Late in the week I decided I would make the journey down to Raleigh, NC to race in the Wolfpack Classic. After a decent first season later year and getting my Cat 3 upgrade at the end of the season in time to do a couple end of season time trials as a 3 but no road races or crits, so this would be my first real race as a 3. I didnt know what to expect, let alone in a P/1/2/3 field. I had two other teammates there along with the Battley crew and this was my first time racing with any of them outside of the Haymarket rides this winter.
In the parking lot Jared mentioned he was going attack from the beginning, to get warmed up, loosen the field and to set a tone for the race. Well I guess since it was the first race of the season some people didnt take him too seriously. He went from the first lap, and stayed out the entire race, had about a 2 minute gap the entire time, it was amazing, the whole field which finally started picking up after the 3 lap chased him.
For me at the start of race I just sat in and tried to watch everything going on, not really racing but just trying not to get dropped yet. Another teammate Brian went off the front on the second lap as I started moving upward so I really didnt want to try to do anything that could catch him, but a couple other attacks brought him back after a lap or so.
Then somewhere along the second half of the third lap I found myself working my way to the front. With no other riders up except Jared, I decided to take a pull, not really attacking but as we approached a turn I set myself on a good line to hit the apex and hit it perfectly and accelerated. I kept my head down and just kept going. I looked back and it was just myself and two others with the field vanishing. We kept things neat for the next lap but the hard accelerations up the hill and recovering from bronchitis my breathing still wasnt right, felt like i just couldnt take deep breaths. After a final pull the two others began riding off. Shortly after that another chase group of about 4 or 5 including my teammate Brian caught up to me. After resting for a couple of minutes I began doing my rotations, and soon enough we caught the two guys I was with earlier. I put in some really hard efforts in hopes of Brian being able to stick with them and I knew I was on my way out but wanted to help him.
As I fell out of that group shortly after that I was caught by Chuck's group, no clue how many were in there but I tried hanging on, but they were really hammering the pace. I could eventually see them catch the group with Brian. At this point I had no idea where the rest of the peloton was, I was riding solo pretty much for the 3/4 of the race with short moments with chase groups. Then on the end of the 7th lap I was caught by the final group of the peloton. I hung with them for about half of the final lap but I was fried. Legs were hurting, I was burning up, during the race it warmed up about 15 - 20 degrees. I never gave up, I just kept low and going, hitting the apexes, as I strolled across the finish line I was releaved for the race to be over.
After catching up with some teammates I found out Jared solo'ed the entire race never getting caught and Chuck taking second, awesome job guys going 1 -2. In the end I was happy with my effort and glad I was actually able to contribute to the race in help breaking it up and getting some chase groups going.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Aero matters . . .
More so than weight?
Well I am in the process of finding that out. This past weekend while graced with some pleasantly nice weather I put some ideas to the test, maybe not the best idea to go out riding on carbon wheels with no water bottles or cages for a planned 3 - 3.5 hour ride getting back some time around sunset, but some times you have to say to hell with conventional wisdom and try some odd things first.
I went out to Marshall to start at the park and ride, not my usual Naked Mountain and Mount weather loop but decided to add another trip up Naked Mountain for a few extra feet, the total ride was 64 miles with 5400 ft of climbing.
As mentioned previously I stripped the water bottle cages off the AR1 and equipped it with my Willaims System 58 carbon clinchers. With no saddle bag I stuff my jersey pockets with tubes, tire levers, C02 and pop tarts. For hydration? Well I was trying a product I picked up earlier last week, the CamelBak RaceBak.
A former teammate previously recommended this product last summer more for a core cooling aspect as the body have been shown to have better performance with a cooler core than hot. Makes sense, and sure some pros have used them in TTs, I believe there are a few photos out there with some of the Garmin guys using them a few years ago. But how could it affect an average Joe?
Well without having a wind tunnel to really prove this it will be hard, in fact most likely impossible, there are just too many variables out there to test how much quicker a bike is with or without cages and water bottles. So I will have to rely on a somewhat basic measurement that can still have some variables but the location, power and starting speed can be controlled.
Basically it will be what max speed I can reach by going down Mount Weather. Saturdays top speed on the AR1 with the carbon wheels sans bottles and cages was 4 mph quicker than previously ridden times with my Caad9, a more traditional frame with Williams System 30x wheels.
Well I am in the process of finding that out. This past weekend while graced with some pleasantly nice weather I put some ideas to the test, maybe not the best idea to go out riding on carbon wheels with no water bottles or cages for a planned 3 - 3.5 hour ride getting back some time around sunset, but some times you have to say to hell with conventional wisdom and try some odd things first.
