My nephew, Nick, is in town for a few days visiting a college friend. It was great to see him over lunch today. Man, I remember when I was changing his diaper. Kids grow up too quick!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Nick in town
Monday, July 13, 2009
Dawg Day's Crits
After regrouping in the evening once I got home from Hagerstown, I settled in to get to the bike fixed up. I washed it good and inspected it for any cracks and visual damage. Nothing found. It appears the brunt of the force fell onto my right foot/pedal and the rear skewer. I got the shifters/bar straightened and wrapped the bars as well as a novice can do. Both wheels are out of true (can anyone help me with getting these trued back up?). This is getting expensive! The rear skewer was bent so it took a little MacGyver work to get it out of the wheel. I pulled the cracked carbon Keo right pedal off and thankfully I have the same pedals on the TT bike, so I swapped it out. I was really nervous since I couldn’t get the damn thing off for about 10 minutes. I almost gave up, but finally managed enough torque to get it off. Threw on the 808’s and the shifting seemed to be fine. It was a midnight before I wrapped it all up and I was ready for bed.
I did have thoughts about bagging the M35 race at 11:30, but I finally convinced myself that I needed to get back on the horse and get some work in. This weekend was all about riding hard and getting some race fitness back. If I completed all the races, that would make it 3 crits in less than 24 hours. I was a little bruised up, but not that bad really. Heck, not many chances come along where you can line up with the likes of Chuck, Ramon, SuperDave, etc, etc.
I spotted Joe in the lot and said hello. I was really glad he was there. It’s a little nerve rattling when you are entering these M35 races solo. I didn’t really have any expectations. Joe gave me a little advice and suggested I try to work on staying at the front of the group and get some work. See how it feels. That’s pretty much what I did.
I don’t know how many starters there were, but I’d guess ~25-30. Although the course wasn’t selective, it quickly became apparent that the attacks were. In a small, powerful field there really is nowhere to hide. Two guys shot off the front right away, Warno & Hoover I believe. Somehow, I found myself up toward the front and began marking attacks. My legs felt pretty good. It seemed pretty strung out for much of the time. My peak 30s (676w), 1min (594) & 2min (492) all came within the first 2 minutes of the race. Yowza.
It was sort of weird. I found myself a few times chasing down attacks. Getting on the wheel and then pulling through. BUT, I started to notice a trend. When it was only me marking an attack, they’d sit up and I ended being in no man’s land. It occurred a couple of other times with various riders throughout the race. I will admit that it was sort of a highlight of mine to have the opportunity to chase behind Chuck a few times. Thinking back, I think it was good lesson. If you attack, and the make-up of the fellow guys isn’t to your pleasing, shut it down quickly because the other attacks will be going right away. There were a few times where I went, got caught and then viscous attacks came on. I was hurting to hold on after redlining already. This has got be an art form to get it right. Very cool to experience it, although it was very painful.
Maybe ignorance is bliss. I was trying not to be bashful. I felt like I did a good job of being active in the race. I got to the front at times and tried to help keep the pace up. Everything got a little foggy about 2/3’s through, but somehow I ended up with another a guy off the front of the field. I think by now there were about 6 guys up in THE break. THE 6 guys you’d expect to be there of course. I just ask the guy to do short, hard pulls and see what happens. Eventually another ~3-5 guys joined us. We got a little sporadic and the small field finally came back. On the bell lap, I found myself toward the front. I turned to look for Joe on the backstretch and he hollered to get on his wheel. I did for a bit, but when riders started peeling off the front I had to go around the outside. I eventually got back on his wheel after the final roundabout and threw down an “on fumes” sprint. Bo was crushing it and opened up a pretty large gap.
I now know why I was completely spent during the 4 race after a one hour break.
1st 10mins of race my power was 349avg/413np. 1st 20mins 355ap/403np. 1st 30mins 336ap/384np. Entire race= 319ap/365np. Ouch
Overall, I had a great time. It was a blast. It was like a noon HP ride on steroids. It was nice to actually finish one of these M35 races after my forays at Bikejam and Clarendon Cup.
Oh, yeah, the 4 race. Honestly, I knew I was pretty wiped out, so I pretty much chilled at the back and just tried to stay out of trouble. It was fun to watch Flanagan attacking off the front. At one point, I decided to give it go. I attacked to bridge up to him, but I was totally gassed once I caught him. I brought one pretty strong ABRT guy with me, so I thought maybe he would start working with him. It didn’t work out.
