First time trial of the year. Also the first time I’ve ridden my TT bike this year. Probably should’ve adjusted to this a bit more before racing, but oh well.
On the drive over to Carnation, I noticed a number of cars with snow on their windshields. Seemed sort of odd, since it was raining, and about 37 degrees. Once I got over the mountain to Carnation, however, there was enough snow on the ground to make me pretty nervous driving. The race, of course, wasn’t going off with good coat of slush on the ground, so it ended up being delayed by an hour. Unfortunately, this meant I got about an hour and a half of warmup, which is a bit much for me. I was also the second person to go off - which also sucks.
Eventually, the race did start, I got lined up, got a decent start, then noticed my powermeter wasn’t reading anything. Unfortunately, when I switch from training to race wheels, my Edge 705 doesn’t switch powermeters, so pedaled at what I thought was about 80% of LT while I ran through the menus for about 30 seconds to pick up the new powermeter. Once it came on, I noticed that I was at about 380W, which was a lot more than I wanted to be at in the first 3 minutes. Weirdly, I just couldn’t make myself back off the throttle, and ended up going waaaay too hard for the first 5 minutes or so (I’ve consistently had a problem with this, especially running). I did catch my 30 second guy at about 5-10 minutes out, which meant that I had nothing else to chase for the whole race, especially since there wasn’t a 30 second guy behind me (Adam Kaufman, also on Recycled, started a minute back).
After I calmed down, I started to settle in and chew up road (literally - I really hope that was mud and not cowpies). It took me a bit to figure out not to ride in the standing water channels on the road, but once I did, the cold wasn’t bad at all. Ended up catching the only guy in front of me, not getting caught by anyone, but having way worse power than I was hoping for (I was at about 326, and I was hoping for 350 - that’s a really big gap). Not sure what the deal was - I wasn’t breathing hard at all, I just couldn’t push my heart rate up and my legs felt dead.
I did notice that after the race I had some of the worst asthma I’ve ever had (maybe from the cold) - I was a little worried that I wouldn’t make it back to the car, and I was having a really hard time getting a half breath in. It’s possible that didn’t help the TT, and may explain why I wasn’t breathing very hard (couldn’t!) - then again, maybe not.
All in all, pretty disappointing - I was hoping to really burn this one up, and I ended up limping in instead.
Tour de Dung #2
After yesterday’s race, I was expecting to be pretty tired for Tour de Dung #2. And I was.
Our team had about 9 guys at the race, so my plan was to sit in for the first couple of 6 laps, and then hope my legs came around a bit.
In short, I didn’t really factor into this race at all. Pretty disappointing, mostly because I wasn’t aggressive enough at the end (a break went that I could’ve covered, but didn’t), didn’t position myself well for the sprint, and didn’t really set myself up to put the hammer down on the field. Also a bit disappointing that I seemed to be a bit underpowered today, compared to guys like the FRM rider that pulled us back into the field.
My teammates did a great job today though - covered a lot of breaks, pulled back the main break of the day, and factored in nearly every move (except the winning one, sadly). I think we’ll be pretty strong for the year, we just have to get a bit smarter about strategy and not miss out on the bigger moves (maybe let some smaller, doomed ones go?).
Our team had about 9 guys at the race, so my plan was to sit in for the first couple of 6 laps, and then hope my legs came around a bit.
In short, I didn’t really factor into this race at all. Pretty disappointing, mostly because I wasn’t aggressive enough at the end (a break went that I could’ve covered, but didn’t), didn’t position myself well for the sprint, and didn’t really set myself up to put the hammer down on the field. Also a bit disappointing that I seemed to be a bit underpowered today, compared to guys like the FRM rider that pulled us back into the field.
My teammates did a great job today though - covered a lot of breaks, pulled back the main break of the day, and factored in nearly every move (except the winning one, sadly). I think we’ll be pretty strong for the year, we just have to get a bit smarter about strategy and not miss out on the bigger moves (maybe let some smaller, doomed ones go?).
Mason Lake #3
If nothing else, the weather for this race was a LOT better than last week. Unfortunately, this means a lot more racers (I think about 75?). It was a very fast race for me - people were attacking pretty constantly. In the last few races, when I’ve been in difficulty, people have been falling off the pace. This was not the case this week though - I don’t know if that’s the size of the pack and the fact that the race is relatively easy terrain-wise.
