A teammate sent me info on this race back in July, when I was in my mid-summer slump, i mean break. Not really feeling it especially after a lack luster showing at Brownstown I sort of dismissed it and was looking at doing Tour of Millersburg instead, since it had a TT, crit and road race.
But the more and more I looked at the elevation, distance, etc. I began to see the light. This was designed for my type of riding style, long climbs, two of them, rollers in between and nearly 60 miles to boot.
Just a forewarning this is probably going to be long, how long not sure but here is an abbreviated cliff notes version
c/n
Started dead last, let them pull, got to the first major climb, caught the 3 leaders and descended past them. thought i would get caught, but they let me go. I was solo for the next 1:25, or pretty much the rest of the race. got caught on the last climb and passed by matthew phillips of haymarket. I caught and passed in the descent doing some crazy speeds, being a junior his gearing was limited and drafted me. I had nothing left the for the sprint finish, and got second.
Real Version:
Ever since I was a young adult entering the military I always wanted to learn from my elders, and be sponge trying to absorb as many life lessons as possible. This eventually has passed on to just about everything I do in my life. From my job, being a father, husband, and now a cyclist. Many people before me have gone the exact same route, or if not, very similar so why not take a minute pick their brain and listen to what they have to pass on that could possibly make your journey better, faster and smoother.
Ever since I joined the team I have tried to learn as much about cycling as possible through other team members and racers. This was especially key at training camp. I remember one evening during one of lecture sessions that Bill gave on climbing, and he mentioned being able to carry the power through for the descent, that has always stuck in my head, especially since I enjoy climbing so much. So if you can get a lead or catch people on a climb, why sacrifice all that work, continue to push and work harder as others generally rest.
Another lesson learned was reconning the course. This worked well for the last day of training camp as we rode out to the start Luis and I paid close attention to the very roads we would be finishing up the final ride on. I also had the chance to do this quite a few times during the season to drive over the course to get a feeling of what to expect, and oddly enough the ones I have done it on I seemed to do well at.
I also like a little function on my Garmin 705 that I have found to be very handy. The course display. David Millar of Garming / Transitions once said he favorite thing about the Garmin 705 was the ability to have the course displayed on his TT bars so he knew where he was going and knew all of the turns ahead of time. Ever since I was directed off course in a road race in PA, I have since mapped out the course on www.ridewithgps.com and then transfer the map on to my Garmin. It works great in time trials, or when you have been dropped by the pack and you need to know your way back to the car.
Onto today.
The course: 59 miles, 5000ft of climbing i think or close to it.
I am a planner, and if a race is 3.5 hours away I like to have as much of the details worked out as possible as early as I can. I had the car packed up last night, and my plan was to leave the house at 6am, get to course early enough to drive the 59 miles and see exactly what was in store for us. Driving the course it started pouring rain, and with the roads in WV and descents we were going to have to do this had the potential to be very dangerous. I made some notes talking to myself, noted when the climbs start, when they ended, lots of rollers, the feed zone, the gravel, to rough spots, etc. To me it was a valuable experience and it paid its dividends.
I reg'ed got the bike ready as it started to rain on the start area, it took a lot of people by surprise but I knew it was coming. I took my time and got the bike to make sure everything was working properly, and then on my way to the start area.
As we lined up I noticed that there werent that many people there with their teams, a lot of individuals, in the past this usually means no one will let a break form. They will chase everything down, but it also means the pace can be higher as well because everyone wants the win. And sure enough after the whistle blew we set off at a pretty high pace. My stroll on the bike earlier wasnt enough to be considered warmed up by any means, and soon enough I found myself in the back. Not dropped off the back yet. . . but the last rider still with the group. But with slick roads and braking surfaces I was able to see how the field would play out. But I was comfortable doing my pace, I knew I needed to warm up and hell we had 59 miles to go, but some was insistent on hammering away, and I let them. I stayed in the draft, not once taking a single pull.
As the risers approached and we went over them I took them at a modest pace, Z3 for me, they werent long and some had some descents afterward that ground could be made up if there was a gap. But other insisted on sprinting up them. Of course these risers were before the first major climb which was about 7 miles long and over 1200ft of gain. Our group began shrinking rather quickly. I am not sure what mile or how long into the race we started the first climb but it was definitely a fitness selector. A grade similar to that of Mount Weather from Rt 50 up to the bridge, I just sat in. Floating between Z3 and 4 in power, I took my time, nothing to prove here, plenty of race left. But as we got further up the fewer were with us, maybe ten tops, with three or four of them being about 20 meters in front. I kept my eye on them watching to see if they would just pull away.