I did get to witness some amazing bunny hop skills by Flanagan though. Since I was in the back, I saw the whole thing play out. I guess we were about 35 mins into the race and just after first turn, Flanagan got sandwiched onto the curb by a guy. The guy came over way to quick off his line and Flanagan had nowhere to go. It just happened to be at a parking lot entrance so he was able to hop right, but he was heading straight for the ensuing curb at 25mph+. Astonishingly, he managed to bunny hop the curb, but his rear wheel still caught the 8” curb pretty hard. He didn’t blow his tire, but at this point he was in the grass. I slowed and Michael started rolling down the sidewalk, but then his rear tire blew. I hollered to him if he wanted my wheel. This race was classified as a road race, so there wasn’t a wheel pit or free lap. He was riding well and I wanted to see him continue. We hollered at the moto ref if it was ok that I give him my wheel. Looking back, I should have just stopped and gave him my wheel. It was legal. Michael said, “no, no. Go on.” But really, I know he said that so he didn’t ruin my race. He didn’t realize how shot I was. So, I used what was left in my tank and put in a minute at like 650 watts to catch back up to the field. It was kind of funny. I think I startled the moto ref as I came by him to the back of the field. I think he had written me off. That was all she wrote. Finished with the field.
Legs are definitely a bit sore today but in a good way. I accomplished what I set out to do for the weekend and had fun. It was also good to end the weekend on a high note versus not racing after a crash.
I did have thoughts about bagging the M35 race at 11:30, but I finally convinced myself that I needed to get back on the horse and get some work in. This weekend was all about riding hard and getting some race fitness back. If I completed all the races, that would make it 3 crits in less than 24 hours. I was a little bruised up, but not that bad really. Heck, not many chances come along where you can line up with the likes of Chuck, Ramon, SuperDave, etc, etc.
I spotted Joe in the lot and said hello. I was really glad he was there. It’s a little nerve rattling when you are entering these M35 races solo. I didn’t really have any expectations. Joe gave me a little advice and suggested I try to work on staying at the front of the group and get some work. See how it feels. That’s pretty much what I did.
I don’t know how many starters there were, but I’d guess ~25-30. Although the course wasn’t selective, it quickly became apparent that the attacks were. In a small, powerful field there really is nowhere to hide. Two guys shot off the front right away, Warno & Hoover I believe. Somehow, I found myself up toward the front and began marking attacks. My legs felt pretty good. It seemed pretty strung out for much of the time. My peak 30s (676w), 1min (594) & 2min (492) all came within the first 2 minutes of the race. Yowza.
It was sort of weird. I found myself a few times chasing down attacks. Getting on the wheel and then pulling through. BUT, I started to notice a trend. When it was only me marking an attack, they’d sit up and I ended being in no man’s land. It occurred a couple of other times with various riders throughout the race. I will admit that it was sort of a highlight of mine to have the opportunity to chase behind Chuck a few times. Thinking back, I think it was good lesson. If you attack, and the make-up of the fellow guys isn’t to your pleasing, shut it down quickly because the other attacks will be going right away. There were a few times where I went, got caught and then viscous attacks came on. I was hurting to hold on after redlining already. This has got be an art form to get it right. Very cool to experience it, although it was very painful.
Maybe ignorance is bliss. I was trying not to be bashful. I felt like I did a good job of being active in the race. I got to the front at times and tried to help keep the pace up. Everything got a little foggy about 2/3’s through, but somehow I ended up with another a guy off the front of the field. I think by now there were about 6 guys up in THE break. THE 6 guys you’d expect to be there of course. I just ask the guy to do short, hard pulls and see what happens. Eventually another ~3-5 guys joined us. We got a little sporadic and the small field finally came back. On the bell lap, I found myself toward the front. I turned to look for Joe on the backstretch and he hollered to get on his wheel. I did for a bit, but when riders started peeling off the front I had to go around the outside. I eventually got back on his wheel after the final roundabout and threw down an “on fumes” sprint. Bo was crushing it and opened up a pretty large gap.
I now know why I was completely spent during the 4 race after a one hour break.
1st 10mins of race my power was 349avg/413np. 1st 20mins 355ap/403np. 1st 30mins 336ap/384np. Entire race= 319ap/365np. Ouch
Overall, I had a great time. It was a blast. It was like a noon HP ride on steroids. It was nice to actually finish one of these M35 races after my forays at Bikejam and Clarendon Cup.
