Posts Tagged ‘POA Cycling’

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What is wrong with me?

Friday, July 31st, 2009

Before I jump into today’s post let me remind everyone here in Greenville that while you’re eating lunch, Bryant Young will be starting off on his individual time trial out in Bend, Oregon.  He has been keeping us informed of his attempt to earn a spot for the Para-Cycling World Championships at his website Amputeeinaction.org.  His start time is 9:35 out on the west coast. Give out a cheer for him!

Now, about last night… It was a fun race and yet a discouraging one.  It was great to see my teammate Matt Tebbetts fight it out with the winner and take a well-deserved second place.  It was discouraging because I actually saw him cross the line as I was being lapped.

The race started with me feeling pretty neutral. I had only ridden once since Saturday and that was an easy ride with my son. The reason for that was out of concern that I was worn out.  I have not been riding well lately and I hoped maybe that was the fix.

I got started a little toward the back of the field of 37 riders and it took me a number of laps on the .47 mile course to work my way toward the front.  So far so good.  It would have been better had I not needed to work that extra bit, but here I was in the first quarter of the race in a good position.

Blair was going prime crazy – he called a prime on the very first lap of the night.  Kirk Flinte decided that it was the night to rack up on all the goodies. He worked for most of the first half of the race winning them from out of a three rider break that dangled about 8 or so seconds off the front of the field.

For a portion of that I had a good view because I was pacing the chasing field.  I figured they would be coming back, so I didn’t push very hard.  I just felt more comfortable going through the corners when I was on the front.  Looking back, that might have been one of the things that got me later in the evening.

The reason why is because it was very windy.  The headwind was pretty strong and being on the front allowed me to get the full brunt of it.  The wind seemed to be the worst right as you were finishing the climb into the turn at the start/finish line.

Then I did something else not so smart. Just as we were catching Kirk, Blair called for another prime.  I saw that there was just a small gap between us, so I decided to make sure Kirk earned this one.  I attacked out of the group and put a little pressure on him.  He still won it as we crossed the line with my wheel about at his pedals.  There was some more energy needlessly burned.

Things got fun when three other riders went off the front.  One of them was my teammate Matt Tebbetts.  I could tell from the make up of the riders that though it was a small group, it could be one to stick.  I started backing off and simply covered the front of the field.

Just as I was getting a little tired, Billy came up and took over the duty of controlling the front of the field.  Luis was there as well.  We alternated several times in the last third of the race.  It was cool to watch Matt and his group get farther away as we worked to control the pace.

I did feel sorry for the GlobalBike guys.  They are a strong team and you could tell that most of the riders were expecting them to do all the work.  Two of them moved to the front to try to get something going and I moved onto their wheels.  They gave it a valiant effort for several laps, but I would not pull through — no one else would either. Finally, they backed off.

Billy came back to the front and I went back. Then someone up front (maybe the GlobalBike boys again) ratcheted it up again.  We were nearing the last eight or so laps.  Then it hit me.  I couldn’t breathe.

I don’t mean that I was gasping for air and about to die.  I mean that I couldn’t seem to pull enough air into my lungs.  It was as though my diaphragm had tightened up and wouldn’t allow my lungs to fill.  My mid-section felt as though it was starting to cramp.

Perhaps it was the heavy, hot, humid air.  Whatever the case, my legs were feeling pretty good, but without being able to breathe I could not keep up the energy.  I slid toward the back.  I was trying to gulp in air and not get dropped.  It wasn’t working.

One time just as I was losing contact, Paul Mills came around (he was doing some warm up laps) and pushed me from behind.  It got me onto the rear again and I managed to stay there for a couple more laps.  Then things just shut down and with about three laps to go my motor just quit.

I got lapped two times before the race ended. I tried to help Matt out even then by calling out split times and cheering him on as he came by.  I took comfort in the fact that I had helped build those time gaps. It just was disappointing that I was unable to finish in the field.

There is something wrong.  I just don’t have it anymore.  Earlier in the year I was doing much better.  My first race was a fourth place finish.  The first POA Summer Series crits had me finishing 11th and 13th – in contention.  However, now I seem to be croaking at the end of every competitive ride I try.  Even the Saturday morning Hour Of Power rides have me sucking wind by the end.

Do I need to ride more? I don’t think it is that I need to ride less. Is it just that I need to make better use of the time that I do ride?  It is true that I race to ride, but I hate losing.  More than that, I hate not being in a position to win even if I don’t finish first.

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It was the worst of times. It was the best of times.

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

I rushed out of work to throw my bike into the back seat of the convertible and head out to Donaldson Center for the Tuesday Night World Championships. The big question of the night was whether I would have the legs to hang with the A group for the six laps planned for the evening. What happened was I learned some valuable lessons.

The first lap seemed to be slower than normal.  This made me happy because I didn’t have time to warm up.  However, I determined it wouldn’t matter anyway.  Even if some riders attempted a break on the first lap, I was going to do nothing about it.

That first lap was just under 19 minutes, but things picked up in the second one.  We knocked two minutes off the first lap time.  It was on this lap that I started to learn my first lesson of the night and experienced the “worst of times.”

A break had formed and I was sitting about fifth wheel in a chase group.  My teammate, Reece, was up there with about six other riders.  My group crossed the tracks and slowed.  It was at that point I made the mistake of becoming a strategist.

I looked at the riders around me and determined that if the opportunity presented itself, I could attack, create a gap, and then bridge over to the break to join Reece.  The pace line fell apart and I was near the front.  I accelerated and the rider next to me responded but miss shifted.  I then sprinted and got the gap I was wanting.

