Coming Soon To A Corner Near You: 2010 Cascadia Crit Series

Starting this weekend is a 6-race Criterium series centered on Seattle. What else can I say but, YES!!



In years past most of these races already existed but were run separately and in different times of the year. The Brad Lewis Memorial Crit was in April last year (I think) and it rained a ton, turnout was low. But holding them in late May/early June should yield much better turnout.. (though nobody would be surprised if it does rain on at least one or two of these races - indeed it's wet here on the morning of the Woodinville crit)

These races are also being run as an Omnium, so you can accrue points be doing each race and placing well. I'm hoping for some omnium points and upgrade points during this series - so many points for the taking! Even some cash in a few of our Cat 4 races. But more than cash, I'd like to add to my 10 points (out of 20) on the we to the Cat 3 upgrade.

Anyway here are some notes about each race in the series:

Race #1: Woodinville Twilight Crit, Saturday May 29th 2010

Wide, fast and flat .8 mile, 3 corner course with approximately 15 ft of elevation per lap. Surface is good to excellent blacktop with some traffic marking turtles. Race will run clockwise on the course.

From looking at the course map & description I feel like this isn't a nasty tight crit that I excel in - sounds like a open & flat course, wide sweeping turn in lieu of turn 4 and a looong sprint from the last corner - not my kinda course . But I can't wait to do kick off this series in a few hours!

Race #2: Fremont Twilight Criterium, Sunday May 30th

Fremont Criterium is a 3 corner fast criterium. Direction will be counter clockwise. See map for more details.

This one seems more up my alley - what I imagine/hope are broken up roads, and there are two tight turns, ahh yes, this is where those of us without huge power/speed, but better handling skills, can succeed. I hope.

Race #3: Seward Park Classic, Thursday June 3rd

Located inside the Seward Park this .8 mile of a loop features smooth wide roads with one 140 degree turn and a hill approx. 200 meters long. Course direction will depend on weather day of event.

A classic indeed - in my 1+ year of racing I've done this course almost 40 times! I just hope we go clock-wise, when I seem to do better. We'll see.

Emerald Sprints, Friday June 6th

400 meters of roller racing: flat, fast and one gear!!

If (Cascadia Crit) racers can beat someone in a roller race, the next three races are free! Or if you can beat out a racer, you get $$$! I'll probably just rest though.

Race #4: Ballard Twilight Crit, Saturday June 5th

1 Kilometer - 4 corner Criterium course on city streets. On a slight side hill.

To be honest this is one of my "A" (e.g. priority) races, something that's been in my mind since racing it last year. Broken and/or uneven pavement, four 90-degree turns, this is one I want to do well at. Should be able to do better than last year's 13th placing.. then again a lot of luck goes into finishing a race like that (89 starters, 29 finishers last year!)

Race #5: Brad Lewis Memorial/Boat Street Crit, Sunday June 6th

A 3 corner technical criterium located near the University of Washington. The course distance is approximately 1K and goes in a clockwise direction. Racers will be starting on N.E. Boat St turning right onto N.E. Pacific St then turning right onto Brooklyn Ave N.E. before making their way back to thr start/finish line.

This is one I've wanted to do since about 2004, even before I started racing. I've gone and watched it a few times, including in 2008, and it's always a blast to watch. The laps are pretty quick and you get to see lots of action.

The 2010 BLMC is also the race my team (Recycled Cycles) is putting on, so I get to volunteer in my first race! Actually kind of excited to get a chance to "give back" to the racing community, as well as looking forward to doing the 4/5's race without much of a warm-up.

Race #6: Tacoma Twilight Crit, Saturday June 12th

This is an exciting 8 corner course going in a counter clockwise direction. See course map for details!

A little further outside of town, but the end of the series and eight corners?! I'll try to be there, sounds like a blast.

So yeah, crit season is here and now's your chance to get in on the action! In the words of former president Bush: "Bring it on."

See you on the road!

Wenatchee Omnium 2010: First Podium!

The Wenatchee Omnium had been on my calendar for a few months, and since it was a relatively big regional event I made it an "A" race, e.g. one that I targeted specifically. Besides planning to crush souls there I also trained for it by building up in the weeks leading to it and then tapering off a bit in the last few days before it.

I figured an overall win was out of my reach since the TT isn't my strongest race, and I'm not so hot racing up a 5-mile climb either. But I figured I could squeeze some points out of the criterium by getting a top 6 in it.