Oh, yeah, the 4 race. Honestly, I knew I was pretty wiped out, so I pretty much chilled at the back and just tried to stay out of trouble. It was fun to watch Flanagan attacking off the front. At one point, I decided to give it go. I attacked to bridge up to him, but I was totally gassed once I caught him. I brought one pretty strong ABRT guy with me, so I thought maybe he would start working with him. It didn’t work out.
I did get to witness some amazing bunny hop skills by Flanagan though. Since I was in the back, I saw the whole thing play out. I guess we were about 35 mins into the race and just after first turn, Flanagan got sandwiched onto the curb by a guy. The guy came over way to quick off his line and Flanagan had nowhere to go. It just happened to be at a parking lot entrance so he was able to hop right, but he was heading straight for the ensuing curb at 25mph+. Astonishingly, he managed to bunny hop the curb, but his rear wheel still caught the 8” curb pretty hard. He didn’t blow his tire, but at this point he was in the grass. I slowed and Michael started rolling down the sidewalk, but then his rear tire blew. I hollered to him if he wanted my wheel. This race was classified as a road race, so there wasn’t a wheel pit or free lap. He was riding well and I wanted to see him continue. We hollered at the moto ref if it was ok that I give him my wheel. Looking back, I should have just stopped and gave him my wheel. It was legal. Michael said, “no, no. Go on.” But really, I know he said that so he didn’t ruin my race. He didn’t realize how shot I was. So, I used what was left in my tank and put in a minute at like 650 watts to catch back up to the field. It was kind of funny. I think I startled the moto ref as I came by him to the back of the field. I think he had written me off. That was all she wrote. Finished with the field.
Legs are definitely a bit sore today but in a good way. I accomplished what I set out to do for the weekend and had fun. It was also good to end the weekend on a high note versus not racing after a crash.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Hagerstown Crit cat 4
Short version:
Preface- just got home. Showered and pounded 2 French martini's. I used to be a big martini guy and now I know why...senses are a little tingly.
Race Goal: just ride freaking hard to get some fitness back. If I place well, so be it.
The race was set for 60 mins. An enormous storm ripped through right as we are lined up to start. Official decides to postpone start for 30 mins. Good call. It rained HARD for about 20 minutes. Flanagan and I sat in the car and shot the sh!t. Rain stops and we are called to the line right away. I hit the porto-loo instead of going for an ez lap as everyone else...real motive was to get back to the line so I could be on the front.
Photos courtesy of Jim Wilson:
Race starts and I just made sure I was in top 5 or drilling it at the front for the first 30 mins or so. There were roughly 45 guys starting and the race finally whittled down to ~15 or so finishers, so I like to think I helped shorten a few folks day. Turn 2 proved fatal for lots of guys since folks were sliding out on it all race. I just made sure to keep things safe and wheels up.
With 2 to go, the pace became absurdly slow on that lap. I decided what the hell right before the bell lap. I attacked hard from the back and shot off the front right coming across S/F with nobody on my wheel. As I approached turn 2, somehow a car had snuck on the course and was sitting right at the intersection of turn 3 which is a short hop right after turn 2. I was like, "uh, oh!" I slowed up as the driver was getting yelled at and was doing some move forward/brake yo-yo. I was able to sneak right behind the bumper through the turn. I don't know why, but my first thought was, "I don't think it's fair to keep attacking since I could hear the field yelling all sorts of stuff behind me and if that car hadn’t moved, very few were getting through." I probably had 4-5 seconds at that point. What did I do? I let up going down to turn 4. Why? I don't know, but I guess I thought it was the gentlemanly thing to do. I seriously didn't think the field would get through, but I guess the car got out of the way at the last moment for them. So, a few riders finally catch back on right after turn 4, one of which is really drilling it. I think, "ok, I'll just see what I have left for a sprint." Right after the chicane, I'm hugging the right curb (MAYBE a foot off of it) a couple of wheels back from what I recall when, WHAMO! A guy decides to sprint past between me and the curb. WHY? I don't know. There was no way there was space for that move. We had the whole road. Well, right as I hear on your right, then bam. Front handlebars go sideways and I'm flying across the ground. Take out the guy next me as well. Great!