The problem was 1) I got caught out in no man’s land.  I got a gap on the riders behind me, but could not seem to close the deal with the break ahead of me.  What to do?  Do I continue fighting to join them or do I back off and go back to the chasers? 2) I created a gap on the riders that were around me.  However, there were some stronger riders sitting behind them.  They were able to come around and then get on my wheel.

By the time I got within 10 yards or so of the break, these stronger riders started to come around me.  As they passed, almost to a man they looked over at me.  My mind interpreted their glances as saying, “Why did you do that?”  I had just pulled the field up to the break and shut down the chances of my teammate.

This was confirmed when on the third lap Reece came by me and looking back said, “I buried myself to get up in that break and then I look back and see you bringing the field.  What’s up with that?”  I could tell he was not happy.  I didn’t blame him and spent the next several minutes with my tail between my legs.

It obviously got into my head because a little over half way through that lap my teammate John came up and put an arm around my shoulder.  “Relax,” he said.  “You are tense. It is making you weave.  Take it easy.” It was just what I needed.  I relaxed my shoulders and arms and tried to focus on putting the energy into my legs.

I was praying by this point that Reece would get into another break.  Finally, in the fourth and fifth laps a break formed.  Not only was Reece there, but John had also pulled himself into the group.

That left Mark, Louis, Randy, and me in the main field.  There was no way I was going to try to bridge to the break!  It was then that I started to experience the “best of times.”  We four riders started to mix in with any chase attempts to confuse their rhythm.  The first concerted effort came from the Spinx riders.  Mark and I slipped into their pace line and tried to slow them without actually blocking them.

It is harder than it sounds.  You want to slow any attacks, but you don’t want to just get in front of them and stop.  I tried to get into a rotation and when I pulled through hold a controlled pace that was slightly slower than the chasers.  At other times, I would hang back off the back of their rotation and just let them do the work.

This continued with various individual riders and teams as we completed lap five and continued into lap six. It was funny, but I didn’t even think about how I was feeling.  It was so much fun working with my teammates to help extend the gap for Reece and John.

Of course, going into the sixth lap I started arguing with myself, “Ok, you’ve done your work, just go ahead and sit up.”  That was the wimpy side of me.  “Don’t quit.  You’ve been doing that a lot lately. Suffer to the end.” That was the competitive part of me.  The later won out.

That sixth lap was tough at the beginning.  Knowing the break was safe and we were now racing amongst ourselves, it was taking a bit more effort.  However, the farther I got into the lap, the better I started to feel. By the time we started the climb toward the finish, I was moving right along with the leaders.

Overall, it was a great night.  Even in my mistakes, I learned some valuable lessons. I do fear that I might be getting the reputation for being the idiot that chases down all the breaks.  Several times I would be in a group and a rider or two would look over at me with a look of expectation on their faces.  It was as though they were expecting me to start an attack.

Thankfully, I learned my lesson and was able to disappoint them while Reece brought home a third place.

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Getting slapped by French Broad

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

Saturday was the French Broad Cycling Classic in Marshall, North Carolina.  It is one of the few road races around the area this season.  I wanted to be a part of it.

I met up with my teammate, Matt Tebbetts, on Friday evening.  He and a couple other of the POA Cycling Team riders were participating in the Time Trial portion of the three stage race.  John James and Mark Caskey were also there in their alien helmets.  We talked for a bit and then headed out to dinner.

We debated going out to view the course in our cars.  However, it was starting to get late and I figured I needed food and sleep more than I needed to drive the course.  Looking back, I’m kind of wishing I had!

My number for the Frend Broad Cycling Classic Road Race

My number for the Frend Broad Cycling Classic Road Race

Turns out I didn’t sleep that well.  Perhaps I was too keyed up for the event.  Word was the the course was pretty tough.  However, I was feeling pretty good and really thought it was going to be a good day for me.

Matt and I headed from Asheville to Marshall.  While in Asheville, we tired to find a place to eat, but it seemed everything was closed.  We settled for an egg sandwich from McDonalds.  It wasn’t what I would have preferred, but it was something in the stomach.

Marshall is a cool little town.  It reminded me just a bit of a small Swiss town.  There was the main street running along the banks of a small rushing river with a bridge crossing it and then heading up in the mountains overlooking the town.

Things were well organized.  I was able to get registered in no time.  The only issue was the fact that there were only two portable toilets for the hundreds of people on hand.  I waited in line for sometime, but finally gave up and rode into town to use the facilities at a local coffee shop.

Matt, Randy McCreight, and I then went out for a warm up.  Matt started having trouble with this shifting and after we tried to make some adjustments, it only got worse.

Still, we had to line it up as it was about time to start out.  Around 8:41 AM, we rolled off.  Almost immediately after we rolled out of town we started a climbing a slight elevation.  This set the stage for the entire ride.

Randy moved up to the front – he was racing with the Masters 50+ group that was racing along with us Cat. 4 riders.  Matt and I hung around about 20 riders behind him.  Our goal was to sit in there until the first climb when we would move toward the front to join him and try to stay with the leaders to the top.

It was interesting in there!  We had a good amount of easy climbing and often we would find ourselves on larger four lane roads.  There were some sections with some downhill runs through winding roads.  At those points, it got a little scary as you did not know how well the guys around you would be able to control their bikes.  Thankfully, there were no incidents.

