the very bane of my existence today…
Sunday, November 15th, 2009
I love sand pits but it just wasn’t happening for me today.
Thanks to Frye for the great photos.
Archive for the ‘Race/Ride Report’ Category
Baker Orchard Race Wrap Up
Monday, October 19th, 2009
(photo courtesy SkinnySki.com, become a member! I did.)
A less than stellar start for me. Good thing Thor was on hand to yell “You need to start better than that!” He was also helpful last week when he yelled at me “That was the worst decent I have ever seen!” It’s good to have Thor around.
For some reason I could not get my foot in the pedal once the race started so I ended up pretty much at the back. There was no real technical stuff for quite a while so I was able to move up pretty quickly.
Pretty much after the first lap or so the race stratified into different groups. I think I ended up in the 2nd official group. From that point on it was just riding hard and as fast as possible. The course was bumpy so it was a bit difficult as there was no real section of the course where recovery was possible. You pretty much had to keep the power on the entire lap.
I got a tree branch in the eye at one point and felt like I may have scratched an eyeball, but it felt better by the end of the race. I smacked my left shin on a barrier at one point, that kind of hurt but felt fine the next day. Other than that no real problems. No crashing, I only took a few turns too wide and fast.
I had another great result and am super pleased with how things are going. Just need to work on getting that foot clipped in quicker.
I will have a full course review tomorrow.
Wirth Wrap Wup
Sunday, October 11th, 2009Well hell, I don’t have much to complain about today.
I am not at all sure how I ended up in the results but I am super stoked about my race.
I had some problems before the race started and got to the line late. Adam Bergman told me to line up right next to him at the front and I am the kind of guy that does what he’s told. The gun went off and there was a nice long rollout before any technical junk.
I did enough practice laps to know the course and was able to stay top 10 or so for the first couple of laps. Then I noticed that my rear tire was starting to go soft. For just a few moments I was super pissed because things had been going so well. But then I remembered what I told myself after last week: Shit happens, deal with it and move on. Hey, even Sven Nys eats shit sometimes, you know?
I was close to the end of the lap where the wheel pit was located so I kept the gas on to get to the pit as quickly as possible. Approaching the pit I dumped the rear derailleur into the smallest cog and tired to hit the Campy Q/R button on the lever to open up the brakes. Apparently I did not hit the button all the way as the brakes were not open up enough to get the new wheel in. Dag was there helping me out but I don’t think he was aware of what I was trying to do so I had to yell at him a bit to just let me at my bike. Sorry Dag. I got the wheel back in and was back on the course quickly, not losing too much time or too many places.
From that point on it was just pounding out the laps counting down the 60 minutes. I did my best to ride slow where it was necessary and open up and ride fast where I could. I was not particularly smooth on the downhills but I did not lose much time. I seemed to get up the stair climb really well and was using it successfully to make big advancements during the race. The only problem was if there was another rider in front of me before the stairs things would bog down a bit so I really tried to get around anyone in front of my before we hit the stairs.
I’m sure that the next super technical course will be a totally different story, but today it was a damn good race for me.
Hudson CX uppidy datey – wiggity wackity
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009Short story – Bike handling skilz still not too good
Long story – JimmerC yelled at me to get to the starting line as the race was about to get under way. I had been rolling around the course trying my best to figure out how in the hell I was going to do this.
As my loyal readers know I have been spending a lot of time training to get prepared for cyclocross season this year. Not much of this training took place on rooted single track trails, which happened to account for a significant amount of the backside of the circuit.
After one warm up lap I knew that I was in trouble. Never-the-less, I lined up near the front and made with the fast like start once the gun went off. The first two minutes of the race rolled around the open part of the course and I was in pretty good shape going into the single track. Then everything fell apart.
To put it simply, I was going too fast trying not to lose too much time and too many places in the technical areas. By the end of the first lap my brakes were useless due to the mud. But I still pushed hard in the tech stuff, outriding the course and outriding my braking. The result? Ugliness.
I ended up crashing about half a dozen times. Only one time was even slightly serious as I took a turn too wide and clipped a pedal on a course marker and went down kinda hard. My left knee got banged up but I was back on the bike quickly. Otherwise they were pretty much absurd “out of control” wipe outs that were getting annoying but only caused me a few moments of delay each time.
