Race Date: April 17, 2012
Packed my race bag the night before. Checked over the bike and wiped it down and threw the front wheel in the trunk of the car. Racked the bike on top of the car before work and felt great all day. Light lunch. Good afternoon snack.
The weather was looking favorable all day long for the first race of the season. Light breeze and the sun was peaking out after a couple rainy days over the weekend, a weekend filled with tearing up the yard and preparing to relandscape everything.
As the end of the work day approached I double-checked the weather and everything was "go" for race time.
Shutdown the computer and head out to the parking lot and it's absolutely gorgeous. Call home and see what's going on with the kiddos. Wife suggests that I maybe spend the night getting the yard closer to finished instead of racing.
All of those hours on the trainer this winter. Sweating on the rollers out in the garage as my breath froze. The upgrades to the bike over the winter. All of this wasn't done to prepare me to pull up lawn edging!?
I sit in the driver's seat in the parking lot and stew over the suggestion of getting work done on the house instead of paying $15 to add my first race of the year nerves to the Cat 4 peloton in Minnetonka.
Continuing to pull up overgrown layers, (yes, multiple) of landscape fabric or bumping elbows in the bottleneck on the backside of the OPUS loop.
Raking up piles of pine needles from the tree that I fell a week ago in the front yard or fighting for the 3rd lap prime for 5 points.
Inspecting and watering my sproutlet grass seed in the bare spots of the lawn from two weeks ago or sucking wind after an uphill sprint.
I pull out of the parking lot and turn right to head home. I wasn't happy with my decision the whole way home, but knew my wife was right.
Tyler Durden couldn't have been more right when he said that what you own ends up owning you. The house. The yard. The furniture. The toys in the basement. The baseball gloves and rollerblades in the garage.
Same with the bikes lined up on the hooks on the ceiling of my garage. And the one bolted into the trainer in the dank corner of the garage. And the one clamped to the roof of my wife's VW Beetle.
And the grill on my deck which made some delicious baked potatoes and grilled chicken when I got home. And the frying pan that spit out a pound of fried bacon which eventually made its way onto the loaded potatoes.
And my kids' smiling faces which didn't care that I bailed out on the race but instead wouldn't stop eating the bacon as it cooled on the plate on the counter before I could crumble it up for the potatoes.
I ended up getting an hour so done out in the yard and added to the pile of yard crap that needs to find its way to the dump. I was originally thinking about making it to the first road race tomorrow as well out in Durand, Wisconsin, but I'm going to get in a training ride at dawn then get muddy in the yard the whole day instead.
Despite what some say, our racing calendar is pretty thorough around here so there's plenty of opportunities for me to chase that Cat 3 dream this season.
Maybe next Tuesday.
Footnote: Oh, and I plan on working on this blog a bit more this year. I keep telling myself I'll write more when I race more, but that attitude obviously isn't working. Also, my neighbor, Death Rider, keeps reminding me how boring my life can seem to those that I don't see on a regular basis so I need to write about something to show him that I do more than hang out in my house and watch movies. I mean, look, I get outside and work in my yard too!
Non-Statistically Significant Evidence to Support the Theory of Addiction to Exercise-Induced Endorphin Release
Showing posts with label Bicycle racing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bicycle racing. Show all posts
Friday, April 20, 2012
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Premature Exertion
2011 is off to a fast start, and I'm already slacking in the blog department.
Since my last post, I've lost my job (within a week of the last post, actually), applied to 24 new jobs, interviewed 8 times over the phone, 4 times in person, followed up on all 12 interviews with phone calls and thank you letters, negotiated to job offers and took my now current job, making me gainfully employed once again.
Oh, and all the while, my wife picked up a ton of extra hours at the hospital making me take on the role of Mr. Mom for exactly two months.
The thought of being a stay-at-home used to sound a bit appealing to me...but after this experiment...NO WAY. I couldn't do it full-time (i.e. my wife is amazing, and I don't know how she's done it this whole time). I love the kids with all my heart, and had a blast with them on my time off, but I need structure and a lot more adult interaction and conversation in my life. I thought I could live my life playing LEGOs and watching cartoons and playing hide-and-seek all day long, but no. Just no.
At the turn of the year I had originally planned to ramp up my running and run the Chicago Marathon with a group of friends. A weekend trip. The weekend that I was actually going to commit and register fell immediately after I lost my job, so that plan went right through the floor.
I had also planned on picking up bike racing where I left off in 2009, and that plan was still feasible on a fixed income, so I focused almost solely on riding the trainer in the basement whenever I could steal a couple hours with the kids asleep.
Trainer time. At night. In the basement. Yuck.
But, it was the only way I could log some time in the saddle, and really the only way I could unwind after full days of double-diaper duty and running around creation to do errands. I did manage to get out for a few outdoor rides when the weather cooperated, and one really good 52-mile group ride with my new racing team.
Fast forward to April, the week after I accepted my new job, and I reward myself by going to Ken Woods Memorial Road Race south of the Twin Cities.
At the end of my first year of racing ('09), I did upgrade out of the Category 5's to the 4's. This would mark my first race as a 4. I knew I wasn't in the best race shape, but I was so excited to actually be able to race this year that I just didn't care. I just wanted to wear my new kit and try to hang on and get my heart rate higher than it's been in months for an extended period of time.
The weather was miserable for the morning wave, but luckily the rain/mist ceased for the afternoon wave and the pavement was dry. Unfortunately, our Minnesota Spring didn't totally cooperate though and continued to pound some NW winds at us, making for some really fun hiding tactics within the pack that really didn't help once we got strung out in the crosswind.
Overall the race went well. I didn't hear of any wrecks in our field. We held together the entire first lap until the last long hill approaching the finish completely blew our pack up. I attempted to hang with the front on the attack up the hill, but red-lined about 2/3 of the way up and lost it. Sucked wind all the way past the line going into lap two as I was passed by [what seemed to be] everyone else. Went solo until after the first turn, where one guy came up and passed me, then offered to let me latch on and work together to catch back up. I tried, and swapped a couple turns at pulling, but slammed the wall again when we hit a rolling hill into the wind and then told him to go ahead. I lost sight of him by the next turn heading north, but luckily another small group of three came up and pulled me in.
We ended up working together pretty well to paceline back to our cars.
Finished the 42 miles in just over 2 hours, 41st place out of 47 finishers.
A finish, nonetheless.
Since then, I've done two of the Tuesday Night Worlds / OPUS criteriums; May 10 and last night.
May 10 (TNW #5) was a ton of fun. I started up front, and held in the top ten for the majority of the race. I still wasn't sure of my anaerobic capacity for the season, so I didn't attempt any prime sprints, but was in position to watch them pretty well. After the first prime, I accidentally found myself at the front after we reeled the sprinters back in. I led for the lap across the line, then let others come up around me to help pull again.
Dropped back a bit in the pack, then worked back up by the next prime to position for the finish. With two to go, a couple guys go off the front, so everyone got antsy and started fighting for position. At the bell, I found myself about 13 or 14, so once we reached the top of the hill I found a gap on the right and said "what the hell, why not" and attacked up the right side into the downhill. Got up to the front of the pack (bike meter recorded a top speed of 40.1, I'm pretty sure it was here) with two other guys, but quickly learned that going into a downhill isn't the best place to attack, as we were all a group again by the time we reached the bottom.
Hit the left turn and bottleneck, then rode as a group to the final left turn where everyone stood to sprint uphill to the finish.
I had nothing left, so just sat up and watched. Ended up 17th of 32.
Last night was similar, but our field felt MUCH faster this week with everyone trying to salvage any points they could on the last race of this TNW series.
I went in with a goal of at least trying to get a point or two on a prime, with my sights set on the first, as nobody really attacked last week aside from the front couple guys. As we hit the last turn for the prime, about 20 of us stood to sprint. I was about 8 or 10 back, and right in the middle, so I had no real option other than to stick on the wheel ahead of me and just ride it up and watch the sprint ahead of me.
We all gathered up again at the top, then went roundy-round for the next three laps. About the only excitement here was on lap 4 or 5 when a couple cars found themselves in the left lane as we swallowed them up and passed on the right. Everyone was pretty cautious though, so it was good to see common sense from the group.
The next prime lap was fast. Really fast. All the way around. I was right in the middle somewhere and didn't have any desire to try to fight my way up again, so I just rode around and watched...again.
Then roundy-round two more times to the bell lap. Heading to the line going into the final lap, two guys took off, and I mean blasted off. They were gone by the time the rest of us reached the top. I found a couple little gaps in the middle of the pack on the way up the hill and worked my way up to about the top ten again at the summit and into the down hill.
Remembering last week's feeble attempt of an attack, I held in a bit longer and positioned myself on the left side for something later down the road.
So instead of attacking on the downhill, I wait until we reach the bottom then my brain pulls the trigger and I make a dash for it up the left side right. Went through some of the leftover gravel from the winter plows that hadn't been cleaned from the road yet, but found myself alone with a second or two gap ahead of the pack going into the uphill left turn and bottleneck. I stood to keep it and knew it was all or nothing to hold at this point. I stood and torqued a bit too much on my handle bars and felt a quick skid of my rear tire, but didn't panic and held it up fine. Almost made it up to the last turn by myself, but then hit the wall again and was swallowed up as we turned to head to the finish line.
I swear that line was closer the last 8 times we went over it...
The official full results aren't posted yet, but I didn't even try to put effort in to steal 15th place. Pretty sure it wasn't even a top 20, but it was a fun attack that at least made whoever got those two third-place-finish points try a bit harder to win.
I've overheard a few other people saying that the Cat 4's are really fast this year. There are definitely a few guys that are working the group pretty hard, but it's making for some really fun racing so far.
My goal this year is simply to keep finishing races and learn some more strategy during the race. I feel very comfortable in the pack, which I was nervous about coming into this year, so that's a good feeling. I definitely think I'm in good enough shape to continue to be pack fodder for the rest of the season. I'm still going to try some things here and there and try to figure out something that might stick eventually though. I just hate going on a group ride at the race until the last 200 yards.
