This is where I (kinda) blog now. It's mostly music, but there are a few bike racing goodies in there.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Monday, October 4, 2010
Bernard Hinault
"Le Blaireau" (the Badger)
Bricks.
Nails.
Jackhammer.
Bernard Hinault.
1981 Paris Roubaix. Despite his contempt for the race, he announced his win in advance. After crashing seven times on his way to the Roubaix velodrome, he bested Roger DeVlaminck, "Mr. Paris-Roubaix," and four others with an insanely long kick for the victory in rainbow stripes.
Bricks.
The Badger rode to victory in the 1985 Tour de France with a broken nose.
Post-retirement guardian of the podium.
"I slept like a baby the night before, because I knew that I'd win the next day."
1985 TdF.
"As long as I breathe, I attack."
Clearing the road of protesters mid-race. The only pro cyclist I've ever seen who looks like he can throw a good punch.
Clearing the podium once again. Do not mess with the Badger.
1980 Liege-Bastonge-Liege. Wins solo by ten minutes in a blizzard. Tough as nails.
“I attack when I’m tired. In that way no one knows I’m tired.”
-Bernard Hinault
Monday, July 26, 2010
Blacksburg Cycling Classic
Sometimes knowing what to do and doing what you know are two very different things.
I arrived in Blacksburg on Friday afternoon with low expectations for the weekend's races due to my recent neglect of my bike. I won't go into the reasons behind that. I know I should train, but knowing and doing are different things.
The 3 Crit started around noon on Saturday. It was hot. I had a good clip-in and started the first lap second wheel behind my teammate Jacob. He eventually pulled off and after the next turn, I found that I had a small gap on the field, so I took off. I got caught about a lap after. I got dropped about a lap after that. I struggled with heartburn throughout the race and the rest of the day. I ended up finishing the race because the fields were so small. I think I finished 13th for 3 points in the omnium. The results aren't posted yet.
I rode back to my apartment and my heartburn worsened. I puked twice at the apartment and once in the parking lot before the time trial.
My TT start time was around 6:30. It was hot. I'm not sure what there is to say about a TT except that I rode hard. That's all you can do. I caught my 30 second man and the guy behind me caught me. He also caught my 30 second man. He won. I believe I got 6th place, something like 11 seconds off his time over a ten mile course. I was very proud of that result. It gives me hope that there are faint glimpses of form within me, despite my time off the bike. I puked again afterward.
The P/1/2, 3, and Masters fields were combined for the epic road race in Maggie Valley. It was hot. The race was 64 miles on a 15 mile circuit, four laps with the mountain top finish up John's Creek. I'll skip all the beginning of the race boring information, but I will say that it is such an incredibly beautiful course. There is a long fast section, a tough climb, and plenty of rollers.
I touched Justin's wheel on the first lap, but he didn't seem to notice. That was the first time I've done that in a race. It helps to concentrate. I know, but I didn't.
I got dropped up the climb about 50-55 miles in. I just didn't have the legs. I think plenty of 3s didn't. I probably had a shot at a good result in the 3s even after being dropped, but my carelessness for nutrition was looming. I completely bonked when I hit the final climb. I only had five bottles and two clif bars before I hit the the climb. That wasn't nearly enough.
Eat and drink more than you think you need. I know, but I didn't.
It was the strangest kind of failure ever. I was talking Jake King at the start of the climb. My breathing wasn't very labored. I was speaking in uninterrupted sentences when I said to Jake: "I can't do this. I have to walk." It's such an unusual feeling to not be wheezing or waiting to puke when your legs just cannot pedal any longer. I walked. I walked and I begged for water. No one could help. I walked until Jacob rode by me. I got back on my bike, hoping that I could try to ride with him for a while. I couldn't, but walking was too lonely, so I continued to ride. Soon after, Justin rode up to me after breaking his chain earlier. He gave me a huge push. I was amazed by the skill it took to push me so hard while riding up a climb like that. I tried to maintain his pace, but that only dug my grave deeper. On a hard climb, you have to ride within yourself. I know, but I didn't.
I should have used a 27 or 28 tooth cassette. I know, but I didn't.
I got off and walked again. This time walking was so hard, I didn't think I could make it on foot. I draped my upper body over my handlebars and pushed the bike up the hill with everything I had. Soon my teammate Michelle drove by offering help and encouragement. I asked if she had any water, but she didn't. I continued to walk until I came to the switchback that leads into most brutal pitch of the climb. Just after I remounted, I got a push from a stranger from Bike Works I think. At the bottom of the climb, I knew that I was malnourished and ate two clif bars in a row. I think they had caught up to me once I reached the switchback. I rode up the steepest part of the climb. After that, Michelle drove back up to me with a bottle of water. She had gone down the mountain just to get me water. I have never needed water so badly. Thank you Michelle. After some of the toughest pedal stokes of my life I made it to the top, pedaling as slow as physically possible, yet as fast as I was capable of, fighting every revolution.
