Team Bicycle Trip

San Bruno Hillclimb Jan 1, 2012 55+ 1/2/3 & 4/5

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Langley) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:44:00 +0000

San Bruno Hillclimb Race Report 1/1/2012
55+ 1/2/3s and 55+ 4/5s
by Jim Langley

Leading it out (David Cheung photo)

On maybe the most beautiful morning we've ever had for the traditional road-season kickoff event, Scott Martin, Joe Platin and I piled in my van and headed over the hill to test our early season fitness on the +/- 18-minutes of pain that is the San Bruno Hillclimb.

I think Scott and I have done it about seven times or more each, so we're really good at avoiding the alcohol, goodies and late bedtime on New Year's Eve. I don't think Joe has done it as often but he had a great race last year nabbing second, and this year was to be his first time in the 55+ 1/2/3 racing with me. (He's coming off a broken elbow so he's just finding his form again.)

For Scott, this was his first race in the 55+ 4/5s and Coach Mark, Joe and I had high expectations and urged him to ride aggressively. Plus, Scott and I have been following Mark's new-and-improved training program and felt fit and ready to race.

I had also upgraded my race bike to Bontrager's 2012 Aeolus 3 D3 carbon aero tubular wheels, dropping its weight from 16.4 to 15.2 pounds! These are the newest carbon aero wheels, which according to the company's wind-tunnel testing are some of the fastest ever made. Just soft pedaling around my neighborhood testing the featherweight hoops, I could feel the lightness and get-up-and-go, and equally important, I knew they'd help with the wind at the top of the mountain too.

First number of 2012

Even though we left Santa Cruz at 7:15, we ended up a little late, so it was a firedrill getting the numbers pinned, setting up the trainers, putting in our full warm-ups and rolling over to the starting-line staging on time.

Scott flatting on his trainer(!) didn't help. But we lined up in time for the 10:05 a.m. mass start - with each category going off at minute intervals. From the parking situation it seemed like a packed event this year, but from the racers lined up waiting for the start, it was clear that the turnout wasn't as large as it has been in the past.

Joe and I went off in one of the first groups. There were only nine guys lined up, which was a surprise. We had expected some day-of-race signups with the incredible weather, but nope.

Still as you know, how many racers are in your race doesn't matter as much as what racers are in it. And, ours was stacked, with last year's winner, Steve Archer; the Everest Challenge winner; a former 45+ all-star that Coach Mark had told us to watch out for (in his first 55+ race); and other guys who had beat us up pretty good all last season.

San Bruno starts with an uphill dragstrip - a wide-open 2-lane road, about a quarter mile at a steady 10%. So when the official starts you, you rocket out of the side street, turn left and are immediately looking up this ramp into the sky.

Go Joe! (David Cheung photo)

Checking the pre-race signups, I was concerned that Webcor had 3 strongmen in our group and I told Coach Mark that I thought they would attack from the starting line and then trade accelerations to weaken us right from the get-go.

With this in mind, on the starting line I was looking at how they were lined up and I noticed that the 3 of them were on the far right, together, and most telling, that one of them had his chain on the 53.

So, sure enough, they start our race and that guy just stands, punches it and blasts off up the hill - probably a 100% effort. We responded right away and got on his wheel and he sat up. At which point, his teammate shot away on the left and we had to match his acceleration.

We shut that down and the other guy went again. But thankfully after that, everything settled down and we pretty much rode as a solid, fast group pushing it hard all the way to the entrance to the park about halfway up the 3.5-mile climb.

I keep coming back to this race because there's something epic about the start and how you have to dig so hard not to get dropped. Then, as you crest the first pitch, the grade mellows a touch and if you're fit, you recover and find your climbing rhythm. After that, you're flying up this hill with the other top guys and it's a magic feeling going so fast up the mountain.

1/2/3 results

During that magic section of the climb Joe and I were together, and from what I could tell, he was feeling as good as I was. But then, as we reached the right turn taking us down and into the state park, one of the Webcor guys attacked again and raced down into the park taking the long way (but faster route) around the entry hut on the wrong side of the road.

I was in second and I stayed to the right because the officials told us to stay in the right lane. So, the Webcor guy opened a gap with his greater speed taking the faster line. Steve was behind me with Joe, and Steve took the faster route too, while Joe did what I did, staying right.

Joe told me that having Steve going so fast around the booth and zooming past him, unnerved him a little - made him remember his bad crash and he hesitated for a second or two. That stretch of road is very bumpy and there are poles and potholes to avoid so racers taking sketchy lines makes it feel more dangerous. I can see why it distracted Joe.

4/5 results

I knew I couldn't let them gap me. So I matched Steve's acceleration and we quickly reeled George (the Webcor guy) back to us. But Joe got gapped and couldn't close the distance, which was a problem because at this point the wind and grade kicked up significantly.

After that point my memory isn't as clear as it needs to be if I'm going to start winning tight, tactical races like this. I know that George, Steve and I were together and that we took turns surging and testing each other and we tried different sides of the road and different positioning to try to hide from the wind and get any advantage. As we got closer to the top, I was looking for the power poles that are the sign that you're close to sprinting distance.

Last year Steve had been in front and had just ridden away from me and Mac Carey (Mac wasn't there this year). I didn't want Steve dictating the pace to the top. And, I had a feeling that George had done so many attacks at the bottom that he might be a little tired now. So, I pushed a little harder and found myself in front (top photo). Immediately I could feel the wind pushing me back and hurting my legs more than they were hurting when I was drafting.

But I thought I was close to the finish. I thought it was right around the corner. There were lots of racers coming down the hill and that made me think that. And we were past the power poles too and that meant it was somewhere just ahead.

Second & First (me and Steve Archer)

I also thought that I had opened a small gap and that I had no choice but to play my card and go for it. So instead of hesitating and letting whoever was back there come up on me and trying to play cat & mouse with them, I just gave it everything fighting that wind.

For maybe 10 seconds I thought I was going to win the race. I could see the finish, people were hollering, I couldn't hear anyone behind and I thought I had the power and speed to finish it off. But, I had been in the wind too long and Steve had been smarter again and came around for the win.

Joe took a strong 5th, just behind Steve, me, Kevin Susco and George Smith. That's some great riding by Joe for his first 1/2/3 55+ event and coming off a tough injury.

Scott had a great performance, too, taking 5th in the packed 4/5 55+ race, which started with 25-30 riders. He said that 2 guys escaped at the bottom and he had to fight the wind alone a lot of the way up the mountain or he might have been able to do even better.

Team Bicycle Trip also had John Bonnet in the 45+ 1/2/3 who took a strong 9th place. It was nice to see John again. We used to ride together when he was with the Apple City Wheelmen in the 1980s and he looks as fit as ever.

Overall, it's a fine start to the 2012 season for Team Bicycle Trip/Symantec! See you at the races,
Jim

Bike MS: Waves to Wine Ride

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis the Mennis) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 22:52:00 +0000

By Dennis Pedersen

I love doing fund-raising rides, since it allows me to use my love of cycling to give back to the community. But I usually only do the ADA's Tour de Cure ride every year, since I don't want to ask too much of my family, friends, co-workers and teammates. This year my wife was out of town the weekend of the National MS Society's Bike MS: Waves to Wine Ride though, so that persuaded me to add it to my schedule... am I glad I did!

Me by the Golden Gate.

Like the Tour de Cure, we can raise money by e-mail, cash, online and through a Facebook app. On this ride the money goes toward fighting multiple sclerosis, a debilitating disease of the central nervous system. I deliberately kept my goal low and just wanted to meet the $350 minimum... thanks to you generous folks I had no problem with that and ended up raising $490! And I joined as a member of the HP team, named "HP Tackles MS." The HP team was huge: 56 people! I must admit my competitive nature is challenged by this and I intend to learn how to make the 2012 HP Tour de Cure team bigger than ever (please sign up here!)!

Unlike the Tour de Cure, the Bike MS ride is held over two days: 100 miles on Saturday (see map), 75 miles on Sunday (see map) for the longest route. The Saturday ride started in San Francisco, ending in Rohnert Park. On Sunday we rode a huge loop that ended back in Rohnert Park. I found it very complicated to pack everything I'd need and plan out the many tiny details that would ensure my bike, changes of clothes, gear etc. all ended up where I needed it at the various stops. The organizers picked up our overnight luggage in San Francisco and shipped it to Rohnert Park where we could pick it up that evening, then also shuttled us to various local motels for our well-earned sleep after the Saturday ride. Meanwhile they stored our bikes overnight. Then they shipped it all back to San Francisco Sunday evening for us to collect after we were all done with the ride.

John and Kiersten at the Laguna stop.

We were spectacularly lucky with the gorgeous weather. Just a few clouds along the coast with mild temperatures. The HP team met before the 7:00AM start for a quick photo and we rode along the Embarcadero and over the Golden gate Bridge. I rode a lot with Bill Rainey and Hans Zeller through San Francisco and north on HWY 1. But at Stinson Beach I connected with my friend Rai and teammate Alida, both doing the long route. I am amazed at how they stepped up to such a major challenge! I'm used to long rides, but even I was a bit hesitant at riding so much on consecutive days.

I was mostly riding a moderate pace, but also wanted to get in a few long intervals, so after Stinson Beach I hammered pretty hard to the next stop, at Point Reyes Station (partly motivated by a fast guy from Nevada who flew by us!). Then the three of us rode together toward the rest stop at Laguna District School, built in 1906. Did I mention I ate a lot of food at every stop? I always do, and that really helps keep my energy up.

After we looped around on some inland roads (Marshall-Petaluma Road was great) we eventually ended up on Tomales Bay where we had a sumptuous lunch by Nick's Cove. And then the last stretch took us through tiny Valley Ford, Bloomfield and across the finishing line in Rohnert Park, to thunderous applause from the many volunteers.

The Saturday party, with our huge HP presence.

It so happened that our dinner and party was at the former HP "Santa Rosa" site in Rohnert Park. It was a ton of fun hangin' with the HP homies, and the food was quite good. I skipped the beer and wine though, to be safe. I also tried to pick up some pointers on how to run a big team like this so I could apply it to the Tour de Cure team in 2012. Afterward the shuttle bus took me to Day's Inn where I took a nice shower and collapsed into bed (it was nice enough for me, but I am not picky). And the next morning, at 5:45, they picked me up again for the drive back to the event site for a nice burrito breakfast (with good coffee!) in the pre-dawn darkness and another 7:00AM start. By complete chance I met up with my friend Craig and his wife, so we had a chance to catch up on news over tasty food.

The Sunday ride started out cold, but as the sun rose we warmed up nicely. Once again I was able to ride with other HP teammates including our Captain, Kiersten Regelin, and Michael Randazzo, who rides in spite of having MS and inspires a bunch of great guys to ride with him as a true team. He also blew us all away by raising $9,979.96! How cool. It was also cool seeing how so many HP employees were willing to push themselves so hard for such a great cause. Rai ended up with tendonitis after the ride, and had to ice his knee. Josh Jensen, one of our four captains, rode super well and was great company too; his wife Bethany has MS so it's very personal for him.

We arrived again in Rohnert Park, spent but in great spirits. I was ready for the massage I signed up for and the next party! This time I used my drink tickets to enjoy wine and beer, with my steak dinner. I was kind of sad that it all had to end, but I sure loved doing it. Thanks again everybody!

2011 USA Masters National Road Championships

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Langley) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 19:23:00 +0000

USA MASTERS NATIONAL ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS RACE REPORT

Time Trial, Criterium and Road Race (55-59 group)

By Jim Langley

No disrespect to Colonel Sanders, the Louisville Slugger and Kentucky bourbon, but in my opinion, Bend, Oregon is a much better venue for the USA Masters National Road Championships than Louisville, Kentucky.

Jim Gentes out on Bend's sweet roads

Where in Louisville you hardly saw any racers - because they were all hanging out inside air-conditioned buildings and cars - in Bend they were everywhere, all 800 of them. While I soft pedaled around the race courses on Bend's wonderful roads, entire teams of masters from around the country passed me. And all week long, racers were hanging out at the many coffee shops and cafes in town.

I stayed at the Super 8 Motel in Bend, which is where the USA mechanics were, too - their tent standing proudly all week in the parking lot. But, 5-minutes away, at Summit High School, which was the start/finish for the time trail and road race, a lot of racers set up camp in their RVs and Sprinter vans.

This meant that no matter what time your race was, there were plenty of other cyclists around. And, there was no need to drive a long way for the races as you had to in Louisville where the TT was held 20 miles away from the road race. So overall, at this Nationals you really felt like you were part of something big and important versus at Louisville where only at the races did you have that feeling.

The 2009 and 2010 Nationals

Even with those drawbacks, Mark Edwards and I had a grand time racing in Louisville in the 2009 and 2010 Nationals. But the oppressive heat and humidity put us at a significant disadvantage. Also, the road race course, with its short, gradual climbs and endless corners, was more like a crit course than a true road race and didn't suit the way we train and race in NorCal.

In 2009 we competed in the road race and the time trial, but we only did the TT for fun. Mark had his Felt clock-beater, but it was so new he hadn't yet trained on it, or even dialed in the position. I just slapped some clip-on aero bars on my road bike and raced that.

We knew we'd get killed in the TT, but it was still an exciting race and something we talked about doing again. We didn't manage to get it together to race it last year and only did the road race. But, this year, we were good to go for the road race and time trial. And I decided to sign up for the crit, too.

Vanagons, ho!

Ready to race

Unfortunately, Mark wasn't able to race the Nationals this year and I couldn't convince anyone else to, either. So I ended up making the 11-hour drive to Bend alone with only my bikes, trainer, tools, spare wheels and over-stuffed cooler for company.

Fortunately, Mark had given me a new training program way back in September, I had followed it to the letter, and I was more ready to race than ever before. Mark had also provided a pacing strategy for the time trial and even a trainer warm-up routine he guaranteed would have me riding my best right from the starting gun in all three races. Thanks Mark!

Here are some details on the three races and notes on how it went up there that I hope are helpful for anyone planning on racing next year. I'm happy to answer any questions about the race courses and Bend, too, so just ask me.

I hope we can take a larger team for 2012 because it's a beautiful location and I'm sure we would have some top finishers in the different age groups and races. But an even better reason is that I know you'll love the racing in Bend and even just being there.

Race reports

I raced in the 55-59 age group. Our time trail was 16 miles long, the crit was 34 laps for 25 miles and the road race was three time around an 18-mile loop for 54 miles. There were about 37 guys entered in the TT, 65 in the crit and 71 in the road race.

Tandems time trial too!

Time Trial: Wednesday, August 31 - Start/Finish: Summit HS

After racing the Madera Stage Race time trial in March on a road bike with aero bars and posting a lousy time, even though my watt meter showed that I had ridden perfect pace, I decided I had to get a proper time trial bike and bought one.