Well as they crested the top I knew the descent was going to be pretty technical, and luckly the rain had stopped and these roads were getting dry. Now this is a tough course, the toughest I have ever ridden, let alone raced. For a break to go off at about 1:20 into the race that could be up to 3 hours, the odds of that surviving were slim, especially with most Cat 4 racers fitness levels. I was hoping that maybe we could get a group of 5 of us to pull away. By that time we had a good gap on the rest of the field. Well I dropped two gears and accelerated to catch these guys so we could work together.
Now most of the time getting Cat 4s to work together in a break is about as useful as nailing jello to a tree, it just isnt going to happen, especially if some or most of them are riding unattached they just dont understand the concept of it yet. But as the events that unfolded right now I didnt think were ever going to happen. There is something to be said about being a great climber, hell always KOM points, but what good is that if we have so few hill top finishes, without being a better descender.
I am not sure how this happened, but it did and well I couldnt believe my eyes. As I accelerated up the front three or four guys, I just flew right by them. Not planning this one bit it just happened. This descent had some turns, a couple wet spots, similar to descending Blue Mountain or parts of Naked Mountain, nothing too crazy. I couldnt believe I just got as low as I could and pulled away. They never chased.
This descent was about 8 or 9 miles, it was fun, and going solo was even more so, no one to worry about screwing up you line, no one to brake for, for all the right reasons you. In disbelief I kept as low as I could doing what I do. I thought for sure any second now they would work to pull me back. But as we turned on to another road nothing. I knew I had some rollers coming up, there was nothing flat about this race by any means, you were either going up or down at any point. I kept my position low and just TT'ed, had lots of practice with last weekends unfortunate events, but none the less I have had plenty of time to perfect it.
Hill after hill I was take at a steady pace keeping mind what my friend Chuck Hutchenson had told me about breakaways. Dont kill the uphills, save it for the flats and descents, becuase the group will try to make up group sprinting up hills and have nothing left for the rest. Turns out he was pretty much correct.
I started passing dropped 1,2,3 riders, looking at my map for the up coming turns and every now and then peaking back. The final 20 miles or so were the hardest, probably some of the hardest miles I have ever ridden on a bike. The final climb peaked 7.6 miles from the finish, it was a shorter climb, only 3 or 4 miles of really climbing but there was a long nagging ascent to the climb.
I started getting tired, but still focused on my pace, the moto ref told me they were 1:15 back. I had no idea if that was closing or not because I never saw the moto ref before that point. But I kept going started the final climb at a good tempo. The as the pitch got higher I could see some riders bridging up to me. I just kept my pace, hoping they would blow up. Most did, but about 1.5 miles from the summit Matthew Phillips caught me and passed me like I was standing still. This kid was hauling, no one else though. He was gone before I knew it, but I also knew that he didnt take many risks descending, so if he doesnt gap me too much I had a shot at catching him.
Well the misery ended, by the time I got to the top I experienced something I had never had before, actual muscle cramping. My left hamstring and right calve were cramping some kind of bad. That made climbing even more fun, but I had to push through the pain and keep spinning. For the first time on that climb I dropped it into my 39 and had to spin. As the descent began I still had to keep pedaling as my legs would cramp if I didnt.
Now I have done some pretty stupid things on my bike before, most of which I wont admit in an open forum but some of the risks on the descent today definitely tops some of them. I left it all on the line. I had almost no gas left what so ever. I was exhausted, at this point I had been riding solo, strike that, racing solo for nearing one hour and fifteen minutes. My only saving grace was being able to descend like an angel from heaven. Climb like a bat out of hell and descend like an angel, the best of both worlds.
This descent was the most technical I had ever done before. It made the hairpins on 211 near Skyline Drive stroll in around the block. This had complex hairpains after hairpins, some banked, switching from being on the outside to the inside. Honestly it is pretty indescribable, but to me I had nothing to loose. I began catching Matthew, and eventually made the catch. As I rode by, he yelled something, I had no idea what it was.
After the descent we had about 2 miles or so before we finished, still some rollers. As we were going he was just sitting on my wheel and I couldnt figure out why. He then spins up to me and says he is limited by junior gearing. Well shit if I didnt pull on the descents third place, which was about 25 meters behind me at the start of the descent, no clue now, was going to catch us.
Well we made our final turn, and I was still hammering it making sure we didnt get caught, as I saw the 1K spray painted on the road, and began looking for the 200m sign, I thought to myself this is going to be longest 1k ever. I eventually saw the 200m, we got up to sprint, well attempted to. As soon as I tried anything like that my legs just cramped up and I had to sit back down, as Matthew edged me out in the final meters for first.
