Racer Ex 

Hermes and Sara, Stan Doubting!

Cleave

@sarals, not that I'm a fan of the Nike slogan -- Just do it -- but you did it!

@Hermes and @Allegheny Jet, it makes me feel good to see so many people that I know out there racing, putting it on the line, being on the results lists. ALMOST makes me want to try track natz in the future.

tetonrider

nice job, sara & hermes!

revchuck 

Hermes - Missed this due to skimming on my iPhone at work. Four medals?! Dayum. Ya done real good!

Hermes

@Cleave There was a large SoCal group with whom we hung out. Jon and Kevin won the 35+ team pursuit and the Madison and Kevin was off the front in the 40 -49 points race for 20 laps plus he lapped the field to amass an amazing 50+ points. Jim K won everything he entered and set a world record on the Marymorre track for the flying 200. I think next year it will be in Indy - ugh.

sarals 

Ex and Cleave, thanks!!!

Allegheny Jet

Quick race report. My wife and I drove from OH to Seattle over 4 days taking some extra time for sightseeing. I raced the Scratch Race and Sprint as throw a ways just to get used to the track and my legs back. In the pursuit I raced the last heat and went for the win. First kilo was where I was where I planned, in the 58 degrees temp and windy conditions, at low 1:19's. Second kilo was really slow at 1:24. I just could not spin the 101" gear back when I had the wind at my back. Average watts for the effort was 421 which is where I trained for.

The 500 TT was warm and windy enough that we did one ups. I believe I did everything well except drifted up to mid lane on the last turn. Averaged 847 watts for the 38.8" effort. Images I have seen of me on the bike suggest my fitter and I have some work to do. I got got in early July and made the adaptation prior to Nats. I did PR by .5" so it wasn't a lost cause.

It was great meeting and riding some laps with Hermes. Great job on podiums Hermes!!!

Back to blackout at sea. Please continue riding and racing while I get drunk and fat.

Hermes

Thanks for the props. I put up some pics from the race in the photos section that includes A'Jet's 500 meters.

Hermes

It was a pleasure meeting you and your wife.

I agree...your position needs revision and measuring power is interesting but not a great metric for the track. The average power looks impressive but with your back angle, the wind load was monstrous when you came out of turn 3 into that strong wind and headed toward the finish in your 500. I have found that I am pretty sensitive to small changes in back angle and there is definitely a sweet spot for power production, aero efficiency and forward visibility. I do not think that fitters per se can actually find it. IMO, it takes racers months and years of practice to get it perfect generating maximum power in the best aero position for their respective body type.

Also, 101 gear inches is a monster gear for pursuit. My racing buddy who won the 60 to 64 age group a couple of years ago did it in 2:38 in 91.6 (51/15). I did a 2:46 last year in a 90. I rode a 90 this year and did my fastest laps were my last two. Gearing is similar to bike fit. Experimentation and testing is key to finding the right gear. However, max power will generally favor big gears but at the track, power fluctuates as your go around the track. I used the technique where I use the banking and went from the red line to the black line as I entered the turn and picked up a couple of seconds of recovery. My speed held but power dropped. I then re-engaged the power through the apex and drifted up to the red line going for max aerodynamics (head turtled) setting up for the next turn. A couple of seconds of rest per lap makes a big difference for me. Then having the smaller gear allows acceleration of the pace in the final laps. My second kilo was 7 seconds faster than my first kilo.

And there are the racers who ride the 2K like a kilo and go out hard and just keep it up until the gorilla jumps on their back. They then suffer immensely but still perform better than if they try to negative split the pursuit. YMMV.

sarals 

AJ, if you have a couple of spare watts in your pocket, can I have them?

Outstanding effort, man! You are a beast. Look out when you get your fit and gearing dialed!

sarals 

2014 NCNCA California State Criterium Championships, MW 60-64, Third (podium)

My road season for 2014 is now over. And, I've gone out on a bit of a roll, making the podium in my last three races. Two of them I got because I showed up. This one, I earned. And I missed second by a foot, and first by a bike length.

The crit was held as part of the Red Kite Omnium in an industrial park in Pleasanton. The course was flat, wide, and smooth (except for the botts dots). There was a five MPH quartering crosswind on the straight after the front straight, and a headwind on the back straight. There were four primes. The field was small, twelve riders, 50 - 54, 55 - 59, and 60 - 64 categories. We did a forty minute race (the 60+ men only had to do thirty minutes, whuses). Because the field was so small, staying in on the primes was a must, even though I did not plan to sprint for one of them.

The pace was fairly high over all, averaged 20.4 MPH, and some laps were absolutely amazing, averaging 26 MPH. I saw a max of 29.6 MPH, so I was working pretty hard. My Garmin was totally DEAD when I tried to power it on for the race, so my iPhone (in my back pocket) recorded the race for me (sorry, coach!). It was actually nice not having that display to distract me, and I kept my head up for the whole race.

