Can't Catch A Break

Gotta stay on the course

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:48:00 +0000

I've probably competed in close to 20 races since my last blog entry.

There are a lot of stories that happened in there, like me working on my TT position. But I'm too lazy to tell them all, so here's a little piece of something.

Over the course of ToAD and Superweek, I've been getting frustrated with pack finishes. I've had more than enough races where I basically sit in the pack, try to move up, lose position somewhere in the last lap, and just finish in the field. I always see opportunities to make attacks, but always talk myself out of it in some misguided attempt to save matches for the sprint. To make an awesome analogy, that's kind of like hunting for food with projectile lasagna. Wait... what?

Anyway, Saturday at Humboldt Park, my goal for the race was anything except a pack finish. First, last, DNF, breakaway, anything. I chased a few attacks early. Then I made my decisive attacks as we crossed the line with 2 to go. But turn 1 is very sharp. I thought I would make it and force the pack to regroup to chase. But I was too fast. I bailed into a fortuitously placed driveway, and watched the last few minutes of the race from there.

Mission accomplished.

Thanks to John at peloton-pix.com for the photos.

Sheboygan ToAd

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:01:00 +0000

I've completed my third consecutive day of racing in the Tour of America's Dairyland. Each day has been better from the last. On the first, I didn't finish. By yesterday, I worked my way all the way up to a mediocre pack finish. But the bigger news in my opinion is I didn't feel like I was dying for the whole race. Details

I'm taking the day "off" today by going to work. That's because today's stage is another hilly road race. I can only compete in perfect conditions. Not too long, not too hot, not too hilly, and I'm there.

By tomorrow, I'll be all rested up for the weekend races, and possibly be prepared to suck even slightly less.

In other news, I just ordered a disc wheel cover for the TTs next month. I'm probably not fast enough for it to matter, but it's fun to look pro. I guess pros use real discs though. Oh well.

Hot Hot Heat

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:31:00 +0000

The last two days were some of the hottest bike riding days I've ever experienced. The first day was the ToAD Fond du Lac road race. The less that's said about that, the better.

But the next day was the crit, on a very similar course to Manitowoc. There were four 90 degree turns and zero elevation change. The only difference was the oppressive sun and heat. Based on my perception, Fond du Lac was a much harder race. I felt I was working much harder and could never get comfortable. In comparison, Manitowoc felt pretty easy, and I was able to move around without ever suffering too badly.

But the numbers tell a different story.

My heart rate was indeed consistently higher, but my power numbers were lower across the board. Details

After the race, I drank about 6 bottles of water, and still couldn't use the bathroom until about 7 hours after the race.

I'm leaving for Sheboygan momentarily.

Waterloo Classic

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 05:55:00 +0000

Today was the Waterloo classic, the second stage of the Tour of America's Dairyland. It's a long crit course, at 1.6 miles. Long stretches with no turns kept the average speed high, but it was not a very intense race for the cat 3s. Windy conditions kept breaks from sticking.

But the race was dominated by a series of crashes which even continued after the finish line. I avoided all the crashes, but I saw several. I seemed to be unable to maintain a decent position in this race, and finished 17th out of 30 starters.

I was carrying a video camera for peleton-pix.com. Watch for that to be uploaded when it's complete.

This was my first race with the new powertap. Data:

Sometimes you just have to sleep

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:15:00 +0000

I was totally going to do a hard interval workout on Tuesday, but I was tired and lazy so I slept instead. I slept about 12 hours I think.

Up next: Tour of America's Dairyland (I found myself in the banner on that site)

I'll be doing several races in the series, but not all of them. Today is a ridiculous hill race. I've got the good sense to skip that pain festival. My first race in the series will be tomorrow in Waterloo.

Sweet new crash

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:47:00 +0000

It's never my fault, I swear. But I crashed again.

I was on a training ride to the hills out west with three other upstanding characters. 50 miles in, we stopped to consult with the maps. One rider was feeling confident. She felt that maps were unnecessary, and opted to press onwards regardless of some academic scribblings on a piece of paper. Hence, the solo break was established. After getting rolling, I gave a few hot kicks(TM) in an effort to bridge.

However, my kicks(TM) were so hot(TM), and my quick release was so feeble, that I pulled the drive side of the skewer out of the dropout. This jammed the wheel into the stays and locked up the rear tire. I remember grabbing my bars on the way forward and having enough time to think I'd be able to save it. But milliseconds later, I was bouncing and sliding down the road.

