I wasn't much motivated to ride yesterday, but I went out for an hour-long solo ride anyway. It was windy, and I was feeling a little tired. But I made the best of the hour and got in some good training. And I'm kinda glad I went out on this particular ride on this particularly windy day.
I made one of my normal right turns (Darbytown to Yahley Mill) on one of my normal routes from work, and there were about 8 cows in a small field grazing about. I hadn't ever noticed them before.
Once I made the turn, I saw the cows. And the coolest thing happened- the wind blew a bit harder and the cows' bells started a chorus of pinging.
For those of you not familiar with bicycle racing, cowbells are often rung by spectators watching the race. It's tradition that goes back at least a hundred years if I had to guess. The cowbell can be heard by everyone- yelling out names at a group of focused cyclists whizzing by at 25mph doesn't get noticed over the sound of the wind and the sound of the bikes. The simple cowbell does. It's a motivator, too. It gives you a mental boost, and pushes you just a tad harder, when you can hear someone cheering you on.
So, on this particular ride on this particularly windy day, I had a small cheering section of cows. They were unknowingly ringing their bells, pushing me just a little bit harder, and making me glad I made myself go out for a ride.
I was also thankful for a headwind for possibly the first time in my life. If not for the wind, the cowbells may have been as silent as the cows themselves.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
House progress, March 19th, 200
I still have to touch up a few things, paint the baseboard radiators, and paint the trim and put it up. But Ethan and I got the painting of the walls done last night.
Ethan is the man.
Ethan is the man.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Dismal Dash 41k Time Trial 2008 race report
Dismal Dash 41k Time Trial
March 16th, 2008
Suffolk, VA
Cat 3 (I should have raced 30+)
It's called the Dismal Dash because the road borders the Great Dismal Swamp. I don't think the surveyors or explorers who named it such had any idea how right they were.
The weather is almost always horrible (what should be expected? It is mid-March.) It was cold and windy, but luckily the rain had moved out by the time racers started leaving the start line.
My start was a little late, at 1:12pm (I was second-to-last to start. And not because I was in second place on GC. It has everything to do with alphabetization.) I'm not sure if this was an advantage or disadvantage. I had a cross/tailwind out and a cross/headwind back. And the windchill was about 45 degrees.
I dressed perfectly for the temperature, though. There is the bright spot of the day. I did suffer from the effects of the Qoleum Hot embrocation afterwards. I really need to buy some of the medium stuff. My legs were warm for the race, though, and also for hours afterwards.
I got off to a good start, and I felt really good on the way out. It was the wind. I averaged 27mph for the first 12 miles (and still got passed by my minute-man). Just before the turnaround, however, I forgot to downshift, and came out of it into a 20mph headwind in a huge gear, which I struggled to get back on top of. I also went into the turnaround a little hot, too, locked up the rear wheel, and slid the tire a bit. Neither of these things would make much of a difference, though.
The second set of 12 miles was HARD. I fought the headwind forward, and I fought the crosswind sideways. At times I was certain I was just going to get blown over with the gusts. I went as hard as I possibly could, watching my heart rate jump at times to 175-177, backing down to a reasonable 171 whenever possible. Even at the 177 heart rate, I was struggling at times to maintain 19mph.
In the end I averaged about 18.5mph on the way back, and finished with a time of 1:06:13 and an average speed of 22.5mph. I don't know my exact placing, but looking at the results I believe I was about 16th or 17th out of about 20. Had I registered for the 30+ race, I would have placed 5th out of 7, and would have gotten points for our "Best All-around Rider" in the state, and would currently be very close to the lead in my age group.
edit: I just got the final results. I was 24th/27 overall in the 1/2/3 group, 17th/20 in the Cat 3s. My times were 29:27 and 1:06:13 at the finish- I averaged 25.3 out and 20.2 back.
March 16th, 2008
Suffolk, VA
Cat 3 (I should have raced 30+)
It's called the Dismal Dash because the road borders the Great Dismal Swamp. I don't think the surveyors or explorers who named it such had any idea how right they were.
The weather is almost always horrible (what should be expected? It is mid-March.) It was cold and windy, but luckily the rain had moved out by the time racers started leaving the start line.
