 |
| The winning team (team drunkstrong) posing with Crystal |
I got the invite from what would end up being my teammate
for the event, Dan Morgan. He messaged me saying that there would be some sort
of relay going on in downtown Houston. He said it would a little “for fun” event
and he thought it would be a great idea for me to give it a try. He was right.
 |
| Going on Dad's birthday ride |
 |
| Mapping out routes |
That morning I woke up early after a late night with some
friends to celebrate a birthday and decided to go on a wet Pearland group ride
with my dad as part of his birthday, 65 miles and a pair of wet shoes later I
finally made it home. I looked at the clock and I had about 2 hours to get
ready for the relay. Since I was wet and grumpy from a late ride flat tire I
did not feel like going back into downtown for the race. I hailed Dan with
texts to try to figure out if the relay would be cancelled due to rain. After
about an hour of figuring out the weather and a bowl of recovery pho, I decided
I was going to go ahead and do it. I grabbed my old Pearland Cycling jersey and
started to head north towards downtown.
As I got there I found Dan and the two of us walked to
registration to sign in. We would end up being team “DP” for Dan-Pincus (keep jokes to yourself). Soon
after we registered things become clear that this would end up being an “ally
cat” race. Sort of like how the video game Midnight Club Racing used to be. We
would be given a list of 10 checkpoints scattered all over the city. We would
then have to go out and get a signature at these checkpoints. The first team to
get all 10 checkpoints between the two riders and get back to the park the
fastest would be the winner.
 |
| mandatory banana eating at first checkpoint |
When the Checkpoints were released to us we had 15 minutes
to map them out and make a plan to try to get to all the points as fast as
possible. We quickly came up with the plan for me to go for the farthest one
and then hit up 2 on the way back. Dan would get the other 7. From there we had
to decided which routes would be the fastest and how to get across town. The
format of the race reminded me of the Wooly Mammoth Provactorio I did back at
the beginning of the year.(
http://supersquadra.net/?p=4126)
 |
| Teams map out routes |
The plan was set, all we had to do was go through with it.
When the promoters said go it was a mad dash to our bikes. I quickly picked up
my bike and was quickly sprinting down Elgin. I was with a group of about 5 who
all decided to go the same basic way. Things started to get real when we all
came up the first red light where I was starting to slow down, and was quickly
past by the rest of the racers who sprinted full speed through the
intersection. I followed. At this moment I realized I was going to have a lot
more fun then I thought. I raced quickly behind a few others until I reached my
turn that I had planned out earlier. I quickly bunny hopped on the sidewalk and
made my turn to avoid getting behind stopped cars. I was on my own now. I spend
the next half hour riding westward to my first checkpoint. Located by the
beltway and I-10 on the far west side of town. It was not till I got within a
few miles that I saw other racers from the relay starting to clump up near the
checkpoint. As I arrived I was told I was the 3rd one there. I
consumed a banana and started my way back into the town. Brian Menagez found
me, and the two of us worked together till we were by 610 before splitting off
on our own ways. At this point I could feel the fatigue of riding 65 miles in
the morning in my legs. I knew that I had to keep going. I texted Dan telling
him to just send me the addresses of my last two checkpoints to save me time
from plugging them in my phone. In the time that it took me to get my first
checkpoint Dan had already gotten all 7 of his and was waiting at the park for
my return. My second and third checkpoints were within a mile of each other. I
quickly got on Washington Ave heading east and found my 2nd
checkpoint located on Summer Street. My third checkpoint was a little harder to
find since the man I was looking for was hidden in a bar. I quickly texted Dan
telling him I got all my signatures and was heading back to the park. He told
me to take my time and that two teams have already came in.
 |
| Team Dolphin getting third |
 |
| Dan and I getting third |
 |
| rolling into third |
As I arrived into the park a sense of accomplishment came
over me. I had finished my first downtown Houston ally cat race alive and on
the podium. 32 miles on the computer put me close to 96 miles for the day. I
found myself some cold drinks and relaxed. The guys and girl who beat me
quickly teased me. They pointed out that they beat the big “cat 1” racer. I
welcomed the humor. I was happy to be part of the event and glad Dan kept
pestering me to go with him. Once all the teams have returned we had a small
prize ceremony for the top 3 teams as well as the DFL placed team. I met a
handful of new friends and was happy to experience a very hipster-feeling race
in the middle of a city where most people do not get a young funky fresh vibe
in.
I am glad I got to participate in this relay and plan to
come out to more events in the near future.
Photo Curtesy to both Tyler Lopez and A.J. Martus
No comments:
Post a Comment