Approved Team Elite Member

Matt Migonis
Triathlon, United States

Powerblog

Bike Race Fun

This past weekend was a great chance for the boys of Team Scheels to get together and race some bikes.  Saturday was the Big Creek Road Race.  The cat 5 race was 48 miles long with rolling hills.  The course wasn’t the hardest we’ve ever ridden, but what it lacked in difficulty was made up by the energy zapping heat.  My favorite part of the race was catching up to the Cat1,2,3 group and drafting off their pack.  Then the race director yelled at me and told me to ride with my group.  Anyway, in the end big Adam V. led the group in the final sprint with a second place finish and Neal G., competing in his first road race, finished close by in 6th.  Tyler B. and I finished just behind the big sprinting pack.  I was pretty tired going into the ride after running 12 miles the night before, but it was still fun to lead a lot and keep everyone on their toes.  Although I did lack the energy to try any big bold breakaway attempts like I did at Clear Lake, I did enjoy ridding with teammates and joking about everything from the weather to how crappy the road was. On Sunday an even larger group of Scheels riders raced the East Village Crit.  The course was a little over a half mile in distance and had a rather nice uphill in it.  10 laps into the race Adam and I along with two other riders broke away from the pack.  We worked well together each taking a turn.  I led us up most of hills hoping to get a break for Adam and I.  Unfortunately I was pretty shot for the previous two days so it looked like it was going to have to be another late race hard effort.  Approaching the final lap I knew Adam was still with me and that if we both got up the hill in the first two spots that we were going to finish 1 & 2.  I charged up the hill as hard as I could dropping the two other riders.  Adam used his fantastic sprinting power once again and flew by me to the finish line.  Neal, who was also fatigued from the day before, finished in 6th and Joel, Joe and Tyler all came across the line just a short time later.  In all it was a really fun weekend.  I really enjoyed racing with a team and not having to worry about swimming and running.  However, it was a reminder of why I choose triathlon racing over bike racing.  My strength is individual effort and pacing, not drafting and sprinting.  Oh well, at least it’s still fun to try.

Posted By:Matt Migonis On 20 Aug 2010 AT 20:14 | 0 COMMENTS
Topics: Speed

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LOCATION

Iowa, United States

NETWORKS

Triathlon, Athletes/Active Lifestyle

ABOUT ME

I have been racing triathlons since the summer of 2004. My first season was highlighted b…MORE