Inventory of damage:

rim
bar tape
saddle
cables
helmet
inner tube (tire is ok somehow?)
skin (mine)

I got to the side of the road. Many thanks to those in cars who stopped to check and the lady whose house was near who brought the rubbing alcohol and cotton balls.

Velocity is replacing my rim for free, because of the obvious evidence on the dropout that their quick-release shifted. But I'm switching to genuine campy QRs though. And I'm going to be tightening the hell out of them.

Wheels on Willy on the square

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:06:00 +0000

Yesterday was WoW, which was notably not on Willy, but rather the Capitol square. There was construction on the real course, so they moved it to the square. I was concerned about the pavement condition, but apparently they patched most of the potholes during the past week. It's a 4-corner course with one off camber corner, and one shallow 2 block climb.

I showed up early to watch some of the morning racing action unfold. The weather was good, the bike racing was fast, and love was in the air.

Presently, the cat 3 race started, of which I found myself in the midst. It was a big field. Well, at the start anyway. The pace was sometimes fast, somtimes moderate, but never slow. There were a good number of attempted attacks. I put in a pull or two early to chase back some threatening ones. Ultimately two guys would stay away. After a number of crashes and abandonments, I found myself unscathed an sprinted for a mediocre 6th in what was left of the field.

The first guy across the line, from the break, was a junior who failed to perform the requisite roll out after the race. DQ'd. Sucks to be him.

After that, I started the 1/2/3 race. Either those guys are faster or I was tired. Probably both. But I was managing to hold on. At least until someone crashed in front of me in turn 4. One ripped tire, cracked handlebars, a hole in my skinsuit, and a little road rash.

Here's the finish to the 3 race:

Update: Photos! A friend of mine took these.

Is it racing season already?

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Mon, 11 May 2009 16:12:00 +0000

That was rhetorical, because yes, yes it is.

I've got 10 races in so far including the following things. Here is my 2009 racing season in aggregate, but not mutually exclusive groups:

7 cold races
5 rainy races
9 crits
1 road race
0 crashes
1 DNF

I've learned that I still suck at hills, my DNF being from the hilly road race, in which I got popped on the first hint of climb. Other than that though, I've been pretty consistently top 10. It makes it easier to be top 10 when only 10 people show because of crappy weather.

I've been doing stuff

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 23:24:00 +0000

I went on a winter ride and got a flat tire. Thanks to my skillz, I repaired it and pressed on. But seriously, who finds metal shrapnel in the snow drifts on the scenic bike path? Not even near a road! My tire, that's who. That's some unluck.

Next.

I rode some rollers. I traded a wheel for rollers, and after some minor repairs, like replacing the broken belt, I took them for a spin. It's like learning to ride all over again. By the end of night one, I had ridden for eight minutes consecutively without touching anything. Still can't drink while rolling though.

Next.

I got hit by a car. Again. Making an oncoming left turn. Again. It went down yesterday, seemed like no big deal. Very minor damage to the commuter. But today my finger is swelling beyond all reasonability. I got x-rays and the doc said sprain. But the just called back and said fracture. Drats. That will put a damper on the weight training. I still got my intervals in last night though.

Oh yes I did.

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 06:30:00 +0000

I just wore a skinsuit on the trainer. Yes, I went there. I was out of bibs. And I might do it again.

What a difference a day makes

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 01:58:00 +0000

I usually find it more difficult to produce any power on the trainer than the road. At least in warm weather. But we don't have warm weather. Yesterday, I did a 20 minute effort, which was really pretty crappy, even for me. It was the worst 20 minute effort I'd ever recorded as a matter of fact. And it hurt a lot. I felt totally destroyed afterwards.

Today, I did another one, and it was significantly better. Not great, but a reasonable number for me in November. Strange. And it didn't sap me nearly as much. I felt significantly better afterward.

There are a few factors that might contribute.

One. Yesterday was thanksgiving, and I did my effort after the feast. You might think there was something wrong with my head. But it was not right after. Several hours later. And I didn't really eat all that much. So it was just kind of a normal meal for me. But there still might be something wrong with my head.

Two. I did my effort in the garage, thinking I might be able to dissipate heat better in there. I think it was actually too cold though. Even though the sweat was rolling off me, I think the air was cold enough to mess up my breathing, because I found myself coughing afterward.

Lesson learned. Even though hard efforts like that always make me feel like I'm overheating on the trainer, don't try to compensate with a colder ambient temperature.

Intervals are here

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:27:00 +0000

It's been a while. I almost forgot how much I hate/love them. I can't decide if doing them on the trainer makes them better or worse.

