robncircus

Just to add on. The road is maybe 8 feet wide at most. Centerline violation is a DQ. At best you cand ride 3 across and it's tight then. umd is spot on... the sprint destroys andone at the back. Turnaround is a cone in the midde of the road so it's really tight. By the time me and my teammate hit the turnaround the leaders were a good 100-150 ft ahead. We tried to latch back on but had little success.

umd

Ze, my advice is more for the lower cats. In the 3s this year it was not nearly as much of an issue as in the 4s last year. The 5s are just horrible. Both in getting around the cone cleanly, and in catching back on after it. The 4s and 5s race is also only 34 miles, a single out-and-back so there isn't as much time to do anything. The 3s as well as P12s do 2 laps, 68 miles and initial positioning becomes much less of an issue.

txvintage

Well done Procrit! Taking the line this morning had to be brutal.

EDR stop yer beochen. Two races in to 2010 and it sounds like most of the peleton is trying to race themselves into shape. Meanwhile you have worked hard for both races and made things happen. Sounds like you are getting ready to post some results. Your team knows you are working for them.

Yep, it's early and he shown to have the legs to get things done.

Hey, you were there with 1K to go. I was on the couch, lol. Note my suggestion to EDR. I suspect he made a few guys' day a long one.

txvintage

I feel your pain. I'm torn between being encouraged the season is here and being totally disgusted at not even really having begun Base yet. Having been dealing with the knees since July I can tell you it's better to do what you're told than pushing it because on some random day it feels good. Beings as I suck at using common sense with thee things i's really hard to do.

Tripling your time off the bike would be teh suck.

VA_Esquire

First crit race of the year is Feb. 27th (i know thats pretty late for alot of you)
its only a Crash-5 so not many details other than it is 40minutes with I kid you not...a D shaped track.
I think my bike is going to be wrecked........

El Diablo Rojo

Procrit is tearing it up...I'm seeing some good battles with his team and ours this year.


You are not out of line and you are correct. Some patience and discipline would have gone a long way in me having a positive result. Ex made a comment that 'a 145lb guy like me shouldn't pulling around 100 riders on a hilly windy course...especially since
there were so many strong teams in the race. My only teammate was a
115lb jr...he by the way rode a brilliant race.

pierce.schmerge

I'll see you there, I'm registered to race that too

waterrockets 

Excellent race there ProCrit, good meeting you and plotting a bit in there. Congrats on the points too.

My Cat 3 Tour of New Braunfels RR report:
Short: worked my tail off for Jonathan who was off the front, I flatted in the final corner but wouldn't have done anything anyway with my cramps setting in. Teammate got 4th, so, success.

Long:
Started off on a narrow road with a new rule: one on-the-road warning for center line violations, and after that, they shut down your category. So we were really bunched up until it got on a more open lane with a shoulder.

I moved to the front in the wind pretty quickly and launched a couple attacks. The pack was pretty keen to not let me get any distance, and just as they caught me, Jonathan (teammate and dailhy training partner) rolls off the front at a smooth 400W. For some reason, they let him go, in spite of staying away for 30 miles last week.

Cool, I now have a new job: don't let the pack catch him, but try to let a couple guys get up to him. My new rule: you can go up as a pair, but any more than that, and I'm shutting you down. Also, if you're wearing an ATT kit: automatic shutdown. I just wasn't in the mood for them after the stories from last week.

So, most of the time, they pack let me roll at the front at 280-300W. I went to the upwind side of the road so people would get used to being comfortable back there. I know J was up the road pushing 340W because I train with him every day. People near the front started asking who was off the front, as he was now often out of sight. Cool: some didn't know I was blocking. Keep it up.

A few attacks went, but I couldn't get two off on their own in the 1st 16-mile lap. Well, that sucks because J's up there getting tired and won't be himself in the finale. Oh well, keep blocking.

I was starting to get tired from covering attacks (several 1200W+ efforts, a few 500W+ minutes), and halfway through the 2nd lap (mile 24) I passed a milestone: longest ride this year . Finally, in lap 3, I started cramping. I had salted some thick Gatorade, so I had taken in about 800mg of sodium, but I think my low training volume got the best of me. Oh well, I was still able to get up to 500W when needed for surges, but I wasn't going to have anything at the finish.

I didn't know that ProCrit had gotten up to J (I was mid-pack at that point), but I was happy to see that a few had made it up to my teammate. That would keep him away at least. Mission accomplished, as I did what I could, but for Jonathan to be by himself for that long, well, it reminds me of our teammate RX. A lot.

Going around the last corner, I slid out from a rear flat. I was able to stay up, but I sat up at that point. Then at 300m to go, I saw two teammates on the pavement. Father/son leadout train. Crap. Some pushing in the sprint for 7th and they went down. That's Cat 3 racing for you, I guess.

I couldn't believe that the pack let me drag them around for 10 miles.

Before the flat:
44 miles in 2:03
AP: 244W
NP: 297W

Good SST workout.

Nice riding ProCrit

fordfasterr

Rosewood Winter Crit #3, cat 4/5 defending the yellow jersey.

Two closest racers broke away early and I could not catch them.. got stuck in the field and worked like crazy but never could manage another break.

Final result: 4th, 2nd in the field sprint.

