Superweek is done

I'm done with Superweek too. I guess it's been over for a few days now. My interest was fading towards the end. Personally, it was a terrible series for me. Here is a selected list of race outcomes that I experienced in the 3s this year:

Flatted out, DNF
Unaware of rubbing brake, OTB, DNF
Ate wrong lunch with much dairy, lack of fitness, OTB, DNF
Went for track wheel prime, narrowly lost, OTB, DNF
Crash, DNF
Crash, DNF
Difficulty breathing due to previous crash, DNF
17th place

Pretty horrible all around. I'm out two helmets and one carbon frame. I've gained $25. (minus $300 for registration) There was an astounding amount of crashing going on in the 3s during the whole series. I can't wait until I can race masters.

Ripon

One of my favorite things about bike racing is that almost everybody loses. Oh boy, you can tell this is going to be a good one. Compared to most sports where half the participants win, the vast majority are losers in bicycle racing. Everyone comes out and tries as hard as they possibly can, and most fail. And there was plenty of losing to go around at Ripon.

The course was shorted from 1.6 to 0.6 miles. And even though we were on time, for no reason that I could determine, the 3 race was shortened from 35 to 20 miles. The new course was a real bear, with climbs out of 3 out of 4 corners.

It was a family affair, with the whole crew out to spectate, and my brother entering his first USAC criterium.

He finished OTB, but at least he finished.

That race was the closest I've ever come to riding-induced vomiting. I could taste it. I deviated from my standard strictly PBJ pre-race diet. Last time I do that. Also I had my heavy wheels, because the good ones are broken, and possibly dead. Blah blah excuses. I got tons of them. But the important thing is I had fun. As long as we keep our sense of perspective about the whole thing and realize it's all in fun, everybody goes home happy.

Gotcha! Just kidding!

The import thing is I tried and failed abjectly. And it's delightful.

Powertap's busted

Before it stopped communicating entirely, it was fun being able to hit 1300w with a light spin, and killing myself to hit 90w. I think the torque sensor went bad or something. As a bonus, I had no idea if I was doing my hill climbs yesterday. Perceiving exertion is hard. Let's go shopping.

Denzer is delightful.

Today was the Denzer road race. I drove there via the Merrimac ferry. It was scenic. The windows were open.


But anyway, let me tell you how I suck at climbing. The cat 3 race consists of 4 laps off 11.5 miles including this hill. I warmed up with one lap It was windy. I felt ok. I saw Randy, another Endeavour dude who had just finished his race. Then it was racing time. I think it got even windier. It's about a mile from the start to the climb. All into the wind, but people were riding easy, anticipating the climb to come. So we hit the hill. For a while, I actually thought I was in good shape. A few hundred meters from the top, I lost contact with the group, as Randy was passing on his way home, observing my moment of weakness. More like day of weakness. Anyway, I got together with a couple other stragglers, and we caught the group in 5 miles or so.

I hung at the back until climb came around again. Basically, it was hard. And then I gave up. Arguably, it's because I'm saving up for Wheels on Willy tomorrow. How long could I have hung on? I'll never know. Well, I do know I couldn't have placed well in the race under any circumstances.

A nice flat crit will cheer me up.