Huge thanks to any friend or stranger who yelled encouraging words at me, gave me a push, water, or money for food and drink, held back laughter, or offered any other kind of help before, during, or after i walked up most the final climb today. I'll take better care of myself next time. There are good people in bike racing.
I arrived in Blacksburg on Friday afternoon with low expectations for the weekend's races due to my recent neglect of my bike. I won't go into the reasons behind that. I know I should train, but knowing and doing are different things.
The 3 Crit started around noon on Saturday. It was hot. I had a good clip-in and started the first lap second wheel behind my teammate Jacob. He eventually pulled off and after the next turn, I found that I had a small gap on the field, so I took off. I got caught about a lap after. I got dropped about a lap after that. I struggled with heartburn throughout the race and the rest of the day. I ended up finishing the race because the fields were so small. I think I finished 13th for 3 points in the omnium. The results aren't posted yet.
I rode back to my apartment and my heartburn worsened. I puked twice at the apartment and once in the parking lot before the time trial.
My TT start time was around 6:30. It was hot. I'm not sure what there is to say about a TT except that I rode hard. That's all you can do. I caught my 30 second man and the guy behind me caught me. He also caught my 30 second man. He won. I believe I got 6th place, something like 11 seconds off his time over a ten mile course. I was very proud of that result. It gives me hope that there are faint glimpses of form within me, despite my time off the bike. I puked again afterward.
The P/1/2, 3, and Masters fields were combined for the epic road race in Maggie Valley. It was hot. The race was 64 miles on a 15 mile circuit, four laps with the mountain top finish up John's Creek. I'll skip all the beginning of the race boring information, but I will say that it is such an incredibly beautiful course. There is a long fast section, a tough climb, and plenty of rollers.
I touched Justin's wheel on the first lap, but he didn't seem to notice. That was the first time I've done that in a race. It helps to concentrate. I know, but I didn't.
I got dropped up the climb about 50-55 miles in. I just didn't have the legs. I think plenty of 3s didn't. I probably had a shot at a good result in the 3s even after being dropped, but my carelessness for nutrition was looming. I completely bonked when I hit the final climb. I only had five bottles and two clif bars before I hit the the climb. That wasn't nearly enough.
Eat and drink more than you think you need. I know, but I didn't.
It was the strangest kind of failure ever. I was talking Jake King at the start of the climb. My breathing wasn't very labored. I was speaking in uninterrupted sentences when I said to Jake: "I can't do this. I have to walk." It's such an unusual feeling to not be wheezing or waiting to puke when your legs just cannot pedal any longer. I walked. I walked and I begged for water. No one could help. I walked until Jacob rode by me. I got back on my bike, hoping that I could try to ride with him for a while. I couldn't, but walking was too lonely, so I continued to ride. Soon after, Justin rode up to me after breaking his chain earlier. He gave me a huge push. I was amazed by the skill it took to push me so hard while riding up a climb like that. I tried to maintain his pace, but that only dug my grave deeper. On a hard climb, you have to ride within yourself. I know, but I didn't.
I should have used a 27 or 28 tooth cassette. I know, but I didn't.
I got off and walked again. This time walking was so hard, I didn't think I could make it on foot. I draped my upper body over my handlebars and pushed the bike up the hill with everything I had. Soon my teammate Michelle drove by offering help and encouragement. I asked if she had any water, but she didn't. I continued to walk until I came to the switchback that leads into most brutal pitch of the climb. Just after I remounted, I got a push from a stranger from Bike Works I think. At the bottom of the climb, I knew that I was malnourished and ate two clif bars in a row. I think they had caught up to me once I reached the switchback. I rode up the steepest part of the climb. After that, Michelle drove back up to me with a bottle of water. She had gone down the mountain just to get me water. I have never needed water so badly. Thank you Michelle. After some of the toughest pedal stokes of my life I made it to the top, pedaling as slow as physically possible, yet as fast as I was capable of, fighting every revolution.
Huge thanks to any friend or stranger who yelled encouraging words at me, gave me a push, water, or money for food and drink, held back laughter, or offered any other kind of help before, during, or after i walked up most the final climb today. I'll take better care of myself next time. There are good people in bike racing.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Tour of Washington County, Stage 3
Criterium.
I did not do well. I "raced" at the back for the whole race. That's no way to save energy, but I guess I'm still working on the nerves that are necessary to hold a decent position. I finished right at the back of the pack. Go figure. I won't give you a turn-by-turn report, but I will say that it was hard.
It's funny, I came into the weekend expecting that my best performance would come in the road race and my worst from the time trial. That didn't happen.
RR: Dropped. 43rd place. Lost 6 minutes.
TT: 23rd place. Lost 3 minutes.