In any event, I did a ton of work on laps 2,3, and 4 of the race - in lots of little attacks (that everyone chased down really, really quickly). One of my teammates got up the road for a little dig, but every break was getting chased down hard. I felt like we were going hard the whole time, which worried me a bit - I was really hoping to be significantly stronger than most of the field and earn an upgrade quickly, but that’s not how I felt today.
Unfortunately, in the finale, I lot my place in the front of the field, and got shuffled to the back. Somehow, a First Rate Mortgage guy got off the front of a really fast race and stayed away solo for the win. There were so many people, and the pace was so slow in the last lap that there was really no way to move up (5 across the road for the whole lap), and I wasn’t a factor in the sprint at all. Definitely disappointing.
Power file here.
In any event, I did a ton of work on laps 2,3, and 4 of the race - in lots of little attacks (that everyone chased down really, really quickly). One of my teammates got up the road for a little dig, but every break was getting chased down hard. I felt like we were going hard the whole time, which worried me a bit - I was really hoping to be significantly stronger than most of the field and earn an upgrade quickly, but that’s not how I felt today.
Unfortunately, in the finale, I lot my place in the front of the field, and got shuffled to the back. Somehow, a First Rate Mortgage guy got off the front of a really fast race and stayed away solo for the win. There were so many people, and the pace was so slow in the last lap that there was really no way to move up (5 across the road for the whole lap), and I wasn’t a factor in the sprint at all. Definitely disappointing.
Power file here.
Tour de Dung #1
After Mason Lake #1 looked to be a crash-fest (forecast was rainy, with winds > 25mph - turned out to be sunny and great), I drug myself out to Tour de Dung for my first Pacific NW race.
Turned out, Pacific NW courses tend to not have a lot of corners, which I really, really appreciate. The race was delayed for a bit due to snow, but by the time the race rolled around, the course was only a bit wet, and pretty warm.
I covered attacks for the first lap or so, and at some point in the second lap, a single guy from Lenovo got away. There were only about 35 people in the field, and between 12 and 14 of the riders in the field were from Wines of Washington. So when he got away with about 30-ish miles to go, everyone was sort of looking to them to chase. For some reason, they didn’t, at all. The Lenovo rider continued to gain time over the rest of the race, and the rest of the field just sat in and waited for the sprint.
At the end, Randy and I were at the back of the pack with 200m to go. Randy moved up along the gutter in a hurry, and we took 1st and 2nd in the field sprint (2nd and 3rd overall). In other words, Randy is fantastic moving up in a pack.
All in all, it ended up being an extremely easy race. I never really felt like I worked very hard at any point in the race - I really wish I had seen the Lenovo rider go so I could get in some hard miles out front with him.
Turned out, Pacific NW courses tend to not have a lot of corners, which I really, really appreciate. The race was delayed for a bit due to snow, but by the time the race rolled around, the course was only a bit wet, and pretty warm.
I covered attacks for the first lap or so, and at some point in the second lap, a single guy from Lenovo got away. There were only about 35 people in the field, and between 12 and 14 of the riders in the field were from Wines of Washington. So when he got away with about 30-ish miles to go, everyone was sort of looking to them to chase. For some reason, they didn’t, at all. The Lenovo rider continued to gain time over the rest of the race, and the rest of the field just sat in and waited for the sprint.
At the end, Randy and I were at the back of the pack with 200m to go. Randy moved up along the gutter in a hurry, and we took 1st and 2nd in the field sprint (2nd and 3rd overall). In other words, Randy is fantastic moving up in a pack.
All in all, it ended up being an extremely easy race. I never really felt like I worked very hard at any point in the race - I really wish I had seen the Lenovo rider go so I could get in some hard miles out front with him.
Mason Lake #2
On the drive down to Mason Lake, it was raining quite a bit, constantly. At about 40 degrees, I knew it wasn’t going to be a super-fun race. Plus, racing out here without teammates sort of sucks. Teams in the NW actually employ useful tactics, and being alone against a field composed of about 30% First Rate Mortgage riders is a pretty tough billing.
I was also trying out my new carbon wheels with Zipp brake pads. Unfortunately, I was having a few problems with them that distracted me for the whole race. First, the braking sort of sucked. Maybe this was just the downpour, but when I touched them lightly, they just made a small scraping sound and nothing happened. When I really locked them up, I got sort of halfway decent stopping power, but certainly not what I’m used to. Is this normal? I’d actually really like to know, and I don’t have much experience with it. Also, something was making noise in my wheels, even without pedaling. Pretty annoying. Finally, the powertap rear hub wasn’t working at all, so I got no useful power data, which is really a shame.
