Crash716

I always average in the high 170's to low 180's. Even cruising at 20mph on the flats i am at 165 or so. My max recorded was 208 last year at Dana point before i popped in the 35+ race. I have seen a lot of 201-204's at races though in the final sprints.

jabbahop

I must have a completely different physiology, am not working hard enough or am just old. My max in the past 2 years of riding was 175 @ end of a practice crit sprint. Now I am 50 years old which is certainly part of it but I am amazed that some guys my age are 10+ bpm higher than I am.

GirlAnachronism

I think our hearts are twins, I'm the same...

The highest average I've seen in a race so far is 191 for 40 minutes, with a max of 205--ouch. The answer to your question: not well!

Hida Yanra

umd

Everyone's HR is different, you can't take 2 people and compare their absolute HR numbers and determine if one is working harder than another. What you really need to know is their LT HR, and what % of that they are at. That will give you a better idea, but even then an individual's HR can fluctuate quite a bit as a result of several different factors.

GirlAnachronism

I have a good friend/riding buddy who does not understand this at all! She is always asking me what my HR is as we're riding, then comparing it to hers to see how hard I'm working, it drives me crazy. I've given up on trying to explain and just tell her what zone I'm in.

waterrockets 

You should always just respond "110, what's yours?"

Hida Yanra

chado445510

I had a race today at the Loudon Speedway in New Hampshire against a few of the private schools of the area. It was a 10 lap, 1.6 mile loop. I felt pretty good for most of it, but then made the rookie mistake to pull at the last lap. It was an uphill finish, and I just barely snagged third. It was me and two others that could have gotten it. So overall, good race. Probably could have done better, but.... C'est la vie.

tc83

I just noticed you are from Newmarket, NH. I always thought about going up to the Loudon races, but never did because I felt like it was a hike from Newmarket. I am moving to Manchester this weekend, and plan to go up there for the Thursday Night series every now and then. Not really sure of the point of this comment, I just thought it was a strange coincidence.

chado445510

It's nice to see someone so close. I love Newmarket, it's pretty close to a whole bunch of good schools. May I ask why you're moving?

waterrockets 

Driveway tonight. Finished in the strung-out top 15-20 somewhere, not in the top 10.

Course tonight was 1010m. 20mph winds. Quite technical, with three corners that you couldn't pedal most of the time, and curves in both directions (CCW course though, so more lefts). The wind was pretty serious coming out of some of the turns. There were probably 60-70 racers, so the accordion was in full effect tonight.

Teamates EDR and J were present, and both were active early in the race. EDR even got a prime when he was solo way off the front. About halfway through, we're going through a corner, and I could feel someone coming up on the inside, so I just held my line behind the guy in front, but the pack was cutting the apex a bit, so we went in. I felt the dreaded rub on my rear wheel, then it stopped, then it started again, followed by the crashy sounds.

Turns out that was EDR omfg. He'll be sore for a while, but probably won't need any Dr. appointments for it. Totally totally sucks.

I stayed in the top 15 most of the race, and only got swarmed once, and jumped out the front as the pace was picking up again. J came off an attack and went too far back in the pack. I was sitting up front looking at 250W kinds of power, with surges into the 400s. No problem. J was pretty far back and was hitting 700W each time and got into a situation where he just couldn't get up because of fatigue.

So, I'm watching the lap cards count down... but not closely enough. I was SURE we had two to go, but saw 1. Crap. Out of position for the kilo, as I'm in about 20th place. I launch from 800m, hit the wind square in my face and maybe move up one place. It's just not there (haven't seen the power file yet). I felt ok, but I just didn't gain on the pack as it surged into the last lap.

Ok, tuck in and see if I can move up a bit before the sprint. Four places up here... three places up there... ok, this can work. I go to cover the inside on a turn and hear an idiot "INSIDE!!!!" Yeah, right. I left a foot on the inside (which is plenty on this course). Next thing I know, I'm feeling that tire rub again, but REALLY hard this time. The guy is taking me out of the turn with him (it's very sharp, and we're flying, only 100m from the finish). We finally get into the grass and he flies over his bars, while I'm sprinting through the dirt to get back on the course.

I don't think I lost any places in that crash, but I stopped gaining. I was probably 12th or 15th or something. Inconsequential result other than this is the first finish I've had this year where I was in the mix near the front at the end. Racing with less fitness has proven quite interesting. It's like my Acura TSX. Pretty good handling car, but not much power -- fun to tear around in, but frustrating at times.

EDR, sorry again

bostongarden

WR - Glad you're back in the races!! Sounds like the juice is flowing well. As for the other stuff, aye carumba. Eek on EDR -- hope you are ok! And, on that last turn, what was that dude thinking? Sheesh.

kudude

lol at yelling "inside" on the corner before the finish

waterrockets 

I forgot to add that on another turn a guy tried to ride through me on the inside and hooked his bars into my right quad. It snagged my skinsuit, so I kicked my leg forward rapidly to get him off me. He didn't go down, but did rip my skinsuit.

