A bike racer has many solitary moments. Many times you ride unaccompanied because you need to do a very specific workout or you cannot bend your schedule to accommodate any company on a training ride—so you pedal alone, watching the ground turn into a blur beneath your churning feet. And for many bike racers, riding alone is the most pleasurable part of being a bike racer; it’s a respite from responsibilities and a chance to sweatily sequester oneself from the world. 

A bike race, on the other hand, is not a solitary endeavor. Racers find themselves surrounded by competitors and teammates who have their own pesky agendas. The only way a racer can get any peace and quiet is to ride away and put all the hubbub and hullabaloo behind him at a safe distance. The problem with this attitude is that the other selfish racers with you will want to spoil your rolling meditation by joining you off the front, as they want to "win" and "justify spending $75 on socks that squeeze their calves". But this is the life of the lone racer, always searching for peace in a world that wants to tag along.

Last night at FBF  was a chance for the Lone Racer to achieve rolling harmony. The wind was not as strong as on many occasions, but it was still blowing, and there was a light rain falling. There have been no successful solo attacks yet this year at FBF, but the Lone Racer always holds hope. We rolled off, and began jousting at the front of the race, always to be countered by the Lone Racer, who would pop off by himself, and when his serenity was sullied by others; he would fall back to the cacophonous crowd. The race unfolded like this for 9 laps, with attempts at breaks followed by Lone Racer attacks and the eventual catches of the companionless champion.

Somewhere on lap 9, Danny Inoa (not the Lone Racer) of Axis got away, and for a time he looked like he was going to hold it to the line. His teammate Jon Orcutt was on the front keeping things in order, and I was sitting in the pack, pretending (as I had no teammates) that the Wonder Wheels team was working for me, since our goals for the night had aligned at that moment. Jackson Wandres dutifully brought back Danny at turn four, and the field sprint started to form up. I stayed calm and followed the right wheels, there was a burst from Frank Arroyo. I followed, sat down and rose when the final sprint started. It was a very fast tailwind sprint that had me wishing I had my 10 cog on my cassette. We crossed the line in a clump of four. Frank Arroyo won, and I took fourth place. The Lone Racer was nowhere to be seen. There’s no telling when he’ll show up again, but I do know that when he does, he won’t be looking to hang around.

schmalz race report

Like I’ve said before, no chance to get away, but salvaged a fourth place, so that’s a four.

The head song for the night was "Cherub Rock" by the Smashing Pumpkins, "Let me out!"