I'm trying to put together a schedule to finish out the year and there isn't that much to be had! Post a reply if anyone knows of any events within an hour or two of Dayton.
8-9 Greenville TT
8-12 Speedy Feet TT
8-15 Yellow Springs crit
8-17 Caesars creek ride
8-20 Blue Streak
8-23 My choice of 3 events AND a wedding!
8-24 Wright Ride (who wants to join me?)
8-30 Elves & More road race
9-6 Tour de Donut which I think I can easily win if I use my TT bike and I don't puke
9-7 Hancock Hundred?
9-13 Greenville TT
9-14 Monrovia TT
9-16 Speedy Feet TT
9-21 State RR championship
9-28 Mum Festival Tour (who wants to join me?)
10-11 Son of Godzulla (which I say I will do every year yet haven't done it yet)
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Cover model Rick
Saw this on the front page of our little news paper section. If anyone can get a hold of Rick to see if he wants the paper, I'll bring it next Wednesday.
To race promoters...
I'm typing this because I'm angry that I have to miss the Pur Tour this weekend. Of course, this post is written knowing that there are issues I don't know about and that are beyond my control, so it's half-hearted. On to it.
There are only so many weekends from May to September. You do the math, I'm not that bright and don't have a calendar in front of me. I start checking for races to fill my personal calendar early in the year, and update my list as more races get added. Checking Queen City Wheels website often to gather information about the Pur Tour, there was no date and information that there may not be a race this year. This was still the case maybe as soon as six to seven weeks ago. Now a while back I had to pick a weekend to head to Michigan to visit my in laws and this weekend had no races on the schedule. This was the only weekend I had available the whole summer, so I booked it. A couple weeks later, I find that the Pur Tour was now scheduled for the very weekend I am not here! Damn. I love this race for some reason. It certainly doesn't play to what little strength I have (the rise on the back side hurts x however many laps I have to do), but I still love it. Once I found out about the race date being set, it was too late to change plans. Last weekend was the important (for me) stage race and next weekend is the important (for me) Independent National Championship time trial.
That all being said, I know there are issues with putting on a race and things may have not been in place until late. Permits, volunteers, venue, conflicts with other races, etc, etc, etc, etc. Anyway, I hope it's good day with great weather for everyone. Sorry I'll miss it. Maybe next year.
********
On another note:
Constantly, I'm surfing the web for information about races. There are a few simple things I wish race coordinators would do on their websites.
-Map of the course
-Map that shows where a person could park and where registration is
-Google map link for driving direction purposes
-Toilet availability
-Water availability (gas station or whatnot)
Here is a fantastic example of a good "flyer"
There are only so many weekends from May to September. You do the math, I'm not that bright and don't have a calendar in front of me. I start checking for races to fill my personal calendar early in the year, and update my list as more races get added. Checking Queen City Wheels website often to gather information about the Pur Tour, there was no date and information that there may not be a race this year. This was still the case maybe as soon as six to seven weeks ago. Now a while back I had to pick a weekend to head to Michigan to visit my in laws and this weekend had no races on the schedule. This was the only weekend I had available the whole summer, so I booked it. A couple weeks later, I find that the Pur Tour was now scheduled for the very weekend I am not here! Damn. I love this race for some reason. It certainly doesn't play to what little strength I have (the rise on the back side hurts x however many laps I have to do), but I still love it. Once I found out about the race date being set, it was too late to change plans. Last weekend was the important (for me) stage race and next weekend is the important (for me) Independent National Championship time trial.
That all being said, I know there are issues with putting on a race and things may have not been in place until late. Permits, volunteers, venue, conflicts with other races, etc, etc, etc, etc. Anyway, I hope it's good day with great weather for everyone. Sorry I'll miss it. Maybe next year.
********
On another note:
Constantly, I'm surfing the web for information about races. There are a few simple things I wish race coordinators would do on their websites.
-Map of the course
-Map that shows where a person could park and where registration is
-Google map link for driving direction purposes
-Toilet availability
-Water availability (gas station or whatnot)
Here is a fantastic example of a good "flyer"
Monday, July 28, 2008
Pancake stage race TT & crit #24 & 25
There was quite a bit of confusion with the results from the road race due to the cameras not working. So what the officials had to do was make up the results as best they could. End result was that I was given 9th place points along with a dozen other riders.