I am not mad, it would have been nice to win, but I feel by being out as long as I was that in of itself was an accomplishment to me. Being able to have the internal fortitude to keep pushing yourself even when you know that the odds of it lasting are slim to none.
Two weeks ago on a ride with Chuck I told him something I believe in. That if you push yourself and try as hard as you can, you will be rewarded, it has happened to me many of times in races, my best races are when I have to dig deep to really give it 100%. To which Chuck responded in a mellow tone, some times your only reward is sore legs. Oddly enough he is right. After last weekend when I was bumped, edged, pushed or what ever off the road and had to chase back the entire race, racing pretty much solo, and finishing 27th. I got nothing but a pair of sore legs. But today, heh today I got the points to upgrade to Cat 3.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Page Valley Road Race
I was coming into this race pretty excited. I have been planning for a late Summer peak for the Church Creek and Stoney Creek time trials. With this being the state championship road race I knew there was going to be quite a bit of competition there as well, and keeping an eye on pre-reg it filled up quickly towards the end with riders from all over the state.
A few days before the race I rode with a friend who made mention that the course isnt setup to be a climbers course, even though the elevation profile lends its self to show that, it is actually a very fast course. Although I didnt know what to expect with a bunch of Cat 4, there was obviously going to be a fitness selection the first couple times up the hills and with 90 riders registered it was surely going to be interesting.
I did note that Paul Low, same fellow that won Blacksburg Road Race was there and I was
interested in getting something to work with him since I know he is a powerhouse. So I made sure to talk to him along with Matt Davis as well. Evo had a few guys there, both Luis', Colin, Brian and myself, so I talked to them and let them know that I am feeling good and want to do well this race.
I was pretty familiar with the terrain as I do a ride out there that starts in Luray and works its way over to Stanley on some of these very same roads over to Tanner's Ridge Rd. and I knew the first few miles were going to be quick as they are relatively flat and with a tail wind the group could go fast, I let my teammates know that and hopefully the pace will be quick from the go.
For the warm up I take Luis over near Tanner's Ridge, forget the name of the road we were on but showed him the local slaughter road to go on when you need to be humbled. After a quick spin we head back to the start to line up. A few words from the town mayor and away we go.
A few turns to get on the course and pace stays relatively mellow. We make it to the first climb and I believe at the point Paul goes off the front, a few riders go with him, but we can keep him in our sites. Being Cat 4s no one wants a break to happen so the pace picks up. I am not too concerned because we still had 40+ miles of racing to go. As the group sprinted up these climbs they quickly wore themselves out and this is where the fitness selection began to happen.
Just past the finish line there was a slight descent to one final kicker, just quick enough to add some pain, and then a nice descent with sharp right hander. Now this is where I was able to catch back up to Paul and just coasted. I tried to do as little leading as possible as most of the competitive riders were all together, no sense in burning my self out if all they are going to do is just sit in.
As we go up the climb the second or third time, cant remember, a few riders go off the front again. The pack accelerates to try and catch them, this was the first of the two climbs i suppose, longer, aerobic effort so I am in my steady pace, riders start going up around me and i get boxed in on the right, still in the top 10 of the main group some a rider on my left gets closer and closer. At this point there is very little room for me. With some people tiring themselves out the rider in front of starts slowing, being boxed in I had nowhere to go. My front wheel goes off in what was probably the only stretch of road on the entire course that did not have a level shoulder, there was a couple inch drop in to gravel. I wasnt able to pop my wheel back on the road and fell to my left. Unfortunately I landed on another rider, Chris Larson of Synfit. I have heard of him from many teammates but never had the pleasure of meeting him and unfortunately it was under these circumstances. I was uninjured although my shoe was stuck in my wheel and I had to get out so I could stand up.
As soon as I do so, I noticed his chain with off, so I help put it back on as it was easier for me to do, and away he goes. I go to hop on my bike and try to pedal but alas my chain was off too. I put it back on away I go. The next few laps were a lesson of internal fortitude and how hard i can push myself. I caught up to Chris and we began to work together along the flat parts of the course, taking turns pulling but at one point I get side stitches and just cant keep pace. I have to slow down and he pulls away. I worked through the cramps and kept pushing away, I was able to take the hills at my pace, but I knew that wasnt going to be good enough with Paul most likely leading the race up them. So I also tried to make up as much ground on the descents as I could.