In any event, I was feeling pretty timid about my brakes, so I hung out at the back for the first 3 laps. Nothing really went, but I did lose feeling in my hands by the start of the second (of 5 laps). This became a problem around lap 4, when I stopped being able to reliably shift because my hands were so numb. This has never happened to me with 2009 Campag stuff, as the levers are very distinct (unlike Shimano) and easy to shift independently. I was pretty seriously considering pulling out because I was worried about frostbite after I hadn’t been able to feel anything in them for about an hour.
The last lap, I moved from the back to the front for a few miles. I didn’t mean to be at the front, but I wanted to move up, and there wasn’t a good spot to slot in out of the wind, so I soft pedaled on the front for a while. Eventually, some folks came around and I got to sit in again. With about 10 miles to go, I went sort of hard on a hill, and ended up with about a 20-30 second gap. Since there were no First Rate Mortgage guys with me, I sat up and waited. And waited. And waited. I was getting very seriously impatient with the race at this point (seriously bored, wet, numb hands). So I just put my head down and forged on for about 10-15 minutes. I thought there were only 4 miles left, and thought after a couple of miles that I might seriously hold them off. Unfortunately, there were about 7 miles to go, so I got caught with about 4 left. I moved myself back on to the front, and with a kilometer to go, someone got about a 40 meter gap. Since I was still feeling great (I’m pretty surprised about that, actually - a solo attack with a couple miles of recovery should have tired me out), I stupidly jumped on it. The guy I caught peeled off immediately, and I ended up leading out the field from 400-200 meters. At 200 to go, a bunch of people came around, and I ended up sprinting from the saddle for 8th. 400 meters is definitely too long for me in a sprint right now - I hope to improve that a great deal as the season goes on.
All in all, I was a bit mad at myself for being so stupid tactically - I was just so bored, felt pretty good, and just wanted to do anything to liven up the race and take my mind off of my freezing hands. I actually had to have someone else help me get my car unlocked, since I couldn’t work my hands. Warming up my hands after the race was one of the most painful things I’ve been through in the last couple years, oddly enough - 20 minutes of pretty intense pain. I won’t be wearing those gloves again below 50 degrees anytime soon.
I was also trying out my new carbon wheels with Zipp brake pads. Unfortunately, I was having a few problems with them that distracted me for the whole race. First, the braking sort of sucked. Maybe this was just the downpour, but when I touched them lightly, they just made a small scraping sound and nothing happened. When I really locked them up, I got sort of halfway decent stopping power, but certainly not what I’m used to. Is this normal? I’d actually really like to know, and I don’t have much experience with it. Also, something was making noise in my wheels, even without pedaling. Pretty annoying. Finally, the powertap rear hub wasn’t working at all, so I got no useful power data, which is really a shame.
In any event, I was feeling pretty timid about my brakes, so I hung out at the back for the first 3 laps. Nothing really went, but I did lose feeling in my hands by the start of the second (of 5 laps). This became a problem around lap 4, when I stopped being able to reliably shift because my hands were so numb. This has never happened to me with 2009 Campag stuff, as the levers are very distinct (unlike Shimano) and easy to shift independently. I was pretty seriously considering pulling out because I was worried about frostbite after I hadn’t been able to feel anything in them for about an hour.
The last lap, I moved from the back to the front for a few miles. I didn’t mean to be at the front, but I wanted to move up, and there wasn’t a good spot to slot in out of the wind, so I soft pedaled on the front for a while. Eventually, some folks came around and I got to sit in again. With about 10 miles to go, I went sort of hard on a hill, and ended up with about a 20-30 second gap. Since there were no First Rate Mortgage guys with me, I sat up and waited. And waited. And waited. I was getting very seriously impatient with the race at this point (seriously bored, wet, numb hands). So I just put my head down and forged on for about 10-15 minutes. I thought there were only 4 miles left, and thought after a couple of miles that I might seriously hold them off. Unfortunately, there were about 7 miles to go, so I got caught with about 4 left. I moved myself back on to the front, and with a kilometer to go, someone got about a 40 meter gap. Since I was still feeling great (I’m pretty surprised about that, actually - a solo attack with a couple miles of recovery should have tired me out), I stupidly jumped on it. The guy I caught peeled off immediately, and I ended up leading out the field from 400-200 meters. At 200 to go, a bunch of people came around, and I ended up sprinting from the saddle for 8th. 400 meters is definitely too long for me in a sprint right now - I hope to improve that a great deal as the season goes on.
