Words by Derek Merrill

Walking towards M street on 18th, I see a detached semi-trailer blocking the road and bales of hay propped up against light posts. Standing on the corner with rib-flavored smoke wafting from Big Bubba’s Bad BBQ, I see a glimmering mass approach me, with exclamations like “watch your line!” and “close the gap!” coming from it, but from whom I don’t know. Bikes fly by me in different colors so fast I can’t focus on any single rider for more than two seconds. The only thing I notice is tan, shaved legs that look like they could be made of chiseled marble.

I’ve come downtown this weekend to witness the Merco Downtown Grand Prix, a bike race that’s taken place in Merced for the past 15 years. Since I’m not planning to go to the Farmer’s Market today, it’s early for me, but I want to see as much racing in one day as I can. There’s something about this sport, and knowing how many hours and hundreds of miles cyclists train each week, that makes it more just people riding fast on a bike. It speaks of a commitment and sacrifice that only the person doing it can understand. I notice their passion for cycling is contagious; throughout the day I overheard people thinking of what was perhaps unthinkingable. Things like “maybe we could ride to Snelling next weekend,” or “let’s ride our bikes around town more often.”

It’s mid-morning and I am watching the men’s Elite 4 race. The races are organized by category, with each category designing experience and points earned in races. The lower the number typically the more experience and points a cyclist has accumulated.

Watching the cyclists pass through the start/finish line, I see a familiar jersey the near the front of the peloton. The red, while, and blue stripes against a black background could only mean it’s from Kevin’s Bikes. The rider’s name is David Doll, a local from Merced, and he’s working to stay in the top 10. With one lap to go he’s in third and looks strong. The cyclist who goes over first mis-judges the lap and raises his hands in victory. With almost 20 miles raced in his legs, it’s understandable (to me at least) that someone could miscount the laps, even though the electronic lap counter is visible to the racers. Think of running at near heart-rate limit on a treadmill while doing basic math and you’ll see what I mean.

Doll ends up a bit outside his goal, in 12th place. This is his third year racing. He was pleased with the course, especially the short S-shaped portion, called a chicane. It makes riders more alert, he says. Doll trains with a group of cyclists who meet at Raley’s parking lot at 8am. They ride 60 miles. Doll logs around 200 miles a week, most if it on the 4-5 hour day rides he puts in over the weekends; he rode about 150 miles this week because of today’s race. Like some of the cyclists racing today, Doll is off to Madera next weekend to race. His season will last until around late August, early September. I didn’t ask how many total miles or hours he’ll log this season. Nevertheless, it’s probably an amount most people wouldn’t even imagine.

I stood near the start/finish line for this race. It’s where action can happen, especially when a prime (pronounced “preem”) is awarded to the person who crosses the line first during different laps of the race. This keeps up the sprinting and strategy action during the race, as cyclists compete for cash and other types of prizes. But it’s hard to see most of the action with people in the way. For next year, it would be great if the organizers could place bleachers near the start/finish so that people who aren’t leaning over the metal barrier can see the race.

For the next race, the men’s Elite 3, I walk around the course to see action unfold. For the majority of the race there are 5 to 4 men in something like a 30 to 40 second breakaway, with the rest of the pack behind. It’s like this for awhile. Then I notice while standing on the backside, on O street, a single rider between the leaders and the case group: no man’s land. The rider is Tyron Hooper, a cyclist on the Fusion team from San Francisco. People cheer Hooper towards his goal of closing the gap with the lead group. His courage to break away, to expend his energy without perhaps catching the lead group, shows an admirable commitment to suffering.