Bike's all jack upped and my shifters now look they went through a war. I think I can get it fixed tonight for Dawg days. I hope. I have some road rash in almost the identical spots as I got at TofW. Sweet. Tegaderms patches are plentiful at the household.
A couple guys who were behind and witnessed the whole thing came by afterward and said they couldn't believe what they just saw. One said he was behind me and doesn’t know how his pedal missed my head. The guy, Andrew, did come back to apologize. It was big of him. Was I pissed, sure. Did I yell at him, no. What do I think? Folks make bad decisions all the time. Am I perfect, no. I’m sure he will be harder on himself more than anything else I could have said. I just hope he learns from it. It’s just a race. We all have jobs and families to attend to. Thankfully, everyone walked away.
The quick positives of the day. Flanagan and I bought a case of Rockstar sugar free energy cans for $20 while we were leaving. The volunteers were stuck with a bunch of it after the event and were offering a great deal! And, since Flanagan and I rode up together, it was good to shoot the breeze about life.
Preface- just got home. Showered and pounded 2 French martini's. I used to be a big martini guy and now I know why...senses are a little tingly.
Race Goal: just ride freaking hard to get some fitness back. If I place well, so be it.
The race was set for 60 mins. An enormous storm ripped through right as we are lined up to start. Official decides to postpone start for 30 mins. Good call. It rained HARD for about 20 minutes. Flanagan and I sat in the car and shot the sh!t. Rain stops and we are called to the line right away. I hit the porto-loo instead of going for an ez lap as everyone else...real motive was to get back to the line so I could be on the front.
Photos courtesy of Jim Wilson:
Race starts and I just made sure I was in top 5 or drilling it at the front for the first 30 mins or so. There were roughly 45 guys starting and the race finally whittled down to ~15 or so finishers, so I like to think I helped shorten a few folks day. Turn 2 proved fatal for lots of guys since folks were sliding out on it all race. I just made sure to keep things safe and wheels up.
With 2 to go, the pace became absurdly slow on that lap. I decided what the hell right before the bell lap. I attacked hard from the back and shot off the front right coming across S/F with nobody on my wheel. As I approached turn 2, somehow a car had snuck on the course and was sitting right at the intersection of turn 3 which is a short hop right after turn 2. I was like, "uh, oh!" I slowed up as the driver was getting yelled at and was doing some move forward/brake yo-yo. I was able to sneak right behind the bumper through the turn. I don't know why, but my first thought was, "I don't think it's fair to keep attacking since I could hear the field yelling all sorts of stuff behind me and if that car hadn’t moved, very few were getting through." I probably had 4-5 seconds at that point. What did I do? I let up going down to turn 4. Why? I don't know, but I guess I thought it was the gentlemanly thing to do. I seriously didn't think the field would get through, but I guess the car got out of the way at the last moment for them. So, a few riders finally catch back on right after turn 4, one of which is really drilling it. I think, "ok, I'll just see what I have left for a sprint." Right after the chicane, I'm hugging the right curb (MAYBE a foot off of it) a couple of wheels back from what I recall when, WHAMO! A guy decides to sprint past between me and the curb. WHY? I don't know. There was no way there was space for that move. We had the whole road. Well, right as I hear on your right, then bam. Front handlebars go sideways and I'm flying across the ground. Take out the guy next me as well. Great!
Bike's all jack upped and my shifters now look they went through a war. I think I can get it fixed tonight for Dawg days. I hope. I have some road rash in almost the identical spots as I got at TofW. Sweet. Tegaderms patches are plentiful at the household.
A couple guys who were behind and witnessed the whole thing came by afterward and said they couldn't believe what they just saw. One said he was behind me and doesn’t know how his pedal missed my head. The guy, Andrew, did come back to apologize. It was big of him. Was I pissed, sure. Did I yell at him, no. What do I think? Folks make bad decisions all the time. Am I perfect, no. I’m sure he will be harder on himself more than anything else I could have said. I just hope he learns from it. It’s just a race. We all have jobs and families to attend to. Thankfully, everyone walked away.
The quick positives of the day. Flanagan and I bought a case of Rockstar sugar free energy cans for $20 while we were leaving. The volunteers were stuck with a bunch of it after the event and were offering a great deal! And, since Flanagan and I rode up together, it was good to shoot the breeze about life.
Friday, July 10, 2009
5 year Anniversary
Today is a big day! Igda and I are celebrating our 5 year anniversary. Woo-hoo! Here’s to many great years to come!
