Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Another good effort
Race: SJBC Circuit Race
Date: 6/29/04
Finish: 4th
Rode with the B's again. It was even faster this week, averaging around 24 mph, always between 21-22 on the headwind stretch. Again, 20 laps, again, took a couple of fliers, each time with another rider. The first one was when Alex attacked about 5 laps in, and I jumped on, and another rider joined us, but we were caught after a lap. Later, a really strong Village Peddler attacked with about 9 to go. I was gassed just hanging onto his wheel, so I couldn't do much to help once we got into the headwind. We were caught after a lap.
I took one last flier with about 3 to go, and caught a guy in a Schroeder Iron jersey that I didn't even realize was up the road. The group wasn't far behind, so we eased up and were caught on the hill.
The finish was similar to last week, except that there were more strong riders this time. I stayed off the front on the backstretch, but the pace was slow so there was some clumping going into the final 2 turns. I didn't like the idea of sprinting with all those people, so I squirted through a gap just to get out of the way. Once in the front, I pulled to the left and waited to see who would come around/attack.
A village peddler did, just a little bit later than Ozzie had last week. I jumped on his wheel, but had a harder time following than I did the week before. Again, he pulled off near the base of the final climb to the hilltop finish. I rode side-by-side with another VP but he soon left me behind. I think the Schroeder guy and another SJBC guy (whose name I can't remember) came by. Pretty much the 3 that I though were the strongest riders in the race finished ahead of me. My heart rate peaked at 178 bpm, pretty high for me. I held off the rest of the pack for 4th.
I think I should have done better, but I had fun attacking. If it was a serious race I would have stayed out of the wind.
Date: 6/29/04
Finish: 4th
Rode with the B's again. It was even faster this week, averaging around 24 mph, always between 21-22 on the headwind stretch. Again, 20 laps, again, took a couple of fliers, each time with another rider. The first one was when Alex attacked about 5 laps in, and I jumped on, and another rider joined us, but we were caught after a lap. Later, a really strong Village Peddler attacked with about 9 to go. I was gassed just hanging onto his wheel, so I couldn't do much to help once we got into the headwind. We were caught after a lap.
I took one last flier with about 3 to go, and caught a guy in a Schroeder Iron jersey that I didn't even realize was up the road. The group wasn't far behind, so we eased up and were caught on the hill.
The finish was similar to last week, except that there were more strong riders this time. I stayed off the front on the backstretch, but the pace was slow so there was some clumping going into the final 2 turns. I didn't like the idea of sprinting with all those people, so I squirted through a gap just to get out of the way. Once in the front, I pulled to the left and waited to see who would come around/attack.
A village peddler did, just a little bit later than Ozzie had last week. I jumped on his wheel, but had a harder time following than I did the week before. Again, he pulled off near the base of the final climb to the hilltop finish. I rode side-by-side with another VP but he soon left me behind. I think the Schroeder guy and another SJBC guy (whose name I can't remember) came by. Pretty much the 3 that I though were the strongest riders in the race finished ahead of me. My heart rate peaked at 178 bpm, pretty high for me. I held off the rest of the pack for 4th.
I think I should have done better, but I had fun attacking. If it was a serious race I would have stayed out of the wind.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Result!
Race: SJBC Circuit Race
Date: 6/22/04
Result: 1st
I rode the past two weeks with the A's, the first week being dropped at the end of the 5th lap, and last week being dropped on the 8th. Despite the 'improvement', I decided to ride with the B's, hoping to get some experience in timing a finish.
I warmed up with John, a young and energetic rider who is relatively new to racing, we talked about racing, attacking, and how one day it would be cool to attack right from the gun and see what happened.
It's a good thing we didn't, though. The race started and stayed fast, averaging about 5 minutes per 1.9-mile lap. 20 laps makes for a boring race, so to spice it up, I attacked 5 laps in, 8 laps in, and 14 laps in, each time staying away for about a lap before getting brought back. Aside from that I was generally near the front all day, but not doing much work (except on the attacks).
