bostongarden

Congrats Caad 8. Nice report

boka

@CAAD8 - Nice job making out for the race. It was a little faster tonight than it has been the last few weeks.



El Dorado Crit - (Tuesday night)
There was a good turn out tonight for the 4/5 race, maybe 35 racers. Rahsaan Bahati was there tonight, but lucky for him he was not in the 4/5 field, so he didn't have to face my mean sprint ;-) The course is a 2 mile closed loop in El Dorado Park and the races are all 1 hour long, run concurrently. There is a 4/5 field, a 40+ field, and the 1/2/3 field. Typically the 1/2/3 field will catch the 4/5 field and we neutralize the race for about 1/4 lap while they pass.

The race tonight was mostly uneventful, until about 35 minutes into the race. The 1/2/3 field was on us, so the we started to neutralize and move to the left. When this happens, everyone starts yelling, "neutralize, move left!" and there is one volunteer 'in-race official' with a bell/buzzer thing on his bike. I soft pedal and start moving left, so I'm about a bike length off the guy in front of me, who at this moment decides to turn his ahead around and look behind. He swerves a little and this might not have been so bad, but the idiot next to him looks back too and now these two guys hit each other and go down. This happens about a bike length directly in front of me, and thus begins my first 'crash experience' of the season. There is no way I can get around them, I think I'm going down, but I grab brake and try to avoid hitting them and going over the handlebars at speed. Just as I'm about to run into one of the guys his momentum sends him skidding slightly left. I pull up on the handlebars and wheelie about 6 inches to clear his bike and what ever else is in front of me. At that point the guy behind me rams into me (I think his handlebars hit my saddle), which miraculously lifts my back wheel a few inches off the ground, gives me some forward momentum, and enables me to ride it out and keep the rubber side down. I'm still not entirely sure how I stayed up. I definitely rode over one guys bike (rear wheel and rear triangle) and maybe is lower legs (sorry).

The 1/2/3 field rides by a few seconds later, we all look at each other dumbfounded over the crash. The next lap is fairly tame as everyone is recalling what happened. I'm still in shock that I'm on my bike and not on the ground. Then someone goes off the front and it's business as usual. The pace picked up the final two laps, but with half a lap to go nobody wanted to be in front so it slowed a little. I was sitting 3rd wheel, behind a person I knew had a sprint and would be there at the end, when it slowed and riders started to swarm up the sides. Then some dude started to go up the inside and another guy jumped onto his wheel. I almost jumped on the two guys but hesitated to see what the fast guy in front of me would do. He of course moved to third wheel; now I'm fourth wheel. The 2nd guy went before the final turn and the real sprint began going into the final corner about 500m from the finish (a sweeper you can pedal through at speed) with me sitting 3rd wheel. The guy that lead it out looked dead when he jumped, and he jumped early, so I knew he wasn't a threat but he managed to string it out and keep the speed up. About 300m to go, the guy in front of me jumps and I react. We open a few bike lengths on everyone. I try to go around him with about 150m to go, but I don't quite have the speed and finish 2nd.

Kind of a crazy night...

faire_du_velo

So i got to do my first race of the season yesterday. It was the prologue to the Nestorcup (nestorcup.com), a 5km time trial. I am a junior and have only been riding for about 2 years and have only done 4 races previously, so i didn't have my hopes very high. So i got to the start line and as they counted down i tried to just be calm and told myself not to blow up in the beginning. They word go was said and i clipped in and began accelerating. i shifted into the big ring and tried to keep a steady pace at around 22mph. I shortened the course as much as possible(the course was a race car track, so the road was very wide) as there were many 90 degree+ turns and one slight uphill section so it was fairly technical. I got to the turn around faster than i thought and felt good as i came around the corner. I kept up the pace the entire time and as i saw the finish/start line in sight i shifted up a gear and pedaled as fast as i could while keeping an aero position in the drops. By the time i crossed the finish line my heart rate was quite elevated and i felt like i had given it my best shot, with not much to spare.