Also, I know it may sound a little weird as an anniversary present, but I arranged for her 12 year old brother to come visit for 3 weeks beginning next Thursday. We love having Emi with us so we are both looking forward to having him here with us, especially Igda.
Heading up to Hagerstown tomorrow for a crit race in the afternoon and then I’m hoping to do two races on Sunday in Darnesville, MD. I’m trying to get my racing legs back after some time off the bike.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Vacation!
Igda and I are heading out now for some R&R up at Deep Creek Maryland through Sunday. I’m looking forward to it! Happy 4th!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Not a good sign
I dropped my bike off at Conte's on Monday to get the rear wheel trued along with a few other items fixed from my spill during the crit race. The wrench called me and asked me what the heck happened and that I needed a new rear tire? When he was removing the tire he noticed the bead had separated from the tire. I'm not sure if this was the cause of my slide out or not, but it's certainly not a good confidence booster for running Pro 3's. Here's the pic of the tire:
Work has been going berzerk this week. I haven't ridden all week. I may end up working all weekend so I can go on vacation next week. Grrr. Who knows? I may try to get to the RTC if nothing more to help a teammate.
Work has been going berzerk this week. I haven't ridden all week. I may end up working all weekend so I can go on vacation next week. Grrr. Who knows? I may try to get to the RTC if nothing more to help a teammate.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Tour of Washington County (TofW) weekend
I will readily admit, I was pretty excited about my chances of doing really well at TofW. I think a stage race format suits me fairly well especially since this race was going to be based on time and it included an individual time trial.
During the week leading up to the race, we had some interesting discussions within the team. Like most teams, we started the process of identifying our roles, laying out strategy and establishing a battle plan for the weekend.
I’m going to regress for a bit here, but one of the primary reasons I joined WWVC was that the underlying philosophy of our racing strategy generally always puts an emphasis on team over individual accomplishments. Plus, I really liked the guys I had met and enjoyed racing with them. There’s one interesting dynamic to racing as a team which I hadn’t really given much thought to before TofW. It involves putting ego and ambitions aside to view the big picture for what we want to accomplish. I tend to think that many people and teams place a big emphasis on personal results. Heck, the way things are setup for upgrading, it basically drives this home. No fault of anyone really, but the system doesn’t always reward those team members who day in and day sacrifice themselves so others get the glory. It takes a lot for someone to risk blowing up during a race in order to set the chess pieces in place for a possible victory for the team at the line. Quite honestly, I don’t see this all that much. But the teams that do well always appear to sacrifice. Similar to DC Velo at RSR where I think 3 or 4 guys came in DFL. Those guys gave it their all to keep the pace hot and heavy. Personal results didn’t matter. You won’t see that in the results, but if you are watching someone sacrifice like that in a race it’s so cool to see. It’s motivation to do well. It commands total respect. Maybe even more than actually watching the finishing sprint. You don’t see a lot of books or literature tailored to this unselfish attribute. It’s generally all about how “you” can win.
Well to make a long story short, I believe we grew as a team throughout our preparation and racing at TofW. Sure, it took us a bit to get there, but in the end, all of the discussion eventually led back to the interest of the team. It was healthy for us. Everyone laid out their expectations and what they were willing to sacrifice to put the team first. That’s all that mattered.
For the first time, I was designated as the “main effort” to win GC. I’ll admit, I was a little nervous going in. There’s a bit more weight to carry when you know everyone is sacrificing so you can do well. I knew I had the fitness to do well. I just needed to command the confidence within myself to do it.
Saturday’s Road Race:
I have to give General Gus a lot of credit. He called how this race was going to go down to a tee. He did an admirable job making sure it happened as well. We expected the field to whittle down with about 15-20 guys going to the line. We had a good idea BikeRack had similar ambitions. My only interest was making sure nobody got any time gaps other than finishing time bonuses. I was pretty confident I could take back any time bonuses plus some during the time trial. My main objective was to make sure I finished with the lead group and not spend any energy unnecessarily. With Gus, Chris and Ryan all contributing at the front, I really didn’t have anything to worry about. A break wasn’t going to get away. As planned, I rolled across the line 7th in the RR, losing a few seconds + some time bonuses to the top 3. No biggie. Race #1 over and we’re positioned right where we wanted to be. My legs felt really good afterward.