Crit: Finished at the back. Haven't seen results yet. Probably in the 40's.
Can I TT? I only had clip-ons and I guess I did alright. I had only done two TTs before and I was pretty sure I sucked. I'm not going to say that I'm an amazing time trialist, especially since my power numbers don't support that conclusion. I will say that my TT result shows I'm strong enough to race a lot better than how I did this weekend. I'm not sure what the issue is for sure, but I hope I work it out before the end of the season.
Congrats to Greg for some solid results in his first Cat 3 race. Thanks for making the trip much more enjoyable.
I did not do well. I "raced" at the back for the whole race. That's no way to save energy, but I guess I'm still working on the nerves that are necessary to hold a decent position. I finished right at the back of the pack. Go figure. I won't give you a turn-by-turn report, but I will say that it was hard.
It's funny, I came into the weekend expecting that my best performance would come in the road race and my worst from the time trial. That didn't happen.
RR: Dropped. 43rd place. Lost 6 minutes.
TT: 23rd place. Lost 3 minutes.
Crit: Finished at the back. Haven't seen results yet. Probably in the 40's.
Can I TT? I only had clip-ons and I guess I did alright. I had only done two TTs before and I was pretty sure I sucked. I'm not going to say that I'm an amazing time trialist, especially since my power numbers don't support that conclusion. I will say that my TT result shows I'm strong enough to race a lot better than how I did this weekend. I'm not sure what the issue is for sure, but I hope I work it out before the end of the season.
Congrats to Greg for some solid results in his first Cat 3 race. Thanks for making the trip much more enjoyable.
Tour of Washington County, Stage 2
Time Trial:
Duration: 24:48
Norm Power: 312
VI: 1
Distance: 10.174 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 822 310 watts
Cadence: 53 118 89 rpm
Speed: 13.4 35.6 24.6 mph
Pace 1:41 4:29 2:26 min/mi
That was actually pretty fun. We'll see how I did soon. I probably sucked. I caught one guy on the way back and came close to passing another. Neither of those two guys were my 30sec man though. I wonder how many seconds I could have shaved with some more TT gear...
Duration: 24:48
Norm Power: 312
VI: 1
Distance: 10.174 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 822 310 watts
Cadence: 53 118 89 rpm
Speed: 13.4 35.6 24.6 mph
Pace 1:41 4:29 2:26 min/mi
That was actually pretty fun. We'll see how I did soon. I probably sucked. I caught one guy on the way back and came close to passing another. Neither of those two guys were my 30sec man though. I wonder how many seconds I could have shaved with some more TT gear...
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Tour of Washington County, Stage 1
Road Race.
Something like 38 miles. Rolling hills. A few short steep grades.
I rolled up pretty early, pinned my numbers, and chilled out for a while. No I didn't, It was hot as hell. I don't like the hot races; no one does.
After a ten minute "warm-up," we lined up and started racing. I lost about 20-30 spots at the start. I clipped in just fine, but my nerves haven't been very solid at all since collegiate season. Speaking of that, I don't think my form has been either. Perhaps I'm just getting outclassed in stronger fields, but I think I've been suffering from a lack of intensity in my training. In the spring, I was racing twice a weekend in addition to a race-quality workouts at Wednesday Worlds. Now all I've been doing is racing once every other weekend or so. Hopefully I can build some good form by the end of the season.
Oh yeah, this is a race report. You can probably guess the ending already. So we rode around for a while. I stayed at the back because I'm riding like a girl lately. Maybe halfway through the race, I watched a break go up and grow to maybe 20 riders strong. I wasn't feeling very good, but I thought that was a make or break move. I was able to move up and make a bridge attempt. I jumped from the pack with 3 guys on my wheel. I puked trying to get up there, didn't have the gas, and the pack swallowed me before eventually reeling the break in. I was dropped shortly after.
Oh well. It's going to be just as hot tomorrow for the TT and criterium. I have no shot at the TT with clip-ons as my only aero advantage, but hopefully the legs will come out for the crit.
Something like 38 miles. Rolling hills. A few short steep grades.
I rolled up pretty early, pinned my numbers, and chilled out for a while. No I didn't, It was hot as hell. I don't like the hot races; no one does.
After a ten minute "warm-up," we lined up and started racing. I lost about 20-30 spots at the start. I clipped in just fine, but my nerves haven't been very solid at all since collegiate season. Speaking of that, I don't think my form has been either. Perhaps I'm just getting outclassed in stronger fields, but I think I've been suffering from a lack of intensity in my training. In the spring, I was racing twice a weekend in addition to a race-quality workouts at Wednesday Worlds. Now all I've been doing is racing once every other weekend or so. Hopefully I can build some good form by the end of the season.