Sunday, I got to registration early (I know that's a huge surprise, ha) to find out that the promoter had all sorts of problems the night before. Not only did has cameras not function, but the fuse in his laptop's power supply blew and couldn't find another power brick until early Sunday morning. That led to the time trial being delayed. I didn't know my starting position or time so I wanted to sit around the registration to make sure I didn't miss my time. Usually for a 12 mile tt, I want to warm up for 45-60 minutes. After all was said and done, I had about 5 minutes before I had to wait in a LONG que at the tt start. In a perfect world, I like to get to the start of a tt with my heart rate up. Well according to my power tap, my heart rate was 65 at the start! Within 50 seconds of the start it had ramped up to 182, where it should be for time trialling.
Everything was going great. I was averaging over 26 mph and cruising along until I hit a bad bump in the road and since I "ride on the rivet", the force of the bump caused my saddle to point down at a 45 degree angle. Shit. Luckily, I didn't crash as it sure scared the hell out of me. That happened at mile 8. I tried to pry it back up, and was somewhat successful but it would slip back down. The last 4.7 miles were wasted due to this. Pry, slide, pry, slide. Those final miles were horrible and I lost a ton of time. I actually felt it more in my arms than my legs due to trying to keep myself from falling off the seat. Those final 4.7 miles were around 21.8 average, making my overall average 23.7 well below what it should have been. I still finished 5th, but could have easily finished first had there not been issues.
A couple of hours later we had our crit. The course was 8 corners, but what made it bad was that 6 of them had either pot holes, manholes, busted pavement or a combination of all the above. Due to organizational issues, I had no idea where I stood in GC, but this course wasn't one that I felt real comfortable with. So I just sat in and that's about it. We averaged 23.5 in what felt like the slowest criterium ever. Finished easily with the field.
Guess what, camera issues again and point were handed out with everyone who finished outside of the top ten getting the same points. So basically, this omnium was almost a stage race, with bonus time (in points) based on placing. with everyone else getting "same time" points. That actually worked in my favor and led to my 6th overall placing.
Overall, I felt great and I owe this course something so it's definitely going to be on the calendar next year. Although I'm upset at the flat and the saddle issue, I'm happy with how everything else worked out. I was very aggressive in the road race, did as anticipated (for 67% of it) in the tt and hung on in the crit. Mechanical issues aside, the weekend turned out great so I can't be too whiny about it.
Sunday, I got to registration early (I know that's a huge surprise, ha) to find out that the promoter had all sorts of problems the night before. Not only did has cameras not function, but the fuse in his laptop's power supply blew and couldn't find another power brick until early Sunday morning. That led to the time trial being delayed. I didn't know my starting position or time so I wanted to sit around the registration to make sure I didn't miss my time. Usually for a 12 mile tt, I want to warm up for 45-60 minutes. After all was said and done, I had about 5 minutes before I had to wait in a LONG que at the tt start. In a perfect world, I like to get to the start of a tt with my heart rate up. Well according to my power tap, my heart rate was 65 at the start! Within 50 seconds of the start it had ramped up to 182, where it should be for time trialling.
Everything was going great. I was averaging over 26 mph and cruising along until I hit a bad bump in the road and since I "ride on the rivet", the force of the bump caused my saddle to point down at a 45 degree angle. Shit. Luckily, I didn't crash as it sure scared the hell out of me. That happened at mile 8. I tried to pry it back up, and was somewhat successful but it would slip back down. The last 4.7 miles were wasted due to this. Pry, slide, pry, slide. Those final miles were horrible and I lost a ton of time. I actually felt it more in my arms than my legs due to trying to keep myself from falling off the seat. Those final 4.7 miles were around 21.8 average, making my overall average 23.7 well below what it should have been. I still finished 5th, but could have easily finished first had there not been issues.
A couple of hours later we had our crit. The course was 8 corners, but what made it bad was that 6 of them had either pot holes, manholes, busted pavement or a combination of all the above. Due to organizational issues, I had no idea where I stood in GC, but this course wasn't one that I felt real comfortable with. So I just sat in and that's about it. We averaged 23.5 in what felt like the slowest criterium ever. Finished easily with the field.