Sunday morning TT:
I slept like crap. I could not stop thinking about the TT. I’ll admit, knowing when it’s your time to shine puts a little more weight on the mind. I tried to stay positive and focus on what I know I can do versus worrying about the competition. I knew there were a couple guys who can ride a TT well, but I just needed to focus on what I could control.
When I started my warm-up, I knew it was a good day. My legs were fine. I worked on mentally pumping myself beforehand. No pressure. This was just another training day. Do what you know you can do. Heck, before I knew it, I was lined up and getting ready to go.
I knew going out was going to be faster with the wind so I dialed it back a bit, but still pushed pretty hard up the rollers. I wasn’t sure how bad the wind would be coming back and I didn’t want to risk a blow up since that would be more costly than trying to make early time with the wind.
My estimate to the turnaround:
Duration: 14:09
Work: 271 kJ
TSS: 21.7 (intensity factor 0.959)
Norm Power: 331
VI: 1.04
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 6.241 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 833 319 watts
Cadence: 36 118 101 rpm
Speed: 10.3 39.5 26.4 mph
Turnaround to finish:
Duration: 13:26
Work: 267 kJ
TSS: 21.4 (intensity factor 0.978)
Norm Power: 337
VI: 1.02
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 5.825 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 716 331 watts
Cadence: 62 116 97 rpm
Speed: 11.4 36.7 26.0 mph
My last minute and a half was right at 400w avg, so I think I may have left a little out there, but all in all it was a good effort and I was pleased with it. The finish came a little quicker than I expected. I forgot the finish line was before the start. Finishing time: 27:34. Good enough for first, and more importantly, I took some big time on the primary GC threats. After a little warm down, I was happy to feel like my legs were in good shape. Race #2 over and I’m exactly where I planned to be.
Sunday Noon Crit:
ONE WORD – “DRAMA”!!! And it was all totally self-induced!
I had a pretty good idea after speaking with the other top GC guys that I was most likely in the lead. By exactly how much was a little unknown until about ~10-15 minutes before the start of the crit. When I finally had a chance to sneak a peek, I saw that Stu (ABRT) was in second and he was going to have to get every time bonus and win the crit to beat me. It was a pretty good feeling but I knew I still needed to be attentive throughout the race.
Maybe it was a sign of foreshadowing, but as I was setting up at the WWVC tent, the older gentleman living at the house came out and we chatted. He told me about 5 times as he pointed to the last corner, “There were a lot of wrecks last year at the corner.” Yeah, Yeah, I get it. Gus also repeated *warnings* about that damn corner and recounted the Bracken finish last year. Little did I know then that the WWVC curse was waiting to rear its ugly head.
The plan was pretty simple as Gus and I chatted. Stay near the front the entire race. Stay out of trouble! Cool. No problem. I didn’t need to contest any of the bonus points throughout so I bowed out of the BikeRack rampage for those. I was happy to see them gobbling them up. Kudos to Tim Brown for his aggressive racing and win. I could see Stu was working hard to grab those as well, so props to you to Stu.
Gus did a great job of keeping me on the ledge as we rolled by each other during the race. “Stay cool. You’re right where you need to be, etc.” He even chastised me for even thinking about bridging up to a small group. All in all, I pretty much made the race as boring for myself as possible. At least that’s what it felt like. I never really got too concerned since the pace was fairly tame. Gus and Chris did a great job at the beginning to help set the tempo of the race.
Great, the final lap. All I need to do is cross the line. I believe I was sitting around 5th wheel or so going into the last corner. And then the unthinkable happened. I slid out. As you’d expect, it all happened so fast that I don’t remember exactly how it played out. I’d been pretty happy taking that corner a little wide and on the outside for 27 times. I remember feeling like I was ready to push down on the pedal to accelerate and then whamo. I’m on the ground. It actually felt like my rear wheel slid out. One NCVC guy behind me pretty much fell on top of me. I spoke to him afterward and naturally apologized. He came through unscathed which was good. The thoughts and emotions running through my mind at that point were pretty much indescribable. It was a mix of “this isn’t really happening” and “F—k, get on your bike and get across that line!” Unbelievable. I tried jumping on the bike but the chain was all twisted so I had to get that back on. The rear wheel was out of true, but it finally started rolling. Those final last yards felt like an eternity. I was embarrassed, sad and absolutely ripping myself up for the stupidity. I let the team down. I let myself down. It was about the worst I’d ever felt in a sporting competition.
