MLK Time Trial

I beat my previous time on the MLK Time Trial by 14 seconds. Two weeks ago I did 22:27; yesterday 22:13. It's 8.35 miles, so I averaged about 22 mph. Yesterday someone turned in the amazing time of 17:10. Most of the people I ride with d0 between around 19:00 and under 22:00, but that's with all kinds of fancy time trial gear. Still, the gear probably only gets you about 20-30 seconds, so I still have room to improve fitness-wise to get down below 22:00.

Crash on the Drives

There was a big crash on the Tuesday Night Drives ride last night. Lots of broken bodies and broken bikes, guys taken away in ambulances. The crash started up front, two guys crossed wheels which started a chain reaction.

http://cbs3.com/video/?cid=222

Colts Neck

Colts Neck
Originally uploaded by Marc Meola.

We left Philly at 5:20 a.m. for the Tour of Colts Neck. The directions were confusing and we got there late. We even had trouble finding the start line, which was a mile or so from registration. Once we got to the start, we had to stand there for 30 minutes getting cold waiting for the motorcycle or police or whatever. There were 75 cat5s registered, so they split us up into two fields, odd and even registration numbers. Per and I got tired of standing there so we started riding around a little, forfeiting our spots at the front of the line.

When we finally got started, the first lap was slow with people warming up and trying to figure out the course. It was narrow country roads, yellow line rule. There were left turns, oncoming traffic, bumpy sections, and a few holes. I had a hard time figuring out where I was on the course and what was coming up. I spent most of the first lap in the back. One of my goals for the race was to try to ride in the first third, so I tried moving up. I noticed a real squirrely guy that I tried to get away from. On one of the flat straightaway sections I heard someone say BOTTLE! and then I heard the sound of crashing bikes, bodies hitting the ground, and guys screaming. I had to slam on my brakes and felt my back wheel skidding. I went around them and kept going. I noticed the squirrely guy was gone.

The pace was not that fast, but I guess fast enough that no one tried anything. There were a few small but steep hills which I had trouble finding the right gearing for. On the last lap again there was crash in front of me. This time Per got hit with a flying bike. We both managed to stay upright, but a gap opened between us and the rest of the survivors. I made it back, Per didn’t, which is understandable given he just got hit with a bike. The last hill came and there was bumping and jostling. In the field sprint I gained a few places going up on the left side and finished 13th. Per finished 19th. I was disappointed I didn’t ride closer to the front, but was glad to be able to stay with the pack and finish all in one piece.

Race Up Sunrise Mountain

Yesterday I got an ass-whooppin at the Race Up Sunrise Mountain. I was undecided about going until the last minute, but I wanted to see what a mass start hill race was like and I had the day off anyway. The drive sucked and I got there late so I didn't have time to eat much or have a proper warmup. I also didn't have time to check out the course, so I had no idea how to pace myself. At the starting line it was me and maybe 25-30 other 4-5s and juniors. Some of the juniors were pretty young and I was worried about their bike handling skills. The start went fine and I was sitting about 3rd wheel behind someone in a Bicycle Therapy jersey. Apparently I'm not the only idiot to drive from Philly to the North of Nowhere for a bike race. He peeled off the front after a bit, and the second place guy did too, and I was like, hey, you don't expect me to pull do you? So I just sat there waiting for something to happen. The course was a one lane road in the woods, twisty-turny with some descents and flats. It wasn't a straight up monster hill. The road started to rise and someone shot past on the right. Then a whole team passed me on the right and the pace picked up considerably. I looked down and we were only1.2 miles into it, and I'm thinking there's no way I can keep up this pace, uphill, for 4 more miles. Soon after I got spit out the back, unable to hang on. I tried, but I was cooked. Those guys were flying. I was all alone for a while, and got to check out the view, which was spectacular. Toward the top some guy on a cannondale snuck up on me and tried passing me in the last 100 meters. I had enough pride to dig down for something extra to keep him behind me. At the finish line I was so out of it I forgot to check my time.

Overall I was glad I went. Despite getting dropped it was still fun, and a good workout.

Time Trial

I did the Martin Luther King Drive Time Trial yesterday, a flat 8.35 miles. I was expecting it to be complete torture, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. I'm glad I did it. I was reminded that you can use this as a training tool, so that's what I did. I didn't go completely all out and kill myself, but I came pretty close. My time was 22:27, which was about in the middle of the people who showed up. It was 47 degrees with a 20 mph wind.

Philly Drives Ride

This was posted to my team's listserv. They say I should do this ride if I 
want to get faster, but it's at night during the week and work and family still
trump cycling for me so I doubt  I'll ever get there. Plus, it looks like
eventually someone's going to get seriously hurt on this ride.

Please pass this on to anyone not on the list who may
do the Philly Tuesday night Drives ride.

I'd like to remind people about some traditional
key points to the ride.