Guess what, camera issues again and point were handed out with everyone who finished outside of the top ten getting the same points. So basically, this omnium was almost a stage race, with bonus time (in points) based on placing. with everyone else getting "same time" points. That actually worked in my favor and led to my 6th overall placing.
Overall, I felt great and I owe this course something so it's definitely going to be on the calendar next year. Although I'm upset at the flat and the saddle issue, I'm happy with how everything else worked out. I was very aggressive in the road race, did as anticipated (for 67% of it) in the tt and hung on in the crit. Mechanical issues aside, the weekend turned out great so I can't be too whiny about it.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
#23 Pancake stage race stage 1
I felt great today. My purpose was to try and tire some guys out so my team mate good get a good finish, but saving myself for a good position. At the line they added the 6 women to our race. No problem, two of them are on my team! The race was frustrating because only a handful of people wanted to work. One wheel sucker in particular sat second wheel quite a bit and would never pull through. Why sit THAT far up only to do nothing? Several times I rolled from 5-10th position up to the front and drilled it to keep the pace high. It worked somewhat as several people dropped out or dropped off from the group.
Then
40 miles into the 44 mile race, I flatted. Shit. Got picked up by sag and he drove me back to the start/finish line. I talked to the head referee and he was very fair and understanding about the whole thing. He is giving me the next place after the last place finisher. So that means I start first in the time trial tomorrow morning. The results weren't totally done when we left so I don't know exactly how many points I am behind. It will probably be too much to make up for a high GC placing. All I know is that I'm going all out in the time trial to save the weekend.
Then
40 miles into the 44 mile race, I flatted. Shit. Got picked up by sag and he drove me back to the start/finish line. I talked to the head referee and he was very fair and understanding about the whole thing. He is giving me the next place after the last place finisher. So that means I start first in the time trial tomorrow morning. The results weren't totally done when we left so I don't know exactly how many points I am behind. It will probably be too much to make up for a high GC placing. All I know is that I'm going all out in the time trial to save the weekend.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
...and an ass kicking I got...
So much of my ass was kicked that it made my calves hurt. I blew both calves out on Rudy and had to find the flattest route back home due to cramping. I've just not been able to pull it together on a Wednesday ride yet - those guys ride hard!
What was cool when I passed the group going the other way (I had my glasses off) and I thought it was just one solo rider. They were pulling such a good paceline that I couldn't tell that there were five riders. Nice!
What was cool when I passed the group going the other way (I had my glasses off) and I thought it was just one solo rider. They were pulling such a good paceline that I couldn't tell that there were five riders. Nice!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Rest week?
Due to the races and yesterday's hard 40 miler, I'm taking today, Thursday and Friday off. Of course, it's all subject to heavy revision. Wednesday's ride will be my final tune up (read: ass kicking) before the stage race this weekend. The Pancake stage race is this weekend just outside of Ft Wayne. Road race Saturday, time trial Sunday early and criterium later in the morning. It's billed as pancake flat. Nothing short of winning the time trial will do. This "stage race" is actually an omnium, where points are handed out instead of racing against the clock. That means having to sprint for placing so the races will no doubt end up with sprint finishes, with knuckleheads sprinting for 30th place. A Solo breakaway, no matter how far out front, is only worth 2 points more than the field sprint winner. That will keep the solo tries to minimum for everyone but probably me. I know I'll try it a few times. Just because.
Tour D'Burg #21 & #22
Sunday was the Tour D'Burg/State Criterium Championships in Miamisburg. The category 4 race was scheduled for 11am so I registered for that one first. Depending on how I felt after, I planned to sign up for the 35-44 race a couple of hours later.
I decided not to ride Saturday, making yet another change in plans. Well, actually I did ride about 3 miles total to the air show party and back home. But no training ride. Over the course of the last week or so, I've been feeling a little more tired every day due to cumulative fatigue.