I won't be partaking in the Square Lake Road Race this weekend. Definitely some home projects and kid time in the plans. I'm hoping to take in a Buck Hill race or three in the next few weeks leading up to the State Fair Crits (my favorite series).
Sorry no pictures either. I'm terrible about carrying cameras, and when I do I don't really take pictures. There've been quite a few people out with cameras at the OPUS races, but I haven't seen much posting of them. If I find some, I'll share and link 'em up.
Since my last post, I've lost my job (within a week of the last post, actually), applied to 24 new jobs, interviewed 8 times over the phone, 4 times in person, followed up on all 12 interviews with phone calls and thank you letters, negotiated to job offers and took my now current job, making me gainfully employed once again.
Oh, and all the while, my wife picked up a ton of extra hours at the hospital making me take on the role of Mr. Mom for exactly two months.
The thought of being a stay-at-home used to sound a bit appealing to me...but after this experiment...NO WAY. I couldn't do it full-time (i.e. my wife is amazing, and I don't know how she's done it this whole time). I love the kids with all my heart, and had a blast with them on my time off, but I need structure and a lot more adult interaction and conversation in my life. I thought I could live my life playing LEGOs and watching cartoons and playing hide-and-seek all day long, but no. Just no.
At the turn of the year I had originally planned to ramp up my running and run the Chicago Marathon with a group of friends. A weekend trip. The weekend that I was actually going to commit and register fell immediately after I lost my job, so that plan went right through the floor.
I had also planned on picking up bike racing where I left off in 2009, and that plan was still feasible on a fixed income, so I focused almost solely on riding the trainer in the basement whenever I could steal a couple hours with the kids asleep.
Trainer time. At night. In the basement. Yuck.
But, it was the only way I could log some time in the saddle, and really the only way I could unwind after full days of double-diaper duty and running around creation to do errands. I did manage to get out for a few outdoor rides when the weather cooperated, and one really good 52-mile group ride with my new racing team.
Fast forward to April, the week after I accepted my new job, and I reward myself by going to Ken Woods Memorial Road Race south of the Twin Cities.
At the end of my first year of racing ('09), I did upgrade out of the Category 5's to the 4's. This would mark my first race as a 4. I knew I wasn't in the best race shape, but I was so excited to actually be able to race this year that I just didn't care. I just wanted to wear my new kit and try to hang on and get my heart rate higher than it's been in months for an extended period of time.
The weather was miserable for the morning wave, but luckily the rain/mist ceased for the afternoon wave and the pavement was dry. Unfortunately, our Minnesota Spring didn't totally cooperate though and continued to pound some NW winds at us, making for some really fun hiding tactics within the pack that really didn't help once we got strung out in the crosswind.
Overall the race went well. I didn't hear of any wrecks in our field. We held together the entire first lap until the last long hill approaching the finish completely blew our pack up. I attempted to hang with the front on the attack up the hill, but red-lined about 2/3 of the way up and lost it. Sucked wind all the way past the line going into lap two as I was passed by [what seemed to be] everyone else. Went solo until after the first turn, where one guy came up and passed me, then offered to let me latch on and work together to catch back up. I tried, and swapped a couple turns at pulling, but slammed the wall again when we hit a rolling hill into the wind and then told him to go ahead. I lost sight of him by the next turn heading north, but luckily another small group of three came up and pulled me in.
We ended up working together pretty well to paceline back to our cars.
Finished the 42 miles in just over 2 hours, 41st place out of 47 finishers.
A finish, nonetheless.
Since then, I've done two of the Tuesday Night Worlds / OPUS criteriums; May 10 and last night.
May 10 (TNW #5) was a ton of fun. I started up front, and held in the top ten for the majority of the race. I still wasn't sure of my anaerobic capacity for the season, so I didn't attempt any prime sprints, but was in position to watch them pretty well. After the first prime, I accidentally found myself at the front after we reeled the sprinters back in. I led for the lap across the line, then let others come up around me to help pull again.
Dropped back a bit in the pack, then worked back up by the next prime to position for the finish. With two to go, a couple guys go off the front, so everyone got antsy and started fighting for position. At the bell, I found myself about 13 or 14, so once we reached the top of the hill I found a gap on the right and said "what the hell, why not" and attacked up the right side into the downhill. Got up to the front of the pack (bike meter recorded a top speed of 40.1, I'm pretty sure it was here) with two other guys, but quickly learned that going into a downhill isn't the best place to attack, as we were all a group again by the time we reached the bottom.
Hit the left turn and bottleneck, then rode as a group to the final left turn where everyone stood to sprint uphill to the finish.
I had nothing left, so just sat up and watched. Ended up 17th of 32.
Last night was similar, but our field felt MUCH faster this week with everyone trying to salvage any points they could on the last race of this TNW series.
I went in with a goal of at least trying to get a point or two on a prime, with my sights set on the first, as nobody really attacked last week aside from the front couple guys. As we hit the last turn for the prime, about 20 of us stood to sprint. I was about 8 or 10 back, and right in the middle, so I had no real option other than to stick on the wheel ahead of me and just ride it up and watch the sprint ahead of me.
We all gathered up again at the top, then went roundy-round for the next three laps. About the only excitement here was on lap 4 or 5 when a couple cars found themselves in the left lane as we swallowed them up and passed on the right. Everyone was pretty cautious though, so it was good to see common sense from the group.
The next prime lap was fast. Really fast. All the way around. I was right in the middle somewhere and didn't have any desire to try to fight my way up again, so I just rode around and watched...again.
Then roundy-round two more times to the bell lap. Heading to the line going into the final lap, two guys took off, and I mean blasted off. They were gone by the time the rest of us reached the top. I found a couple little gaps in the middle of the pack on the way up the hill and worked my way up to about the top ten again at the summit and into the down hill.
Remembering last week's feeble attempt of an attack, I held in a bit longer and positioned myself on the left side for something later down the road.
So instead of attacking on the downhill, I wait until we reach the bottom then my brain pulls the trigger and I make a dash for it up the left side right. Went through some of the leftover gravel from the winter plows that hadn't been cleaned from the road yet, but found myself alone with a second or two gap ahead of the pack going into the uphill left turn and bottleneck. I stood to keep it and knew it was all or nothing to hold at this point. I stood and torqued a bit too much on my handle bars and felt a quick skid of my rear tire, but didn't panic and held it up fine. Almost made it up to the last turn by myself, but then hit the wall again and was swallowed up as we turned to head to the finish line.
I swear that line was closer the last 8 times we went over it...
The official full results aren't posted yet, but I didn't even try to put effort in to steal 15th place. Pretty sure it wasn't even a top 20, but it was a fun attack that at least made whoever got those two third-place-finish points try a bit harder to win.
I've overheard a few other people saying that the Cat 4's are really fast this year. There are definitely a few guys that are working the group pretty hard, but it's making for some really fun racing so far.
My goal this year is simply to keep finishing races and learn some more strategy during the race. I feel very comfortable in the pack, which I was nervous about coming into this year, so that's a good feeling. I definitely think I'm in good enough shape to continue to be pack fodder for the rest of the season. I'm still going to try some things here and there and try to figure out something that might stick eventually though. I just hate going on a group ride at the race until the last 200 yards.
I won't be partaking in the Square Lake Road Race this weekend. Definitely some home projects and kid time in the plans. I'm hoping to take in a Buck Hill race or three in the next few weeks leading up to the State Fair Crits (my favorite series).
Sorry no pictures either. I'm terrible about carrying cameras, and when I do I don't really take pictures. There've been quite a few people out with cameras at the OPUS races, but I haven't seen much posting of them. If I find some, I'll share and link 'em up.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Massacre on Machinery Hill #2
A State Fair Affair: Massacre on Machinery Hill
Minnesota State Fairgrounds
St. Paul, MN
Race Date: June 9, 2009
Cat 5 race number 5 for me.
Cloudy night, and a chance of rain, but it was still dry for our race.
Lined up right on time. The field filled with pre-registration, so we had 50 lined up.
Again, had a bad clip in, but got in and stayed in the pack.
Snapshot of the field going through turn 3 after the zig-zag right after the start.
The field held together for the majority of the race, until the last few laps when the pace picked up a little, then a few off the back and we started to lap a few stragglers. Very uneventful, even for the primes. I never really put myself in a good position to contend for any primes, but felt very comfortable sticking where I was at in the pack. I stayed right in the top 10 to 20 for the whole race.
The only notable event happened on the last bell lap signaling last lap. There's a few hundred feet after the line before turn 1, which is a zig-zag right-left turn.
At the bell, everyone stood to get to the front, and we went about 10 wide through the zig, then the left side inevitably scrunched, and about 4 guys went down on the inside of the zag. I was more to the right, so it didn't affect me much, and the others in the middle didn't really swerve or brake, to my surprise, so we didn't lose our pace.
We held a steady pace through the lap, then at the final turn, everyone stood to sprint, as the leader was only about 10 lengths ahead of the group of about 30.
I held low and just spun my way through the middle. Clinched 13th, but could have probably got a top ten had I stood a little earlier. It was a very fun and fast finish.
I didn't meet either of my goals set from the week prior, but did do much better, so that's a positive in my book.
Next post will be the race report from the Fairmont Triathlon, five days after this race.
Minnesota State Fairgrounds
St. Paul, MN
Race Date: June 9, 2009
Cat 5 race number 5 for me.
Cloudy night, and a chance of rain, but it was still dry for our race.
Lined up right on time. The field filled with pre-registration, so we had 50 lined up.
Again, had a bad clip in, but got in and stayed in the pack.
Snapshot of the field going through turn 3 after the zig-zag right after the start.
The field held together for the majority of the race, until the last few laps when the pace picked up a little, then a few off the back and we started to lap a few stragglers. Very uneventful, even for the primes. I never really put myself in a good position to contend for any primes, but felt very comfortable sticking where I was at in the pack. I stayed right in the top 10 to 20 for the whole race.
The only notable event happened on the last bell lap signaling last lap. There's a few hundred feet after the line before turn 1, which is a zig-zag right-left turn.
At the bell, everyone stood to get to the front, and we went about 10 wide through the zig, then the left side inevitably scrunched, and about 4 guys went down on the inside of the zag. I was more to the right, so it didn't affect me much, and the others in the middle didn't really swerve or brake, to my surprise, so we didn't lose our pace.
