Unstoppables from black train films on Vimeo.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
POWER!!!
With powermeters being used throughout the pro peloton, it is interesting to hear about and see what the pros are exactly capable of and it is unbelievable.
Example #1: Taylor Phinney, 2012 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, 400 watts for 3 hours, 371 watts normalized power for the entire race!
Example #2: Simon Gerrans, 2012 Milan-San Remo, 1,188 watts to hold Cancellara's and Nibali's wheels up the Poggio, 400 watts over the final 2km while sitting behind Cancellara (who was probably somewhere north of 550 watts), topped off with a 1,300-watt sprint at 60kph after 300km to take the win!
For those of us amateurs out there with powermeters, these numbers are astronomical. Sure, no problem to win a pro race, right? Easy peasy.
Example #1: Taylor Phinney, 2012 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, 400 watts for 3 hours, 371 watts normalized power for the entire race!
Example #2: Simon Gerrans, 2012 Milan-San Remo, 1,188 watts to hold Cancellara's and Nibali's wheels up the Poggio, 400 watts over the final 2km while sitting behind Cancellara (who was probably somewhere north of 550 watts), topped off with a 1,300-watt sprint at 60kph after 300km to take the win!
For those of us amateurs out there with powermeters, these numbers are astronomical. Sure, no problem to win a pro race, right? Easy peasy.
Ronde van Vlaanderen Recon
Here's a nice little recon video for the Tour of Flanders tomorrow. Pretty amazing comparing the pros to us mere mortals.
Monday, March 19, 2012
A dark day
This past weekend marked race numbers 4 and 5, again at the Bethel CT Spring Series. Despite the beautiful day, it turned out to be anything but. The 3/4 race got under way like normal with our team defending the yellow jersey being worn by Darius. I was coming off two weeks of being sick (some sort of nasty head/chest cold that's going around the NE) and was unsure of how I'd ride. As the race got underway, I rode conservatively but always stayed near the front on the inside, my favorite place to be. There was more wind this weekend making it a little tougher toward the front. Darius stayed hidden in the peloton while Etsu, Josh, and I tended to things at the front, always keeping an eye on Darius' rivals. Turns out I was feeling reasonable and started engaging in the race, running down a few attacks and sitting on. Hey, I have a yellow jersey to defend...can't let a serious threat go away. As we wound down the laps, we were coming around the back stretch and there it was, that horrendous sound of a crash. It happened about 3-4 bike lengths behind me on the other side the best I could tell. I immediately pulled far right into the wind and clear of the peloton and started looking for Darius and other teammates. Shortly there after, Darius came rolling up. At first the race resumed normal and went neutral as we passed the crash site. There was still one rider down but I don't think anyone thought too much of it just yet. We kept pace with no one seemingly sure what to do. The second time past the crash neutral, there was still a rider down and he hadn't moved an inch. I was still in the front 3 or 4 and we just rode easy and never resumed racing. Heading down the hill, Etsu (our director) rolled up and suggest we formally go neutral to which we all agreed. Right after that, two guys rolled up questioning why we weren't racing and which official had neutralized the race which they argued was still on. That was all it took and the front of the peloton collectively went off on them and they quickly folded under the pressure. We rolled by once more and the rider was still motionless. As we crested the hill the officials stopped the race and told us to sit in the corner of the parking lot. It was a surreal atmosphere with everyone fearing the worst. A while later the ambulance rolled away and we heard he was still unconscious but had a pulse, everyone hoping for the best. After a short delay, they lined up the 1/2/3 race and we all had to get our heads back into the game.
At this point of the story, the 1/2/3 race doesn't really matter anymore. Late this morning, we learned that the guy passed away from head injuries. Needless to say, the racing community here is in a state of shock and I know of several teammates taking long solo rides to think things through. Actually, one of those would probably be quite therapeutic right about now.
Regardless, the real reason I wrote this post it twofold. First, shit can happen...and sometimes it is bad shit. We spend hours in the saddle and a moment's inattention can be all it takes. Never take your safety for granted and always pay attention to what is going on. Second, when the accident happened yesterday, they only had one "In Case of Emergency" number that turned out to be an ex-wife. For whatever reason, she wanted nothing to do with the situation. It turns out the guy was from Germany and the rest of his family was in Germany. None of his teammates had any contact information available. We never like to think it can happen to us or someone we know...but it in fact can happen. Luckily it rarely has an outcome this devastating. But what would you do? Do you know where to find emergency contact info for fellow riders while on a ride? Is their/your phone locked with a password? Where do you keep your information? Would someone know where to find it? What if you are riding alone or on the trails? Does anyone know where you went or when to expect you home? Personally, I've always been a believer in Road ID, especially after getting stoned in the park. We are selfish enough with the hours we spend in the saddle for our pleasure, there's no need to be any more selfish and not think of loved ones...just in case.