My start was a little late, at 1:12pm (I was second-to-last to start. And not because I was in second place on GC. It has everything to do with alphabetization.) I'm not sure if this was an advantage or disadvantage. I had a cross/tailwind out and a cross/headwind back. And the windchill was about 45 degrees.
I dressed perfectly for the temperature, though. There is the bright spot of the day. I did suffer from the effects of the Qoleum Hot embrocation afterwards. I really need to buy some of the medium stuff. My legs were warm for the race, though, and also for hours afterwards.
I got off to a good start, and I felt really good on the way out. It was the wind. I averaged 27mph for the first 12 miles (and still got passed by my minute-man). Just before the turnaround, however, I forgot to downshift, and came out of it into a 20mph headwind in a huge gear, which I struggled to get back on top of. I also went into the turnaround a little hot, too, locked up the rear wheel, and slid the tire a bit. Neither of these things would make much of a difference, though.
The second set of 12 miles was HARD. I fought the headwind forward, and I fought the crosswind sideways. At times I was certain I was just going to get blown over with the gusts. I went as hard as I possibly could, watching my heart rate jump at times to 175-177, backing down to a reasonable 171 whenever possible. Even at the 177 heart rate, I was struggling at times to maintain 19mph.
In the end I averaged about 18.5mph on the way back, and finished with a time of 1:06:13 and an average speed of 22.5mph. I don't know my exact placing, but looking at the results I believe I was about 16th or 17th out of about 20. Had I registered for the 30+ race, I would have placed 5th out of 7, and would have gotten points for our "Best All-around Rider" in the state, and would currently be very close to the lead in my age group.
edit: I just got the final results. I was 24th/27 overall in the 1/2/3 group, 17th/20 in the Cat 3s. My times were 29:27 and 1:06:13 at the finish- I averaged 25.3 out and 20.2 back.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
VBW Smackdown 2008 race report
Virginia Beach Wheelmen Smackdown
March 15, 2008
Suffolk, VA
Cat 3
Nothing to see here. I dropped out about 20 minutes into the hour-long race when the main field got lapped by a group of about 8 or 9 riders. I could see it coming from the start. Many of us had already raced earlier in the day, and I think all of the fresh legs except a few went up the road, and those of us who'd already cooked ourselves in an earlier race weren't able to respond. But... I have a good excuse:
30+
Go! From the gun, a couple of riders are pulling away. I latch on and we work for a few laps, but there's one problem- there's are a couple of women in our race (which I am all for, don't get me wrong) and one is in this breakaway, and she refuses to work. So every time the other rider pulls off the front she follows, and I have to jump from her wheel to the front rather than just riding from her wheel straight through. This is not efficient, and wastes a lot of energy. I think we stayed out for about 4 laps.
During the whole of the race, there were quite a few small breaks and a few splits in the field. If I wasn't in the break, I bridged. If I wasn't in the front group, I went with anyone who tried to bridge. If there were 10 moves in the race, I wasn't in 2 of them. I chased solo, I chased with one guy, two guys, three guys... whatever. I made sure if I wasn't in the break there wasn't going to be a break.
I felt good. I had good legs and was covering everything, moving up when I needed to, and sitting in when I needed to recover. I probably could have gotten by with letting some other riders do the work- but if you let it come down to that, you may be letting the race get away, and my style is and has always been to sacrifice myself for a shot at a good placing rather than racing for a possible 10th and not trying to make something happen when the race is up the road.
Late in the race one guy gets away, and actually has a pretty good gap. I can see that there's a little bit of apathy, and there are only about 6 laps to go on a short course. I give chase, and collectively, we catch the guy with just 3 laps to go.
I'm in a great position with 2 to go, and I'm on the inside. I'm not shielded from the wind, which I'd like to be. But I also get to take the shortest line through the final turn and not have to worry about being pushed wide, which is good. I prefer being on the inside because I know I can corner better than most, and I can ride through fast, keeping my speed up.
With one to go I'm moving up even further, and I'm in about 3rd wheel coming into the final turn. I go through the turn and see the sprint starting straight out. I am in a perfect position, and even though I missed my last shift into a higher gear (my fingers were completely numb from the vibration of the road surface, and I couldn't feel the shift paddle!) but was able to get on top of the gear quick, and make a run for the line. I was moving up the whole time, but came up about 6 inches short at the line.