We held a steady pace through the lap, then at the final turn, everyone stood to sprint, as the leader was only about 10 lengths ahead of the group of about 30.
I held low and just spun my way through the middle. Clinched 13th, but could have probably got a top ten had I stood a little earlier. It was a very fun and fast finish.
I didn't meet either of my goals set from the week prior, but did do much better, so that's a positive in my book.
Next post will be the race report from the Fairmont Triathlon, five days after this race.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Massacre on Machinery Hill #1
A State Fair Affair: Massacre on Machinery Hill
Minnesota State Fairgrounds
St. Paul, MN
Race Date: June 2, 2009
That's right. It's been just over a month since my last race. My excuse:
Son #2 was born on May 6 at 3:15 am. Baby's healthy. Mom's healthy. Big brother is adjusting to having a second little person in his space. And we're all a little sleep deprived, but doing very well, and are very happy.
I took two full weeks off of work, and a little over one full week off of the bike. I'm not going to lie, it was great.
But, I hopped back on and was still able to get some decent mileage in May. The break also brought about the discovery of my transmission going out, so I've been commuting to work by bike daily, which is where the majority of my mileage is now coming from (~25 miles a day; more if I extend a ride).
I targeted the Massacre as my return to the pursuit of Category 4. This would be my fourth race ever, leaving me six more before I have the ability to upgrade.
After figuring out the logistics of being able to take the (now) family car (a VW Beetle...for two adults and now two car seats) by myself so I could fit the bike in the back, I made it to the race in time to watch the start of the final NVGP Qualifier race.
When the race flyer was posted a few weeks ago, I knew that this was a race series that I wasn't going to miss. Just a quick glance at the Cat 6 guys' site and the race flyer made me pre-register for the whole series, thus committing myself to going to all of the races.
And I wasn't disappointed.
The 1/2/3 race was very exciting to watch...if you consider the winner winning by over a half a lap, and gapping the entire field for the last 8+ laps. Something like half of the field was pulled before the race was half over, leaving just the lead pack and a few stragglers going for about a half hour, chasing the eventual winner. He put on quite a show, and made it look easy.
The Cat 5 race lined up next. At registration, they said that Cat 4 riders could register for either the Cat 5 or the Cat 3 race, thus making them both mixed category races. I'm not sure how many 4's actually lined up with us, but there were a few comments as we lined up from others on the sides pointing out "sandbaggers," mostly in jest I'm sure.
From the moment I stepped out of the car in the parking lot, I thought this was the most organized and well thought-out race yet. For one, they had an emcee at the start/finish, both announcing the race, and heckling and joking with racers. It made for a much more organized and relaxed atmosphere, in my opinion. Everyone knew what was going on, when to line up, who was doing what, how far into the race we were, and which jersey/kit was the announcer's favorite (mine, by the way). Secondly, it was an actual closed course, with barricades at intersections and everything. From what I have to compare to thus far, it was very comforting to see.
But, what really put the icing on was the ninja wailing on his axe at the start. The pre-race announcements told us that there would be surprise "ninja primes" throughout the race. If you crossed the line and the ninja was jamming on his electric guitar, it meant you just won a ninja prime, and will receive a four-pack of adult beverages after the race. But, in addition to playing during primes, he also played some Stairway to Heaven during the race announcements, and a few other random licks here and there. A much different atmosphere from the roundy-round OPUS where the only sounds you really hear are other riders warming up on the outside of the course yelling "Bus coming on your right!" (the OPUS course was/is not closed to traffic).
The course itself was different from what the flyer posted. Apparently the Fairgrounds staff started doing some roadwork on the north end of the original course, grinding out some potholes in the corners. They hadn't been filled yet, so racing over 3-inch deep grooves wouldn't have been pleasant.
Half of the course was now moved down to the warm-up area, making a 180-degree hairpin turn leading back up a slight uphill to the finish. From a spectator's standpoint, it was a pretty good arrangement, as you could see the entire course from the start/finish, making it much easier to watch and follow the race.
Our field was capped at 50 (as Cat 5 races are supposed to be), and we started right on time with the start of the race noted by a very loud jam from the ninja. For the first time in a race, I had a hard time clipping in, and actually didn't get in until just before the first turn. After the first two tries, I just stepped on the pedal with the arch of my foot to keep forward momentum and to keep in the pack, then finally stepped up and stomped down to clip in successfully.
A few guys went off the front almost immediately. Either they knew there'd be a ninja prime on the first lap (which there was), or they just felt like shaking things up right away, or they were sandbaggers, but either way, they were off. I held my position (about 16 or 17) for most of the race, and actually was able to work a few drafts and took turns with a couple guys pacing each other through the slight crosswinds on the back hairpin.
This was taken about halfway through the race I believe, just after turn 3. I'm the guy to the right/at the back of these three:
Thanks to the Cat6 guys for taking such great pics. Go here for more of his pics of the race.
With a few laps to go, me and one other guy were going back and forth pacing each other over the course alone. We could see the small lead pack coming around the third turn as we headed towards the finish, so we knew they were about a half a lap ahead of us, so we just held our pace to the finish.
One lap to go shot of me (on the right) and "the other guy":
The emcee actually cheered me on as we crossed here. "Here comes my favorite jersey of the night!".
The kit has actually gotten a lot of compliments at the few races I've done so far, ranging from "That's a pretty bold statement" to "That's kind of poseur, yet it's not." At the start, the emcee said he felt it was "So pro, yet so not." It's safe to say that most people get it. I have yet to see anyone else wearing it around here.
The final results ranked me at 21 out of 50. Pretty much all of the races around here are now using chip timing and posting the full lap data online. Shows that only 27 of the field finished 14 laps. I finished about a minute and a half after the winner...about 15 seconds from being lapped had there been more laps.
Again, I like seeing this data after the race, despite the classic racers' opinions out there. I know I need to work harder, but with this basic data, it is nice to see how I'm stacking up in my early stages of racing.
I am seeing progress though, and I definitely feel my comfort level growing within the pack.
My goal for next week is to finish closer to the top yet, stick with the leaders longer, and to actually put myself in position for a sprint for an early prime, just to try it out.
Minnesota State Fairgrounds
St. Paul, MN
Race Date: June 2, 2009
That's right. It's been just over a month since my last race. My excuse:
Son #2 was born on May 6 at 3:15 am. Baby's healthy. Mom's healthy. Big brother is adjusting to having a second little person in his space. And we're all a little sleep deprived, but doing very well, and are very happy.
I took two full weeks off of work, and a little over one full week off of the bike. I'm not going to lie, it was great.
But, I hopped back on and was still able to get some decent mileage in May. The break also brought about the discovery of my transmission going out, so I've been commuting to work by bike daily, which is where the majority of my mileage is now coming from (~25 miles a day; more if I extend a ride).
I targeted the Massacre as my return to the pursuit of Category 4. This would be my fourth race ever, leaving me six more before I have the ability to upgrade.
After figuring out the logistics of being able to take the (now) family car (a VW Beetle...for two adults and now two car seats) by myself so I could fit the bike in the back, I made it to the race in time to watch the start of the final NVGP Qualifier race.
When the race flyer was posted a few weeks ago, I knew that this was a race series that I wasn't going to miss. Just a quick glance at the Cat 6 guys' site and the race flyer made me pre-register for the whole series, thus committing myself to going to all of the races.
And I wasn't disappointed.
The 1/2/3 race was very exciting to watch...if you consider the winner winning by over a half a lap, and gapping the entire field for the last 8+ laps. Something like half of the field was pulled before the race was half over, leaving just the lead pack and a few stragglers going for about a half hour, chasing the eventual winner. He put on quite a show, and made it look easy.
The Cat 5 race lined up next. At registration, they said that Cat 4 riders could register for either the Cat 5 or the Cat 3 race, thus making them both mixed category races. I'm not sure how many 4's actually lined up with us, but there were a few comments as we lined up from others on the sides pointing out "sandbaggers," mostly in jest I'm sure.
From the moment I stepped out of the car in the parking lot, I thought this was the most organized and well thought-out race yet. For one, they had an emcee at the start/finish, both announcing the race, and heckling and joking with racers. It made for a much more organized and relaxed atmosphere, in my opinion. Everyone knew what was going on, when to line up, who was doing what, how far into the race we were, and which jersey/kit was the announcer's favorite (mine, by the way). Secondly, it was an actual closed course, with barricades at intersections and everything. From what I have to compare to thus far, it was very comforting to see.
But, what really put the icing on was the ninja wailing on his axe at the start. The pre-race announcements told us that there would be surprise "ninja primes" throughout the race. If you crossed the line and the ninja was jamming on his electric guitar, it meant you just won a ninja prime, and will receive a four-pack of adult beverages after the race. But, in addition to playing during primes, he also played some Stairway to Heaven during the race announcements, and a few other random licks here and there. A much different atmosphere from the roundy-round OPUS where the only sounds you really hear are other riders warming up on the outside of the course yelling "Bus coming on your right!" (the OPUS course was/is not closed to traffic).
The course itself was different from what the flyer posted. Apparently the Fairgrounds staff started doing some roadwork on the north end of the original course, grinding out some potholes in the corners. They hadn't been filled yet, so racing over 3-inch deep grooves wouldn't have been pleasant.
Half of the course was now moved down to the warm-up area, making a 180-degree hairpin turn leading back up a slight uphill to the finish. From a spectator's standpoint, it was a pretty good arrangement, as you could see the entire course from the start/finish, making it much easier to watch and follow the race.
Our field was capped at 50 (as Cat 5 races are supposed to be), and we started right on time with the start of the race noted by a very loud jam from the ninja. For the first time in a race, I had a hard time clipping in, and actually didn't get in until just before the first turn. After the first two tries, I just stepped on the pedal with the arch of my foot to keep forward momentum and to keep in the pack, then finally stepped up and stomped down to clip in successfully.