Yeah, so this course at the driveway is much more crashy than the other courses.

El Diablo Rojo

No worries! You didn't know where I was, should have touched my brakes and got some separation. Heres my report:

Well last night things were looking good...legs were good...recovery was good....then bike positioning was bad...we came into turn one and my momentum put my front wheel just inside of WR's rear wheel, at the same time he started to tighten up his line and I got moved up the curb...not enough though and we made contact...I almost saved it but the guy I leaned on stay up rather than push me off moved away and I went down hard..I count my many years of racing BMX to my ability to know how to fall so nothing more than road rash on my right side and some bad bruising on the left from getting hit by two riders. I haven't had time to go over bike but it looks like I'll need some new pedals but everything else is cosmetic.

The race started out fast, the first three laps were guys trying to get off the front and I just pegged them then on lap three I took a flyer and got off for about l.5 laps..more attacks then J takes a flyer...rinse repeat...15 min into the race is the first prime I attack out of turn one and get nearly 3/4 of lap gap...so much so I soft pedaled the last 100m to cross the line first...turns out they thought I was a lapped rider so I didn't get the bar tape!!! So I sit in recover J attacks WR is safe and not using any energy...this goes on for next 15min...I'm about 15th wheel and decide it's getting time to get the group together...Mike is around 10th wheel so I slide up the inside on the finish straight and that's when I went down...It was really my fault I should have touched my brakes and pulled my wheel back but I thought the flow would just naturally do that..oh well...that's racing. should be out there next week so we try it again!!!

gbot

First crit ever last night. Smallish training crit, first of a series that goes through the summer. Raced in the 'C' race, 4's and 5's, and there were only about 10 of us. Pace started out pretty slow and I took a longish pull at the front then sat up when nobody would pull through, slowing the pack WAY down eventually until someone decided they would finally take the front. Thought that was a bit strange that everyone would rather putter along at 18mph than take a pull.

Hammered off the front on the 2nd prime lap but got caught at the line by someone I didn't see coming - I probably could have taken the prime if I'd kept on the gas a couple more seconds. Ended up with a fair gap on the field so we worked together for a bit until the 2nd-last lap where we got caught. I was 2nd wheel with half a lap to go and decided to try to get a gap. Didn't really work and I popped on the final straight and got 7th.

Huge fun, I'll be back next week for more. Showed me what I already knew - I'm reasonably fit, but have no sprint, and my tactics need a lot of work.

johnybutts

Good job! You kept the pace up after the prime, that's smart, next time make sure to stick it to the line!

grolby

Heh, this is like my LIFE right now. Though, pathetically weak as I am right now, I can tell that I'm stronger than I was last summer, simply because I'm not struggling up and over all the local rollers. So there is hope. You'll get it back, and start kicking ass again. I'd like to start kicking ass, period, but I think it'll be a little while. In the meantime, it can be surprising to discover what you're capable with on limited fitness. Of course RRs are no good, but it's possible to do pretty well in crits and the flatter circuit races. The problem is that pulling off the W is just about impossible. But position and tactics is so important that top-15 is doable without having much in the tank.

tc83

Bought a house in Manchester (real estate very affordable, and the type I was looking for [multi-family] more available) and took a job in Amherst, NH beginning next fall. I agree, Newmarket is a great town. I'm going to miss it - and foresee having to take trips back out to eat at the Big Bean.

carpediemracing 

Welcome to my world.

It's all about momentum. That's what I tell people.

My 92 HP Civic (new rating - I bet it's closer to 80 HP now, with 280k mi on the clock) has "TRY" on its plate, because it has to try so hard to go. I wanted to put "Momentum Racing Club" on it, maybe across the top of the windshield. But then I'd really get pulled over on a sarcasm attempt so I decided that wouldn't be good.

cdr

FormerBMX'er

1. Raced Sterling Road Race today...35+ Masters. Two lap one crashes allowed a gap, I avoided both.

Part of 30 man selection...and the remainder of the 70+ entries. Staring lap 3 of 6 I allowed a gap going into the start/finish climb. I was following a weakening rider, but take the blame for not moving up before hand.

Rode lap 3 alone, but bailed at the end. Torrential downpours, lightening, standing water, streams and debris across the road didn't help. The truth is I was absolutely freezing and decided to quite once my teeth started chattering while riding at speed.

Nearly got lost heading back to the car; 1/2 hr into my drive home and I was still cold...ugly!