I sat in and rested up for the finish. I got stuck on the front on the last lap after having done well all race at staying out of the wind. So, I put a little surge in during the headwind backstretch, pulled over to the right and eased up, so no one could come around me on the right, and they were going to either have to pull through or ride very slow. It worked, and a few riders came around.
I hopped on, about 4th wheel coming into the last two turns that leave you with about half a mile to go. On turn 4, Ozzie jumped, and I recognized him quickly as a strong rider, so I jumped on. I got a really good position right on his wheel and felt little pain as I clicked through the gears, finally reaching my biggest (53/13) and turning it over pretty easily. He ran out of steam, though, and pulled off with about 1/4 mile to go, saying "there's your leadout."
The finish was at the top of the 100-ft climb, so I wasn't ready to go just yet. I looked around and Alex was there, so I let him take the lead up the hill. I told him he deserved the win (because of all the work he'd done on the front), but that I was gonna try to take it from him. I meant it in a nice way, but afterwards I wasn't sure how it sounded. Anyway, it was difficult to stay with him, but as I settled in to an out-of-the-saddle rythym, I knew I had one more gear, so to speak. I kicked into it about 50m to go, and took it by about a bike length.
Date: 6/22/04
Result: 1st
I rode the past two weeks with the A's, the first week being dropped at the end of the 5th lap, and last week being dropped on the 8th. Despite the 'improvement', I decided to ride with the B's, hoping to get some experience in timing a finish.
I warmed up with John, a young and energetic rider who is relatively new to racing, we talked about racing, attacking, and how one day it would be cool to attack right from the gun and see what happened.
It's a good thing we didn't, though. The race started and stayed fast, averaging about 5 minutes per 1.9-mile lap. 20 laps makes for a boring race, so to spice it up, I attacked 5 laps in, 8 laps in, and 14 laps in, each time staying away for about a lap before getting brought back. Aside from that I was generally near the front all day, but not doing much work (except on the attacks).
I sat in and rested up for the finish. I got stuck on the front on the last lap after having done well all race at staying out of the wind. So, I put a little surge in during the headwind backstretch, pulled over to the right and eased up, so no one could come around me on the right, and they were going to either have to pull through or ride very slow. It worked, and a few riders came around.
I hopped on, about 4th wheel coming into the last two turns that leave you with about half a mile to go. On turn 4, Ozzie jumped, and I recognized him quickly as a strong rider, so I jumped on. I got a really good position right on his wheel and felt little pain as I clicked through the gears, finally reaching my biggest (53/13) and turning it over pretty easily. He ran out of steam, though, and pulled off with about 1/4 mile to go, saying "there's your leadout."
The finish was at the top of the 100-ft climb, so I wasn't ready to go just yet. I looked around and Alex was there, so I let him take the lead up the hill. I told him he deserved the win (because of all the work he'd done on the front), but that I was gonna try to take it from him. I meant it in a nice way, but afterwards I wasn't sure how it sounded. Anyway, it was difficult to stay with him, but as I settled in to an out-of-the-saddle rythym, I knew I had one more gear, so to speak. I kicked into it about 50m to go, and took it by about a bike length.
Thursday, June 03, 2004
SJBC Circuit Race
Date: 5/25/04
Finish: who knows?
It was nice to be back out on the circuit race course again. I rode with the B's, since this was my first time out this year.
The field was bigger than usual. The normal backstretch headwind was there, so I didn't figure anything would get away.
Gary B. and Alex B. (no relation) attacked around lap 5 or so and stayed away for about a lap. I talked to Dana and we discussed bridging. We were going to wait a lap, but somehow we both decided to go for it. We attacked on the hill and caught them by the top. I let them know we were 4, and actually, another guy bridged, too, so we were 5, but we couldn't stay away & got swallowed up on the next backstretch.