A few guys went off the front almost immediately. Either they knew there'd be a ninja prime on the first lap (which there was), or they just felt like shaking things up right away, or they were sandbaggers, but either way, they were off. I held my position (about 16 or 17) for most of the race, and actually was able to work a few drafts and took turns with a couple guys pacing each other through the slight crosswinds on the back hairpin.
This was taken about halfway through the race I believe, just after turn 3. I'm the guy to the right/at the back of these three:
Thanks to the Cat6 guys for taking such great pics. Go here for more of his pics of the race.
With a few laps to go, me and one other guy were going back and forth pacing each other over the course alone. We could see the small lead pack coming around the third turn as we headed towards the finish, so we knew they were about a half a lap ahead of us, so we just held our pace to the finish.
One lap to go shot of me (on the right) and "the other guy":
The emcee actually cheered me on as we crossed here. "Here comes my favorite jersey of the night!".
The kit has actually gotten a lot of compliments at the few races I've done so far, ranging from "That's a pretty bold statement" to "That's kind of poseur, yet it's not." At the start, the emcee said he felt it was "So pro, yet so not." It's safe to say that most people get it. I have yet to see anyone else wearing it around here.
The final results ranked me at 21 out of 50. Pretty much all of the races around here are now using chip timing and posting the full lap data online. Shows that only 27 of the field finished 14 laps. I finished about a minute and a half after the winner...about 15 seconds from being lapped had there been more laps.
Again, I like seeing this data after the race, despite the classic racers' opinions out there. I know I need to work harder, but with this basic data, it is nice to see how I'm stacking up in my early stages of racing.
I am seeing progress though, and I definitely feel my comfort level growing within the pack.
My goal for next week is to finish closer to the top yet, stick with the leaders longer, and to actually put myself in position for a sprint for an early prime, just to try it out.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Ken Woods Memorial Road Race 2009
Race Date: April 25, 2009
This would be my third Category 5 race, but my first long distance road race (as opposed to the previous criterium races).
I showed up plenty early for registration for the Wave 2 starters, about an hour and 15 minute prior to the planned starting time of about 1:30 for the Cat 5er's. Big line for registration, but it moved quickly enough to get back to the car and have plenty of time to get ready.
Something that I've noticed among us new riders is the complete inability to pin a race number/bib on our jerseys so they don't flap in the wind as you ride. In my first two races, I placed it lower on my jersey, right along the under arm seam, about halfway down the jersey. Each time, I still had flapping, and when actually sitting on the bike, it really restricted the stretch of the jersey and got all folded up and goofy by the end of the race.
This time, I placed it a little higher, basically on the lower part of my shoulder. I also used 7 or 8 safety pins placed both around the edge and a couple in the middle of the bib, and really got that thing pinned down. It actually worked much better this time, and will keep the placement up higher.
I was able to get ready to go pretty quickly and decided to take a small ride out to warm up. There was a pretty significant wind blowing from North to South, so it made for a direct crosswind when riding East-West. The sky was overcast, but it wasn't raining like the weather terrorists were saying all week, and it was around 45 to 50 deg F, so it was a really nice day to be out and riding, even with the wind.
Turns out, all the start times had been pushed back, so we didn't actually start the Cat 5 until after 2:00. There was a lot of sitting around, and we actually started about 100 yards from the actual starting line, coming right out of the church parking lot.
My goal for this race was to hang with the pack as long as I could, so I put myself right in the middle at the start. As we took off, we got up to the upper 20's mph pretty quickly, and before I knew it, I was at the very back of the pack, but comfortably hanging on, so I didn't panic. I tried to creep up a little in the middle before our first turn, but only made it 3 or 4 spots then just held.
Held until the corner anyway. At the turn, we turned right so the wind was at our backs. The leaders caught the wind before anyone, and kicked it down right away, causing us at the back to start the accordion right away to sprint to catch up, but we all made it. I put myself near the centerline of the road to try to push up the side, and made some progress back to the middle and held it for the whole stretch with the wind. There was a lot of braking actually as we went over the slow rolling molehills at about 32-34 mph, and there was a lot of moving around too.
Leading into the second turn, we all slowed quite a bit as it was at the bottom of another roller, and people seemed to be pretty white-knuckled heading into it. As soon as we hit the apex of the turn, everyone stood to sprint up the hill and there was an immediate stringing out and everyone was trying to catch up and reform.
We all reformed, but word came up that a guy went down coming out of the corner. Someone said his pedal broke and he went down, but I didn't see nor hear it. On the back side, the wind was coming from right to left, and I got trapped on the right side by accident. I tried to swerve into the pack to recover from the uphill sprint, but couldn't make my move, and found myself hanging on the back after about 2 miles. There seemed to be an attack at the front as it felt like we just kept gaining speed, and I lost it right away and couldn't hold the back.
Went solo with the pack just out of reach until the next turn - back into the wind - when I lost them as they slowly creeped away.
I wasn't the first to fall off the back and was soon reunited with a guy from the IC3 team. He said "Let's go catch 'em," and I gladly took his invite to take turns pulling. The two of us soon caught another straggler in a Rock Racing replica jersey and invited him to join. After a couple rotations in the pace line, and teaching the third guy not to sprint when it's his turn to pull, we formed a nice group and held a very nice pace through the rest of the first lap. When we hit the big 1-mile climb before the finish line, it was kind of every-man-for-himself, but we regrouped pretty quickly at the top and kept working it around the first turn.
We were passed by 2 of the leaders of the Women's 1/2/3 group and their support car right at the turn, and they cruised well ahead of us in no time.
We held the group together through the third turn up into the wind and twisted and turned through the way back, battling the cross and head winds the entire way. Our third Rock guy fell off for a while, but rejoined us after about a mile. We were soon passed by two more women, but then started to encounter a couple Cat 5 men stragglers again. The first was a Tonka Cycle guy. He was sitting up, just spinning slowly, and showed no interest in joining up. The second was another IC3 guy, and he gladly joined saying that the guy he was previously working with (the Tonka guy) gave up. Turns out he was a junior and wanted to try the Cat 5's today for a challenge. As he gave up, I guess he told the IC3 guy he wished he had stuck with the juniors, as they were only doing one 21-mile lap.
At one point on the back stretch, there was a curve in the road that turned us heading east for a mile or two, making for another cross wind from the left. After taking my pull, I dropped back on the right side, out of the wind, then grabbed onto the back. Because of the wind direction, we really had to overlap wheels quite a bit to make the draft worth it. We were pretty much riding 3-abreast, with each others' handlebars right behind each others' hips. As I was grabbing onto the back, I had to spin a little faster to get into the draft. I'm not really sure what happened, but I think the crosswind grabbed my front wheel and pushed my body off-balance to the point where I felt the need to turn left to catch it. Well, I couldn't turn left due to the wheel-crossing, so I had to pull up and actually brake. As soon as I cleared his wheel, I was able to swerve and catch my balance, but felt like I was almost going down. My wheels actually skipped a little as I swerved. Yep, I was almost that guy that took out the back of a three-man paceline. But I didn't, and I caught back up without any harm done, aside from my bruised ego.
The four of us worked pretty well up the back stretch until we hit the last couple miles. At that point, we started to approach the last big climb, and the fourth guy decided to drop us, and did so quite quickly. At that point, we all went for ourselves again up the hill, and at the top, it was just me and Rock together. He latched on behind me for a bit, and I then dropped back to make him take a turn. As soon as we crested the last little false flat, the finish line came into sight. Rock dropped back to pull a draft off of me, so I hit it a little harder as I didn't want to pull him all the way in.
He did as I thought, and jumped with about 100 yards to go, but I held and stole 41st place from him. There was no standing sprint or arms in the air, but it did feel good to have that little competition at the end. We both sat up as we crossed and pounded fists. Pretty sure we both felt the same way: it's time to train harder.
So, 41st out of 50 starters. 42 miles in 2 hours, 4 minutes. About 21 mph average.
I completed my goal of finishing, but really wish I could have held onto the pack longer. I'm learning more and more the importance of being up front. Had I been closer to the front, I would have avoided a lot of the braking-and-sprinting accordion effect at the back, and been able to ride steadier and save a lot more for later. I didn't need to sprint as hard as I did up the hill out of the second turn either. I would have been better off saving a little more and hammering down after the top of the hill to catch up.
I learned a lot by being in an actual race paceline, as small as it was anyway. All three/four of us learned how to communicate to each other, and had a great chemistry going for the majority of the race.
I think the game breaker was the fact that I rode with my saddle bag the entire race (sarcasm/vanity alert). As we lined up at the start, I noticed that I completely forgot about my bag under my saddle. I then looked around to see if, by chance, anyone else felt the need to keep theirs on. I did see one other, and it was actually bigger than the one I had on, but it was just the two of us. In hindsight, I had plenty of time to ride back to the car to drop it off, but I wasn't sure how long we actually had, and I didn't feel like it anyway. Probably didn't make much of a difference, aside from making my experience level that much more obvious as I got spit out of the back, but there really wasn't a need for it in this race.
It was a successful race for me overall, but I'm really getting a gauge of my cycling fitness ability relative to other local racers. I have a lot of work to do to get competitive, but I'm definitely not getting discouraged. With a little more fitness, and a lot more knowledge on when and where to use it, I think I'll be able to hang a lot more.
I missed the LSC Crit series this week (didn't think that the pregnant wife would appreciate watching a bike race on our second wedding anniversary), and probably won't make it to the Marty Road Race or the LaCrosse Criterium this weekend due to my wife's work schedule and kid duty.
I might head up to SJU to watch the UMLL playoffs on Saturday, but that will be a spur of the moment decision. It sounds like the LSC Crits are getting pretty rough already, so I'm not sure if I'm going to risk it again, but as of right now, my next race would be next Tuesday at OPUS. I'm thinking I'll just show up at the starting line and hang at the back to get my 4th start on the books, then just get a good few laps at the back to avoid the wrecks.
The wife and I are expecting baby boy #2 any day now, so that will also play a factor in which races I sign up for.
This would be my third Category 5 race, but my first long distance road race (as opposed to the previous criterium races).
I showed up plenty early for registration for the Wave 2 starters, about an hour and 15 minute prior to the planned starting time of about 1:30 for the Cat 5er's. Big line for registration, but it moved quickly enough to get back to the car and have plenty of time to get ready.