Every now and then I would catch a dropped rider and would try to work with them until they would have nothing left. The start of the last lap I could start seeing the wheel truck at almost every turn. I couldnt believe I could be catching on. I kept plugging away and trying to stay as low as possible and pedaling efficiently. It was getting closer and closer. At the start of the final climbs I start passing more and more dropped riders I was getting closer, but my time was running out. In the final 500 meters I caught the wheel truck and ref, and managed a 27th place finish.
Its funny a few days prior a friend told me sometime your only reward for a hard effort can be just a pair of sore legs, he was certainly true with that statement. I was shot at the end of that race, the heat, the effort, the dehydration, completely done. The ride back to the car was painful, but I never gave up and I kept pushing, thinking in the end this is one hell of a training ride, if you have the open road might as well use it right?
A few days before the race I rode with a friend who made mention that the course isnt setup to be a climbers course, even though the elevation profile lends its self to show that, it is actually a very fast course. Although I didnt know what to expect with a bunch of Cat 4, there was obviously going to be a fitness selection the first couple times up the hills and with 90 riders registered it was surely going to be interesting.
I did note that Paul Low, same fellow that won Blacksburg Road Race was there and I was
interested in getting something to work with him since I know he is a powerhouse. So I made sure to talk to him along with Matt Davis as well. Evo had a few guys there, both Luis', Colin, Brian and myself, so I talked to them and let them know that I am feeling good and want to do well this race.
I was pretty familiar with the terrain as I do a ride out there that starts in Luray and works its way over to Stanley on some of these very same roads over to Tanner's Ridge Rd. and I knew the first few miles were going to be quick as they are relatively flat and with a tail wind the group could go fast, I let my teammates know that and hopefully the pace will be quick from the go.
For the warm up I take Luis over near Tanner's Ridge, forget the name of the road we were on but showed him the local slaughter road to go on when you need to be humbled. After a quick spin we head back to the start to line up. A few words from the town mayor and away we go.
A few turns to get on the course and pace stays relatively mellow. We make it to the first climb and I believe at the point Paul goes off the front, a few riders go with him, but we can keep him in our sites. Being Cat 4s no one wants a break to happen so the pace picks up. I am not too concerned because we still had 40+ miles of racing to go. As the group sprinted up these climbs they quickly wore themselves out and this is where the fitness selection began to happen.
Just past the finish line there was a slight descent to one final kicker, just quick enough to add some pain, and then a nice descent with sharp right hander. Now this is where I was able to catch back up to Paul and just coasted. I tried to do as little leading as possible as most of the competitive riders were all together, no sense in burning my self out if all they are going to do is just sit in.
As we go up the climb the second or third time, cant remember, a few riders go off the front again. The pack accelerates to try and catch them, this was the first of the two climbs i suppose, longer, aerobic effort so I am in my steady pace, riders start going up around me and i get boxed in on the right, still in the top 10 of the main group some a rider on my left gets closer and closer. At this point there is very little room for me. With some people tiring themselves out the rider in front of starts slowing, being boxed in I had nowhere to go. My front wheel goes off in what was probably the only stretch of road on the entire course that did not have a level shoulder, there was a couple inch drop in to gravel. I wasnt able to pop my wheel back on the road and fell to my left. Unfortunately I landed on another rider, Chris Larson of Synfit. I have heard of him from many teammates but never had the pleasure of meeting him and unfortunately it was under these circumstances. I was uninjured although my shoe was stuck in my wheel and I had to get out so I could stand up.
As soon as I do so, I noticed his chain with off, so I help put it back on as it was easier for me to do, and away he goes. I go to hop on my bike and try to pedal but alas my chain was off too. I put it back on away I go. The next few laps were a lesson of internal fortitude and how hard i can push myself. I caught up to Chris and we began to work together along the flat parts of the course, taking turns pulling but at one point I get side stitches and just cant keep pace. I have to slow down and he pulls away. I worked through the cramps and kept pushing away, I was able to take the hills at my pace, but I knew that wasnt going to be good enough with Paul most likely leading the race up them. So I also tried to make up as much ground on the descents as I could.
Every now and then I would catch a dropped rider and would try to work with them until they would have nothing left. The start of the last lap I could start seeing the wheel truck at almost every turn. I couldnt believe I could be catching on. I kept plugging away and trying to stay as low as possible and pedaling efficiently. It was getting closer and closer. At the start of the final climbs I start passing more and more dropped riders I was getting closer, but my time was running out. In the final 500 meters I caught the wheel truck and ref, and managed a 27th place finish.
Its funny a few days prior a friend told me sometime your only reward for a hard effort can be just a pair of sore legs, he was certainly true with that statement. I was shot at the end of that race, the heat, the effort, the dehydration, completely done. The ride back to the car was painful, but I never gave up and I kept pushing, thinking in the end this is one hell of a training ride, if you have the open road might as well use it right?