They system they used for timing everyone was really old so no one could know their place/time until today. Turns out i got second place with a time of 7mins, 15.74 seconds, with the person in third only .2 seconds behind me. I am quite happy with my performance and I think all the early season base miles i put in have payed off. This is the first time i have placed in a race, and it has given me confidence to race more often, man do I love cycling!

Grumpy McTrumpy

thats a heck of a lot faster than 22mph

NickDavid

Posting this here instead of as a separate thread. I just got the 2010 Tour of Flanders torrent. It works and it's complete. File downloads as a .mkv file, which is easily playable if you do some quick google research. Lots of seeders.

If you want the file, PM me your email address and I'll send it over. Feel free to spread it around for faster downloading.

faire_du_velo

After i finished i checked my spedo which i had reset right before i started and it said 3.08 miles which is shorter than 5k.

Grumpy McTrumpy

what did the speedo say for speed? I calculated 25.48mph if the distance is 3.08mi

echappist

this is from cyclingtorrents.nl, right?

J.Lockdown

Race: Tour of Walkersville
Location: Walkersville MD
Race Category: Men 4/5

Finished 1st in the Mens Cat 4/5 10:45 event. Spent the 2nd and 3rd lap up front pushing the pace and trying to get things a little organized. On Lap 4 I decided to sit in and recover some along with on the final Lap 5. On the straight away I was about 15 riders from the front, when about 300 meters from the finish a lane opened up right in front of me. Everyone had shifted left to try and get on 2 trains, so I made my way up the right side in the clear using the riders on the left to block some of the wind. When I was about wheel to wheel with the guy out front on the train (150 meters) I sprinted for the finish as he yells (not sure why but figured cause he blew up or something). Good race and first W of my career racing, next best thing was 3rd. Now I have enough to upgrade to 3 but might wait till after next weekend were I am already registered for 4 events.

substructure

Masters 35+ 1/2/3 road race. Brattonsville, SC.
So here's how it went. 95 miles of pure torture. The field started with 60. Ended with 20.
First lap, right off the gun (literally. we had a backwoodsman dressed in patriot garb with a musket) there were attacks. I went with them but nothing took. I let my teammates have their way for a bit. But both ended up quitting after the first 47 mile lap. I think one had a mechanical.

Ryan J got away with one guy and they stayed away. I kept trying and trying but to no avail. At the end of the first lap my front der. cable snapped. Fortunately it was in the small ring - where it stayed. (The course was pretty hilly). Unfortunately I could not go with any more attacks. I had to spin like a freak on all the downhills and flats. I would get gapped then fight like hell to catch back on. And I always did.

At the finish. We were sprinting for 6th and I couldn't spin fast enough and was last in the group and 2 spots out from payout. Still an awesome achievement for me. I didn't quit. I kept fighting to stay on. I finished while so many did not.

botto 

ps - shimano cables never snap.

substructure

I'm beginning to believe you man. Second one in less than a week. It was my fault that I didn't have it checked when I had the other one replaced.

wanders

way to go sub. where did ryan and co. finish?

wanders

he's shifting too hard with those guns of his.

substructure

1st through 5th. They had all of their strong guns in there attacking constantly. They are called our local Belgium squad. Beasts, I tell ya. Beasts.

And I was fighting like mad to go with all their attacks. But it was not to be.
The remaining guys looked like we went through a war. I had legs to continue with attacks but couldn't with no big ring. Heck guys were even rolling in well after the race was over. Several guys bonked and had to soft pedal for miles just to get back to their cars.

Next time. There is always a next time.

Like Sandford!!!!

wanders

I expect you to do tour de Moore on sat. then the 30+, 40+, 123 and the 3/4 on sun. That might soften you up enough for me to hang with you for a couple laps in the 3/4.

substructure

I plan to do just that.