For the better part of my life, I've lived life on my terms. Many memories still plaster my face with a big smile, thinking of great times gone by. I don't intend to change living life on my terms now at my old age haha. There are simply too many great experiences waiting out there. So tomorrow, just like today, I'll strap on my shoes and helmet and saddle up. Just be smart, stay safe, and enjoy the ride...because this little ride we call life is a precious commodity.
At this point of the story, the 1/2/3 race doesn't really matter anymore. Late this morning, we learned that the guy passed away from head injuries. Needless to say, the racing community here is in a state of shock and I know of several teammates taking long solo rides to think things through. Actually, one of those would probably be quite therapeutic right about now.
Regardless, the real reason I wrote this post it twofold. First, shit can happen...and sometimes it is bad shit. We spend hours in the saddle and a moment's inattention can be all it takes. Never take your safety for granted and always pay attention to what is going on. Second, when the accident happened yesterday, they only had one "In Case of Emergency" number that turned out to be an ex-wife. For whatever reason, she wanted nothing to do with the situation. It turns out the guy was from Germany and the rest of his family was in Germany. None of his teammates had any contact information available. We never like to think it can happen to us or someone we know...but it in fact can happen. Luckily it rarely has an outcome this devastating. But what would you do? Do you know where to find emergency contact info for fellow riders while on a ride? Is their/your phone locked with a password? Where do you keep your information? Would someone know where to find it? What if you are riding alone or on the trails? Does anyone know where you went or when to expect you home? Personally, I've always been a believer in Road ID, especially after getting stoned in the park. We are selfish enough with the hours we spend in the saddle for our pleasure, there's no need to be any more selfish and not think of loved ones...just in case.
For the better part of my life, I've lived life on my terms. Many memories still plaster my face with a big smile, thinking of great times gone by. I don't intend to change living life on my terms now at my old age haha. There are simply too many great experiences waiting out there. So tomorrow, just like today, I'll strap on my shoes and helmet and saddle up. Just be smart, stay safe, and enjoy the ride...because this little ride we call life is a precious commodity.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Oh the irony!
A NYPD officer riding a bike giving a ticket to a cab driver for parking in the bike lane...surely the end of the world is upon us.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Team Kits!
Finally here, the 2012 FGX Racing kits! I debuted the kit on tonight's ride. I have to admit, they looks great.
Race #2 and #3 Photos
Here are a couple photos from the 3/4 race this past weekend. Not sure who took them but somebody on or related to our team took them...so credit to whoever that is!
And no, I am not wearing the FGX Racing kits. They are Teany kits since we are anxiously awaiting our FGX kits from Hincapie. The first guy in the top photo is Mike in last year's FGX kit prior to "merging" over to Teany.
And no, I am not wearing the FGX Racing kits. They are Teany kits since we are anxiously awaiting our FGX kits from Hincapie. The first guy in the top photo is Mike in last year's FGX kit prior to "merging" over to Teany.
Race #2 & #3 - $37 later and a bit dizzy...
This past weekend, myself and several FGX Racing teammates headed over to Bethel CT to compete in the Spring Series Ronde de Bethel race. Last year, in a previous life FGX Racing (then known as Teany) took the yellow jersey in Cat 4 the first weekend and defended the entire series. Needless to say, our director would like to do well again this year, this time in both the Cat 4 as well as the Cat 3/4 race series. Thus, it was time to open my race account back on home turf...err, sort of. After only two years here, I don't feel like I have much home turf just yet haha.
I arrived in Bethel and happened to notice the diner that the team meets at after the 4 race for a lunch break prior to the 3/4 race. On a whim, I headed in and sure enough there was a table full of teammates. Turns out that Josh had won the Cat 4 race with the help and protection of several teammates. Needless to say, there were smiles all around. After a quick chat, I headed off to the race location in what I would describe as an office park. Here's a pretty good video that gives you an idea of what the course looks like...
The race is sort of like a crit but not quite. On the way over to registration, Harry and I ran into Etsu (team director and fellow Cat 3 racer) and Darius (one of our Cat 3 sprinters). After a brief chat, I asked who was doing the 1/2/3 race following the 3/4 race. Darius was in and therefore so was I. You are going to learn there is a little bit of trash talk between Darius and I so clearly I had to do the 1/2/3 race. So $37 later I was registered and they handed me two numbers. This is going to be interesting, two back to back races with the second being a 1/2/3 race!