Saturday AM: 9 mile Time Trial

Josh & I had ridden the out-and-back TT course the day before, which was great so we could see just what we had in store, given it wasn't completely flat, but instead featured some rolling hills. And wind. He pointed out the tailwind on the way out and how it's apparently always like that around here.. while this makes for a fun out-leg, the return trip is a bit slower..

A shot of the road out to the TT:


It was about 10 miles outside of town, and since Josh's Cat 3 race wasn't until way later in the day, I just rode out to the start for a good warm-up. It was a perfect day, not too hot, and sure enough the same wind out of the west was there.

Got to the start with plenty of time, and went to the parking lot to find Todd & JC, along with other team mates. After some chit chat I went back out on to Malaga-Alcoa Hwy and got in an OK warm-up, but I've really not been giving them enough attention, especially when it comes to TT's.

Noting that it was close to start time for me (9:18) I somehow got there with about a minute to spare, jumping in front of the line of riders waiting to go off. Just in time, that'll get the heart pumping!

After an OK start I was off, not having any power data since the batteries were out and I'd yet to replace them, just going off of heart rate. I felt pretty good on the way out, and kept the HR around 171 or so, though looking back I should have paced harder on the way out given the downhill-ishness of the course and the tailwind.

I had my 30-second man in sight, and was gaining on him as I went. As we came to the turn-around cone at 4.5 miles I was perhaps only a few bike-lengths behind him! But as we turned around the headwind and uphill slopes hit and I no longer felt like I was putting in good time. In fact, I wasn't! Whether or not pacing was good on the way out, I just couldn't push hard enough to gain on my guy without red-lining. Probably due to bad aero (only using clip-ons) and not enough (functional) threshold.

In the end I lost contact with the 30 second guy and was never passed, passed a few others, which pretty much says it was an average TT. It was. 23:51 or something for 25th place... lots of room for improvement there! (the winner in Cat 4 was 21-minutes and some change)

Saturday PM: 25-minute Criterium

For me this was the real chance for points and maybe even a win. Our hotel was a few blocks from the downtown crit course so I got a chance to check out the Cat 5 race, and get a feel for the course which I hadn't seen before.

The marshal at corner 2 said he'd specifically requested that corner since it's "where all the action is" - and by action he meant crashes! I could see why, it was all cracked with two sewage-covers with nice big tire-size holes in them. One guy at the corner, who was apparently also one of the race organizers, was giving me tips on how to come through tight in the corner - which was not what we were watching the 5's do. They were taking a slower, perhaps safer, outside line that sent you over the same cracks anyway. Something to think about when I raced later at 4:25 or so.

Here's a few shots of corner 2 so you can get a feel:


And a shot of the broken-up pavement & manhole covers...




Actually the races were running behind, which made me think I had more time than I did to warm up, which put me at the back of the pack. Lined up next to a team mate JC, and we joked about how bad our TT times were, and I told him that's OK, this is the race for us! He's also pretty good at crits and I was happy to have him in the race.

The whistle was blown and we were off - well, some of us were. A few rows up at least one guy couldn't clip in, and was stuck looking down at their feet, fumbling to clip in. The opposite of a good start in a crit, but I've gotten pretty good at going around them at the start of crits.

Settled into the middle of the pack or so, and got a feel for the course. The 5% downhill leading into corner 2 gave you plenty of speed to just jam over all the cracks and stuff, but boy did our bikes make some interesting noises there! It took confidence in your equipment and cornering ability to make it over that corner without slowing each lap.

In fact that nasty corner was where I made up the most ground each time, taking the inside line just as the organizer had earlier suggested. Then on the (also rough) back stretch we would jam at a good 27-30 mph, hitting the 3rd turn into a 5% uphill that had its share of cracks in it.

Coming up the hill on the backside into corner 4 my rear wheel was skipping around almost every time, looking bad I should have just stayed seated there. And I liked taking the outside line there, instead of jamming up the inside and coming into the turn slower.

After the uphill and fourth corner, it was on to the home stretch, a slight 1% uphill grade. I just hung on for the first few laps, since my warm-up wasn't quite good enough and the start of this race hurt more than it should have.