It does have some benefits. Once it's warmed up, it stays consistent. No stop signs or hills. Don't have to pay attention to traffic. The surface never changes. No potholes or railroad tracks. No bad weather.

On the other hand, it's a trainer. And I'm sweating on carpet.

Trainer season is coming back.

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:09:00 +0000

Saturday it was 30s and raining. ...sigh...

It was warm inside and there were hundreds of DVDs. I only watched Bourne Identity. Damn, that's a sweet movie. A gym just opened on the first floor of my apartment building. 24-7. That's cool. I joined it. I'm new to weights. It will probably hurt.

Other news, I'm finally getting my car fixed. It's been out of comission for a good month. It was the battery. I thought we checked that. Good thing bikes are reliable for getting to work.

It sure does get dark early these days.

Still alive.

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:41:00 +0000

I've been on a bike sabbatical for a month or two. Now it's back to training. I started running. I completed a leisurely 5k in 28:22. In my defense, that was the first time in my life I had run that far.

Also, it's cold now. And windy. I almost got blown off the bike yesterday. I took an eastern route, not the southwestern favored by more cyclists around here. I didn't see any other bikes on the road.

There were whitecaps on Lake Kegonsa.

They're building a fitness club in my building. Score.

New beast is here.

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 04:41:00 +0000

This thing should be able to handle my crashing volume with ease.

Moving time

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:17:00 +0000

I've been moving instead of training. My fitness is probably crap. I broke my racing bike. I'm getting a heavy ti frame to replace it. Then it will be invincible.

Racing season is wrapping up.

I went gokart racing for the first time yesterday with 7 friends. I won the gold. I've never won a bike race. What does it mean

Superweek is done

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:27:00 +0000

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.

Back. Not quite back yet.

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:49:00 +0000

My bike is ready for more action. I needed new bar tape, new shifter cable, (that's a new one) and everything re-adjusted and tightened. Incidentally, I also got new wheels, because the carbon tubulars are dead.

I'm not so ready. But I'm getting closer. My limiting factor is my back right now. Switching between standing and sitting is a little uncomfortable. (like on a couch; I haven't been on a bike yet) Also, I've had a weird phenomenon going on with my sneezes. The few times over the past few days I've felt a sneeze coming on, I knew it was going to hurt. I'd do the sharp inhale and brace for impact. It never came. Like my body could sense how much it was about to suck and canceled the sneeze. I guess it's progress that a few minutes ago I just completed my first unaborted sneeze since Sunday. That's something.

I'm hoping to race Thursday, but I'm not ruling out tomorrow at Whitnall.

I've mellowed.

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:21:00 +0000

Sorry to the dude I hit, whoever you are.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfs55TB9srg
http://flickr.com/photos/margaretandjeff/sets/72157606284078252/

Some public service announcements

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:54:00 +0000

I've removed the original post. It was posted as soon as I got home, and definitely does not represent how I feel.

Guilty parties shouldn't point fingers.

I hope everyone heals up fast.

I've got a PSA for myself: Goal #1 in bike racing is the safety of all of the riders.

Ripon

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:56:00 +0000

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.

Humboldt Park

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:50:00 +0000

I was all like "This is hard". I quit. Then I saw that I broke a spoke and my brake was rubbing hard.

Saving it for tommorrow.

A flat and a check

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:25:00 +0000

And superweek has begun. Three of us drove down to Chi from the Ill Mill. We had an Endeavour team car for the weekend. It's a Honda Element from a sponsoring dealership with magnets on it that say Endeavour Cycling Team Car.

Blue Island:
We had four riders in Saturday's Race in Blue Island. From the start it was clear that it would be a different caliber of race from a run-of-the-mill WCA race. Despite being almost twice as long as most crits in the rest of the calendar, competition for positions was fierce from lap one. It was a long rectangular course with a little broken pavement and some slightly dusty corners. Four guys got away halfway through the race. Endeavour's Chris Arndt tried to bridge but could not make it go.

I noticed my rear bottle cage was loose. I tossed my front half empty bottle and swapped the the other bottle to the front cage. Messing with that nonsense immediately cost me half the field. I was able to move back up eventually, but it was costing me. With two to go, someone took a weird line through the back stretch, leading the pack through some debris. I flatted. Damn. I tried to gently coast down on the inside before the corner. I almost took out teammate James Pradun who thought I was swinging out to bring him to the front. And that was it for me.

