chilipapa

Finally my racing is underway.
Raced in a LVRC (vets racing for over 40s) crit. My local circuit is the National Bowl, a purpose built concert venue which has for some time now been used as a cycle race venue.
The good weather, our first sun of 2012 meant the whole venue was opened up. Which in turn means ridiculous corners. Loathed by some, but loved by cyclocrossers like myself.
Anyway racing was hard and compact and I think we held all the breaks. Hard to tell as only the top three are counted.
Friday I have my first XC race, before going back to the Bowl for another crit.

chasm54

I thought you guys might be interested in this article about Wiggins preparation for the Tour.

The thing that interested me most was how unsystematic he seemed to be even three years ago, despite being a multiple medallist on the track. Sounds as if nobody really helped him with the transition to the road until he went to Sky.

dvs cycles

Cleave, please do wear that for the Saturday ride sometime. I can't wait to hear what Gary has to say.

VanceMac

Indeed. Everyone makes comments about sketchy riders, but I think a significant percentage of those assessments are less about sketchy riders and more about "they didn't do EXACTLY what I wanted them to do, therefore they are sketchy... oh, and there is no way *I* am capable of anything sketchy!" Moreover, and to Cleave's point, it's a race not a time trial, and pack/rider management is a big part of that. That said, I am someone who a) does not like and is not good at pack management (I'm just too cautious and don't trust people), and b) believes USAC does very little with education and especially accountability for poor (and sometimes intentionally dangerous) behavior.

nacler22

Cleave, trade A'Jet for his jersey......quick.

Hermes

Lots of great racing going on. I am getting ready for the next LAVRA track TT series June 16th at Velo Sports Center. I hope to have a team together for team sprint and do the 500 meters and 2K pursuit. So my training is the standing start, power work and pursuit training. Yesterday, I was at the track doing jumps, one lap max efforts and standing starts.

Cleave, Will you participate in the next LAVRA event?

Hermes

When I saw the video of me riding the track trying to hold the black line, the only sketchy riding I saw was my own. Sometimes it is painful to watch your own performance.

shovelhd

VanceMac, right on, brotha.

AzTallRider

I'm with you 100%, Cleave, and I take full responsibility for being able to excel no matter what is going on, and also for anything that happens to me. I firmly believe that crashes invariably happen because of a sequence of 2 or more mistakes. Stuff is happening all the time. It's when it chains together that people go down; usually due to an overreaction. You even see that in the pro ranks. I'm working hard to be able to get in sync with the pack dynamics of whatever group I'm in, and find a way to win.

VanceMac

Yes, and yes! The latter point seems lost on some who think that because they are a cat X, they have evolved far beyond making mistakes.

shovelhd

I make mistakes in every race.

Hermes

At our track pursuit clinic, we were 3 hours into the session. Reviewing the video of our rides, the coach said, one reason we had trouble holding the black line is that we were getting tired. IMO, fatigue plays a role in racers making mistakes. When I ski, I quit early before I am tired. That is pure risk management. Bike racing, it is not feasible to say, yeah, I am tired and not a great bike handler right now so I think I quit. So racers press themselves mentally and physically beyond their limits.

I do not have a solution for this other than a lot of practice and skill work. The more engrained the skills are the better one can execute when fatigued. Also, I think that racers who started as a junior have a significant skill advantage since the techniques are learned in a different part of the brain. For example, I learned to play classical piano in my mid 20s. I can play well and can perform some very tough pieces. However, the monster works that are ridiculously fast and technically over the top are beyond my skills. If I had started as a kid, I could play those today. Language is the same. Leaning a language as a kid is a significant advantage over learning it as an adult since it is learned in a different part of the brain as a child.

For those of us that started racing later in life there is nothing we can do about it other than practice more.

AzTallRider

One of the best articles I've read in a long time. Thanks!

Hermes

Chasm54, Great article. I cycled in Mallorca and it is a great venue for a cycling camp. I have thought about getting a hypoxic tent. https://www.hypoxico.com/home-products.shtml

AzTallRider

I think we do have one good factor going for us, and that is our ability to realize the effects fatigue is having, and to compensate for that. I know very well how fatigue affects my handling, having crashed early in my cycling career, due primarily to fatigue. So as I become fatigued, I know that what was automatic, might require some focus, and I give it that focus.