After recovering a little, I decided it was time to move up - only 25 minutes of racing to be done here, so there wasn't a ton of time to set up for the end. So about halfway through the race I used the wide-open home stretch to jump and move up to the top 10 of the pack. Looking back this little effort was enough to set up for the later podium, and without it I would have had to work harder later or come in 10th place.

Now in the top 10 I even found my way to the pointy end of the race a few times, leading our pack through the finish straight. When that happened I would make sure not to do too much work, since there was a headwind there and there was no point in doing a bunch of work to make us all faster for that little stretch. Sometimes it felt ridiculously slow at the front, but I reminded myself it was about me resting and being in a good spot, not looking strong.

The last five or so laps came, and I just maintained my spot in the top 5-10. One guy tried to get a break-away going, or something, but nobody wanted (or could) go with him.

One lap to go, and we're all still together. Turn three comes, and I'm in the top five! In pain and at or above 185 bpm, but I remind myself there's less than a minute left, how bad could it be? Turn four comes, the final turn, and it's time for the straight-away. The home stretch!

The announcer was yelling of course but I didn't hear anything, it was all I could do to keep the pedals turning and just shoot for the line. Passed one or two guys (I think) on the way to the line, and saw the guy in front of me let up a bit, but it was too late.

But I came in 3rd in the end! Yay for me, all this training and racing finally paid off, though it wasn't a win.. that's next on the radar, and well within reach I think.

Was sitting 5th overall GC after the TT/Crit, but knew the RR the next day was gonna be tough.

Sunday AM: 44-mile Road Race

Oh boy, what to say here? There was a five-mile climb (5.5% avg. grade) and I got dropped going up it the first time (we were only doing two laps). Great views, but dammit it hurt going up! Pretty fun going down, but could only get up to 45 mph or so, no real super speeds on the way down. Rode with some stragglers and chatted a bit, finished the ride to not get a DNF (don't have any so far).

Came in 34th (out of 55?) overall somehow, minutes behind the finishers.. not my day, that's for sure!

But was happy with the crit placing the day before, so not too big a let down, or even a surprise.

Came in 10th overall GC.

Photos & Videos

• http://genesbmx.t35.com/05-15-2010/
  
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n40fJRxZ4uI&feature=related
• http://sports.webshots.com/album/577691781Pjazzg
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/seabikr/sets/72157623953160161/ - my photos from the crit & on the way to the TT, some videos too.
  

(sorry for getting this post out a week late, I've been lazy!)

Getting Ready for the Wenatchee Omnium

This weekend is another multi-day race, the Wenatchee Omnium. I like the multi-day races since I hope I have a little advantage in the recovery from day-to-day riding given my randonneur background. (And future - I promise I'll see some of you SiR's at some point this summer!)

Stage Race vs Omnium?

Glad you asked. A stage race is ranked off of accumulated time (like le Tour or Giro), whereas an omnium is done from points. And you have to finish all stages within 20% of the winner's time in a stage race, whereas you don't even have to do all of the events in an omnium.

And to make things even more confusing, this race is labeled the "Wenatchee Valley Velo Omnium Stage Race 2010" - anyway this is an omnium we're doing. You get points for each start, and points also go 10-deep for each race.

Here's what the schedule looks like:

Saturday

9 mile morning TT - I hate TT's, though I know I need to get better at 'em if I have any plans to compete in the 3's. And if I get better at TTing, perhaps that would make me better at break-aways too?

25 min afternoon criterium - I guess you could say if any of the basic formats of road bike racing (TT, crit, road race) this is the one I excel at. Shooting for at least a top 5 like at Walla Walla.

Sunday
44 mi RR - normally I go into a road race thinking there's no good reason I shouldn't be in the top 10, if not better, at the end of it. But when the road turns upwards for an extended period of time, the outlook changes a bit. (I can climb, but not that great at it)

I mean take a look at the road race route/profile! (click the "Show Elevation" checkbox in the upper-right of the map) That's about five miles of sustained climbing, 5-7% grades. Ugh.

Oh and a 15% grade kicker for 100 meters! This is gonna be.... a challenge.

Hopefully in the end I'll have a good story to tell though, stay tuned.

Ravensdale/Joe Bar Road Race 2010

We were only doing five 9-mile laps in this "Joe Bar/Native Plant Road Race", and the plan was to attack on the beginning of the last lap. (And then win of course)

Started in the back, and stayed there for the first two laps, watched a group of 5-6 go up the road briefly but they came back. The course wasn't as hilly as billed I thought, but a big pothole (4x2') on the right side of the road on the backside of the course surprised a few riders each lap, causing a few flats and more than a few surprises.