Lost the yellow jersey. =(

El Diablo Rojo

ToNB Crit:

I did not accomplish my mission. I'm still a 4. However, today was a great day to race a bike:

I woke up feeling pretty crappy. Legs were very sore from yesterday and they felt like the muscles had been filled with lead. It's 27 degrees, my legs feel terrible, I'm tired and I don't want to race...but I did. We were at the start line getting the cat 4 lecture and I was shivering so bad that I had trouble keeping my balance. Warming up before was not good. Legs felt heavy and I couldn't get 500w without feeling like it was everything I had...now I was shivering and regretting that I showed up. Then the gun sounded and I took off for a lap on the front at 340w, this got some blood flowing and the warmth started to creep in. I felt good...no I felt great. I rode a smart race...kept near front...jumped in on two or three promising breaks that ended up petering out...last 2k I was 4th wheel feeling great, I had picked my spot on the previous lap and I was gonna go full on at that point. Don't know how messed this up but I jumped about 100m early...realized it too late but I was committed...dug deep but got swamped around 50m from the finish...somewhere in the top 15 but although I didn't win (that was the goal of course) I felt great, recovered well for a guy pushing 50 and beat up on some young'n's today. I had great time.

Saw JohnnyButts up there a bit today pushin' pace...he looked like he was have a better than yesterday as well.

fordfasterr

AP: 296w
MP: 1074w.

waterrockets 

I'm glad the race came together for you. Too bad about the launch timing though. Nice work this weekend.

Nate552

That's awesome! You had a good time, felt good, and gave it go for the win. That's racing man! Nice job.

VA_Esquire

you riding with a team or unattached?

johnybutts

w\With 1 lap left I moved to the front, I was really hoping someone would try to break so I could follow, but the dude who won yesterday was next to me, and we just kinda looked at each other and nothing developed. Then I fell back and sat about 10th for the sprint and lost a few spots during it... 13th.

I can say for both the RR and the crit, I had some really good position at the right time to make a go for the W, but I think I need to work on race-ending skills and my jump. I'm not sure if this is something you can practice without a race. Suggestions guys?

EDR definitely put the hurt on the cold field on the first lap. Roll call was LOOOONNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGG

rydaddy

Sat - Folsom Crit - Cat 4

My first race as a 4. Legs felt good and the roads were still wet from the overnight rain. Goal was to help a teammate place high but we were disrupted by a crash with 1 to go. Finished 14th. Teammates finished 7th and 12th.

Sat - Folsom Crit - Cat 3/4 Master 30+

Much smoother than the 4 race, and noticeably faster. With 6 to go we started to work the front. I fell back with a few to go and finished mid pack for 28th. Honestly, my goal was just to finish with the pack so I'll take it. Teammates finished 3rd and 4th, with a few more ahead of me.

Sun - Cal Aggie Crit - Cat 4

I made sure to spare some matches for this one. The course has two chicanes that really stretch out the field. I stayed near the front for the most part, as the Cal Aggie team threw down a barrage of attacks. They were reeled in every time, but it made for a fast race. I almost took the second prime but fell short (the guy was OTF early in the lap). I spent some time up front toward the end, mostly for postition, but I managed to recover by the final lap. Got swarmed in the straightaway, though, but gained a lot of ground between the two chicanes. By the last turn I moved up to about 10th wheel and managed a 7th place finish. My best finish in a crit but just short of upgrade points. I did get the team some BAT points, at least.

A successful weekend of racing (for me).

pierce.schmerge

Team, riding for The Bike Lane. I think I'm gonna have one teammate with me, how about you?

mollusk

I raced. The weatherman said it would be 61 F at race time. It was 46 F. I almost wore my flannel shirt under my kit, but I did wear my cotton t-shirt and was glad I did.

I put in one big effort in the middle of the race, but spent most of the race chatting in the back of the pack. I avoided a crashed rider with just over 1 km to go. I finished just outside of the top 10. (Added in edit: 11th place)

VA_Esquire

Team Hilton Cycling Club (Walt Racing) and how it is looking right now.....I shall have 3 other teammates.

fordfasterr

I avoided a crash today too... it helped the 2-man break that got away from me =(

umd

Two races today, cat 3 in the morning and P123 after 5 hour break.

Cat 3: 54 minutes, 214AP/242NP
Didn't really do much. Pulled a few laps, helped chase down a break, went to the front when a teammate was in a break, but just generally sat in and pack surfed. I was way too far back at the end, didn't really sprint, got 30th.

P123: 73 minutes, 211AP/227NP
Note how much less variability. I've only ever done one P123 race before and I was dropped less than half an hour in. My lofty goal was finishing with the pack. I felt pretty good, had no trouble staying mid pack (or moving back up to mid-pack if I noticed I had slipped back). Best part of the race was towing a teammate up to the front. Second best was hearing that another teammate was in a break that at that point had clearly succeeded, and later finding out he got 5th in the break. Winning from the break was Hilton Clarke. Justin Williams and Rahsaan Bahati got first and second in the field sprint for 6th. The icing on the cake was that I pulled the fred move of sprinting a teammate for a distant placing, but because of it got the last spot on the results sheet. 47th. I'll take it

Edit: Oops, I got 47th. 40 was my bib number

kudude

training crit. 45 minutes. 225AP, 269NP. VI was more due to a couple of hard 1minute+ chase/prime efforts. not that the pack was all that smooth......didn't move up before the end finished 14(?) of 55(?)

tanhalt

Those powers seem low...

umd

I'm very aero and suck wheel very well.

Edit: the last lap of the 123 was 354W and averaged 32mph

tanhalt

What was the average speed for the 123? Actually...what was the 3s as well?