Racer Ex 

It's been a long time but yeah, it's a mildly rolly thing. Wind can play into it. Some crappy pavement, and pretty ugly scenery. The finish is horrible; everyone funnels into a gravelly right hander then there's a drag race up a short hill. Crash central. Really popular because it's flat and early in the year.

Red Rider

Today I learned that the snooze button is the kiss of death for an early wake-up.

Hermes

1:45 TT workout yesterday. Focus was high cadence z4/z5 5 minutes efforts. I rode the 10 mile local TT course and just kept knocking out efforts. The wind was strong in one direction and it was a good day to have power measurement. If I only focus on power, my average cadence seems to fall so today it was all about higher cadence with high power. If the power waned, I tried very hard to just spin faster versus shifting to a bigger gear. Part of the problem is the course is flat to rolling terrain.

AzTallRider

Allegheny Jet

All dressed up and just over 15lbs! Nice looking ride AZTR.

Allegheny Jet

Got in a birthday ride today. Last night my wife and a few friends subjected themselves to my wish of going to a Blues club to hear Lil' Ed and the Imperials. I probably had too many beers but still went out this AM for a fixie ride. I ended up riding my age + 2 totalling 61 miles under sunny skies and 28-35 degree temps. I'm on recovery week and was not supposed to ride above Z2, but still averaged 18.1 mph. I'll pay for it tomorrow when I do 10 min Z4 hills.

shovelhd

Happy Birthday, AJ.

Allegheny Jet

Thank you!

Racer Ex 

In before the lock

AzTallRider

Oh My... Happy B-day, Jet.

Hermes

Happy B-Day AJ. One more year and you move up from JV to Varsity.

Hermes

AZT, Nice Madone.

AzTallRider

Other than a quick spin down the block that let me know I hadn't cemented the Quarq magnet to the frame, and that my front brakes needed realignment, the maiden voyage for the new Madone was Avondale Crit #2, in 50+;30'. I was originally going to race another class as well, but, as you can see, I was still getting the bike sorted out. There were three of us "Faster" guys in the race, including the AZ season points leader, Keith. I chatted with him, and he intended to go for a break, and I said I'd block. Didn't turn out quite that way. A couple of other guys broke early; enough to be of concern since they were unknowns, so Kurt and I decided to pull Keith back up to them. We did that in two laps, each of us taking one of the laps. I wasn't quite sure what to do when I caught them, but I don't think dumping Keith onto the front the way I did was quite by the book. Keith did try a break, when Kurt was near the front and I was a bit back, but it didn't work. The group just wasn't going to let someone like Keith get away, even though I thought Kurt looked like he was really trying to push it while easing up.

So it came down to a pack sprint. After we rounded the final turn, I thought Kurt was well positioned ahead of me, but Keith was boxed in to my right. Shows what I know, because it opened up for Keith on the inside, and he sprinted for the win. Kurt was 7 and I was 15. A good team showing. We made sure Keith got his chance, and he did his thing. I was able to recover (along with everyone else) before the sprint, I just don't have the needed kick. I need to work on that, as I have done very little in the way of HIT so far.

As you can see in the pic, I have my saddle, which has long rails, as far forward as I can get it. The nose is still 11cm behind the BB! I am also only 1cm from the max saddle height. Whew... I didn't think it would be quite that close to max. I'm trying it initially with the stem flipped down and one (1 cm) spacer under the stem. Drop is a tick over 5"; much more aggressive than I have been riding. There is no doubt whatsoever that this one is a race bike. It felt fine for the crit, and I'm obviously more aero; we'll see how it feels on a 5 hour base ride.

I went with Look "Blade" pedals, and they were a good choice. Light, feel crisp getting in and out, and are easy to clip into (so long as you don't try and do it with cleat covers on, anyway. ), with a larger contact patch than the spring version... I went with Planet-X CNC brakes, and other than being tough to get adjusted initially (they kind of settle into a position that isn't necessarily where you thought you put them), I think they'll be fine. Tremendous value for such a light brake, and the braking is great.

Still a newb, but I made better decisions putting his bike together, and I did the build myself, struggling with things new to me like the cabling, because I wanted to really know the bike and its parts. I had to redo a couple of items, but that too taught me some things. Like having to add the barrel adjuster for the RD in order to make the outside cable long enough for a big bike with wide bars, but then having to pick up a new internal cable because I had already trimmed it... stuff like that.

Tucson Bicycle Classic (3 day stage race) is next weekend.

qcpmsame 

A belated, day late and a dollar short, as usual, Happy Birthday AJ. Sorry for the MIA this weekend. here.

Bill

sarals 

Happy Birthday, AJ!!

(By the way, I changed Age Groups on the 14th...)

AzT - beautiful bike!!!!

Cleave

Hi AJ, a belated happy birthday. One more year and you get to "age-up" and be the youngest in your category.

AzTR, congratulations on the new bike. I still think that I should get a discount on my bikes since they need a lot less carbon composite material to make my frames. Based on a fitting your saddle is still too far back? If you look at shots of my Cannondale, my saddle is almost as far back as it will go with a 25 mm setback seatpost. Opposite ends of the fitting spectrum.

Did what is becoming my 55+ racing routine. Raced in the 55+ race, sort of raced the 50+ race, and sat in for the 45+ race. Ended up with 53.5 race miles so what I lack in quality I make up in quantity. Made a few attempts to get off the front of the 55+ field but it wasn't happening once again. On my last try my breathing was kind of labored -- I felt like I was wheezing a bit as if I had some congestion in my lungs. Watched the field sprint from the back of the pack (~60 racers).