It was hard to move up, with 68 starters and some sections with no shoulder, just one country lane. Last lap comes and just as I'm about to attack we get neutralized (p/1/2 break passing), damn.. then on the other side of the course we got neutralized, again, as the p/1/2 pack passed us.

On The Edge

In the last few miles of the race I was trying to move up (as most of us were) and got stuck on the left side, just (barely) to the right of the yellow line - which is actually two yellow lines, with reflectors on each side, dividing the lanes of the road. The "yellow line rule" was in effect, meaning you can't cross the line or else you will be DQ'd. Only exception to that is if you have to go around a wreck, or if it's the last 200m of the race.

So I was kind of riding on the reflectors more or less, but not on the line or to the left of the reflectors. I knew it was close to being a violation of the rule, and every once in a while I'd be pushed out over the line - but there was nowhere to go, it wasn't exactly easy to hold this position, and there was nowhere to go. So I stuck it out, bouncing over reflectors and just waiting for the final sprint.

Crash

A crash happened just in front of me and to the right - someone later said the guy just kind of leaned into the rider next to him, and that they both went down. And then some people next to them went down, and I came really close to getting taken out myself. It seems so random, like you can be taken out at any time.. but then again there are usually some "sketchy" riders that I just try to stay in front of.

Anyway after that I had to chase a little bit, only for a 10 seconds or so, but the last thing I wanted to do right before the uphill-ish last 1k to the finish was to chase. After coming out of the last (hard) corner, there was a bigger gap than I was expecting, as who ever was in front probably jammed it right out of the turn while I didn't even get through it until a second or two later. That can be a long two seconds!

Caught up to the group at the base of the finish climb and looked forward to see more people up there than I'd expected, maybe about 30. So much for the plans, now just charge on and see if I can squeeze out a top 10 from this, or more who knows. Maintained contact on the climb, which was a stair-step of sorts, and thought more about attacking. I can't sprint all that well, so that might have to be the way to go for me to get a win.

After the first step of the climb the group seemed to take a collective breath and slowed up a bit, and I did too. Resting before the final sprint. I thought about initiating the jump there, but I was already at 187 bpm or so (95% Max HR), and the thought of going hard from that point for a minute plus was not appealing. So I rested as well, and hit the 200m sign in the pack. Here we go again... a field sprint, though there were only 20 or so of us at this point, we'd thinned out a good deal since the beginning.

Lit up a sprint with the pack, though the legs were cooked from previous efforts, and I probably only got off a few revolutions before I had to sit down and grind it out from there. It was kind of crowded (I should have jumped in the other lane, duh) and I had to ease off in the last 100m and pretty much give up, it wasn't worth pushing on for what I thought was 10th place, but I ended up coming in 18th overall. Not bad considering 68 starters, but not a win or even a top 10, I'll just have to chalk it up to decent training and another race without a DNF.

Lesson learned: next time, attack before you think you need to attack! Or if you get neutralized, attack shortly after that. And get further up before the sprint, no point in trying to pick your way through a crowd of riders.

Data

Joe Bar/Market Street RR Cat 4:
Duration: 1:59:08
Work: 1267 kJ
TSS: 132.5 (intensity factor 0.817)
Norm Power: 237
VI: 1.34
Distance: 47.014 mi
Elevation Gain: 3600 ft
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 989 177 watts
Heart Rate: 119 192 158 bpm
Cadence: 17 128 75 rpm
Speed: 0.9 65.2 23.6 mph
Crank Torque: 0 1744 196 lb-in

Final 1.1 miles (341 watts/187bpm) - "why didn't I just go faster?"
Duration: 2:56
Work: 60 kJ
TSS: 8 (intensity factor 1.282)
Distance: 1.135 mi
Elevation Gain: 170 ft
Grade: 2.4 % (143 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 740 341 watts
Heart Rate: 170 193 187 bpm
Cadence: 38 114 79 rpm
Speed: 2.8 32 23.4 mph
Crank Torque: 0 791 375 lb-in

Photos

Found some photos from the early morning races and some of the afternoon races as well, though not many of our pack: on SmugMug. I was hiding in the pack pretty much all day so not expecting any great shots from this one..