43 official starters to the cat 4 race. At the line, they shortened it from 40 minutes to 30. The average ended up being 24.5mph over the crappy, semi technical course. We had only a couple of the patented cat 4 slowdowns. The one time it really slowed down, I rolled up to the front and took off. That lasted a lap of hanging out front before getting swallowed up. Things were going great until the last corner where two guys right in front of me locked handle bars. Amazingly, no one went down, but all speed was scrubbed for the back half of the pack, where I sadly was at the time. Rolled to the line with no sprint for 32nd place. Even though the bad placing, I'm still kind of satisfied with the finish.
The races were running late. There was supposed to be an hour break and a couple of other races between the cat 4 and masters race, and I had the suspicion that the hour break would be eliminated or shortened, therefore screwing with my rest and relaxation plans. Yep. I felt good enough after the cat 4 race to immediately register for the 35+. There was about 2 hours of rest time to suck down bottle after bottle of water in the shade (it was 94 degrees according to the local thermometer).
Was told that there were 25 starters to the 35-44 race. One team, that I've never seen before, with three riders attacked and countered early several times. Covering a couple, and trying my own thing, I lost my nut early. The group countered one too many times and I was shot out the back on the head wind back section. Spent the rest of the day in my own personal time trial hell, doing lap after lap on my own. Got passed by the 2 man break with 2 laps left and officially finished in 16th place. Not sure what happened to the 9 guys who were supposed to be behind me...? Maybe only 16 started, because I was dead last unless people dnf'd. I wouldn't blame anyone for dnf'ing on that day.
I decided not to ride Saturday, making yet another change in plans. Well, actually I did ride about 3 miles total to the air show party and back home. But no training ride. Over the course of the last week or so, I've been feeling a little more tired every day due to cumulative fatigue.
43 official starters to the cat 4 race. At the line, they shortened it from 40 minutes to 30. The average ended up being 24.5mph over the crappy, semi technical course. We had only a couple of the patented cat 4 slowdowns. The one time it really slowed down, I rolled up to the front and took off. That lasted a lap of hanging out front before getting swallowed up. Things were going great until the last corner where two guys right in front of me locked handle bars. Amazingly, no one went down, but all speed was scrubbed for the back half of the pack, where I sadly was at the time. Rolled to the line with no sprint for 32nd place. Even though the bad placing, I'm still kind of satisfied with the finish.
The races were running late. There was supposed to be an hour break and a couple of other races between the cat 4 and masters race, and I had the suspicion that the hour break would be eliminated or shortened, therefore screwing with my rest and relaxation plans. Yep. I felt good enough after the cat 4 race to immediately register for the 35+. There was about 2 hours of rest time to suck down bottle after bottle of water in the shade (it was 94 degrees according to the local thermometer).
Was told that there were 25 starters to the 35-44 race. One team, that I've never seen before, with three riders attacked and countered early several times. Covering a couple, and trying my own thing, I lost my nut early. The group countered one too many times and I was shot out the back on the head wind back section. Spent the rest of the day in my own personal time trial hell, doing lap after lap on my own. Got passed by the 2 man break with 2 laps left and officially finished in 16th place. Not sure what happened to the 9 guys who were supposed to be behind me...? Maybe only 16 started, because I was dead last unless people dnf'd. I wouldn't blame anyone for dnf'ing on that day.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Change of ideas
Original weekend plan:
Thursday - off
Friday - drive an hour for a one hour race and drive an hour home
Saturday - 45-60 minute race in Troy at 1:50pm
Sunday - Cat 4 crit & 35+ crit
Seeing as how it's been so nice out lately, it's going to be impossible to take today off. I'll be heading out soon for a couple hour ride. Net +2 hours minimum.
Instead of the Friday race, I'm going to do the new ride. Chances are, it's going to be harder than the crit anyway! With riding to the ride and riding home I will net at least +1.5 hours for the day. Total net 3.5 hours.
Saturday is the airshow and I'll probably go for an early ride then head to the yearly party that my cousin hosts. I may end up riding to Troy to watch the masters 40+ race at 11 for the heck of it. I'll probably net at least another +1.5 hours.
Sunday I'll race.
