Fall Fling Stage #1
Road Race in Westlake Village outside of Rockford.
Citizens/Cat 5 <- sad I know.
Things went well early on. I ended up in the front of the field right off the line AGAIN. I rode slow as crap hoping others would come around and no one did. I take corners well/fast and tookt he first one in front.
I heard MJH2 come along side and say, "no one's coming. Screw 'em. Let's go!" I turned and saw a decent gap that we had ont he field. :wtf: I did not expect that. We gave it a half-assed go and were quickly caught.
From there I found I ended up in 1st or second position. RJBTrek and I were trading up front quite a bit. We were both looking for others to take over. MJH2 later pointed out that everyone must have read online that they were not supposed to work ever so none of them were. I have to agree.
Inputflangeman had decided to join in for today's race. Those of you who have ridden with him know he's a triathlete with a great diesel engine. We "advised" him before the race that it might be a good idea for him to go up front and ride his pace due to his background. He did just that. He went up front and worked hard enough to keep people from coming around, but not hard enough to kill us.
Everything was great....then we got close to the line to start the second lap (7.5mile laps). I heard a guy sprinting by. Started calling out "Left-side!" Then looked and saw it wasn't just one or two or three guys, but a train...and it was trucking. The speed went up drastically and a few of the lesser experienced riders in front on me and MJH2 started popping and getting squirrelly. We both got boxed in....
SUCK! I felt like bumping them out of the way, but just worked with it. We got gapped enough that we had to go nuclear to get back on. That's when I popped. I just couldn't do that effort and recover quick enough.
I dropped like a rock through most of the pack and then solo TT'd the rest of the ride. Picked up a wheel sucker for a while. He didn't understand how to work together. Happens all the freeking time to me during races.
There was no one to sprint when I finished. 
Sucked. I was feeling great today. I had tons of power at the end. I could have ridden really well, but just screwed up the read of the race and couldn't cover that move.
Tomorrow is stage 2 - a crit. I know it will be fast. Don't know how I will do. I guess I will find out. Not nearly as happy tonight as I thought I would be. Oh well. One day I will do well in a race.
I suck.
Hardware
I scored some hardware at today's epic TT. I didn't ride as well as I could have, but I did a good job I believe. I came in 3rd out of 4 in the 30+ category. 1:04:48 seconds for 23.75 miles - about 22mph average.
I say epic because it was a downpour for the whole route. I couldn't see anything through my glasses so I rode looking over them. If I had my head up the rain was so heavy it would sting my eyes.
Standing there getting drenched while in the start house I looked around at a few of the other guys and just had to say it, "you know...we're some pretty messed up guys for coming out here in the rain to put ourselves through the torture that is a TT. We could all be in bed or eating a nice breakfast. We're idiots." I got the obligatory laugh or two, but everyone was thinking, "you wussy. I do it so that I can kick bike weenie ass. Get in line for your ass kickin you weenie."
"30 seconds"
I noticed that my heart rate goes from 50-60 just standing around to in the mid 90s when I get into the start house. Crazy. You want to pee, crap yourself, throw-up, fall over into a fetal position, etc. You know the pain that is coming and you know the little guy with the clipboard isn't going to save you or make the pain stop. He's going to enjoy every minute of it.
"Rider ready. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!"
I don't care how much you warm up, if you are not feeling like you just got hit by a Mack truck within the first 30 seconds to a minut of a TT then you're doing it wrong.
Pain is like crack. Beating someone is like heroin.
I wasn't expecting much and did nothing to prepare for this other than switch my bike over. I think I did OK. This is the first piece of hardware I have ever received from a competitive cycling event. Sure it's no big deal and doesn't mean anything with such a small field on such a crappy day, but it's a medal. I will take it.
Colorchange pulled a 1:00:03<--missed the hour by 3 seconds. Awesome job. He pulled first place in Cat 5. Alien2 was there to finish the series. He placed 2nd overall in the series as well as second today. This is in Cat 3. He's a fast dude. It shows on Tuesday nights. He did the route in something like 56 or 58 minutes. Hella-fast.
Fall fling is coming and I am hoping I can do good things there. The TT is half the distance so I will need to really hammer it out in order to be able to do anything.
The day in psimetville….
Group ride last night = good. Stayed on the whole way. Outclimbed a lot of people (even a few on Braeburn - wtf). Won final sprint - well accepted it when it was given over by the alien.
I was feeling good and can only chalk it up to finally being able to string 2-3 days of riding together - total shocker, but looking at my logs I haven't ridden on 2 consecutive days in a LONG TIME before now.
Thursday is BH ride.
I am winning the battle of the scale. Consistantly says 175 now. Been seeing some 173 and 174's. Still have my fat belly, but I am starting to think that will never go away. I felt the lighter weight on the bike too. Strength has been increasing so I feel like the loss has not been at the expense of muscle.
I had another meeting with the man to continue our discussion from last week. Didn't see the point and know it's just one of those "methods" for handling conflict situations that he most likely learned in a seminar. "Confront the issue head on and then give them a week for reflection then revisit the issue." I'm good in negotiations because I know when I am being played. What sucks is knowing that I am being played, not wanting to stoop to the level of playing along, and knowing that if you don't play along then no good can possibly come of that.