With my upgrade approved I will now resume blog entries. .
I wanted to hold off on blog entries until my upgrade was approved. The last month of racing has been quite exciting but painful in the same respect.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Blacksburg Omnium the road race
What the whole weekend was building up to.
With temperatures approaching 95F at the start at 12:15 this was surely going to be a race of attrition, even more so for the Cat 4s who dont usually race these distances, well majority of the cat 4 races i have done werent this far. But in preparation for other events i have been focusing on my maintaining power outages for up to 3 hours for events like this.
A lot of people thought this was going to be a 45 miles group ride followed by a 4 mile hill climb, I on the other hand had a different opinion. Everyone knew about the 4 mile climb at the end, but not many people were aware of the 3.5 - 4 mile climb that started around mile 7 or so and went up close to 600 ft. It wasnt a long steady climb versus lots of pitches some longer parts but rolling up wards and then a great descent.
And if the crit was going to be any indication of how the race was going to be, it was going to be who can hang on for the longest. The Cat 4 race was combined with the 50/60 guys making the field a good size, but also I had quite a few masters teammates in there and moved up to the front of the start to stay near them.
The whistle went off and away we were. The pace was quick, I know we had a tail wind but damn. Quite a few Cat 4s made their way to the front and started hammering. They just kept going aand the masters guys were going to let them do all of the work until the eliminated themselves.
Which was completely the case, one we start hitting the rollers it was like some one set a bomb off in the group, people were just falling off everywhere. By the time we finished the climb there were maybe 20 -25 of us and I just sat in. There was a 3 man break up the road, which I thought were masters guys but turns out in the end it was just two and one was a cat 4, who got second place.
By the second and third lap there were maybe 10 -15 of us, we kept the pace cordial there were some attacks to try and catch the break but then there were times going up the hills we just took our time. I spent some time up front just trying to keep the pace, there were a couple cat 4s who would try and hammer it which I knew many wanted to hurry up and get to the climb but at the risk of tiring themselves out.
As we me made the right to start the climb I hear "EVO" and go to grab a bottle, but it slipped out of my hands. I was so pissed. I felt how cold it was on my fingers and needed it badly. But i did have about a quarter of a bottle in reserve for just in case. Then as we made the left to really start the climb it was like who ever was in our group just kind of blew up. Just taking their time. There was a small break on the third lap with two cat 4s, one Paul Low I think went on the catch the previous cat 4 i the first break and won. but the other I caught quite quickly. The climb wasnt that bad as I suppose I didnt push my self too hard as I knew I wasnt going to catch the guys upfront once I saw all of the numbers being the 600 series (masters) there was no reason to kill myself. I passed 4 or so and one stayed with me until the final hair pin. I was sure glad to have my 28 that i bought from a teammate last month as I was able to just spin.
As I crested the top they decided to put the finish just after the crest so all i had to was roll down. After talking with the other finishers at the top I was third. Luckily Paul Low had some one up there with water and was very happy to share, many thanks as it was much appreciated.
After a few minutes of rest I headed back down, man what an amazing descent, really it made the whole climb worth it and topped off the weekend.
After waiting a couple hours for the results, I confirmed I was third in the road race. All in all it was an amazing weekend.
With temperatures approaching 95F at the start at 12:15 this was surely going to be a race of attrition, even more so for the Cat 4s who dont usually race these distances, well majority of the cat 4 races i have done werent this far. But in preparation for other events i have been focusing on my maintaining power outages for up to 3 hours for events like this.
A lot of people thought this was going to be a 45 miles group ride followed by a 4 mile hill climb, I on the other hand had a different opinion. Everyone knew about the 4 mile climb at the end, but not many people were aware of the 3.5 - 4 mile climb that started around mile 7 or so and went up close to 600 ft. It wasnt a long steady climb versus lots of pitches some longer parts but rolling up wards and then a great descent.
And if the crit was going to be any indication of how the race was going to be, it was going to be who can hang on for the longest. The Cat 4 race was combined with the 50/60 guys making the field a good size, but also I had quite a few masters teammates in there and moved up to the front of the start to stay near them.
The whistle went off and away we were. The pace was quick, I know we had a tail wind but damn. Quite a few Cat 4s made their way to the front and started hammering. They just kept going aand the masters guys were going to let them do all of the work until the eliminated themselves.
Which was completely the case, one we start hitting the rollers it was like some one set a bomb off in the group, people were just falling off everywhere. By the time we finished the climb there were maybe 20 -25 of us and I just sat in. There was a 3 man break up the road, which I thought were masters guys but turns out in the end it was just two and one was a cat 4, who got second place.