Next Coach Mark dialed in my training to help me develop the power to actually race in the aero position. And, the next thing you know I set three PRs at the Swanton time trial and then the Canada time trial, just weeks before Nationals.

So, even though we had not gone very fast at the 2009 Nationals in the time trial, Mark felt that I had a chance to go a lot better in Bend and predicted that if I rode my best I had a shot at a top-10 finish. Understand that the Nationals attracts all the time trail specialists. Some don't even race in the other races. They just try to win the National title.

The Bend Nationals TT course is actually perfect for me. It starts with a five-mile gradual climb. It's so gentle at first I didn't feel much and had to focus to stick with Mark's plan, which called for holding back for the first three minutes. I had ridden the course and driven it several times. So I knew exactly where to hit the gas and go into full-on time trial mode.

1-hour wait for bike checks!

The climb is only about 3% for the first 3 miles, then there's about a mile that kicks up steeper, maybe 5%, and it took focusing not to go too hard there. Over the top, there's a downhill stretch leading to the turnaround.

After that, you climb the slight rise you came down to the turnaround and then there's about a five-mile descent back down the climb, followed by a fun five-mile lollipop-shaped circuit with rolling hills, and back to the start/finish.

The descent is a little bumpy so it's not easy to find the fastest line, but I probably averaged close to 40mph (I don't have a computer on my TT bike) and caught one of the strong guys from NorCal who left over a minute ahead of me, by the right turn that takes you onto the final five-mile section.

Note that they use 30-second starts at the Natz, so there's a good chance you'll overtake someone. The tandems are the only ones that get to start at minute intervals. Tandems also don't start on the ramp, but use a standing start just in front of it. Watching them start, I heard awful noises from the two riders about breaking the chain and cassette cogs as they powered away from the start house.

Don't be late for your start!

On the final 5-mile lollipop section there are some tricky turns. As I warmed up on my trainer next to my van in the high-school parking lot, a couple of racers rolled back to their cars in torn skin suits and with road rash and said that they had crashed in the corners from trying to stay on their aero bars and losing control.

That made me nervous. But we had trained a lot on the Swanton course and I was determined to stay on the bars knowing that even a few seconds would make a big difference on Bend's mostly fast pavement and the rolling final miles.

How this decision played out was actually kind of funny. Here I come into the worst turn at about 35mph. The course marshal is so sure I'm going to crash that he's jumping up and down, waving his flag and yelling 'slow down, slow down!' If I had looked at him too long I would have crashed for sure. So I just focused on the right line and blasted through the turn. It was obviously way faster than braking because I almost overtook the guy ahead right there. He had gotten on his base bars and hit the stoppers.

I killed myself on the three rollers before the finish. There was a pretty good crowd along that stretch, hollering as we passed and that was motivating. But, I could hear announcer Dave Towle, and he wasn't saying anything about me, so I knew I hadn't cracked the top five. He would have known because I was one of the last riders to start.

10th place

It turned out that I finished 10th, exactly what Coach Mark predicted. I was hoping for better. But 10th is the best I've ever done at Nationals, and as usual, the top guys were all very accomplished racers, so I am getting closer. I averaged 24.59mph.

Surprisingly, Rob Anderson, who we thought would win, was 4th. Dave Zimbleman, who everyone seemed to know (he's a regular at the Cascade Classic race in Bend that uses the same courses), won, with a significantly faster time.

Some riders were worried about the thinner air (elevation around 3,600 feet). Others thought the smoke in the air from nearby fires would cause problems. But, I didn't have any trouble. And, it was a comfortable temperature during all of the races too.

I have already reserved a spot in the new UCSC wind tunnel to determine what I need to do to go two minutes faster on that course so I can get on the podium next year. Joking!

Criterium: Friday, September 2 - Start/Finish: Downtown Bend

My first day in Bend I drove over to check out the TT course, where I ran into Richard Shields who races for Hammer Nutrition in the 65-70 group, though he looks about 35 and goes as fast too.

After comparing notes on the TT course, Richard took me over to the crit circuit, which was just around the corner in a new part of Bend. That was nice, but it turned out that that's where the 65-70 group raced, but not my group. The 55-59s would race on the downtown Bend course.

I didn't realize this until the night before the race when Jim Gentes, who was racing in the 50+ - the crit after mine - texted me to make sure I didn't go to the wrong course in the morning.

It was actually great news, because the other course was far more dangerous. We heard about broken hips and collarbones and people being carted off to the hospital and I was worried about our huge pack making it safely around the tight, narrow course.

The downtown Bend course is almost a no-brainer: four corners and two 400-yard straightaways and almost dead flat save for a light riser at the top of the course. It was like if they closed off Pacific Avenue and Front Street in Santa Cruz and let us race the wrong way down Pacific and finish on Front Street by Lulu Carpenter's. Here's a video I took showing the 50-54 group tearing down the back straight (an impressive race won by Bubba Melcher who kept attacking and blew the race apart).

I knew what would happen on a course like this and tried to start on the front row. The only problem is that at Nationals they do call-ups and only the favorites get to line-up in front. So, I had to start in the third row and when the race started I came out of the first corner fighting for about 35th place in a long single line, the entire pack strung out from the speed.

This went on for the first 10 laps or so, blasting around the corners, all strung out on the straights, no chance to move up anywhere because it was just too crazy-fast. About halfway through it slowed a bit and started bunching up after the corners because teammates were blocking for the few riders that had opened a slight gap.

About then, I noticed that several NorCal riders were near the front and I tried going up into the wind thinking that they might work with me to pull back the guys out front, but nobody was in the mood. So, in the end, Bill Watkins, who was strong enough to get off the front, won the race going away and the rest of us sprinted for the podium spots.

You had to come out of the last corner in the front to have any chance of sprinting for the podium. I botched that when, going into that little uphill off-camber corner, a guy locked up his wheels and slid wildly across the road almost taking half the pack down.

The finishing stretch

I managed to move up a little after exiting the turn on the long drag strip to the finish but there was no way I could pass all the guys that had positioned themselves better and got the jump. I finished 22nd with the same time as everyone else.

I was impressed with Mark Caldwell, who had come out of the last corner not too far ahead of me and with his superior speed and moves somehow managed to move up down the straight and take fifth and get on the podium. Mark hadn't been at the Nats in Louisville and I wondered how one of NorCal's best would have fared. Now I knew.

I should have paid better attention to how the crit developed because it demonstrated one of the rules I'm starting to learn about Nationals (Districts, too). That rule says that in major events, racers race for themselves and they likely won't cooperate with you or anyone else. They will cooperate with teammates, of course, but it's rare that there are many coordinated teams out there in the 55+, though that was the case the first time I raced in the road race in Louisville.

The road race start/finish

Road Race: Sunday, September 4 - Start/Finish: Summit HS

I was so tired Saturday afternoon I was concerned. It had been two days since the crit and four days since the time trial. And both events had been short, only a total of 41 miles. Plus the riding I'd done on the off days was pretty mellow, just cruising around the race courses easy.

The fatigue could have been nerves. I was so shaky at the start of the TT that Steve Palladino, who I had only met a few weeks back at the Canada time trial actually asked me if I was okay. And Richard Shields tried to settle me down telling me to relax. I felt a little better at the start of the crit but the large pack and fast start I knew was coming kept me on edge.

So, on Saturday afternoon, feeling wiped out, I went back to the fine Super 8 Hotel, turned on the TV, lay down on the bed and stayed there the rest of the day to bring my legs back to life and calm my nerves.

T minus 90 min. to start time

I got to the start/finish on Sunday with plenty of time to double-check my bike, get my bottles ready, suit up and do Mark's trainer warm-up. Ours was the first group to start so as I pedaled away I watched the USA Cycling guys setup the start/finish area and listened to announcer Dave Towle warm-up the crowd milling around waiting for the start.

We were going off at 8 a.m. It was a nice Santa Cruz-like 60 degrees. As I was warming up Chris and Sam Cerruti and Evan Kapel came over to say hi. It was great to see some other locals ready to race with me.

Speaking of locals, I got really lucky in the road race. A guy came over after the crit and introduced himself as former Santa Cruz cyclist Jim Holmes, and offered to be in the feed zone in the road race to hand me up water. This was a huge help because, even though it wasn't going to be too hot that early in the morning, the mountain air dries you out and being able to get more bottles was essential. Jim saved the day. It was also great to have Sam Cerruti in the feed zone. He was handing up bottles to his dad but he gave a shout out to me on every lap and that was cool.

The top of the Archie Briggs climb

The road race is a relatively easy loop, It starts with a long downhill, maybe 4 miles. Then there's a small bump before more flat and down roads. The first real climb comes at around 11 miles. It's about a 7 or 8% grade for maybe a mile with the feed zone at the top. After that it's more flat and down with a couple of bumps.

Then you drop into a little canyon on Archie Briggs Road and at the bottom run into a wall. John Novitsky's Garmin said it was a 16% grade. I counted about 85 pedal strokes to cover the steep part. After that, it flattens out and then there are 2 small risers before you crest the top and head downhill. It's about 5K to the finish from there on the last lap.

The race started with a neutralized rolling promenade through the first two roundabouts. Then there's a left turn and we picked up speed fast as the road heads downhill. It made for a terrifying first few miles.

Everyone was using deep-dish carbon aero wheels, sew-ups pumped to max pressure for the countertop-smooth Bend pavement. Riders wanted badly to be in front and guys were moving forward like we were in the crit again. I refused to get bumped or intimidated and stuck in the second row, but the high speed and jostling, aggressive moves were scary and I had trouble riding straight, my front end speed wobbling due to the tension in my arms and neck.

They also gave us a rolling road closure and when the guys realized they could use the entire road everyone started moving far left and far right clipping every corner. While it was fun (like we were racing in the Tour of CA or something), the locals must have missed the memo on the closure because we came around a left sweeper and there was a double-wide pickup smack in the middle of the lane. The guy on the motorcycle leading the race barely missed crashing into the truck and I don't know how the racers behind him didn't crash. It was all I could do to move right without hitting the guys next to me.

Super-smooth roads = high speeds

Once out on the course, things settled down. We hit the two climbs on lap 1 so hard my legs burned badly. That worried me, so I rolled off the front a little on lap 2 before the second and steeper climb, and they let me open a small gap. I started the wall in the lead and was able to slip slide through the pack over the top. Even with the killer pace on the climbs, there were about 35 riders of the starting pack of 65 or so still together starting lap 3.

On the third lap, we passed the fast downhill section and over the first bump and I had moved forward and was next to Wayne Stetina, who has something like 14 national championships to his credit. I said hi and told him who I was. Wayne works for Shimano and knows me as a cycling journalist, not a racer. He said something like, 'Yeah, I know it's you, Jim, and you're riding great." That was cool. Note that Wayne had basically ridden away from us at the last two Nationals, so actually still being with him so late in the race was a big change for me.

Results by timing chips

Shortly after that exchange, multi-time USA cyclocross champ Paul Curly took a flyer and everybody let him go. I heard Wayne say to no on in particular, "That's a good move." And, without giving it much thought, I just took off and chased Paul down. It took a little work to catch him but I didn't think it was too much. And I went right past him and took a hard pull to let him know I was there to help.

We traded pulls like this for a few miles. I realized right away that I picked a questionable guy to try to break away with. Not that Paul can't win a race (he ended up taking third). But he's not very tall and I didn't get much draft behind him.

Also, it didn't seem like his pulls were intended to keep us off the front. That was okay with me. I figured that he was the champ here and the least I could do is take some good pulls and try to make the break succeed. So I took hard pulls on the small rollers on that section of road and after a little while we had opened a 30-second gap according to the motorcycle guys who came up and left the pack behind.

The hard pulls cost me, though, and when we got to the first real climb on lap 3, I was toast and told Paul as much. He said to just find a rhythm, that it wasn't about the hill. But, only seconds later, Rob Anderson caught us, pack in tow, and they then attacked the hill apparently trying to get rid of us. That almost worked. But, as the last of the pack passed me, I managed to get on a wheel and hang on and get back in with the group.

Funny race number, huh?

Unfortunately, while I was struggling not to get dropped, I wasn't watching what was happening in the front. And it was at that moment, disguised by the feed zone and confident that the starch had been taking out of the leaders after chasing down my and Paul's breakaway, that Dave Zimbleman (the same guy who dominated the time trial, and who just won the 2011 World Masters Road Race in Belgium last week), snuck away on the side of the road. I never saw him and had no idea that he had gone up the road. He ended up staying away and winning the race by a good margin.

Meanwhile, we all stuck together and finished in a field sprint. I almost got dropped again on the steeper climb on Archie Briggs Road and was toward the back of the bunch all the way to the sprint trying to move up. Steve Palladino who had helped me before the time trial, helped me again coming into the sprint. He rallied a few of us that were coming unglued by taking monster pulls and closing the gap to the front group. I tried to help with a couple pulls of my own.

We couldn't get to the front on the narrow roads and two roundabouts leading to the long finishing straightaway sprint, though. And, when the road finally opened up it was just go as hard as you can as long as you can to try to move up a few places. I managed to keep passing guys and finished 19th.

I finished 19th in the field sprint

The guys that took the podium spots were top sprinters. I never could have beaten them even if I was near them. For example, Bob Downs, who placed in both the criterium and road race with his awesome speed. So, reflecting on how the race unfolded, my attempt to make a breakaway work was a sensible thing to try, even if it didn't work.

The mistake was going with THAT breakaway, as Dave demonstrated. Another rule to remember: the winning breakaway will likely go late in the race, after earlier breakaways have been reeled in and everyone is too tired to chase.

All in all, it was an epic week of racing and my best Nationals yet. I'm proud to have finally cracked the top 10, and to have finished in the field sprint for the podium spots in both the criterium and road race.

After the road race, one of the guys came up to me and commented that if there was a most-aggressive racer award I should get it. So, I was at least one of the guys who tried to make something happen in the race, and that's a lot better than getting dropped like in 2009 and 2010. I'm going to keep working and trying to get on the podium next year, or the next, or…. I hope you teammates can join me in Bend in 2012.

[Track] Friday Night Racing 2011/9/9

noreply@blogger.com (Nils) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:14:00 +0000

9/9 was the last Friday night of track racing in 2011, and it was a blast. Between the PG-13 commentary by Michael Hernandez and the free food and beer, Friday nights always draw out a big crowd on beautiful summer evenings in Hellyer Park. Here's how it went down:

Fact 1: When Anthony Borba tells you to not initiate a break in the scratch race, you initiate a break in the scratch race. With a few laps to go, it was just me and Mario Hernandez from Audi. On the final lap, Mario started pulling up in Turn 1 and I went for it hard down the sprinters lane and caught him off guard. Win 1.

