So I thought it would be a good idea to ride out to the first BSU criterium series race. I estimated my group would probably start around 7:30 or so, giving me enough time to ride back. I rode in on Hill Rd and took side spur up Ginzel Rd. Ginzel is one of the steepest roads in all of Boise. I did it standing the whole way as a part of my strength training workout for the day, since earlier I did my last leg lift before Twilight. I didn’t really do it as an interval, but it medium-hard and I did start coughing after it. After that little effort I continued downtown on Hill.

I got to BSU and registered then pinned my number. I watched a few laps of the first race then got on the course after they finished. Going at a casual speed the course didn’t seem too bad. Then the next race started and I witnessed 4 crashes in the first five laps of their race! Most of the crashes occurred on the 180° corner on the far end of the course. Apparently the black tar used to cover up the old parking space lines was very slick. They adjusted the course for the next two races, but there still were some casualties.

Since it seemed like they were running behind, I took off east on Park Center and did some more easy miles. When I got back, I still had to wait a bit more for the last race to start. At this point, I debated about doing it at all because, a) I wasn’t feeling too great, and b) I knew at this point I didn’t have enough daylight to ride home so I’d have to bum a ride. Well I decided to start anyway and I pushed it from the gun. I led the first few laps, taking my own lines around the corners. I felt awful, but was surprised that no one really came around me early on.

I thought I’d just work it, then pull myself and ride home. But after a few laps, the field broke up and we had a breakaway going. My legs felt fried but I was still able to maintain a tempo pace. Then they had a prime and I got it. I was outnumbered 2:1 in the break so I knew I’d be attacked. But with the way I was feeling, it didn’t take much to drop me and I was chasing for the rest of the race. I managed to stay in third for the finish after some inter-mixing of lapped riders. One time there was a rider that went down right in front of me on the aforementioned corner! I actually felt my wheel slip as well at one point when I took a poor line.

I also clipped a pedal a couple times since I switched Speedplay Zero’s. For the same axle material, the Zero’s and the X’s have the same cornering clearance. But I went from racing my last crit on the X/1 titaniums, to the Zero Stainless which has 2° less clearance. So I ended up hitting my pedal a couple times, once fairly hard. I’m in the process of getting the Ti version of the Zero’s as I tend to use every bit of pedal clearance I’m given. I really like the ability of the Zero’s to dial-down the amount of float. I didn’t think I liked them the first time I rode them, but after going back to the X’s, I realized that they had way too much float for me. Especially since my stance is somewhat duck-footed, where my toes point out. This makes it so I tend to hit the crank arm with my heel quite a bit, especially with the short-axled X-series pedal with unlimited float. The Zero’s allow me to dial-in the heel just enough to prevent my heel from hitting the crank.