I finished 2nd in a mass sprint (I'm not a sprinter, I swear!) I can honestly say this was one of my best races ever- the amount of work I did, and the ability to position myself well when I needed to was exactly what it should have been. I probably did too much work, but I helped make sure I would have a shot at the sprint.
2nd is my best placing in a criterium other than a training race. I am motivated now, but I am also going to be a marked man in the next race.
March 15, 2008
Suffolk, VA
Cat 3
Nothing to see here. I dropped out about 20 minutes into the hour-long race when the main field got lapped by a group of about 8 or 9 riders. I could see it coming from the start. Many of us had already raced earlier in the day, and I think all of the fresh legs except a few went up the road, and those of us who'd already cooked ourselves in an earlier race weren't able to respond. But... I have a good excuse:
30+
Go! From the gun, a couple of riders are pulling away. I latch on and we work for a few laps, but there's one problem- there's are a couple of women in our race (which I am all for, don't get me wrong) and one is in this breakaway, and she refuses to work. So every time the other rider pulls off the front she follows, and I have to jump from her wheel to the front rather than just riding from her wheel straight through. This is not efficient, and wastes a lot of energy. I think we stayed out for about 4 laps.
During the whole of the race, there were quite a few small breaks and a few splits in the field. If I wasn't in the break, I bridged. If I wasn't in the front group, I went with anyone who tried to bridge. If there were 10 moves in the race, I wasn't in 2 of them. I chased solo, I chased with one guy, two guys, three guys... whatever. I made sure if I wasn't in the break there wasn't going to be a break.
I felt good. I had good legs and was covering everything, moving up when I needed to, and sitting in when I needed to recover. I probably could have gotten by with letting some other riders do the work- but if you let it come down to that, you may be letting the race get away, and my style is and has always been to sacrifice myself for a shot at a good placing rather than racing for a possible 10th and not trying to make something happen when the race is up the road.
Late in the race one guy gets away, and actually has a pretty good gap. I can see that there's a little bit of apathy, and there are only about 6 laps to go on a short course. I give chase, and collectively, we catch the guy with just 3 laps to go.
I'm in a great position with 2 to go, and I'm on the inside. I'm not shielded from the wind, which I'd like to be. But I also get to take the shortest line through the final turn and not have to worry about being pushed wide, which is good. I prefer being on the inside because I know I can corner better than most, and I can ride through fast, keeping my speed up.
With one to go I'm moving up even further, and I'm in about 3rd wheel coming into the final turn. I go through the turn and see the sprint starting straight out. I am in a perfect position, and even though I missed my last shift into a higher gear (my fingers were completely numb from the vibration of the road surface, and I couldn't feel the shift paddle!) but was able to get on top of the gear quick, and make a run for the line. I was moving up the whole time, but came up about 6 inches short at the line.
I finished 2nd in a mass sprint (I'm not a sprinter, I swear!) I can honestly say this was one of my best races ever- the amount of work I did, and the ability to position myself well when I needed to was exactly what it should have been. I probably did too much work, but I helped make sure I would have a shot at the sprint.
2nd is my best placing in a criterium other than a training race. I am motivated now, but I am also going to be a marked man in the next race.
Monday, March 10, 2008
2008 Camp Hilbert MTB Series #1 race report
Camp Hilbert Mountain Bike Race #1
March 9, 2008
SingleSpeed
It's apparent I have not learned my lesson.
I have often gone out in mountain bike races, had a good position early, and tried to keep it for too long, only to blow up horribly and make the subsequent distance left absolutely miserable. In some cases this distance has been the last 4-5 miles of 20, and in some cases it's been the last 20 miles of 27.
Having won this race in the fall of last year, I had higher-than-normal expectations of winning again. And maybe I could have. But when the horn sounded and I had a chance to lead going into the woods, I took it. I thought I could shed riders early and then maintain my pace with maybe 1 or 2 guys. Instead, a group of 4 followed my lead. One blew up pretty early, so it became a group of 4. And I led that group of 4 for about 9 miles.
Then, everything went south.
My back started to ache, and my power was obviously fading. My climbing was suffering horribly, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I had nothing left in the tank. And within about a quarter of a mile, I went from 1st to 4th. 3 guys passed me within a short span, and I couldn't respond at all. I didn't have the legs, nor the willpower to make them go any faster. I am pretty certain that the psychological effect of being passed by 3 people on one climb was all it took to crush my enthusiasm.