Something that I've noticed among us new riders is the complete inability to pin a race number/bib on our jerseys so they don't flap in the wind as you ride. In my first two races, I placed it lower on my jersey, right along the under arm seam, about halfway down the jersey. Each time, I still had flapping, and when actually sitting on the bike, it really restricted the stretch of the jersey and got all folded up and goofy by the end of the race.
This time, I placed it a little higher, basically on the lower part of my shoulder. I also used 7 or 8 safety pins placed both around the edge and a couple in the middle of the bib, and really got that thing pinned down. It actually worked much better this time, and will keep the placement up higher.
I was able to get ready to go pretty quickly and decided to take a small ride out to warm up. There was a pretty significant wind blowing from North to South, so it made for a direct crosswind when riding East-West. The sky was overcast, but it wasn't raining like the weather terrorists were saying all week, and it was around 45 to 50 deg F, so it was a really nice day to be out and riding, even with the wind.
Turns out, all the start times had been pushed back, so we didn't actually start the Cat 5 until after 2:00. There was a lot of sitting around, and we actually started about 100 yards from the actual starting line, coming right out of the church parking lot.
My goal for this race was to hang with the pack as long as I could, so I put myself right in the middle at the start. As we took off, we got up to the upper 20's mph pretty quickly, and before I knew it, I was at the very back of the pack, but comfortably hanging on, so I didn't panic. I tried to creep up a little in the middle before our first turn, but only made it 3 or 4 spots then just held.
Held until the corner anyway. At the turn, we turned right so the wind was at our backs. The leaders caught the wind before anyone, and kicked it down right away, causing us at the back to start the accordion right away to sprint to catch up, but we all made it. I put myself near the centerline of the road to try to push up the side, and made some progress back to the middle and held it for the whole stretch with the wind. There was a lot of braking actually as we went over the slow rolling molehills at about 32-34 mph, and there was a lot of moving around too.
Leading into the second turn, we all slowed quite a bit as it was at the bottom of another roller, and people seemed to be pretty white-knuckled heading into it. As soon as we hit the apex of the turn, everyone stood to sprint up the hill and there was an immediate stringing out and everyone was trying to catch up and reform.
We all reformed, but word came up that a guy went down coming out of the corner. Someone said his pedal broke and he went down, but I didn't see nor hear it. On the back side, the wind was coming from right to left, and I got trapped on the right side by accident. I tried to swerve into the pack to recover from the uphill sprint, but couldn't make my move, and found myself hanging on the back after about 2 miles. There seemed to be an attack at the front as it felt like we just kept gaining speed, and I lost it right away and couldn't hold the back.
Went solo with the pack just out of reach until the next turn - back into the wind - when I lost them as they slowly creeped away.
I wasn't the first to fall off the back and was soon reunited with a guy from the IC3 team. He said "Let's go catch 'em," and I gladly took his invite to take turns pulling. The two of us soon caught another straggler in a Rock Racing replica jersey and invited him to join. After a couple rotations in the pace line, and teaching the third guy not to sprint when it's his turn to pull, we formed a nice group and held a very nice pace through the rest of the first lap. When we hit the big 1-mile climb before the finish line, it was kind of every-man-for-himself, but we regrouped pretty quickly at the top and kept working it around the first turn.
We were passed by 2 of the leaders of the Women's 1/2/3 group and their support car right at the turn, and they cruised well ahead of us in no time.
We held the group together through the third turn up into the wind and twisted and turned through the way back, battling the cross and head winds the entire way. Our third Rock guy fell off for a while, but rejoined us after about a mile. We were soon passed by two more women, but then started to encounter a couple Cat 5 men stragglers again. The first was a Tonka Cycle guy. He was sitting up, just spinning slowly, and showed no interest in joining up. The second was another IC3 guy, and he gladly joined saying that the guy he was previously working with (the Tonka guy) gave up. Turns out he was a junior and wanted to try the Cat 5's today for a challenge. As he gave up, I guess he told the IC3 guy he wished he had stuck with the juniors, as they were only doing one 21-mile lap.
At one point on the back stretch, there was a curve in the road that turned us heading east for a mile or two, making for another cross wind from the left. After taking my pull, I dropped back on the right side, out of the wind, then grabbed onto the back. Because of the wind direction, we really had to overlap wheels quite a bit to make the draft worth it. We were pretty much riding 3-abreast, with each others' handlebars right behind each others' hips. As I was grabbing onto the back, I had to spin a little faster to get into the draft. I'm not really sure what happened, but I think the crosswind grabbed my front wheel and pushed my body off-balance to the point where I felt the need to turn left to catch it. Well, I couldn't turn left due to the wheel-crossing, so I had to pull up and actually brake. As soon as I cleared his wheel, I was able to swerve and catch my balance, but felt like I was almost going down. My wheels actually skipped a little as I swerved. Yep, I was almost that guy that took out the back of a three-man paceline. But I didn't, and I caught back up without any harm done, aside from my bruised ego.
The four of us worked pretty well up the back stretch until we hit the last couple miles. At that point, we started to approach the last big climb, and the fourth guy decided to drop us, and did so quite quickly. At that point, we all went for ourselves again up the hill, and at the top, it was just me and Rock together. He latched on behind me for a bit, and I then dropped back to make him take a turn. As soon as we crested the last little false flat, the finish line came into sight. Rock dropped back to pull a draft off of me, so I hit it a little harder as I didn't want to pull him all the way in.
He did as I thought, and jumped with about 100 yards to go, but I held and stole 41st place from him. There was no standing sprint or arms in the air, but it did feel good to have that little competition at the end. We both sat up as we crossed and pounded fists. Pretty sure we both felt the same way: it's time to train harder.
So, 41st out of 50 starters. 42 miles in 2 hours, 4 minutes. About 21 mph average.
I completed my goal of finishing, but really wish I could have held onto the pack longer. I'm learning more and more the importance of being up front. Had I been closer to the front, I would have avoided a lot of the braking-and-sprinting accordion effect at the back, and been able to ride steadier and save a lot more for later. I didn't need to sprint as hard as I did up the hill out of the second turn either. I would have been better off saving a little more and hammering down after the top of the hill to catch up.
I learned a lot by being in an actual race paceline, as small as it was anyway. All three/four of us learned how to communicate to each other, and had a great chemistry going for the majority of the race.
I think the game breaker was the fact that I rode with my saddle bag the entire race (sarcasm/vanity alert). As we lined up at the start, I noticed that I completely forgot about my bag under my saddle. I then looked around to see if, by chance, anyone else felt the need to keep theirs on. I did see one other, and it was actually bigger than the one I had on, but it was just the two of us. In hindsight, I had plenty of time to ride back to the car to drop it off, but I wasn't sure how long we actually had, and I didn't feel like it anyway. Probably didn't make much of a difference, aside from making my experience level that much more obvious as I got spit out of the back, but there really wasn't a need for it in this race.
It was a successful race for me overall, but I'm really getting a gauge of my cycling fitness ability relative to other local racers. I have a lot of work to do to get competitive, but I'm definitely not getting discouraged. With a little more fitness, and a lot more knowledge on when and where to use it, I think I'll be able to hang a lot more.
I missed the LSC Crit series this week (didn't think that the pregnant wife would appreciate watching a bike race on our second wedding anniversary), and probably won't make it to the Marty Road Race or the LaCrosse Criterium this weekend due to my wife's work schedule and kid duty.
I might head up to SJU to watch the UMLL playoffs on Saturday, but that will be a spur of the moment decision. It sounds like the LSC Crits are getting pretty rough already, so I'm not sure if I'm going to risk it again, but as of right now, my next race would be next Tuesday at OPUS. I'm thinking I'll just show up at the starting line and hang at the back to get my 4th start on the books, then just get a good few laps at the back to avoid the wrecks.
The wife and I are expecting baby boy #2 any day now, so that will also play a factor in which races I sign up for.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
LSC Criterium Series at OPUS #2
Race Date - April 21, 2009
My second race ever.
I showed up for registration at about the same time, but found an even longer line. LSC seemed a little more organized this week, and their computer was working for registration, so the line was moving a little faster than last week. New numbers handed out, and chips for chip timing.
I was back at the car by a little after 5:00 and was able to get my bike assembled and ready to go by a quarter after.
I really wanted to get a longer warm-up in this week, as I definitely wasn't warm last week at the start. I was able to get 3 laps done on the course before lining up. Found out that the course is 0.89 miles, and that there was a pretty strong head wind on the back downhill section.
Everyone was lined up and ready to go at 5:45 sharp, but the officials had to wait for a printed line-up of the field. This actually took until 6:00, so we all stood there at the start for 15 minutes, one foot clipped in, the other cramping up. The officials went through the pre-race instructions much clearer than last week. He also stated that we had too many people in our category this week, and that next week they'd only accept 50 registrants. I'm not sure how many people lined up, but we had to have been close to 50, if not a few more. Make sure to get there early next week.
The official also noted that we'd be racing 9 laps this week, rather than 6 like last week. I was actually excited about this, as I didn't think it would be such a fast pace as the first night.
We waited for a bus to clear the hill at the start, then the whistle and clicks and we're off.
I lined up a little closer to the front this week, and was glad I did. The start wasn't nearly as fast as last week, and I actually found myself and others coasting quite a bit in the middle of the pack all the way around.
I only took one or two peeks over my shoulder as I moved around a little in the pack, and noticed that we held pretty much everyone in the pack through the first lap.
The second downhill sped up a little, and I caught a nice draft, staying tucked right in the middle of the lane, about 10-15 back. There was a lot of shuffling going on, and a few gunners up the side.
As we approached the bottom of the hill on the back, and went into the slight right turn going back up, there was a lot of crunching on the right side, and quite a bit of accordion-effect from the reaction. I was actually proud of myself for noting this coming through the next lap.
3rd lap was a bell lap for points, so there was even more shuffling going through the back after we crested the hill. A few shakers going through each turn, and a lot of braking going down hill made for a slower decent for my position actually, but everyone came out hard at the bottom of the hill going into the right turn again.