Oh yeah, this is a race report. You can probably guess the ending already. So we rode around for a while. I stayed at the back because I'm riding like a girl lately. Maybe halfway through the race, I watched a break go up and grow to maybe 20 riders strong. I wasn't feeling very good, but I thought that was a make or break move. I was able to move up and make a bridge attempt. I jumped from the pack with 3 guys on my wheel. I puked trying to get up there, didn't have the gas, and the pack swallowed me before eventually reeling the break in. I was dropped shortly after.
Oh well. It's going to be just as hot tomorrow for the TT and criterium. I have no shot at the TT with clip-ons as my only aero advantage, but hopefully the legs will come out for the crit.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Starting Over
Well I'm a Cat3 now. It's a big deal. People know me. I can't even make a trip to the grocery store without being attacked by hordes of screaming fans. Although my life has become infinitely more glorious, Category 3 seems to provide some new challenges for self-proclaimed up-and-coming bike racers.
As usual, I'm writing with no plan for the consequence or conclusion of this post. Instead, I'm reflecting on my position in the world of bike racing to decide whether not I will race this weekend.
Upgrading to Cat3 has felt a bit like starting over for me. In my two non-collegiate races since my upgrade, I've been stuck in Pro/1/2/3 fields. Both races had 3/4 fields, but I showed up late for the first one and registered too late for the second one. Maybe 3-only fields are more common in criterium racing, but I have decided for this season that I don't want to do 5-6 hours of driving to race for one hour. This weekend, my best option to race looks like the Tour of Tucker County in West Virginia. This race has no 3/4 or 3 field, so the 1/2/3 field is my only option. This race has three seven mile climbs and a mountain top finish, so I would doubt my chances even in a Cat4 field. As I have learned from the Poolesville Road Race, a 1/2/3 road race is not a question of if I get dropped, but when I get dropped (most likely the first climb). I feel like a Cat5 again and it's hard to be motivated to race this way. I simply can't mix it up with the Harley's and Haymarket's of the world yet.
I'm not frustrated; I know I can get to this level. I just put in my biggest training week ever with over 16 hours rolling (don't laugh). I need to train harder to be able to truly "race" these races. I'm not losing motivation to train, I'm only losing motivation to race sometimes because of the complications of being a Cat3. I feel like I'm stuck in the middle, but I know I wont find any forgiveness in Cat2 when the time comes. I guess this is racing. This is my welcome to the real world of road racing. I guess it starts hard and only gets harder. Everyone's favorite quote makes more sense everyday:
"It never gets easier, you just go faster."
-Greg Lemond
Like I've said, I'm happy with my progress. This time last year, I would occasionally get dropped from Cat5 fields. After dropping out of the Cat4 field at Page Valley last year, someone told me something along the lines of: "Road racing is a tough game, but you're out there doing it and that's what counts." Racing wouldn't be fun if it was easy.
I think I'm going to try to race this weekend.
Bring on the droppage.
As usual, I'm writing with no plan for the consequence or conclusion of this post. Instead, I'm reflecting on my position in the world of bike racing to decide whether not I will race this weekend.
Upgrading to Cat3 has felt a bit like starting over for me. In my two non-collegiate races since my upgrade, I've been stuck in Pro/1/2/3 fields. Both races had 3/4 fields, but I showed up late for the first one and registered too late for the second one. Maybe 3-only fields are more common in criterium racing, but I have decided for this season that I don't want to do 5-6 hours of driving to race for one hour. This weekend, my best option to race looks like the Tour of Tucker County in West Virginia. This race has no 3/4 or 3 field, so the 1/2/3 field is my only option. This race has three seven mile climbs and a mountain top finish, so I would doubt my chances even in a Cat4 field. As I have learned from the Poolesville Road Race, a 1/2/3 road race is not a question of if I get dropped, but when I get dropped (most likely the first climb). I feel like a Cat5 again and it's hard to be motivated to race this way. I simply can't mix it up with the Harley's and Haymarket's of the world yet.
I'm not frustrated; I know I can get to this level. I just put in my biggest training week ever with over 16 hours rolling (don't laugh). I need to train harder to be able to truly "race" these races. I'm not losing motivation to train, I'm only losing motivation to race sometimes because of the complications of being a Cat3. I feel like I'm stuck in the middle, but I know I wont find any forgiveness in Cat2 when the time comes. I guess this is racing. This is my welcome to the real world of road racing. I guess it starts hard and only gets harder. Everyone's favorite quote makes more sense everyday:
"It never gets easier, you just go faster."
-Greg Lemond
Like I've said, I'm happy with my progress. This time last year, I would occasionally get dropped from Cat5 fields. After dropping out of the Cat4 field at Page Valley last year, someone told me something along the lines of: "Road racing is a tough game, but you're out there doing it and that's what counts." Racing wouldn't be fun if it was easy.
I think I'm going to try to race this weekend.
Bring on the droppage.
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