Subtracting two races, I'll net at least five more hours on the bike and save two hours driving over the weekend. Not to mention saving $60 on race fees. I like that idea considering I'm still planning to do the Pancake stage race near Ft Wayne next weekend and the only hotel close is over 100 bucks a night.
Thursday - off
Friday - drive an hour for a one hour race and drive an hour home
Saturday - 45-60 minute race in Troy at 1:50pm
Sunday - Cat 4 crit & 35+ crit
Seeing as how it's been so nice out lately, it's going to be impossible to take today off. I'll be heading out soon for a couple hour ride. Net +2 hours minimum.
Instead of the Friday race, I'm going to do the new ride. Chances are, it's going to be harder than the crit anyway! With riding to the ride and riding home I will net at least +1.5 hours for the day. Total net 3.5 hours.
Saturday is the airshow and I'll probably go for an early ride then head to the yearly party that my cousin hosts. I may end up riding to Troy to watch the masters 40+ race at 11 for the heck of it. I'll probably net at least another +1.5 hours.
Sunday I'll race.
Subtracting two races, I'll net at least five more hours on the bike and save two hours driving over the weekend. Not to mention saving $60 on race fees. I like that idea considering I'm still planning to do the Pancake stage race near Ft Wayne next weekend and the only hotel close is over 100 bucks a night.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Speedy Feet time trial #20
3 for 3! The route was extremely interesting due to river flooding. Although the water was down, there were tons of sticks and LOGS on the route. I got there early to get some extra riding in and took two practice laps over the 10k course. Luckily, after my 2nd run, Jeff the promoter cleaned the course with a snow shovel making it 1000% better for the actual race.
I felt very odd on the 'out' section. There was a head wind and I was rolling around 300 watts (about my limit for a 15 minute interval). The odd thing was that it felt extremely easy like I was floating. ? I had that sensation a couple of times when I was running a lot, I guess it's called a runner's high. Never had a cycling high. I didn't want to push it because I was going the speed I wanted at the power I wanted and was worried about blowing my nut too early. Due to the turnaround being on the tiniest section of bike path, I had to unclip, come to a complete stop and 3-point a 180 degree turn. That killed loads of time. Then I got back up to speed and had an uninteresting ride back to the finish.
I ended up first again, but only with a margin of one second. I was 7 seconds slower than last month, but with 10 more watts average. The course was 'just so slightly longer' than last month according to the power tap. Finished with my highest 15 minute wattage ever by 10 watts. That was nice.
Results:
http://www.speedy-feet.com/results/MRTTT_July15.htm
I hope to have another cycling high. Cruising around at 25mph with 300 watts and NOT feeling it was cool.
I felt very odd on the 'out' section. There was a head wind and I was rolling around 300 watts (about my limit for a 15 minute interval). The odd thing was that it felt extremely easy like I was floating. ? I had that sensation a couple of times when I was running a lot, I guess it's called a runner's high. Never had a cycling high. I didn't want to push it because I was going the speed I wanted at the power I wanted and was worried about blowing my nut too early. Due to the turnaround being on the tiniest section of bike path, I had to unclip, come to a complete stop and 3-point a 180 degree turn. That killed loads of time. Then I got back up to speed and had an uninteresting ride back to the finish.
I ended up first again, but only with a margin of one second. I was 7 seconds slower than last month, but with 10 more watts average. The course was 'just so slightly longer' than last month according to the power tap. Finished with my highest 15 minute wattage ever by 10 watts. That was nice.
Results:
http://www.speedy-feet.com/results/MRTTT_July15.htm
I hope to have another cycling high. Cruising around at 25mph with 300 watts and NOT feeling it was cool.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Colavita TT July #19
Leading into this time trial, I had a pretty hard week. Two races Sunday, hard ride Monday, TT practice Tuesday, Ramble on Wednesday. By Thursday I was dead, and struggled for an hour on the TT bike. On Friday I was feeling pretty good again and got out for a near three hour ride. Overall at the start of the day I felt pretty good and ready.
The weather was perfect, warm and humid. Due to me being my normal early self, I was first to start. That's fine with me in a short race. I do like having "rabbits" in long time trials, but for a 20k it's no big deal. There was just a slight headwind going out and really I couldn't have asked for better weather. My secret I alluded to a few posts ago, was whenever my speed slowed down due to a roller, I was going to stand up as opposed to trying to grind it out. I ended up doing that three times.
