Tuesday, April 25, 2006

know when to say when...

Three hours fast and hard were on tap for this morning's training ride. Needless to say, it didn't happen. First up the readings from the PT hub were intermittent, which really perturbed me! Nothing like cruising a long with inconsistent/no data! I looped back around to the house, swapped wheels... and off I went. Secondly, my iPod mini tends to have a mind of its own at times. For absolutely NO reason, it'll choose 3 artist, and only play those artists. My playlist or today featured 43 songs by several different artists. I think only 18 or so of the 43 tunes actually played. It's quite bizarre... there will be a long pause between songs, and chances are the next artist is the same as the one before. Today the iPod was on a junction, agents of good roots, and ryan adams kick... completely ignoring several other artists. Third the legs were dead... and not moving very fast or hard. So I turned around and spun home... perturbed.

Casey Auto Group Crit blog coming soon.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

satisfied.

I'm satisfied with this past weekend. A little disappointed in missing the break that rode away on KOA. I was there... all I needed was a couple extra turns of the crank... and I would've been there. "KOA Hill" is an ugly monster of a climb near the end of the JRVS training ride. It's ugly, it opens up with a false flat, then a steep wall, and finishes with a relatively mild grade to the top.

Anyways, the ride was pretty good on Sunday. Fairly well rested, I was ready to roll. I told myself I'd ride angry... but try to save some anger for the end. The roll out started well and steady... heavy with conversation. Although Todd Helmick was absent, there were still a few heavy-hitters: Cam, Stephen DeLisle, Chris, Dave Rushing, et al. Overall, I was aggressive, but not stupid. Usually my efforts early on cost me dearly by the time we get to "Stonehouse Hill"... but I was wise to monistor my efforts closely. I rode Stonehouse aggressively... hitting the base of the climb with Cam and Stephen, then launching a few soft attacks once the group reintegrated in order to move up the climb (and to regain my tenacity of climbs!). For reference, by "soft attacks"... I intended to get a little off the front, but never try to stick it. Nevertheless, I was happy to arrive at the top of Stonehouse in the group; the past few efforts were marred by my lack of fast paced rides: I was ready this time.

After Stonehouse, we slowed the pace a bit before picking things back up through the "Roubaix section". The Roubaix section features horrible pavement and twisty roads... my kind of roads. Roubaix was fun. Next up was KOA.

KOA broke up the ride pretty well. Cam, Stephen, and Chris got away with a gap. A small group of us gave chase. We were able to organize a rotating paceline... slowly bringing them back. Eventually the pulls at 30mph began to wear down the group... leaving Dave Rushing and I taking longer pulls at the front. As we were on the verge of catching them... an old Caddy pulled right out in front of us... forcing us to all but come to a complete stop. After the caddy, Dave Rushing and I broke away to give chase. We were able to close the gap to just a few seconds when the sprint started. Cam took the sprint easily, but we never caught them... we just barely missed the catch and were waaaay too gassed to sprint anyways. After the sprint, we reunited... crusing back to the Waller Mill parking lot under and umbrella of conversation.

After the ride, Cam was nice and bought Chris and I smoothies. We hung out at the BikeBeat in the 'burg briefly with Chris and Steve (who finished with the main group). I dropped off Cam... then swung by the Beat in Kiln Creek about arrangements for this Saturday. After that, I helped my Dad move some firewood... ate Easter dinner with the family... then hit the road for Salem (leaving Katie behind!).

Peaking?

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

-7 degrees

It's good to feel good again. It's bad that I have exhuasted my supply of allergy medicine; hopefully I'll have that problem remedied tomorrow morning.

I flipped my stem, so it's once again a negative rise. I know that it is biomechanically counterproductive for me to do so... but to be honest, as a crit racer, I did not like the way it handled flipped positive. Perhaps for the occasional mountain timetrial I'll flip it, but for general training and racing, I'll keep it low. Besides... I went out today and posted my highest average zone 2 watts, so it can't be that bad.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. While it's still to be determined when we'll arrive in Yorktown, I'm very much looking forward to Sunday's JRVS/Casey Auto Group training ride. Cam says, "Bring my race wheels and ticket puncher". We'll see who gets their tickets punched. I'm ready for a good ride, I'll be rested and feeling good. Oh yeah... and I get to spend Easter with my family too.