James went on to win the field sprint for 5th overall. And Endeavour's Chris Arndt took 9th overall. The field averaged 26mph. And the break had half a lap.

Photos

Meanwhile, it's dawning on me that I have a flat tubular and no spare wheel for the next day. I didn't bring spare wheels down because the races have neutral support, but they won't cover you if you show up with a flat tire. Luckily teammate Nick Newton was coming down the next day with a spare Ksyrium Campy 10s wheel.

Ryan Law and I watched the delayed Tour coverage in our hotel room and went to sleep.

Olympia Fields:
Sunday was Olympia Fields. This course had some sketchy elements. The asphalt was an inch lower than the cement gutters. All the way around. Turn 3, in addition to the lips of death, was sharp, narrow, dusty, and at the fastest point on the half mile course. Turn 1 had a raised manhole cover on the inside.

On lap one, someone came screaming up the inside to turn 3 and fishtailed into the corner. Nice. That would set the tone for the day.

I started in the back of the 70 rider field and it took me half the race to make any progress moving up, even though it seemed like I was constantly passing riders. The acceleration out of turn 3 at the back was tremendous. Eventually I made it up, and the announcer even called me out one lap. Riders were still fighting for positions every lap, but now I was able to stay toward the front. The pack was frequently came through turn 1 too wide. At one point, I had to hop the gutter lip and ride up the curb to keep it upright. In that case, it was my fault for taking that line through the corner. But it would prove to be a foreshadowing of things to come. I heard there's a video floating around somewhere. I'm going to track that down for you, my loyal readers.

With 3 laps to go, the carnage started. Apparently everyone realized it was their last chance and simultaneously tried to move to the front. In the same place at turn 1, someone to the outside went wide, and rather than going off the course, sharply corrected. I would never swerve that sharply in a race unless it's to avoid a collision, because it's likely to cause one. Which is exactly what happened. Next lap. A rider two in front of me slightly left went down. Touched a wheel perhaps. Chris Arndt got caught and flipped. His rear wheel flipped up seemingly right in front of my face before his whole bike conveniently veered to the left. That cost me a few spots. Final lap. Single file in turn 3. The guy in front of me clipped a pedal hard, but managed to stay up. He lost a lot of speed in the process, and I was still stuck behind him. I sprinted and managed to salvage a spot in the money. 17th.

Tomasz Boba soloed off the front with 12 to go for the win. Once again James Pradun won the field sprint, and is now tied for the overall points lead.

There was another crash after the line. Someone got pushed into a barrier. Casualties from the race included a broken arm, collarbone, some guy hit a pole, plenty of road rash.

No one liked this course.

In P/1/2 news they actually had a conference to discuss cancelling the event. In the end, they did not, but offered refunds to riders that did not like the course. Over 100 riders covered almost half the 0.5 mile course. We didn't stay to see the exciting conclusion, but after two days of racing, Rock was controlling all the jerseys.

Superweek is underway

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:40:00 +0000

Quick update from the weekend race hotel headquarters:

I flatted out of the race yesterday with a lap and a half to go.

Super weak.

And I saw the Rock Racing Escalade. More later.

And then there are the good days

noreply@blogger.com (recursive) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:06:00 +0000

I'm back from my one day vacation. I'm rejuvenated. (juvenated before, lost it, and then juvenated again. rejuvenated.)

Nothing like a performance enhancing red bull to get things moving. I got my race bike back from the shop. The wheels are true, and the cracked carbon is all covered in epoxy.

Awesome.

I started my ride just as the red bull was really kicking in. After the warmup, I did my prescribed 30 minute effort. Train your weaknesses they say. I've been doing a lot of 20 and 30 minute work. Even though I'm still relatively weak for these durations, it's fun to do them on oft-traveled bike routes. Most people aren't really doing hard efforts, so you just cruise past people with a 10mph speed differential.

Awesome.

After I cooled down from that, I unleashed a sprint just for fun. I haven't measured one in a couple of months. Because I've been training my weaknesses. And I don't race with a computer. Anyway, in one try, I increased my best 5 second effort by over 150 watts.

Awesome.

And I was paranoid that I was losing strength with all this long training. Then I saw a comparitively fast looking guy. Ususally on training rides, I'm able to pretty much ignore everybody else. But I was on the home stretch with no further particular plan, so I chased him down. When I passed him, he sped up. It was on. Definitely not a race, but fun. He hung on my wheel for a mile or two. I rode on. I had a gap. I rode on. He was gone.

Awesome.

CSG wants help picking out a bike.

Awesome.