If de-motivation was a food, I would now be fat(er).
I’m in hell…
An hour of indoor strength intervals last night. Even with as bad as I feel I found I skated through this one....and it was a Spinervals DVD. I typically bomb out on those. It was constant 50X12 (sorry guys, I ride a compact) for the whole thing. 1-legged drills. Seated power. Sprints, off bike lunges....
.... and lung cookies. I hate being sick.
Still hacking this morning, but making it. I needed this to get me ready, at least mentally, for Saturday. Colochange posted a video of the course and it looks like one hill will definitely kill me and I get to climb it 10 times unless I get pulled. I had nightmares about it last night.
For some reason I seem to put on quite a bit of weight right after events only to have it shed off the following week. Example: Before DD last weekend I was 176. When I got home I was 183 or 184. Then slowly each day I just whittled it off. Today...176. Sure it's normal fluctuation and most likely water being restored and then burned off, but it's just weird. Nothing like going on an epic ride and gaining weight at the end and not seeing the results for a week or so.
Oh...and I drastically reduced my caffiene intake starting yesterday as well. Boo.
BTW - WHY IN THE HELL AM I RIDING A TRAINER IN AUGUST!!!!! Trainers suck.
Yuk
I feel like the stuff you find sometimes on the bottom of your shoe that makes you think, "I don't know what the hell that is, but I'm not touching it."
The family has been dealing with a virus for a few weeks. I feel like I am pulling out of the worst point, but I am still a mess. I did the Dairyland Dare with it in full effect, but the stress of the Dare put me over the edge. I have been in a serious funk since then. Add on top of that some business travel - late travel and arrival paired with early meeting and half day travel again - and I am struggling to figure out which side is up.
To top all of this off I have to get to the doc to get my regular Rx filled - something I HATE doing. I have no time and scheduling an appointment is like trying to ask the most popular girl out to the dance. You end up getting a semi-polite appointment at a totally inconvenient time and end up leaving there feeling like you've wasted all your time and were just mildly humored.
I hate healthcare in America. Wife works in the system (RN). She has a Doctor for a sister and the other sister is a nurse as well. Everyone wants to do a better job, but the system seems to never really give them a chance to. Between everyone covering their asses and the occassional individual that just doesn't really know what they're doing....you know where I'm going.
Case in point. I had breathing problems and got bumped around from my primary to a specialist. Specialist needed testing, etc. The total time involved to schedule appointments and get anything done - 6 months. End result - have surgury (nasal polyps). My wife was pregnant at the time so there was no way I was going to take any unecssary risks.
Now that child is 2 1/2. I still have the issue. If I want something done now I will have to start the process all over again. Not to mention if I undergo surgury then I will be laid up for a couple of weeks. So....in order to make sure this happens during the off-season I would have to start this process sometime in July....
....guess I'll wait until next year.
So...what does this mean for Saturday's road race? It means my first event sporting an actual team kit will be a subpar showing. I might have to pull myself to prevent total embarassment to rest of the team who is there.
Pain is what it feels like to get better.......right?
Group Ride 081208
Another group ride is done. Fast. I held on for a long time and was actually climbing really well (for me).
Then I popped. I was so demoralized thinking - Hey I'm going to make it this time....
Then I fired up the Garmin and saw I just set a record for myself on the course. Everyone else just got faster.
I hate pulling into the parking lot within a minute or 2 of the leading group - meaning we were close, but that difference adds up to 1-3mph. Pretty big gap.
Oh well, I never said I was good at this stuff.
Coma
I'm coming down from a wedding induced coma of sugar and alcohol. Driving long distances, family, and celebrations although tons of fun don't make for a healthy self.
Got back in town and found the time to hook up a ride. Hot and heavy. I had raised the saddle a bit and again...I make more power there, but I pay a "price"....physically....
I hammered out about 10 miles then turned around. Ran across CyLowe almost right at the turn around point. We talked for a bit and then he decided to ride the return leg back with me before continuing on his ride.
He's been in a leg burning mood lately so it was nice to make some good time back. For only being out an hour I got some good time in. Still slow, and a tad bit apprehensive about Elgin Crit this week.
Sent e-mails to the organizers so it looks like I will be in the Cat 5 race even though my ABR license says 4. Hopefully the day will be a safe one.
This just in….
...I suck at racing. I was happy with my performance today, but in the big picture I was a giant heaping pile of suck. The races were fast. I knew they would be...come on...it is a race, but they were faster than what I would even expect.
The course is super flat and in the morning there was a tailwind down the longest straight. I held on the the CAT 4/5 for about 5 laps. Then when I was OTB I ended up trying to work with a guy. He was just barely hanging on and I ended up doing most of the work. He was tiny too so even when he was in front I was getting nothing.