Note: thanks to the vast resources of Recycled Cycles Racing, I was able to acquire a Raleigh Supercourse frame for a nice price. Rolling again! Might repair the other Raleigh later, we'll see.

Michelob Ultra Circuit Race 2010: First Crash

I was signed up for a class out at the track, but rain was threatening and I felt like doing this race instead.. a circuit race out across The Sound, in Glenwood, Wa. (initial confusion offered by Google put this near Mt. Rainier, way far away! Luckily it was just a drive out to the Port Orchard area)

Seven of us loaded in the Recycled Cycles Van and headed south to drive around The Sound via the Tacoma Narrows bridge. Cool temps, gray skies & little sprinkles on the way down reminded us this isn't SoCal, but then the sky returned to its dry gray and we were reminded this is indeed racing in the Pacific Northwest. Rain or shine, let's do it.

The Course

The course started off on a slight downhill, leading to an easy right turn and then we started the undulations. Just as the profile showed, there was plenty of ups and downs here, but nothing lasting longer than 30 seconds or so. "A course for punchy riders" I think the flyer said, and I thought that sounded good for me and my riding style. Looking back I'm not even sure what "punchy" means, and whatever it is I need to train my punchyness..

But for some reason circuit races just aren't my thing. I can hang in long and slow(er) road races, and short and blazing-fast crits. But the circuit race is somewhere in between, you basically go fast for an hour and a half or so, the laps going by quickly and the speed not letting up all that much. My worst placings last year was definitely at the late-summer circuit races, usually it was the top-end speed coming through the finish that would almost drop me, putting me at 35th place or worse.

The Race

Short neutral rollout and then we were off to a nice pace. Most everyone was smooth, with a few notable exceptions (in fact even a "repeat offender" from Vance Creek!), and the riding was nice until we got on the short but steep-ish climbs. Not that I really wanted to climb all that fast, but we would just jam into the backs of riders slowing in front of us, and have to climb at a crawl it felt. Shouldn't be surprising, as this is the way the pack-dynamic works - those in the front slow down as they hit the hill, but still in the draft you end up having to brake to not hit their wheels.

Trying to Get Away

About 20 minutes into the race we were on the backside on the slight 2-3% uphill, doing what felt like a ridiculously slow pace all of a sudden, I think it was 16-17 mph. So I worked up the left side, and put in a dig to make separation, my new favorite past time in bike racing. It was early in the race, probably too early, but this is a great test of how the legs feel. And people will generally let you go since it's a doomed mission 95% of the time anyway..

Sure enough, while the pace seemed "ridiculously slow" while in the pack, it was taking 190 bpm (my max is 196-200 bpm, mind you) to stay off the front, and all of a sudden being in the pack felt like a better idea.

Looked back, had a gap, rested a bit, but the HR wasn't going down. Yikes, not a good sign for the longevity of the solo break.. get back in the pack! Tried to go once more on a different lap in about the same spot, but just couldn't hold it.

Team mate Ian went off the front once or twice, and Jason did too. I wanted to go again but didn't have the legs, and I actually cramped a bit on the 2nd to last lap, that sucked. Was just hanging on for the finish towards the end, really didn't feel like I had anything to offer at the end.

The Crash!

The last lap came, and there was still one rider pretty far up the road, and given my position in the pack and his big gap, I'd pretty much given up on the catch, just wanted to see what happened in the sprint for 2nd place.. well a lot happened.

We took the last corner, jammed it and got ready for the slightly downhill, the pack speeding up to at least 35 mph I'm sure, getting ready for the sprint. We were close to the 1k to go sign, or maybe just past it, and with thoughts focused on the field sprint ahead all of a sudden there was commotion in the pack ahead, and a big crash, right in front of me.

Slammed on the brakes, skidding, fishtailing a little.. I remember at least one bike on its side in front of me, and just not wanting to run over it or its rider, who was also on the ground, sliding. For a split second I thought I'd saved it once again, but ran out of space and before I knew it my front wheel was swept out from under me, and I too was on the ground. I think I landed on a bike or two, not sure.

The next thought was "am I gonna get hit next?!" and I glanced up to see people slamming on their brakes, but somehow nobody fell on me. Then I thought, "Wow, it finally happened."

Actually my first thought was probably "DAMMIT." The top 12 or so missed the crash, but just about everyone behind that was either on the ground or having to go around the mayhem. And given a few sketchy riders I witnessed during the whole race, I wasn't too surprised it happened. Even more motivation to get to the Cat 3's, where I don't think a big stupid crash would happen like this.