I went out to Marshall to start at the park and ride, not my usual Naked Mountain and Mount weather loop but decided to add another trip up Naked Mountain for a few extra feet, the total ride was 64 miles with 5400 ft of climbing.
As mentioned previously I stripped the water bottle cages off the AR1 and equipped it with my Willaims System 58 carbon clinchers. With no saddle bag I stuff my jersey pockets with tubes, tire levers, C02 and pop tarts. For hydration? Well I was trying a product I picked up earlier last week, the CamelBak RaceBak.
A former teammate previously recommended this product last summer more for a core cooling aspect as the body have been shown to have better performance with a cooler core than hot. Makes sense, and sure some pros have used them in TTs, I believe there are a few photos out there with some of the Garmin guys using them a few years ago. But how could it affect an average Joe?
Well without having a wind tunnel to really prove this it will be hard, in fact most likely impossible, there are just too many variables out there to test how much quicker a bike is with or without cages and water bottles. So I will have to rely on a somewhat basic measurement that can still have some variables but the location, power and starting speed can be controlled.
Basically it will be what max speed I can reach by going down Mount Weather. Saturdays top speed on the AR1 with the carbon wheels sans bottles and cages was 4 mph quicker than previously ridden times with my Caad9, a more traditional frame with Williams System 30x wheels.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
trying to get more aero
I have read some pretty informative posts on various forums, some studies done on aero wheels, frames, etc, and then the argument of weight comes into play.
Which is better aero or weight?
Well unless something happens and I can run into a ton of money in the next few months I doubt I will be able to go to a wind tunnel and test for myself so most of this post will be regurgitation of most of what I have read.
Something like 80% of the power needed to move a bicycle down a road is to overcome wind resistance. Is on the drops? on the hoods? or hands on the top of the bars?
Of course this is all relative to the speed at which you are going as well. I have heard / read that 14mph seems to be the magic number when aero benefits seem to start helping, and obviously the higher the speed the more beneficial they become.
I have also read that 40mm seems to be the number at which the depth of the rim starts to produce better aero dynamic benefits.
Any of this true, who knows, those are numbers I keep in my head though.
Having done triathlons for a season by bike racing I have browsed slowtwitch.com a lot and read many threads and posts about how to setup your bike and your position to be as aero as possible.
If getting more aero can result in a higher speed with equal or less power required why not? I eventually plan to start some tests before the up coming season experimenting with a couple different products, aero wheels, frame, replacing bottles with a hydration back (which will probably be the most controversial), and some other goodies.
Which is better aero or weight?
Well unless something happens and I can run into a ton of money in the next few months I doubt I will be able to go to a wind tunnel and test for myself so most of this post will be regurgitation of most of what I have read.
Something like 80% of the power needed to move a bicycle down a road is to overcome wind resistance. Is on the drops? on the hoods? or hands on the top of the bars?
Of course this is all relative to the speed at which you are going as well. I have heard / read that 14mph seems to be the magic number when aero benefits seem to start helping, and obviously the higher the speed the more beneficial they become.
I have also read that 40mm seems to be the number at which the depth of the rim starts to produce better aero dynamic benefits.
Any of this true, who knows, those are numbers I keep in my head though.
Having done triathlons for a season by bike racing I have browsed slowtwitch.com a lot and read many threads and posts about how to setup your bike and your position to be as aero as possible.
If getting more aero can result in a higher speed with equal or less power required why not? I eventually plan to start some tests before the up coming season experimenting with a couple different products, aero wheels, frame, replacing bottles with a hydration back (which will probably be the most controversial), and some other goodies.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Early spring classic
Well today was the first ride / race of the 2011 Winter Bile League put on by Jared Nieters of Haymarket Bicycle.
The weather before today was looking kind of iffy, but on the side of it should be a good ride, might start out cool roads maybe a little damp but other wise unseasonably warm. The last 3 or 4 days the temperatures have been in the low to mid 50s as the high, which is a sigh of relief because the first 25 days of December were spent well below the average temp.
Most of base season weekend riding has been with Chuck and Eli out west from Unison, lots of climbing, a few gravel roads, snow covered roads, and oh did I mention climbing, like over 50,000 feet for the month of December.
Last Spring I ventured out to Haymarket to do the Battle of Bull Run and was feeling great, but I got a little over confident on the dirt section and wiped out just after the winery with about 10 miles to go. Today was revenge on it.