On one climb up a larger road, I heard someone yell out, “Chain!”  I wasn’t sure, but I thought it might be Matt.  The good news was that we were just about to crest the hill and I knew he would be able to catch back on.

Before long, we were nearing the bottom of the first climb.  The only real incident up to that point was the dog that came running out in to the peloton.  It happened while someone was calling out that there was gravel around.  It led someone to joke that the dog’s name must have been Gravel and he came running when the rider started calling out his name.

Matt and I started making our way toward the front.  Randy was moving back a bit and before we started the climb, the three of us were together.  Then it was time to select the guys who would be there for the final climb.

This was a section I was looking forward to.  I still had a good feeling as I started up right on the wheels of my teammates.  However, the feeling didn’t last very long.  I tried to get in a cadence that I could maintain for the climb I had heard would be five miles long.  Watching the very front group take off made me concerned because I knew I could not sustain that for five miles!

My rhythm kept me there for a bit, but then I noticed that Matt and Randy were slowing moving away from me.  I fought the urge to go chase after them.  Red lining at this point would be bad.  I kept moving along catching some riders and being overtaken by others.  It was my hope that more ahead of me would falter and I would be able to stay in contact with the larger group ahead of me before we crossed over the top.

Then it hit.  I felt an empty feeling in my stomach.  I knew then that the gel, power bar, and egg sandwich were not giving me the boost I needed.  The accelerations were gone from my legs and I was just slogging to the top.  As I got over – it came up much sooner than I thought it would – I could see ahead of me that there was no group.  I had a rider just behind me and one up ahead.

The three of us hooked up and started to chase.  As we continued I would move in and out of feeling good and feeling like crud.  I tried to do my best to share the labor with the other two guys.  It was hard.

Then I saw a large group just going into a turn ahead!  With that encouragement, the three of us picked up the pace hoping to get to the group so we could recover a bit before the climb.  Then there were only two of us as our third member dropped.  We got ever so close – within 80 yards – but it was too close to the bottom of the final climb to try one last dash.  We would catch them right at the base and be too tired for the climb.

We started up and once again I tried to find a cadence to keep me going to the top.  I knew this one would be about two miles for sure.  This should be about like Paris Mountain.  However, as we continued the climb my Garmin showed that we were holding to a 9% to 10% grade.  This was tough!

I tried to pull myself up to the riders ahead.  My hope was that they would be the motivation I needed to keep going.  However, I found my greatest motivation in seeing the riders coming up behind me!  I did not want to add insult to injury by having people who I dropped coming around me.

I did get caught.  I watched a couple of riders come around me.  I looked at their numbers – each one started with a 7.  That meant they were Master racers.  Didn’t bother me to let them go.  Then a rider passed me with a 4** number.  I determined he would be the last one.  Through the 13% grade and on to the finish we continued.

Before the top I passed some other riders who had passed me earlier.  When I neared the turn at the top that would take us past the finish line, I stood and did my best to catch a Cat. 4 rider before the line.  Unfortunately, he saw me coming and held me off at the line.

I didn’t even stop at the top.  I just kept rolling knowing that the road would take me back to Marshall.  At first I was kicking myself and declaring that I would never race again.  Every decision of the day was second guessed.

However, it was a beautiful day and the road was enjoyable.  It was hard to keep a bad attitude in that environment.  I also had some riders come by me that I knew had finished behind me.  They were happily chatting amongst themselves and having a good time.

It was childish of me to throw myself in a funk.  Sure, I finished 34th – my worse road race finish ever – but at least I wasn’t last and I was closer to my teammates in the end than I thought I was.  The course that was unknown to me when we started was now more understandable and I know how to race it next time.  Yes, I’ll do it again.

What will I do differently?  I will give everything I have to stay at the front on that first climb.  The long downhill following will give me time to recover.  Trying to save myself during that first climb didn’t help because I had to give energy on the climb and then even more trying to chase back on.  I will also eat more during the first half of the race.

As I look at my data from the race, I realize that I did have more to give.  My heart rate during the 3 or so miles of the first climb was a high average 174 bpm, but I know that I can get away with up to 180 for that period of time.  On the final climb I should have just thrown myself at it like I do when I assault Paris Mountain.  I should have crossed the finish with a heart rate of 190 bpm – that would have been an all out effort.

Either way, the farther I get away from the race the better my feelings about it.  Shoot, at 41 years of age it was kind of cool to be racing up that final mountain with guys half my age – and beating a couple of them.  I’m also glad that I am not satisfied with my finish.  That is what gives me the motivation to improve.

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Am I ever thankful for my helmet!

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

I’m writing this late Tuesday evening because I’m not certain if I’ll be able to get out of the bed in the morning.

Things started out very well. After arriving at Donaldson Center for the Tuesday Night World Championships, I met up with some of my teammates. A group of them were about to go out on the country route. This is a route that does not follow the normal Perimeter Road circuit. They called to me to join them.

I started to follow, but then remembered that Reece was in the house and I was feeling pretty good. It would be very hard to pass up mixing it up in the A Group tonight. Finally, I decided to turn around and head back to the main group. Part of me is glad I did. Another part of me wishes I hadn’t.

Several of us POA guys were on the front to begin. I figured that if we were up there, we could pedal as slow as we wanted! That didn’t last long as some others came around and picked up the pace. By the time we were over the railroad tracks and headed for the start/finish there was an organized move to get away.

I worked to help bring that group back after a short time and tried to stay up near the front of any chase group. Most times one of my guys – normally Randy or Reece would be up in the break. As soon as one break would get caught another POA rider would attack with the next group to go off the front. During the evening, I only went off on one of those.