Fact 2: Points races are hard, but with careful attention, they are winnable. Unless you're superhuman, trying to win every points lap (every five or ten laps, with points going 5-3-2-1 to the first four riders across the line) is going to result in dead legs. I was careful to keep track of my points vs. Mario's, and while Mario won the final lap, I ended the race with the most points. Win 2.

Fact 3: Whoever made the Win and Out is a sadist. It's 15 laps, followed by a bell on each successive lap for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on. The nasty part is that if you commit your effort for first place and it doesn't work out, then you're unlikely to have the legs for any decent place. Our 3/4s race was very slow for the first 12 laps, with nobody wanting to take a premature risk. Mario went with 3 laps before the first bell. I had him marked and quickly made the bridge (I think the sudden surge from slow to very fast caught many legs off guard.) On the final bell lap, I came around uptrack hard and hoped to god that I would have the legs to hold everyone off. Thankfully, I did, and the (very tense) race was over. Win 3.

Fact 4: Track makes me make crazy faces.

Fact 5:Track is crack.

Match Sprints at Hellyer Park Velodrome, 8/27/11

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis the Mennis) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:55:00 +0000

By Dennis Pedersen

This year the NCVA has held several Sprint For A Wish Series match sprint events. I raced my first event earlier this year and had a blast. I am getting to love the mix of brute power and tactics so typical of match sprints!

Nils and I carpooled to San Jose on a gorgeous, warm afternoon with highs in the mid-80s. A nice relief from Santa Cruz's drizzly mornings. Like usual, we first signed up, then warmed up for the timed 200-meter runs they use to "seed" us into groups, by speed. Last time I used 48x14 gears (also known as 90.1 gear-inches per the gearing calculator here) for this and liked it. I later tried that gearing for some mass-start races, and decided it was a better choice than the lower 48x15 (84.4 gear-inches) for them too.

The 200m runs sound easy, just cover 200m as fast as possible, but they are actually pretty tricky, and it's hard to time our efforts just right. It seems it's best to ride high along the outer railing of the track, accelerate exiting turn 4 into turn 1, and increase to 100% power just before we hit the start of the timed section in the exit from turn 2. Then angle down the banking into the inside edge of the track at the entrance to turn 3 and just try to maintain as much of that speed as possible out of turn 4 and across the finish line. It's hard to get the timing just right, and we try to study the approach that experienced racers take. It seems like there is more than one right way.

There was a light wind, so I didn't think any of us would set any new records for our 200m times... was I wrong! Nils improved to 12.48 seconds, and I improved to 12.66 seconds (from 13.08)! Even that put us both in the "B" group this time (the "A" riders were in the low 12s, with one guy even breaking into the 11s!).

Match sprints are usually just two guys on the track, the first one to cross the finish line wins. You might think we'd just sprint from the very start of each match. But... because of the tactical nature of racing, it usually ends up with a cat-and-mouse game between the two guys as each tries to time his attack for the maximum benefit and to avoid giving the other guy the advantage of a draft to follow. Each match would be just two 335m-laps, 670m total. I switched back to my 84.4-inch gearing for these, because the lower gearing really helps me "jump" from the low speeds we start at.

My first sprint was against Stefan Eberle, who I know well from the Tuesday night track races. I decided I preferred to let him take the lead and we slowly rode off after the whistle blew. We mostly just rode along, slowly, while watching each other. That's harder for the guy in the front though, which is one reason I wanted to follow him. On the second (last) lap he occasionally swooped down the banking a bit, as if to attack, only to swoop back up. That's done to make predicting his moves harder, but I maintained my position well. With about 250m to go I jumped 100% down from turn 2's banking and opened up a big gap ahead of him, watching him carefully to ensure he didn't pass me. He did approach me, but I beat him to the finish line. It's best to not go faster than you need to, so as to conserve energy for the following matches.

Next up was Alex (Alto Velo). I started ahead of him, but by forcing the pace a bit high, riding ahead of him and then up to the rail and backpedaling, I was able to get behind him. He then tried really hard to force me to lose my position behind him. Several times we almost did "track stands" (the Hellyer rules don't allow that; these races are slow enough already!). I then jumped from turn 2 as before, and took another win.

I was then matched against Tim Lydon (San Jose Bike Club), who I remember took 3rd at the State Criterium Championships the Sunday before. He also proved to be very crafty, swooping and sometimes almost stopping in order to get me out front. But I stayed firmly behind him, until turn 2 on the last lap when he slowed abruptly and started to bump into my right side from the banking above me. I held firm even though my handlebars vibrated from the impact, then jumped 100% for my sprint. But... I barely held him off for the win. My 84.4-inch gearing is woefully low against fast finishers like him. This may all sound scary, but we both agreed it was great fun!

Next was Judd. After simply leading me along for the first lap he then accelerated to a very high constant speed that I couldn't match... my cadence was so high I couldn't possibly spin the pedals any faster! I thought I might have been able to hold his wheel if I had used taller gearing, but I'm still not sure I could have ever passed him. He's fast, and a former State Champion. Oh well, can't win them all.

My last sprint was against Nils. He thought it would be really fun while I was a bit nervous at trying to beat such a fast, young guy. I finally decided to switch to my 90.1-inch gearing as a test... am I glad I did! He led the way, swooping and slowing at times, but I maintained my place behind him. And, once again in turn 2, I was able to time my jump perfectly: Just as he swooped up and looked over his right shoulder, I jumped down to his left and opened a big gap that he couldn't close. That taller gearing is really useful!

Man, I sure had fun. I haven't seen official results yet, but I know I did well. And I learned some more about tactics and gear choices to use in match sprints. One thing I did after these matches (in addition to retiring my 15-tooth sprocket!) was to buy new carbon handlebars, because the front-end of my bike shimmied frighteningly in hard sprints. I look forward to the next sprint event, on September 10th. I hope to see you there!

Embrunman Triathlon Race Report 8/15/2011

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Langley) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 16:43:00 +0000

Hautes-Alpes, France August 15, 2011
by Benoit Pelczar

Preparation
Having spent many months of August vacationing in the area in my youth, I was aware of the Embrunman Ironman-distance triathlon way before I started thinking about possibly doing it one day.

To try and understand the particularity of this race, I rode the bike course 2 years ago, over 2 days and on a rental bike. I rode the smaller loop of the figure 8 course one day and the bigger one the next day. I finished exhausted and with a total riding time of about 9 hours. What I learned from this was that renting a bike was not a satisfactory option (heavy and ill fitted) and that the course was to be taken seriously.

With a trip in France planned for the summer of 2011, I had intended to start preparing for the race about a year in advance, with a shift to a gradual bike focus over the winter. It turns out that I overraced during the summer and was sick from mid-August through mid-December. Once recovered, I started to train again, playing by ear and relying on the option to sign up a few weeks before the race if my preparation was going well.

In January, I started to seek the hills on each single bike ride, gradually increasing the total amount of climbing. This culminated with over 40 hours in July and 50,000' gain. My training was heavily weighted on the bike, by design, keeping the run work around half-marathon distance until a late push to the marathon one.

My swim training was minimal, not by choice but by necessity after a couple setbacks such as a sick family member in March and a self inflicted bike fall on Memorial Day which resulted in stitches on lip and finger as well as chipped teeth and a dead nerve needing root canal treatment one month later. Coincidentally, my load of business trips increased by about 50%. I did not panic and kept trying to get ready, though, as I trusted I could swim the distance, maybe slowly, but in an economical way which would not drain me too much for the rest of the day.

Having recovered from the bike fall and trusting I could prepare myself to take on the challenge, I registered for the race at the end of June.

Logistically, since renting a bike did not work out, I looked at shipping my bike to the race destination, to avoid having to carry it through airports and in a rental car. The quoted cost of about $400 each way made me look for an alternative and I bought a Pika Packworks bag.

I flew to France the first week of August, headed North for a family reunion before driving back South and reaching Embrun 6 days before the race.

Race

I got to the transition area at 5 am, relaxed and feeling ready for the challenge ahead.

There was a small line getting into transition. No big deal, I thought and started chatting with my neighbors. The line was not moving fast, though. Pretty soon, the women were cutting through, worried about missing their earlier start.

By 5:20 am, the line started to move fast, after they stopped taking racers' signature. I was still strangely relaxed. I organized my area, pumped my tires, found my dad to give him my pump and was ready to go by 5:50 am.

My daughter and 2 nephews had raced the kids race the day before and they had lined them up in the transition area before having them gather on the beach for the actual start.

I was in queue, in the transition area, waiting to be allowed on the beach when I heard a "start" signal. Surprised, I asked my neighbor "that's not the actual start, is it?". Sure, it was. Oh well, it was a long day ahead anyway, so I calmly waited my turn to get in the water and started swimming.

Earlier during the week I had had the hardest time escorting my fish-daughter in the water as she was training for her own race, before putting my wetsuit and having a bad swim, in contrast to the great swim I had had earlier in the English Channel. That bad swim dropped my confidence a bit but I waved it off as not being used to the elevation yet and stretching to keep up with my daughter.

The first buoy of 5 was easy to spot and I swam relaxed. The rest of course was tougher to navigate after that in the dark but I did an OK job, aiming for the Morgon peak out and the transition lights back. I understood my confusion a bit better on the second lap once I realized there were more buoys than the 5 described in the pre-race meeting. No problem since I was there to race the course and not a map on a slide.

I managed to find calm enough water, except for a swimmer with a very wide stroke whose right hand smacked me in the face. On both laps, at the same location, I felt hot in my wetsuit, made a mental note of it and wondered whether it was a sign of things to come.

I got out of the water, had a calm transition and got on my bike. I had no idea of my time as my stop watch died before the start, until I asked a racer if he had a split, which made me then estimate I had a 1:15 swim and a 5' transition.

My heart rate was elevated for the first 20 minutes out, despite my efforts to calm myself, but surely due to the excitement of the race and the 2000' climb right out of transition. It is not until the start of the downhill back into Embrun I realized I had been moving very fast. I instantaneously lowered my target HR but it had little impact on my downhill speed. I passed Les Crots after riding for only 1:30 while it had taken me 1:45 earlier in the week at my target pace. That difference freaked me out and I made sure to ride extra easy from that point on. I was hoping to see my supporter crew of family and friends but figured they had probably missed me due to my unexpected fast pace.

I was trying to drink a little more than planned due to my hot feeling in the swim while staying on my eating plan and was moving at a satisfactory pace and low heart rate until we started the Izoard climb where it became more difficult to do so while maintaining forward motion.

I made sure I did not come close to my red zone, stopped eating but started on the Coke I had grabbed at the bottom. I made it at the top by 12:05, right on my estimated pace and rewarded myself with sitting at a picnic table to eat the treats I had dropped in my support bag.

I had really enjoyed the descent 2 years ago and did again this time, despite getting cold through the unprotected parts of my legs. I focused on drinking and eating plenty, bracing myself for the rest of the course. By 1 pm, I starting having negative thoughts so I refocused on eating and drinking, which helped. By close to 2 pm, I finally saw my family, lined up by Champcella on the steepest section of the whole course. They had been there early enough to watch the leaders.

It really gave me a boost to see them. I was wondering whether they would try and follow me and wondered when I would see them next. At the same time I was bracing myself for the last climb (Chalvet) which I had found difficult both 2 years ago and again this week when pre-riding it. To my surprise, I found a second wind and did not suffer too much that time.

After the last fast, twisty and gravelly downhill, I was back in transition by 3:40 pm where I was greeted by my family again. I took my time to get ready and started to run, my favorite event.

I moved well for about 5 km before hitting a wall. I was unsure what was happening as my HR was low and decided it had to be the heat. Strangely I never recognized it on the bike, but my Garmin could not lie, reading above 90F. It is only then I realized it had not even occurred to me to train for a hot run. Well, it was late to prepare so now I had to deal with it.

One of my goals was to run the whole marathon and I threw it quickly out of the window, making a deal to walk up and run the flats and downs. That lasted only so long before I started to walk even flat sections.

I then forgot about any type of time goal, calculated I could finish within the time limits even walking at 6 km/h and focused on making sure I would not get pulled for medical reasons. One motivation was to not leave unfinished business and save the option to not race that course again. I was trying to drink a lot and eat a little.

By the 25 km I vomited the little food I had, after which I limited my calorie intake even more. I found my running legs at seemingly random intervals before losing them again without notice. I distracted myself talking to racers around me, who had a story strangely similar to mine, and playing with volunteers or spectators.

By 9 pm I had 4 km to go and was walking with a gentleman hoping to break 15:30. I had a click and decided I wanted to finish with as much light as possible (the sun had just set) and started running at a good pace. The barn effect must have worked as I crossed the line elated, with family members in tow - once I realized it was encouraged by the organizers - around 9:20 pm.

I thought I was done but not quite. I gathered my gear only to stand for 20’ in line to get out of transition and exchanging the chip for a 10 Euro bill. People were falling like flies around me and I was starting to get dizzy myself by the time I rejoined my family.

I sat down on the ground while they were getting organized to leave when they surprised me with a Champagne shower which was the perfect conclusion of a day of racing amongst family, friends and fellow endurance athletes.

NCNCA Masters State Criterium Championships, 50-54

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis the Mennis) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:38:00 +0000

By Dennis Pedersen

I've never raced the State Criterium Championships before, or been to Clovis, just north of Fresno, or been to a race with "Medical Control." I was able to check all of those things off my "bucket list" this weekend. While I was not excited about the 3-hour-long drive alone, I was happy to escape the chilly drizzle in Santa Cruz for a bit. This was my first year in the 50-54 age group, so I figured it was as good a year as any to try to win a coveted California State Championship jersey.

When I arrived in quaint Old Town Clovis I got to see John Schaupp race in the 55-59 field, and former teammate Amy Russo stand on the top of the podium for the Women's 45-49 race! Congratulations!

The flat course had 8 turns through a nice older downtown neighborhood, with clean, smooth pavement. A slight wind kept temperatures comfortable in the mid-70s. The announcer was none other than Bruce Hildenbrand. I warmed up a bit and ate a gel, feeling very relaxed and strong (thanks in part to advice from our team coaches!).

At the start line we counted just 17 riders in our field. I figured that would make for a safer, more fun race. On the other hand, most of them were guys with a legitimate chance of doing well, not just novices. Our race started a few minutes late, about 11:15, and was to go for 45 minutes.

When they blew the whistle we all clipped in and I was third wheel, right on World Champion Larry Nolan's wheel (Team Specialized Racing Masters). That's always a nice start! But he soon tired of being followed around and pulled out of the line and dropped back. The guy in front of me (I think from Team Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada) pulled for a couple of laps. Nobody came around, but he seemed happy to pull.