As I was packing up the car I began to feel a few rain drops and quickly looked at the radar image on my phone. There was system headed right towards me in Fairfax, that was still sitting over top of Haymarket. I wasnt sure how many would show if the weather wasnt going to be as nice. I knew a few people that were planning mentioned they might ride else where if it was going to be raining because the potential cluster fuck with rain, dirt, gravel and people not racing in the past few months with handling skills.
As I got closer to Haymarket on 66 the rain picked up and I was thinking to myself, crap, why didnt I bring any of my damn rain gear. The temps was just under 50 and I was prepared for that at the least. So I knew getting warmed up was going to be an issue. The ride was suppose to start out rather mellow and then have a "race" points a long the way so everyone doesnt get dropped by the beasts.
As I arrived it was still raining some, a slight drizzle if you will. I got changed in the car, got the bike ready, signed my waiver and we headed out. I stayed near the front, saying hi to some new friends, and avoiding would could a near disaster given the conditions. There were a few points were I found myself up front and a few other people trying for a little break but we were always brought back.
Well at the last stop in Unison we headed out on a quick gravel road that I think scared some people off, then on to Snickersville Turn Pike, the road I love to hate. It is relentless with its rollers, but ridden properly it isnt that bad. Sprinting up every rollers and coasting down them is not the way to go. I took my time, we still had over an hour left and there was a group infront of me drilling it up every roller then coasting. After a few I was able to catch them just by doing tempo up the rollers and then pushing down hill. After the catching on to them and then slowly pulling away at the end of the pike we turned on to 50 as we had a brief stretch on here before the infamous gravel.
I entered the gravel alone, I could see some others catching up to me, and then would power up the hills and rest, I kept everything tempo. I was doing great, I had to keep telling myself dont get over confident. I passed the rock that caused me to crash last time. I spotted a black kit way up in the distance, as we got closer I could tell the rider was injured. I knew because I have been there before, he was showing favor to his left elbow and entire left side was covered in mud.
I saw it was Tim Rugg, and having just met a few months ago, been in a similar situation before I decided I will end my race there and make sure he got back ok. I was having a great ride, legs felt extremely well, not exhausted surprisingly but thought it was best.
Let me tell you what, even though he spent some time regaining some feel in his left side I was still getting in some good tempo work going up those hills. We ended up passing two other riders, getting passed by the SAG wagon and then passing the Haymarket Bikes Van sent out there. I still got it in some good work and had fun chatting, some parts that were missing the later half of the ride.
As we rolled into the parking lots absolutely filthy I was glad it was over. It wasnt as hard as the first time I did it, I felt like I did better, but the weather conditions made it seem like a spring classics race. Temps in the 40s, rain, wind, sand, gravel, dirt all over everything. Cant wait for the next one.
The weather before today was looking kind of iffy, but on the side of it should be a good ride, might start out cool roads maybe a little damp but other wise unseasonably warm. The last 3 or 4 days the temperatures have been in the low to mid 50s as the high, which is a sigh of relief because the first 25 days of December were spent well below the average temp.
Most of base season weekend riding has been with Chuck and Eli out west from Unison, lots of climbing, a few gravel roads, snow covered roads, and oh did I mention climbing, like over 50,000 feet for the month of December.
Last Spring I ventured out to Haymarket to do the Battle of Bull Run and was feeling great, but I got a little over confident on the dirt section and wiped out just after the winery with about 10 miles to go. Today was revenge on it.
As I was packing up the car I began to feel a few rain drops and quickly looked at the radar image on my phone. There was system headed right towards me in Fairfax, that was still sitting over top of Haymarket. I wasnt sure how many would show if the weather wasnt going to be as nice. I knew a few people that were planning mentioned they might ride else where if it was going to be raining because the potential cluster fuck with rain, dirt, gravel and people not racing in the past few months with handling skills.
As I got closer to Haymarket on 66 the rain picked up and I was thinking to myself, crap, why didnt I bring any of my damn rain gear. The temps was just under 50 and I was prepared for that at the least. So I knew getting warmed up was going to be an issue. The ride was suppose to start out rather mellow and then have a "race" points a long the way so everyone doesnt get dropped by the beasts.
As I arrived it was still raining some, a slight drizzle if you will. I got changed in the car, got the bike ready, signed my waiver and we headed out. I stayed near the front, saying hi to some new friends, and avoiding would could a near disaster given the conditions. There were a few points were I found myself up front and a few other people trying for a little break but we were always brought back.