First things first, the 3/4 race. We had a quick team meeting in which the director pointed out several potential threats that we needed to keep an eye on and discussed a little strategy. My job for the day was to keep the moves covered and even head off in a break if I felt good. Soon enough we were underway and 2 laps into the 30 lap race, one of the major threats puts in a big acceleration and was off the front. I jump and bridged the gap rather quickly and sat his wheel. I wasn't about to go in a break with a...correction, the known strongman on lap 2 having no clear understanding of how the legs were going. Once he saw I was not going to help he sat up and we drifted back to the peloton within a lap. As the race unfolded, Harry and myself took turns covering moves with Harry even getting into a brief break. The field seemingly didn't want anyone off the front and those that did manage to get away died off after a few laps. Bethel is know for hard, fast races and wind. While the wind wasn't outright hard, it was tough on the back stretch leading into the finish hill. It doesn't take much wind at nearly 30mph to make it extremely difficult to stay off the front. I covered a few more moves through the race but the hard efforts were taking their toll on my legs. There were many accelerations up the hill requiring big wattage to hold position. While the climb is short, it is important to realize where I am in my training. Currently I am wrapping up the threshold period and about to start the race preparation period. That means I have yet to train for the hard, short, repetitive efforts in a crit like race. Toward the end of the race, the big efforts had set my match book ablaze and the legs were now heavy. I fought through the final laps and ended up in good position on the last lap heading down the back stretch toward the finishing sprint up the hill. Josh (the Cat 4 winner) came hammering through on my right with Darius in tow. Shortly after they snuck up the right side, there was a commotion up ahead and the rider in front of me grabber some serious brake instantaneously causing me to overlap wheels...and then he swerved directly into my front wheel, full on major wheel to wheel contact. I barely had a chance to react which basically amounted to adjusting my balance. Luckily the guy in front resumed a straight line once he felt the contact and I rode it out playing my own little game of 8 seconds. OK, maybe it was more like 2 seconds but I stayed upright! I immediately jumped as the right side opened up mostly due to our contact I believe...none the less, I now had a gap to close to be in the running. I kicked hard because I had no choice and quickly closed the gap. As I eased up, the sprint went and I immediately kicked again. This time the legs protested quite a bit more and my jump was more like a hop. I hammered out the climb as best I could with now dead legs and finished 19th in a field of nearly 100. I can't complain, my job was done with 5 laps to go by keeping our boys in the running for the win. Darius ended up taking second so I guess my efforts paid off. That being said, I don't think the field is ever going to let anyone get away and we might have been a little anxious to be involved. Additionally, I learned that Bethel is definitely a power rider's race. It takes huge power to be off the front at those speeds. After a brief post race chat and congrats, I headed off to re-pin my number, switch bottles, and eat a little before the 1/2/3 race.
Both Darius and I lined up toward the back of the 1/2/3 race, using it more for training than anything. Since it was just the two of us and we had no ambitions to try anything, I was free to ride however I pleased. And sitting in was the plan. Was being the key word. Soon enough the race was underway and I hid at the back quite literally. Within a couple laps, I began to marvel how much smoother the 1/2/3 field was compared to the 3/4 field. As the first 10-15 laps clicked off, I noticed Darius was no longer at the back. And then I saw him...off the front! What the heck? Well about a lap or two later, here comes Darius back through the field as if he were dragging a boat anchor. A big boat anchor. Like Titanic big haha. Somewhere around lap 25, I began to move up the peloton and before I knew it I was riding in the top ten riders. I wasn't really a planned move. I felt good and I made up ground each time up the hill. Oh, that reminds me...another big difference in the 1/2/3s, that damn little hill. In the 3/4 race, we hit it hard for the first 5 laps or so and then everything settled down outside of the random surges from time to time. In the 1/2/3s, we hit it hard every single fricking lap! Like 550-600 watts hard. I think there were only 2 laps where I only saw 400+ watts max. Amazingly, I was feeling better and better. Funny how much better I am at steady riding right now (well, minus the hill). No surprise give where I am in training. As the race wore on, I knew I needed to eat. I managed to eat some cliff shot blocks but I think it took me something like 5 laps to eat them all. Even then, I didn't really have any blood flow to my head which made chewing tough...not to mention thinking clearly (hey, maybe I can finish top ten in this thing...). So a chew or two and a hard swallow became the method of choice. Hey, it's tough to eat in a busy crit like race. Even with a little more food in my system, I was weary that my legs would hold. But since I felt good, I rode near the front. With about 10 laps to go, the teeth started to come out up the climb and my legs were going dead. I'm not sure if it was fatigue or simply a lack of calories but my bet is a little of both. There was also a bit of dizziness sensation setting in as I approached 76 laps total for the day. Right turn, right turn, right turn, slight left, right turn, right turn, and on and on. Quite mesmerizing. None the less, I fought hard the last 10 laps and with three to go the pace really picked up. I began to slide backward and things started to get a little argy bargy as I nearly got pinned to the curb at one point. I managed to limit the damage and came into the final lap and actually made a little ground back up. I was in a reasonable place for the sprint...assuming I had one left in me. As we hit the base of the hill, I let it rip but it turned out to be more like a minor tear, there just wasn't anything more left in the legs. I half sat up with about 10 meters to go and finished 27th out of another big field of 80+. Considering the back to back races, I'll take it. I was close to making it a good finish in a very tough field.