In the end I really have only myself to blame for being a Cat 4 and not being in a winning position (top 10) in the last 1k of the race anyway.

Looking at the Garmin data, I think I was only stationary for about five seconds, then I got rolling again! Felt longer, I guess everything does at 180+ bpm.. didn't notice the gash on my shin, the big hole in my bibs on my hip, or the small blood spot on my elbow, I just wanted to finish this damn thing.

After crossing the line I saw Rob from Second Ascent puking on the other side of the road - what a race! I love the carnage. He was on the front a ton during the race, and stayed up there to stay out of trouble and come in somewhere around top 10. That's what I should've been doing..

The Results

Somehow came in for 25th (out of 80+ total in the 4/5's field, lots of DNFs though) overall, which was surprising given I was on the ground.

The Raleigh Prestige got a big ol' gash on the top tube, you can see the carbon weave and it's soft to the touch.. sounds like it's repairable but I'm not sure I want to race on a carbon frame I repaired.. (I can even hear it shearing just by grabbing the seat & bars, not good)


Looking to get my hands on another Raleigh and get back out there, Ravensdale road race this weekend, then Wenatchee the weekend after! Gotta get them points and get up to the Cat 3's.

Vance Creek Road Race 2010

Staging for this race is at the terminated* Satsop nuke plant, quite the scene to get you motivated to ignite your legs for some solid NW road racing. 53 miles for the Masters 30+ 4/5's (read: old and beginners - yikes!)

Took some pics before the race (click for larger):



More pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seabikr/sets/72157623932930286/. Video of the Cat 3 winner coming in after 80 miles - solo no less!

Found some better photos of the Women's 1/2 race, Men's Cat 3, Men's Masters 30+ 4/5, and Men's 1/2 race.

The Race

Pre-race instructions included the note that "For some reason this [Masters 30+ Cat 4/5] field has had the most crashes this year - people moving into spaces that don't exist, etc. Keep it safe, fellas."

While I seem to always hear that Masters fields are "smoother & safer," this note from the race director was not a good sign. And indeed, there was a lot of sketchyness, but in the end I don't think anyone ever went down in this race.

We started on a downhill and there wasn't much of a neutral rollout, we just dove right into it. I don't mind descending in the pack, even at speeds close to 50 mph, but when you spot someone up ahead who is wobbly or "sketchy" doing that speed, all you can do is hope nothing bad happens. A crash that happens right in front of you can be really tough to avoid. And with gravel on the shoulder, it would be all too easy to take the wrong line and go down on it. Plenty of opportunities for mis-haps, but we came out in one piece.

We were doing four 13-mile loops, so we got plenty of time to see the course, and scope out the finishing climb. On the flat & windy section on the backside of the course, we were on a tiny farm road (smelled like farms too!) that was just about one lane wide.

First time through I was mid-pack and we hit a little patch of gravel, and I saw a guy's bike fishtail a bit, he'd hit the brakes.. lots of yelling & jostling up ahead... "Ugh, here we go," I thought.. sometimes I long for the velodrome, where you have no brakes and can't do stupid stuff like that. (no gravel there either)

The way people were yelling "GRAVEL!" and swerving all over the place, I thought it was a real patch of missing road - but on the second time through, I could see it was just a small island of gravel, not that big of a deal. But somehow enough to scare half the field half to death in the first 20 minutes of the race! Nerves I suppose.

The pace through the farm area the first time around seemed ridiculously slow, like 17-19 mph on flat, but it was windy and I wasn't up front so I didn't care too much. Nobody was off the front, so there was no rush I guess.

I was just trying to keep track of what speeds the pack was doing where, to get an idea of what I needed to do if/when I went off the front.

We got back to the finish climb, which was rolling hills then led to a 1km or so 3-5% grade, followed by a short 10%+ kicker leading to a false flat where the finish line was. Then some winding roads next to the Development Park, then back to the downhill. It was a day for the big ring indeed.

Break-away attempt

On the second lap there were two riders off the front, but not too far, attempting to get away. They looked pretty good, like this might be "the winning move", and I was in good position (about 10 wheels back) so I shot up the right side of the road, full sprint/1000+ watts/30+ mph, and bridged up to them. While bridging a guy from the red/black team (Olympia Orthopedics) was also bridging, at first sitting on my wheel, but I waved him through.