Well at the last stop in Unison we headed out on a quick gravel road that I think scared some people off, then on to Snickersville Turn Pike, the road I love to hate. It is relentless with its rollers, but ridden properly it isnt that bad. Sprinting up every rollers and coasting down them is not the way to go. I took my time, we still had over an hour left and there was a group infront of me drilling it up every roller then coasting. After a few I was able to catch them just by doing tempo up the rollers and then pushing down hill. After the catching on to them and then slowly pulling away at the end of the pike we turned on to 50 as we had a brief stretch on here before the infamous gravel.
I entered the gravel alone, I could see some others catching up to me, and then would power up the hills and rest, I kept everything tempo. I was doing great, I had to keep telling myself dont get over confident. I passed the rock that caused me to crash last time. I spotted a black kit way up in the distance, as we got closer I could tell the rider was injured. I knew because I have been there before, he was showing favor to his left elbow and entire left side was covered in mud.
I saw it was Tim Rugg, and having just met a few months ago, been in a similar situation before I decided I will end my race there and make sure he got back ok. I was having a great ride, legs felt extremely well, not exhausted surprisingly but thought it was best.
Let me tell you what, even though he spent some time regaining some feel in his left side I was still getting in some good tempo work going up those hills. We ended up passing two other riders, getting passed by the SAG wagon and then passing the Haymarket Bikes Van sent out there. I still got it in some good work and had fun chatting, some parts that were missing the later half of the ride.
As we rolled into the parking lots absolutely filthy I was glad it was over. It wasnt as hard as the first time I did it, I felt like I did better, but the weather conditions made it seem like a spring classics race. Temps in the 40s, rain, wind, sand, gravel, dirt all over everything. Cant wait for the next one.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
2010 year in review. . .
Well I know most people tend to do their year in review towards the end of the year, I had no intentions of doing one but felt pretty bored and instead of spending time cleaning I figure I will type some.
Well for my first year racing it was certainly an experience to remember from riding with teammates when it was 17F and 35 mph winds, to training camp, first race, first victory, first upgrade, first crash, and the loads of friends I made during the year.
Much like most people in this area the year started out with tons of snow on the ground, barely any roads to get good training on. It was a long winter that seemed to never end. With starting my first year of racing I planned to stay pretty mellow and only do about 10 - 12 races, enough to get my feet wet, some experience and upgrade to Cat 4, but its amazing how quickly things can quickly change after one weekend.
After joining Evo in December I was told about training camp, it certainly sounded like a blast and made it a point to attend, but with all of the snow fall who knew how it was going to be in wild West Virginia. Well in late February after all of the trade zone training series races were canceled we headed out there for four days.
This was an experience in and of itself. Having never been on a team before this was awesome for me to do. Great roads to ride on, awesome climbing, awesome teammates and great food at the end of the day. After having a blast out there I changed my perspective that I would only do a few races this season, it went to full on. From that point on until May or June I raced just about every weekend, sometimes two in a day, three a weekend, or twice in a weekend.
The miles were adding up, along with the stress of it. I had to figure out how to let my body recover while still being able to get in some good training and racing. It was a delicate balance, but in the end I think the best thing was taking almost the entire month of July. It provided me a chance to just chill and ride on my own without being pressured.
In mid spring I met Chuck Hutch, I wrote about him earlier and I can't thank him enough for all of the knowledge he has shared and insight. In the last few months I have been doing a lot of riding with him, some of his teammates and some of my new teammates as I will be joining a different team that will be more in line with my goals and I hope to help out where I can.
The best advice I can give to person who is interested in starting racing, or is about to start their first season is to keep things into perspective. Balance your life with riding, keep it enjoyable, join a team, and most importantly keep the rubber side down.
Thank you to every one who I have met a long the way, the jokes, stories, scars, blood, and sweat were totally wort it.
Here's to 2011.
Well for my first year racing it was certainly an experience to remember from riding with teammates when it was 17F and 35 mph winds, to training camp, first race, first victory, first upgrade, first crash, and the loads of friends I made during the year.
Much like most people in this area the year started out with tons of snow on the ground, barely any roads to get good training on. It was a long winter that seemed to never end. With starting my first year of racing I planned to stay pretty mellow and only do about 10 - 12 races, enough to get my feet wet, some experience and upgrade to Cat 4, but its amazing how quickly things can quickly change after one weekend.
After joining Evo in December I was told about training camp, it certainly sounded like a blast and made it a point to attend, but with all of the snow fall who knew how it was going to be in wild West Virginia. Well in late February after all of the trade zone training series races were canceled we headed out there for four days.