At first I thought I’d blown the GC lead. The ever level headed Gus began talking me off the ledge. Once he spoke to the officials, they said that under the Stage Race rules I was scored as the “same time” as the pack. Holy crap. Talk about running the gauntlet of emotions!
In the end, I held on to win the GC over Stu (13 seconds back). Damn, what a day. I never want to go through that again.
Gus, Chris & Ryan – Thank you all for your hard work and towing the line! Gus, you were a phenomenal DS and congrats on your 8th GC place. Chris, you were a rock out there and I enjoyed our time together. Ryan, it meant a lot to me that you braved through the Saturday race and didn’t give up. Having you there for support is what counted. Forgive me for the dramatic ending, but I wouldn’t be at the top without you guys. Thanks again!
During the week leading up to the race, we had some interesting discussions within the team. Like most teams, we started the process of identifying our roles, laying out strategy and establishing a battle plan for the weekend.
I’m going to regress for a bit here, but one of the primary reasons I joined WWVC was that the underlying philosophy of our racing strategy generally always puts an emphasis on team over individual accomplishments. Plus, I really liked the guys I had met and enjoyed racing with them. There’s one interesting dynamic to racing as a team which I hadn’t really given much thought to before TofW. It involves putting ego and ambitions aside to view the big picture for what we want to accomplish. I tend to think that many people and teams place a big emphasis on personal results. Heck, the way things are setup for upgrading, it basically drives this home. No fault of anyone really, but the system doesn’t always reward those team members who day in and day sacrifice themselves so others get the glory. It takes a lot for someone to risk blowing up during a race in order to set the chess pieces in place for a possible victory for the team at the line. Quite honestly, I don’t see this all that much. But the teams that do well always appear to sacrifice. Similar to DC Velo at RSR where I think 3 or 4 guys came in DFL. Those guys gave it their all to keep the pace hot and heavy. Personal results didn’t matter. You won’t see that in the results, but if you are watching someone sacrifice like that in a race it’s so cool to see. It’s motivation to do well. It commands total respect. Maybe even more than actually watching the finishing sprint. You don’t see a lot of books or literature tailored to this unselfish attribute. It’s generally all about how “you” can win.
Well to make a long story short, I believe we grew as a team throughout our preparation and racing at TofW. Sure, it took us a bit to get there, but in the end, all of the discussion eventually led back to the interest of the team. It was healthy for us. Everyone laid out their expectations and what they were willing to sacrifice to put the team first. That’s all that mattered.
For the first time, I was designated as the “main effort” to win GC. I’ll admit, I was a little nervous going in. There’s a bit more weight to carry when you know everyone is sacrificing so you can do well. I knew I had the fitness to do well. I just needed to command the confidence within myself to do it.
Saturday’s Road Race:
I have to give General Gus a lot of credit. He called how this race was going to go down to a tee. He did an admirable job making sure it happened as well. We expected the field to whittle down with about 15-20 guys going to the line. We had a good idea BikeRack had similar ambitions. My only interest was making sure nobody got any time gaps other than finishing time bonuses. I was pretty confident I could take back any time bonuses plus some during the time trial. My main objective was to make sure I finished with the lead group and not spend any energy unnecessarily. With Gus, Chris and Ryan all contributing at the front, I really didn’t have anything to worry about. A break wasn’t going to get away. As planned, I rolled across the line 7th in the RR, losing a few seconds + some time bonuses to the top 3. No biggie. Race #1 over and we’re positioned right where we wanted to be. My legs felt really good afterward.
Sunday morning TT:
I slept like crap. I could not stop thinking about the TT. I’ll admit, knowing when it’s your time to shine puts a little more weight on the mind. I tried to stay positive and focus on what I know I can do versus worrying about the competition. I knew there were a couple guys who can ride a TT well, but I just needed to focus on what I could control.
When I started my warm-up, I knew it was a good day. My legs were fine. I worked on mentally pumping myself beforehand. No pressure. This was just another training day. Do what you know you can do. Heck, before I knew it, I was lined up and getting ready to go.
I knew going out was going to be faster with the wind so I dialed it back a bit, but still pushed pretty hard up the rollers. I wasn’t sure how bad the wind would be coming back and I didn’t want to risk a blow up since that would be more costly than trying to make early time with the wind.