The rest of the time I was sitting on riders who were trying to chase back my teammates. It was in the process of this that I learned something about cycling I did not know. It was a good thing to file away for the future.

I have learned that when you have a teammate up the road, you don’t do anything to help close the gap. At the same time, you have to be aware of riders who are dangerous to your teammate. Say, if a Spinx guy starts to bridge across and he already has a Spinx rider up in the break, you don’t want him to get up there and turn the odds in their favor.

You handle this by not working with him as he attempts to bridge over. You also want to be in position so that if he does manage to bridge over, you are there to help even the odds. There really aren’t any written rules about this, but there are some unspoken rules of etiquette. That is what I learned tonight.

I had Hank up in a break about halfway around the circuit. A Barley rider and Steve Baker (Hincapie) were working hard to get across the gap. I was not wanting to help in any way. However, I knew if either of them made it up there, I would need to be there to help Hank. So, I sat on them.

This was the right tactic. However, I what I didn’t realize was I was violating the unspoken rule of etiquette. I was getting in the middle of their rotation. As the Barley rider came by me once he yelled, “Pull through! Don’t be afraid of the wind!” I yelled back, “I’m not going to help you pull my man back.” I wanted to come back with the fact that I had already done my time in the wind. “Well, if you are going to sit on then at least go back and sit on fifth,” he replied.

Here is were race awareness comes to play. As far as I knew, it was only the three of us. They were the only two I was aware of around me. I didn’t realize there was a fifth rider! Even if it was only the three of us, I should have hung back in third place and let them know I wasn’t going to help them.

Hey, I’m still learning. One thing is for sure, I don’t want to be one of those guys no one wants to ride around because he is either dangerous or a jerk. I learned a lesson and I’ll try to follow it next time. I do have to add though that I won’t be intimidated.

Speaking of being a dangerous rider. On the fifth lap I slipped back a bit as I had Hank, Matt, and Reece up ahead of me. I was tired from covering all those moves through the race. However, I was satisfied that my team had good numbers. I got on the tail end of a string of riders to recover some for the last lap. Unfortunately, I realized too late and I had latched onto a slowing group!

A gap formed and I tried to come around and catch them. Soon I was stuck in no-mans land with one other rider. I don’t know who she was, but she was stout! The two of us kept digging to see what might happen. I kept hoping that the group might slow as a break will sometimes do when it is larger.

As we went through the dip at the bottom of the hill leading up to the start/finish I could see the group nearing the top. I decided to just put my head down and put out a good cadence and if I had them in sight as we began the final lap, I would give it one more push. I started off taking the lead.

As we began the climb, I heard the rider following me let out a gasp of air. It distracted me for a moment and I started thinking that soon, I might be all alone. I looked down at my computer to see if I was to far into the red zone. It was at that moment I heard her say, “Watch ou…!” She didn’t even get the “out” out when I slammed into a cyclist in front of me.

I was going 20 mph at the moment I hit him. My wheel rode up the left side of his rear wheel. It flipped my bike up over it and I was slammed down on my right shoulder. My head followed and I felt the pain in my neck as it whipped to the ground and my head bounced off the asphalt. For a moment everything was spinning, but I never blacked out.

Before long there were riders around me. They asked me if I was okay. I told them to grab my leg. The only thing that was hurting right at that moment was my right calf that was seizing with a cramp! We got that under control and I stood. Wow! No blood. I think the reason why is because I didn’t slide at all. It was just a body slam into the pavement.

My helmet was busted in the back. Looking inside, I could see where the material had a crack across the inside. My jersey was just a little roughed up on the right shoulder. My left brake lever was broken – though the shifter still worked. Only thing I can figure is when I went down, I grabbed the shifter and broke it. Besides that the bar was askew. I’m really hoping my steer tube was not bent. As for the carbon frame and fork? Not a bit of damage. Not even a scratch. I was amazed.

I apologized to the guy I ran into and helped him make sure his bike was okay. Again, amazingly, it was just fine. Most thankfully, so was he!

Another lesson learned. No matter how hard you are digging. Don’t assume you know what is happening ahead of you. Always look out at least 10 feet in front. What happened to me was I looked up and saw the group. What I didn’t realize was that it was made up of two groups – the A Group breakaway and some C Group riders returning from the country route. I took off after the faster group and didn’t look up again thinking they were the only ones ahead of me. I found out otherwise.

I made my way to my car and just sat on the back staring at the ground. I felt like I had been beat up and I was very embarrassed by my accident. I was about to mist up, I felt so bad. Then Reece came by and told me that the POA guys had pulled off the win! There were enough guys up front to help get Reece to the line.

What is it they say? All’s well the ends well.

Good night.

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Brain dead

Friday, June 26th, 2009

It was the June segment of the POA Cycling Summer Series last night.  I arrived a little fearful.  My calf muscle had bothered me for the last couple of days and I had visions of it seizing up early on in the event.  Turns out it wasn’t my leg that cost me a good finish.  It was my brain!

In the cat 4/5 race we do 35 minutes plus 2 laps.  This means we normally get 35 laps or so in on the near .5 mile course.  We’ll finish up in less than 40 minutes.

Last night there were 37 of us lined up for the race.  There were a good number of GlobalBike club team members on hand and I figured they would give a good showing.  I had Sam, Luis, and Matt with me.  Oh, yeah, Tyler Crotts was there as well.  He factors into the story later.