Last month, I ended with a time of 30:03, which beat my best time by 20 seconds. This month, I shaved another 36 seconds off my previous best with a time of 29:27 (time via powertap). I think my official time was 29:30. This month, however, my power was lower overall. I think that's due to last month's headwind.
My time was good enough for 3rd place in my age group. Jim Matson came over from Columbus and had a time in the 27's to win our division. Due to starting first, I missed the rain that some of the riders who started later had to deal with. That was nice.
Overall, I'm quite happy with my time. I still want to tweak my position and get some bike upgrades, but all that may have to wait. Well, at least the bike upgrades will have to wait!
Next up, Speedy Feet time trial this Tuesday, followed by a potential crit on Friday (in Wapakoneta), crit on Saturday (Troy Classic) and two crits next Sunday (state championship in Miamisburg). Looks like next week will be kind of hard as well.
The weather was perfect, warm and humid. Due to me being my normal early self, I was first to start. That's fine with me in a short race. I do like having "rabbits" in long time trials, but for a 20k it's no big deal. There was just a slight headwind going out and really I couldn't have asked for better weather. My secret I alluded to a few posts ago, was whenever my speed slowed down due to a roller, I was going to stand up as opposed to trying to grind it out. I ended up doing that three times.
Last month, I ended with a time of 30:03, which beat my best time by 20 seconds. This month, I shaved another 36 seconds off my previous best with a time of 29:27 (time via powertap). I think my official time was 29:30. This month, however, my power was lower overall. I think that's due to last month's headwind.
My time was good enough for 3rd place in my age group. Jim Matson came over from Columbus and had a time in the 27's to win our division. Due to starting first, I missed the rain that some of the riders who started later had to deal with. That was nice.
Overall, I'm quite happy with my time. I still want to tweak my position and get some bike upgrades, but all that may have to wait. Well, at least the bike upgrades will have to wait!
Next up, Speedy Feet time trial this Tuesday, followed by a potential crit on Friday (in Wapakoneta), crit on Saturday (Troy Classic) and two crits next Sunday (state championship in Miamisburg). Looks like next week will be kind of hard as well.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Team Dayton Criterium Classic cat 4 #18
Going into this, I had NO idea what I was in for. I haven't finished a non-master's race in forever, which led to my downgrading to cat 4. Sunday, there looked to be 30 or more cat 4's (I can't count that high) representing several teams. All I can say is that the difference between cat 4 and cat 3, based on this one race only, is HUGE.
Cat 3 attack: One guy takes off big and several follow, working hard to get a gap, then hold the gap. When it gets caught, more take off.
Cat 4 attack from yesterday: 4 pedal strokes from the GUY ON THE FRONT, then slow down. Then the field slows down as no one wants to come around Repeat with another guy a few minutes later.
Getting tired of that, I decided to launch during one of the slowdowns, because I didn't hit the brakes and rolled right to the front. So I took off. No one followed. So I hung out for a little and decided that I'm not going to be able to hold off the group for 30 minutes and integrated back into the field. I do that two more times in the race, but each attack being a little weaker. Still no play, as it seemed completely obvious that the pack wanted a sprint field finish. After the last try, I just stayed toward the back to let the field finish come.
All in all, I was pleased with my performance, because I didn't get dropped and I was able to be aggressive. It didn't feel like that fast of a race, but my powertap showed 24.8mph average for 49 minutes.
49 minutes
20.354 miles
239 watts
266 norm
179 hr ave
24.8 mph ave
Cat 3 attack: One guy takes off big and several follow, working hard to get a gap, then hold the gap. When it gets caught, more take off.
Cat 4 attack from yesterday: 4 pedal strokes from the GUY ON THE FRONT, then slow down. Then the field slows down as no one wants to come around Repeat with another guy a few minutes later.
