Now that the Colorado High School racing season is over I thought I might share some reflections about the series. I heard about the high school cycling league last year while I was in eighth grade. The idea of participating in a race where everyone else there was around the same age as me sounded pretty cool, but I wanted to race on a team and my high school wouldn't be able to have one this year. When my dad and I searched for teams in the area, the only team that we could really find was the Cheyenne Mountain High School team. We contacted them and they said that I could come ride with them and see how I liked it. I first rode with them toward the end of the school year and I thought all the people on the team were pretty cool. Toward the end of the summer I was informed that their team would be a composite team, so I could race for them even though I didn't go to Cheyenne Mountain. When the time of the first race rolled around I had no idea how well I would do. I expected to do pretty well, but again, I had no idea how I would do. This is how the series panned out.
Race 1: First, let's just say that lining up at this race was actually difficult. You had to wait 200 feet away from the staging area until exactly the right time before you could line up. Being the law-abiding citizen that I am, I followed these rules. Unfortunately, this earned me a spot in the fifth line from the front. When the race started, I managed to catch up to five other guys in the front. At the first steep little hill, four of them got off their bikes. The other guy pulled up front while I maneuvered around people jumping off their bikes. When we reached the top of the hill, he already had a decent gap on me and he disappeared around the next corner. I almost caught up to him while he was going through some traffic of previous races, but unfortunately I had to deal with the same traffic. Most of the people were cool with letting me pass, but I got stuck behind one guy (in a different division) who moved to whatever side I said was going to pass on. I ended up hitting my head on a tree when trying to pass him, but it really didn't mess me up at all. In the end, I finished with a stellar second place. It turns out the guy that won (Henry) was riding in his first race ever! Nice job!
The three of us behind the leader - Henry Chapman leading me and Jackson Shanley up the first climb at Nathrop
Race 2: This race started out a lot better for me because the top ten riders overall get called up to the first couple lines. Starting in the front row made a huge difference for me. I went out really hard at the start of the race and even held the lead for a little while. Henry passed me as soon as we reached the double track and he was out of sight really quickly. On the second lap my chain fell into the small front chain ring, which was not very desirable on that flat course. At that point I was racing to stay in second anyway, but the chain still kind of annoyed me. I finished second again and I was still really happy with how I did, but maybe it would be cool to win the next race.
Taking the hole shot on the start at Snow Mountain Ranch
Race 3: I really liked the course for this race. I wasn't exactly sure why but it was a lot of fun. This race started similarly to the previous race, with me leading out and Henry passing me before we got too far into the race. There was one section on the course which was entirely exposed and very windy. It was very hard for me to ride because whenever I got there, there was nobody in sight to draft behind. At the end of the first lap, I dropped my chain and spent about 15-30 seconds fixing it. When I started riding again I began to cramp up, but thankfully that stopped fairly quickly. About halfway through the last lap, I shifted going into a turn and what happens? My chain falls off, of course. I spent more time fixing this and I was in third when I got back on my bike. I quickly got back into second and at the very end of the race…. My chain falls off! I ran my bike across the finish line for second place, which I was very grateful for considering the circumstances. Time to buy a chain guide!
Running across the finish at Peaceful Valley (photo Carrie Dittmer)
Race 4: Note to self: Eat a large breakfast on race day (even if you're not very hungry). I learned this the hard way. I expected this race to go very well for me because of the large amount of climbing. It started normally, with me leading everybody up the first hill. Toward the beginning of the race Henry and I already had a gap on everybody else and I tried to drop him when we got to a pavement section. While trying to do this, he passed me like I was standing still. At the top of the next hill, despite my fancy new chain guide, I dropped my Chain! I got passed by Brannan and spent the rest of that lap catching back up to him. Toward the end of the second lap I had a solid 30 second gap on Brannan, but then the inevitable happened. I suddenly got hypoglycemia and pretty much lost my ability to think and pedal (but I didn't drop my chain!). I was passed by three people in the last mile and I rolled in for a fifth place finish. When Jackson passed me he offered to let me draft off of him for the rest of the race, but I couldn't keep up with him anyway. It turns out Henry almost passed the guy who won the race that started 5 minutes ahead of ours. Thanks to the medics for helping me be able to function again after the race.
Finally catching Brennan's wheel after dropping my chain
Henry putting us in the bag
I ended up getting second overall in the series, which is pretty good because of how fast Henry is. Overall, I thought these races were a lot of fun and I will definitely do them again next year.
Brrraaaaaaaap!
Podium for the overall: 1st-Henry Chapman, 2nd-Me, 3rd-Jackson Shanley, 4th-Brannan Fix, 5th Joel Sawyer