The 50+ race was strange. First, they hit the field limit of 100. One of my teammates was trying to enter day-of and didn't get there in time so he and a number of others were shut out. Some 50+ fields were big last year but nothing like this happened. Next, Racer Ex took off from the gun with a few others and we never saw them again. I got to the front a few times and saw how well some teams were blocking so I decided (badly) not to waste any energy. I should have tried anyway to form a chase group or at least get a good workout.

Since I felt like I still had some legs I decided to try to get in to the 45+ race. I just managed to get 1 of 2 pre-reg numbers that didn't show up. This race sold out with 125 racers! This race was very fast. I managed to stay in the top half of the field for the first half of the race. I could see people rocketing off the front to gain maybe 5-10 bike lengths only to get caught quickly by the pack. No one was getting off the front of this group. For the second half I was tail gunning and on the last lap I started sitting up just after turn 2.

Next weekend will be hairy. A million things going on including promoting a Saturday night track event and racing on Sunday. Next Sunday's race will be my last race before going to NorCal for the Bay Area Senior Games.

AzTallRider

Cleave, you are great at using racing for training - I need to get on top of that. Fortunately or unfortunately, we don't hit field limits for master cat's here. 4 and 5 will sell out for the more popular races, but that's it. And don't give the bike manufacturers any ideas about pricing bikes using size. It's hard enough for me already! Frankly, we big guys should get a weight handicap, since our frames are heavier...

Our team had a pretty good day yesterday. Our 40+ captain took second in 30+ (he let someone get away before the sprint), our 17 year old phenom lapped the junior field then won the 2/3 race, and we won 3/4 (a 50+ guy, by the way) and 50+. It's nice having people to learn from.

Hermes

Today is a rest day. I looked over last weeks power numbers and cadence from my Vanderkitten power meters. I ordered the Jens Voigt version like Racer Ex and A'Jet but instead they shipped me Vanderkitten.

At first blush, I decided I sucked. One always has to look deeper to get the real story. Tuesday's TT z4 power efforts were lousy but the cadence was okay. Thursday's climbing z4 efforts were very good and some of my best with cadence north of 80 rpm. Saturday's attempt at shorter z5 efforts on the TT bike at high cadence did not have great power but the cadence was good. Sunday's endurance ride with sustained z3 efforts was solid for both power and cadence.

My TT power seems about 20 to 30 watts below my climbing power. I think this means more time in the saddle on the TT bike.

AzTallRider

Does the Vanderkitten PM come with any team privileges?

Hermes

No but considering what I paid, it should.

Racer Ex 

In the words of the prophet Jens:

"I swear I don't go in break I don't go in break. Then it just cracked right in front of me and I think "oh no, not me again".

I wanted to sit in to be fresh for the 45+ and not do an entire race in a break. Nice to get the win though.

We had our sprinter in great position at the end of the 45+, but one of the guys in front of him clipped a pedal in the last corner.

Rest week for me. Biggest TSS month since July of 2011.

sarals 

Cleave, I was encouraged to enter the Senior Games next week by Barb, BJ. She's trying to "make me love racing"! Well, my schedule is in the way, so it won't happen this time around. Barb has a fracture in her pelvis from a crash on one of our group rides a month ago, but she's healing well. We certainly don't bounce like we once did, now do we?

I was going to enter Snelling, but I was talked out of it. I understand the course is flat, but it can be windy and the road is supposed to be awful. I was warned about that "funnel last turn", as well. That was enough, I don't need to cut my teeth on a crash fest, or a potential crash fest.

I just came off of a "week of bad legs". I was progressing nicely, then I raced in a 10K run (and had a PR of 9 minute flat miles). That really zapped my stamina, and it took me a full week to get back from that race. Yesterday was the first ride I'd been on on which my legs were "unloading" and responding the way I know they can. However, me and my boyfriend were taken down by a child riding the wrong way on the bike path, and the ride ended with me taking my boyfriend to the hospital. The little fella who caused the crash was fine, as am I, but my boyfriend received a nasty cut on his right index finger, as well as lovely sprain in his left hand.

Today I went to spin, and all was well, worked hard for an hour, and then did a one hour exercise class after that.

I'm perusing the NCNCA site right now for a "get my feet wet" road race that I can do before I experience the two Sea Otter Classic races I entered. This is fun stuff!

AzTallRider

I'm considering switching to shorter cranks, for crits anway, since I scraped a bit the first time out on the bike. Not like the time I did a looney-tunes routine of pedaling with the wheel in mid-air going sideways, but it was enough to remind me that, just because others are pedaling through, it doesn't mean I can pedal through. Sure didn't seem like a corner I needed to worry about. I need to make time to clip the shoes into the pedals and do some leaning of the bike, to get a feel for just how far I can go... racing the Gunnar for awhile, with its greater clearance, has apparently thrown me off.

AzTallRider

Throwing a party, major workload, and putting together the new bike all conspired to wreak havoc on my training. CTL is the pits. I may throw some base in the next couple of days, despite the upcoming stage race weekend. I feel under-worked.

Cleave

Interesting. Trying to complete a bathroom remodel (i.e. getting the contractor to do his job), promoting a track event, training, racing, and...

I feel (am?) over-worked and over-stressed.