It was not until about 50 minutes into the race that I finally figured out that I really needed to relax and be deliberate in the technical areas. The lesson for me is that some parts of the course just need to be ridden slow. Sure, it costs you some seconds, but if you blow off the course or crash it is going to cost you even more seconds. Just take it easy where necessary and make up the time when you can really open up the throttle. Unfortunately with this circuit there are not many places to step on the gas.
I was able to make up huge amounts of time in the beach sand run up, the beach sand ride through and the barrier section. I actually looked forward to these sections of the course because I knew I could make up time that I was losing in the back section.
And, just when things started to go well for me, the race was over. At no point did I ever feel gassed or had difficulty. I was never able to really make a full effort so I ended up with plenty of energy left at the end of the race. I was hoping to get another lap in before the end as I was starting to make up some time but Adam Bergman lapped me and this ended up cutting my race one lap short.
Overall, I am happy with my level of fitness and am looking forward to a more open course where I can hopefully take more advantage of my current level of fitness.
I wore one of my new clown suits for the race and felt like a million dollars. Lots of people were freaking out that I was getting it dirty but that’s what I got it for.
Awesome.
CBOR ride report #fb
Friday, July 31st, 2009Uhhh…that was really hard.
I mean, I knew it would be hard, but those who attended felt the need to make it even harder. None-the-less, it was fun to ride on some new terrain.
All had cross bikes, some had road tires and some had cross tires. I was on road tires with just under five and a half atmospheres. I thought it would be an advantage to have the road tires but I was wrong.
The trail section of the ride along the Luce Line was fine on road tires, but once we hit the gravel road it was clear that the cross tires were the way to go. There was no grip for climbing on the road tires and the higher pressure meant that the tires sunk into the dirt instead of floating over the top. I will be running cross tires with three and a half to four atmospheres next week.
We probably spent just over an hour on the gravel stuff at a pretty good pace which I think is going to be valuable for cyclocross season.
We’ll be back on August 6th if you would like to join us.
Hopkins 35+
Sunday, July 12th, 2009Rode to the race, raced the race, rode home.
Thanks to Ray for holding my phone while I was roding.
A nice, fast and safe group of gentlemen. Hard but fun race.
I attempted a few moves off the front to little productive avail during the race itself, maybe it will pay off later.
Hollywood was live on the mic and was killing it. He interviewed me following the race and asked about my helmet that mis-matched my CLO. I was wearing the Zdenek Stybar edition Genesis ’cause Stybar kicks ass. Hollywood then asked me about why I was racing like I had a bug up my ass (paraphrasing) and I said that I was training for cyclocross season. He then asked about Dewey and his late move bridging up to the leaders during the closing laps. “Should they have continued to work once Dewey caught up to them?”
Hells yea. My philosophy is that if you are in the break you put your head down and get to work. Keep the break alive even if you are going to finish last in the sprint. Why? Because finishing 3rd in a breakaway is better than finishing in the middle of the pack in a field sprint. That’s how I roll and my results back up my words…well, ride as I say, not as I ride.
I was sorry to hear about the carnage during the 1/2 race later today.
Massacre Rant
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009Last night was the final race of the State Fair criterium series and it was one for the true tuff riders. Rain and more rain. Plus the temps were kinda of on the cool side.
Ped and I decided to maximize the suffering and ride to the race. We had been riding to the previous events and it has been making for a great day of training. I have been ended up with 75-85 miles on the bike by the end of the evening.
If we had known what the weather was going to do we may not have ridden, but the rain did not start in earnest until Ped and I started to make our way over to Falcon Heights. Pouring rain and even some lightening and thunder made the commute to the race interesting, but upon arrival we were warmed up and ready to go.
Unfortunately we still had about 20 minutes before the race started and we both had the full blown shakes before our race started. It was warm enough that a half a dozen warm up laps got rid of the chills and we were set to go.
