in the pitch black. My stay left mantra was quickly interrupted by a blind sprint down the semi-paved hill away from three crazed dogs who had apparently never seen an ECV kit before. After surviving the canine encounter I hooked up with a local racer who brought me over to the start.
Registration was quick, well organized, and only ten dollars. While registering at least five or six racers interrupted their warm-ups to introduce themselves to me and welcome me to the island, it was nice to be made to feel so at home. I opted for the Elite race which would do two loops of the hilly east end of the island for a total of 42 miles, versus the 24 mile Expert race, or the 13 mile Sport race. The three groups had a typical Wells Ave. feel to it, my race included Jamie from the bike shop, a bunch of other fast looking guys, a Cat. 2 from Florida who'd been racing for two months already, and one woman who was extremely strong.
We rolled out right at seven, the three races split by a minute or two, we had a follow vehicle, and all the intersections were well marshaled. Just upon settling in to the race, a group of three quickly got away with the Florida guy, Gabe from one of the local teams, and another. Gabe's teammates did some nice blocking and before we knew it the break had two or three minutes, I was kicking myself for not getting into it. The bike shop team, led by Jamie, quickly took up the chase and we caught them as we entered the first of the big loops.
At this point I should have played it smart, especially because I had no idea what was coming hill wise, but I opted to have a go of it, and I attacked off the front. No one followed and I was away from the group before I knew it, and with the windy and rolly course, the group was out of sight. In hind sight I probably picked the worst possible spot to attack as we were just getting into the climbs of the course, but it was fun, and I got to play race leader for four or five minutes. I got caught just after the first climb and thank god no one countered right away, because I was suffering a bit at this point.
The last climb of the circuit was the Divi climb up past the Divi Resort. I put myself in a bad position towards the back of the group and got caught behind a mechanical right at the bottom of the climb…not good. So, I'm trying to get out of my big ring, avoid crashing into the mechanical, avoid the punch the Florida guy threw at me as I swerved into him, and avoid throwing up the Cliff Bar that I was in mid-chew on…it was a pretty interesting moment. Top it all off with the group hammering away from me it wasn't pretty. I chased but I was cooked as we crested the hill. Alex, one of the first guys I met on the island who was also caught out, came flying past me but I couldn't hold his wheel…he was cruzan!
I chased for awhile by myself but decided to sit up and wait for Gabe who I thought was a minute behind me, turned out to be his teammate who wasn't having much fun…Gabe was another minute behind him. I hooked up with Gabe and the two of us worked well together through half of the second big circuit, but heading into the hills again I couldn't hold his wheel, and I was again by myself. I then spent the next twenty minutes time trailing to the finish with Gabe sitting a minute or two ahead of me.
At the finish there were coolers full of water and Powerades, of which I chugged three, having run out of water thirty minutes earlier. My race wound up ending with Jamie, the Floridian, and Robert (an ex-German racer) breaking away, and finishing in a very close three-way sprint…very exciting. It was a great race and a fantastic way to start the season.
Thanks to all the great folks in St. Croix who made me feel so welcome…I hope to see you soon.
