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Drawing with Crayons: My first UWBL of the winter

Monday, January 18th, 2010

It wasn’t until this Saturday that I was able to make it to the Upstate Winter Bicycle League. It wasn’t that I hadn’t wanted to earlier, but it seemed that something kept coming up that kept me away. The first one was canceled due to weather and then I was either out of town, sick, or had another obligation. So, it was with a little bit of caution I approached my first one.

Why the caution? One reason is the fact that I hadn’t ridden over 60 miles since October. This one was slated to go 84 miles with three sprints and attack zones thrown into the mix. I was seriously wondering if I might just come dragging in behind the SAG after the four hours on the bike.

My second reason for caution is the fact that I had not ridden in a competitive group since the POA Cycling Team Fall Extravaganza. Let me tell you… UWBL A group is a competitive ride! It is a training ride not just for getting in your base miles. It is a training ride of practicing race tactics and sprint technique. It takes a little bit to get back in the swing of things going nearly 40 miles an hour down the road only a foot away from people on either side of you!

At least the weather started out nice. It was in the mid-40s, but after the days in the 20s and 30s we’ve had recently it seemed like a heat wave! By the time we finished we were in the 50s, but the rain set in and we were all wet.

I figured there were at least 80 riders out. There were a good number of POA Cycling Team members representing. It had been awhile since we had that many at the event. Jae Bowen was our man for the ride seeing how he had points towards the Pink Jersey.

It was fun to get back out there. However, it wasn’t supposed to be all fun for me. I had training to do. My instructions from coach were to 1) stay near the front and be efficient, 2) amass 350 TSS points, and 3) play around in the final sprint if my legs felt up to it.

With the final sprint in mind, I tried to tuck in and hide for a good portion of the ride. I still had memories of last year in my head.  It seemed that anytime I attempted to participate in a sprint, I would come dragging home. I didn’t want that to happen on this day.

I was helped out a bit in the first sprint. Just as we neared the attack zone, we approached an intersection. There were cars coming on our right. Some of the cyclists went on through, but as I got closer to the road so did the traffic coming toward us. Perhaps I did the wrong thing, but 1) I don’t want to get hit by a car, and 2) I don’t want motorists to hate us for being on the road. So, I disengaged my left foot and called, “Car right!” as I slowed to come to a stop.

Suddenly, I felt the force of someone running into my rear. I knew something bad had happened to my bike. However, I checked things out and it appeared that I was good to go. I got across the intersection and started going through my gears figuring the rear derailleur was going to be the issue. Sure enough, I found when I tried to go into the big ring I got a grinding sound and the chain was not moving smoothly.

I caught the rear of the group and then other guys arrived. We had a continuing “conversation” about the incident. Finally, I knew it was best to just shut my mouth and ride. However, there was a bit of pent up energy I was hoping to release on this first sprint.

It didn’t matter. First, I was at the rear of the pack when the attack started, and second, I was having to participate in my small ring. I was spinning like a mad man just to stay with the main group! The positive thing was that I moved up into the group and ended the sprint to Ware Shoals in sight of the winners.

Once we stopped after the sprint, I had time to take a look at my bike. The rear wheel was true and it didn’t seem that my hanger arm was bent. Still, I had that grinding sound. It appeared to be a front derailleur problem. As I was looking at it, Boyd Johnson came over to help me out. He just reached over and twisted the front derailleur just a fraction. The sound went away. Turns out my right foot must have jammed against the arm and bent it. Now, with Boyd’s help, I was back ready to go.

The mist started to feel a little more like rain as we neared the Dunklin Bridge attack zone. I figured we were heading for some rain ahead. I didn’t want to mix it up in a rainy sprint. I figured if I was going to “play around in a sprint” it was going to have to be this one. The Highway 20 finish would probably be soaked.

I started out near the front as one guy attacked forming a gap. I stayed with the guys at around me which included Thad Dulin and Steve Sperry. In my mind, it made sense to stay near them and see what would transpire. Then the jostling began as there were attacks and counter attacks.

“Watch and learn,” I said to myself and stayed close on Thad’s wheel. Patiently I waited staying close to him. Then he moved over to a group that was counter attacking. I hesitated because it was a little early in the attack for what I thought I could handle (it is a five mile attack zone). Looking back, I realize I should have just laid in on the line and chased after him.