We rolled off fairly easy, and right away one of the gals went to the front and drilled it. Someone yelled "why so fast?!", but that meant nothing. The pace did ease some on the back straight. There were a few pokes and jabs to test the field (my teammate Heidi did a LOT of attacking, good for her!). I was determined to stay very close to my two rivals in my age category, and I mostly did, too. It became obvious to me as the race unfolded that I was behind tactically at times, missing some opportunities, but I felt that the last few laps were the important ones and I needed more to keep my nose out of the wind than positioning towards the front of the peloton. The bike skills were mostly stellar, everyone holding solid lines through the corners, except with four to go, a woman dove in me in the last turn and ALMOST took me out! The gal behind me told me afterwards that I did great job staying up, she was sure I was going down. At any rate, that little fracas popped me off the back, and because it was a prime lap, I had to work my little behind off to bridge back up. That used up a bunch of matches and as it turned out it numbed my sprint a bit. However, I WAS NOT GOING TO GET DROPPED - PERIOD!

On the last lap, my plan was to have my teammate lead me out, but I couldn't find her! As we turned on to the straight prior to the front straight, the 50+ gals got away, and the remainder of the field, eight of us, started scrambling for position. My two competitors were just ahead of me, in reach, and I turned up the power to all I had and tucked in with them. In the last turn, I pulled up along side Narda, and we started the sprint together. She inched out on me, and held it, and I just didn't have the pop to get past her to the line - and for a moment I thought I was going to! That was exciting!

I earned that third place, and I'm really happy about it. Several women complimented me after it was all over on how well I rode and strong I've become. I have to thank Ex for that! I still lack positioning judgement, but that will come with reps.

What a season. Wow....

IBOHUNT

IBOHUNT

You deserved it. You've put in a tonne of hard work this year. Well done and next year will be even better.

sarals 

Thank you, IBO!

sarals 

Here's yesterday's MW 60-64 podium....

shovelhd

Ex told you back when you started that age group racing is where you will have your best chance of success. I feel the same way about myself. Let's face it, we're old. We can race with the 18 year olds but our best chance of winning is amongst our age graded peers. So take a look back to the beginning, which was not that long ago, and look where you ended up. You've gone from newbie to someone your peers have to be concerned about. What impresses me most is how you bounced back from adversity. A few months ago I thought you were done. But you dug deep and finished stronger than ever. For that, you are an inspiration to me. Once I get this vision thing stable I want to be like Sara and bounce back as strong as you did.

Hermes

Nice racing Sara.

sarals 

Shovel, thank you. Yes, I was pretty close to getting out of this not that long ago. I woke up, plain and simple. Yes, I'm old! I have accepted what I can do, and I came to the conclusion that I need to work with I have and what I can do. That's made me a different racer, and a much happier one. Ex HAD been telling me that could happen for months, but me being me, I had to find out for myself.

I honestly never expected anyone here to tell me that I inspired them, especially you, Shovel. I hold you all in such esteem, and I know you know that. I am truly honored. Thank you!

sarals 

Thank you, Hermes!!

LAJ

Thumbs up, Sara!

MDcatV

Like! congratulations!

sarals 

Thanks, guys!!!

revchuck 

LAMBRA Age-Graded Championship Road Race - M60+, 5/7

This was two laps of a 21.8 mile circuit, good pavement with mostly rolling terrain. The M55+ and M60+ races were combined but scored separately...thankfully, since the 55+ guys included a stars & stripes jersey and a former Olympian. The race started out pretty calmly, but ramped up as soon as we hit the rollers. Surges were mostly uphill at the beginning. When they started, I was able to keep up with them, but after about a half hour I would get gapped and catch on when they slowed down. Then, at about the 45 minute mark, a surge went and didn't slow down, and I was in Offthebackistan. I wasn't the only one, finished 11/14 for the combined race.

I had hoped for a podium finish in this race, based on the fact that I had beaten one of the guys in Rouge-Roubaix, and I didn't know a couple of the others. Turned out that the guy I had beaten at R-R ended up in fourth, and another guy I didn't know came in third; first and second were two known powerhouses.

I made my share of mistakes, the biggest being that when I caught back on after being gapped, I stopped at the back of the pack to rest in the draft. I usually had about 4-5 mph on them when I caught back on, and should have just used my momentum to place myself towards the front so I could filter back through the pack on climbs. Big lesson learned on that one. It would have probably notably shortened my time OTB.

I was pretty bummed about having had to time trial a short section of the first lap and all of the second. My coach went over the file and noted that I had set a PR for power over the first 1:30 of the race, and that I had held on longer and gone deeper on those surges than before. I had had good legs for me, unlike the last race where I tanked completely 45 minutes into the race. It was extremely humid - in the 90% range - and I made it through without issues; not so the former Olympian in the 55+ race, who cramped and lost a couple of places from it. I was also the sole Cat 5 in the 60+ race. So, it wasn't the result I was hoping for, but I can live with it.

I decided to call it a season for this year. My wife had considerable input into this decision. I've learned a lot this year and improved a lot. The results were posted to the USAC website last night, and I applied for my upgrade to Cat 4 this morning.

IBOHUNT

Chuck - nice read. Seems you've learned a few things this year and will be stronger in the 4's for it next year. Looking at your feed it appears that you had a consistent effort from 45 minutes until the end at 2:09 which was higher than your ride yesterday
Setting a PR on the last outing should leave a good taste.

By the way - I'm a fan of neutralizing a race as soon as the earth turns uphill.

sarals 

Chuck, you've had quite season. You've taken good lessons from everything you've done, you came back from an injury with a good head on your shoulders, and you've kept the enjoyment part of the racing at the forefront. From I read in your race report, you rode a good race. You didn't get the results you wanted THIS year. Next year, you will!