my weekly race log

now hunt3r needs to make his comeback

Just phoned up and found out that the circuit is closed because it's covered in ice, so no race today. What an anti-climax. The snow's all gone from London now, so I thought it'd be OK, but this was the course earlier in the week:
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/MultimediaFiles/20090206_REDBRIDGE_SNOW.JPG

Back in action again today. The weather was a lot better than last time (warmer, sunnier, less windy) and the field in my race was bigger (about 45). I'd set myself three golden rules for this one: 1) be bold when cornering, don't just slacken off, you've got just as much right to your space as anyone else; 2) fight as hard as you can to stay with the bunch - it might kill you, but it's still easier than riding round on your own; 3) if / when you do get dropped, sit up and wait for someone else (dropped before you) to catch you and then work together. I managed to stick right in the middle of the bunch for the first couple of laps - it was a bit hair-raising as it was breakneck pace (averaging 24 mph, but descending at 37) with people jockeying for position all the time and constant concertina-ing as you sprint to close down a gap and then free wheel as it all comes together. On the climb at the end of the second lap I had a rush of blood to the head: from near the back of the bunch I moved wide right and then launched myself right off the front. I crossed the line clear on my own, but got caught within 30 seconds and then found myself sinking back through the field. I lost contact with the bunch on the fourth lap, had a lap or so on my own, then eventually found other people to work with (a couple from behind, but mostly people from up ahead who had either been shed off the bunch after me or who were getting lapped). The bunch lapped me with 1.5 laps to go. Don't know my position yet, but it felt better than last time.

my first race of the season is tomorrow AM. just a central park race, but exciting nonetheless. it's my first time racing with a full team, i'll have 8 other teammates in the pro/1/2/3 field.

bona fortuna. they do not have p123 races here. weeellll, one of the weeknight training races allows 3s to race with "A's", so i guess thats sorta the same thing.

how do i shot racing team

win some races and make a name for yourself. the teams will come to you.

well?

well?

(thing is, there's at least a handful of med students who'd be interested in racing....including one ex-racer who spent a year in belgium. i know teams in chicago that just started up as a group of buddies wearing the same kit, and cheering for each other at races.)

my team got 3rd.

there was a crash early on coming into the second lap. we all avoided it, but that's when the break formed. one of our guys was in it.

our rival team is probably the best nyc racing team, we didn't know they had two men in the break. we should have bridged a guy across at some point to increase the chances of winning. the confusion of the crash didn't really give us a chance to size it up properly.

i was at the front mostly chasing down attacks from other teams, with 4-5 other teammates also controlling the race with me. my teammate took 3rd in a sprint from a 7 man break, which is a success for us. this is an entire club series that lasts all summer so we're after the team cup.

i really was putting myself in the red to make it a good training race. i'm not a huge threat in these central park races because i'm basically racing against the best local riders NYC has to offer.

but it was shitloads of fun and i totally forgot how much i love to race!

so do you want to start road racing gbx?

How did you get on Cutty? (ah, xpost, you've answered that now!)

I did my third race of the season today. I tried to get a good start so that I could position myself nearer the front of the bunch (in the hope I could stay in it for longer this time) - unfortunately I got such a good start that I left everyone else behind and had to ride on my own for the first lap until I got caught. This wasn't the plan at all and just knackered me. I lost contact on the third lap and raced with the also-rans for the remainder. With half a lap to go I got savage cramp in my right calf that just wouldn't go. I tried to complete the race pedalling with my left foot only (and my right leg sticking out straight), but couldn't get up the hill like that. I tried to walk it, but my calf didn't like that either. Eventually I managed to spin up in my bottom gear, but I'm hobbling around now. Hopefully this is just a short term effect.

What kind of temperature is it in New York now, by the way?

what was the field size cutty?

65 degrees fahrenheit today. field size was around 80 i'd say.

Woo-hoo! Due to my foolishly quick start yesterday I'm right at the front in the first photo that they took of the race yesterday. Fame at last!

http://www.cycleweb.co.uk/newsite/gallery.htm
(San Fairy Ann Spring Crits 2 09 seniors)

http://www.cycleweb.co.uk/newsite/albums/sffa092y/IMG_9066001.sized.jpg

loooool

wanna see him shoulder that (tho it looks like hes got road shoes going there)

i mostly want to race CX and track, but would def like to try a road race sometime.

the problem with cx is that the fastest guy almost always wins. same with xc.

start racing then, gbx. don't worry about a team yet! track is not a team sport anyway.

I got savage cramp in my right calf that just wouldn't go.... I'm hobbling around now. Hopefully this is just a short term effect.

Still limping around now more than three days later. I must have actually strained it. I can't see myself riding at all for a couple of weeks at least and I don't think I'll be racing again for quite a while :-(

Bad cramp hurts a fair bit for days, but you'll be fine soon, I promise. Quicker than you expect.

Hope so. How are your ribs coming along?

Not bad - every day they're improving. Today is going to be my first day without pain relief - feeling pretty fine so far. Thinking of cycling to work (gingerly and slowly) tomorrow.