I was feeling pretty spunky, so a few laps later I danced up the hill just for fun. A couple of people commented to me that it was a good effort, and the best part was that I didn't really feel the effort that much. What a difference a year makes.
I continued to stay near the front, pushing up the hill, and our group kept getting smaller, though not as much as I would have liked. We were down to about 20 coming around with 2 to go. But then a solo rider from the A's passed us. We came around toward the finishing hill and the group let up slightly, so I attacked and went up the hill as hard as I could. I hadn't planned it, but the opportunity came and I decided to go for it. I guess watching all those bike races does some good.
As it turned out, because the A rider had just passed us, we lost a lap, so I got the bell when I went by. I really thought I could hang on for one more lap, so I was feeling pretty good about my move and my good fortune. I ignored the A rider, i.e. I didn't try to bridge, since you're not supposed to work off the other riders.
However, the B's did not heed that rule, and when the rest of the A's caught them, some of them jumped on the back of the A's. On the back stretch, the A's were catching me, and I pulled to the left and watched them go by, A... A... A...A... there's a B, B...B... Crap. So my move was history, and the groups were both mixed up. I tried one more time to go off the front on the last corner, but there wasn't much chance of me getting away that late from BOTH groups. With both groups intermixed, I decided not to contest the finish, and cruised to the line.
On thing I noticed was that the B pace has increased a couple mph from last year. Owing both to the improved quality of riders and to the larger field, methinks.
Finish: who knows?
It was nice to be back out on the circuit race course again. I rode with the B's, since this was my first time out this year.
The field was bigger than usual. The normal backstretch headwind was there, so I didn't figure anything would get away.
Gary B. and Alex B. (no relation) attacked around lap 5 or so and stayed away for about a lap. I talked to Dana and we discussed bridging. We were going to wait a lap, but somehow we both decided to go for it. We attacked on the hill and caught them by the top. I let them know we were 4, and actually, another guy bridged, too, so we were 5, but we couldn't stay away & got swallowed up on the next backstretch.
I was feeling pretty spunky, so a few laps later I danced up the hill just for fun. A couple of people commented to me that it was a good effort, and the best part was that I didn't really feel the effort that much. What a difference a year makes.
I continued to stay near the front, pushing up the hill, and our group kept getting smaller, though not as much as I would have liked. We were down to about 20 coming around with 2 to go. But then a solo rider from the A's passed us. We came around toward the finishing hill and the group let up slightly, so I attacked and went up the hill as hard as I could. I hadn't planned it, but the opportunity came and I decided to go for it. I guess watching all those bike races does some good.
As it turned out, because the A rider had just passed us, we lost a lap, so I got the bell when I went by. I really thought I could hang on for one more lap, so I was feeling pretty good about my move and my good fortune. I ignored the A rider, i.e. I didn't try to bridge, since you're not supposed to work off the other riders.
However, the B's did not heed that rule, and when the rest of the A's caught them, some of them jumped on the back of the A's. On the back stretch, the A's were catching me, and I pulled to the left and watched them go by, A... A... A...A... there's a B, B...B... Crap. So my move was history, and the groups were both mixed up. I tried one more time to go off the front on the last corner, but there wasn't much chance of me getting away that late from BOTH groups. With both groups intermixed, I decided not to contest the finish, and cruised to the line.
On thing I noticed was that the B pace has increased a couple mph from last year. Owing both to the improved quality of riders and to the larger field, methinks.
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Wente Crit
Category: Elite 4
Field: 77
Distance: 50 minutes
Weather: windy and hot
Place: 47
Teammates: Bob (crash/61), John Parker (11)
Date: 4/25/04
I was too tired to get up for the Wente RR the day before, so I went to the group ride on Saturday. I felt pretty good, so I decided to head to the crit on Sunday.