Boy did I miss the warm weather of the Bunny Hop Crit in Maryland

-BMX

Issaquatch

Ravensdale Road Race - Mens Cat 5
Ravensdale, WA

The course was a 9-10 mile loop, which we did 4 times. Most of it was rollers, but there was a good little stair-step climb (probably 150-200 feet, maybe more) just before the finish. This was my third race, and it went much better than the previous two. Having learned my lesson at my previous road race where I got dropped by the leaders on the first climb because I was too far back in the pack, I made sure to stay at the front this time. In fact, I led the group up the climb. After getting over the hill, the pace on the rest of the first lap was pretty easy. Thinking ahead for the climb on the second lap I moved up to the front of the pack with about a mile to go on the lap and the next thing I knew I was attacking off the front. Not sure what got into me. Must be all the BFers that have said if you are on the front -- ATTACK!!!! So, I did. It was fun opening up a 50-100 yard gap on the field in a matter of moments and being alone up by the lead car. After about 20-30 seconds another rider bridged up and suggested we pace line. I knew I didn't have the stamina for that and that the field would chase us down, so I told him no and waited for the pack to catch up, which it did less than a minute later. We then hit the climb MUCH HARDER than the first time and I started regretting my foray off the front, but I held on over the climb and continued to hang on for dear life at the very tail end of the pack for a couple of miles of rollers. Several guys dropped off but I dug really deep into my pain cave and managed to hang on and then recover. From there on out I stayed in the shelter of the pack and felt really good right to the end. On the final climb to the finish line I held on pretty well and ended up coming in somewhere in the middle of the pack. Not sure what my placing was. Overall, a fun experience and very encouraging. And I learned a ton.

One sketchy part of the race -- we were out in the middle of no where, but for some reason a few families with kids (probably in the 9-12 years old range) decided to go for a ride on their hybrid bikes on the race course during the race. And there was no shoulder for them to ride. And the yellow line rule was in effect. Lots of yelling in the pack to squish over to the left before we ran them over.

badhat

Wheels of Thunder Classic Criterium - denver, CO

SM4

undulating 3 corner crit, very exposed. long start finish stretch with a tailwind, sharp turn into a 500m climb, then a long, gradually bending rolling headwind section leading up to a 90 turn to the finish stretch which starts downhill them pops right before the finish. the first corner is fast and tight the rest of them are mellow. forwhatever reason there was no seperate 35+4 field so this one was filled. 99 riders, or very close to it.

this was my first crit, other than a practice crits as a citizen last year and a practice with Ze's CSU guys. so i was nervous about a) getting shelled or b) getting crashed (or crashing somebody). i decided that i wanted to play it safe by staying towards the front for as much as i could even if it meant burning out before the finish.

we roll out of the gate prety fast, i find a spot top 10, single file through the tight turn. nice. smooth. climb is no problem, im not burnin any matches but staying up front, we round the top of the climb in the the headwind section and suddenly i'm on the front. pulling into the wind. i DONT wanna be here. but i do my couple of minutes and deliberately easy back hoping someone will come around, nobody does. its windy and theyre fine letting me do the work. finally somebody picks up the pace, i've been easing up so i feel good and i grab his wheel and he and i and a couple of other guys pull through the first lap. i'm not anywhere near the red, and i realize that if i can stay off the front on the back headwind section it'll amount to a recovery zone every lap.

third lap i got swallowed up a little bit just trying to save my legs. deep in the front ofthe pack. didnt dig it so i got out as soon as i could, and stayed in the front the rest of the morning. last lat heated up quite a bit, but still completely comfortable, sub threshold. but then what i figured was gonna happene happened.

as soon as i realized we were looking at a downhill tailwind windup to the sprint, i knewi was in trouble cuz my big breakthrough last week was that i'm a lot (like a LOT) stronger at about 80-83rpm that at the 95-100 i'd been training at previously. this was great for me but lead to one problem: i'm on a compact at the moment, so if we start going much over 35, i'm out of gears to mash. sure enough,the final leadout wound up to about 40, i got boxed in (my own newb fault), and couldnt get up to the front in time to sprint.

i ended up 23rd of 100 or so. and i'm really proud. i've been planning to get a fullsized crank to keep on hand for days like today, anyway, so this just sealed it. i learned something ,didnt embarrass myself, didnt get crashed, and most importantly didnt crash anybody else. so all in all a good morning.

i was told afterwards that this was a particularly tough day due to the field size and the wind. i didnt dare make any moves, not knowing the course or the competition, but i feel i'm definitely gonna race a little more aggressively in future crits. know that i'm confident that i have the fitness to hang out in the top 10 all day and not blow up.

Hida Yanra

that is a great course and all the Categories actually do some decent distance... I greatly regret missing it, but I had to swap my registration over to a teamate 'cause I'm sitting a desk and being a professional....
glad you had a good time and congrats on the attack! Attacking (and especially on that course) is where the fun is :-)