All in all, I was a bit mad at myself for being so stupid tactically - I was just so bored, felt pretty good, and just wanted to do anything to liven up the race and take my mind off of my freezing hands. I actually had to have someone else help me get my car unlocked, since I couldn’t work my hands. Warming up my hands after the race was one of the most painful things I’ve been through in the last couple years, oddly enough - 20 minutes of pretty intense pain. I won’t be wearing those gloves again below 50 degrees anytime soon.
Recycled Cycles Training Camp #2
This was the Whidbey island training camp - also my first time riding a ferry that I remember (pretty fun, actually).
Turns out Whidbey island isn’t flat at all. It ended up being the first fairly long ride day that I actually felt good at the end. I did a lot of bridging up to attacks instead of riding at the front, which was a great workout, but not very good for reinforcing good riding habits. All in all, it was a great day, I was toast at the end, and I got a chance to put in a good dig with Tim Ellis (he’s strong).
Check out the ride here on my TrainingPeaks profile for the elevation, speed, etc. Unfortunately, my PowerTap wheel build was bad, so it was back at Neuvation getting fixed (seems great now).
Turns out Whidbey island isn’t flat at all. It ended up being the first fairly long ride day that I actually felt good at the end. I did a lot of bridging up to attacks instead of riding at the front, which was a great workout, but not very good for reinforcing good riding habits. All in all, it was a great day, I was toast at the end, and I got a chance to put in a good dig with Tim Ellis (he’s strong).
Check out the ride here on my TrainingPeaks profile for the elevation, speed, etc. Unfortunately, my PowerTap wheel build was bad, so it was back at Neuvation getting fixed (seems great now).
Longbranch Road Race
I hadn’t planned on racing Sunday, but since I won on Sat, I felt obligated to show up and try to defend my lead in the omnium. There were a lot fewer people in this race (about 38), so I knew who I needed to watch. The course featured two hills - a long, steep, 39x27 hill (2-3 minutes), and a shorter, rolling 39x25 near the end. Not enough to really split the field, but by the end, we were down to 20 of the 38. I was feeling pretty tired during this race (not having ridden much for the last couple weeks), but AJ was fantastic in chasing people down.
Last couple laps, I led the field up the major climbs as a way to stay near the front, and was feeling okay (but not great). AJ was around to lead me through the field, and lead out the sprint, which meant that I was actually in a good position for once.
I knew the Lenovo guy I was watching for the omnium was stronger than me, so in the sprint, I watched him closely. Unfortunately, I tried to come around him in the sprint on the right, where there were inexplicably a couple of women’s riders. I don’t know if we were just passing their field, or if they happened to finish at the same time somehow, or what, but in either event I almost ran one of them off the road, and had to sit up and try to sprint again. It was my fault, I should’ve been looking further up the road, but they were going so much slower that it all happened very quickly. Managed to stay upright, managed to start sprinting again, and ended up 6th. I was a bit peeved, since the finish suited me so well (I love uphill sprints), but it was enough to take the omnium for the weekend.
Big thanks to AJ and Smoothie for showing up on Sun and sacrificing for me to take the omnium - it was actually sort of important to me, and I’m thrilled it worked out.
Anyone know where there are pictures? Never did find any for either day.
Last couple laps, I led the field up the major climbs as a way to stay near the front, and was feeling okay (but not great). AJ was around to lead me through the field, and lead out the sprint, which meant that I was actually in a good position for once.
I knew the Lenovo guy I was watching for the omnium was stronger than me, so in the sprint, I watched him closely. Unfortunately, I tried to come around him in the sprint on the right, where there were inexplicably a couple of women’s riders. I don’t know if we were just passing their field, or if they happened to finish at the same time somehow, or what, but in either event I almost ran one of them off the road, and had to sit up and try to sprint again. It was my fault, I should’ve been looking further up the road, but they were going so much slower that it all happened very quickly. Managed to stay upright, managed to start sprinting again, and ended up 6th. I was a bit peeved, since the finish suited me so well (I love uphill sprints), but it was enough to take the omnium for the weekend.
Big thanks to AJ and Smoothie for showing up on Sun and sacrificing for me to take the omnium - it was actually sort of important to me, and I’m thrilled it worked out.
Anyone know where there are pictures? Never did find any for either day.