Right from the start things got hopping.  Matt took off to start a break and I followed.  Five minutes into the race we had a gap on the field.  Unfortunately, my old body has to warm up before I can start doing things like that!

As we were rotating through, I started to struggle and said to my break partners, “I’ve got to back off.”  I didn’t want to hold Matt up if he was feeling good.  I realized I would just slow them down.  Later I learned that they thought I said, “Let’s back off.”  We all slowed and were caught.

It was time to go to mid-pack and recover.  One thing I’ve learned it that no matter how you feel, you cannot go to the rear of the field – at least not on this course.  I sat in and tried to recover.

Honestly, 15 minutes in I nearly pulled off the course.  I felt really, really bad.  Thankfully, I’ve been there before I knew I just had to ride through it.  I began to concentrate on staying near some of the GlobalBike riders and that took my mind off my body enough for me to effectively recover.

Twenty-five minutes in I started to find that I was unintentionally starting to make my way closer to the front.  I don’t know if it was because other riders were slowing or I was feeling better and speeding up.  Perhaps it was a combination.  One thing for sure, I was feeling much better.

That is when I started thinking about the finish.  It entered my brain that the race was 30 minutes plus two laps.  I decided that at 30 minutes, I would attack going up the slight incline on the backside of the course.  If I could get a good enough gap, perhaps I could hold on for the two or three laps I would need.

Around the time I started my move I looked ahead and saw there was someone else who had already attacked off the front.  It was Tyler Crotts – my trash talking nemisis.  Maybe the two of us could connect and help each other out.

The first part worked.  I came out of mid-pack and got a gap before there was any reaction.  I went through turn four and started to climb.  About mid-way up the climb I caught Tyler.  I looked back as I came around him to see if he was able come along.  Tyler wagged his head and stuck his tongue out.  He was done.  I was now alone.

Oh, well, I would just have to put my head down and give it a go.  After the first lap, I was feeling pretty good about myself.  As I would make a turn, I looked back to see the field.  As I came around turns two and three, I didn’t see any chasers.  Good.  Just nail out a steady pace and try to hold on.

It had registered vaguely in my mind that our race announcer, Blair, had not been calling out any lap countdown.  As I came around to finish my first lap on the break, he still was talking about me breaking away – not the amount of laps left.  Could I stay out here for two more laps?  It did help that I also heard the voices of people on the sidelines cheering me on.  I can’t remember who or what exactly they said, but it was a cool feeling.

The next time around was a heart break.  I had started feeling a little tired and wasn’t pushing it nearly as much as before.  It was about 33 minutes in and I heard Blair say as I passed, “5 laps to go.  5 laps to go.  Can Jonathan hang on?”  Funny, hearing those words completely demoralized me.  “No,” I thought to myself, “He can’t.”  Perhaps I could put pressure on the field to chase and allow Luis and Matt to sit in and then make a move.

I hung in there and lead another lap.  I made it around turn one and looked back.  When I was halfway between turns one and two I could see the field coming out of turn one.  I was done.  They caught me between turns two and three – right where I had started my attack.  I tried to stay on, but remember what I said about avoiding the back of the pack.

Three laps to go and Tyler and I were now riding along together.  We talked and still maintained a respectable speed over those last laps.  The last thing I wanted to do was to get lapped.  Number one, I just hate the idea of not finishing on the lead lap.  Number two, I don’t want to be in the way when the riders pick up speed!

We avoided getting lapped and as we crossed the line, we did it wheel-to-wheel so neither of us could say we beat the other (though I do have to point out that I was scored in 20th place – the last possible scoring position, I didn’t see Tyler on the scoring sheet).  It was a fun night.  Yes, I didn’t get the finish I wanted, but I definitely wasn’t just field fodder.

Had I not been brain dead and started my attack a little later, who knows what the evening might have held?  Oh, my calf muscle?  It felt great during the race.  However, by the time I cooled down afterwards, it was already tightening up again.  The Beautiful Redhead tells me that it is trying to send the message that I need to be on the bike more.  That would be nice…

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That race left a bad taste in my mouth

Friday, May 29th, 2009

It is Friday morning and I feel like death warmed over.  Last night was the second POA Cycling Summer Series race held at the Municipal Stadium.  It was the same tough course as last time and I’m pretty wiped out.

The POA Cycling Summer Series course

The POA Cycling Summer Series course

Racing in the first event of the night put me with cat 4 and cat 5 racers for around 35 minutes of looping around this old stadium.  I ended up doing 31 laps of the half mile track.  Let me point out that it is a pretty tough course.

You can see where the start finish is.  However, what you can’t tell is that it is at the top of a climb.  You take a left after the finish on somewhat of a flat.  The problem is that it is a short distance before you dive down and then turn left again.  Of course, everyone accelerates out of the turn and by the time you hit the next turn you are going up again.  The next section is short again and before you know it you are making the turn onto the finish stretch.  By the time you reach that point, the climb is a humdinger.

Basically, there is never any chance to recover.  It is hammer out of the corner, hammer out of the corner, hang onto the field, hammer out of the corner, and then suffer up the climb.  Repeat about every minute until you are done.  It is recipe for pain.

Suffering past the start finish

Suffering past the start finish

How did my race go?  Well, I met one objective.  I started on the front.

I managed to stay there for about 15 minutes as well.  Peter Mathern was up there as was his teammate Tony Warmuth.  Peter was off the front much of that period.  The temptation was to go with him and attempt a breakaway.  Peter does things like that.