By the second and third lap there were maybe 10 -15 of us, we kept the pace cordial there were some attacks to try and catch the break but then there were times going up the hills we just took our time. I spent some time up front just trying to keep the pace, there were a couple cat 4s who would try and hammer it which I knew many wanted to hurry up and get to the climb but at the risk of tiring themselves out.
As we me made the right to start the climb I hear "EVO" and go to grab a bottle, but it slipped out of my hands. I was so pissed. I felt how cold it was on my fingers and needed it badly. But i did have about a quarter of a bottle in reserve for just in case. Then as we made the left to really start the climb it was like who ever was in our group just kind of blew up. Just taking their time. There was a small break on the third lap with two cat 4s, one Paul Low I think went on the catch the previous cat 4 i the first break and won. but the other I caught quite quickly. The climb wasnt that bad as I suppose I didnt push my self too hard as I knew I wasnt going to catch the guys upfront once I saw all of the numbers being the 600 series (masters) there was no reason to kill myself. I passed 4 or so and one stayed with me until the final hair pin. I was sure glad to have my 28 that i bought from a teammate last month as I was able to just spin.
As I crested the top they decided to put the finish just after the crest so all i had to was roll down. After talking with the other finishers at the top I was third. Luckily Paul Low had some one up there with water and was very happy to share, many thanks as it was much appreciated.
After a few minutes of rest I headed back down, man what an amazing descent, really it made the whole climb worth it and topped off the weekend.
After waiting a couple hours for the results, I confirmed I was third in the road race. All in all it was an amazing weekend.
Blacksburg Omnium the TT
It would be a normal race weekend for me if I didnt have some sort of issue, just not possible.
Well after Tour of Washington County I went a head and got a 54t chainring as well as a 100mm deep front wheel. That way I could complete my TT rig to be as efficient as possible.
Having not tested any of it I suppose I should have at least once before a race then I would have made sure everything worked properly. The chainring went on no issues, and wasnt expecting. For a wheel you would expect the same. But after having the wheel for almost 3 weeks I never took it out and test rode it, so I never had to pump it up.
So as I was having a teammate help me inflate the tire with my crack pipe the valve extender came off. And the freaking valve is all the way in the carbon section and I couldnt get back on. We only managed to get 100 psi if that into the tubular. The whole time in warm up and in the race I was very mindful of hitting any rough spots in the road and staying clear of potholes and anything could potentially cause a flat.
After arriving at the course I decided to predrive to get an idea how hilly it was going to be. I knew it was going to be rolling but damn there were some longer climbs, some steep ones, but also some very fast downhill sections with some blind turns.
I warmed up in the vicinity of the school for about 35 minutes trying to have some good steady efforts going up hills and keeping the aero position. About 10 minutes before my start time I head to the car to get my aero helmet, shoe covers and change my jersey.
Pretty much the usual before the start, people eying everyones bike, a few compliments on mine as we all make nervous small talk. I knew I could do well in the TT it is one my strongest abilities, but with an epic road race the next day how hard did I want to go? Just enough to do well basically.
With a holding start, which is always much appreciated, I was off. I start going at a steady pace. 2 minutes in I pass my 30 second man, a few minutes later, minute man, then 1:30, then 2, and so on. One of the memorable parts of the TT were in the last mile when I heard the sound of some hissing. My first though was my tire, are you kidding I flatted, but as I kept going I looked up and saw a lady using a weed-eater and was quickly relieved.
After the finish I made my way back to the parking lot and chat with some of the masters teammates. Of course the usual TT'ers do well and then make jokes at the guys who arent as gifted as some. With a quick pack up and off to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner.
Well after Tour of Washington County I went a head and got a 54t chainring as well as a 100mm deep front wheel. That way I could complete my TT rig to be as efficient as possible.
Having not tested any of it I suppose I should have at least once before a race then I would have made sure everything worked properly. The chainring went on no issues, and wasnt expecting. For a wheel you would expect the same. But after having the wheel for almost 3 weeks I never took it out and test rode it, so I never had to pump it up.
So as I was having a teammate help me inflate the tire with my crack pipe the valve extender came off. And the freaking valve is all the way in the carbon section and I couldnt get back on. We only managed to get 100 psi if that into the tubular. The whole time in warm up and in the race I was very mindful of hitting any rough spots in the road and staying clear of potholes and anything could potentially cause a flat.
After arriving at the course I decided to predrive to get an idea how hilly it was going to be. I knew it was going to be rolling but damn there were some longer climbs, some steep ones, but also some very fast downhill sections with some blind turns.