I think there was already one of his guys in the break, and maybe he was trying to just sit on my wheel and screw up my chances of staying in the break? (Covering the attack as they say)

We got up to the two other guys, and started hammering, but then I got caught in that damn catch-22 of bridging: I just red-lined bridging up here, and you want me to pull through?!! Doing 30 mph and getting your turn to pull, when close to red-lining, is not the best feeling. So I would just pull through, but weakly.

Just do what I could, even a weak pull was better than nothing. Then when I felt like resting, I just wouldn't pull through, even if they were verbally protesting. What do I care? It seemed like the Orthopedics guy was taking really short pulls right in front of me, leaving gaps, etc - all the classic tactics.

I've read in racing tactics books that if you want to lose a rider from the break, you get them on your wheel then open gaps between you and the wheel in front - then close then gap, and immediately pull off - making your "target" work harder than they should have to. Or maybe these two "Masters" were just that much stronger than me, and I was outclassed. But I felt like I was being worked over! Like they were teaming up on me... probably not but it felt that way.

We worked as much as we could together, but once on the flat & windy section, pulling through was tough. Really tough. Looking back the pack was catching up, but we still had a gap. 20-miles to go, hmmm. Chances not looking good. The original guy in the break was trying to coach us (or at least me) on. I'm saying I'm done, he says, "Let's just go at 80%, no need to give up completely."

While possibly true, I knew that he wasn't racing with my interests in mind. He just wanted an easier ride to the finish line.. Can't blame him, that's racing. I would do the same with a weaker rider with me in a break, no doubt. It's racing.

Before too long the pack caught up, our break only lasted a few miles. All the better though, I was ready for some recovery. Back in the shelter of the peloton, took some more sips of water, ate a gel. Now the plan turned into sit in and wait.

The Rest of the Race

A the beginning of the last lap, things sped up a bit as expected. On the flat/windy/farmy section one rider, guy I met but can't remember his name, went off the front in a well-time attack about 10k before the finish. He looked pretty strong, but if I had to guess I would say a lot of guys just let him go since he was unattached. Then by the time you realize he's got a nice gap, it's too big to bridge up to and you just have to see what happens..

Josh - strong team mate of mine who is about to be a Cat 3 - saw the opportunity and went for it. I heard grumbles of "they'll come back." from the pack, but it was hard to say. Would they? I knew I would come back if I tried, but hopefully Josh was fresher.

Casting Doubt

I think Byrne/Invent had one guy in the break at one point as well, but he came back to the pack before too long. Then his team was trying to organize a chase (their "leader" was yelling at someone to attack, but to no avail - I felt like asking him "why don't you attack?!"), but there was doubt in their minds, I could sense it.

I heard someone from Byrne (or maybe the red/black team, also with big numbers in this race) lament on the big gap opening between us and the break, and how they were about to hit a tailwind.

So I chimed in with "Oh yeah they're so far up there - we're racing for 3rd now! It's over guys, sorry." Just trying to put even more doubt in their minds. Hoping they would just give up the chase and settle for something other than a "W".

We could still see the break, but they were doing a decent speed, apparently faster than us. They were working harder than I was, this much I knew. The finish climb was coming up, so I suppose everyone in the pack was just hoping they'd come back as a result.

Since I had a team mate up in the break, I just made sure not do any work bringing us up to them, and sprinkled in a little trash-talk for good measure. Just sit in and wait to see if we caught them - and if so, go. Another option would have been to go up front and "block", but I wasn't ready to physically get in the way, just mentally.

We got on the final long-ish climb, and I was up front, perhaps 5th wheel. Nothing too grueling, we were all "saving up" for that final climb, though some teams were still giving chase, but still nothing serious. Even so, my previous break-away effort was wearing on me, I didn't have much left in the tank.

Final 1k

Once we got to the 1km-to-go sign the pace picked up, and I was maybe 10th wheel now, getting above 180 bpm (when it starts to hurt for me) and thinking about how I can't believe it's about to get steeper, then we're going to sprint! Looking up the line of bikes, that 15-20 feet seemed like too far a gap to close, when going uphill.

Just tried to use as little energy as possible, and match the pace.

I was holding good position, but the win was out of the question anyway, I figured. Still, points were up for grabs for 1st-9th places, so don't give up yet. People will fizzle on the final kick, and I was counting on passing a few of them when that happened.

