photo by LA Times; ilg racing into the Bardo Night pull during the Furnace Creek 508 race, Death Valley, CA.
I was informed the night before the Road Race by the Race Organizer that my division "C" would not be eligible for an Overall Championship/Jersey. i'd be moved into the "B" division for the rest of the Championships (RR and Crit).
must admit; it was a buzzkill fer sure since i was in first place with my two favorite events ahead of me. yet, podiums i'm not lacking in so it wasn't that big of a deal. would have been nice to flip a Championship in cycling within less than a month of a top 20 AG at Imogene, however, the art of wholeness in racing is pretty much ignored by everyone save for our Tribe, so i woke up on the Road Race Day (Saturday) with a new game plan...
i'd work for my amigo, Miguel, for the 3 laps in the valley. i'd be his domestique, chasing down racers that got up the road in order to save him energy to deliver his crushing blow on the final hillclimb. this is what Road Racing is all about; alliances in sweat.
i felt okay and definitely was animated at the front of the B peleton...current National Duathlon Champion and HP Yogini Marissa Asplund was there, working for another racer, so she definitely caused a higher caloric burn and some sauced thighs before the final hillclimb.
having served for Miguel, i wished him luck at mile 32 and then retreated deeper into the 25+ peleton to find the only racer that threatened my "C" championship...which was now a warped version of a virtual race within a race. after some PowerBar GelBlasts and some Fortune Delight, i bandied up my remaining muscle fibers that still flickered after all my work at the front of the peleton for the last hour and a half. psychospiritually, i determined myself to stick like glue to my marked man up the climb. i had to finish right behind him to tie up the "Virtual C" Championships. i did, finishing 4 seconds in back of him at the top of the always lung-searing Shalona hill which was this finishing hill climb.
Result: won the "virtual C" Championship, plus, amigo Miguel stood up and delivered a 2nd place on the final hill and then won the crit yesterday to win the B Championship! i sat out the crit, choosing Family Time instead of racing, since in my virtual race, i had enough points to win the title.
i finished 10th place in the B division.
also of Warrior note; HP Yogini Dana Shin won the Women's A Championship! Congrats, Dana!
all in all?
a pretty fine week for HP Yogis and another victory for Wholeness-trained athletes everywhere!
i'll be announcing my intended Winter Racing Schedule soon, and probably send out a Sponsorship Plea to help curb the crazy expenses of racing in Kali Yuga while maintaining only a Dharma-based income of Service. if you can help keep your feeble yogi toeing the Start Lines, we will insure that at least someone is still out there teaching from Direct Experience at the front line of genuine, multi-disciplined yogic warriorship.
thank you for your spiritual sends during this week of Championship racing here in the high hamlet of crazy-fit mountain athletes!
head bowed,
el coache
hanging out with ilg near Flagstaff, AZ. pic by Bill Galen.
Let’s forget about all the cycling equipment and expensive tweaks you’ve purchased over the past, say 3 years. Let’s trade ALL of it for something that is endlessly more vital to your enjoyment, performance, and spiritual transformation through cycling: a flat spine while riding. Oh, like you have something MORE important to work on over the winter than getting a flatter back, more open, powerful hips, and a stronger core?
photo by LA Times; ilg racing into the Bardo Night pull during the Furnace Creek 508 race, Death Valley, CA.
"The Ilg before the storm..."