I warmed up in the vicinity of the school for about 35 minutes trying to have some good steady efforts going up hills and keeping the aero position. About 10 minutes before my start time I head to the car to get my aero helmet, shoe covers and change my jersey.
Pretty much the usual before the start, people eying everyones bike, a few compliments on mine as we all make nervous small talk. I knew I could do well in the TT it is one my strongest abilities, but with an epic road race the next day how hard did I want to go? Just enough to do well basically.
With a holding start, which is always much appreciated, I was off. I start going at a steady pace. 2 minutes in I pass my 30 second man, a few minutes later, minute man, then 1:30, then 2, and so on. One of the memorable parts of the TT were in the last mile when I heard the sound of some hissing. My first though was my tire, are you kidding I flatted, but as I kept going I looked up and saw a lady using a weed-eater and was quickly relieved.
After the finish I made my way back to the parking lot and chat with some of the masters teammates. Of course the usual TT'ers do well and then make jokes at the guys who arent as gifted as some. With a quick pack up and off to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner.
Blacksburg Omnium the Crit
After signing up to race the 3/4 Lost River Classic Race, I decided against it. I was eyeing the Blacksburg Omnium very early in the season but wasnt paying attention to registration when it was. So when I saw it pop up on bikereg I made the decision the sign up and made the trek down to Blacksburg to try my hand.
With the heat still looming around it was only a few degrees cooler down there but the wind was noticeably stronger, it felt as if it was a hair dryer was blowing on you. After leaving basically at sunrise for the lonely drive down to VA Tech I arrive in just under 4 hours and start getting ready.
With heat like this I do prefer to warm up on the road, that way I dont sweat too much and dehydrate myself prematurely, plus its a good way to see the local area. So I got on the road and started warming up just doing passes on the road infront of the airport. After about 45 minutes i head back to the car to get a fresh bottle.
On the way up to the start a teammate DJ spots and calls me over to give me a few hints about the course, more importantly the uphill to the finish then the up hill that follows and pay attention to that, as everyone sprints up to the finish every lap and then burn themselves out for the continued false flat that wasnt too false.
As I make my way to the start i see exactly what he was talking about. After the whistle we go, it seemed to be balls to the wall. One thing i hate about crits that make me a horrible crit racer is the sudden pedal to the medal at the go. I was sitting mid pack but eventually dropped back even further as they kept the pace extremely high on the straights, but with the setup of turns on the parking lot it was easy to stay on by taking at speed versus the constant braking at every turn most did.
The crit was suppose to last 40 minutes, everynow and then I would look at my 705 and check the time, and it was by minute 18 that there only 10 - 12 of us left. It seemed what DJ said was true, everyone sprinted up to the start finish line and then got gassed on the left hander afterward.
Anyways it was pretty boring after that, it would be 2 or 3 laps hard, then a lap easy, i mean my heart rate was going back done to resting. I made it a point to never get up to the front and pull, I had no ambitions in trying to break or win, just survive and save some for the time trial.
On the last lap there were 7 of us, and at one point we must have been going about 10 - 12 mph waiting for some one to make a move, some one did, right before the the set of turns in the parking lot. I get on it trying to hang on to a wheel, but with having such a weak sprint i just try to rely on my conering to keep up. I did well as we approached the uphill to the start finish the two guys infront went for it and battled it out for 4th and 5th, the guy behind me was nowhere to be seen so I continued my way up for 6th not wasting too much effort as we still had a TT and road race to do.
After the race I got the car and started replacing fluids and changed into compression pants to try and aid in the recovery for the TT.
With the heat still looming around it was only a few degrees cooler down there but the wind was noticeably stronger, it felt as if it was a hair dryer was blowing on you. After leaving basically at sunrise for the lonely drive down to VA Tech I arrive in just under 4 hours and start getting ready.
With heat like this I do prefer to warm up on the road, that way I dont sweat too much and dehydrate myself prematurely, plus its a good way to see the local area. So I got on the road and started warming up just doing passes on the road infront of the airport. After about 45 minutes i head back to the car to get a fresh bottle.
On the way up to the start a teammate DJ spots and calls me over to give me a few hints about the course, more importantly the uphill to the finish then the up hill that follows and pay attention to that, as everyone sprints up to the finish every lap and then burn themselves out for the continued false flat that wasnt too false.
As I make my way to the start i see exactly what he was talking about. After the whistle we go, it seemed to be balls to the wall. One thing i hate about crits that make me a horrible crit racer is the sudden pedal to the medal at the go. I was sitting mid pack but eventually dropped back even further as they kept the pace extremely high on the straights, but with the setup of turns on the parking lot it was easy to stay on by taking at speed versus the constant braking at every turn most did.