Final Sprint

Near the right turn which is the steep kicker and the 200m sprint point, an unattached guy(?) came up the left side, going faster than our little paceline. Dammit! Just when I think I'm saving up for the final sprint, I have to go earlier than I wanted to - isn't that always the case?

I should have been able to respond, but felt somewhat out of gas (looking back, only took on one gel during the race + Cytomax, not a huge amount of calories) and just couldn't do it. Hold position, don't go too far backwards, was all I could think.

We hit the short/steep climb in the final 200m, and a new Cat 4 on Recycled Cycles, Erin, was in front of me looking strong - I figured Josh had already finished 1st or 2nd, but was hoping for at least another RCR in the top 10. Erin's gears started popping like metallic popcorn, at exactly the wrong time. I had visions of having to put a foot down and walk this section, but I was barely able to squeeze around him and continue my "sprint."

There were a few people up the road, and Jordan was on the left spectating, yelling at me to finish the sprint, which really did help. Well if someone was watching then I at least had to come in strong!

So I got a second wind, too bad there was only about 40m to go - one guy was about to cross the line, but I gave it all I had, and just barely beat him out for 9th. Just as he was looking over his shoulder no less - sorry bud, I needed that point!

Josh got 2nd, which gave him the points needed to upgrade to the 3's. I think their break was caught at the line after all - still, helluva show by Recycled Cycles Racing!

Still not sure if Masters races count for USAC upgrades (I've heard it both ways, but nothing official), but hopefully they do count, and I got one more point! That gives me 6 out of 20 towards the Cat 3 upgrade (and 4/10 top tens).

Huge thanks to Jordan for the ride down there! And of course thanks to the organizers for making it happen. It was a great race.

"Thursday Night World Championships" - Seward Park 4/22/2010

The biggest and baddest names in Category 3 & 4 WSBA racing showed up for the 6 PM race today. I heard someone in the pack say, "there's something in the air tonight" and he was right - most of us failed at meeting goals the previous week at Walla Walla most likely, and felt a refreshed sense of urgency to get That Win.

The air was cool, a little too much since I was only in shorts and a jersey - left the door in a hurry and didn't bring a jacket or anything - but that thought was soon washed away with the warmth of 170+ beats-per-minute of the heart.

The Race

We got to go clockwise, which I hadn't done since last year - I had a love/hate relationship with this direction - the climb sometimes felt harder going this way, since it's longer but less steep - but I seem to place better this way too. I think it's because we're sprinting on a 4-5% grade at the end - and if you start out the wind-up/sprint behind others, you're in the draft and can build up some nice speed. Tonight was no different.

The race started off pretty quick, the first few laps hurt, a little reminder of the big turnout tonight (50?), and the fact that this isn't the beginner's 4/5's race at 5:30 anymore. (Ok, so we're not the p/1/2/3 7 PM race either.. somewhere in between)

There were four other Recycled Cycles guys in the pack, all Cat 3s - wasn't sure what their plan was but I was mostly just gonna stay out of their way, and try to keep up. After all it's only been about a year since I started racing at all, and they've been doing this for years.

On a prime lap I thought I had a decent position to move up for it, and went to the left around the big group and shot up towards on guy close off the front, but didn't see that there was already a break of three that had a bigger gap up the road (including a team mate I think). Oops. You're not supposed to chase your own team mates, but at least it's just a training race so it's not a big deal.


Sprint

The group came back together, and 15 laps & 30 minutes later it was time for the final few laps. I had decent position near the front and the pack was speeding up people jostling for the top few positions. I didn't want to be up on the front, and couldn't really get up there in time anyway - was about 15 riders back at the bottom of the hill, and wound up the sprint to shoot up through a few people who had gone early for That Win. I could see the sprint pretty well, and could see three other RCR riders (Mike, Pauh, Adam?) in front of me - four team mates in the top 10, not bad! Ex-RCR rider Randy took the win, he's a strong guy for sure.

In the end I came in for 7th or 8th place - though points for the summer series are only given to the top 6. Still, I'm really happy with that placing in a pretty strong field. Good racing!

Next up: Vance Creek Road Race

Oh yeah, Tim: you were asking about cadence during the race? I'm impressed you can think/talk during a race like that! Anyway feel free to post that question here, I can't remember what it was.