The course was roughly L-shaped, but most of the turns were sweepers, so it seemed ok. Even so, there were a lot of crashes, including the race just before ours. It spooked people, I think, because the race started pretty cautiously.
I sat in near the back on the first few laps then started to move up. Bob took a flyer and led solo for about one lap, but was brought back. I was pretty close to the front when they rang the bell for the first prime, so when we got on the backstretch, I attacked about 800m from the line. It was in to the headwind, but I thought I might make it...but I faded, and got caught about 100m before the line.
I sat in and recovered for a few laps, and didn't try for any more primes. With about 5 to go I found Bob at the back, and offered my services getting him to the front whenever he wanted. He said the front was screwing around too much, and we'd just wait until 1 to go.
With about 3 to go, we overheard some guys-- Mcguire, I think-- talking about strategy, and gathered that one guy was going to set up the other guy. "Get on his wheel," Bob said of the second guy, so I did. I tried to stay with him, and managed for a lap or two before becoming swamped.
On the last lap, I started to pull Bob up toward the front. I hadn't intended to go all the way to the front, but that seemed to be the only option available until suddenly, with maybe 500m to go, about 3 guys attacked on the right. I was seriously fading, so I towed Bob over to them and dropped him off on their wheel. "All yours!" I told him.
He was in great position, but on the last corner, he started pedalling too soon, clipped his pedal, and went down. He was basically all right, but had some serious road rash and minor bike damage. As for me, after I died, I was swarmed, and there was no where to go to get out of the way, so I just held on and tried to stay upright and guys passed me on both sides. I felt someone behind me leaning into me, so I leaned to stay upright. A few seconds later I heard him go down.
I came around the last corner and saw Bob, and avoided him. I didn't contest the finish, just cruised through. I met up with John, who finished well, and we found Bob and made sure he was OK.
Field: 77
Distance: 50 minutes
Weather: windy and hot
Place: 47
Teammates: Bob (crash/61), John Parker (11)
Date: 4/25/04
I was too tired to get up for the Wente RR the day before, so I went to the group ride on Saturday. I felt pretty good, so I decided to head to the crit on Sunday.
The course was roughly L-shaped, but most of the turns were sweepers, so it seemed ok. Even so, there were a lot of crashes, including the race just before ours. It spooked people, I think, because the race started pretty cautiously.
I sat in near the back on the first few laps then started to move up. Bob took a flyer and led solo for about one lap, but was brought back. I was pretty close to the front when they rang the bell for the first prime, so when we got on the backstretch, I attacked about 800m from the line. It was in to the headwind, but I thought I might make it...but I faded, and got caught about 100m before the line.
I sat in and recovered for a few laps, and didn't try for any more primes. With about 5 to go I found Bob at the back, and offered my services getting him to the front whenever he wanted. He said the front was screwing around too much, and we'd just wait until 1 to go.
With about 3 to go, we overheard some guys-- Mcguire, I think-- talking about strategy, and gathered that one guy was going to set up the other guy. "Get on his wheel," Bob said of the second guy, so I did. I tried to stay with him, and managed for a lap or two before becoming swamped.
On the last lap, I started to pull Bob up toward the front. I hadn't intended to go all the way to the front, but that seemed to be the only option available until suddenly, with maybe 500m to go, about 3 guys attacked on the right. I was seriously fading, so I towed Bob over to them and dropped him off on their wheel. "All yours!" I told him.
He was in great position, but on the last corner, he started pedalling too soon, clipped his pedal, and went down. He was basically all right, but had some serious road rash and minor bike damage. As for me, after I died, I was swarmed, and there was no where to go to get out of the way, so I just held on and tried to stay upright and guys passed me on both sides. I felt someone behind me leaning into me, so I leaned to stay upright. A few seconds later I heard him go down.
I came around the last corner and saw Bob, and avoided him. I didn't contest the finish, just cruised through. I met up with John, who finished well, and we found Bob and made sure he was OK.