The crit was suppose to last 40 minutes, everynow and then I would look at my 705 and check the time, and it was by minute 18 that there only 10 - 12 of us left. It seemed what DJ said was true, everyone sprinted up to the start finish line and then got gassed on the left hander afterward.
Anyways it was pretty boring after that, it would be 2 or 3 laps hard, then a lap easy, i mean my heart rate was going back done to resting. I made it a point to never get up to the front and pull, I had no ambitions in trying to break or win, just survive and save some for the time trial.
On the last lap there were 7 of us, and at one point we must have been going about 10 - 12 mph waiting for some one to make a move, some one did, right before the the set of turns in the parking lot. I get on it trying to hang on to a wheel, but with having such a weak sprint i just try to rely on my conering to keep up. I did well as we approached the uphill to the start finish the two guys infront went for it and battled it out for 4th and 5th, the guy behind me was nowhere to be seen so I continued my way up for 6th not wasting too much effort as we still had a TT and road race to do.
After the race I got the car and started replacing fluids and changed into compression pants to try and aid in the recovery for the TT.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Feels good to get dropped
Unfortunately with my work schedule and family life it is hard for my to make almost any club ride during the week. They all occur near the city at an hour that I could theoretically get to but have family obligations that need to be met first and foremost. But lately after doing some searching around, a teammate referred me to the Haymarket ride on wednesday nights.
Now I am generally pretty picky about where I do my riding, I hate stopping every 5 - 10 minutes because of lights, and I hate running lights because of obvious reasons of getting hit or looking like another jackass to motorists who assume all cyclists think they can make up their own rules. Secondly I love riding out west, the terrain, the relative quietness and few road signs make it great for me. And lastly if I am going to do a group ride I want to be hurt instead of laying the hurt on other people. So I was searching for somewhere that had a good consistency of strong riders able to lay out some abuse.
My search was ended when I did my first Haymarket ride. It was about a month ago and I enjoyed just about every minute of it until the end when an unfortunate incident between myself an another rider sent me to the ground. I did not let that deter me from coming about again, if anything my race and training schedule have hampered that more than my recovery from my clumsiness on the bike.
Again last night I was able to make the trip, once on 66 it is a quick 20 minute trip from my place in Fair Lakes, which is quicker than a trip to Reston. The weather was great, the A group left a little later than usual and with a small group, 5 which became 6 later on. The pace starts out nicely with a warm up on to Hopewell Road then picks up from there for the first climb and descent into The Plains where we regrouped.
Now I am not the fastest guy, I feel that I can hold my own on most days, although lately I have been in a bit of a funk because a lot of factors outside of riding that have had an impact on my life. But for these guys to go out there and set a really nice hard pace and then drop me and I have to chase to catch on, I loved it. Digging deep almost in a TT mode trying to catch up feels great, the burning in my legs, the hills, the attacks all of it. I think I will be trying to make it out there more often the rest of the season.
Now I am generally pretty picky about where I do my riding, I hate stopping every 5 - 10 minutes because of lights, and I hate running lights because of obvious reasons of getting hit or looking like another jackass to motorists who assume all cyclists think they can make up their own rules. Secondly I love riding out west, the terrain, the relative quietness and few road signs make it great for me. And lastly if I am going to do a group ride I want to be hurt instead of laying the hurt on other people. So I was searching for somewhere that had a good consistency of strong riders able to lay out some abuse.
My search was ended when I did my first Haymarket ride. It was about a month ago and I enjoyed just about every minute of it until the end when an unfortunate incident between myself an another rider sent me to the ground. I did not let that deter me from coming about again, if anything my race and training schedule have hampered that more than my recovery from my clumsiness on the bike.
Again last night I was able to make the trip, once on 66 it is a quick 20 minute trip from my place in Fair Lakes, which is quicker than a trip to Reston. The weather was great, the A group left a little later than usual and with a small group, 5 which became 6 later on. The pace starts out nicely with a warm up on to Hopewell Road then picks up from there for the first climb and descent into The Plains where we regrouped.
Now I am not the fastest guy, I feel that I can hold my own on most days, although lately I have been in a bit of a funk because a lot of factors outside of riding that have had an impact on my life. But for these guys to go out there and set a really nice hard pace and then drop me and I have to chase to catch on, I loved it. Digging deep almost in a TT mode trying to catch up feels great, the burning in my legs, the hills, the attacks all of it. I think I will be trying to make it out there more often the rest of the season.
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