I was kinda hoping that the pace would be easy to start with. The Nature Valley Grand Prix just ended last Sunday and I thought that the fast guys would either be cooked from the racing or stay away from the rain. No such luck. The pace was blasting fast from the start.
The rain kept on coming, in fact it seemed to come down even harder throughout the race. Water was pooling in the road at various points on the course making things so wet that my brakes were almost totally useless.
The lack of braking ability does not have to be a problem if you are racing with accomplished cyclists, which was the case for the most part last night. The speed is high, but guys who have been racing for 15 or 20 years know how to approach a corner and take the turn at speed, usually making braking totally unnecessary. It’s fantastic, you line out and set up the turn, follow the wheel of the rider in front of you, come in and out of the apex with no change in speed and just keep the hammer down. Even with riders right next to you, if everyone knows what they are doing there should be no problems.
However, problems arise when you have individuals who don’t know what they are doing. They setup the turn wrong, come in off line, cut in front of riders at a different speed or a different approach line and generally and royally screw things up. The best case scenario is that they create a gap that has to be shut down once you come out of the turn. The worst case is that they actually ride into you.
There were some younger riders from a development team at the race last night who seem to be more interested in developing a reputation for their poor riding skills than developing into better riders. One of these guys actually knocked Ped off his bike last night. This followed repeated requests by Ped to pay attention to what was going on and make attempts to ride safer. This individuals response to Ped before the crash was to sass off about his riding skill and his response to Ped following the crash was an offer to fight it out right there on the road. This individual obviously had no clue regarding his lack of riding technique. Once he was put back into the race following his neutral lap I watching him continue to take bad lines through the corners and at one point cause three riders from the Synergy Team to take evasive action to avoid crashing into him following the chicane section of the course. This individual then bailed out of the race forcing me to shut down the gap that his actions caused.
I am all for development teams and working to get new riders into the sport. But a bike race is not a class room. We are out there to have fun and compete but most of us have job and families to get home to following the race. I can’t afford to be laid up for a week (or worse) because someone is way in over their head.
Copping an attitude about your lack of experience is just adding insult to injury. When I was learning the sport and some dude yelled at me to “hold my line” I was so intimidated that I would immediately drop to the back of the field, get the hell out of the way and try and figure out what I was doing wrong. The last thing I would think to do when someone barked at me in a race is to make derogatory comments about the dudes mom. WTF!? Being an accomplished cyclist is more than just being fit enough to ride around with the fast guys. If you can’t actually keep control of your bike then you should spend a bit less time “training” and a bit more time learning technique.
So anyhoo, the race split up into three groups and I found myself in the back group. No surprise there. At one point before the second split Timmer recognized what was happening and moved to the front. Timmer has been around long enough to read a race and I have been around long enough to know that Timmer knows what he is doing. I should have tried to get on his wheel went he moved up but I just sat there and watched him ride away. I’m not saying I could have gone with him, but it would have been more satisfying to try. Oh well. It’s fun racing with a guy like Timmer because, more often than not, he puts himself in the right place to be successful. Scott Flanders is like that too. These guys have been around so long and raced so many times that they have literally seen it all. If you can keep up with them it’s not a bad strategy to just ride around keeping track of these guys and just do what they do, if you can.
Following the “A” race there was another event before the “B” race. I was considering doubling up but following the end of the first race I started to cool down pretty quick so Ped and I decided to bail out and head home.
I got home just in time for my wife to hand me a can of Progresso soup and state “bon appetit!” I enjoyed chicken and wild rice with a side of Cheez-Its. Très bien and merci.
Fairgrounds
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009Much better this week.
We were back on the traditional course which meant no hairpin turn, no hill and no breaks.
In the A race there were some guys who went off the front, including Ped for a few laps, but they were brought back before the finish which ended up in a sprint that I think Timmer won. I was able to stay in the race full distance this week which really satisfies.
In the B race my legs felt cooked for the first 10 laps but then I came around to the point where they just felt “bad”.
Racing in the B race is a different experience from racing in the A race. More talking…things like “on your inside”. I never hear that in the A race.
Some people tell me that I am riding well. That’s nice to hear, but when I get gassed just getting to the front of the A race it does not feel like I am riding well at the time.
