This past Monday I became the proud owner of such a frame. With the realization that racing singletrack is nowhere in my immediate future, I decided to have Jim build me a frame which would eat, sleep and dream gravel. By combining my gravel racing experience with Jim's extensive frame building knowledge, a one of a kind gravel racing frame was born.
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Photo Cred: Mike Briggs |
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Photo Cred: Mike Briggs |
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Photo Cred: Mike Briggs Photo Cred: Mike Briggs |
It's difficult to flip the switch from being competitive to just riding along. Dealing with the mental aspect of making that decision coupled with the negetivity which accompanies the pain has been the most demanding part of racing for me. This time I was fortunate enough to fall into the company of a group of three including Dan Rapp, Crystal Anthony and Geffrey Moy. The four of us stuck together for the next three hours more or less spending a large chunk of that time riding at a pace resembling a casual group ride rather than a race. It felt strange to be off the throttle and just cruising but it was all I could do and all I wanted to do. Much to my amazement, we were never caught and ended up catching a handful of riders as we neared the end.
With a few miles to go, I was with Geffrey and one of the riders we caught when the attacks started. I tried to play along for a bit but just couldn't overcome the pain long enough to hang in there. I watched as the two rode off to battle it out on their own and once again found that "just have fun" pace to finish it up. All in all, 7th in the open and 11th in the overall is not too bad. It never gets any easier when time and time again I have the fitness to be challenging for the top step but pain holding me back which I can't overcome. This often leads me to question why I continue to train and race when its a crap shoot whether or not I'll be able to perform to my ability.
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Photo Cred: Mike Briggs |
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Photo Cred: Mike Briggs |
I guess the short answer is.. it makes me happy. I love the training process and I enjoy getting to push my limits and more so my competitors limits while racing. For now I am trying to accept that I may not finish as well as I'd like or where I know I can each and every race and I may even DNF here and there which is ok. I'll continue to train and I'll continue to race. Some days I'll be in the front of the pack and others I'll be a little further back hopefully with a group of friends just enjoying the ride. After all, what could be better than spending countless hours exploring, training and racing on two wheels?
If you're wondering how the Kish rode, I'm having trouble coming up with words. The only word that comes to mind right now is perfect. Thank you Jim for putting me on such a phenomenal bike! I am looking forward to spending countless hours on this bike and am proud to represent Kish Fabrications.
Thanks once again goes to JR, all of the volunteers and everyone else involved in making the Hilly Billy what it is.
I'll be up there in two weeks. Looking forward to exploring around a bit myself. Glad to see you are finding the fun with each and every ride regardless if its race pace or not. "Enjoy the ride."
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