My estimate to the turnaround:
Duration: 14:09
Work: 271 kJ
TSS: 21.7 (intensity factor 0.959)
Norm Power: 331
VI: 1.04
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 6.241 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 833 319 watts
Cadence: 36 118 101 rpm
Speed: 10.3 39.5 26.4 mph
Turnaround to finish:
Duration: 13:26
Work: 267 kJ
TSS: 21.4 (intensity factor 0.978)
Norm Power: 337
VI: 1.02
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 5.825 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 716 331 watts
Cadence: 62 116 97 rpm
Speed: 11.4 36.7 26.0 mph
My last minute and a half was right at 400w avg, so I think I may have left a little out there, but all in all it was a good effort and I was pleased with it. The finish came a little quicker than I expected. I forgot the finish line was before the start. Finishing time: 27:34. Good enough for first, and more importantly, I took some big time on the primary GC threats. After a little warm down, I was happy to feel like my legs were in good shape. Race #2 over and I’m exactly where I planned to be.
Sunday Noon Crit:
ONE WORD – “DRAMA”!!! And it was all totally self-induced!
I had a pretty good idea after speaking with the other top GC guys that I was most likely in the lead. By exactly how much was a little unknown until about ~10-15 minutes before the start of the crit. When I finally had a chance to sneak a peek, I saw that Stu (ABRT) was in second and he was going to have to get every time bonus and win the crit to beat me. It was a pretty good feeling but I knew I still needed to be attentive throughout the race.
Maybe it was a sign of foreshadowing, but as I was setting up at the WWVC tent, the older gentleman living at the house came out and we chatted. He told me about 5 times as he pointed to the last corner, “There were a lot of wrecks last year at the corner.” Yeah, Yeah, I get it. Gus also repeated *warnings* about that damn corner and recounted the Bracken finish last year. Little did I know then that the WWVC curse was waiting to rear its ugly head.
The plan was pretty simple as Gus and I chatted. Stay near the front the entire race. Stay out of trouble! Cool. No problem. I didn’t need to contest any of the bonus points throughout so I bowed out of the BikeRack rampage for those. I was happy to see them gobbling them up. Kudos to Tim Brown for his aggressive racing and win. I could see Stu was working hard to grab those as well, so props to you to Stu.
Gus did a great job of keeping me on the ledge as we rolled by each other during the race. “Stay cool. You’re right where you need to be, etc.” He even chastised me for even thinking about bridging up to a small group. All in all, I pretty much made the race as boring for myself as possible. At least that’s what it felt like. I never really got too concerned since the pace was fairly tame. Gus and Chris did a great job at the beginning to help set the tempo of the race.
Great, the final lap. All I need to do is cross the line. I believe I was sitting around 5th wheel or so going into the last corner. And then the unthinkable happened. I slid out. As you’d expect, it all happened so fast that I don’t remember exactly how it played out. I’d been pretty happy taking that corner a little wide and on the outside for 27 times. I remember feeling like I was ready to push down on the pedal to accelerate and then whamo. I’m on the ground. It actually felt like my rear wheel slid out. One NCVC guy behind me pretty much fell on top of me. I spoke to him afterward and naturally apologized. He came through unscathed which was good. The thoughts and emotions running through my mind at that point were pretty much indescribable. It was a mix of “this isn’t really happening” and “F—k, get on your bike and get across that line!” Unbelievable. I tried jumping on the bike but the chain was all twisted so I had to get that back on. The rear wheel was out of true, but it finally started rolling. Those final last yards felt like an eternity. I was embarrassed, sad and absolutely ripping myself up for the stupidity. I let the team down. I let myself down. It was about the worst I’d ever felt in a sporting competition.
At first I thought I’d blown the GC lead. The ever level headed Gus began talking me off the ledge. Once he spoke to the officials, they said that under the Stage Race rules I was scored as the “same time” as the pack. Holy crap. Talk about running the gauntlet of emotions!
In the end, I held on to win the GC over Stu (13 seconds back). Damn, what a day. I never want to go through that again.
Gus, Chris & Ryan – Thank you all for your hard work and towing the line! Gus, you were a phenomenal DS and congrats on your 8th GC place. Chris, you were a rock out there and I enjoyed our time together. Ryan, it meant a lot to me that you braved through the Saturday race and didn’t give up. Having you there for support is what counted. Forgive me for the dramatic ending, but I wouldn’t be at the top without you guys. Thanks again!
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