Then came our first attack: A rider in a black/red/yellow kit I didn't recognize jumped hard into turn 3 and soon had a nice gap on us, maybe 15 seconds, that he held for a few laps. Pretty impressive actually. But we soon caught him, thanks in part to me taking a hard 1-lap pull. I always debate whether I should pull, but I almost always end up deciding I should, in the interest of keeping the pace high and the race safe (worked; no crashes, in any of the races all day!).

After we caught that guy Larry jumped in the same place, into turn 3. Everybody reacted instantly and it started to feel like a real race! He didn't pull for too long though, and I really think it was just his idea of a hard tempo pace to string the pack out, not an attempt to escape us. Because after a few turns he looked back to see if anybody would pull through; they didn't. So, the pace relaxed again.

A few guys took pulls, as did I again, but it was clear most guys just wanted to conserve energy for the last lap. Smart, but boring. I think others started to feel the same way because then a guy from Safeway, I think Jonathan Laine, jumped ahead and gapped us for a little but was caught after a hard effort. Same went for the black/red/yellow jersey guy when he again attacked. Larry tried to speed things up again and when he was done pulling he even made an exaggerated sweeping gesture to get others to pull through. He said to me, "Dennis, nobody else wants to pull," which I took as a compliment to my humble efforts. Neither of us had teammates so it was incumbent on us to shape the race as best we could, though it is always frustrating when team riders don't appear to be making the same effort as we solo riders. That's just the way things are, it seems.

I was gasping a bit at times, but still felt good. I was really hoping the 8-turn course and small field would equalize things a bit for the guys just trying to rest at the back, since our pace would be smoother at the front and our draft would be weaker than in a big field, but I know I burned more energy than most of them did. Even so, with just a handful of laps remaining I was able to repsond to the increasing pace and even dared to hope I could be fresh enough for a strong sprint.

We were now hyper-alert, and a very hard attack from a Davis Bike Club rider was caught, barely. I was happy I could breathe for a bit at that point! Then Jess Raphael (VOS) really jumped with 1/2 lap to go... yikes! I'm not sure it helped his teammate, but I saw an opportunity to execute my own plan: I had decided early on that I wanted to start my sprint rather early, maybe 300m from the finish line, so I could avoid being squeezed against the curbs in the last turns and pushed back. And that's where Jess ran out of steam. As I flew through turn 7 I went hard around him and did a seated sprint into turn 8. I remained seated and spun fast toward the finish line ahead, with maybe a 20- to 30-foot gap, keeping close to the left barriers to deny any draft from the headwind slightly from the right. I really thought I might soon own a California Champion's jersey!

But early sprints are always risky and with just 50m to go several guys flew by me on my right side, while my lungs heaved for oxygen. Darn. I was hoping for a podium finish at least; while I think I counted 5 guys ahead of me I actually took 5th, per the official results. Sadly, while the podium had 5 steps on it, they only gave awards to the top 3: Steven Giles (VOS), Larry Nolan and Tim Lydon (San Jose Bike Club). I applauded them anyway, while hoping for a better result next time.

It took a long time before my breathing returned to normal; I really did give it all I had. I tried my best and finished honorably, proud that I had animated the race as best I could while still finishing well. And the 3-hour drive home was nice and relaxing, with beautiful views.

District State Championship RR 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Heater) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 19:56:00 +0000

District State Championship Road Race 2011

Steve Heaton 45-49

~ Two Man Flyer ~

I was rested and ready to battle for victory against some of the strongest guys in my category. I took a sunny 10min nap in my hammock right before I left for the race that day. I knew without a doubt my fitness was good. Earlier in the week and the prior week I did a couple tests to see what level of power I was producing. My FTP, VO2 and Sprint results showed high output holding peak fitness from 2 months ago.

This year’s Championship race was held in Monterey offering me home course advantage. I have won a few races here making it more likely for me to do well. The beauty of District Championships is the course changes over the years to accommodate riders throughout the district. It effectively levels the playing field for everyone to have a chance at a Championship title. Some years altitude friendly riders have the advantage other year’s skinny frail climbers and finally this year power riders like myself. The CCCX race series is held on the same course runs from Jan 30 ends Oct 1. I’m leading the series overall with two races remaining.

The race almost always ends up with a breakaway. I wasn’t going to let any sizeable group go up the road without me in it.

Ding Dong the race is on……………………….. Literally it was on from the start!

Immediate attack and five riders go up the road. With five teams represented I noticed at least one super strong guy and I couldn’t just sit back and watch them roll out of sight. So I kept the pace high and would attack at 90% with lots of body language to see if I could light a spark under the belly of the beast. With one lap down and nothing from the pack I threw down a serious 110% attack and bridged up to the breakaway by myself.

No one is going to escape me today!

Upon arrival I noticed one guy pulling mostly and the others hanging on desperately. I recovered from my attack to bridge up, looked back and we had a decisive gap. I decided to see what we can make of it since we now have 6 teams represented.

By the end of the second lap it’s just me and Dirk?

I usually only mention my teammates names because my race reports are about me and how I experienced the race including teammates but this guy (Dirk) and I ended up riding like teammates.

I Said to Dirk “it’s just us.” He just kept on pushing the pace and I synced up. The pace felt like we only had one lap remaining but in reality it was the beginning of many to come. Next thing I know we have 8 laps to go with 40mins down and 1h20mins of racing remaining. I’m thinking this is a huge effort so far with two times as much required to finish it. Between the two of us we had just two teammates in the pack that could do any potential blocking. The odds of us two holding off the peloton was highly unlikely. We charged forward like two horses on a race track going round and round full speed ahead.

The daunting challenge ahead seemed endless with the amount of time required to pull off the two man flyer. I focused on hydration and food intake to make sure I wouldn’t fall apart late in the race. To give you an idea of how hard I had to ride, I would pull at 90-100% efforts between 30sec and 2min with recover efforts at 75-90%. For those of you with power L4/5 – L3/4 with very little at 75%/L3. Even on the down hills we would literally sprint into the downhill and sling shot past each other over and over. It was a crazy fast pace but it’s what it takes to hold off the pack especially with a Championship title on the line.

After 1hr 30min (9laps into it) our lead stayed around 1min 30secs. With 4 laps to go the official car came up to us and said a chase group of 10 guys is charging hard after you. With 3 laps to go on the long straight I could just start to see them. Dirk could tell I was getting nervous and said if we still have a good gap with two laps to go we can take this race. I put my head down and proceeded to hammer it out.

Two laps and I can see the chase on the long straight away getting closer. I’m really feeling the pressure to not slow and push through the pain. We held our pace pretty well but with 10 hungry rested and strong guys chasing with less than two laps remaining it wasn’t looking good. As we came into the finish stretch with one lap remaining I looked back and the chase is charging really hard with 15sec gap to us.

Turn on the volume

We hammered it out on the long flat section in hopes they would hesitate looking at each other but then I knew it was over. I eased up and let Dirk set the pace on the stretch of road he liked pulling. With about half lap to go (5mins to finish) on the first riser they sprinted past in order to drop us and that they did. I attempted to go with but didn’t have it. As I watched them roll away I said to myself “YOU HAVE ONE LAST CHANCE – NOW OR NEVER”. Don’t let the last two hours of hard fought effort turn to nothing.

I stood up again and went all out like my life depended on it. I felt if I could catch them and recover before the start of the climbing section I have a chance. Then if I make the first climb the rest are rollers into a strong headwind and no one will want to be in front and the pace might slow enough for me to recover before finish sprint.

I was able to catch them and did make the climb. I was so elated and now feeling like I had a shot at a good finish. As we approach the final turn to start our sprint I’m about five back and would rather be first or second back but couldn’t power my way into that position. We jump for the line and I don’t have the power in my legs to sprint past these guys but I held my position and beat half the group for 5th place.

Me on the left coming to the line and pretty much sums up the experience as I approached the line. A blur...........

After the race I felt like a million bucks with my adrenaline still pumping. I put everything I had into it and ended up on the podium. I could have been conservative and not go in a two man flyer the entire race since the odds were against us pulling it off (I was fully aware of it at the time). I could of sat in the pack and responded to others and most likely would have ended the race in the final group or pack sprint with fresher legs and placed better than 5th. I made a choice to push myself beyond what I thought was possible. I challenged my own perceptions of my ability and believed in myself without hesitation. You can’t put a placing on that! Talk about putting it all on the line? Dirk and I held off the pack the entire race! It required a chase group of 10 guys some of the strongest competitors in the race to real us in with half lap to go.

What an exciting day of racing!

2011 Masters Districts State Championship - 55-59 Mens

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Langley) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 05:18:00 +0000

Finally, A Podium Spot At Districts
By Jim Langley

Late Sunday start = small group

The ironic thing about this year's District Championships is that I almost didn't enter it. I've gotten so used to the long trek to Markleeville to race at elevation, that having the venue changed to our popular CCCX circuit race course at Fort Ord seemed all wrong.

More a weekend crit than a championship road race
There would be no major climbs; nice, thick sea-level air; and surely no skinny Nevada fastmen. Plus, with a high chance of a bunch sprint finish, it seems more like a criterium than a road race worthy of district's status.

But worst, my race was to be the last of the day, starting at 4:50 Sunday afternoon. Talk about messing up my training for Nationals!

Home field advantage
But then two things convinced me to register. Bob Montague, who was such a big help at the Madera Road Race emailed saying he wanted to ride for me. And a little later Steve Heaton told me I'd be crazy not to enter since it's essentially our home course and we've all done so well there in the circuit races, and because I'm in peak form. Excellent points.

Then Kem Akol let me know he was signing up, making 3 strong Bike Trip/Symantec double-nickel teammates (as it turned out we had one of the largest teams in our group). And finally Coach Mark decided to enter the 50+ and offered to drive. Be sure to check out the iPhone video at the bottom showing his group flying down the descent (Geoff and Matt are in the pack too).

Rob Anderson tearing our legs off - Bob looking strong

Rob does his thing
As for our 55+ race, if you enlarge the photo on the right and look at Masters State, National and World Champion Rob Anderson's grimace (he's the guy in front in Specialized red), it pretty much sums up how our race went.

The official blew his whistle to start us, Rob was kind enough to let our small group (about 23 riders) click into our pedals, and then he hit his electric shifter, and a higher gear, and punched it - flat out.

Grab a wheel and hang on
We went from a let's-warm-up-a-little 15mph to a quad-cramping 30mph in about 20 pedal strokes, and we stayed at that speed for about 4 minutes before Rob had to take a breather. Then, about a minute later he did the same thing.

This exact pattern repeated for the first 6 laps, at which point there were only 7 of us left in the lead group, a nice chase group of 7 or 8, more than a minute back, and a few solo riders left. The rest had abandoned to race another day.

A helpful headwind
Luckily for me, it's not so easy to breakaway on the CCCX course. There are a series of rollers on the backside of the course but there's a headwind there that means all you have to do is hide behind someone and not get gapped and it's unlikely whoever is trying to drop you in front will be able to generate the watts to do it, since you're working nowhere near as hard as they are.

Mark wins! Rob is second. Steve takes third.

This worked great for me through the 7th lap and I felt pretty good when we came to the backside of the course where it's relatively flat. While I may have felt good, in retrospect I think I must have gone a little brain dead because as Rob sat up, I decided to attack myself. Why should he have all the fun?

Dumb move
I was able to open a small gap but Rob chased me down pretty quickly. I rested a bit and then jumped again with Mark Caldwell pulling me back this time.

I knew what would happen next: Rob punched it again trying to shake me. I was okay until we hit the rollers and there, my legs, softened now from my attacks, just gave out and I got dropped.

I recovered really fast though and managed to chase and actually catch the group (they had slowed to a crawl), but when they realized I was back on, Rob went again and I got dropped for good.

Down but not out
I ended up time trialing in, dropping one guy who was dogging me, staying ahead of the chase group behind me and taking the last podium spot. It's my best districts finish ever and by far the closest I have ever been to Rob Anderson.

Rob, Mark Caldwell and Steve Palladino came into the sprint together and went 2, 1, 3. Jonathan Sek must have been dropped like me and time trialed in for 4th. A spectator told me that Mark was much faster to the line than Rob. I wish I had been there.

I'll wrap this up with a special thanks to John Schaupp, who had a big win in the 55+ at Dunnigan Hills on Saturday. Instead of kicking back, recovering at home, he was out on the course cheering us on and handing up bottles. Thanks, John and congrats!

Mtn Bike Nationals 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Heater) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 20:56:00 +0000

Cat 1 45-49 XC

Looking for lady luck!

The race was held on Mt. Baldy, the nation’s oldest ski resort mountain. At the foot of the Mtn looking up the face is when the pain of what’s in store became all so real. The trails are some of the most fun single track I have ever been on. Ripping, rolling, twisting, banking turns, trees to dodge and tight switchbacks. The climb though is brutal and it’s virtually impossible not to go anaerobic and blow up quickly (for me anyway.) It’s an 18min single track with little to no passing. It starts out steep with loose rock and root step up and overs (repeated interval format).

Once you make it through then it’s just steady hard climbing until you reach the final 7mins on fire road to the top. At that point you have to go all out to secure position because its one of the only places you can pass.

Leaving the single track to finish off the climb on to the fire road.

Once over the top it’s a long downhill to the finish line.

Let it fly

My favorite section – hit this at speed catching the lip to launch 8ft out and 3ft down into the left banking turn up over and down. Soooooo much fun!

Getting close to bottom - Watch out for the switchback or you might end up on the direct route to the bottom.

Last drop in to disappering trail before finish "Rock Wall"

Side view of disappering trail on Rock Wall

Michele and I arrived 10 days ahead for me to acclimate since I typically have a difficult time at altitude. I pre-road the race course actual distance four times before in order to get to know all the challenging sections. I was monitoring food intake before and during along with hydration. Paid attention to how much time I needed to warm up before going hard on course. I wanted to be sure and have my tire pressure, shock pressure and handling skills dialed for the descent. The climb was about knowing how much effort to dose at what time. I would adjust my efforts to handle the technical, rocky, rooty and loose ascent. By knowing the trail and my ability I could be more confident and comfortable under pressure in the race. Knowing around the next corner comes a little relief or get ready to really suffer can make all the difference in the heat of battle. At the bottom of the Mtn we did a loop around the ski lodge area where they man made a rock garden like the rock wall but this was a 50 meter boulder field that was impossible to find a clean line and seemed to just thrash not only the bike but my body.

The hight of these rocks 4-10 inches and scattered no way around them.

