Race 1: May 7th Waterford Hills Thursday Night Worlds
Ok, so the WSC may have had the dominant numbers in this field. However, success is success and a win is a win. Being my first win of the 2010 season, I was stoked to take it.
There was a bit of a reversal of team roles in the air as we saw a solo flyer from our Cat. 3 sprinter Ricardo Cotto and myself, being deemed more of a breakaway horse head ended up taking the field sprint for the win (thanks to a stellar lead-out from junior Brett Beddow)in addition to the ever so coveted Beer Growler Prime. I guess if your team is going to have the numbers tipped in your favor, you better finish well. Indeed we did claiming 1st, 2nd (Luke Cavender), 4th (K-Man), and 5th (Jay Moncel) along with all four primes up for grabs.
Nonetheless, this race was nothing more than a prequel for the havoc that was sure to ensue with TOKV and Cone Azalia falling on the same weekend this year.
Race 2: May 9th Tour of Kensington Valley
This year, TOKV boasted winds that I have never raced in before in my life coupled with some low temps and a dash of intermittent precipitation. All of these variables added together equaled a minimally motivated Finkelstein. I equated the experience to riding behind a fan boat for 3.5 hours. However, despite missing the winning break I still hung strong to the finish only to flub up the sprint. I managed to squeak out an 11th place, which was still good for a slice of the prize purse albeit a small one.
Race 3: May 10th Cone Azalia
Going into this race as a 2009 podium finisher I was very motivated to try and have a repeat good showing. Sometimes all the motivation in the world can be reduced to a pile of ruble due to mechanical difficulties. It seems my choice to try out tubulars this year was a bad one as I flatted a mere 6 min into the 75-mile race. Cone Azalia is several parts luck and a few parts skill. While my skill may have been present, my luck was not.
Other than sound tire choice, I did learn something about myself. After the wheel car took several minutes to reach me I realized that the loss of time I had on the field was an insurmountable amount and that my race was over. I screamed a few words that should never come out of my mouth on Mother’s Day as I rolled through the gravel in solitude. My intentions were to finish the lap and simply call it a day while I watched the race transpire from the sidelines. However, after I finished lap 1 I found myself rolling out for another one without giving it too much thought. I wasn’t racing for anything at this point; I was simply riding my bike. While I rolled lap 2 I decided that upon finishing this lap I was going to throw in the towel and quit. Once again, for some reason, I rolled out for a 3rd lap. This trend continued until I finally finished the 75 miles and 7 laps in solitude and out of the money.
It wasn't pride that kept me from stopping, it wasn’t my ego, it wasn’t the hope that something unforeseeable like a train might slow the field down and I could catch back on, and it wasn’t the hope that perhaps I may still crack the top 15 and get paid. My persistence came from somewhere deeper. I was searching for something but I’m not sure what. Perhaps it was fear that kept me going, or grief. Although I love racing and “playing the game of bike racing” it is all simply a bi-product of my love to ride a bicycle. If I were to be told tomorrow that I could never race another bike race again I would probably go out and ride more than I do now.
George Sheehan once said in an essay titled Why Do I Run, “I run everyday to not lose the me I was yesterday and the me I might become tomorrow”. I suppose this is true for me, I ride to preserve the person I was yesterday and to secure the person I want to be tomorrow.
I may of been DFL but I refused to DNF.