The result of my hesitation was that I was now toward the front of a larger chase group. This meant more traffic. Ahead I could see the main competition flying along in a single file. Here I was with riders all around. My thought was, “Well, no way are you going to get anything out of this… just hold your position.” Some of the other riders started falling away as they must have come to a similar decision. I ended up passing a few riders ahead and finished in the first 20. I wonder what might have happened had I stayed with Thad.

Very soon after the rain started soaking the road and rooster tails were coming up from the bikes in front of me. The ride leader, Steve Sperry, stopped us to explain that the final sprint would be shorter in order to allow us to avoid some slippery train tracks that crossed the attack zone. That was fine with me, I was planning on just keeping the carbon side up!

Thankfully, I felt pretty strong even toward the end of the effort. There was something left in the tank even after the earlier efforts and several pulls on the front of the group. The day showed me that my fitness is coming. If I can just work on my sprint knowledge and confidence, I bet I could land a top ten on one of these rides. I’m really starting to believe that it isn’t so much a matter of my legs as it is my head.

As Sperry said to a guy riding near me, “Sprinting is an art.” Then he added, “Right, Jonathan?” Yes, it is an art, but I’m still drawing with Crayons!

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They call him McPain

Friday, January 15th, 2010

Yesterday I rushed out for a couple of hours around my lunch time to get in my training ride. You may recall my post for that day was on how to beat the funk that sometimes gets you as the race season approaches. I think I found another reason why you may feel down and confirmed the way to beat it. Plus, I ran into McPain.

McPain is Anthony McClain. He is a regular commenter on the site. I told him I would put up some video of him. Here he is…

About the funk business? Well, don’t discount the weather. It is cold and the days are short. It does take a bit of the joy out of riding when you are freezing out on the road or slogging away on a trainer for a couple hours because it is too dark to ride outside.

When I came upon McClain in the park, I had to take my glove off in order to get the video. I ended up taking both of them off as I finished my ride for the day. Amazing what a difference it made to my spirit to feel warm and pedal along in the bright sunshine!

The weather here is supposed to be warm (relatively speaking) for the next several days. Looks like the UWBL might even get out and back before the rain starts. It makes it much easier to focus when you have conditions like that.

Hope to see you out there, McPain.

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Hey! Where did my toes go?

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

I’m glad to now be able to type this. I can feel the tips of my fingers again. Maybe soon I’ll be able to feel my toes!

All dressed up for the 25 degree weather

All dressed up for the 25 degree weather

One thing about having a coach – you find that times when you wouldn’t normally ride you’ll pull yourself out on the bike and complete your workout. Today I was supposed to do an over-and-back-and-up of Paris Mountain. After coming back to the CVS side I was to give a 15 minute effort up that side before turning around and coming home.

When it is cold outside, I’ve found that it is a good idea not to think about it. Just head home from work, get dressed, and don’t think about what you are about to do. It worked this time.

I came home and put on my bibs, two sets of leg warmers, two sets of arm warmers, a base layer, a jersey, and a thick vest. My feet had wool socks with shoe covers. My hands had two sets of gloves – the outer set being 30 degree gloves. Finally, on my head I had a balaclava and my helmet. In my vest pocket I had a thin windbreaker and a skull cap just in case.

When I first started out in the 37 degree weather, I started to think that perhaps I had overdressed. I was quite comfortable. Once I got going into my warm up I was feeling pretty warm. However, I noticed that even during my effort up the State Park side of the mountain I wasn’t even sweating.

The sun was starting to dip on the other side of the ridge and my temperature field was now reading 30 degrees. Still, it didn’t feel so bad. Where I was at this point there wasn’t much wind and the effort was keeping me warm.

Then I reached the top. The cold was starting to find its way into my gloves. My face was starting to feel tight. It was 25 degrees at the top. In under forty minutes I went through a 12 degree temperature drop.

Now it was time to go down! Besides the wind generated from the descent, I also came upon sections of the road where the wind was a howling crosswind.  I found myself having to lean my bike to keep from getting blown over by the gusts. By the time I reached to bottom all my extremities were getting numb.