Just before we were about to get lapped I took off trying to hold the pack off. It was a pretty impressive effort if I do say so myself. It delayed the inevitable for another lap. We got lapped a seond time with 3 to go. Picked up a xXx rider who kind of worked with us - when he wasn't busy trying to tell us what to do (is there a rolleyes smiley on here?).
The Masters 4/5 was faster. It was brutal. Actually it probably wasn't, but the morning's race had taken a lot out of me. I did manage to stay in the front for a while. I was even in front going over the line one lap. I actually think I was in a 3 man break off the second lap or so, but I was going hard enough that I couldn't see. One guy came flying up and wanted me and the first guy to work with him. We put out heads down and I hammered for a bit. The second lap of that was obvious we were fading.
Pretty soon I did my usual OTB and just tried to hold on. The sun was intense and it is really hot out there today. After getting lapped a second time with only 6 or 7 laps left I decided to call it a day. I shouldn't have because it was then that riders were starting to get shelled and I could have found people to work with, but the gas tank was on "E" and the pounding headache was signaling dehydration.
DFL, DNF.
Rule 5,246 about racing: "Don't expect to ony go out a couple of times a year for races and still do OK."
Stupid Weak…and Aero
So...I'm sitting around after the horrible experience this morning and wanting to totally unload my guads (yes I know it's quads....it's a bike forums thing...crazy internet). I had borrowed a set of Zipp 404s from a friend and co-worker (also relative by marriage) for the TT that I didn't end up doing. They were in the car ready to return and I just thought maybe I should give them a test ride.
With my fatherly responsibilities in play for this evening I knew I wasn't going to be able to go on the Tuesday Night ride, but figured I could make it out on the route during the day. For those of you who don't know Zipp 404s are the hottest wheelset on the domestic poseur scene. They are insanely light, aerodynamic, made of carbon and $$$$$$$$$$.
They basically run $2,100 for the set. Seriously. I normally build wheels for around $400 a set. I wanted to experience them.
So I geared up and headed out. I got most of the way there before I realized I hadn't yet swapped out my mtn shoe for the correct road shoe yet. (Stupid!)
Once there I suited up and headed out. Now I said before that the 404s are a primo poseur wheel. I felt obligated to complete the total image - that or the fact that I was wearing bland no-name kit all morning "at the race" - so I donned a 2007 CSC jersey that I received as a gift from a different relative by marriage who happens to work for them. It's Euro and nice and tight. Think I blogged about it before, but it fits nicer now.
So there I am: Carbon Giant TCR with Dura-Ace, Zipp 404 wheels, wearing a CSC team jersey. I was all set to go out and be mediocre.
OK - serious part - the wheel review. I noticed a definite change from before. The bike didn't seem to lurch back in between pedal strokes (yes, I have a crappy spin). They seemed more jittery if that makes sense. The big thing was that I really didn't notice any real benefit....
...until I got them over 20 mph or pointed them downhill. I NEVER run my 12t cog on this course even with a group. I found myself in it every single time I had even a small downhill. It just kept going and going.
Climbing was...meh. I like my wheels better for climbing. My wheels are stiffer than these. The 404s kind of felt mushy at times. For the record I am 179 and can be brutal on my wheels...I took it easy on these. Climbing Braeburn did go extremely well though.
So even though I was going around this course solo I figured I would be matching or even bettering some of my normal times around it OTB. Wasn't far off. I really wasn't pounding it, but I ended up with the same speeds as normal.
You mean the wheels didn't make me fast??!!!!
Go figure.
Final assessment: If you have access to these for TTs then without a doubt use them. Will they make you faster in general? Not really. You can't buy speed. I think they are overkill for crits plain and simple. Road races...OK. Group ride domination...absolutely.
If you have the $$ burning a hole in your pocket and hate helping others with donations to charity then by all means add them to your arsenal (get it....Zipp Speed Weaponry?). If it's going on your credit card and you hope the monthly payments will still allow you to eat Ramen Noodles and occasionally drink a beer with the left over small change....then snap out of it. Stick with quality custom pre-builts.
If you're a "try"-athlete who thinks they need every single edge they can get in a race - so much so that you insist on climbing while in a full aero position - even though you are neglecting the fact that you are 50 lbs overweight....then please walk to your garage and package up your set and give them to a starving College Cat3 or 4 who could use them..........to kick my butt.
...or just polish them with a diaper and set a place of honor for them at the table.
Stupid Week
So I forgot my license on the way to the races today in Bensenville. So I went back from Bensenville to Elgin and got it. Then when I finally got to the race I went to go register and realized that I had 2 different shoes.
Yes one was right and one was left, but one was a mtn bike shoe and one was a road shoe. 2 different cleats. One that would work with my pedals.....the other wouldn't.
I took the start of the 4/5 race anyway. I just pretended I was having pedal problems. I took a lap and according to the official at the start I will be placed. Boo.
Stupid.
Really stupid.
When you race, or go to any event there are a few things you check and check and check again.
- Helmet
- Shoes
- Bike
- Gloves
- Water Bottle
- Pump
- EDIT - Even here I forgot to put "License".
Everything else is extra. Today I get an F. Still....I did take the start so the day wasn't a total loss.