Monday, April 10, 2006

HCC

The Hampton Roads Cycling Classic kicked off and wrapped up this weekend. A windy April weekend played host to the events this year (quite the contrast from last year's oppressively hot July event). Saturday featured a 16 mile time trial in Smithfield; while Sunday featured the Conte's Classic (formerly the Ford Classic) in downtown Norfolk at Waterside.

Katie and I arrived in Yorktown shortly after 1am Saturday morning... I needed to be up at 5:30 in order to eat and get to to Smithfield on time. A little groggy, I finally got to bed at about 1:45... set the alarm, but didn't turn it on. Amazingly I awoke at 5:40, still groggy, but impressed I woke up without an alarm. I showered, dressed, top off the gas tank, then hit the McDonald's drivethru for a Nusbaumer breakfast (hot cakes).

I arrived in Smithfield in record timing... it really is amazing how much time is saved when 80% of traffic lights are green. I expected to be TT'ing in the rain, but fortunately the weather held out, and it was windy. Very windy... crosswinds, headwinds... more headwinds, and only ONE short stretch with a tailwind. I'm glad that I didn't ride a disc wheel (not that I own one)... I don't think they provided a significant advantage. I was also glad that my rear Reynolds Stratus with a hole n the rim held up (I'm not using it for mass starts... so don't worry).

After warming up and gettig ready, I was reminded of a lesson that I know all so well (and usually avoid these situations). My TT helmet (a Louis Garneau Rocket) had been stored in a closet since September... I took it out of its bag to find the shell slightly deformed and the straps extremely out of whack. Scrambling, I tried to get it wearable, only to have a 7 inch piece of the strap dangling. I wrapped that around the other straps and was on my way to the start.

I arrived late to the start, still putting my gloves on. They told me to come to a stop, put a foot down, and go. So I did. For the first 200 meters of the TT, I was putting my gloves on and making all neccessary adjustments. I'm not 100% sure how late I was to the start, or exactly how much time I lost fumbling around after the start. In sum, I don't think it made a huge difference, as I'm not a great time trialer (although I did a decent Mill Mt. TT last year); so a win wasn't lost here. I ended up 13th... snagging a couple of BAR points.

I awoke Sunday and turned on the local news for the weather... it's remarkable how much can change overnight: the day was going to be cooler and windier. I got there early, relaxed, warmed up... and was ready to go. The Norfolk course is tough and technical, a good candidate for a breakaway. In each of the races I watched (Women's 1/2/3&4, Cat 4, Men's 1/2/3) and our race, a breakaway succeeded. Very impressive when you consider the windy conditions.

I was disappointed in my legs not showing up 100% for the day, but all things considered, it's alright. Early on Chris took a solo flyer off the front for a few laps. I moved up to the front, determined to cover any chase attempts. There were several attempts, instigated by Seigler Imports and Hilton's Stephen DeLisle. My goal was to latch onto any of these attempts, hopefully bridging up to Chris, creating a big break with at least two JRVS/Casey Auto Group riders in it without me chasing Chris down. It was a good break attempt, and Chris at least got a prime out of it. Maybe next time it'll work out better in our favor.

Eventually a break of 5 got clear of the field in our race, and a solo rider chased in purgatory for 6th. Eventually the gap became insurmountable, and we gave up chase. The last few laps, I was hurting pretty bad, I really wanted the field sprint, but unfortunately could not force my way into the position I wanted (Ie I started the sprint from waaay back).

Chris and I shared a razor thin line betwen a rider moving over and a curb/sidewalk that jutted out into the lane. Both of us shared the same logic... either brake and coast to the line, or coast through between the rider and the curb with zero margin for error. We chose the curb line... interrupting our soon to be sprint (our pedals would have clipped the curb)... then starting the sprint really early. In the end we didn't catch the guys with a clear line to the finsh, but we did pass quite a few. I came across the line in 10th with Chris, Ken, Dave Olds, and Dave Rushing in tow. It was frustrating not to have at least one man in the break... but with every race I try to learn at least one lesson. Lesson learned; a kamikaze effort would've been approrpiate in the case to get into the break (for anybody on the team); even if I couldn't hang... then Casey Auto Group would've had a shot at victory. I was glad to have Rushing in our race, he's a vet racer with a lot of experience, and pointed out some things we could've done differently in the end that would've ensure at least a little more success.

