"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Pace Bend 2/21 Who's In?

Joe's Pro Bikes, Cat 4.

Peak Fitness Racing, Cat 4

Peak Fitness Racing, Cat 4

Hey we finally get to race together....look forward to seeing you!

I'm racing Walburg, does that count?

i'm racing walburg, does that count?

+1

Considering how aweful the weather usually is for Wahlburg it counts double.

make sure no one shows up with R*SYS wheels this year....

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2221/2301464060_92b42431d7.jpg

Maybe, maybe not. We'll see.

I'm planning to. Cat 3 JPB.

Walburg Classic here too...

yep. both days.

incognito in my new team kit.

No. It would be 3 weekends and 26 hours on the road for the month. I'll be there in spirit though, Walburg was my first TX podium, and I've no doubt the team will do well.

Yeah, we have solid shots at the podium in 4s, 3s, and M40+.

I'm in. Walburg 5A and Pace Bend 4/5.

Despite the fact that my nice new PowerTap basically tells me i should sell my bikes and find another hobby...

Yeah, we have solid shots at the podium in 4s, 3s, and M40+.

Just signed up for Walburg....So, who ya tipping for the 4's? :p

I've got schedule clearance for Pace Bend. Tapering a bit now...

Anyone else on here doing Cat 3?


Just signed up for Walburg....So, who ya tipping for the 4's? :p

Blue and orange... but not the Austin Nationals blue and orange :D

Unattached 4. Skipping Walberg, though.

Unattached 4. Skipping Walberg, though.
Not many of us unattached guys these days.




Blue and orange... but not the Austin Nationals blue and orange :D

:p

I'm in, 35+ 4/5.

Not many of us unattached guys these days.




:p

I've got a team I'm fixing to join, but I don't have kit yet. Said they were ordering it, and it should be in 10 weeks from now. :(

I'm in, 35+ 4/5.

Welcome back! Is this the first race since the crash?

Welcome back! Is this the first race since the crash?

First RR, yes, but I did do some cross races in the fall. I'm looking forward to the new season. Looks like yours is off to a good start already...

Thanks, we'll see how it holds up. I think I'm solo at Pace Bend :innocent:

Looks like NRC/FactoryGoodness and AT&T are fielding some big teams in the 4's.

That's a fun circuit. Definitely a nice change of pace from Walburg. My legs were still pretty sore from Saturday, and i almost didn't go. But once the race started, i felt ok and the surges and power hills seemed manageable. Until the second time up the climb on the back of the course, when just as i sat and got ready to chase the leaders surging over the top, the guy in front of met let off the gas and i wasn't able to avoid his rear wheel. Fortunatly, only one other rider went down, and at pretty low speed. We were both able to continue.

Anyway, i finished the race, got a little practice applying Tagaderm, and will have a bit of wheel truing to do. Even with the mishap, i had fun racing and am glad i didn't wuss out.

Great course, but the 35+ race was a little dull. Except for when a spare wheel and a couple of bikes fell out of the back of a pickup, right in front of us.

Man, I learned today that you can't win 62 mile races on 22 mile training!

I felt great in the first 40 miles, very active, attacking a lot, bridging a lot. Couldn't get anything to stick.

Then I felt a twinge of cramping. WTF? I hadn't dipped into my reserves at all. I had been eating and drinking lots, but it was happening. I shut it down and hid in the pack for the next 20 miles. Normalized power dropped by 50W. Good recovery, but the cramps still got worse.

Came into the final kilo, pack was all antsy and bunched up. I took off from 7th position or so, but was struggling to fight off the cramps and still generate the power I needed. No luck 40s at 570W. The jump was only 974W. No way I can win a race on that.

I got maybe 30m up the road and stopped progressing. I got swallowed with 100m to go, and ended up 23rd. I could have done much better just sitting in the top 10, but I didn't want top 10. :notamused:

I need to find a way to do a long ride every couple of weeks.

Anyway, the race was great again this year. Well organized, great weather, killer course. We just need either more wind, or more strong guys to get a break going.

Man, I learned today that you can't win 62 mile races on 22 mile training!

I felt great in the first 40 miles, very active, attacking a lot, bridging a lot. Couldn't get anything to stick.


Still not a bad showing with the amount of riding you get to do. I find it pretty darn impressive that you're able to hang with the pack in a 62 mile race considering you only ride 8 or so hours a week. I look forward to seeing you in action in some more crits this season, where you can really do some damage :thumb:

I'm taking something positive from a so-so result.

The week leading up to Pace Bend was a good one. My numbers were strong and the legs were good. Then Saturday morning I really messed up my back. I could hardly stand up let alone think about racing a bike. I spent about an hour in an ice bath (not a pleasant experience BTW) and that seemed to help and allowed me to stretch some. I decided to wake up early and try to ride my bike on the trainer. I was still in a lot of pain but it wasn't as bad on the bike as it was off of it. I decided that since I'd already paid I might as well go race and take it one lap at a time.

I felt good all through the race, never extended myself and was able to stay within the top ten the entire race. With three to go JP for NRC was off the front with a good lead and two guys (Solar Eclipse and one other) were stuck in no-mans land in between us. I took a flyer and blew past the two and caught JP, I said lets go but he was cooked and I knew I wasn't good enough to solo for three laps so I sat up. Coming up the finish hill to start the last lap I tested my legs and sorted out which gear I wanted to use for the sprint. When I stood my back totally locked up again, and right leg started to cramp. I knew I was cooked at this point. Still I thought I could get a decent finish. As the sprint started the guy for AT&T ( who finished in the top five and can't hold a line to save his life) swept my front wheel so I had to stand up to get on top of my gear (I'd planned on just sitting for the sprint) that was mistake as I my back seized I damn near fell off my bike. I ended up somewhere between 15 and 20.

At first I was pissed as I knew I had the legs to be a factor at the end. Then on the way home I began to think that as messed up as I was I was able to hang with these guys for 45mi. Going to get some therapy on the back this week....Lago is only 5 days away!!!

I crashed out of the cat 4's - just glad I landed in the ditch/bushes instead of the pavement in the middle of the peloton. Some road rash, but I'm okay and the bike is okay. Should be able to race Lago.

I crashed out of the cat 4's - just glad I landed in the ditch/bushes instead of the pavement in the middle of the peloton. Some road rash, but I'm okay and the bike is okay. Should be able to race Lago.

After the race every one was talking about the crashes, I heard someone landed in a ditch, glad you are okay! I didn't even know there was a crash let alone several.

Yeah, I was coming up the left side on a slight uphill, and someone hooked my handlebar. I talked to the guy afterward; we're cool. Wasn't really anyone's fault, just one of those things.

At least I have my first road racing wreck out of the way - they say the first one's the hardest. :lol:

^^^whew!

One of my co-workers had his face scraped off in the crash on the last lap in the 3s.

One of our guys won the 4/5's on Sunday. It was his first race weekend ever, so I'd say he should be a good rider.