I positioned myself towards the left of the field to avoid the right side crunch, and was still in the top 25 or so, when I witness my first crash on the right side. Later accounts told me that the right side crunch drove a guy pedaling into the curb of the median on the right side. All I could see through the pack was a blur of blue going superman over the median, and the terrible sound of his bike tumbling behind him. This caused a major pile-up on the right side, and a huge accordion effect swaying left.
The guy directly ahead of me locked up his rear wheel which skidded sideways out to the right, causing me to do the same out of instinct. I'm not totally sure what exactly happened, as it happened so fast and I had tunnel vision, but for some reason, my left side was totally clear and my wheels grabbed concrete again and I shot out onto the grass. If there was a curb on my side, I would have been down, but luckily there wasn't and I was able to ride through it. I actually unclipped my left foot as I skidded, which surprised me. I'm not sure if I did it intentionally or if I just torqued it enough as I twisted through, but either way it kind of shocked me when I realized I hadn't gone down and was able to pedal back into line.
As people funneled through the pile-up in a couple single-file lines, several guys were hooting "Go, go go!" and led the charge up the hill. As I filed back into line, the entire pack was strung out going all the way up the hill, with the very front sprinting for the line for points. I latched onto a wheel and stayed in line as the string was really pumping to stay caught up to the pack. The guy I was following actually sat up and slowed halfway up the hill as we were passed by several others, so I jumped off him and went on my own. I had to stand to sprint up the hill to catch some the riders ahead of me, but eventually joined up with a small string.
A couple of us formed a smaller pack that was trying to catch up, but nobody really held together going around.
I came across the line solo on lap 4, with the rear end of the lead-out string in sight, but just as I crossed the line, wreck number 2 unfolded right ahead of me. I didn't see the cause of the wreck, but one of the juniors was face down at the top of the hill, and his bike took out a couple others around him from the pack. It seemed like a really weird spot for a wreck, as it was at the top of the hill. My guess is that some handlebars hooked or something and they just got pulled over.
Either way, this strung out the string of chasers even more, and many guys just sat up and pedaled slow through it.
I could no longer see the lead pack, so I just went solo for almost a whole lap, trying to find someone to latch onto/work with, but all that I could find was a couple of stragglers that were being spit out the back of the pack and were now sitting up on the hoods and going solo.
Three riders from the second crash steamed by me in a nice pace line with about two-and-a-half to go on the back side, and I tried to catch the back of them but couldn't accelerate when I needed to and I lost the draft.
My legs were really on fire, and I was really trying to catch up around the back turns and the main front stretch up hill, but I never caught anything. I stood to sprint up the hill for a couple laps towards the end, but just sat and spun for the last two laps.
The rest of the race was a time trial solo effort for me, but again, I didn't get lapped, and finished the race without actually going down.
Final race stats:
Distance: 8.01 miles
Race time: 22 minutes
Average speed: 21.8 mph
Placing: ?, but finished
I think that had the initial crash not happened and thrown me off the course, I probably could have held with the front pack longer, but my sprint to get back into line after coming to a near stop going up hill really burned a lot of matches, and I never really recovered enough to accelerate when needed.
I really liked the longer distance though, as the speed was a lot more manageable, and the field didn't spread out as fast. It seemed that the field was blown apart by the end of the first lap last week, and it never slowed once.
I also learned a lot more this week by sticking with the pack longer. The zone that you have to get in, being aware of the wheel that is just inches away from yours, and bumping elbows through turns was quite a rush. The whistling and humming of everyone wheels while you're tucked away out of the wind is really a cool sound. It was really weird to see the delay in the pack when approaching turns as well, everyone waiting for the guy ahead of them to turn, then turning to fast, over-correcting, bumping a little, braking, then getting back into line. By lap 3, I think everyone in the pack really learned how to hold a much straighter line going all the way through the turn though; at least until the wreck, but I blame that on higher speed coming through the left hand turn leading into the right turn, and people gunning for the front to set-up for the points sprint up the hill.
I think my longer warm-up really helped me this week, and hope to get there even earlier next time to make sure I get into the race, and to get an even longer warm-up.
My one complaint, though, is the whole chip timing thing. Everyone was required to pay for the chips ($2 extra) to race, unless you have a rented chip, which still boggles my mind as to how you go about renting one (and no, I haven't really looked into it yet, but haven't seen it advertised anywhere). Anyway, coming from a running background, in my mind having a chip means that your times and splits are recorded for the entire race. I was actually a little excited to see where I stack up in the field, despite the whole racing mantra of "if you're not first, you're last." I do realize I wasn't in any position to score points, and this series is won/lost by points, but what was the point of the chips if they are just going to post only the point-scoring racers? I saw no difference in the way the results were posted, and I paid two bucks to reiterate the fact that I didn't score any points. It was a little frustrating, but as a newbie, I'm sure I'm just over-reacting.
My wedding anniversary is next Tuesday, and I'm pretty sure that going to a bike race isn't the ideal date night for most couples, so I don't think I'm going to make it to the LSC Crit next week, but plan to make it there again the following week, and hopefully make the rest of the series.
I am planning on racing the Ken Woods Memorial Road Race on Saturday though. It's about a 21 mile course, and the Cat 5's do two laps. Sounds like they usually have pretty bad luck with weather, and the forecast looks a little shaky right now; predicting showers. Our race starts at about 1:45 or 2:00 in the afternoon, so the temperature shouldn't be as cold as the recent morning temps, but I'm planning on going either way, so it may be a very wet race report next week.
Overall goals for this race is to just hang on and finish. It'd be nice to hold with the pack for the whole race as well, but we'll see.
I realize that my posts are lacking in the visual aid department. I actually brought my camera last night, but didn't take it out of the car as I thought it'd look kind of funny having a camera in my jersey pocket on the course. I have been hunting for pictures on other blogs and club websites though. I actually noticed quite a few photographers around the course last night, and I know that I was in a bunch of shots early on, so hopefully I can hunt some of them down and get ahold of a couple. If any of my [few] readers out there know of any leads, it'd be cool to see them.
Update on April 24, 2009: LSC has made the chip results available for download. Guess I'm just a little impatient...
Results here on Bikethrow.com.
They're a little tough to read after the first wreck in lap three, as a few guys took their free lap and rejoined the lead pack, therefore the chips state them as being a lap behind the lead group, when in fact the rules allow you to take a free lap in the case of accidents or mechanical failures.
Turns out I started 21st in a field of 50 exactly (they did cut off registration at 50). I stayed in the 30's up to the wreck, then I dropped to 41st as I crossed the line after the crash in lap 3. I was stuck there for 2 laps, then pulled up to 35th in lap 5, and held that spot until the last lap. Finished 36th overall. I was 15 seconds from being lapped by the race winner on my final lap.
I know there has been a lot of discussion since the race about the need (or lack thereof) for chip timing, but I will put myself in favor of it. Purists see it as a waste of time, taking away from the true meaning of bicycle racing where there is only one winner. As a beginner, and not really having any idea what kind of shape I'm in (aside from a few group rides), as mundane as these details of the race are, it really does help me know what I need to do to get with it and learn what I need to do to make myself competitive.
As you can see, I've got a ways to go.
My second race ever.
I showed up for registration at about the same time, but found an even longer line. LSC seemed a little more organized this week, and their computer was working for registration, so the line was moving a little faster than last week. New numbers handed out, and chips for chip timing.
I was back at the car by a little after 5:00 and was able to get my bike assembled and ready to go by a quarter after.
I really wanted to get a longer warm-up in this week, as I definitely wasn't warm last week at the start. I was able to get 3 laps done on the course before lining up. Found out that the course is 0.89 miles, and that there was a pretty strong head wind on the back downhill section.
Everyone was lined up and ready to go at 5:45 sharp, but the officials had to wait for a printed line-up of the field. This actually took until 6:00, so we all stood there at the start for 15 minutes, one foot clipped in, the other cramping up. The officials went through the pre-race instructions much clearer than last week. He also stated that we had too many people in our category this week, and that next week they'd only accept 50 registrants. I'm not sure how many people lined up, but we had to have been close to 50, if not a few more. Make sure to get there early next week.
The official also noted that we'd be racing 9 laps this week, rather than 6 like last week. I was actually excited about this, as I didn't think it would be such a fast pace as the first night.
We waited for a bus to clear the hill at the start, then the whistle and clicks and we're off.
I lined up a little closer to the front this week, and was glad I did. The start wasn't nearly as fast as last week, and I actually found myself and others coasting quite a bit in the middle of the pack all the way around.
I only took one or two peeks over my shoulder as I moved around a little in the pack, and noticed that we held pretty much everyone in the pack through the first lap.
The second downhill sped up a little, and I caught a nice draft, staying tucked right in the middle of the lane, about 10-15 back. There was a lot of shuffling going on, and a few gunners up the side.
As we approached the bottom of the hill on the back, and went into the slight right turn going back up, there was a lot of crunching on the right side, and quite a bit of accordion-effect from the reaction. I was actually proud of myself for noting this coming through the next lap.
3rd lap was a bell lap for points, so there was even more shuffling going through the back after we crested the hill. A few shakers going through each turn, and a lot of braking going down hill made for a slower decent for my position actually, but everyone came out hard at the bottom of the hill going into the right turn again.
I positioned myself towards the left of the field to avoid the right side crunch, and was still in the top 25 or so, when I witness my first crash on the right side. Later accounts told me that the right side crunch drove a guy pedaling into the curb of the median on the right side. All I could see through the pack was a blur of blue going superman over the median, and the terrible sound of his bike tumbling behind him. This caused a major pile-up on the right side, and a huge accordion effect swaying left.
The guy directly ahead of me locked up his rear wheel which skidded sideways out to the right, causing me to do the same out of instinct. I'm not totally sure what exactly happened, as it happened so fast and I had tunnel vision, but for some reason, my left side was totally clear and my wheels grabbed concrete again and I shot out onto the grass. If there was a curb on my side, I would have been down, but luckily there wasn't and I was able to ride through it. I actually unclipped my left foot as I skidded, which surprised me. I'm not sure if I did it intentionally or if I just torqued it enough as I twisted through, but either way it kind of shocked me when I realized I hadn't gone down and was able to pedal back into line.
