The plan was to meet Cyrus at Josh's house at 4:50 meaning I had to leave home by 4:30 at the latest. I was there exactly on time and a minute or two later Josh came out of his house with all his gear ready to load into the car. We stood on the sidewalk chatting and by about 5:05 we were wondering if Cyrus was going to show up. Josh texted him and a few minutes later the phone rang. "Sorry guys I slept through my alarm! I'll be there in 15-20 minutes. Josh and I made the decision not to wait and loaded my truck up for the drive.
We arrived at the after a couple of brief stops for breakfast and gas to find Cyrus was already there. After busting on him for a few minutes we signed up and got our gear together for the start.
Copperopolis is affectionately called "The Hell of NorCal" due to the very poor state of the roads it is raced on and that it happens around the same time as Paris - Roubaix. The roads are rough, torn up in places and full of potholes just waiting to eat a tire. The side of the road is even worse. Even the race flyer recommends strong wheels, new tires and a complete bolt check before the start.
I'd decided to use a pair of 25c tires instead of my usual 23c in the hope of having a more comfortable and flat free day. Josh and I rode to the start line with a spare set of wheels for the wheel van only to find that there was no wheel van for the Pro/1/2 race.
The course is a 21 mile loop with about 1600 feet of climbing per lap coming in 2 chunks. The first is about 1300 feet over 3 miles and the second is about 300 feet over a mile both averaging about 4%.
The race started and within about a mile we heard the first flat tire as we rattled and banged over the rough road. The feed zone was a couple o f miles from the start and as usual I immediately started to move up the field to be near the front for the first climb. It was at this point that I was beginning to feel like I'd had too much breakfast but I was sure that would go away within the next 5 hours.
As the main climb started there was a small group away by about 15 seconds and the pace was kept high by the guys at the from to stop the gap growing too much. With well over 100 guys in the field there was a lot of shoulder leaning as the pack climbed the stair steps of the narrow road. The pace was hard and I was suffering along with everyone else but maintaining my place in the front of the group. Near the top the pitch kicked up and the pace stayed the same until we finally crested the top of the climb and made it to the plateau. I was comfortable and happy having now gone further than I'd gone at Copperopolis the last time I raced it more than 10 years ago.
We caught the break and the pace picked up as other little attackers stretched the field out. I had the sense that the pack had got much smaller and after drifting towards the back noticed that we'd lost Cyrus although Josh was still here and looking very comfortable.
We hit the second climb and cruised over the top before hitting the crazy fast and rough descent towards the finish of the first lap. I was loving the 25c tires as they just seemed to float over the bumps. I was flying on the descent with the bars bouncing all over the place, passing a lot of people before ending up back at the front of the group by the bottom of the hill.
We came through the finish line and things relaxed as we came towards the feed zone to start the main climb again. I was managing to hold my position but starting to suffer a lot more this time around. I'd been very conservative on this lap knowing that this time up would be hard but by the time we reached the steepest pitch I was beginning to lose contact with the back of the main group. I looked behind me and could see another group way back but didn't give up on my goal of getting back onto the front group. As I came over the top of the climb I could see the found group strung out way ahead of me with a couple of stragglers in between. I was head down and in TT mode trying to get back. I know that there were a bunch of people dropped and all we needed to do was get together. Eventually a large enough group would form to make a chase group.
By the time we got to the base of the climb for the third time there was about 12 of us and we picked up another couple of people on the way up. I was feeling much stronger in this group and was encouraging everyone to work together hoping we'd be able to catch what would be left of the field after the inevitable break got away.
There were a number of guys in this group who were obviously suffering way more than me. About 4 other guys and myself were doing the majority of the work. About half way around the lap a photographer at the side of the road told us we were only about 90 seconds down on the lead group this spurred everyone on and got the whole group working together.
We rode to the top of the second climb and a group although a little strung out. I was the second wheel as we started the descent, in front of me was a powerhouse from the Fremont Bank team. He was riding so strong I have no idea how he got dropped in the first place. We attacked the descent and were absolutely flying, passing dropped riders from other groups like they were standing still. By the time we reached the small hill to the finish there were only 5 of us left, we'd dropped 10 guys on the descent!
We flew through town and the feed zone ready for the climb again. The group separated on the climb into a pair of riders about 10 seconds up and then 3 of us suffering a little more this time. The 3 of us decided to work together for the final lap and a half before the finish.
I was riding well and the 3 of us were working well together. I was by far the smallest rider so I have no idea how much of a draft I was giving them.
As we came around towards the start of the second climb we were to the right side of the road with the wind coming from left. I was at the back and had just grabbed some food. The rider in front of me moved over to his right and my front wheel was to the right of his rear wheel and suddenly I ran out of road. The edge of the road was very ragged and broken up and I went off the tarmac and into the ditch that was loosely described as the shoulder. The bottom of the ditch was full of small jagged rocks and at 20 mph I was bouncing along just trying to stay upright. After about 20 yards I managed to get the bike back onto the road and was regaining the back of other 2 guys when I could hear the hissing from my rear tire as it went flat. I'd pinched the tube on the rocks in the ditch and my race was over. I'd ridden 80 hard miles with only 25 remaining and was determined to finish the race. There was nothing I could do now but get off the bike and wait for the sag van to come pick me up. There was no wheel van for the Pro/1/2 race and I wasn't carrying a patch kit.
The van came quickly and I loaded the bike on the back. We're we're driving past riders who had obviously quit and as we came through the finish line there were a bunch of the Pro/1/2 field that had dropped out. All you had to do was finish this race and you could have placed well.
I'll be back for this race next year. It's rough and hard and deserves its name as "The Hell of NorCal". I loved it!
Food for the Day
Breakfast: 2 Egg McMuffins. Probably one too many :)
Race: 4 Gels, 3 bottles of Cytomax. Could have used more food but hadn't bonked.
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Location:Milton, CA
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