Issaquatch

Volunteer Park Crit - Men's Cat 5 (my second race ever)

0.82 mile loop with 60 feet of climbing each lap. I lost contact / sight of the main pack after 5 laps. 5 laps later they lapped me. 6 laps later on what was the field's bell lap I could hear the motorcycle coming up when I was about 100 yards from the finish line so I slowed down a bit and watched them cross the finish line in front of me while I coasted in behind them, two laps back at that moment. Ref said he wouldn't pull us as long as we didn't get lapped more than once and didn't get in the way of the sprint. Since the field passed me at the line, I got a nice DNF just as I crossed the line and an excuse to let the suffering end. My heart rate averaged 183 -- Zone 5+ -- for the entire race. I've never experienced that before. It hurt. I've got a lot of interval and power work ahead of me if I'm going to become competitive in a crit.

MattM and Hida Yanra -- Kyle is your teammate right? When will he move up to Cat 4? He won both of the races I've been in so far.

MattM -- I watched the Cat 4 race but had to leave just as it ended. You looked strong and seemed to have good position the last few laps. Nice Top 10!

fordfasterr

My first TT today. Short course, just 3.4 miles. It was 2 laps of this course with a short hill around a stadium.

I forgot to sync my power meter so I have all the data besides power.


average speed: 26.3 mph
Time: (not final, just under 8 minutes).

I had a great time, and this was AFTER doing a 45 minute circuit race where I finished 19th, blah.


EDIT: Cat 4 TT results, 6th place time: 7:49.640 , top speed 54.310 km/h (33.746 m/h)

The 1st place time was 7:37.229

Yaniel

Sunrise Classic Cat5 circuit race

It was a freakin warzone out there. 3 crashes. Two on straight aways for no apparent reason (probably crossing wheels), another in the final sprint. The first two crashes happened right next to me, the second I actually took a wheel to the shin from someone in the 5 person pile up. After that I decided to just sit up with a few other guys with 2 laps to go, no reason to hurt myself for a cat 5 race/ trophy. Overall I'm happy though, went much better than my last race (first race) where I was OTB in 10 minute. I was able to move around the field without problem and never felt I was going to get dropped. As for the TT... i don't enjoy time trials.

Colonelmom

Conquer the Canal TT.

2nd women's 40+; PR's with a negative split. This was an abosolutely FLAT course out and back. Crit tomorrow

FallsApart

Also at the Volunteer Park crit, in the 5s. First licensed race, and finished, though not in the pack. Got separated in the second lap from the main pack, and spent the next 24 minutes working with the chase group. Yikes. A good lesson, though, and once the chase got a little more organized and started working together (stopped fighting each other for wheels), we did all right. I'm psyched not to have gotten pulled, but definitely feel like I didn't work hard enough/ride smart enough to hold on early in the race, and got punished for the rest of the race. I've got plenty of work to do...

mike868y

Battenkill Juniors 17-18:

The suck. Got dropped on one of the very early climbs. Just didn't have the power to stay with the group. Rode probably half of the race completely solo. Windy day. Disappointing results. I have no idea what went wrong. I did my homework, did everything right the days before the race, but I just didn't have the legs.

If nothing else, it was a badass day of training.

mattm

Awesome report man. Sounds like a tough race..

Ha ha, yeah Kyle is pretty strong, it'll be fun when he's in the 4's.. not sure how many he has left to move up.

Good for you for finishing the race, sounds like you put in some good work. The 5's is mostly about training anyway so enjoy it while it lasts.

Thanks man! It was tough but lots of fun. Came in 7th but no points on the day... will probably post a longer report in a few. Need to eat!

Nice job on at least getting in some good training.

Seems like on that course if you're not in the top half of the pack it'll be strung out so much and really hard to catch back on.. A pretty tough course for a first crit!! The important thing is that you stayed upright and got that race credit.. nice work.

waterrockets 

Sub, nice racing. Way to stick it out