I continued through the finish of the second of 3 laps, now in 4th and having no idea how far ahead the 3 were, or how far behind 5th place was. But I knew I had to at least finish the race at whatever cost.
I had forgotten why mountain biking is so miserable when you're hurting: first of all, there's no escaping the fact that you're in the woods and you can't just quit and go home. You still have to ride at least some part of the course to get back to the car. Sometimes this is a mile, and sometimes it's a very long way. My situation was exacerbated by being on a bike with one gear (and not exactly an easy one.) Not only can you not go fast, you can't make any hill easier on yourself by a simple downshift. Second, when one part of your body hurts, EVERY other part of your body compensates. In my case, my back had started to hurt, and my brain decided to make my arms, stomach, and shoulders do the work of pedaling a bike (note: this is not efficient.) And since it's all connected, my legs were being dictated to keep pedaling by those arms, stomach, and shoulders. The unwelcome stress was being resisted by the back of my left knee, where ligaments were pulling and synapses were firing telling me to stop. But I couldn't. The rest of my body compensated for the knee by putting unwelcome stress on any muscle that was not yet screaming in pain.
So... for about 8 miles I tried to balance the multitude of pains in my body while still propelling the bike forward as fast as possible. I propelled myself those 8 miles forward all the way to the finish line without being passed by another rider in my class to hold onto that 4th place. My time was 18 minutes slower than last year (albeit in slightly muddy conditions, and riding the course in the opposite direction), but also about 9 minutes slower than the winning time.
I'm not disappointed, really. I went out too hard and paid for it. I just hope I can learn from my mistakes and remember where I went wrong this time, to prevent it from happening next time.
But I'm not counting on it.
March 9, 2008
SingleSpeed
It's apparent I have not learned my lesson.
I have often gone out in mountain bike races, had a good position early, and tried to keep it for too long, only to blow up horribly and make the subsequent distance left absolutely miserable. In some cases this distance has been the last 4-5 miles of 20, and in some cases it's been the last 20 miles of 27.
Having won this race in the fall of last year, I had higher-than-normal expectations of winning again. And maybe I could have. But when the horn sounded and I had a chance to lead going into the woods, I took it. I thought I could shed riders early and then maintain my pace with maybe 1 or 2 guys. Instead, a group of 4 followed my lead. One blew up pretty early, so it became a group of 4. And I led that group of 4 for about 9 miles.
Then, everything went south.
My back started to ache, and my power was obviously fading. My climbing was suffering horribly, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I had nothing left in the tank. And within about a quarter of a mile, I went from 1st to 4th. 3 guys passed me within a short span, and I couldn't respond at all. I didn't have the legs, nor the willpower to make them go any faster. I am pretty certain that the psychological effect of being passed by 3 people on one climb was all it took to crush my enthusiasm.
I continued through the finish of the second of 3 laps, now in 4th and having no idea how far ahead the 3 were, or how far behind 5th place was. But I knew I had to at least finish the race at whatever cost.
I had forgotten why mountain biking is so miserable when you're hurting: first of all, there's no escaping the fact that you're in the woods and you can't just quit and go home. You still have to ride at least some part of the course to get back to the car. Sometimes this is a mile, and sometimes it's a very long way. My situation was exacerbated by being on a bike with one gear (and not exactly an easy one.) Not only can you not go fast, you can't make any hill easier on yourself by a simple downshift. Second, when one part of your body hurts, EVERY other part of your body compensates. In my case, my back had started to hurt, and my brain decided to make my arms, stomach, and shoulders do the work of pedaling a bike (note: this is not efficient.) And since it's all connected, my legs were being dictated to keep pedaling by those arms, stomach, and shoulders. The unwelcome stress was being resisted by the back of my left knee, where ligaments were pulling and synapses were firing telling me to stop. But I couldn't. The rest of my body compensated for the knee by putting unwelcome stress on any muscle that was not yet screaming in pain.
So... for about 8 miles I tried to balance the multitude of pains in my body while still propelling the bike forward as fast as possible. I propelled myself those 8 miles forward all the way to the finish line without being passed by another rider in my class to hold onto that 4th place. My time was 18 minutes slower than last year (albeit in slightly muddy conditions, and riding the course in the opposite direction), but also about 9 minutes slower than the winning time.