As the week went by my plan was to slowly adjust to the altitude by riding easy first day on road followed by a day on course followed by recovery day or two then back on course. Each time I rode the course I would go a bit harder working my way up to race pace. Three days before race was to be my last hard day. Followed by a day off then an easy pre-ride on the lower section to work out the kinks on the two rock garden sections and how I would position for the start of the race. Every other pre-ride was brutally hard and would cripple me for a day. By the fifth day two times on course I was so discouraged I wanted to go home. The altitude was so intense every time up the climb. It’s like doing stair step technical intervals about 20-30sec VO2 max + efforts with no recovery for 15mins and half lung capacity. I would blow up on just about every effort and have to stop or come to a crawl and try to recover. Usually for me it’s my legs that give out not my lungs so this was very frustrating to know I’m not pushing myself to my limits. The climb was 20-24mins overall times two laps. Once to the top it’s all downhill to the finish making it all the more important to let it all out holding nothing back.

I was doing all the right things to adjust to altitude. Not eating much sugar, no alcohol, higher carbs, lots of fluids to stay hydrated, not pushing myself too hard too soon and plenty of rest. After the fifth day I decided I needed some relief from all the structure, planning and commitment I give to cycling. I went with what I tell my clients about training. All the best plans and structure don’t mean anything if you’re not mentally comfortable. So I drank wine, did a couple pints of ice cream and had a couple steaks over the last five days leading up to the race. I needed comfort foods to help keep me calm and relaxed.

My last pre-ride went really well (day 7) and I was feeling like I might have turned the corner. The next day I was really tired but felt I would flush it out the day before the race on my final pre-ride and I did. I went from feeling helpless to OK and ready to race.

I practiced every step of the race. I did a simulation pre-race warm up the day before. I have a 10min downhill ride to the race venue and it would be 42deg so I didn’t want to arrive cold and stiff. I wrote out a checklist on when I would wake up and times when I would need to do something (take supplement, coffee, purge, dress, shower, warm up, and depart). I had my road bike set-up on a stationary trainer in garage to do a 25mins warm up then charge down the hill to the course with enough time to do the first prologue climb and rock garden. This would also allow me to figure out what to wear. By the end of my pre-ride on Friday I was confident I had done everything I could to be ready for this race. In my final bike prep I decided to up the air pressure in my rear tire by 4psi and 1psi in the front due to the speeds I knew I would be entering the rock garden. I was worried about a rear flat.

~ Race day ~

I woke up motivated and feeling good about the day ahead. I followed the schedule I planned out leading up to the race. Once on the start line I felt a little flat. I have felt this feeling many times before. My body seems to not let me push as hard on warm up knowing I’m about to go ballistic off the line for the duration of the race.

Final mental prep

Chatting with friend B-4 race.

Ding – ding and the race is on…………

I immediately took the lead into the first section of trail.

Incase you didn't see me I'm the guy lighting it up on the far right.

The race is on!!!

Rounding the lodge past start/finish headed to the "Rock Garden"

Through the rock garden and into the long single track climb lined with waves of riders as far as the eye can see. Like a heard of elk making their way up a mtn. so the situation is no line to pass and everyone is standing waiting to walk.

People are yelling “go go” or “let me pass” like there is anywhere for anyone to go? After a few minutes I hear guys forging up the trail passing others. I decided I must start passing on the hillside whenever possible. After 10mins of this crap it thins a little and back on bike. By the time I reach the top I’m in a top position. The descent is so much fun. The best way to describe it would be like riding a roller coaster. Once at the bottom its one lap to go and one more time up the climb. Now that it’s thinned out I’m able to ride without interruptions and passing is allowed if you can.

Once off the single track and on the fire road climb (7mins) to the top I asked myself?

Am I hurting enough? The answer is NO so I crank up the cadence and search for bigger gears until I'm over the top.

Now for the final descent to the finish and it looks like top five (after further video analysis between 3-5^th place).

I decided I was going to let it all hang out because you never know what’s going to happen on the descent and might catch guys with mechanicals or guys who can’t descend fast. I went ballistic on the fire road descent (like riding on marbles) hair raising speed. Threaded the needle to the single track and was feeling confident on a top placing at Nationals. About three turns into it I washed out in a turn and almost crashed at high speed on a narrow trail (I yelled out haaaahhh in total fear).

I remained calm and kept riding by slowing down while thinking of what to do. Final 3mi to the bottom on a narrow technical and twisty trail with racers wanting to pass full throttle.

I went “ALL IN” I didn’t bring anything to fix a flat thinking I had pre-rode four times and had tire pressure dialed. This was a climber’s course and me being a bigger guy on a heaver bike I decided to reduce all weight possible since I rarely ever flat in a race. Plus I knew if I flatted my chances of holding whatever position I was in would be gone. Well, it wasn’t in the cards and a bad luck day. I quickly remembered that the tires have a tight grip on the rim and decided to ride it to the finish. I slowly increased my speed until I found my limit to be able to control the bike. I also had to listen for riders coming up on me and slam on my brakes and lean over into the hillside to let them pass without holding them back. I got a lot of acknowledgments from guys for riding it out. It seemed like it took forever to descend. I ran down the rock wall jumped on my bike and sprinted the last 200 meters to the finish line.

I was devistated at the time to say the least. turn on volume and listen to announcer

It wasn’t in the cards for me on this day. I did everything I could do to be prepared physically, mentally and with my equipment. If I get to go next year the only thing I would do different would be to add 3psi to front tire. Everything else went as planned. This has been the year of bad luck with my equipment in one way or another. I have never in 20yrs had so much bad luck in races. On the flip side I have 7 wins + 4 podiums so even though my two peak events didn’t go as planned my season has been a success to date. My motivation is still high even though my season has reached its peak. I have a few more events to do to cap off the season and I’m looking forward to redeeming myself. Shit happens in races and how we overcome the obstacles is what makes us better prepared for future events. This was just a day in time that didn’t go as planned. Once again I never gave up and finished 17th (not last).

Heater

District Points Race, 2011 45-49, Sunday, July 10th,

noreply@blogger.com (Ken) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:46:00 +0000

About 80 degrees with a light breeze. I was feeling like my form was good but new the others would be fast and better sprinters. With a 50X15 gear and every mass start legal piece of aero equipment I lined up for a 60 lap points race with sprints every 10 laps (5, 3, 2, 1 for 1^st thought 4^th place). Riders that lap the field get 20 points for lapping the field (plus get to split the points for the sprints while they are off the front). My race only had 5 preregistered, it turns out that 2 of the preregistered riders decided to skip the race and I was the only day of registration rider. Since there were so few preregistered, I did look up their results and saw that one of the riders in the 40-45 group, David Albrecht was a Cat 1 on the road who had recently won a road race ahead of a bunch of the super fast guys including Chris Stastny, Cal Giant, who won a stage at Mt. Hood about a week later. So I guessed, correctly, that he would be the one to watch. At the start of the race they didn’t have a role call for the riders in the different age divisions (the 30-34, 35-40, 40-44 and 45-49 age groups were combined) and we weren’t wearing numbers based on our age categories- so I really didn’t know who I was racing or how many.

Suffice it to say David Albrecht lapped the field and I was not able to stay with him. My end result 2^nd.

ADA Tour de Cure, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis the Mennis) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 22:13:00 +0000

By Dennis Pedersen

This is my fifth year entering this ride that raises money to help the American Diabetes Association fight diabetes. This disease has increased over the last few decades, as our healthy diet and exercise habits have declined. According to diabetes statistics from the CDC, the percentage of U.S. Population with diagnosed diabetes increased from about 1% to almost 7% from 1958 to 2009. Think of it: Almost 7% of the entire U.S. population now has diabetes!

I'm very privileged to have been able to serve as the HP team captain, for the fourth time. I say this every year, but it bears repeating: This ride is an awesome way I can use my love of cycling to give back to the community... and I love doing it.

In the 2011 ride not only did we grow the Hewlett-Packard team to a new record of 34 riders, but we also set a new fund-raising record of over 21,000 dollars! Terri Carter outdid us all, by raising 2,735 dollars, in her first year on the team no less! And the grand total raised during the Silicon Valley Tour de Cure so far is over 1,000,000 dollars! Thanks so much to every one of you; I'm so proud of what we accomplished together!

HP team statistics:

2011: 34 riders raised $21,508.00, 7th place overall in corporate teams.
2010: 27 riders raised almost $20,000, 5th place overall in corporate teams.
2009: 7 riders raised $4,633.00.
2008: 13 riders raised $8,252.86.
2007: 9 riders raised $4,268.

I personally was credited with raising $1,400 this year; though down from last year it still amazes me. Thank you, donors! And, yes, you can still donate!

My main goal was to grow the HP team and in that I was successful, thanks to so many of you. And I know many of my teammates reached personal goals as well; riding further, longer and faster than they ever thought they could. I personally find those hills much easier when I remember the people we're riding to help, so perhaps that added "lift" motivated some of us. Whatever it took, I'm impressed with the dedication of our riders, and the generosity of our donors and sponsors.

I had to set my alarm for 4:45AM, but I got to HP's world headquarters, on Page Mill Road in Palo Alto, in time to sign in, suit up, get some complementary coffee and coffee cake from sponsor Hobee's Restaurants, and line up for the official opening of the 120K route, a bit after 6:30AM (the shorter routes start later). HP teammate Stephen Medina was also there. It's fun to be there for the official opening as they make a point of cheering us on as we ride off.

The 120K route went from the HP campus north on Junipero Serra, then on Alpine Road, Portola Road, Woodside Road... and on to the first big climb, up Kings Mountain Road. It started out just slightly overcast, but it was drizzling slightly from the heavy ocean mist as we got near the summit. That climb is steep! It took me 27 minutes of very hard work to get to the top. But I knew the first rest station awaited me on Skyline Boulevard and that helped to motivate me! I was maybe the 6th rider to the top and immediately started snacking... it's what I do best!

The Tour de Cure is a ride, not a race, but even so some of us like to treat it a bit like a competition. A group of riders from one of the corporate teams, KLA-Tencor (KT Cycle Time), suddenly took off while I was chewing on a cookie, and I never did see them again. So I guess you could say I was in a "chase group" as I flew alone down Highway 84, past the pretty rural scenery. It was a bit drier there too.

At the next rest station, in the picturesque fishing village of Pescadero near the Pacific Ocean coast, the KLA-Tencor team had already left shortly before I arrived. So I quickly gobbled some more food, refilled my water bottles and hopped on my bike for the ride up Stage Road, past the tiny hamlet of San Gregorio, and via Highway 1 along the ocean to Tunitas Creek Road. There I stopped at The Bike Hut, a small snack shop used as a rest station for the Tour that day, before starting the last big climb, up Tunitas Creek Road.

The climb up Tunitas Creek Road, between the massive redwood trees, is steep and it took me 34 minutes of hard work! I was still alone, except for a couple of guys I passed. One of them was a super-fit Master in a "Red Riders" uniform; that meant he was riding with diabetes. It's pretty inspiring that he doesn't let that stop him!

Tunitas Creek Road ends on Skyline Boulevard, right at Kings Mountain Road at the same rest station as earlier. And by then the clouds had disappeared and the temperature had risen to near-perfect. Ahhh, so nice. A last small snack and I plummeted down Kings Mountain, into Woodside and back to HP for my hard-earned Tour de Cure lunch. Like last year, Wahoo's Fish Taco was sponsoring lunch, but I also had a hamburger in the interests of cultural diversity. Plus some left-over coffee cake.

We had an HP awning with an HP banner at the ride finish, thanks to Jessica Blaine, and some of us from the HP team got to eat in the shade and share our stories. Cynthia Asrir had a tough-luck story; she crashed and got scraped up a bit, but not enough to dampen her spirits and even pose for our HP team photograph, by PhotoCrazy! Mat Waltrip (new to HP from our recent merger with Palm) made a really cool video diary of his ride, what a neat idea! John Laforga, also on his first Tour de Cure, posted some photos, as did returning rider Erika Wilhelm. Thanks folks!

I truly hope that the HP Tour de Cure team will continue to grow to a size commensurate with the size of HP itself, and we can start to beat bigger teams like Lockheed Martin and Cisco... bring it on!

Pescadero Road Race / 55+ Cat 4

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Platin) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 15:09:00 +0000

"Ride with confidence and believe you can win and deserve to win with all the hard work and dedication." (Bruce to Joe the night before the Pescadero Road Race).

I always promised Dennis that if I win, I'll write the darn thing. I won yesterday's 55+ Cat 4 race at Pescadero so here it is:

The strategy was simple. Since my race would be grouped with the Cat 1-2-3's but scored separately, I would keep near the front in a combined field of about 70 riders and work hard to go with the leaders on the climbs. Work hard? You mean, bury yourself to stay with those animals. Their ages don't mean much when it comes to racing their bikes. I got over Haskins first go with the lead group of about 11 riders and noticed I was the only cat 4 rider present. So far so good! To my dismay though, a determined bunch eventually caught back on, including two cat 4's. Darn, won't be so easy after all. Second pass on Stage road was brutal for me, but I had to stay with the leaders, make it to Haskins before my competitors, then truly bury myself for the finish. I tried attacking a couple of times on the flat stretch of road to draw my competitors out of the pack, or maybe just sneak away. That didn't work as the others easily reeled me in. We were racing as a group after all. Jim (bless his soul and wisdom) came up to me, "Get back here, settle down, stop talking too and rest! Yikes, he's right! I expressed my anxiety of just wanting to get to Haskins and then launch. As we approached the final assault Jim moved to the front, ramped up the pace and I slipped in behind 3rd wheel. I knew what he was doing and it worked. How lucky I was to have an experienced and seasoned team mate in the race! We rounded the corner onto the final climb and I stepped on what little gas I had. I heard Jim shout out "go Joe!" Again, I was with the leaders but fell off their pace midway up the climb. Then the motorcycle ref pulled up along side and said, "Good job". "What's the gap to the nearest cat 4", I gasped. "Not huge, but plenty big enough." Having learned some very painful lessons this year getting nipped on the line, I didn't let up. I concentrated on the riders ahead trying to catch them. It worked.

Big shout out to Jim Langley for his tremendous support in the race, both with his bike and his tactical wisdom and sensibility!

Joe

Ready To Race? Checking Your Body Fat Percentage

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Langley) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 19:29:00 +0000

Teammates – I thought some of you might be interested in this. In preparation for the major races coming up at the end of the season, I wanted to put a real number on my percentage of body fat - power-to-weight ratio being so important for our typically hilly road races. I thought I would have to head over to San Jose and pay a lot for this so I’ve never done it. Silly me.

It turns out that Dominican Hospital’s Center for Lifestyle Management right over on 610 Frederick Street in Santa Cruz does it and it only costs $79 (total, no tax). You call 831-457-7077 and make an appointment. Eric Hand was the physical therapist who did mine (his sport is beach volleyball). It took about an hour. First he weighed me and took my height. Then he did a skin-fold caliper test and then weighed me in the water tank.

