For a personal website that’s primarily dedicated to an amateur beer league hobby elevated to an almost fanatical level of obsession, there’s little to say in the off season. Maybe you, Constant Reader, like long proses about long boring trainer rides and “deep dive” talks about the best weight lifting regiments. To me, it’s just work. I enjoy it, and I do it
Almost thirty is a tad too old to be waxing eloquence on the nihilistic joy of bike racing, so here’s Past Benjamin rambling about that . No, I was not paid for these eyesores. I’m sad the original ECCC blogosphere is down, but it’s probably the best for everyone
Alongside the usual post-race report, we also have the pre-race report. I’ve done nearly every single race in New England, and while I’ve ‘enjoyed’ every single one, there’s little to say that’s refreshing or unique for your time, Constant Reader. It’s just racing. I enjoy it, and I do it
It’s that simple
First on the docket is a snap decision to do #Ninigret. Snap in the sense that I wasn’t planning on doing this, but when teammies are going to the race, you GET IN THE VANS AND GO. This race has a name, but as the regional colloquialism it’s easier to say #Ninigret. Unless you’re first in your field, in which case it’s a #WINIGRET. It’s an abandoned motocycle/airfield park right on the coast, in the flatlands of this Massachusetts suburb Rhode Island. In early New England spring, this means:
-it’s cold
-it’s windy
-the vast majority of racers will use this race as their first opportunity to remember how to handle riding outside inside a tight pack at high speed
-it’s cold and windy, a bit too much for proper bike racing
Racing #ninigret in 2018. This is the year that I start paying Katie Busick more for her photos, because they are the BEST and apparently she thinks I have good skin which her nice way of saying, “your team kit and rainbow bike and literal tongue-in-cheek are a little TOO outrageous for me to not shoot”
The course is arguably technical. It’s flat and wide, but the turns and winds help make it interesting. Technical skills and smarts will absolutely help win the race, but it won’t drop racers off the back
Here is a map of the course:
My predictions for this race are:
-by Murphy’s Law, my smart ass-comments about being dropped off the back means I’m going to get dropped off the back
-one crash per field
-both races I’m in will be won by a small group off the front
Teammies, if one of us makes the break, channel your inner Elsa and LET IT GO. It’s cold enough, should be easy enough to do
*I’d like to say that’ll be me, but we’re also going to play this one by ear as I figure out what my heart is doing
For jogging, my heart really shouldn’t be doing that…