The Drives ride is an informal training ride not endorsed, organized,
or run by any rider or club. It has been happening as far as I know since
the early 80s.

- It is inherently dangerous, especially so with 80 riders trying to
stay in one lane of traffic at 30mph.

- Please follow common sense rules.

- Keep in a double paceline.

- Pull up on the right, off to the left.

- This has always been an attacking ride, not a team time trial. It
will
be less dangerous if the group breaks up.

- Do not pass cars.

- Stop for red lights.

- Keep to one lane.

- Learn to ride through or hop potholes.

- Keep your hands on your handlebars (no pushing/contact).

- Do not get into an altercation in the pack at 30 mph - pull off or
wait until after the ride.

- Wear a helmet.

- When passing other riders, give them ample space.

Lemon Hill

April 9, 2006

I was lucky enough to get 3rd in the cat5 at Lemon
Hill, day 2 of the philly 2 day.

We started out and Alex and I were up front. Alex
pulled for a lap, so I thought I would try to help him
by taking a turn. Unfortunately when I started pulling
they rang the prime bell, so I wound up pulling the
whole field around the course and someone else grabbed
the prime.

Laps went by. On the second prime, I felt pretty good
so I went for it. I started way too soon and lost it.
I learned two things: stop contesting the primes, and
don't start too early on the sprint.

Eventually one guy took off. Someone said, "well he's
gone." I looked and thought, yep, too fast for me. I
looked around and didn't see any QCW jerseys.
Thereafter I was riding with the "chase" group of
about 5 or 6 guys. It did not occur to me that we
should be working together to catch the front guy, so
I don't know if that was happening or if someone from
his team was blocking.  I was just hanging on for dear
life. With about 5 or 6 laps to go I was finally
starting to get the hang of how to take the gazebo
death-downhill and following uphill.

On the last lap starting at Lemon Hill I got bumped
around a bit by some big guy. I had the last laugh,
however, as I rode his wheel up the final hill toward
the finish. Wait, wait, wait, I told myself. Then I
went. I passed him and in the end I was about half a
bike length out of second. Now that was fun!

Kirkwood Race Report

Here's the report of my first bike race I posted to my
club's listserv.

To see a few pictures of me looking like an idiot, go
to link below and follow these instructions. It's
Kirkwood RR 06, click on the link for "Masters 40+,
Cat4/5, Cat5 204 in photo gallery" then go to Set 3
0046 and Set 12 0153. I'm the guy in the bike shorts.
Ok I'm the guy in the yellow and white jersey with
black long sleeves.
http://www.racingcaptured.com/


Kirkwood Road Race
April 1, 2006

This was pretty much my first race ever.

I arrived at the race with enough time to check in,
ride the course, and get a good warm-up. As I was
riding the course it started raining pretty hard. In
addition to the mud and horseshit, the roads were now
wet.

I went to the start and a race official told me my
number was on wrong. Fortunately, a nice 40+ guy
helped me put it on correctly. Cyclists are so kind.
At the start line, I was right up front. I got a good
start and was out in front of everyone. Wait, I don't
want to be out in front of everyone. After the first
turn I let some people pass me and I settled in in the
top 5. So far so good. The next turn comes and goes
and I'm still upright. Ok. The pace is not too
har...oh some people are passing me...hey, a lot of
people are passing me.  And they are kicking up a lot
of water and horseshit in my face! This was not in the
plan. 

I pick it up a bit and I'm sitting I guess mid-pack.
Then comes a somewhat terrifying downhill with a 90
degree turn at the bottom. I survive that and I'm
still with everyone. I think one guy went off the
front at this point.  There's a few uphills and
downhills and then there's a longish uphill section of
the course. I passed a bunch of people going up this
and I feel I'm doing well at the end of lap 1. 

Then something happened. The real race started. The
pace picked up considerably and I was gapped. For most
of lap 2 I'm just out in the breeze, suffering
greatly, trying desperately to get back on someone's
wheel. This was pretty miserable. Finally, I got
behind someone and was able to recover. In the final
kilometer I passed three people. I finished 15th out
of 40.

Positives:
Good start. (Thanks to Darco's crit clinic! I'm
actually happy about this because I tried racing once
a long time ago and they were like, Go! and I was
like, what? you mean now? and everyone was gone and I
never caught up.)
Good first lap.
Finished strong, didn't give up.

Room for improvement:
Pin on number correctly.
Practice high speed descents and cornering on wet,
shit-covered roads.
I got dropped on lap 2 when the pace went over 25. Can
I improve here or am I just running into lack of
ability. What does this mean for training? Should I do
long intervals at threshold? fast group rides? what?
is there any hope?

Anyway I met all my goals for the race which were to
show up on time, get a good start, and get some race
experience. Thanks to everyone in QCW for all the
help, advice, and encouragement. I wouldn't have been
out there today without it.