Ygduf

it's definitely humbling and inspiring. I was parked next to Eropkin who is pretty much my clone in racing, if a little older. I was saying how impressed I was that Metcalf could win a hillclimb championship from 10k-14k elevation against guys who live at 6k and then come down and crush TTs like this. I mean, he had the 2nd and 3rd best times and the gap to #4 was 35 seconds... Eropkin says "and he's almost 20 years older than you" and I had to tell him that was the only thing keeping me from quitting. All that time to improve.

mattm

Indeed.

But I did the drive-two-hours-for-the-8-AM-race thing for Dunnigan hills. I think twice a year is about my limit for that kind of thing.

I'm weak, I know. You drove uphill both ways for like 24 hours!

Racer Ex 

14.5 hours round trip. And only uphill half of each leg. But it was in Donner Party territory, so snow was a possibility.

Ygduf

Happy people see more value in silver and bronze Olympic medals, study finds | PsyPost

this explains why we go 5-wide on podiums in sunny CA.

topflightpro

I though I read somewhere that Bronze was happiest and Silver least happiest. Bronze because you got on the podium - one step worse and you would have nothing. Silver is unhappy because you just missed out on the top spot.

Wylde06

2nd place in tonights club race.

One guy attacked and started to get away about halfway through the first lap. Coming into the start finish straight, a few guys started attacking to try and get the group motivated, but nothing was sticking..I timed my counter just right and bridged up. Ow.

After I bridged up it was on. I was doing what I could, but my breakmate was definitely doing more work than me. I did what I could, but it was enough..we ended up with about a minute and a half on the rest of the field. There were a few chase attempts (we could see 2 guys starting to get close) but they werent lasting. We stayed away for the last 2 laps, and it hurt.

I definitely seem to have hit some sort of late season peak. Just need this to carry into Sunday. So im going to rest up this week and not go crazy with this new found fitness

https://www.strava.com/activities/686803996/overview

furiousferret

Solid work @Wylde06!

tetonrider

when i was growing up, the notion of a grown man racing a bicycle would have been laughed at. you get a job, get married, have kids, work to pay off the debt you've accumulated...then have some fun when your kids have kids.

one reason i live where i now do is that so many people out here are following their dreams, living where they want to live, and enjoying their lives -- doing things that people like my parents, grandparents would have considered child's play. literally.

seeing friends do things, physically, at 40, 45, 50 that they have never done before is totally inspiring. e.g., seeing my buddy climb 5.14 on his 40th birthday. amazing.

that said, cycling, like other endurance sports (nordic skiing) is pretty brutal. the people who are doing it in their 40s, 50s, 60s tend to have some serious athletic credentials, and they have stuck around in it because they have talent/aptitude for it. most people wash out well before then. ~1,000 days seems to be pretty common in cycling (or any other sport), before the promise of something new becomes too tempting.

the guy you mentioned (awesome guy) is also a machine.... long, long history in the sport, singular focus (have you seen the workouts he does, day in, day out???? it would burn most people out). he sure is special, and something to inspire us to be better.

tetonrider

way to go! so awesome to see you have some success. you work incredibly hard and are tenacious.

mattm

Awesome!

I also got 2nd in tonight's club race, from a breakaway. Lost to a junior that I keep losing to.. need to remember to jump first instead of letting him jump then trying to come around.

shovelhd

Nice job Wylde. Bridging to the break and making it stick is quite rewarding.

dz_nuzz

Woooo! You also probably wont loose fitness that fast. So go tear it up on Sunday!

aaronmcd

Jack? He isn't a junior this year, I think he is race age 19. Fast dude, been racking up the upgrade points, think he is halfway to his cat 1 already. Then who is gonna drive me to Red Kite?

UmneyDurak

My NP was 309 for that one, and I was in the chasing pack.

echappist

good to know that your persistence over the years have resulted in this. cheers

mattm

Yeah Jack. Well if he's not a junior anymore I feel less bad about losing to him (repeatedly!), but he's half my age.. literally.

mattm

My NP was 321w for the 25 mins before the break, and just 318w NP for the 27 mins we were in the break.

However the AP was 235w before, 269w in the break.

Just 9 more watts and you could've been in the break! j/k

Btw who are you?? Introduce yourself next time dammit!

Ygduf

agree. everyone introduce themselves. it's more fun.

carpediemracing 

+1 on chappy's comment. It's nice to see you make a move that sticks and where you worked. 2 up break means you had to work.