Getting tired of that, I decided to launch during one of the slowdowns, because I didn't hit the brakes and rolled right to the front. So I took off. No one followed. So I hung out for a little and decided that I'm not going to be able to hold off the group for 30 minutes and integrated back into the field. I do that two more times in the race, but each attack being a little weaker. Still no play, as it seemed completely obvious that the pack wanted a sprint field finish. After the last try, I just stayed toward the back to let the field finish come.
All in all, I was pleased with my performance, because I didn't get dropped and I was able to be aggressive. It didn't feel like that fast of a race, but my powertap showed 24.8mph average for 49 minutes.
49 minutes
20.354 miles
239 watts
266 norm
179 hr ave
24.8 mph ave
Team Dayton Criterium Classic Masters #17
The first race for me Sunday was the 35+ master's. This is the 4th year in a row I've done this race and I think the most riders there has been was 12 or so. This was no different as 7 of us toed the line. The problem was that it was 6 Team Dayton guys and ME. Dan, Todd, Pete, Craig and two guys I don't know. I figured there would be at least a couple other non Dayton guys to work with but no such luck, so my plans changed immediately. I started out right on the front and worked hard for two laps to try and knock off a couple of guys. Only was able to knock off one. Then one by one I got attacked until a gap opened up that I couldn't close with Dan and unknown rider #1 up ahead. A lap or so later Pete, Todd and Unknown #2 took off and I couldn't close that gap. A few minutes later I was able to work my way back up to unknown #2 but he wasn't interested in working more than about 10% per lap. I figured he would just sit on and sprint around me for all of 5th place at the end.
I've been in this situation before, being well out of placing and dragging someone along with me who wouldn't pull. I'm not playing "match sprint" with anyone for 5th place. I at least want to get a good workout. At least at last year's Troy Classic, the wheel sucker had the maturity to roll up next to me on the final straight to tell me he wasn't going to be a jerk and sprint around me for 20th (or whatever) place after sucking my wheel for the last 20 minutes. I appreciated that. Well, after dragging #2 around for 90% of several laps and 100% of the last two laps, he sprinted around me and "won" 5th. Good for him.
35 minutes
13.543 mi
259 watts
274 norm
hr ave 180
23.1 mph
Time to rest up for the cat 4 race 3 hours later...
I've been in this situation before, being well out of placing and dragging someone along with me who wouldn't pull. I'm not playing "match sprint" with anyone for 5th place. I at least want to get a good workout. At least at last year's Troy Classic, the wheel sucker had the maturity to roll up next to me on the final straight to tell me he wasn't going to be a jerk and sprint around me for 20th (or whatever) place after sucking my wheel for the last 20 minutes. I appreciated that. Well, after dragging #2 around for 90% of several laps and 100% of the last two laps, he sprinted around me and "won" 5th. Good for him.
35 minutes
13.543 mi
259 watts
274 norm
hr ave 180
23.1 mph
Time to rest up for the cat 4 race 3 hours later...
Thursday, July 3, 2008
4 out of 6
Four of the last six rides it rained on me. It's July, cut that shit out.
Today, I thought the rain had finished for the day, and the sun was shining as I put my kit on. It went away as soon as I hit the road. 20 minutes later, sprinkles. I'm in Vandalia, so I hit 25-A to try and motor home before the downpour. No such luck. By the time I rode past the fire station, I could barely see the fire station. Quick (SLOOOOOOW because I don't want to slide) turn onto Old Springfield to take the safer, long way home via Canal Rd. Still a downpour. Canal to Evanston back home, hey, it's easing up. Pulled into the garage, wiped the bike down, turned around to see the sun again. Eat me.
Today, I thought the rain had finished for the day, and the sun was shining as I put my kit on. It went away as soon as I hit the road. 20 minutes later, sprinkles. I'm in Vandalia, so I hit 25-A to try and motor home before the downpour. No such luck. By the time I rode past the fire station, I could barely see the fire station. Quick (SLOOOOOOW because I don't want to slide) turn onto Old Springfield to take the safer, long way home via Canal Rd. Still a downpour. Canal to Evanston back home, hey, it's easing up. Pulled into the garage, wiped the bike down, turned around to see the sun again. Eat me.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
What's harder?
