my weekly race log

on a climb like that you should be out of the saddle as soon as the climb starts. it'll get you up the climb faster and you won't have to make the slow transition from sitting and spinning to powerclimb mode. try that next time.

Noted. That's what I did on my FINAL SAVAGE ATTACK (which was ultimately a bit pointless, as they didn't bother to give placings outside of the top ten), but I think if I did that every lap I wouldn't last very long.

don't SPRINT uphill. but get out of the saddle and pedal at a lower cadence, stronger cadence. focus on pulling the pedals up in the rotation just as much as pushing down.

is it less economical to get out of saddle? i do both, but i tend to go out of saddle when i'm:

(a) tired
(b) need to get blood flowing to lower legs
(c) ass is sore
(d) more than likely all of the above

ALSO: what are your hand positions on climbs?

I struggle between on the hoods where my chest feels a little bit constricted versus on the horizontal part between the drops/adjacent to the stem (what's the name for this part of bars?) where I can breathe better but feel like I'm losing torque.

imo whether it's less economical or not depends on the type of rider you are and terrain. on a climb like hog hill, the way NBS describes it, i would think it's more economical to dance on the pedals all the way up the short climb. you'd never do a long climb like that, you'd sit, spin, and settle into your threshold climbing pace. this climb seems more like a 30-second max (or less?) effort you have to keep repeating each lap.

horizontal part between the drops/adjacent to the stem

ona long winding climb i'd use that part of the bar. and on a short powerclimb i'd either be in the drops or the hoods.

haha, i asked you this same question last year on IM and you said the same thing now that i remember.

fricken pay attention shasta

imo it _is_ a little less efficient to stand but it gets out a lot of power and allows you to respond to cover gaps a little better. on a short 12% you almost surely will want to stand to hold your position esp in a big group, and if youre gonna stand anyway, get up at the bottom.

steve, those are ime called the bartops or tops, and for long climbs thats where u usually wanna be. not sure about torque.

my first race is in central park this saturday

and if youre gonna stand anyway, get up at the bottom

that's the most important part... if you know you keep standing by the end you aren't putting out enough power to hold your position. yes, it is less economical if that means it's going to HURT more, but you will be able to move quicker, and won't get caught up in trying to stand mid climb when the guy in front of your accelerates.

good luck on sat

f this TT shit, get back into the peloton!

thot they were called the "flats"

ill bring my shoecovers bruv

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/races08/lbl08/preview-stroch.jpg

stand going up this esp during lbl imo

other thoughts for NBS: considering this is the course you race on mostly, it wouldn't hurt to show up to hog hill on a training day and do some hill repeats out of the saddle on the climb.

Yeah, I did that in January. I wasn't working on position that time, but on gearing. I tried climbing the hill as fast as I could three times in a row with various different gearings (low from the start, high until it hurt and then changing down, etc.) to see if there was a magic combination - all three times were between 46 and 49 seconds (I probably underestimated the distance upthread) and all three times hurt and left me gasping so I didn't really get anything conclusive from that. I also practised hitting the various bends at different angles and speeds, trying to work out what was safe (but obviously it's a bit different when you've got people around you).

thinking about breaking the crit routine with something that gbx would appreciate:

http://www.wolfpackhustle.com/viewStory.php?storyId=593

dunno if i could race worth a damn at 4am!

I know it's not the same at all, but when I did my 24-hour relay race last summer, I did sessions at approx 9pm, midnight, 3.30am and 6.30am. Because I was able to pace myself quite well, I was able to keep largely consistent times up, with increasing fatigue making a small but obvious difference. What I discovered was my 9pm, 3am and 6am speeds/times were roughly consistent; but my midnight stint was almost 10% slower than the others for no apparent reason. So for me at least it seems that's when my circadian rhythms really didn't want to be riding.

that looks pretty fun. is that approved by the marathon promoter? cause if it is, they're the best. if its not, id think theyd be looking to shut that right down.

if u wonder where all the fattey masters are in co, they tting. jfc, this thing nearly sold out in 30 mins, then crashed the reg system due to overload.

http://recordracer.com/eventreg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=59&Itemid=74

i should promote a tt series on sunday mornings somewhere out in egypt if theres this much demand.

even if 1/3 of the entrants are no fee juniors, which i doubt, they're taking in over 50k.

The first signs of spring coming and bringing the worst winter ever to an end were there today. I was able to race without overshoes and wearing fingerless mitts instead of thick gloves (although I still had tights on and two long-sleeve tops on under my race top).

I did a lumpy 25-mile time trial in 1:09:32, which is my second-fastest time, so not bad for this stage of the season (although, some way off my PB). Pretty pleased with it really, as it was very windy today, and on Saturday I was dying of a hangover and wondering if I would be able to ride.

