my58vw

Riverside Bicycle Club Blackburn 4.05 mile individual time trial - May 21, 2005

My first "real" prologue length itt...

Today was my first real individual time trial using approprate time trial bike and gear plus my first under 20k itt... let me first start by saying the learned where the "ride hard till you puke then ride harder" phrase comes from.

From my previous posts the route was a 4.05 mile loop around the hills off Victoria in SoCal. The first mile of the time trial is downhill or level, La Sierra Ave is a very steep downhill aproaching the second turn. At the second turn you are approached with a 20 foot lip (i.e. greater than 10% but short enough to sprint over in the big ring) then a gradual uphill until the first corner on the road. At the corner there is a sharp right then up a 212 foot 9 - 11 percent climb to the top. At the top is a very technical (2 hairpin 180's on a steep downhill) section leading to the second climb. One of the racers who has a computer that measures grade said at the steepest on the second is actually 15 percent, the main part was 11 percent. At the top is a downgrade to a right. After the right there is a 1.1 mile 3 - 4 percent climb up to a flat and mild climbing finish... sound like fun doesn't it...

All I can say is SUFFERFEST...

I was the last rider to go, choosen that way so I was able to get in a very good 45 minute warmup and got to the line 3 minutes before my turn. There was seven people in my catagory (19-29 years old), 3 "racers" and three "rec riders". My goal was to break into the 12's (i.e. 12 minutes) on the 6.4 km route, the record was 13:23 on a road bike. One other rider was using a tt bike, the others road bikes.

At the whistle I took off and in my excitment was going 31 MPH before the first turn (a mistake I would find out). At the corner I was clear so I took off hitting 45 MPH on the downhill. The first problem was at the roght turn. Construction people had put some cones up and only one car could get through. Right at the bottom a car was sitting in the space that I was supose to go through. I had to slow way down to make the turn. Then I hit the hill, going 10 MPH I was in a 54-16, bad move, I really struggled on the lip. I tried to go to the small ring and the bike misshifted on the FD costing me some time.

The problem was on the first big climb. I had no idea how steep it would be... I had no reason to be riding a 42-23 on that hill... way to steep. I tried to shift part way up and ended up dropping the chain. On the middle of a 11 percent hill I ended up walking up to the top of the hill because I could not clip in or go to the bottom. I lost about 4 minutes in the fiasco.

After that I was great, the second hill was killer though, going 5 MPH spinning 30 RPMs almost falling over 3 times. Once I got to the top I turned it on. I crusised up Mc Allister at one time 24 MPH, avg 23 MPH on a hill that I would normally clim at 19 MPH. At the top I hit blackburn and at the finish I was going 33 MPH. I was at 3 beats from max for about 4 minutes. After the line I actually threwup on the side of the road and could not pedal the bike, it was that hard. I had nothing left.

I ran a 16:52, a little disapointing, but if you factor in a loss of 4 minuteso n the first hill we are right about 13 minutes... next time I am rinning a 12-27... so I can spin up the hill...

I am addicted... the next one can not come soon enough!

oneradtec

I threw up after reading your report!

bunnyrabbit

hmm sounds like "fun".

or 39 instead of 42?

my58vw

That would be my road bike... the 42 is so I can gain much more speed in the small ring vs having to go to the big ring in certain situations. I am also running a 54 big ring so it would not be good to have a 39.

12-27 is not much different up top then the 11-23 so I am not loosing much there

i.e. 23-21-19-17-16-15-14-13-12-11 vs
27-24-21-19-17-16-15-14-13-12...

and a 54-12 is nearly a 53-11...

The extra 4 teeth make a hill to walk a hill to ride, one thing of interest is that grades this size most pros run a 39-21, which is the same as a 42-23 approximatly... I am not a pro and do not have the power (yet) to push that gear up these hills...

Pack Fodder

I have to say your enthusiasm is strange yet refreshing...I've read most of your race reports so far this season. If I would have experienced the same results as a cat 5 as you have, I would have hung up the bike and learned how to play golf. Yet you seem to find some positive in every fiasco you've encountered this season. More power to you, hang in there....It'll come around eventually..maybe.

my58vw

I do not see it as a fiasco... just part of the whole learning process. I knew from the outset that my tt bike was not designed for this kind of course... the motor is just not there...

What keeps me on the bike is the improvement that I see. Every race I am getting faster and faster... after tomarrow we will see how fast that is (CBR crit tomarrow). I do not quit, I am not a quiter.

The best analogy is a new rider. How long does it take for them to average 15 MPH say. For some a long time, but do they quit, no. Most of the time it is fun. I have only had two races that I have had problems, Ontario (my fault) and in some ways this one. But I take them as learning experiences... we all have bad days. Man if I was a quiter do you think I would be recieving degrees in Physics and Chemistry this year... now that is hard.