I'm not disappointed, really. I went out too hard and paid for it. I just hope I can learn from my mistakes and remember where I went wrong this time, to prevent it from happening next time.
But I'm not counting on it.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Sonny Hutchins 2008 race report
Sonny Hutchins Memorial Criterium
March 2, 2008
Cat 1/2/3
Going into this race after having had the flu just 2 weeks before, I had almost no expectations of finishing. I hadn't finished one of the 1/2/3 races in the past, but I'd always raced an earlier race the same day. This time I was going to do one race, which would be the longest and fastest race of the day.
The course is a 1/3 mile slightly banked oval race track. It's paved, but there is an outside line and an inside line- the middle is pretty ground up and bumpy. It's not enough to make you feel uncomfortable on the surface, but it's enough to force you to think about where you are on the track at all times. It's also a little unnerving to do 40-45 second laps and turn every 10-15 seconds... But it's usually a safe race because there are no surprises in the turns. It's always the same turn, and doing 60 laps means you turn exactly 240 times. All that and the total distance comes to a whopping 18-20 miles (the rumor is that the actual distance of the track is not quite 1/3 of a mile.)
The first lap wasn't really that fast, but there were a few animated riders. Nothing to worry about (even if I was worried, I wouldn't have done anything about it. I was aiming to finish, not do a lot of work.)
Once we'd gotten about 10 laps in, my legs were starting to burn, and I started to think I couldn't finish the race. I got out of the wind as much as possible and recovered enough to get my legs back, though. About mid-way through the race, I wasn't able to move up to the front, but I was able to move around in the middle, and that was good enough for me.
In the last 5 laps or so (remember, these laps are SHORT), I started feeling pretty good, and started moving up a little. But with 2 to go I was boxed in. I found a wheel of one of the best sprinters in the area, and got on it. Unfortunately, he had lapped the field with a small group and didn't sprint the finish. I actually almost crashed when I started my wind-up and he backed off. I had to swerve to miss him, and my left knee caught the left handlebar end, and picked my front wheel off the ground briefly in mid-sprint. Luckily it was only momentary, but it still scared the crap out of me.
I believe I finished around 25th-30th out of about 52 guys. I'm completely content with that.
Also to note today... Happy Birthday, Sis!!! Thanks for coming to the race!!!
March 2, 2008
Cat 1/2/3
Going into this race after having had the flu just 2 weeks before, I had almost no expectations of finishing. I hadn't finished one of the 1/2/3 races in the past, but I'd always raced an earlier race the same day. This time I was going to do one race, which would be the longest and fastest race of the day.
The course is a 1/3 mile slightly banked oval race track. It's paved, but there is an outside line and an inside line- the middle is pretty ground up and bumpy. It's not enough to make you feel uncomfortable on the surface, but it's enough to force you to think about where you are on the track at all times. It's also a little unnerving to do 40-45 second laps and turn every 10-15 seconds... But it's usually a safe race because there are no surprises in the turns. It's always the same turn, and doing 60 laps means you turn exactly 240 times. All that and the total distance comes to a whopping 18-20 miles (the rumor is that the actual distance of the track is not quite 1/3 of a mile.)
The first lap wasn't really that fast, but there were a few animated riders. Nothing to worry about (even if I was worried, I wouldn't have done anything about it. I was aiming to finish, not do a lot of work.)
Once we'd gotten about 10 laps in, my legs were starting to burn, and I started to think I couldn't finish the race. I got out of the wind as much as possible and recovered enough to get my legs back, though. About mid-way through the race, I wasn't able to move up to the front, but I was able to move around in the middle, and that was good enough for me.
In the last 5 laps or so (remember, these laps are SHORT), I started feeling pretty good, and started moving up a little. But with 2 to go I was boxed in. I found a wheel of one of the best sprinters in the area, and got on it. Unfortunately, he had lapped the field with a small group and didn't sprint the finish. I actually almost crashed when I started my wind-up and he backed off. I had to swerve to miss him, and my left knee caught the left handlebar end, and picked my front wheel off the ground briefly in mid-sprint. Luckily it was only momentary, but it still scared the crap out of me.
I believe I finished around 25th-30th out of about 52 guys. I'm completely content with that.
Also to note today... Happy Birthday, Sis!!! Thanks for coming to the race!!!
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