However, I knew I didn’t have the endurance at this point to make something like that stick.  The problem was I was still doing a lot of work as at multiple points I was the one leading the group chasing down Peter.  This would not last.

My heart rate was over 180 by this point.  As a matter for fact, I was red lining it for 33 minutes of the 33 minute 48 second race!  I made myself back off and drop into the field in an attempt to recover.  The problem is, this course does not allow you to do that.  You have to be near the front or you must work to get to the front or get spit out the back.

So, for the first half of the race I stayed in the top five.  My hope was that I could recover and then in the last 10 minutes of the race make a move with someone like Peter to gap from the field and get a good finish.  Unfortunately, when the five to go call came I was about 20th.

The pace picked up and it was even harder to work my way up to the front.  I made it into the top 15 riders but could tell things were stretching out slightly as we made the turns and accelerations.  About this time my body started sending me signals that it was unhappy.

The snap was gone.  If it came down to a sprint I was going to have to really call on my will to make anything happen.  Like a snap of the fingers I went from feeling like I could go in a break to feeling like I couldn’t hang on.

Still, I determined I was not going to quit.  With two laps to go I was still in contact with the riders in front of me.  Then coming out of lap three I had something happen that has never happened to me in a race.  I threw up.  Thankfully, only a bit ended up in my mouth and the only thing I knew to do was to swallow it back down and keep going.

The bad news is that it caused me to lift just enough to get gapped going through turn four.  I had to stand and give it all I had to make contact with the group ahead.  By the time we reached the start/finish for the final lap I was back on but dangling precariously.

As we went through turn two one rider blew up and went rocketing off the back.  That caused me to take a look behind me.  There was no one there but that one rider.  Forgive me, but I realized that I wouldn’t lose any more places, so I halfheartedly entered turn four and began the final climb to the start finish.  Who knows, maybe someone else (other than myself) would blow up.

I was close enough to say I finished with the main group.  Turns out I was 13th – which was better than I thought I did.  The large number of lapped riders made things very confusing.

Here are my numbers:  31 laps for 33:48 covering 13.6 miles, max power = 1094 with an average of 272 watts, heart rate = 189 max with an average of 185 bpm, and the average speed was over 24 mph.  My 20 minute peak maximal power was 285 watts.  That was very close to my highest ever 290 watts.

I will note that on my Garmin the average power read 336 watts.  When I saw that, I nearly freaked out!  That would have been awesome – though I was perplexed because with a number like that I should have been pulling the field around all by myself.  Getting the data into WKO+ cleaned it up and gave me a much more realistic number.  Hey, it was fun while it lasted.

My plan was to finish within the top 11 riders.  So, I didn’t make that goal.  However, I felt very good about making some progress with my fitness.  I did not feel nearly as bad as I did in the first POA race (I finished better in that one, but did not feel nearly as strong).  It helped to know that I was one of the last men standing with a group that completely busted the field apart.

The plan now is to start focusing some on drills that will help me be a better criterium racer.  What are those?  I’m assuming repeats.  The constant accelerations are what wear me down over time.  I need to learn how to build stamina in those situations.  I’ll crack the top ten yet!

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Discombobulated

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

I have been discombobulated by my recent riding schedule. Now here I am just a couple of days away from the second race in the POA Cycling Summer Series. Am I ready? I don’t know.

After Mitchell I was off the bike for a number of days. Partially because I didn’t want to get on the bike, but more than that I simply did not get the chance. Saturday morning I was able to get in a 50+ mile ride, and then yesterday I got a quick 17 miles in the saddle.

Discombobulated is a great word. It describes how I feel right now. In my mind I sense that I’m not ready for Thursday night’s race. My body doesn’t know what to tell me. WKO+ says I should be.

After yesterday’s ride I took a moment to check out my numbers in the training software. Perhaps you remember my post about my Power Profile displayed in the software. Things have changed a bit.

My latest Power Profile

My latest Power Profile

My 5 second peak time has improved dramatically. In yesterday’s sprint session I was putting out over 1200 watts – which compared to myself is pretty good. My 1 minutes graph has also improved with the 20 and 60 minute peak bars remaining pretty much the same.

Now take a look at the Performance Management Chart. According to what I understand the middle blue number is the main one to keep an eye on. The idea behind this chart is to show you when you are coming into form for a particular event.

Performance Management Chart

Performance Management Chart

You can click on the image to see a larger chart. TSB stands for Training Stress Balance, ATL stands for Acute Training Load, and CTL represents your Chronic Training Load. To put it another way, TSB shows your form, CTL gives you your fitness, ATL gives some insight into how you got there.

As you can see, my CTL was pretty much flat line from April to mid-May. According to this chart, I should be at my best fitness level of the year right now. However, the idea of a taper before an event is thrown out the window as you can see my ATL is a like a mountain compared to my past.

The thing that scares me most is the TSB. If you believe this chart, it appears to me that I am at one of the worse points of the year for my form. Of course, it is too late now! No way can I change things in three days.

If I was seriously training, I would use this chart by picking an event and then building a forward looking training program based on past training exercises. This would forecast for me what my graph would look like approaching the event. The idea would be to build up and then taper (ease up and recover) before event so you will be at your best TSB and CTL.

Any help out there? If you know about this kind of stuff, what would you say this chart is saying about how I am going about my riding? Any pointers?

I’m very close to considering getting a coach for next year. It would be interesting to see how some structure and motivation would compare to this year. At least I’m building a base of data to work from!