When you are having fun then why quit... I will be back week after week, soon I will have that illusive true pack finish and soon a win. I have had to overcome quite a bit to just get on a bike. After my car accident years ago when I distroyed 3 vertebrea in my neck the doctors said I would never be able to play sports... look where I am. Sure I still can not go on a rollercoaster but I sure can get up and fly on a bike... it just may take a little extra time...

my58vw

Here is an interesting fact about the tt that I just discovered. I can look at HR as a function of lap (i.e. the lap button). I hit the lap button after the last big hill. My avg HR after than was 188, my max is 193...

I wonder why I threw up at the finish line!

alison_in_oh

Way to go man! If I could have made my body go that hard I would have placed in the money yesterday!

FWIW, I have a feeling that a bit of brute strength will help you to continue improving. For comparison's sake, my Mr. considers anything under a half mile, of any grade, to be short enough to sprint over in the big ring. (Which was annoying when discussing the half mile 6% climb that killed me yesterday, and he looks at me and says, "That's not a climb!") If I recall the last time you posted numbers for weight lifting, you have some room for improvement there whether you work on power intervals and hill intervals on the bike, or whether you hit the gym and pump iron.

(PS. Chemistry is hard. Physics is phun. )

TCR

Hey, did ya do the CBR crit in Rancho Dominguez on Sunday? If so, how was it? I wanted to go but I got to bed really late and only had 4 hours sleep so decided to skip it.

my58vw

Yes I did, race report on the other forums...

For my goals I had an incredable race...

I definitly agree with the brute power thing... that is a serious limiter on the big hills right now... that is why I want a little smaller gear as I build that strength.

Can you say... off the front Fun!

twisted

Maybe, I read this wrong, but did you say that you walked your bike up the hill on a 4 mile time trial?

I thought that you just got some fancy new time trial bike, boy that must have been humiliating.

my58vw

Very humiliating but when you loose your chain and can not get cliped in due to the serverity of the hill it is about the only option...

twisted

Sounds like you are making excuses for a pathetic performance after posting how fast you would be. How hard is it to put the chain on, drop it to an easier gear and get back on the bike? I don't know of any situation where a good rider can't clip back in and get going again, regardless of the pitch of the hill.

Maybe you realized you were in over your head and needed a way to save face after shooting your mouth off.

Bruco

You try coming to a standstill (pick your own reason/excuse for doing so) on the steepest part of the Paterberg, unclick and step down, and then get back on your bike and continue the climb.

I couldn't... But then I'm not a 'good rider'.

socalrider

If a climb is too steep to click in, turn your bike around, coast downhill, click-in and make a 180 and start going back up.. It's faster than walking for 200 meters up a climb..

my58vw

Sure I was in a little over my head, 11 - 15 percent grades with a 42-23 as the lowest gear... this is pro teritory for gearing, my tt bike was not designed for this kind of climbing. Have you ever done a short time trial like this on this kind of course? You get going so hard that you forget basic things in the heat of battle.

Cliping in on an 11 percent grade is no easy matter BTW. When you are pushing 30 RPMs max to try and get up the hill and are already dead tired from going 100 percent a push from zero is nearly impossible. Many pros barly climb this type of hill in a 39-21 which is the same gearing I have and I am certainly not a pro. With no running start to the hill there was almost no chance to gain momentum going up it... I.e. once I lost it it was over.

In hindsite socal rider is right, I should have clipped in, went to the bottom of the hill and tried again, hoping that I could get up it starting at zero not an easy task by any means. Next time I am going to take a 12-27 on the back if I use the TT bike (likely) so I can spin up the hill. I am also working on power for the next few weeks for I can hopefully be a bit stronger.

No one has broken 12 on the course yet, the lowest time is still a few seconds over 13 minutes. Please do not make these kind of remarks before you have any idea on what it is like...

bunnyrabbit

I still think you should just go to a 39 or 39x25 or else just take your road bike. Also, take your split times at the tops and bottoms of the hills. It's a short course and I bet almost all of your time is climbing, so why do you even need a TT bike? If it was me I would consider taking a lightweight road bike and maybe even go with a compact double (say like 36/50), and 11x23 or 11x21 cassette. But like you say I don't know the course.

Actually come to think of it I'm still confused about the sizes of these hills. When you say "200 foot 10% hill" I'm assuming you mean 200 vertical feet?

my58vw

I mean 200 feet road surface, not climbing, I think each hill has something like 50 feet of true vertical gain. Check out this link, I rode the hill again for interval training and to see how to climb the hill the fastest. I think the tt bike is an advantage because you have so many very fast downhill and flat sections, although you are climbing almost 70 pecent of the time 1 mile of the route is a 3 - 4 percent climb, not bad at all...

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycling/109956-how-steep-steep-pics.html