I talked with Darius and Etsu, only to learn that Darius went off the front to screw with an old teammate who had broken away. He then promptly blew up and dropped out of the race on lap 17. I told him next time he says he is racing the 1/2/3s with me, he has to finish! After a few minutes, we all headed for the cars and the big city. I was pretty trashed leg wise but still felt reasonably good despite being tired. Monday brought a little soreness and stiffness, no surprise there. But hey, it was great training and great race experience in a style of race that isn't my forte. So yes, of course I'm doing both races again this coming Sunday haha. Amazing how quickly you forget the pain...
I arrived in Bethel and happened to notice the diner that the team meets at after the 4 race for a lunch break prior to the 3/4 race. On a whim, I headed in and sure enough there was a table full of teammates. Turns out that Josh had won the Cat 4 race with the help and protection of several teammates. Needless to say, there were smiles all around. After a quick chat, I headed off to the race location in what I would describe as an office park. Here's a pretty good video that gives you an idea of what the course looks like...
The race is sort of like a crit but not quite. On the way over to registration, Harry and I ran into Etsu (team director and fellow Cat 3 racer) and Darius (one of our Cat 3 sprinters). After a brief chat, I asked who was doing the 1/2/3 race following the 3/4 race. Darius was in and therefore so was I. You are going to learn there is a little bit of trash talk between Darius and I so clearly I had to do the 1/2/3 race. So $37 later I was registered and they handed me two numbers. This is going to be interesting, two back to back races with the second being a 1/2/3 race!
First things first, the 3/4 race. We had a quick team meeting in which the director pointed out several potential threats that we needed to keep an eye on and discussed a little strategy. My job for the day was to keep the moves covered and even head off in a break if I felt good. Soon enough we were underway and 2 laps into the 30 lap race, one of the major threats puts in a big acceleration and was off the front. I jump and bridged the gap rather quickly and sat his wheel. I wasn't about to go in a break with a...correction, the known strongman on lap 2 having no clear understanding of how the legs were going. Once he saw I was not going to help he sat up and we drifted back to the peloton within a lap. As the race unfolded, Harry and myself took turns covering moves with Harry even getting into a brief break. The field seemingly didn't want anyone off the front and those that did manage to get away died off after a few laps. Bethel is know for hard, fast races and wind. While the wind wasn't outright hard, it was tough on the back stretch leading into the finish hill. It doesn't take much wind at nearly 30mph to make it extremely difficult to stay off the front. I covered a few more moves through the race but the hard efforts were taking their toll on my legs. There were many accelerations up the hill requiring big wattage to hold position. While the climb is short, it is important to realize where I am in my training. Currently I am wrapping up the threshold period and about to start the race preparation period. That means I have yet to train for the hard, short, repetitive efforts in a crit like race. Toward the end of the race, the big efforts had set my match book ablaze and the legs were now heavy. I fought through the final laps and ended up in good position on the last lap heading down the back stretch toward the finishing sprint up the hill. Josh (the Cat 4 winner) came hammering through on my right with Darius in tow. Shortly after they snuck up the right side, there was a commotion up ahead and the rider in front of me grabber some serious brake instantaneously causing me to overlap wheels...and then he swerved directly into my front wheel, full on major wheel to wheel contact. I barely had a chance to react which basically amounted to adjusting my balance. Luckily the guy in front resumed a straight line once he felt the contact and I rode it out playing my own little game of 8 seconds. OK, maybe it was more like 2 seconds but I stayed upright! I immediately jumped as the right side opened up mostly due to our contact I believe...none the less, I now had a gap to close to be in the running. I kicked hard because I had no choice and quickly closed the gap. As I eased up, the sprint went and I immediately kicked again. This time the legs protested quite a bit more and my jump was more like a hop. I hammered out the climb as best I could with now dead legs and finished 19th in a field of nearly 100. I can't complain, my job was done with 5 laps to go by keeping our boys in the running for the win. Darius ended up taking second so I guess my efforts paid off. That being said, I don't think the field is ever going to let anyone get away and we might have been a little anxious to be involved. Additionally, I learned that Bethel is definitely a power rider's race. It takes huge power to be off the front at those speeds. After a brief post race chat and congrats, I headed off to re-pin my number, switch bottles, and eat a little before the 1/2/3 race.