As people funneled through the pile-up in a couple single-file lines, several guys were hooting "Go, go go!" and led the charge up the hill. As I filed back into line, the entire pack was strung out going all the way up the hill, with the very front sprinting for the line for points. I latched onto a wheel and stayed in line as the string was really pumping to stay caught up to the pack. The guy I was following actually sat up and slowed halfway up the hill as we were passed by several others, so I jumped off him and went on my own. I had to stand to sprint up the hill to catch some the riders ahead of me, but eventually joined up with a small string.
A couple of us formed a smaller pack that was trying to catch up, but nobody really held together going around.
I came across the line solo on lap 4, with the rear end of the lead-out string in sight, but just as I crossed the line, wreck number 2 unfolded right ahead of me. I didn't see the cause of the wreck, but one of the juniors was face down at the top of the hill, and his bike took out a couple others around him from the pack. It seemed like a really weird spot for a wreck, as it was at the top of the hill. My guess is that some handlebars hooked or something and they just got pulled over.
Either way, this strung out the string of chasers even more, and many guys just sat up and pedaled slow through it.
I could no longer see the lead pack, so I just went solo for almost a whole lap, trying to find someone to latch onto/work with, but all that I could find was a couple of stragglers that were being spit out the back of the pack and were now sitting up on the hoods and going solo.
Three riders from the second crash steamed by me in a nice pace line with about two-and-a-half to go on the back side, and I tried to catch the back of them but couldn't accelerate when I needed to and I lost the draft.
My legs were really on fire, and I was really trying to catch up around the back turns and the main front stretch up hill, but I never caught anything. I stood to sprint up the hill for a couple laps towards the end, but just sat and spun for the last two laps.
The rest of the race was a time trial solo effort for me, but again, I didn't get lapped, and finished the race without actually going down.
Final race stats:
Distance: 8.01 miles
Race time: 22 minutes
Average speed: 21.8 mph
Placing: ?, but finished
I think that had the initial crash not happened and thrown me off the course, I probably could have held with the front pack longer, but my sprint to get back into line after coming to a near stop going up hill really burned a lot of matches, and I never really recovered enough to accelerate when needed.
I really liked the longer distance though, as the speed was a lot more manageable, and the field didn't spread out as fast. It seemed that the field was blown apart by the end of the first lap last week, and it never slowed once.
I also learned a lot more this week by sticking with the pack longer. The zone that you have to get in, being aware of the wheel that is just inches away from yours, and bumping elbows through turns was quite a rush. The whistling and humming of everyone wheels while you're tucked away out of the wind is really a cool sound. It was really weird to see the delay in the pack when approaching turns as well, everyone waiting for the guy ahead of them to turn, then turning to fast, over-correcting, bumping a little, braking, then getting back into line. By lap 3, I think everyone in the pack really learned how to hold a much straighter line going all the way through the turn though; at least until the wreck, but I blame that on higher speed coming through the left hand turn leading into the right turn, and people gunning for the front to set-up for the points sprint up the hill.
I think my longer warm-up really helped me this week, and hope to get there even earlier next time to make sure I get into the race, and to get an even longer warm-up.
My one complaint, though, is the whole chip timing thing. Everyone was required to pay for the chips ($2 extra) to race, unless you have a rented chip, which still boggles my mind as to how you go about renting one (and no, I haven't really looked into it yet, but haven't seen it advertised anywhere). Anyway, coming from a running background, in my mind having a chip means that your times and splits are recorded for the entire race. I was actually a little excited to see where I stack up in the field, despite the whole racing mantra of "if you're not first, you're last." I do realize I wasn't in any position to score points, and this series is won/lost by points, but what was the point of the chips if they are just going to post only the point-scoring racers? I saw no difference in the way the results were posted, and I paid two bucks to reiterate the fact that I didn't score any points. It was a little frustrating, but as a newbie, I'm sure I'm just over-reacting.
My wedding anniversary is next Tuesday, and I'm pretty sure that going to a bike race isn't the ideal date night for most couples, so I don't think I'm going to make it to the LSC Crit next week, but plan to make it there again the following week, and hopefully make the rest of the series.
I am planning on racing the Ken Woods Memorial Road Race on Saturday though. It's about a 21 mile course, and the Cat 5's do two laps. Sounds like they usually have pretty bad luck with weather, and the forecast looks a little shaky right now; predicting showers. Our race starts at about 1:45 or 2:00 in the afternoon, so the temperature shouldn't be as cold as the recent morning temps, but I'm planning on going either way, so it may be a very wet race report next week.
Overall goals for this race is to just hang on and finish. It'd be nice to hold with the pack for the whole race as well, but we'll see.
I realize that my posts are lacking in the visual aid department. I actually brought my camera last night, but didn't take it out of the car as I thought it'd look kind of funny having a camera in my jersey pocket on the course. I have been hunting for pictures on other blogs and club websites though. I actually noticed quite a few photographers around the course last night, and I know that I was in a bunch of shots early on, so hopefully I can hunt some of them down and get ahold of a couple. If any of my [few] readers out there know of any leads, it'd be cool to see them.
Update on April 24, 2009: LSC has made the chip results available for download. Guess I'm just a little impatient...
Results here on Bikethrow.com.
They're a little tough to read after the first wreck in lap three, as a few guys took their free lap and rejoined the lead pack, therefore the chips state them as being a lap behind the lead group, when in fact the rules allow you to take a free lap in the case of accidents or mechanical failures.
Turns out I started 21st in a field of 50 exactly (they did cut off registration at 50). I stayed in the 30's up to the wreck, then I dropped to 41st as I crossed the line after the crash in lap 3. I was stuck there for 2 laps, then pulled up to 35th in lap 5, and held that spot until the last lap. Finished 36th overall. I was 15 seconds from being lapped by the race winner on my final lap.
I know there has been a lot of discussion since the race about the need (or lack thereof) for chip timing, but I will put myself in favor of it. Purists see it as a waste of time, taking away from the true meaning of bicycle racing where there is only one winner. As a beginner, and not really having any idea what kind of shape I'm in (aside from a few group rides), as mundane as these details of the race are, it really does help me know what I need to do to get with it and learn what I need to do to make myself competitive.
As you can see, I've got a ways to go.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
LSC Criterium Series at OPUS
The Loon State Cyclists (LSC) club hosts the season-opening Criterium (crit) series here in the Twin Cities (Minnetonka) for the first few Tuesdays of the season. Last night was the first race.
I've had April 14th marked on my calendar for 4 months. It was on my mind for most of the hours spent on the trainer in my basement this winter, and on nearly every mile since getting outdoors on the roads a couple weeks ago.
My very first bicycle race. Category 5 (Cat 5, aka the "Crash 5's"). I've been constantly reading online racing forums for hints and tips on racing and group riding, and to be honest (if you can dig through the most of the BS and sarcasm that embedded throughout) it was very helpful leading up to the starting whistle last night.
Throughout the workday I couldn't stop thinking about the race. I ate pretty light, but also kept a pretty high carb intake throughout, and was sure to hydrate properly all day. I couldn't wait for 4:30 to come to head out.
Race Report:
4:50 PM - Arrive at the registration parking lot at the same time as many other cyclists.
4:55 PM - Begin unloading the bike from the back seat and putting the wheels back on. I got a pretty good deal on a used Yakima roof rack a few months ago, but haven't put it on the car yet. I can't wait to get it on, as it's a pain in the ass to take apart the bike everytime I want to bring it somewhere.
5:00 PM - Change from my "business casual" work clothes into my Unattached Rider(TM) kit in the front seat of my car. I'll usually change at work before leaving, but I didn't want to risk getting caught in the wonderfully planned traffic system in the west metro.
I wore the Unattached kit for the first time on a long ride with a buddy last weekend to get the feel of it. I actually thought is was a very comfortable kit, and the bib shorts treated my rear quite well on the 44.9 miles. I wore a full-covering base layer on the ride over the weekend, and the kit went perfect with the all black layer. For the race, it was about 63 degrees F in the parking lot, so I dared and went with just the bib shorts and short sleeves with an under shirt base layer. Worked perfectly for the conditions. Unfortunately, I don't have any good pictures of myself in the kit, so no modeling yet. But I'll be sure to post some as I get them.
5:05 PM - Walk over to the registration line. Find it to be very low moving. It didn't help that I was two people back from the Junior racing team, who felt it necessary to allow the whole team join in as they showed up. We honestly didn't move for 15 minutes. Luckily, the organizers had enough brains to hand out the necessary waivers as we waited in line, so once up to the desk (aka open hatchback on a minivan) all we had to do was hand them our money, write down our name and license number, and grab a race bib number. Number 579. No safety pins though. This is where all that experience from running races came in handy; I packed a few safety pins in my tool box. Note to self though that a few more won't hurt, as my number still flapped in the wind a little.
5:25 PM - Ride a couple miles around the OPUS Complex for a short warm-up, and to get to the starting line. The campus is intertwined with one-way roads, so it was really fun to see all the cyclists burning around, warming up and chatting.
5:35 PM - Arrive at the starting line. I had a very short warm-up, and hit a couple short hills to get the blood flowing, but I really had no idea what was in store for me, so I played it safe and stopped at the start line to conserve as much as possible as other riders kept riding the course.
5:40 PM - Riders begin to line up. I join them.
5:45 PM - Race officials begin taking head count, then tell us that there are actually a few people that are still registering, so we will be waiting about 10 minutes to start. I had lined up about mid-pack at the line, and struck up small conversation with the two riders at my sides. Turns out it was the first race ever for all three of us, and chuckle about warning those behind us. Half seriously of course. As the official finishes the head count, we overhear him say "over 50," so it was a pretty decent field of riders.
5:55 PM - Official blows the whistle. The race starts. The only noise you can hear is the clicking of cleats into pedals for a few seconds, then it's off to the races.
I heard several accounts of the exact distance of the course, ranging from .89 miles to 1.1 miles. Unfortunately, the last thing on my mind after the first lap was to look down to see how far I traveled, so I'm not really sure of the exact distance. I'll get a better read next time on a warm-up lap.