At the bottom I adjusted some clothing and then started back up. Ahhhh, it was a relief to avoid the wind of the descent. However, after turning a few corners I found that the crosswind on the way down had also been a tailwind at times… this meant I was now riding into a gusting headwind.

At the top I pulled out the windbreaker. I knew I needed it as I headed down the longer State Park side. With the balaclava pulled over my nose and the extra layer I was feeling a bit better. At least now I was about halfway through. The workout wasn’t my concern at this point – I just wanted to get home!

I managed to finish it up. By the time I was done I had ice forming in my water bottle and the bearings on my front wheel were sounding like they were freezing together in the cold when I reached a certain speed. Still, other than my toes, fingers, and face I was doing pretty well.

Coming into the warm house my toes and fingers began to ache. I knew better than to warm them up too quickly! I changed out of my kit (that had hardly any moisture from sweat) into some warm clothes.

It was then I was glad I did it. I also knew that I would have done the same thing again. I also know that I can handle this cold… at least down to 25 degrees! I’ll probably need that knowledge on my Friday ride.

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How I came to be on the POA Cycling Team

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

What did you do New Years Day? I went for a ride in the morning with my mates from the POA Cycling Team. It was a great way to start off the year. I think it is going to be a good one!

I should point out (because I didn’t in the video) that not all the team was there. We were missing eight other riders. Hope we can get everyone together for our team picture which will have to take place soon. It is needed for the launch of our new web site in February.

Also, you will notice that two of the guys weren’t wearing POA kits. Hopefully, that will be taken care of this week when our new duds come in. Rodney and Paul are two of the new guys (though Paul is actually returning to the team after a year away). Eric is also new, but there was an ‘09 kit left that fit him.

I’m always feeling like a tag-along on these rides. Perhaps part of it is because of how I came to be on the team. I’m not sure I’ve ever shared the story, so here goes.

I have ridden with several of the POA Cycling Team members for years. John James, Billy White, Luis Sanchez, and I have ridden together since I started riding road bikes. When the ‘09 team was being put together I learned all three of these guys would be on the team. Secretly, I wished I was good enough to be invited on.

Shortly before that, I completed the Ride to Austin on a team with Joey Sullivan and Matt Tebbetts. Joey was a current member of the ‘08 team. After returning from the trip -- which was a great one and created a friendship with my teammates -- I learned that Matt was going to join the POA Team. Seemed like everyone around me was going to be riding in the red suits!

Then one day after the season had started I was on a ride with Matt.  He mentioned that Joey might be talking to me about coming on board the team. Joey’s wife was battling cancer and he was not able to devote time to the team and he was going to ask if I could fill in for him. He would still be on the team, but would not be able to participate as much.

I had mixed emotions. One of the reasons I wanted to be on the team was to ride with Joey. I didn’t like the idea of coming on and him not being there. Also, I would be joining the team on Joey’s recommendation -- not because I had shown myself worth having. Those thoughts were trumped by the excitement of knowing I would get to join the team for which I hoped to ride.

My feelings of inadequacy were compounded by my not so good ‘09 season. Soon after joining the team I broke my finger and missed the first races of the season. I was feeling like maybe I could help out when I placed fourth in my first race back. That turned out to be my highest finish of the year.

The team did great. We were always in the mix in the local races. We managed a couple of championship jerseys. It was a good year.

In 2010, I would like to shake that feeling. It is something I have put on myself and the only way I’m going to be able to get rid of it is to have some good finishes. Looks like I’ll have my first chance at the Paris Mountain Time Trial coming up on January 30.

Coach says I can work it into my schedule -- only it won’t be a targeted event. What that means is that I have to do the climb without tapering up to it. I will have to follow my normal training plan even if that means the day before the TT I have to do a hard workout. Still, I’m ready to “turn my legs in anger”. They are starting to feel a little antsy.

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Posted in Life, Racing, Rides | 2 Comments »

Garmin Edge 500 ride video

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Thought it might be neat to take some video from the start of a ride all the way through the process of getting the data from the Garmin Edge 500 to my coach and ultimately onto my computer for future use. Of course, a video like this can’t show everything or answer every question someone might have.  I’ll be glad to look into any questions the video might generate and find an answer.