Both Darius and I lined up toward the back of the 1/2/3 race, using it more for training than anything. Since it was just the two of us and we had no ambitions to try anything, I was free to ride however I pleased. And sitting in was the plan. Was being the key word. Soon enough the race was underway and I hid at the back quite literally. Within a couple laps, I began to marvel how much smoother the 1/2/3 field was compared to the 3/4 field. As the first 10-15 laps clicked off, I noticed Darius was no longer at the back. And then I saw him...off the front! What the heck? Well about a lap or two later, here comes Darius back through the field as if he were dragging a boat anchor. A big boat anchor. Like Titanic big haha. Somewhere around lap 25, I began to move up the peloton and before I knew it I was riding in the top ten riders. I wasn't really a planned move. I felt good and I made up ground each time up the hill. Oh, that reminds me...another big difference in the 1/2/3s, that damn little hill. In the 3/4 race, we hit it hard for the first 5 laps or so and then everything settled down outside of the random surges from time to time. In the 1/2/3s, we hit it hard every single fricking lap! Like 550-600 watts hard. I think there were only 2 laps where I only saw 400+ watts max. Amazingly, I was feeling better and better. Funny how much better I am at steady riding right now (well, minus the hill). No surprise give where I am in training. As the race wore on, I knew I needed to eat. I managed to eat some cliff shot blocks but I think it took me something like 5 laps to eat them all. Even then, I didn't really have any blood flow to my head which made chewing tough...not to mention thinking clearly (hey, maybe I can finish top ten in this thing...). So a chew or two and a hard swallow became the method of choice. Hey, it's tough to eat in a busy crit like race. Even with a little more food in my system, I was weary that my legs would hold. But since I felt good, I rode near the front. With about 10 laps to go, the teeth started to come out up the climb and my legs were going dead. I'm not sure if it was fatigue or simply a lack of calories but my bet is a little of both. There was also a bit of dizziness sensation setting in as I approached 76 laps total for the day. Right turn, right turn, right turn, slight left, right turn, right turn, and on and on. Quite mesmerizing. None the less, I fought hard the last 10 laps and with three to go the pace really picked up. I began to slide backward and things started to get a little argy bargy as I nearly got pinned to the curb at one point. I managed to limit the damage and came into the final lap and actually made a little ground back up. I was in a reasonable place for the sprint...assuming I had one left in me. As we hit the base of the hill, I let it rip but it turned out to be more like a minor tear, there just wasn't anything more left in the legs. I half sat up with about 10 meters to go and finished 27th out of another big field of 80+. Considering the back to back races, I'll take it. I was close to making it a good finish in a very tough field.
I talked with Darius and Etsu, only to learn that Darius went off the front to screw with an old teammate who had broken away. He then promptly blew up and dropped out of the race on lap 17. I told him next time he says he is racing the 1/2/3s with me, he has to finish! After a few minutes, we all headed for the cars and the big city. I was pretty trashed leg wise but still felt reasonably good despite being tired. Monday brought a little soreness and stiffness, no surprise there. But hey, it was great training and great race experience in a style of race that isn't my forte. So yes, of course I'm doing both races again this coming Sunday haha. Amazing how quickly you forget the pain...
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Race #1 - The Walburg Classic
After the TX training camp wrapped up on Friday morning, we headed over to Austin TX to grab some food and stop by Mellow Johnny's. Good thing we stopped at the shop too because I needed some more riding food. From Austin, we headed up to Marble Falls TX and crashed there. Long before the crack of dawn Saturday, we were up and the bikes were packed into the trucks and we were off to the races with much grumbling. To finish up the training camp, we were racing the Walburg Classic in you guessed it...Walburg TX.