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Cheese steak and heart ache

Friday, April 24th, 2009

I set out to accomplish two objectives during the last night’s race.  My goals were to keep the rubber side down and finish in the top ten.  One objective was checked off my list.  The other one… almost.

Waiting for the start

Waiting for the start

It was the warmest temperature for a race in quite awhile.  As I pulled into the parking lot of the old Municipal Stadium I could see my teammates already working up a sweat trying to set up and get the route cleaned up.  I joined in, but am afraid I was more in the way than helpful.

Then it was time to get on the bike.  As I was spinning along I started to have some bad feelings.  I was not feeling very snappy.

You may laugh, but one of my mistakes of the day was I had a business lunch at City Range.  I should have gotten a salad or something.  No, I had to go and get a cheese steak sandwich.

By three o’clock I felt like I needed to go take a nap.  It was as though all the blood in my body was taking the oxygen away from my legs and lungs to my stomach.  Now as I was circling the course my legs felt heavy and I was still feeling lethargic.

I got up on the line as we were about to start.  There was a good sized field.  It was a mix of category 4 and 5 riders.  I wanted to be up front so I could avoid any crossed wheels and to be in position to react to any moves up front.

Then Blair and the officials decided to take the field around the course for a couple of pace laps so we could be shown the proper lines and get an understanding of the layout of the course.  I made the mistake of sitting back and letting the field pull be me around.  As we finished the second lap and stopped, I was at the back for the start.

Then we rolled off for real.  For the first several laps, I just stayed in and tried to position myself so I would be out of trouble.  After a number of laps, things began to stretch out and I could see a gap forming on the front between some riders and the field.

Trying to hold my own in the turn

Trying to hold my own in the turn

I was feeling like crud.  From the very beginning I felt like I was chasing.  That feeling that you can move anywhere at anytime wasn’t there.  It was replaced with a feeling that if anyone did something drastic, I would be left sitting.

The gap was growing and I began to move myself up toward the front.  There seemed to be some loose organization to try to bring the break back.  I joined in.

We were about a third through the race and I could see that the riders off the front were basically doing just enough to maintain the distance.  Here I had a choice; I could stay where we were and launch an attack at the end of the race in hopes of overtaking them at the end, or I could work to bridge up to them and then recover before the finish.

Bridging the gap

Bridging the gap

I moved to the front and started to pull and the field stretched out even more.  It would have been nice if I could have bridged over and stayed away.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough to build a big separation.  I basically pulled the field up to the break and those riders gave into field.

It pretty much wiped me out.  I got on the wheel of my teammate Matt who had followed me up to the break.  There were multiple times at that point where I felt like getting off the course.  Hearing the encouragement from spectators helped keep me in there.

Matt giving me a break

Matt giving me a break

About time I felt like I could make it another attack came.  I couldn’t go after them.  There was a lot of chatter in the group about who was going to do the work to bring them back.  The way I saw it, I had done my job on the first break and those guys could fight it out on this one.

There was a point where I realized I was racing for a top ten.  There would be no win tonight.  I looked around at the riders.  I knew what was going to happen.  The three man break would stay away.  There was a particular rider that I knew would attack for fourth place.  It would be a field sprint for the rest of us.

The sad thing was that I knew what was going to happen but felt helpless to do anything about it.  I had to save myself to just hang on.  There was no chance to take control.

Sure enough, the rider I had marked attacked in turn three.  I let him go.  I set up for turn four with the plan of letting it all hang out on the climb up to the finish.  It felt good to start moving up past some of the riders ahead of me.

Digging for the line

Digging for the line

As we neared the line, I could see that I had the possibility of getting one more spot.  I moved up beside him and he looked over.  He started to react but it was a little late.  We neared the line and I threw the bike forward to grab the spot.

A friend told me as I came off the course that he thought I might have gotten 9th or 10th.  After the way I felt out there, that would have been a happy result for me.  I would have to wait until the results were posted to find out.

As I was loading my bike into the car I discovered I had a flat tire!  I must have picked something up during the race that caused a slow leak.  Wow, had I had a flat at the wrong time out there and my objective of keeping the rubber side down might have gone out the window.

11th.  I got 11th.  Just one pass away from my goal.

The questions I ask myself are 1) Was my ride indicative of my fitness overall or was it just a bad night?  2) Will I ever learn to understand what is going on around me and, more importantly, know how to act to turn it to my adavantage?  I guess only time will tell.

Here are the numbers for the night: 28 laps around a .45 mile course for just over 30 minutes.  My max power (1094 watts) during the race happened early on the second lap.  I averaged around 1:06 per lap.  My peak 20 minute reading from my Quarq CinQo Saturn was 291 watts.  The number for the entire race was 287 watts.

The bottom line is that I was putting out about the same power as I typically do.  I just felt a lot worse doing it.  Also, what the numbers don’t show was WHEN I was using the power.  That is what I’ve got to learn.  I feel that I misuse my power – wasting it on wrong moves or doing more work on the front than I should.  What I’m saying is that with a little more intelligence, I could probably place higher without using as much energy.

There are still more opportunities ahead.  I’ve just got to put more effort into improving my stamina and my intelligence.  First intelligent thing to do?  Avoid cheese steak sandwiches the day of a race!

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Time for the POA Cycling Summer Race Series

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

Tonight is the first in a series of POA Cycling Team Summer Series races.  It will be my second criterium race in five days.  I hope the old legs will be ready.