"Late season peak" usually means you need to do everything you did up to this point next year except you want it to be done by May or June. There must be some wisdom creeping in here, experience, race savvy, etc. All good stuff.

UmneyDurak

I did, like two times now. Although during fast paceline might not have been ideal. Heck you even nodded to me as you rode out I was seating on the back of black hatchback. I thought you recognized me.

aaronmcd

Welp, went ahead and did the district champs road race. 97 miles, 4 laps with a 10-11 minute stairstep climb on the far side.

This was my first road race as a cat 5 and I was dropped on the climb twice, last year in cat 3 I went in an early break and blew up and went off the back on the climb. Expectations were insanely low. I hoped to hang on over the climb once. Plan was to sit in like mad and try to follow smooth wheels on the climb.

Race starts, completely level road, if anything slight headwind, and guys go bonkers. We averaged over 33 mph for almost 7 minutes but midpack was nice, barely over 200 watts. Eases up some after a while.

Put in 335/365 AP/NP on the climb including the finishing kicker for 2' at 430. Good thing I'm having a good day. Somehow a bunch of cat 1s and 2s don't know how to descend and I have to pass several slow pokes leaving gaps. Still gapped at the right turn on the bottom with a couple others. Teammate makes a huge bridge effort and I can barely hang on. I set my sights on sitting in even harder and making it over the climb again.

Second lap, similar climb numbers, make it over in a group 20 seconds back from main group. Catch them. Set sights on 3rd climb. But alas, a break goes and the big teams must like it cuz we go stupid slow for the many miles leading to the climb. I'm hurting. I can't hang on the last kicker near the top. I chase on descent but reach the bottom 5' back from solo rider who gets away.

Wait for a small chase group. They all stop at the start finish area. I go on solo for the last lap to finish 50th of 72. Sounds crappy, but I'm insanely happy with doing so "well" in a climby race!

a bit over 4 hours, 300 TSS. I am now trying to get the wife to go out with me for my post race jambalaya. I always want jambalaya after a road race.

Ygduf

Same race as Aaron, only 3 laps in 35+. Make it over the climb no issue lap one, make it over easier lap 2 but know that the fastest 10 guys are going to crush it on lap 3. Go a couple times at the start of lap 3. Finally they let me roll off the front. 47 minutes solo at 315w AP. Caught 5 miles from the finish, but my 2 guys I'm riding for are in the selection created as they chased me.

Teammate took 5th, friend I carpooled with won. OK result, but wish I'd had 3% more. I was actually cramping at the end as I got onto the end of the group, which for 75 miles into a race is pretty sad for me. I don't cramp, typically, but I also haven't ridden 75 miles in maybe 8 months.

Personally finished 15th of the 50-person field, end of the lead group.

tetonrider

what are the #s in watts-to-kilos? it's more relatable for the climbs.

sounds like a solid workout -- and i understand being proud of your effort. solid day on the bike.

aaronmcd

I guess that's 11' at 4.75/5.15 including 6.1 for the final 2' - very surgy climb, so drafting and carrying speed helps. The 3rd lap I just didn't have that surge at the end. I guess training can theoretically improve these late race anaerobic efforts.

caloso

Also at the Winters RR. 45+123 field. Two other teammates, hoping to play off the Peet's v. Thirsty Bear dynamic. I never do well in this race--Cantelow is just too tough for me if the climbers want to hit it hard--so my own goals were modest: just finish with the main fields and contribute wherever possible. On the first time up Cantelow, I'm feeling really good and I moved up to the front so I can use the old drift to the back strategy. Then just before the feed zone, I get stung by a bee.

Dammit.

I'm allergic, and so I carry an Epi-Pen and it's noted on my Road ID. So, I start monitoring myself for signs of anaphylaxis: tingling extremities, racing heart, labored breathing. Unfortunately, these are the same symptoms of climbing a hill on a bike. I drift to the back and let the group go. I keep going, climb Cantelow at my own slow pace, and keep monitoring myself. Eventually, I can tell that the raspy breathing isn't just riding hard, and I'm starting to get the ringing in my ears as well. By this point I'm near the finish line, so I pull myself out, and use the Epi-Pen.

Rode back to the car, got something to eat, drove home. Kept monitoring myself, but everything was fine so I took some Benadryl and a nap. This is the second time in two years a bee sting has ended a race early for me (Dunnigan RR last year). Stupid insects.