Rebecca Romero (gold-medal winner at the Beijing Olympics for the pursuit, and silver-medal winner in the Olympics before that in rowing) was in the same race as me - I saw her coming towards the finish just after I started. She got just under the hour, beating all the other women, and all but five or six of the men. They've removed the pursuit from the track programme in the Olympics, so she's trying to reinvent herself as a time trialist. Good luck to her.

my teammate won the red hook crit:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/03/news/in-brooklyn-unifying-machines-and-a-win-for-a-russian-bike-messenger_108837

a lapped rider crash splitting the winning break would really piss me off. i guess thats all in the game there

From BSNYC

The Red Hook Criterium also illustrates yet another handy use for time. In addition to using it to enforce parking rules and to determine winners, you can also use it to "curate" your participants. Starting a bike race at 11:00pm (as they did with the Red Hook race) ensures that your race will be mostly free from uptight roadies, who become cranky and begin to panic if they are not in bed by 9:30pm. Conversely, beginning races at 6:30am (which is when most sanctioned local races start) ensures that your event will not include the sorts of people who race in t-shirts and beards

I'm pre-entered into a race on Saturday, but I'm currently off work and stuffed full of antibiotics and paracetamol with tonsilitis. I haven't ridden since last Wednesday and I've been in a world of pain since Saturday. With any luck I'll feel better by the weekend, but I don't know if it would be that sensible to do the race.

You never know, an involuntary taper could work in your favo(u)r?

Actually, the more I think about it, the more common sense tells me to give it a miss. You've got to be 100% fit and healthy to race. With a weakened immune system I'd probably just end up getting even more ill.

yeah, i agree, but see how you feel considering you are pre-reg'd

I skipped that race (9 days ago) in the end: I still wasn't well enough to ride, never mind race. So, I was back in action today, for another circuit race at Hog Hill. I wore shorts for the first time this season, but it was actually still a bit cold and very, very windy. The race was for 1 hour plus 3 laps, so a bit longer than the other road races I've done this season.

I managed to stay in the bunch for 4 or 5 laps then got gapped. I fought hard to get back to the wheel of the rider in front, but by the time I'd caught him he'd been dropped too. I thought we could work together to get back on, but he was spent and just disappeared behind. Then I spent about five minutes riding as hard as I could trying to get back on, but all I could do was hold the gap at about 6 or 7 seconds. Really frustrating: I kept hoping they'd ease up at a bend, but it just didn't happen, and the sections in a headwind felt like I was riding into a hurricane. Eventually the gap started to widen and the game was up.

I'd been racing less than 20 minutes by this stage (so only about a quarter of the race) so that was a bit dispiriting. I knew there were six riders behind me, the closest about 30 seconds back, so I just freewheeled for a while and waited for him as I really didn't fancy riding the rest of the race on my own. We worked together and then eventually we picked up a third rider. We got lapped, but to be honest it was just a training ride (for us) by that stage. I was almost completely gone towards the end and got dropped by my two companions on the final lap before chasing them down at the foot of the final hill. I tried an attack with about 150m (up a 1-in-8 hill) but went too soon and got caught and passed. Meh.

A couple of photos:
Me sitting in that much sought after spot near the back of the bunch early on -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/londoncyclesport/4496470212/sizes/o/
And then suffering up the climb fifteen minutes later an agonising 6 seconds behind the bunch -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/londoncyclesport/4495833351/sizes/o/

tour of the battenkill, so horrible:

http://i42.tinypic.com/2lxxvzl.png

jesus christ. cutty how'd you go?

56/100

my handlebars kept slipping all race so i couldn't really relax--on the dirt and gravel sections everytime i hit a hole it was scary as shit. wasn't climbing as well as i did on this course last year. 82 miles, 8 dirt sections, whew...

not sure if this will work:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/29638435

that one crit i was in a while back, one of the brifters came loose - does NOT inspire a great deal of confidence

so i feel u on this one

cutty ur post inspired a garmin purchase today. if only it could give me fitness cure my deep seated fear of winning.

My road race ~debut~ report:

25mph gusts, torrential rain (1.5 inches alone during the 2+ hours when I was out on the course).

I was beyond soaked... like, no shit, rain was so sideways in the crosswind I had a raindrop score a direct hit to my EARDRUM. *splat* That was an odd first time sensation.

But really, so much fun. All morning long, the fields were completely shattered (including my heat from the first 1/4 mile, the moto judge was laughing and told us "well, you've already got 100 yards on them").

But because of the utter shattering of fields and people wearing (multiple!) jackets over their numbers (except at the finish where numbers had to be displayed) it was hard to tell placement. I heard I got 5th (from my teammate who finished 3rd), then I heard 10th, then I heard 6th (from my teammate who finished we think 3 places behind me)... but I have no idea, it was crazy just to finish without crashing. Results should be official tomorrow.

My heat was 100 riders, 45 mile (2 laps x 22.5), mostly rollers with a few 5 minute uphill efforts, very cruel uphill start/finish on some poorly maintained country roads.

100 REGISTERED riders, I think the starter said there were 75 bodies present at the start.

just found this on google blog search, pretty entertaining:
http://ctscycling.blogspot.com/2010/04/spring-hill-two-rock-road-race-report.html

HARDMAN SHASTA!!

what is the strategy on dirt racing? do you take a couple psi out of the front/back? dudes clip one leg out on the dirt descents?

wow nice ride shasta. knew u would tho.

awww thx dawg. actually thought of U as i solo'd in the last 18 miles ("damn i could use some TT bars right abt now" he wondered aloud to himself in the gale force thunderstorm and howling winds...)

do you know your result yet?!

No results have been submitted for this event.
Please check with the event organizer to see if results are available.