It is Monday and folks at Garmin told me that the software update for the Edge 500 would be coming out today. I’ve had the opportunity to try it out and it seems to be working. If when you attempt to send the data from Garmin Connect to your Edge 500, you may get an error. However, simply click the “send to” link again and you will find the data does transfer.

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Tomorrow is Upstate Winter Bicycle League… Maybe

Friday, December 4th, 2009

UPDATE – 5:25 PM December, 4: UWBL has been canceled for Saturday, December 5. First ride will be December 12, 2009.

Ah, it is that time again! Greenville area cyclists are planning for the beginning of the Upstate Winter Biccycle League. Tomorrow is the day when we all bundle up and head out to begin the multi-week event that will lead us to Spring Series races in late February. All this is so… unless there is too much winter for us South Carolinians (emphasis on SOUTH).

What is the Upstate Winter Bicycle League? It is a league of bicycle riders that operates during the winter in Upstate South Carolina.  Okay, that doesn’t really answer the question.  Here is some information to help you out.

The UWBL is a ride that happens each Saturday in the winter months. Up to 200 riders will show on some Saturday’s to leave from downtown Greenville on a rides up to 100 miles.  They start at around 50 to 60 and then grow longer as the winter progresses toward spring. To add to the fun is the points system. At the end of the league riders and teams amassing the most point win the “yellow” and “green” jerseys.

For an idea of how a ride goes — specifically the first ride of the league in 2008 — you can read my experience from December 6th of last year.  Don’t want to just read about it? Well, check out these videos: first day of 2008, Dec. 13 final sprint, what UWBL can do to you, and my favorite video of that year.  That should give you some idea.

However, if you REALLY want to know what is going on with the UWBL, you need to visit UWBL.net.  It is the official site and can be sure to check it out this evening. The site says that they will call the ride one way or the other based on the weather.

What is that supposed to be? Well, Weather.com says there is a 40% chance of cold rain at 10 AM. That is following a higher percentage earlier in the morning. By lunch time it is supposed to be down to a 20% chance of rain. The temperatures will be flirting with the upper 30s during that time.  Accuweather.com gives a similar forecast. Call me a wimp, but I think I will be checking the weather around 9:30AM tomorrow morning even if they do say the ride is on.

There is still a lot of winter left…

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2010 Ride for Mike route

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

Not a long post today. Just want to put up the preliminary route for the 2010 Ride for Mike. Of course, it will change a bit as I take a look at the various directions and explore this “walking” route from Google Maps. My initial explorations and past experience with portions of this route, give me reason to believe this is pretty close.

Click image to go to Google Maps

Click image to go to Google Maps

The challenge is to cover the 700 – 730 mile distance in seven days.  That is what I want.  I don’t want to have a situation where it is a done deal before I ever start rolling.  It will only be fulfilling if I have to put out a great effort to accomplish the ride.

As I get farther into my planning stages, I will be breaking the route down into seven sections.  My initial overview of the route leads me to think that I should probably try to get as many miles in as possible in the first two stages.  Three through seven are going to be a bit tougher — especially the final four legs.

Anybody want to join me? :-)

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The seed has been planted

Monday, November 30th, 2009

I finished it! Not having a lot of time for reading for pleasure, it has taken me quite awhile to finish my latest read, Long Way Round. Finally, this weekend, I was able to complete it. With the end of the book comes the beginning of my plans for my own ride.

Long Way Round

Long Way Round

Long Way Round is a book (as well as a documentary) written by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. It chronicles their trip of 20,000 miles from London to New York — via Europe, Asia, and America. Their mode of trasportation was the BMW R 1150 Adventure. The book was a great read and now I want to see the documentary.

You can find out a little more about their adventure at the official website: LongWayRound.com.  You’ll find they also have completed a trip Long Way Down where they took their motorcycles from the tip of Scotland to the bottom of Africa.

So, what does this have to do with bicycles? Well, I do not claim to have come anywhere near completing a feat such as these two actors did.  However, I was amazed by how easily I could connect with the emotions they expressed in the book because they were very similar to some I experienced on my two trips to Austin with the cycling relay team the Palmetto Peloton Project Challenge to Conquer Cancer.

It brought back the memories, but also increased my desire to complete my own long distance ride. I’ve already made some steps in that direction, but now I am ready to put the rubber to the road. I’m now starting in earnest my plans for the 2010 Ride for Mike.  LowCadence.com will be the journal of my plans and my trip.