Yesterday I was home with a sick child.  It was a stomach virus.  I don’t know about you, but when I am around someone sick like that I start having all kinds of strange feelings.  The day started out with me thinking I was getting the bug as well.

Thankfully, that wasn’t the case and the beautiful redhead returned in time for me to get out and stretch the legs a bit.  It was a fun easy ride that started at my house.  I headed down East North Street and Pelham Road to The Worthwhile Company offices.  I needed to sign a paper.

From there I started making my way towards Sunshine Cycle Shop.  I had no desire to ride on Pleasantburg Drive, so I cut through the backlots of the strip malls on that section.  That brought me nearly to Pine Knoll.  After a very short section on Pleasantburg, I was able to breathe again.

At Sunshine I had John check out my gears.  On Tuesday night I kept having some chain skip when under load.  I didn’t want that happening when I came out of a corner Thursday night.  After the minor adjustment and some talk, I headed out toward downtown.

I did this by cutting through neighborhood streets that ran parallel to Wade Hampton Blvd. until I reached Main St.  I stayed on Main because I wanted to swing by the new South Main St. location of Liquid Highway.  After finishing off a muffin and starting on a cup of coffee, I headed to Fall River Park.

It was time for a pit stop, so I rode my bike right into the elevator and dropped to the second level of the park where the bridge (and the restroom) is.  I left the Garmin on to see if it would pick up the elevation change.  All done there, I headed across the Liberty Bridge and then to Cleveland Park.

A nice urban ride

A nice urban ride

A lap later I was heading home.  It was nice to cover only about 17 miles in an hour and a half.  You (or at least I do) need to have those times on the bike when you can just look around you and take in the scenery and activities around you.  This ride was good for the body and soul.

Tonight that will change.  The good news is there is no chance of rain, the winds will only be around 5 mph, and the temperature will be in the 70s.  It is going to be a fun night for racing.

My objectives are: 1) keep the rubber side down and 2) get a top ten finish.  Hopefully I learned what not to do during Sunday’s race.  It would be nice if I could start learning what to do this evening.

If you have the evening free, head on out to the old Greenville Braves stadium (Municipal Stadium) and take in some of the action at the POA Cycling Summer Race Series.  I’ll be putting out there during the 6 PM race.  The real racers will take the course after that.

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Posted in Racing, Rides | 2 Comments »

Great teammates and a dangerous Volvo

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

Yesterday I posted the race report for the weekend.  Still there was more to the weekend than just riding bikes.  There was time to spend with friends — both old and new.

Some of my mates at SC State Criterium Championships

Some of my mates at SC State Criterium Championships

This was the first opportunity for me to spend any amount of time with my new teammates.  My first race with the POA Cycling Team was a quick up and back to the River Falls road race.  Since I was a late comer to the team, I also missed the early training times.

Because of my kids’ activities on Saturday, I was unable to be there with the team for the Saturday races.  I headed down later that day with plans to join them for the afternoon races on Sunday.  So at 6 PM I rolled onto Kiawah Island to join a number of the crew.

Matt and Reece met me as I was driving onto the island.  I followed them in my car to the Kiawah Island Club where I unloaded my bike for a ride.  I just wanted to go out for a quick 30 minutes to loosen up a bit.

As I headed down the road back toward Charleston I was moving along 25 and 30 mph along the four lane divided highway through a mixed residential and commercial area.  I had spun for awhile and was now opening things up a bit.  My plan was to do several of these accelerations before heading back in.

About this time I noticed a car to my left in my peripheral vision.  It was flying up in the inside lane beside me and I could see the flashing of the right turn signal.  The car suddenly slowed and I could see the driver about to turn right – across the two lanes of traffic – and at the same time I saw the passenger grab the armrest.  The driver made a move on the wheel and I saw the car swerve toward me and then brake.

Thinking back, I tried to figure out what I might have done wrong as I continued along my way with the driver’s horn blaring behind me.  I was traveling along the white line with the flow of traffic.  I made no motions to indicate any turn or change in speed.

What I think happened was the driver was wanting to make a right turn into a street off the road.  He completely misjudged the speed at which I was traveling.  He thought he could get past me and then turn into the street before I got there.  However, because I was going much faster than he thought, he didn’t make it around me soon enough.

So, why the horn?  Frankly, I think he was scared and embarrassed.  Of course, he wasn’t going to take that out on himself.  He had to aim it at the stupid cyclist – who was obeying the rules of the road.

I returned to connect with Matt and Reece before heading to the place where we would be staying the night.  There I found a good number of the crew.  Matt was working on some sort of pasta dish and Samantha was loading garlic into another one.  I had stopped by Chic-fil-a on the way down, but this looked like a worthy second dinner.

As we ate we talked about the races that day and various other topics from social media to our favorite dog chase stories. It was nice to get to know everyone a little better. Later several of the guys and gals actually sat down and watched NASCAR with me.  Now that is the beginning of a great relationship!

Cycling is a team sport.  The POA Cycling Team showed how it can work in the 35+ Masters race the next day.  Not only is it important for strategy, it is also good to have trust in the fellow riders around you.  When things get dicey, it is nice to see that teammate beside you.  Building that trust happens both on and off the bike.

Thanks for a great weekend, POA Cycling.  I appreciate you all letting me come onboard.  Here’s hoping I can get a couple of good results for the team this year.  Even if I don’t, I’ve got your back – that is unless I get taken out by a baby boomer in a Volvo.

Oh, and a huge thank you to the Petersons for opening their homes to us.

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Posted in Life, Racing | 1 Comment »

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