This was an experience in and of itself. Having never been on a team before this was awesome for me to do. Great roads to ride on, awesome climbing, awesome teammates and great food at the end of the day. After having a blast out there I changed my perspective that I would only do a few races this season, it went to full on. From that point on until May or June I raced just about every weekend, sometimes two in a day, three a weekend, or twice in a weekend.
The miles were adding up, along with the stress of it. I had to figure out how to let my body recover while still being able to get in some good training and racing. It was a delicate balance, but in the end I think the best thing was taking almost the entire month of July. It provided me a chance to just chill and ride on my own without being pressured.
In mid spring I met Chuck Hutch, I wrote about him earlier and I can't thank him enough for all of the knowledge he has shared and insight. In the last few months I have been doing a lot of riding with him, some of his teammates and some of my new teammates as I will be joining a different team that will be more in line with my goals and I hope to help out where I can.
The best advice I can give to person who is interested in starting racing, or is about to start their first season is to keep things into perspective. Balance your life with riding, keep it enjoyable, join a team, and most importantly keep the rubber side down.
Thank you to every one who I have met a long the way, the jokes, stories, scars, blood, and sweat were totally wort it.
Here's to 2011.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Modifing a Magicshine bottle cover
I will write a more detailed review on the light in general in the next couple of days, but none the less this light has lived up to its hype and allows me to train in the early morning hours without costing an arm and leg.
One issue I had with the battery design was how the battery attached to the frame. I does come with a neoprene sleeve that has an elastic belt to wrap around your frame to keep it in place. Initially I placed the battery in the bottle cage on the down tube. It was out of the way and for the most part stayed in place, but I wanted something more secure and waterproof.
Having no idea if the battery if I received was one of the newer batteries that are waterproof I wanted to error on the side of caution and wanted a more form fitting battery placement. I saw some batteries sold on ebay already placed in a bottle, but after just purchasing this light I wanted to keep some costs down. So I decided to place the battery in an existing bottle I had laying around.
So this morning I pushed the battery with the battery cover into the bottle. I left the battery cover on because it would provide some cushion and shock resistance and keep the battery in place as the battery itself wouldn't fit properly inside of the bottle. So with the battery in the bottle is was a very nice snug fit.
Next I broke out the dremel and cut the mouth piece off the bottle top and widened it to allow for the female connector to fit just right in the hole. Next I will glue the female connector to the bottle top to make the seal complete and keep it in place. I ran out of gorilla glue so I will pick up some later today to complete the project.
All in all it took about 10 minutes to this including taking some photos of the almost complete bottle.
One issue I had with the battery design was how the battery attached to the frame. I does come with a neoprene sleeve that has an elastic belt to wrap around your frame to keep it in place. Initially I placed the battery in the bottle cage on the down tube. It was out of the way and for the most part stayed in place, but I wanted something more secure and waterproof.
Having no idea if the battery if I received was one of the newer batteries that are waterproof I wanted to error on the side of caution and wanted a more form fitting battery placement. I saw some batteries sold on ebay already placed in a bottle, but after just purchasing this light I wanted to keep some costs down. So I decided to place the battery in an existing bottle I had laying around.
So this morning I pushed the battery with the battery cover into the bottle. I left the battery cover on because it would provide some cushion and shock resistance and keep the battery in place as the battery itself wouldn't fit properly inside of the bottle. So with the battery in the bottle is was a very nice snug fit.
Next I broke out the dremel and cut the mouth piece off the bottle top and widened it to allow for the female connector to fit just right in the hole. Next I will glue the female connector to the bottle top to make the seal complete and keep it in place. I ran out of gorilla glue so I will pick up some later today to complete the project.
All in all it took about 10 minutes to this including taking some photos of the almost complete bottle.
Now that the season is over ...
... and I enjoy writing I figure I will start to review some products I use to pass on to other cyclists, what works, what doesnt and what is mediocre.
I may not be the absolute best reviewer but I will do my best, I put all of my gear through its paces. I commute to work year round through rain, sleet and snow if my son's school stays open.
I use all sorts of cold weather gear to make this possible, fleece lined, thermal, wind protection, waterproof, all sorts of gloves since I suffer from Raynaud's syndrome or disease but not to the point that my fingers turn blue, just discoloration.
I may not be the absolute best reviewer but I will do my best, I put all of my gear through its paces. I commute to work year round through rain, sleet and snow if my son's school stays open.
I use all sorts of cold weather gear to make this possible, fleece lined, thermal, wind protection, waterproof, all sorts of gloves since I suffer from Raynaud's syndrome or disease but not to the point that my fingers turn blue, just discoloration.
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