The Cat 3 race was three laps of the 24 mile course, a "shallow" rolling course around the TX countryside. After a week of big miles and a lot of work, I was a bit unsure how I'd feel for the first race of the season...a 72 miler with guys who have been racing for over a month none the less. The race was well organized and before I knew it, we were rolling out. The peloton moved along at a nice clip and my plan was to sit in and see how things went. The first 15 miles were consumed with several guys trying to get away and the peloton chasing until the right combo was off the front. That meant many surges where I saw over 500 and even 600 watts. Seeing how I'm still wrapping up my threshold period, I have yet to train the short hard bursts that often happen in races, especially criteriums. Thankfully, my legs seemed to be very good and I recovered very quickly from the efforts. Many times I looked down feeling like I was cruising along easily and my wattage was sitting at threshold. Anyway, breaks went away, were caught, and then others would try. I rode in the top 20 riders (our field had something like 100 riders) and kept hidden, doing no more work than required to hold/defend my position. As with any field, we had a few idiot riders, especially the two very young Garmin development riders. Despite a few close calls that I saw, everyone rode respectfully enough for the most part and we stayed crash free. For most of the race, I was fairly bored just ticking away the miles waiting for the good part. With 10 miles to go, things started to hot up a bit. The shuffle for position became more intense and the speed rose a bit. I held my own in the top 15 riders on the right side of the road where I had been nearly all morning. Numerous guys would try to sneak through but I had things fairly shut down on the right. About 3 miles from the finish, one hippie guy shouts "on your right" as I drop my head down slightly to see where he thinks he is going. I was riding 4-6 inches inside the edge of the road...which is pretty darn tight to the edge. He had the guts to stick his front wheel in that 4-6 inches and I finally got to use a phase I heard in Minster years ago..."that's not a very smart place to be." And with that, I kept tight and didn't really care if I put him off the road or got into his front wheel. When you ride stupid, you get what you deserve. I didn't wish him harm but you have to be smarter than that! Apparently he gave up on trying to slide through. Had I made room, he and about 50 other guys would have slid through. About a mile to the finish the peloton let up and everyone started looking around. Just then, a guy launches off the front and several followed. Soon there is a gap and no one bothers to chase. By the time they did react, it was too late. I didn't think it would stick (very little did up to that point) and sat in for the uphill sprint. Not long after, the Garmin development rider I was behind grabbed a handful of brake for some reason and then swung to the left. I'm not sure what prompted this because I didn't see any obvious reason but the damage was done. Since everyone was so tight, as soon as he grabbed the brakes, my front wheel overlapped his rear to the left and he force me to follow suit heading to the left. I got trapped in the middle of the peloton, at one point quite literally with the guys on my left and right both making contact with me at the same time. After a few more bumps I ended up on the left side of the peloton only to be flicked across the yellow line (center line rule was in effect until the last 200M) as guys fought to move up...illegally in this case. I held position and slid back across the yellow as the ref set chase to the offenders via motorcycle. Before I knew it we hit the finishing climb and I was still trapped. When things finally opened up, I swung hard left and immediately opened my sprint with about 75-100M to go...too late. I made up several positions and nipped the back of the lead finishers in the peloton at the line to finish 14th. Had I not been boxed in, I would have been in the top ten (I believe 6 were still away at the finish). That's racing.
Overall, I was pretty happy with the race because my legs felt great and there were a lot of tired guys at the end while I still felt fresh. That being said, I will always be a little disappointed with not winning or placing higher. The race was also good practice fighting for position and dealing with very tight situations including contact and bumping. Not to mention that the last 10 miles were an absolute blast, so much fun. That's why I race.
