As I Watched It - Tour de Gulfport

"What the F*@#??" I'm pretty sure I said that out loud as I glanced down to see my left foot flailing in the air, suddenly unattached to the pedal. It was the start of the Tour de Gulfport criterium. I'd gotten in a decent enough warm-up, was adequately hydrated, and was fully expecting to be in the race rather than behind the race. For reasons I cannot even begin to guess, and although I am quite sure I heard my cleat clip into the pedal, the moment I stood up to accelerate, it pulled right out. I was incredulous, and hesitated for a moment thinking, "What just happened?" Well, I got clipped back in as riders streamed past and caught up to the tail end of the Masters pack fairly quickly. The problem was that they were going pretty fast.  Quite a bit faster, in fact, than the first lap of the Cat. 1/2/3 race into which I would jump later in the day. Even so, I was now kind of stuck on the wrong end of the criterium whip, braking into turns and sprinting out of them just to stay in contact. I think I just automatically switched into survival mode at that point as the actual race played out up ahead. 

So here's how it went:

From the word GO, Alex (Acadiana) takes off at full speed, stringing out the pack while I watch my left pedal spin around in the air. Woody is right up there and this continues at full gas until Keith (Acadiana) takes over for the third lap. Meanwhile I'm hanging onto the wrong end of the paceline for dear life. An Acadiana rider attacks and gets a good gap, then Tim, Donald and Woody or Tim start drilling it. A gap opens up behind the trio of Donald, Woody (Palmer) and Randy D (Acadiana).  Mark McMurry (Midsouth) tries to bridge up to them, then Brian B. (Peake) jumps.  Now there are three off the front working together, and the pace back in the pack sags since Acadiana and Palmer won't pull. Brian is on the front and attacks to up the pace. He eases up but nobody comes though and he takes the front again. He is getting practically no help and has been on the front for at least a full lap. Finally, someone comes through and we're on lap 8, all strung out, as the pace slows again with an Acadiana rider coasting at the front.  Brian pulls through again, and then Mike Lew attacks, lifting the pack's pace significantly. We can see the 3-rider break still not too far ahead.

Mike drills it for a full lap, then Brian comes through, and the gap is suddenly down to maybe then seconds.  Kevin from Acadiana jumps as Randy D. is getting dropped from the break. He bridges up quickly with little response from the pack, so the break pulls away again.  Brian is soon on the front again, then McMurry attacks, but the pack chases and he is soon pulled back. Brian is on the front yet again, and another rider attacks the pack but is pulled back quickly.  Mike Lew counter-attacks and gets a big gap with one other rider, but that too is eventually pulled back and the pace slows as we approach the 30-minute mark of the 45-minute race. The break is well out of sight by now.  There are more attacks by Mark McMurry, but he is brought back quickly and, for the first time in the race, I find my way to the front. Brian goes to the front again as McMurry attacks, then Mike Lew takes a shot at it, is pulled back, and Brian counter-attacks.  As he is pulled back, Mark McMcurry counters and gets a gap as the 5-to-go card goes up. The break is long goine and now Mark is up the road and things are starting to come apart in the pack.  Another rider attacks and gets a gap.  I've lost track of how many are actually off the front now.

With three to go Alex Habbit attacks, taking Butch Sims (Palmer) with him as the rest of the pack hesitates. The pack starts catching lapped riders in the turns and more little gaps open up. The pack is racing for 7th place, but I am finally starting to feel like I am in the race as I put in a big effort for the long drag race to the finish line, ending up in a disappointing 8th place, which is 3rd in the 55+ age group.

It was a strange race for me. Getting stuck at the back on the first lap really took the wind out of my sails, maybe more psychologically than physically. I should have just put it behind me and made the effort to get up to the front, but instead I pretty much just hung around near the back of the pack watching the show up ahead.

By the time the Cat. 1/2/3 race started it was getting really warm. My Garmin, which had been in the sun, started out showing 104F, and had dropped down to only 100 degrees 25 minutes later when I finally threw in the towel.  I probably shouldn't have entered the 1/2/3 race, but there was a decent sized field and I figured it would be cooler than standing around in the sun.  The 1/2/3 race actually started out fairly slowly, at least for the first couple of laps. After that it got faster as the attacks started to fly. I tried to shift to a higher gear and nothing happened. I finally looked down and realized I was still in the small chainring! Obviously I had not been taking this race seriously enough.  There was another attack and when the rider ahead of me blew up and opened a gap, I just wasn't willing to dig deeply enough to close it. We were probably only seven or eight laps into the race.  I backed off and cruised around for a few laps until the pack came by again, jumped onto the back for another lap and then called it a day.

The event itself was great.  The city was fully on board, so the course was well barricaded, there was a live band, etc. I hope they hold it again next year.