Rest week, the home for Easter... see you all at Waller Mill for the ride.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Doh!!!!!!

I thought about staying indoors and riding the trainer this morning. In hindsight, I wish I had. Windy days and intervals don't mix, but I was determined to attempt them nevertheless; itt was also pretty chilly this morning (after having a taste of 70+ degrees you don't want to go back!). I'll go right ahead and admit it: I took a spill this morning.

Most mornings I begin my ride with a decent from the neighborhood that features an off-camber (waaaay off camber) switchback with quite a bit of drop. Most mornings I try to see just how far I can lean the bike over. This morning I pushed the bike waaaaaay over... I think a piece of gravel decided to ruin my physics experiment in cornering. I slid a bit... ruining my team bibs in the process (at least they weren't my brand new ones!), watched the PT CPU pop off and slide... and watch the Klein slide right into the curb. I briefly assessed the damage, picked up the bike... turned around andlimped home. Total damage: scuffed saddle (a hard to find old school Concor Light!), scuffed shifter (no biggie, I knew it was inevitable), popped out a bzzzkill (no worries... it slides right back in), road rash, a sore elbow, and a bruised ego. Fortunately the ego will bounce back... and I'll have my finish line tenacity restored.

For a while my day seemed determined to nose dive into some sort of kamikaze mission. Fortunately, total disaster was avoided. Things were pretty busy at the shop early on.. meaning that my service work for the day was having to take a backseat (fortunately I was able to get everything done). Also, I blew up an inner tube fore the first time in a loooooong time; for a moment all I heard was ringing in the ears.

It's nearing closing time, and I'm looking forward to going home, seeing Katie and the boys (Target & Walker), eating dinner, and then finally giving this morning's workout a shot on the trainer. We'll see.

54x11 Sunday?!

Monday, April 03, 2006

testing: 1...2...3...

Yesterday I did my first Cat 1/2/3 race. It was fast... and oh so smooth. The Tyson's Corner Circuit race: 1.1 miles with a fast downhil backside and long grinding start/finish stretch. Katie and my cousin Ryan can verify that I was actually smiling for the first few laps; I felt at home. I'm glad promoters occasionally allow 3's in with the 1/2's... it's a great learning experience. Anyways, I lasted about halfway through the race before pulling out.

I awoke early Sunday morning with already tired legs. I'm in Build 2, with loads of intervals... by the weekend the legs don't seem to have much zip. No worries though. During the Cat 3 race, I tried to stay near the action, joining promising moves.. but to no avail. I knew I didn't have the legs to ride in a small break, but if I could get in a decent group, it would be a matter of "institutional imperitive" (do as little as possible while getting the job done). Needless to say, I missed the move of the day. A group of 9 made the split, eventually getting a gap of 40 seconds on the field. Rockville Harley Davidison tried blocking the field from chasing... at least that's what I think they were doing. It was as if sometimes the were chasing full throttle... an others the refused to pull through. I attempted to organize a chase; but came up empty handed. On the final lap I moved up to my usual spot near the front. Evolution had a train of guys trying to blast through the back side of the course for a lead out. Being the oportunist that I can be, I got in behind them. Unfortunately their second man ran out of steam, causing a swarm on both sides of us (talk about a blown lead out!). I sat up and finished at the tailend of the reduced field.

The 1/2/3 race was great... I know if I had not done the 3 race, finishing would not have been a problem. Who knows? Maybe I could've followed the right wheel to be up near the front atthe finish? The race ended up in a field sprint... my coach and mentor Cam lost by just a tire width. So close... he had it until the final few meters. There was a crash in the sprint... amazingly only one guy went down.

After the race; Katie, Ryan, and I enjoyed dinner at the TGI Friday's in Tysons. Check out the Jack Daniels burger sometime... very delicious. We ate, chatted, then finally parted. It's always great to mix bike racing and family. The drive home wasn'ttoo bad, but finally became tedious halfway down 81. Nevertheless, we arrived home safely.

This weekend I'll be at the Hampton Roads Cycling Classic... the Smithfield TT on Saturday (finally a TT under 40k!), and the Conte's Classic in downtown Norfolk Sunday. Sunday's course is great: 180 degree turn, cobbles, and a loooong (and misleading) finishing stretch.

53x11? We'll see Sunday.