The first part of my plan is already underway. This next Ride for Mike will have me riding for what Mike lived for — rather than riding to fight what killed him. I definitely plan to do more cancer fund raising rides in the future, but this year I am taking a break to focus on raising money for a scholarship fund that is being finalized in Mike’s name. The money will go to help students studying to become ministers working with youth.

That was Mike’s passion and what he lived for. It is his love for his God, his family, and his youth group that defined him — not cancer. The 2010 Ride for Mike is my way of remembering that and allowing his memory to have a continued role in fulfilling his passion.

The ride will not be a trip around the world or even across America.  However, it will be a route that 1) has significance to the life of Michael T. McCaskill, and 2) will be the most challenging ride I have ever attempted.  It will be a ride that will have a higher potential for failure. That gives it a greater degree of challenge and reward.

Stay tuned…

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Passing George Hincapie climbing Paris Mountain

Saturday, November 7th, 2009

Okay, I admit it. The title of this blog post was more to get you to come read this blog. It is true.  I did. However, you have to know the whole story.

Last year I became aware of a program that was brought to Greenville.  It is called the Cycling CEO Challenge. It is one of multiple types of CEO Challenges including Driving, Skiing, Tennis, Fishing, and many more.

The idea came to Ted Kennedy as he was working with Ironman America as VP of Sales and Marketing.  The first challenges were limited to the Ironman.  Go to the CEO Challenge web site and you’ll see it has expanded well beyond that!

Ted says he loves his job and I can see why! One of the neat things about this program is that you get to spend some time with a professional in each of the various sports. Here in Greenville the participants got to spend some time with George Hincapie.

On Friday, the crew got to ride with Big George up to Saluda. They also participated in other events surrounding Hincapie Sportswear including a charity fashion show — they didn’t model, they just attended! On Saturday morning they had the challenge.

Each CEO Challenge event centers around a challenge between the various CEO participants. For the cycling challenge it is the King of the Mountain Challenge. It’s pretty simple — the first CEO to make it to the top is the winner. Do you think these guys are competitive? Don’t think they would be where they are professionally if they weren’t!

Instead of writing about the event, I’ll just let you watch the video. It captures the day pretty well. The only thing I wish I had on the video was a pretty spectacular save. We were following George along the route he rides often. He made a turn and the word didn’t get back quickly enough.

I was coming in the rear. I watched as several riders tried to slow to make the turn.  Of course, this caused an accordion effect toward those of us in the back. One of the CEO participants locked up to avoid another rider in front of him. It was as if he was in a drifting competition!  His rear wheel was spewing smoke from burnt rubber as he burned through his tire sliding this rear to his left.

I cringed and looked for an escape route.  I was sure we were going to gave a pile up. However, he kept it up! As I was going pass him, I heard his tube explode as the rubber protecting it disintegrated. As those of us who continued straight came back, the pungent smell of burnt rubber was in the air.

Sorry I didn’t catch it with the camera. Of course, had I been riding with one hand on the bars, I don’t think I would have been up long enough to get a good shot. Great save!

Oh, I did pass George as we were climbing the mountain.  However, it was only because he was going back to help pace one of the participants as he worked to reach the top.  I had to go ahead so I could catch the eventual winner crossing the finish line.

Once again, Big George showed himself to be a class act. He is one of the main reasons why you have CEOs returning for a second opportunity to ride here in Greenville. If you are a CEO and a cyclist, perhaps you would like to take up the challenge and give Tim Hockey a run for his money in 2010!

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I didn’t ride with Lance

Monday, October 26th, 2009

Last week my teammates and I did a lot of riding:  100 plus miles on the beautiful Natchez Trace -- in the dark, 80+ wonderful miles through the walking horse country of Tennessee, dozens of miles here and there, and -- not to be overlooked -- 85 miles that included 2.5 hours through tropical storm Rick.  However, the miles I was looking forward to all week were those in Austin when I would once again try to catch Lance Armstrong during the LiveSTRONG Challenge.

I did it last year. A few of us riders took off from the start and caught Armstrong about 15 minutes into the ride. It was a once and a life time experience -- at least I know that now!