The underwater weighing was interesting (the photo gives you the idea, but that's some other facility, not Dominican's; should have brought my camera).

You sit in a hanging chair submerged in the water tank. The chair is hooked to a scale overhead and you bend over and dunk your head and shoulders so you’re entirely under water. Then you have to exhale completely to get a true weight. That’s not easy, so they weigh you over and over. We did mine 4 times after which I felt like I’d done 100 sit-ups.

Once the weighing was done Eric crunched the numbers on his computer, went over the results with me and gave me a nice printout with my target body fat and weight for optimum racing performance. With this number I can finally stop worrying if I’m too fat or too thin (I’m not telling) and train with the right number as my target. Hope you find this information useful,

Jim Langley

GRFS #4 Track Racing at Hellyer Park Velodrome, 5/28/11

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis the Mennis) — Tue, 31 May 2011 23:28:00 +0000

By Dennis Pedersen

I've been racing at the velodrome almost every week, starting in March, this year. Most of the time I enter the Tuesday night races, as they fit into my schedule best. But the Get Ready for Summer series, on weekends, sometimes fits in nicely too. And since they are USAC sanctioned, I can get upgrade points if I do well.

Vlada and I carpooled, and met up with Nils at the track. They were both racing in the Category 4 and 5 races. I was in the Category 3 and 4 races. The weather forecast did hint at a chance of rain, but it was pretty nice. Unlike all the other bicycling races I know of, rain cancels at the track... another reason to love it! We signed in, suited up and warmed up.

Kierin race

Our first race was a kierin.

This Japanese version of the Motorpace, which is subject to pari-mutuel betting in Japan, has become very popular in the US, although, so far, without the betting. Keirin races, in which all the riders on the track jockey for position behind a single motorbike, sometimes most closely resemble the "Roller Derby" of old, with riders jostling and jabbing each other with elbows to get into the "sweet spot" behind the motorcycle. Then, just before the last lap, the motorbike pulls off the track, and the riders sprint madly to the line.

They split the nine Category 3 and 4 riders in my group into two heats. We drew numbers to determine what "lane" we started in on the track. I think it's better to draw a high number so you can start higher up on the track's banking. I drew number 1 for the first heat. We were held by assistants for the start, then jumped ahead on the pistol to grab the draft of the motorcycle. After four laps the moto pulled off the track and we were free to attack, which we did. I am still learning this stuff and ended up 2nd place out of five. In the second round I finished just 4th, even though I drew number 6. Still learning.

Scratch race (24 laps)

I'm not a big fan of these, as they are simply ordinary races; cross the finish line first and you win. Which I did... I like them more now for some reason.

Miss and out race

Next we all lined up "on the rail" (single file along the top edge of the track, holding on to the railing) for our "miss and out:"

Another variation of the Mass Start race that's sometimes called "Devil Take The Hindmost," because the last rider to cross the line after each (or every other) lap is taken out of the race. The field diminishes rapidly, until there are only a few riders left to contest the final sprint. This is always a very exciting race and crowd favorite.

The trick, well, one of them, is to not get stuck in the sprinters lane (the inside edge of the track), as it's very easy to get boxed in there by others who then pass you on the line... which is annoying because you can be fresh, but unable to sprint around them and then get pulled out of the race. I ended up in 3rd, after I was forced to lead out the other two survivors on the second-to-last lap. They were strong, and I just couldn't get around them.

Points race (30 laps)

We had a points sprint every ten laps, which isn't a lot; usually we sprint every five laps. I was 2nd in the first one (I thought), further back in the next, then 1st on the last sprint, with the spectators screaming at me to go... that was so cool! But it turned out they scrored me 3rd in the first sprint, and that moved me down in the results, into 2nd.

In the end I got 2nd overall, in the combined "omnium" scoring. Still, pretty cool!

Results and podium photo

See you out there!

Mt. Hamilton Road Race, May 29, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Langley) — Mon, 30 May 2011 22:20:00 +0000

Notes From The Mt. Hamilton Road Race
By Jim Langley

Andrews get the Amazing Race award

This was my first full Mt. Hamilton Road Race. A couple of years ago I did the 55+ race but it started on the backside of the mountain and only covered about 35 miles, a far cry from the complete race, which has long held the status of one of the most epic road races you can do in NorCal.

So, when Bob Montague alerted me to the fact that they were offering a 55+ race this year over the full course, I couldn't sign up fast enough. Plus, Bob figured out an ingenious car transfer plan so we would be able to get from the finish in Livermore back to our parked cars at the start in San Jose without much delay. Otherwise, the driving is almost as epic as the race.

We had a pretty good Bicycle Trip/Symantec crew entered with Bob, Gary and I in the 55+, Mark and Geoff in the 45+ Open, Scott in the 45+ 4s and Andrew in the Elite 4s. Geoff was our top finisher with a nice 12th place. Bob, Gary and Scott had solid races finishing in good shape. But, Mark, Andrew and I had some issues out there:

The Amazing Race award goes to Andrew. He gets knocked off his bike about halfway up Mt. Hamilton, hits his head so hard he smashes his helmet and is knocked senseless. But some Good Samaritan picks him up, puts him back on his bike and Andrew somehow manages to finish the entire race. The medics at the finish line take one look at him and tell us to get him to the hospital ASAP.
The Bad Luck award goes to Mark, who flats only 7 miles into the race and then has to sit in the sag and follow his race to the finish and then wait for us all to finish. You might think they'd have a sag with wheels considering how many people were entered in this race, but they didn't, so Mark's day was ruined.
Maybe I should get the Survivor Award. Things are going okay early in the race. We've passed Grant Ranch, which is where the climb kicks up again and we've pulled back 2 of the guys from the lead group. I'm feeling good and ready for the final 10 miles or so to the top, and suddenly I hear "snap" as my seat rail breaks and I go all crooked, leaning to one side. I think about dropping out, but decide to continue and managed to finish on the broken seat. I'm so lucky the other rail didn't snap.
We're on the starting line getting our instructions and they tell us that there's a motorcycle event taking place on the backside of the mountain and we need to be careful because they're speeding, drinking and racing up the road. Later we see ambulances coming up the hill and we're worried that one of these crazed motorcyclists has killed one of us, but it turns out that they crashed into each other. Idiots.
It would have been smart of me to research the race a little more. The descent down the backside of Hamilton is fast and dangerous and definitely not suited to carbon rims and the crappy braking of carbon-rim brake pads. My nice effort getting over Mt. Hamilton on a broken seat in around 10th place is wasted because I can't stay with my group on the descent due to having no speed control. I have to let them roll away or crash trying to stay with them. If you do this race, bring your best braking setup.
Speaking of that descent, Mt. Hamilton is probably the closest I've come to doing something like a Grand Tour stage. You have the 19-mile climb over Hamilton at the start (about 4,000 feet and supposedly with 365 turns - one for each day of the year), the super-technical descent where a daredevil can make up real time, then there are numerous short, tough climbs on the backside and some super-fast descent coming into the finish with an excellent run-in to the sprint. All in all, an epic race that I'm delighted to have finished under the circumstances.

CCCX MTB 45-54 Cat 1

noreply@blogger.com (Heater) — Mon, 30 May 2011 02:48:00 +0000

Back to back

Steve Heaton

May 8th&29th

2 races 2 wins - Both races I attacked from the start and lead it out to finish!

Wente RR, PG&E Crit, Berkeley RR

noreply@blogger.com (Heater) — Fri, 13 May 2011 18:39:00 +0000

Wente Road Race

Michele Heaton

35+123

Thursday night before this race I got sick with some kind of intestinal bug. Downing pepto bismol and electrolyte drinks the night before didn’t have me real confident it was going to be my day. When I woke up it seemed I was better, just worked over and surely dehydrated. The wind was whipping around in Santa Cruz and it was hard to fathom what that meant for the race, as it’s always windy there even if it’s calm here. Amy and I were sure not to call each other as we probably would have decided against going.

At the start line I counted 18 women, several of which I knew to be very strong climbers. I sat around 5th wheel and as we came around the turn before the climb there she went (winner.) I got on her wheel for a short while as everyone began to gap behind me. One of her team mates came up, I fell back to the others, and basically that was the race. Those 2 got away and won. Only lots more happened in between and it would have probably been a different race had there not been a terrible crash.

I got dropped on the climb, I caught back on, I got dropped again. I was just behind the shattered group when I came into the “hay bale” corner. A guy was frantically motioning me to slow down. Coming around the corner I see a sickening sight. Laurie Furman, a very experienced Cat 1 and former NRC racer was motionless on the ground at the last hay bale. I slowed and asked myself whether I should stop? Immediately I see 2 of her team mates stop and another turn around. I know there is nothing I can do and she will soon have 4 team mates with her. I made a mental note that I really like these Sycomp women.They all stopped for their team mate. Personally I think the most horrifying thing would be to have a serious crash and be LEFT ALONE. I keep riding, very distressed, asking myself if I want to continue. As I hear the ambulance coming I think about how much I hate this part of racing. I catch up to 2 Velo Bella riders ahead of me. They eventually drop me and up the road there were the 2 leaders, a gap, chase group of 3, 1 rider that joined the 2 ahead of me, me solo and the rest behind. So for 1 1/4 laps I road solo, having that familiar mental battle with myself, “do I want to continue? Maybe I will feel better tomorrow and can ride hard then instead?”

I told myself it’s good mental excersize to carry on and finish through the obstacles because we often want to quit in a race. Just do it. As I came around to the hay bale corner on the 2nd lap there was a fire truck at the top of the hill and many races had been stopped altogether. I saw my group a few riders up and rode up to those 6 women. We were stopped for about 15 minutes as they had air lifted Laurie. The whole thing sickened me. When they let us go again they gave 2 minutes to the first 2 and 30 seconds to a group of 3 in front of us. They didn’t ask for a gap from me, which I thoroughly appreciated as I was just interested in riding with others at this point. I assured those 4 I would not try to take a place from any of them. I decided to work for Amy to help her get a better place since it wouldn’t be right to try and beat any of the women in front of me. So I helped catch the 3 in front by 30 seconds, then one of them overlapped a wheel and went off the road (but was o.k.) I kept telling Amy to sit in and save her energy but she was a crappy listener so at about the start area I just went to the front and did my last effort with a huge pull to the final corner (dropped 1.) I pulled over and wished them all well as I limped up the final climb for 8th place. This race was not my shining moment but I was glad to finish and glad to try to help Amy at the end. She had a great race and got to cross that race off her bucket list in style!

It turned out Laurie fractured C6 and C7, her scapula and several ribs. She is going to be o.k. but obviously has a long road of healing to get back. These crashes stay with me for quite some time. I don’t take this part of our sport lightly.

Tri Valley Velo Crit.

5/7/11

Pro123

My 5th Crit. and first time racing the Open Pro123 category. I have a lot to learn about criterium racing. I really like the non stop action and top end efforts. I’m tentative being close to other riders in corners and sandwiched in packs. Of course I create a lot of work for myself staying at the back and away from wheels that don’t seem solid, especially in windy races like this one. This is obviously not an efficient way to race, but I didn’t want to create trouble or gaps for those behind me. I prefer to stay back while I am learning the ropes. I had to expend a great deal of energy to move up from the back after the corners and close gaps from dropped riders. The longer the race went on the more comfortable I got, so I know I have it in me! Amy and a few others worked hard attacking etc. making the race tough. The first 10 minutes I was really suffering but I felt better as the race went on. With about 5 laps remaining a Dolce rider had a pretty good gap to the group and it looked as if she might make it. Amy did some serious work to bring her back with less than 1 lap to go. We were flying. The race was 60 minutes of pretty constant attacks, hard enough that about 6 women were dropped pretty early and more on the final lap. I was happy to finish with the final group, albeit last of those, 8th out of a field of 18. I enjoyed watching the winner Mary Maroon power away from all of us in the finish. Impressive!!

Berkeley Hills RR

5/8/11

35+123

What a grueling race! In an adrenaline rush moment after the Sat. Crit. I talked Amy into this climbing race. I had decided not to do it since I had no one to race with, but a rider from another team I really like was going so I thought, why not? Although I wouldn’t be “fresh” I wanted the race experience.

We weren’t even to the parking lot before Amy was cursing at me when she became aware of the “hilliness” of the area. She said it’s been nice but I was officially no longer her friend.

We definitely were a little crazy to attempt this one after a challenging 60 min. all out effort the day before. I wouldn’t recommend this for those of us no longer in our 20s! As it turned out I had fun and was glad I did the race. The first time on the main climb we lost 10 riders. I was the 10th up the climb, off the back and just barely able to fight my way back. Before the turn into the headwind several riders had also fought their way back bringing us to 14. Next time up the climbs pretty much same thing. I just didn’t quite have the kick to stay with the leaders, chased back with the help of one awesome descender I was working with. Final section of slight rolling uphill I had the notion to go but didn’t. My legs were starting to cramp but I knew it was unlikely I would beat many of the 13 remainders up the final climb (after 2 times up, the writing was on the wall.) As it went I didn’t go but someone else did, and she won! It was a smart move. Too much hesitation from the group, no united chase, good for her. I almost went with her move too. Shoulda woulda coulda. I cramped on the final climbs and limped to the finish, 2nd to last of the lead group (12th.) Although I’m mad I didn’t go with that inner voice I was glad I did the race for a few reasons. I like racing with the Master’s women and was happy to finish with the lead group in a race that is really suited more towards a pure climber. I like getting the experience, getting to know my competitors and seeing what I need to work on. I got to experience a much different feeling descending as Steve had removed one of my spacers and my bike felt SO MUCH MORE STABLE! I couldn’t believe the difference. My bike didn’t wobble in the front wheel. Oh yeah, last year I suffered leg cramps the entire last lap. This year only the finishing climbs. Yeah!! I am improving on some things.

Swanton Time Trial Report May 5, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Langley) — Thu, 12 May 2011 14:44:00 +0000

Swanton Time Trial Report (and thoughts on time trialing)
or, How Mark and Jim Went Over to the Dark Side
by Mark Edwards and Jim Langley

It had been quite some time since I'd been out for the monthly Thursday-night SCCCC (Santa Cruz County Cycling Club) Swanton Road Time Trial. I've worked hard to reach a certain goal time racing it Merckx-style on my road bike. Once I reached the goal, I've found it hard to improve any further. Between aerodynamic limitations and age, I was holding my own, but I wasn't getting any faster.

Mark's Felt at Masters Nationals

I had bought a fast Felt time trial bike some time back and even raced on it in the Masters Nationals Time Trial in Louisville, Kentucky on 2009 (photos). Jim was there but rode a standard bike with clip-on aero bars. We had fun but didn't set fast times and were awed by the winning times in our respective age groups - all set on super aero sleds.