The Cat 3 race was three laps of the 24 mile course, a "shallow" rolling course around the TX countryside. After a week of big miles and a lot of work, I was a bit unsure how I'd feel for the first race of the season...a 72 miler with guys who have been racing for over a month none the less. The race was well organized and before I knew it, we were rolling out. The peloton moved along at a nice clip and my plan was to sit in and see how things went. The first 15 miles were consumed with several guys trying to get away and the peloton chasing until the right combo was off the front. That meant many surges where I saw over 500 and even 600 watts. Seeing how I'm still wrapping up my threshold period, I have yet to train the short hard bursts that often happen in races, especially criteriums. Thankfully, my legs seemed to be very good and I recovered very quickly from the efforts. Many times I looked down feeling like I was cruising along easily and my wattage was sitting at threshold. Anyway, breaks went away, were caught, and then others would try. I rode in the top 20 riders (our field had something like 100 riders) and kept hidden, doing no more work than required to hold/defend my position. As with any field, we had a few idiot riders, especially the two very young Garmin development riders. Despite a few close calls that I saw, everyone rode respectfully enough for the most part and we stayed crash free. For most of the race, I was fairly bored just ticking away the miles waiting for the good part. With 10 miles to go, things started to hot up a bit. The shuffle for position became more intense and the speed rose a bit. I held my own in the top 15 riders on the right side of the road where I had been nearly all morning. Numerous guys would try to sneak through but I had things fairly shut down on the right. About 3 miles from the finish, one hippie guy shouts "on your right" as I drop my head down slightly to see where he thinks he is going. I was riding 4-6 inches inside the edge of the road...which is pretty darn tight to the edge. He had the guts to stick his front wheel in that 4-6 inches and I finally got to use a phase I heard in Minster years ago..."that's not a very smart place to be." And with that, I kept tight and didn't really care if I put him off the road or got into his front wheel. When you ride stupid, you get what you deserve. I didn't wish him harm but you have to be smarter than that! Apparently he gave up on trying to slide through. Had I made room, he and about 50 other guys would have slid through. About a mile to the finish the peloton let up and everyone started looking around. Just then, a guy launches off the front and several followed. Soon there is a gap and no one bothers to chase. By the time they did react, it was too late. I didn't think it would stick (very little did up to that point) and sat in for the uphill sprint. Not long after, the Garmin development rider I was behind grabbed a handful of brake for some reason and then swung to the left. I'm not sure what prompted this because I didn't see any obvious reason but the damage was done. Since everyone was so tight, as soon as he grabbed the brakes, my front wheel overlapped his rear to the left and he force me to follow suit heading to the left. I got trapped in the middle of the peloton, at one point quite literally with the guys on my left and right both making contact with me at the same time. After a few more bumps I ended up on the left side of the peloton only to be flicked across the yellow line (center line rule was in effect until the last 200M) as guys fought to move up...illegally in this case. I held position and slid back across the yellow as the ref set chase to the offenders via motorcycle. Before I knew it we hit the finishing climb and I was still trapped. When things finally opened up, I swung hard left and immediately opened my sprint with about 75-100M to go...too late. I made up several positions and nipped the back of the lead finishers in the peloton at the line to finish 14th. Had I not been boxed in, I would have been in the top ten (I believe 6 were still away at the finish). That's racing.
Overall, I was pretty happy with the race because my legs felt great and there were a lot of tired guys at the end while I still felt fresh. That being said, I will always be a little disappointed with not winning or placing higher. The race was also good practice fighting for position and dealing with very tight situations including contact and bumping. Not to mention that the last 10 miles were an absolute blast, so much fun. That's why I race.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
A not so common occurrence...
After sitting in with a training group on Thursday evening in Central Park, myself and two teammates headed out of the park on E 72nd street when we were promptly stopped from heading across town on 72nd by a police blockade. We rolled across 5th avenue to talk with the police to see if we could roll down 72nd despite being closed. The officer told us we wouldn't make it any further than one block before getting kicked off the road. We asked what was going on. "The President is in town. You may want to go north or south a block, there are snipers all over the roofs on 72nd." That was all it took for us and we headed up to 74th to cut across town. None of us fancied the idea of being in any one's cross hairs...
Thursday, March 1, 2012
FGX Racing Texas Training Camp
On February 19th, I headed off for the FGX Racing training camp in Fredericksburg, TX. A total of seven of us headed west for warmer weather and sun drenched roads. Luckily the rain cleared out the day before our arrival and we were greeted with sun and cool temperatures. We stayed at a ranch ironically named "Rancho Romantica" about 15 minutes outside Fredericksburg. The ranch was quite the property including a large pavilion with a hot tub, fire pit, full outdoor kitchen, and outdoor sound system. Yes, it was going to be a rough week.
The first day kicked off with a 70 mile route which passed Enchanted Rock and climbed up the Willow City Ledge. The sun was shining and everyone was in high spirits as the beautiful roads seemed to never end. Traffic was practically non-existent making the day that much more enjoyable. My legs felt good and I seemed to be on par with the strong riders. Day two brought a double ride. The first ride would consist of a 10-mile motor pacing session with three other teammates which we conducted on the flattest piece of road we could find, a whopping 2.5 miles long and not entirely flat. Who would have thought that finding a flat road in TX would be difficult? Well, if you've ever been to hill country...you know just how difficult it really is. We made the best of it and I logged 20 miles, 10 of which were about four inched off the bumper of a truck at an average speed of 33mph. Quite a challenging workout but very good practice at pushing a big gear. And yes, I went "old school" with the 2005 Team Dayton kit that day (can't wait for the FGX Racing kits to arrive).