This year I took off once again to relive the excitement of the past. Fifteen minutes into the ride there was no Lance and my teammates who started with me were no longer around me.  One succumbed to cramps and another to a mechanical. I wasn’t sure of the status of the third.  All I knew is that I was hurting and trying to stay with about 6 other riders who were putting the hammer down.

My mind went back to last year when I was on the super team of the Palmetto Peloton Project. We had a strong collection of riders and I came to Austin much fresher that year. It was a different experience entirely. That year we gloried in our strength -- and I loved it. It culminated with enough reserves in the tank to ride with Lance.

Here I was again in 2009 trying to bring back some of that magic. I kept hanging on to the chase group knowing that if I could stay there then the crud would pass and catching Lance would still be a possibility. I was right.  Twenty miles into the ride I was starting to feel better.  I took my turns on the front and then slid back to recover.

Nearing mile 24, I was on the front.  We were going through a small town when we came to an intersection with some policemen directing traffic.  It wasn’t clear what we were supposed to do.  I motioned to the guardians to give me a signal of how to continue you.  They waved us directly ahead.

We then approached another one.  There was on policeman on duty here and I motioned to him for a sign as well.  He made a small motion with his hand and in a split second I realized I misread his signal.  He told us to go right.  I continued straight.

Unfortunately for me, all the other riders were paying better attention to the road markers.  They whizzed through the turn and took off.  The one guy who went straight with me got turned around faster and took off after them.  By the time I got back to the turn, the group was out of sight.

I chased to get back on.  However, I knew at that point it was fruitless. To be honest, I knew it was going to be tough the day before when I went for an easy spin around the city of Austin. A couple of times I gave my legs a test, but the screamed back at me and simply did not offer me any power.

My team this year was much different. Most of them had taken up cycling just recently. I was not on the “super-team” this year. My miles from Greenville to Austin included a fair amount of pulling my teammates through headwinds. There simply was not enough fuel left in the tank. Had I been able to catch Lance, I probably wouldn’t have been able to stay with him because I would have shot my wad to get there.

Now, does that mean that this wasn’t as good of a week? No -- not by any means. It was simply different. This year’s team gloried in each new accomplishment -- and we loved it. This year it wasn’t about me going fast with a bunch of racers. It was about watching relatively new cyclists grow by going farther than they thought they could. It was with pleasure and a sense of ownership that I pulled them (not to say they didn’t work hard!)

All alone somewhere in cattle country of Dripping Springs, Texas I had opportunity to think through these things. Finally, some other riders came along and swallowed me up. I gladly jumped into their pace line and began to think that while I might not catch Lance, at least I could get a good finish.

Will Flanagan was in the group and we stuck together for many miles. I owe him big time. Here I was the “racer” the “Lance chaser” and I was trash. Will had to pull me along. He didn’t complain when I began to ask to stop at the various SAG stops along the way.

Then with around ten miles to go I came upon Sally Dunn.  I knew it was her because she had her pink cape on.  As we approached her we called out her name.  “Oh, hi, Jonathan! Your wife is just ahead!”

One thing I didn’t mention is that my beautiful redhead decided on Friday to do the 45 mile ride of the LiveSTRONG Challenge! She had never ridden over 20 miles in her life and here she was biting off quite a piece of cycling! I was a little concerned knowing the rolling nature and rough roads of the Dripping Springs area.

I caught her and we began to ride together. She was doing her best, but after the 20 mile mark she was starting to have some pain in her knees.  She was really suffering up the hills. It caused me to slow down to nearly a coast.

Rider after rider passed me.  Racer types, overweight types, older riders, and kids finishing their shorter distances.  I recognized some of them from pace lines I had left behind earlier in the day. My competitive nature cringed as I watched them leave me in the dust.

I urged Annette on and we continued together. Rather than being frustrated about being passed, I put my focus on the fact that she was doing this for me. She isn’t a cyclist. She doesn’t want to be one. However, she wanted to experience this with me.

We rolled into the finishing shoot together.  She was hurting so badly that she couldn’t put much pressure on the pedals. I looked back and she gave me a smile through a painful grimace. I finished my 90 and she her 45 together.

No, I didn’t ride with Lance. I rode with Annette — and I grew to love every minute of it.

For memories sake, I am also including last year’s video.

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