The course in on a paved, two-lane, one-way road, with all left turns except for one dog leg right on the back, almost oval. Think NASCAR with hills. It's situated on what feels to be a little valley on a hill, so the front side is uphill that peaks on a turn, then downhill around the back side of the course, leading up to the slight right turn that starts the uphill turn back to the start/finish line. The line itself is situated about two-thirds of the way up the hill, so the sprint laps are all up hill.
Off the start, I passed quite a few riders, most of which didn't clip in as fast as I did. I actually surprised myself with the quick clip-in, as I was sure my nerves would make me miss once or twice. I nestled in about 20-25 back in the front pack. The speed was in a constant acceleration all the way down the back stretch. My computer logged a max speed of 34.7, and I'm guessing that came in this first lap, as I shifted to 53x12 on the first lap to try and push it. That'd be the last time shifting into that gear.
I held my own on the first hill climb and the second descent, but the second hill climb really started to string people out. I was still "connected" to the lead pack by a short string of riders, and held that spot through the 3rd hill climb, at which point almost all of us leading stragglers started to space out.
I was able to keep my pace for the rest of the race, but definitely couldn't gain ground on the lead pack. I went solo for pretty much the rest of the race, just pushing my legs and lungs to the max. My only close encounter came somewhere in lap 4 when a rider from the Gopher Wheelmen club was looking down at his gear selection on the back right turn heading into the uphill. He started to stray into my line, which was already about 3 feet from the left curb, and there was another guy trying to pass me on the left as well. I held the line, but he didn't see himself pinching me. The guy on my left put his hand on my hip to tell me to hold my line, which I did, and he shouted (respectfully actually) to the other guy, who in turn corrected, but was too winded to respond verbally.
In retrospect, it would have been nice to pair up with someone to just ride, but from my memory, I don't remember anyone really holding a solid pace for the rest of the race. I don't recall many people passing me after about halfway through lap 4, so, had the results been recorded for the whole field, I think I would have had a decent placing overall, but who knows.
I didn't see the lead pack until approaching the start/finish line. They were all sitting up going over the top of the hill, so I'm thinking that I wasn't more than a minute behind them, but again, I'm not really sure.
The race took under 15 minutes. So assuming that the course was about a mile, we paced at about 24 mph over the whole race. Fast in my book.
My goal to finish with both wheels underneath me, in one piece, and without being lapped was accomplished. So one race down, 9 to go to meet my short-sighted road season goal of achieving upgrade status to Category 4 (need 10 mass-start races to upgrade).
Time and my results will tell if it will be worthwhile for me to actually upgrade to the 4's when the time comes, but either way, that's my goal.
Next race is the same thing next Tuesday. I overheard someone say that they add a lap each week as daylight becomes more available, so it might be a little longer.
What I learned:
-There are a lot more bike racers around here than I thought.
-My bike handling skills are much better than I thought they were, judging on a few others around me.
-My comfort level in a high-paced group was very high as well.
-I need to learn to hold the rider's wheel in front of me a little closer to take advantage of their draft better.
-I need to save a little more on the downhills to recover for the uphill.
Goals for next week:
-Finish right-side up again.
-Start closer to the front.
-Find a wheel in the lead pack and hold it longer.
I've caught the bug, and I like it. Can't wait for next week.
I've had April 14th marked on my calendar for 4 months. It was on my mind for most of the hours spent on the trainer in my basement this winter, and on nearly every mile since getting outdoors on the roads a couple weeks ago.
My very first bicycle race. Category 5 (Cat 5, aka the "Crash 5's"). I've been constantly reading online racing forums for hints and tips on racing and group riding, and to be honest (if you can dig through the most of the BS and sarcasm that embedded throughout) it was very helpful leading up to the starting whistle last night.
Throughout the workday I couldn't stop thinking about the race. I ate pretty light, but also kept a pretty high carb intake throughout, and was sure to hydrate properly all day. I couldn't wait for 4:30 to come to head out.
Race Report:
4:50 PM - Arrive at the registration parking lot at the same time as many other cyclists.
4:55 PM - Begin unloading the bike from the back seat and putting the wheels back on. I got a pretty good deal on a used Yakima roof rack a few months ago, but haven't put it on the car yet. I can't wait to get it on, as it's a pain in the ass to take apart the bike everytime I want to bring it somewhere.
5:00 PM - Change from my "business casual" work clothes into my Unattached Rider(TM) kit in the front seat of my car. I'll usually change at work before leaving, but I didn't want to risk getting caught in the wonderfully planned traffic system in the west metro.
I wore the Unattached kit for the first time on a long ride with a buddy last weekend to get the feel of it. I actually thought is was a very comfortable kit, and the bib shorts treated my rear quite well on the 44.9 miles. I wore a full-covering base layer on the ride over the weekend, and the kit went perfect with the all black layer. For the race, it was about 63 degrees F in the parking lot, so I dared and went with just the bib shorts and short sleeves with an under shirt base layer. Worked perfectly for the conditions. Unfortunately, I don't have any good pictures of myself in the kit, so no modeling yet. But I'll be sure to post some as I get them.
5:05 PM - Walk over to the registration line. Find it to be very low moving. It didn't help that I was two people back from the Junior racing team, who felt it necessary to allow the whole team join in as they showed up. We honestly didn't move for 15 minutes. Luckily, the organizers had enough brains to hand out the necessary waivers as we waited in line, so once up to the desk (aka open hatchback on a minivan) all we had to do was hand them our money, write down our name and license number, and grab a race bib number. Number 579. No safety pins though. This is where all that experience from running races came in handy; I packed a few safety pins in my tool box. Note to self though that a few more won't hurt, as my number still flapped in the wind a little.
5:25 PM - Ride a couple miles around the OPUS Complex for a short warm-up, and to get to the starting line. The campus is intertwined with one-way roads, so it was really fun to see all the cyclists burning around, warming up and chatting.
5:35 PM - Arrive at the starting line. I had a very short warm-up, and hit a couple short hills to get the blood flowing, but I really had no idea what was in store for me, so I played it safe and stopped at the start line to conserve as much as possible as other riders kept riding the course.
5:40 PM - Riders begin to line up. I join them.
5:45 PM - Race officials begin taking head count, then tell us that there are actually a few people that are still registering, so we will be waiting about 10 minutes to start. I had lined up about mid-pack at the line, and struck up small conversation with the two riders at my sides. Turns out it was the first race ever for all three of us, and chuckle about warning those behind us. Half seriously of course. As the official finishes the head count, we overhear him say "over 50," so it was a pretty decent field of riders.
5:55 PM - Official blows the whistle. The race starts. The only noise you can hear is the clicking of cleats into pedals for a few seconds, then it's off to the races.
I heard several accounts of the exact distance of the course, ranging from .89 miles to 1.1 miles. Unfortunately, the last thing on my mind after the first lap was to look down to see how far I traveled, so I'm not really sure of the exact distance. I'll get a better read next time on a warm-up lap.
The course in on a paved, two-lane, one-way road, with all left turns except for one dog leg right on the back, almost oval. Think NASCAR with hills. It's situated on what feels to be a little valley on a hill, so the front side is uphill that peaks on a turn, then downhill around the back side of the course, leading up to the slight right turn that starts the uphill turn back to the start/finish line. The line itself is situated about two-thirds of the way up the hill, so the sprint laps are all up hill.
Off the start, I passed quite a few riders, most of which didn't clip in as fast as I did. I actually surprised myself with the quick clip-in, as I was sure my nerves would make me miss once or twice. I nestled in about 20-25 back in the front pack. The speed was in a constant acceleration all the way down the back stretch. My computer logged a max speed of 34.7, and I'm guessing that came in this first lap, as I shifted to 53x12 on the first lap to try and push it. That'd be the last time shifting into that gear.
I held my own on the first hill climb and the second descent, but the second hill climb really started to string people out. I was still "connected" to the lead pack by a short string of riders, and held that spot through the 3rd hill climb, at which point almost all of us leading stragglers started to space out.
I was able to keep my pace for the rest of the race, but definitely couldn't gain ground on the lead pack. I went solo for pretty much the rest of the race, just pushing my legs and lungs to the max. My only close encounter came somewhere in lap 4 when a rider from the Gopher Wheelmen club was looking down at his gear selection on the back right turn heading into the uphill. He started to stray into my line, which was already about 3 feet from the left curb, and there was another guy trying to pass me on the left as well. I held the line, but he didn't see himself pinching me. The guy on my left put his hand on my hip to tell me to hold my line, which I did, and he shouted (respectfully actually) to the other guy, who in turn corrected, but was too winded to respond verbally.
In retrospect, it would have been nice to pair up with someone to just ride, but from my memory, I don't remember anyone really holding a solid pace for the rest of the race. I don't recall many people passing me after about halfway through lap 4, so, had the results been recorded for the whole field, I think I would have had a decent placing overall, but who knows.
I didn't see the lead pack until approaching the start/finish line. They were all sitting up going over the top of the hill, so I'm thinking that I wasn't more than a minute behind them, but again, I'm not really sure.
The race took under 15 minutes. So assuming that the course was about a mile, we paced at about 24 mph over the whole race. Fast in my book.
My goal to finish with both wheels underneath me, in one piece, and without being lapped was accomplished. So one race down, 9 to go to meet my short-sighted road season goal of achieving upgrade status to Category 4 (need 10 mass-start races to upgrade).
Time and my results will tell if it will be worthwhile for me to actually upgrade to the 4's when the time comes, but either way, that's my goal.
Next race is the same thing next Tuesday. I overheard someone say that they add a lap each week as daylight becomes more available, so it might be a little longer.
What I learned:
-There are a lot more bike racers around here than I thought.
-My bike handling skills are much better than I thought they were, judging on a few others around me.
-My comfort level in a high-paced group was very high as well.
-I need to learn to hold the rider's wheel in front of me a little closer to take advantage of their draft better.
-I need to save a little more on the downhills to recover for the uphill.
Goals for next week:
-Finish right-side up again.
-Start closer to the front.
-Find a wheel in the lead pack and hold it longer.
I've caught the bug, and I like it. Can't wait for next week.
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