Funnily enough I woke in the middle of the night with a fierce cramp in my thigh - wonder if that's going to hurt for a while?

raced a crit. no moves were getting away. sat up for the field sprint, no thanks.

fun though, and a great workout.

my first big road race is saturday--
http://tourofthebattenkill.com/

my team is a favorite for the cat 3 race, one of the three of us can definitely get on the podium, i think

that website hurts my eyes

just dug up the minnesota racing calendar, btw

think i might enter.....a crit??

wait, is this on unibet?

kill em.

what is unibet? floyd landis is racing the tour of the battenkill!

gbx, did you buy a license?

figured i'd just get a one-day? i mean, i doubt i'll do more than one or two

k. not all races do one-days so be sure to check. and be careful. a cat 5 crit is not where i would have my first bike race.

h'mmmm....road race, maybe? i think there are like a bazillion more crits than there are day races, tho? also a lot of TTs, now that i look

also thinking i'll have to get this, huh: http://unattachedrider.com/current.htm

you are in illinois, correct?

http://www.bikereg.com/events/?et=1&rg=4

nope! i'm up in minnesota now, for med school.

should be plenty of road races in minnesota broski

i will look~~

wow there are none

http://www.bikereg.com/events/Default.asp?et=1&rg=MN&ns=&ne=15&btnGo.x=9&btnGo.y=19

http://mcf.net/calendar/

there's a handful of RRs, but it's like all crits all summer

Twenty years ago this exact weekend, aged 15, I did my first ever time trial, 10 miles in 29.00 on a 'dragstrip' course (i.e. on a flat, straight dual carriageway with cars and juggernauts thundering past at 70mph or more and nightmarish dangerous sliproads joining from the left). A week later I did another, this time on a 'sporting' course (i.e. on relatively minor twisting and undulating roads without much traffic) and got a 29.49. I know this because fortunateley I kept a race diary. By the end of the 1989 season I'd got my PB down to 28.00 and by the end of the 1990 season it was 27.15. Then I gave up for half my life.

Today was the first time trial of my belated comeback, by freakish coincidence on the same sporting course where I did my second ever time trial, and I managed a 29.00, by another freakish coincidence the exact same time I got 20 years ago on the dragstrip. I'm pretty pleased with that (although, obviously, I was at the wrong end of the results board - I think I managed to beat five people out of about forty-five). There was a headwind for the first 5.5 miles and I thought I was going to fail to get under 30 mins (which was my target), but then I was able to hammer it on the return. My target for the season is to try to get back up to the standard of my old PB, but that will be tricky as I'm going to restrict myself to sporting courses (as I think it's a bit mental to ride on roads which are virtually motorways).

One crucial difference between 1989 and 2009: every other competitor had tri-bars (apart from me) and most of them had low-profile bikes with disc wheels and aero helmets and stuff. I just had my normal road bike. Maybe I should get some tri-bars? I've never ridden with any, so I don't know what it's like. I certainly won't be bothering with the other stuff (partly because I'm much more interested in road racing than time trailing, but mostly because I don't have thousands of pounds to fritter away on such things). I was also the only rider without shaved legs, but that's a whole other issue.

Oh, and I had the humiliating experience of being caught and instantly passed and quickly left behind by my minute-man after just 1.5 miles (he eventually finished third in just under 23 mins).

CUTTY

HEY CUTTY

hey!

so my team won the cat 3 race. teammate kyl3 p3pp0 got 1st and I was right behind him in 5th. the race was brutal, kind of like a paris-roubaix. no cobbles, but a significant portion of the race was packed dirt, gravel, rocks, raging downhills and general craziness. our 3rd teammate in the field crashed pretty bad and ended up with a concussion (helmet cracked) in the hospital.

here's the course profile:

http://i44.tinypic.com/2dlqf11.png

i really started drilling it at the halfway point, 40 miles in, with a rider i know to be strong and capable of working pretty hard. we totally broke the field apart and the chase was on for us. i almost went off the road on a dirt descent at one point and totally fell off my bike at another. didn't lose any momentum and chased back on. i was feeling 100%.

around the 50 mile point i looked behind me and my teammate had caught up to us, leaving 7 of us in the lead group. we stayed away for the rest of the race. my teammate is definitely the better sprinter and i decided i would not contest the sprint to ensure we would win--i offered up the lead out to him. but the finish was confusing (we should have checked it out before hand) and it came sooner than we expected. 3 guys surged and my teammate came up on the left and passed them all at the line.

it was totally fucking PRO, my fist in the air in 5th place while my teammate wins. no other team had 2 guys in the break, we were the favorites, totally marked, and we still won the race.

we had stayed upstate the night before at another teammate's place. i texted him yesterday morning "wake up we have a race to win" and then we did exactly that.

it's moments like these where all the training is worth it. my team is awesome and we've already won 3 races in 2009. very psyched for this season. i'll post vanity pics if i get any!

also with yesterday's 5th place i am five upgrade points away from my cat 2 upgrade