Ride number two for the day consisted of a 40-miler from the ranch at endurance pace since the legs were a bit tired from the morning motor pacing session. Day three brought a 40 mile recovery ride and an evening cookout at the ranch. Day four was another long day consisting of an 80-mile ride to the west of the ranch, the first 50-miles of which had us heading right into a nasty headwind. I was proving to be in good shape and was sitting on the front doing a lot of work. The Texas wind did its best to break me and came close on one occasion toward the end of another long pull ending on a tough, gradual uphill grinder. After a brief break, it was back to the front.
With a little over 20 miles to go we headed back east to the ranch and were greeted with wonderful tailwinds. After enjoying the ease of the ride for a few miles there was mention of doing some sprinting. So a few minutes later, I laid down the first attack off the back...all the way on the opposite side of the road. It was a clean break and I settled into the saddle at 400+ watts and stretched my lead. Eventually I drew out a bridge and counter attack. By then, I had dropped my pace to something more reasonable to allow for a little recovery. I ended up riding with Darius, one of our teams sprinters and the leader of our training camp. After a brief chat, I wound it back up to 30mph and led Darius out for a sprint. It is always fun when you are at 500+ watts and a sprinter comes zipping around. As the guys all took their shots sprinting and bridging and attacking, the miles flew by. Eventually we turned for the ranch since we had been paralleling the major road the ranch was off of. We cruised in with Darius and I adding on some more mileage past the ranch. 80 miles total on the day with 49 cattle guards. In preparation for Saturday's race, Friday was a recovery ride with a few efforts to open up the legs. We started very early and were greeted with hundreds of deer grazing, several of which jumped fences and crossed the road in front of us. Despite the long week, the legs were feeling good and not overly fatigued. Training was paying off. 250 miles down, only 72 left for Saturday's race. Here's a few more photos from the training camp...
The first day kicked off with a 70 mile route which passed Enchanted Rock and climbed up the Willow City Ledge. The sun was shining and everyone was in high spirits as the beautiful roads seemed to never end. Traffic was practically non-existent making the day that much more enjoyable. My legs felt good and I seemed to be on par with the strong riders. Day two brought a double ride. The first ride would consist of a 10-mile motor pacing session with three other teammates which we conducted on the flattest piece of road we could find, a whopping 2.5 miles long and not entirely flat. Who would have thought that finding a flat road in TX would be difficult? Well, if you've ever been to hill country...you know just how difficult it really is. We made the best of it and I logged 20 miles, 10 of which were about four inched off the bumper of a truck at an average speed of 33mph. Quite a challenging workout but very good practice at pushing a big gear. And yes, I went "old school" with the 2005 Team Dayton kit that day (can't wait for the FGX Racing kits to arrive).
 |
| Yes, it hurts... |
Ride number two for the day consisted of a 40-miler from the ranch at endurance pace since the legs were a bit tired from the morning motor pacing session. Day three brought a 40 mile recovery ride and an evening cookout at the ranch. Day four was another long day consisting of an 80-mile ride to the west of the ranch, the first 50-miles of which had us heading right into a nasty headwind. I was proving to be in good shape and was sitting on the front doing a lot of work. The Texas wind did its best to break me and came close on one occasion toward the end of another long pull ending on a tough, gradual uphill grinder. After a brief break, it was back to the front.
With a little over 20 miles to go we headed back east to the ranch and were greeted with wonderful tailwinds. After enjoying the ease of the ride for a few miles there was mention of doing some sprinting. So a few minutes later, I laid down the first attack off the back...all the way on the opposite side of the road. It was a clean break and I settled into the saddle at 400+ watts and stretched my lead. Eventually I drew out a bridge and counter attack. By then, I had dropped my pace to something more reasonable to allow for a little recovery. I ended up riding with Darius, one of our teams sprinters and the leader of our training camp. After a brief chat, I wound it back up to 30mph and led Darius out for a sprint. It is always fun when you are at 500+ watts and a sprinter comes zipping around. As the guys all took their shots sprinting and bridging and attacking, the miles flew by. Eventually we turned for the ranch since we had been paralleling the major road the ranch was off of. We cruised in with Darius and I adding on some more mileage past the ranch. 80 miles total on the day with 49 cattle guards. In preparation for Saturday's race, Friday was a recovery ride with a few efforts to open up the legs. We started very early and were greeted with hundreds of deer grazing, several of which jumped fences and crossed the road in front of us. Despite the long week, the legs were feeling good and not overly fatigued. Training was paying off. 250 miles down, only 72 left for Saturday's race. Here's a few more photos from the training camp...
All photos courtesy of Etsu Taniguchi
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