Westlake #10

This past Tuesday it was pretty hot and humid all day. Storms were popping up all over the place, but I decided to drive out to Westlake anyway. A big group turned out for both the A and B race.

I followed my usual routine, a few laps until 6:10, then go to the parking lot and goof around until the start. This week, I made a breakthrough with my trackstands. My discovery was to move the focus of concentration to my center of mass instead of my hands and feet. I did a couple really good ones, but I'm not to the point of standing there indefinitely like some people can do. And I'm nowhere near the point of doing one no handed--I saw a woman do that before the MidOhio race a couple of years ago.

The race followed the usual routine. While the breaks are trying to get established, the pace goes from really fast to super fast, a few prime laps were thrown in for good measure. The wind was out of the south east, so on Ranney Parkway we got pushed over by a crosswind onto the double yellow, which was a virtual gutter.

One lap I was congratulating myself on good positioning and efficient riding, the next lap, I was behind traffic that was slow through the corners, and I ended up on the back dangling in the crosswind. I felt my HR redline, but managed to recover. The next lap, a whole swath of riders came unhitched and I was behind them. I probably could have sprinted around to latch back on, but I didn't want to prolong the agony.

I felt like crap, so I decided to just head home early. When I got off the bike, my head was swimming. Even though I've been out riding in the heat quite a bit this year, I don't feel like I've really adapted.