Geek time. I did the A race last night as there were only about 15 A's and 10 B's. Got dropped twice in 1:05. Felt really good at times, felt really bad at times. Tonight was the Ramble, as much of it as I could do (which wasn't much). What "felt" harder? Tonight was a smaller group than the crit, 5 vs 15. Tonight was also hotter and more windy and the course was more difficult, not to mention the talent level was higher. Of course, this being the back half of two hard days made things feel more difficult.
Calculating my 30 minute peak from both rides yields:
Ride Crit Ramble
time 30m 30m
dist 11.53 11.47
watts 248 252
norm 280 277
hr ave 169 173
mph 23.0 22.9
Subjectively, I felt ok after last night's race. I felt like absolute crap when I got dropped ON A FLAT SECTION tonight. Riding home was no picnic either. Speed was low but power was high as the entire trip home was into the 25+mph wind.
Hey, we got scolded by some lady tonight about where we were supposed to ride. Cute. I swear to people are lucky I wear my team jersey for almost every ride or I would be launching into tirade after tirade against them when they act like owners of the road. I was a good team member and kept my mouth shut and rode around her (as she sat idle in an intersection...?). Normally (99.9% of the time) traffic is great where I ride. Occasionally, I'll get the doofus on the cell phone that isn't paying attention, but generally, there's little problem. I don't care much about some senior citizen passing too close or someone almost turning into me, but seriously, keep your damn mouth to yourself especially when you have no idea about cycling and the law.
The good news is that it's been about two years since someone's yelled "GO LANCE" to me.
Calculating my 30 minute peak from both rides yields:
Ride Crit Ramble
time 30m 30m
dist 11.53 11.47
watts 248 252
norm 280 277
hr ave 169 173
mph 23.0 22.9
Subjectively, I felt ok after last night's race. I felt like absolute crap when I got dropped ON A FLAT SECTION tonight. Riding home was no picnic either. Speed was low but power was high as the entire trip home was into the 25+mph wind.
Hey, we got scolded by some lady tonight about where we were supposed to ride. Cute. I swear to
The good news is that it's been about two years since someone's yelled "GO LANCE" to me.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
July and it's only 74 degrees?
I want my global warming back. Maybe I should shut up, at least it's dry out there.
Tonight marks only the second time this year that I'll make the Tuesday trip to Harveysburg for the training crit. I need the practice as Team Dayton has their official event Sunday and I plan to race masters in the morning and category in the afternoon. That will be my first multiple race day since a road race & TT for summer solstice last year. Tonight though, I'll be hitting the B race for the first time in years. See how it goes.
After that race, it's a quick transition back to the time trial bike for the next Greenville time trial on the 12th, then another Eastwood time trial the following Tuesday. I have a training secret in the bag for the next time trial. We'll see if it works.
It's hard to believe it's already July! I haven't done half the races that I think I should have by now. Not sure that made sense. I know what I mean though. I did tick over 4,000 miles the other day, and that puts me ahead of last year's pace and just behind the two previous years prior. It doesn't look like I'll take any vacation for the rest of the year (my whole life is a vacation anyway) and I don't think there's any surgeries looming like the one that impacted the end of the season in 2007, so it looks like a good mileage year. Maybe we'll get the global warming back in October and November. That would be nice.
Tonight marks only the second time this year that I'll make the Tuesday trip to Harveysburg for the training crit. I need the practice as Team Dayton has their official event Sunday and I plan to race masters in the morning and category in the afternoon. That will be my first multiple race day since a road race & TT for summer solstice last year. Tonight though, I'll be hitting the B race for the first time in years. See how it goes.
After that race, it's a quick transition back to the time trial bike for the next Greenville time trial on the 12th, then another Eastwood time trial the following Tuesday. I have a training secret in the bag for the next time trial. We'll see if it works.
It's hard to believe it's already July! I haven't done half the races that I think I should have by now. Not sure that made sense. I know what I mean though. I did tick over 4,000 miles the other day, and that puts me ahead of last year's pace and just behind the two previous years prior. It doesn't look like I'll take any vacation for the rest of the year (my whole life is a vacation anyway) and I don't think there's any surgeries looming like the one that impacted the end of the season in 2007, so it looks like a good mileage year. Maybe we'll get the global warming back in October and November. That would be nice.
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