Maybe it’s just a matter of perspective.
Track Wrap Up
Friday, June 5th, 2009Oh boy, shelacked again.
It’s fun to ride at the velodrome where things are mostly predictable. Like Frye having problems with equipment, totally predictable.
I always ride up at the rail for 10 laps during my warm up. To this day I am still nervous about riding on that wall so I spend those laps riding at the top of the banking and get it over with. After that I am fine.
Scratch race, dropped. Miss and Out, out early. Points Race, stayed on lead lap which I was happy about. Took some good digs late in the race, good cyclocross training. I like it when there is a group or a rider 50-60 meters off the front. If I can make a little bit of progress bringing them back then I really try and dig deep and bring them all the way back. Satisfying, like a Snickers bar.
If it was up to me the race format would be a 20 lap race, a 40 lap race and then an 80 laps race. It takes me 20 laps just to get my legs turning.
TyTy, Ped and I stopped at Applebees for dinner where all the hard won gains towards fitness where lost in a bowl of mozzarella sticks.
I think white cycling shorts are faster than black cycling shorts.
Fairgrounds Massacre
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009Shoulder was pretty much fine for all the racing but got sore on the ride home. I get more pussified the more minutes I pedal.
I started the A Race, but I was not A Race material. Got dropped on the 2nd lap. But so did half the field. We rode around in the laughing group, but no one was laughing. Everyone was in the hurt locker (which is stored in a pain cave) like me. The group got smaller and smaller until we were about to be caught by the lead group and the officials pulled us out of the race. We went about 30 of the 60 minutes. Some were embarrassed and dejected to be out, not me. I rode 25 minutes more in that race than I did when I attempted it last year. There were some strong dudes in the laughing group but I am not going to name names. Let’s just say that something like 5 guys finished the race and everyone else was in the laughing group. At the start of the race the MC called me out as being “off the back.” For future reference, there is a difference between being “at the back” and “off the back”. I was not off the back until lap 2. Everyone please take note of this for future reference.
Ped and I agreed that we should stay towards the front of the B race to stay out of trouble and avoid gaps. We both got to the front by the 2nd lap or so. There were still lots of splits and gaps to close. But I felt good. Actually, to be honest, I felt as bad as I did in the A race but I was farther towards the front this time. I was in the lead group when we came around a laughing group who were obviously not aware that they were a laughing group. Instead of realizing that they were in a hurt locker (also stored in a pain cave) they decided that they were fresh and fast enough to jump onto the back of the lead group. Apparently, their bag of courage was empty and they weren’t fresh or fast enough to stay on the back of the lead group. Their inability to stay on the wheel in front of them caused more gaps to open which correspondingly made me sad. They could not close them and I ran out of energy trying to keep the gaps closed. I fought to get back to the leaders but it was a hopeless cause. I made some hurt locker/pain cave faces for a few laps and then I just rode around in the laughing group which pissed off Ped because he was ready to leave. I wanted to get my $$ worth which is still possible to due when riding in the laughing group. I wonder why the laughing group got pulled in the A race but not the B race? The Massacre on Machinery Hill was a mystery to me.
All in all, it was fun timez and well worth the money even though the course had to be edited due to road work and there was a hairpin corner. Some don’t care for hairpins, but I am not going to complain about racing at the Fairgrounds.
I heard some people make cheers for me, that was nice. The MC’s did a great job but they kept talking about me during the B race after I was off the back in the hurt locker. I never saw the devil or the angel. I think the angel was missing due to a dissolved relationship. The guitar ninja was super cool as usual. It’s awesome to hear live guitar during a bike race. It would be nice if someone would sing along some time, and have a tambourine. Registration was SUPER AWESOME! Perfectly executed without any assistance from anyone. The event was chip timed…I am not quite sure what that means to me however. Next week I am totally going to bring a zip tie and put my chip on my front fork like a PRO. Only slaps wear their chip on their sweaty cankle.
Once I got home I ate a turkey sandwich and some Cheez-It crackers…and a yogurt.
Note to individuals who choose to say hello to me over the next few weeks: I am always happy to speak with you but please do not touch my left arm or shoulder. Thanks.