But, I found the aero time trial position on my new bike so uncomfortable that I didn't want to ride my TT rig once the race was over. I also was put off by the $3,000 price tag for a competitive wheelset. It's tough to want to commit big dollars for something I wasn't sure I'd like.

And, I knew from comparing my times to others that, without all the aerodynamic goodies, I would never stand a chance to match other guys of similar fitness.

The starting ramp at Nationals

Meanwhile Jim went to the Madera Stage Race in March and took 3rd in the crit, won the road race, but had an awful time trial. Actually, he time trialed with his Power Tap and analyzing the file proved that it was a really solid effort and should have resulted in a fast time that might have kept him in the running for the overall. But, because he was on a standard bike, his time wasn't competitive.

Jim's first road racing in the late seventies was time trialing and he was a decent triathlete due to fast times on the bike. Plus, he had aero bars and a disc wheel in 1984, long before it became popular. So, it frustrated him to lose badly at Madera because of slow equipment, and he decided to do something about it so that at the next stage race he would have a chance.

With the same concerns regarding such a big investment, and not being sure just how many TTs we would do, Jim called upon his trademark ingenuity and decided to build a budget TT rig. His goal was to build a competitive machine, without putting his family in the poor house.

This was a plan I could get behind!

With solid 2nd tier aero frames we had a good foundation. Aero helmets, while not cheap, are a bargain compared to wheels - and supposedly help just as much. Fortunately we had both bought helmets two years ago for the Masters Nationals Time Trial. Same for our skin suits.

Next... wheels. I couldn't even consider a nice set of Zipps. How would I ever be competitive? Jim found me an easy and cheap fix, which worked amazingly well. An $89 rear wheel cover. I know it sounds funky, but it's really engineered well, and works great. It also allows me to use my power meter so I can monitor the watts I put out. Cool. A Power Tap equipped Zipp disk is going to run $3K by itself.

Jim's P2 with retro aero wheels

Jim dug through his garage and pulled out a vintage Specialized tri spoke front wheel and that old HED rear disc wheel circa 1984. While most of us would have dismissed 1980s technology (7 speed friction shifters), Jim isn't like the rest of us. Toolbox in hand, he had everything working like it was designed from the factory that way.

Not content to leave any stone unturned, he didn't like the front brake cable hanging out in the wind. Heck, that's nothing that a 1980s centerpull front brake won't fix! Then how about those quick releases catching the wind? Where's the lever for opening and closing? More tricks to cheat the wind. He also put on an aero bottle and cage setup, another thing shown to reduce drag significantly.

For my part, besides the wheel cover, my best idea was to relax the overly aggressive position I'd used at Nationals. Raising my bars by a full two inches solved more problems than I have space to list, making the thought of training on this bike much more appealing.

With neither of us doing a single ride (no training) on our TT bikes, we headed out to Swanton. With the usual evening ripping north coast wind, combined with our lack of time riding on aerobars, we agreed we'd ride hard, but not take any chances. This was an opportunity to set a benchmark time that we could hopefully improve over the next year. I figured the slower my time, the more personal bests it would be possible to achieve.

There's nothing like setting a new PB to keep you motivated.

Bike inspection at Natz is serious

So, off we went, into the wind. Jim was my minute man, while teammate Nils on his supersonic Giant Trinity positioned himself right behind me. Great... just what I need, the reigning King of the Swanton TT starting 1 minute behind me. So much for an "easy" race. I'd be riding scared, waiting for the inevitable whoosh-whoosh of that fast Zipp disc.

The bikes worked perfectly. Of course, we'll be making minor adjustments (isn't that half the fun of time trialing?). But the results speak for themselves. A 40-second PB for me (29:11) and 58 seconds shaved for Jim (31:02). Now let's see if we can train a bit on the bikes, get more powerful in the aero position and go even faster. Hope so.

Tri-Valley PG&E Criterium 5/7/2011

noreply@blogger.com (Heater) — Mon, 09 May 2011 17:37:00 +0000

Steve Heaton 35+123

Power to the pedal

Criteriums are filled with instinctive responses or “moves” as we like to call them. One wrong move and your race can be over. Too many stupid moves and your race is over. Launch your sprint to the line too early and get swallowed up by the pack. Everyone seems to be on an adrenaline high. One minute you’re all out on the pedals the next you’re diving into a corner with guys all around you. You might be sprinting all out to hold your position. You can go from the gutter on one side of the road to the other in a split second while hammering all out. Guys will push on you, yell at you and even cut you off to try and take the wheel of the rider in front of you. Actually, I expect it to happen more than once in a race. You have to be hyper sensitive to not only what’s happening in front of you but behind you as well without looking back. It sounds like a crazy discipline of racing, but for those with balls (and ovaries) of steel it’s a huge rush.

I went to the race with my good friend Derek. We were hoping to breakaway if the opportunity presented itself. The race started and like most crits. the attacks came from the start. For the first 10mins of the 1hr race it was very fast and furious. I was holding a forward position in the top 10 (out of 61.) Prime lap comes right way. I set up to go for it and as we came around still a long way to the line two guys bolt past. I couldn’t believe how fast they went and just watched in amazement. Now I’m thinking, “ I should have waited for the 45+ race later today and maybe I’m a little over my head in the 35+ category.” Then 10mins in it settles down into a hard steady pace. We go around and around with attacks going and coming back until three guys stay out with a good lead. Then more attacks come and more guys bridge up. I missed the moves and just watch and hope we real them in before the finish. Holding a top 10 position I see we have two teams blocking and slowing the pace and the lead guys get further away. About half way through the group starts to make efforts to close the gap but with guys blocking and disrupting the rhythm of the pack we would gain and loose. Guys would try and launch but not be able to bridge across over and over. With 5 laps to go it’s looking like the 10 guys up the road will stay away. I say to myself “I didn’t come to this race to sprint for a pack meat finish.” I remain calm and go into a “Zen like” state of mind. I pay special attention to how the breakaway group is responding and how the pack is reacting. I assess the strong wind and where I would want to attack and what the situation would need to be for me to make a move to get across. I’m thinking I would want to respond and latch onto one of the numerous attacks but it would have to come on the back side right after the headwind section as we turn into a cross wind followed by another turn into a tailwind. This would give me a draft to the tailwind and possibly with a serious effort catch them before the vicious headwind. With 4 laps to go, I’m 5 back in the pack. We turn into the cross wind section. I’m waiting for the move to come and my buddy Derek makes a strong pull to try and real in the break. I respond and let him know I’m on his wheel. He pulls off at the corner taking us to the tailwind section. I look back as I go to take my pull and we have a gap with one other guy. I say “let’s go, we have the gap!!!” I dig deep and signal the guy on my wheel to pull. He does and as I drop back Derek is gone? The guy pulls then signals me through to do my turn at the front but when I go to signal him through he is dropping off my wheel?

Now I have to make a decision……….I look back and I have a good gap. I look forward and I know I won’t catch the breakaway before the headwind section. In a split second I have to decide to be proactive and dig super deep in hopes of catching them before the final 2 laps so I can recover in time for the sprint finish. If I don’t make it I risk getting pulled back into the pack and not have anything left to challenge for a good placing. If I do make it with 2 or more laps I should have time to recover? I decide to go for it. I would rather go down in flames than to finish in the pack. As I turn into the headwind I thought about last week’s race (Wente RR) when I attacked into a headwind and solo’d to win the race. I put my head down and caught the breakaway by the time we turned into the cross wind. 3 laps to go and I’m super stoked. 2 laps to go and I realize I’m gonna battle for the win. I start yelling, “go go, we are going to get caught!!! “ The pace picks up. As we make the final lap I realize I’m now too far back and have to get forward. Problem is, it’s single file and fast. I hold off until the final sweeping turn and start my move on the outside with a little wind shelter. My plan is to dole my effort to be alongside second wheel as we enter the final straight away and then start my sprint. As I come up alongside the fourth rider from the front he reaches over and grabs my hip and pulls on me. I yell at him “hey what the hell” and he yells something back? I lost my momentum and about 1sec later the sprint starts by his teammate to lead him out. Shit… “go gogogogogogogogo.” Fourth wheel wins and I end up 3rd. I went to the official and protested, explaining what happened, which 1st place denied. The official told me that was the third time today that someone had done something like that and thanked me for telling them, but kept the results as they were. I shook the winner’s hand and congratulated him on the win. It’s disappointing when people race this way. It was poor sportsmanship on his part but he has to live with it. For 3rd place they gave me a tub of Cytomax, a tub of Muscle Milk and $93 cash. Sweet!! But oh yeah, I race for fun and the love of cycling!

Wente Road Race 4/30/2011

noreply@blogger.com (Heater) — Mon, 09 May 2011 17:32:00 +0000

Steve Heaton 45+123

Into the winD

A few days before this race I had a conversation with my teammate Russ. I told him I wanted to go and support him in the race. I looked at the start list and noticed we had a few others from the team listed as well. It was going to be a tough race with a good size field of riders and a hard climb to the finish. The course leans more to the advantage of a climber than a sprinter like me (or so it seemed.) Once at the race, Russ said that this wasn’t going to be a good day for me to support him and he requested that I go for a podium spot. Then I see teammates Mark and Geoff (pure climbers) decided to race last minute like me. I thought this is good, we now have 7 guys in the race and two who can climb with the best of them. My focus was to have a good workout and to employ smart strategy and tactics.

The air was dry and the wind blowing super hard (in the 20mph range) with gusts. It’s going to take 3hrs to finish and more water than I can carry but I will figure that out later I hope. It’s a great course with a tough climb to the finish followed by a series of rolling climbs with super fast descents that end with a long flat in your face headwind back to the finish climb. I became very intimate with this headwind (but more on that later.)

The first two laps we had 6 teammates covering the front (Russ, John, Miles, Geoff, Mark and me.) We went with the breakaway attempts and made a few of our own but they always came back quickly. At the end of the third lap going up the climb I was dangling off the back, out of water, looking over at people on the side holding my empty bottle, begging. No one offered up any fluids. At this point I’m thinking “no frickin’ way will I be challenging anyone the next time around for a podium spot.” So, I go into “what can I do to help Mark and Geoff mode” assuming they have it in them for the final climb. Once we get to the top I sprint to catch back on before the next rolling climb and ask Geoff how he is doing. He says “good” and he looked fresh! I told him I was no good for the finishing climb but I will do everything I can to keep it together and not let anyone breakaway. I look to the front and Mark is the one driving the pace looking to soften the group up before the descent and the final climb later. I slowly crawl up to him over time and let him know I’m good on the flats but not for the final climb. Let me do all the work and you and Geoff sit in ready for the final climb. I looked back once we started descending and notice a split in the group so I attacked the descent all out to the bottom in my biggest gear, 53/11. Then I took a small breather and checked in with my guys and went back to the front and pulled to keep it single file. Mark comes up and says we need to keep it together until the climb. I responded with, ”you take cover, I’m good.” I didn’t want him using any extra energy and I was committed to making sure no one got away by holding a hard pace into the wind. Then I realized in a split second after about 10mins driving the pace that I could stay on the front of the group and let everyone draft off me or I could ATTACK into the wind. The next thing I know I’m attacking all out pulling away straight off the front into a vicious headwind. It had been tried by others on earlier laps but failed. In my head I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay away. My tactic was to force other threatening teams to chase me and soften them up for the climb while my guys got to rest. I look back and the pack is hesitating because no one wants to take chase into the wind. I don’t blame them. The pack has seen every attempt come back to the group. So, I went into time trial mode thinking, “All I have to do is go all out to the base of climb and my work is done.” Every time the wind would gust and release pressure I would jump out of the saddle and sprint to get on top of another gear. I would look back under my arm pit and see them single file, then another time spread out. I was increasing my distance on them but still was only thinking about an effort to the base of climb. Once I arrived at the base of the climb it’s a slight rise and the wind shifts to my left side so I’m able to pick up speed. As I approached the start of the serious climb I realized my gap was worthy of a chance at the win. All I had to do was hold my pace to the finish (5 more minutes) and I could win the race. I looked forward using riders from an earlier race finishing in front of me as carrots. I would catch and pass all the way to the finish. I would look back to measure my lead and feather my effort to assure I would take the win. On the final climb team mate Mark put the hammer down and rallied for third, earning the team 2 podium spots.

Tactics won the race!

I’m about to cross the finish line

I had to charge into a vicious headwind and not let the wind chew me up and spit me out like every other attempt. I had to have the mental strength to shift from thinking I wouldn’t finish the race with the group to digging super duper deep and battle for the SOLO win. But without having a team with me, I would not have attacked 20+mins from the finish. I would have stayed out of the wind and tried to save myself for the climb and salvage whatever I could muster.

I love many aspects of periodization training. Over the course of the year, I work on sprinting, climbing, flats, time trialing, tactics & strategy, group rides for simulation racing, short intense efforts, medium and long efforts and riding into the wind. I focus on my weaknesses and as I get closer to my peak fitness I train my strengths. After a few years it starts to accumulate in a way that gives more options when racing.

This is what I love about racing! It’s not always the strongest rider that wins the race but the savvy and most willing to put it all on the line under pressure. What I have learned over the past 19yrs racing is those who race reactive usually come up short and those who race proactive end up on top. The risk is much higher but the rewards are sweet.

Team Bike Trip/Symantec claim 1st and 3rd

Check out my legs. I use TylerBalm! It’s a rub on potion by pro racer Tyler Farrar that makes your legs swell.

I use it before I go on the podium to pump up my legs.

Wildflower Triathlon/bloody-bloody-gent

noreply@blogger.com (kemakol) — Mon, 02 May 2011 19:03:00 +0000

Hi all, I wanted to report in after a fine windy weekend down at Lake San Antonio for the Wildflower long course triathlon...although I had fun, my results were not what I had hoped for...after enduring a couple of minor health issues ( a nasty cold and my bruised ribs) I decided I would do the race anyway, and I am happy that I did, (27th year racing there). I needed the race for my preparation for my Ironman the the end of June in Cour du' lane.

I started the race at 9 am and immediately I knew that my shortness of breath (cold/bruised ribs) would become devastating if I didn't slow way down and pick a nice comfy pace for the swim...I did and I finished the swim well and hopped on the bike hoping to make some time....As many of you may know the race is a very hilly course and my repeats with you all proved invaluable as I was rarely passed while going up (or down) hill...but it was EXTREMELY windy, and I was very cautious after witnessing my first of six accidents! (I was the eye witness at three)...Now I know that time trial bikes are not the most stable, and I know that triathletes are notoriously bad bike handlers but WOW!...

