Union Grove Race Report...and a question to YGD

So I have a question for yougotdropped (the all-knower of things dropped). Oh pisano on high of droppage, impart upon me your wisdom. I'll pose the question then give my race report to provide the context.

Question: Does the manner in which one is "dropped" ever matter or is dropped simply dropped?

Being an engineer, I'm kinda looking for the definition of "dropped". Why? I dunno. But since there's an authority on a subject - in this case it's the subject of dropdom - may as well know how to define it. So here's what happened (in the form of a race report). I need a ruling please. Harsh is good. New Jersey harsh is better. F*ckin' eh. Yeah it's long but hey, it's my damn blog.

Teammate Jim Weinstein (recent cat 2 addition to the squad) and I decided to forego Jeff Cup and instead try the Union Grove Road Race. We initially signed up for the 35+ 1/2/3 race but there weren't enough entrants so they threw us in the 2/3 race. Fine. We went up to Amish country Friday evening so we wouldn't have to do the long drive on race day. Our race was at 11:30 so that'd allow us to sleep a bit, nourish properly, then head over to the course for warmup, etc. We drove the course when we got up there and immediately were pleased. They advertised the race as being "in the style of a European kermesse with gently rolling hills on country roads and tree-lined farm lanes." No doubt. The farm lanes were only about 8 feet wide and featured a grated steel bridge. Cool. Two short but steep hills (a few hundred meters each but about 15-20% grade) on each lap were kinda the hallmarks. We were to do 11 laps @ 4.6 miles a lap. By the way, I've now done Ephrata, Strasburg RR, and this. I highly recommend doing one of the Amish-country races for a change of pace; definitely different than the typical MABRA scene.

That morning, it was sunny but cold. Forecast was for a high of 48 but it didn't get close by the time our warmup ended. It was upper 30s. That's usually not a problem but, for some reason, the racers in PA and NJ always seem to pre-stage way early. Couple that with a women's race that was running behind and that amounts to us standing there, freezing our asses off. All of us. All 72 dudes. I started to shiver. It was just damn cold. Finally we got the call up and Jim and I lined up next to each other with our front wheels on the line. Well I'm not sure why I thought this, but I didn't think that, this early in the season, all these 2s and 3s would be in crazy shape. The first two laps were a complete blur. My power file says we averaged almost 27 during that time. M-Fer.

I was definitely feeling it but I realized I was actually pretty comfortable. I found I could move around at will because I was confident in the turns and on the sides of the road, even in the gravel. My heartrate was in the green (OK, maybe yellow) and I felt good. I spent much of my time in the peleton next to Mike Flanagan (Harley) and exchanged a brief convo here and there with him, while his buddies (Tim Brown and Tim Rugg) were up the road laying waste to all in their wake. I had my eyes on teammate Jim at all times and wasn't ever more than 15 or 20 riders back from him. By this point, even though I was working hard, I realized that I fell in love with the course even more. The farm lanes and bridges were awesome. You just don't get that anywhere in MABRA.

A few laps in, during the steep climb on the backside, my chain (or cassette, not sure which) slipped. I realized that I couldn't climb out of the saddle any more. Now, I'm no climbing expert, but I do know that I seem to use a different part of my thigh when I'm seated and climbing vs. when I stand. Besides, getting out of the saddle is always a good stretching opportunity for a few times each lap. Well that was now gone. And with each climb I did, I could feel the part of my quad by the knee on the inside of the leg burn more and more until, with 5 to go, it turned into cramps. Damn. To make matters a bit worse, that's the lap the peleton decided to reel in the break which was up the road by about a minute. The next two laps had the entire field strung out single file, which I must say was a pretty cool sight. That's over 9 miles of hilly single-file riding at some insane speed. I know we shed some peeps on those laps. Thankfully, the break was caught and the peleton took a break. My legs needed it.

With 2 to go, I thought I pretty much had at least a finish in the bag. Yeah, I know. That's striving for mediocrity but one step at a time, goombahs. I had muscled my way through cramps before but these were getting much worse now; they were starting to turn into the full-on "twinge" cramps that don't let go. Up the steep climb on that lap, each pedal stroke brought on the feeling of my legs about to seize up. At the top, they did. In all my life as an athlete, I have never had cramps bad enough to literally stop my legs from moving. And that's where I was, and it was downright painful. I didn't know what to do. I found it ironic that I actually made it up the climb with my heartrate fine, a feeling like I had plenty of gas in the tank, but my legs just simply wouldn't work. But the peleton didn't bolt away. They dangled about 10 feet in front of me. I looked back and I was indeed last. But I coasted down the backside of the hill not really losing distance. I chuckled, unclipped each leg - expecting the crew to just take off at any moment - and did a runner's quad stretch. It was enough to buy me another half lap. I drank a lot and popped another clif blok. And, without much effort, I was back on the pack.

Good thing because right at that moment, we made the turn down the farm lanes and bolted. But, as before, it kinda let up and I managed without much problem to make it over the bridge and up the gradual incline before the finishing hill. We made the right and were now on our approach to hear the glorious sound of the bell for the last lap. I could still see Jim sitting in great position and hoped he'd pull out a good result but knew I'd be no help with my legs in this state. I started the climb up toward the S/F and, once we hit the steep section, I realized I needed to get out of the saddle, gear slip or not. The legs seized again - not cramped, seized - this time mid-hill. I was standing. Both legs immobile. I'm not exaggerating in the least. I had no control. I couldn't twist them to unclip. I couldn't move them to come to a halt. My speed bled to zero....and I fell over sideways, harmlessly on to the grass (it's OK to laugh). We were close enough to the S/F for most of the people there to witness it. I can't imagine what it looked like. A few came running over probably thinking I must have had a heart attack. I just looked at them, shrugged, told them about the cramps, and twisted the bike (instead of my legs) to unclip. I stretched and laid there for a bit before attempting to walk. With any luck, someone took a shot I can send to yougotdropped.

Then I hung out to watch Jim storm up the hill to take 20th out of a very fast field. He told me afterward that he was also feeling cramps. Apparently many others were as well. Hell of a day. Reviewing it all in my head, I find I'm not disappointed. Well, OK, I would love to have at least finished. But I didn't get dropped. Or did I? It's not the kind of dropped that we think of when we think dropped - that horrible feeling when the field just starts to ride away and you're pedaling like you're in sand and just can't keep up. I had the power, I had the aerobic capacity, I just didn't have 50 miles of racing in my legs, I had 46. In his blog, Mike May wondered what a winter on the rollers would do for him in a 50 mile race. Well, that's what a winter on rollers will do for Da Numbas. What I do know is that I'll be very ready for the 1-hour crit. It'll be interesting to see what the 48 miles of Walkersville will be like. The course is slightly shorter AND easier than Union Grove. Can't wait.

So, pisano mio yougotdropped, is racing like golf (it's not how, it's how many)? Or does context matter? Inquiring droppees want to know.

Editor's note: we averaged 24.5 for the first 10 laps and I'm told the last lap was definitely faster. Fast race.