The cross winds on the back section were gusting to about 25 mph and saw many more 'close ones'....but when after number one I was looking down the road and a lone rider was doing some sort of acrobatics...turning sideways, throwing something into his front wheel, and then flying what looked to be about 15 feet up into the air...unfortunately for him gravity caught up to him and he landed about 60 ft down the road....ALLS I COULD THINK ABOUT IS... OH SHIT!!! I looked around and nobody was any where close.... so I felt compelled to stop...I AM NOT A MEDIC...but I briefly interviewed the bloody- gent, he told me he WASN'T ok....about that time the missiles started flying by!!! STUPID TRIAHTLETES NOT LOOKING DOWN THE ROAD!! ....I told BLOODY-GENT to stay still as it was all I could do to direct the on-coming bike traffic from hitting BLOODY-GENT AND MYSELF!! ....after what seemed like forever a CHP showed up and an ambulance was on its way....

I tried to carry on, and I think my adrenaline was pumping...I almost was involved in another incident not long after but that fellow who was only 20 ft. in front of me pitch to the side at least 20 degrees...he righted himself with no major drama and when I passed him he commented to me "thank god for cyclocross!".....I seconded his remark and I am sure glad I made it out of that section of road...I soon left that fellow in the good company of many behind me....but at that point I kinda had the wind taken out of my sails....(a spike of excitement/adrenaline) is NOT what you want in an endurance event....I SURE WAS GLAD I MADE IT OUT ALIVE...

On the run I felt sluggish, but I dealt with it like it was a hard training day at that point and I did not walk at all (with the exception of one aid station)....my run was sluggish and my stride was too short, but I did keep my cadence up and I am glad that I finished in the top 20....and...like I said to Tobin Ortiblan this morning about his weekend race...."there's always another race"....

All in all, I had fun...and I know I was on pace to a solid race until the 'incident'....I later learned that BLOODY-GENT had to be flown out, but was doing fine later in the day...Kem

P.S. one weird thing....when the CHP showed up he and determined not to move BLOODY-GENT, he covered him up---with a white sheet!

Wente Road Race M55+ 4/5

noreply@blogger.com (Bob) — Sun, 01 May 2011 01:24:00 +0000

Great learning experience today. I carpooled to the Wente Road Race with Ed Price and Nils Tikkanen. The drive over was shorter than we have had for most of the races recently, and I was glad to be scheduled to go off in the first wave of racers. I think we had a pretty full field in our race, and I was happy to have teammates in Ed and Joe Platin.
My strategic thinking going into this race surrounded the fact that my memory of it from the last time I did it two years ago is that it is a climber’s race. Three laps with lots of climbing, beginning and ending with two medium short climbs, the first steeper than the second. Ed had thought it was less climbing overall than Copperopolis, but I didn’t remember it that way. Even though I like to climb, and in my heart of hearts, I think of myself as a climber, anyone who rides with me can tell you that is not my forte. That is not true of Joe. He is the prototypical climber, and I expected him to be the favorite in this race. I also knew that I couldn’t climb sustainably with Joe and those like him. My expectation was that I could climb strong, but at my own pace. Hopefully, once we got over the hills, I could chase back on to the leaders. Lap one, that’s pretty much what happened. The only thing was that I had to chase solo all the way through the hills and the descent and didn’t get back on until most of the way back around to the climbs. Even worse, right before I caught back on, I was caught by a group of 4 who were from my group and working together to get back on. I hadn’t realized they were there. I had used a lot of energy that I could have saved if I had known they were there behind me. Still. I was a little surprised at the pace when we did get back on in the flats. It struck me as slow, but I spent the time in recovery and getting ready to face the climbs again.
Second time up the hills, it became apparent that I was getting shelled on the one particularly steep section. Although it was only about 250 to 300 yards long, by the time we got through it, I would find myself 25 to 50 yards off the lead group. This wouldn’t have been a problem if things then led to a flat or downhill section. This wasn’t the case. Instead, the road kept going up. The difference was that I was capable of climbing at the same speed as the lead group, except for the one steep section. The problem was that I wasn’t capable of climbing faster than the lead group. Also, I didn’t have the benefit of the draft from the group, so the distance continued to grow through the hilly sections. By the time we were through the hills, the gap was substantial. I and the few others around me again put in the effort to chase back on to the leaders. Still, I was starting to see that something would need to change for me to do well in this race. Although the lead pack was down to about 15 – 18 guys, I expected that unless I could come up with a plan to change things, I was likely to be the last guy up the final climb a bit more than a lap later. The one thing that I continued to notice was the relative ease that I was having through the downhill, flat & windy sections. This almost spurred me to attack in the flats leading to the beginning of the final lap. I didn’t do it because I hadn’t thought my plan through and also because there were lots of different groups coming through at that time and I was sort of focused on staying with my crew.
I got dropped going up the climb with the same guys I had gotten dropped with on previous laps. This time, the confusion was greater because of all of the overlapping fields. Even so, we continued to work together to get back to the leaders for the final climb to the finish. It was just more difficult because we couldn’t be sure that the group we thought we were chasing was our lead group or another one. And when we did work our way back to our group, it became clear that some of them, including Joe, had escaped on up the road. I estimated the escape group to be only 5 or 6, because we were left with around 12. I thought that would be the total of all the riders left.
As we rode through the windy and flat sections towards the final climbs, I realized that I had to try something. Otherwise, the steep section would guarantee me last or close to it among these 12. I attacked. I made every effort to keep guys from jumping on my wheel, but a couple came with me. We quickly had a gap of 25 yards and I took a pull. I implored them to work with me. They tried, but we just didn’t have it. We made the group chase some, but before long, they were on us. I sat in and recovered. Soon after we made the right turn to begin the slightly uphill section that leads to the climbs, I attacked again. This time, I got away on my own. I worked to stay away and managed to do so for a bit. Then they were on me again. I recovered again and we were probably within ½ mile of the right hand turn that begins the steep section of the climb.
I really wanted a gap on this group going into that section. I knew that if I could get to the top of that part first, no one in this group was likely to beat me to the line. I attacked for the 3rd time. This time there was no response from the group. They were letting me go. I put my head down and worked hard but as Russ has told me, I “held something back”. Coming up to the turn, I saw that they had begun to chase. I also saw that I had a 25 – 30 yard lead. I laughed at the marshall and pleaded with him to throw some tacks down. He just laughed. I hammered, occasionally looking under my arm to see their progress. Two guys were gaining on me, but the rest were lagging. They both passed me before we got through the steep section, but I kept working up the next section that led to the line. One of the two had managed an insurmountable lead, but I was working hard and gaining on the second. As we approached the line, I could tell he was dragging. I dug deep, downshifted and jumped out of the saddle. I gave all I had left to get to the line. I came within about 6 inches of catching him at the line, but he took me.
Still, I was stoked! Turns out Joe got away with only 4 others. He got piped at the line and had to settle for 2nd, but congratulations are definitely in order. That left the big boy in 8th. I learned a lot in this race about different ways that I can use my power. Really fun.

Copperopolis Road Race 55+

noreply@blogger.com (Bob) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:58:00 +0000

Saturday was the day for one of the hardest races on the calendar. Copperopolis is a grueling road race over windy, rolling, hilly terrain, and roads that are made up of patches and potholes. I was excited to be a part of it. This would be my second ever race with my new age group, the 55+. As in my first event with this group, I would be in an open race, rather than the category 4 & 5 cyclists that I have become accustomed to in the 35+ & 45+ categories.
I recognized a few names on the list of registered entrants. One was Mark Caldwell, the former pro, who I knew a little about from my race at Madera. Also, Scott Hennesey, who I had met at Madera, was signed up. One guy I had not raced with but had heard of was Rob Anderson. Jim Langley told me to look for a guy in an old Specialized kit. He had told me he didn’t understand why the guy didn’t get a new kit until he spotted the world champion stripes on the sleeve. I saw them, and I can’t say that I blame him. Ed Price and I were signed up for the Trip, and I was glad to see another familiar face in Chris Cerutti at the start line. In all, I think we had 40+ guys at the start, and we were off.
From the start line the race makes an immediate left turn and drops down a section of pave to the slight uphill at the feed zone. Before we had even reached the feed zone, I saw Anderson go by on the left of the pack. I’m not sure if his move would be called an attack, but even though it drew a response, and a couple of guys were able to jump off with him, the gap was not great and he did not turn up the pace but simply held it. In so doing, he managed to rip the pack apart from the very start of the race. Ed told me later that he knew from early on that he wasn’t going to have his way on this day. I didn’t see him after the start until we were back at the car. For my own part, I tried to stay focused on staying on the wheels of the guys I was riding with. We were the first chase group and there were somewhere around 20 of us left by the time we were halfway up the first climb. I worked hard to keep my pedals spinning and to conserve my energy and I was pleased to get over the top of the climb with this group. I felt pretty good, but I also realized that I was with some pretty good cyclists. Among them was Cerutti, a couple of guys from Paco’s in Truckee, and several Morgan Stanley cyclists. I saw that Caldwell was not with us and that confirmed my thinking from earlier that he had gone with Anderson. I expected the Morgan Stanley guys would not chase too hard with their man in the break, and so it seemed. Cerutti and I worked to organize a chase, but it seemed the Morgan Stanley guys would make the effort to break the rythym. Every now and then, we caught a glimpse of the leaders and it looked like Caldwell might be coming back to us. Still, our group seemed to back off a bit as we reached the second climbing section that leads to a sketchy descent and the end of the first of two laps. On the descent, I was on Cerutti’s wheel until I realized that for some unknown reason he was taking the descent tentatively. I didn’t want to get dropped on the downhill so I went around him and charged on. After crossing the line at the end of the lap, I saw that Caldwell had indeed come back to us and our group was down to about 15 - 16. The bad news was that Cerutti was not to be seen again, and Morgan Stanley now had four strong riders with Caldwell at the helm to work the rest of us over. I knew they would work to set a vicious tempo on the climb.
I tried to rest and recover. I drank, I consumed my whole flask of gel, I kept working to spin my legs out and deepen my breathing. Still, the pace had already been quite hard and with very little letup; and there is no doubt that I was the biggest boy left.
But I told myself that I had made it up the main climb with these guys the first time, and I would sure as heck do it the second. As the climb began, I could feel the lack of strength in my legs, but I did all I could to keep spinning. Little gaps would open, but I increased my spin and caught back on. Four or five of our group could not hold the pace and were dropped on the lower half of the climb. About 3/4 of the way up, I got gapped along with 2 other guys. We took turns trying to pull ourselves back on, but finally the string broke and we were dropped. Still, we all three continued to chase as hard as we could, but the gap, by the time we got over the top of the climb, was substantial. A little recovery, and back to the chase.
We just didn’t have the gas to get back on as the gap was too large, but we received encouragement from others we passed on the road as well as one of the motor refs who even gave us a brief pull in the tailwind section. Still we continued to work hard and one of us three, a guy in a Paco’s kit, was dropped. Michael Lynch, from Fun Sport Bikes, and I continued on as best we could and even though we kept overtaking cyclists on the road, none of them turned out to be from our group. As we approached the last short climb, I had to apologize and simply sit on Michael’s wheel. I was cooked, but he either didn’t have enough left to ride off on me, or he was just too nice to do it. As we hit the final descent, I took the lead and did all I could to hammer out a gap, to no avail. I decided to try and duplicate a short interval I have been trying up Bonita (1 minute at L5 followed by whatever it takes to the line at L6 - approx 30secs). It might have worked, but I had to get some kind of gap at the start and I simply didn’t accomplish that. Michael came around me and beat me to the line for 10th. Although I would have loved to have finished top 10, I was very happy to be 11th and the last rider to be scored as a finisher in our race. I like my new age group. I even feel like I might be able to learn to race well against these guys. I hope so!

Santa Cruz Classic Criterium XLIII, 4/17/2011

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis the Mennis) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 17:57:00 +0000

By Dennis Pedersen

The ghost of races past haunted me, with my DNF at last year's Santa Cruz Classic Criterium. But this technical course, with 9 swooping turns up and down Beach Hill, right above The Boardwalk, just minutes from home, is too cool too miss and this was my seventh attempt. So, I signed up for this race in spite of my misgivings and self-doubt.

This year I thought I might be more fit, thanks to reduced "junk miles" and more trainer workouts. Plus the more race-specific benefits from my track-racing sessions. And I was focused on not repeating the mistake that probably cost me the most last year; not staying near the front. Oh, and not having spare wheels ready in case of flat tires. Lessons I keep relearning.

My warmup was to ride with my spare wheels to the startline. Thankfully, Ken Sato was also racing so I wouldn't have to try to go with every break. With family and friends cheering me on I immediately started to move to the front of the pack and stayed there almost the entire race. One trick I use is to watch the guys I know who can win. If they are nearby then I'm good. They were, and some even appeared to be marking me!

At about 10 laps into our 20-lap race (about 18 miles total) Ken bridged up to a solo break and eventually this turned into a 4-man break after some back-and-forth. Our new kit is harder to spot, so I wasn't entirely sure he was up there the whole time. But I never took any pulls that would have endangered Ken's chances out there. He has been riding stronger than I've ever seen and I was confident he could do well.

While other guys worked to catch the breaks I still had to keep moving forward just to maintain my place. Funny how that works. We were strung out in single file at times as they struggled to catch Ken's break, which they did. We averaged about 27 MPH overall, so it was hard, but not as hard as it seemed in past years. I'm still not sure if that is because I'm more fit or because we were in a 45+ age-group race, not a 35+ as before.

With 2 laps remaining moving forward was getting harder but I was still near the front. As we started the last lap one guy was about 30 meters off the front just as I drifted around the pack; I could tell everybody knew we'd catch him and were waiting to see who'd take the first shot at the finishing sprint. I was now leading everybody out which I knew was a mistake. So I rode smoothly down to the hairpin and sat up on the right gutter to await the inevitable attack. It came in the form of a huge red streak, named Larry Nolan, who shot down the hill with guys trying hard to catch his wheel, to no avail. I latched on and managed to maintain my position well. But I was so afraid of blowing up (thanks to that darn ghost of races past!) that I probably held back too much after the last turn, so I was able to pass a few guys on Main Street, pipping one at the finish line. Woo-hoo! I finished about 12th place.

I felt I rode very smart and benefitted from Ken's efforts in the breaks. But on that last lap I probably could have either launched an attack before Larry's, though I'm not convinced it would have worked well, or maybe just worked a little harder to move up even before the last climb up Main Street. It's hard to say how different my results would have been.

Afterward some of us were interviewed by a Santa Cruz Sentinel reporter and they printed a neat story. Thanks go to Margaret, for her awesome photography, and all the teammates, friends and family who cheered us on!