There is also some interesting science, with its roots in Pavlov and B. F. Skinner, on how to condition skills into the Amygdala, making them much more like the automatic reactions you get from learning at an early age. Take a look at "Operant Conditioning". It's the basis for the training of marine mammals for shows, and a lot of the development was done in that environment. It's commonly called Clicker Training when used with dogs, and it has become the de-facto standard anytime you want consistent and immediate response to a particular cue. I doubt there has been an canine agility or obedience champion for quite some time that wasn't trained using Operant Conditioning. And the nice thing about it is that it is a Positive Reinforcement approach. More recently, it has also been used successfully in some human sports. The on the road nature of cycling is problematic from an OC perspective, as is the nature of our sport (OC works best for very specific, shorter duration skills), but I suspect there are ways to condition some cycling skills into our Amygdalas. The perfect pedal stroke comes to mind.

Racer Ex 

I didn't know there was a Cat 10. That must be realllllly sketchy.

The reason most pro and 1/2/3 Master's races are faster and smoother (and they are faster and smoother) is the guys are much more confident about their bike handling, have a lot of muscle memory built up, and a much broader knowledge base to draw from. It's the Jack Nicholas line about the more he practiced, the luckier his shots became.

That comes from two things:

Time in the saddle (practice and experience)
Learning from people with that experience

One is easy to achieve. The other requires you to admit you don't know everything and check your ego at the door, and go looking for knowledge; it seldom drops itself in your lap. And you need to sift through what will work for you and be open to failure if it doesn't.

I watch the pros, I watch the amateurs, and I look for things that will help me maximize my potential, whether it's equipment, training, or tactics. I've got 428 races to date and 122 wins. Probably 10% of those I won simply by being the strongest guy. The rest came from preparation.

I'm still learning. Always.

shovelhd

When I coached the Cat5's this year, I would classify the groups into two subgroups, the ones that were eager to learn and improve, and the ones that knew everything and just wanted to upgrade and race with the 4's. The latter group typically were the faster riders who placed top 10 regularly. The ones I enjoyed working with the most were the top 20 guys who wanted to learn. They improved every week. They'd come up to me afterwards and tell me what they tried at their last race. I still see them at the races, and we still talk about stuff. They're still learning.

RacerEx taught me how to ride in the IAB. I didn't think I needed to, since I run Speed Bars, but the IAB is a different position, with different muscle groups. Now I use both.

VanceMac

Where do we sign up for his lessons?!

Racer Ex 

I'll email you the form.

Posted up in the 33 that I'm going off the training grid for a bit. Mostly just taking out the structure part and going to ride/race whenever the mood hits me and it doesn't interfere with vacation plans or other stuff.

sarals 

Be sure to send me one, Ex!

Hermes

As R'Ex unplugs, reboots and relaxes, I went brain dead this AM and did kilos on the TT bike with a full power start. I found a flat section of road that measured a Kilo (not easy to find here) and put the TT bike in a 53/16 which gets me close to 90 gear inches. My wife was doing 10 minute threshold efforts. I am not sure who had the better deal.

sarals 

Work is about to get in the way of training again, day shift starts tomorrow. Because I've ridden over 200 miles in the last week, plus spin class, I decided to give my legs a break today. Impending "going to work" means I need to be on the bike NLT 0545 tomorrow morning to put in an hour of intervals. I'll ride the CFR Team because it's heavier and works me harder. My next race is now just over week away. I don't want to loose the meager gains I've made over the down week before the race. I'm still learning how to taper and ramp for a race, and it seems "learning" has been the subject of many a topic on here lately. Case in point - I've been flying for 37 years. Each time I enter the cockpit it's a learning experience - each time. The day I feel I know it all is the day I need to retire, because I've just become complacent. I'm sure racing is much like that, from what you fellows have written. Challenge and respond. Learn and improve. Physically and mentally.

AzTallRider

I rode the TT bike to work and back in its biggest gear (only 50-12 until parts come in) and am feeling slightly less spastic. Strength training in the top gear to build muscle in the TT position.

And I must say, a TT bike gets you from point A to point B very very quickly. I'd look down at the computer every now and then, temporarily mounted on the top tube, and think... holy cow. 26mph on the MUP?

AzTallRider

You sound so different than you did a short while ago, Sara. Way to go for it!

billydonn

As some of you regulars here know, I trained all winter doing indoor intervals running my HR way up (150 to 160) on a regular basis. I felt great and was strong in my earlier rides outdoors. Now after about six weeks riding outside and putting on a lot of miles (for me) I'm just not getting the HR up there for some reason. My rides aren't any slower than normal and I don't feel all that weak but I rarely even hit "tempo" pace above 130 or so, and I have done entire 90 minute + rides in that zone before.

I'm in an endurance phase building up to a weeklong supported tour next month but still... I'd like to get into zone four or five once in awhile. I'm not training more than five days a week and my rides usually don't exceed three hours. Am I somehow overtrained and needing a break? Should I replace my HR monitor battery? This is a little weird.

Advice is welcome here or feel free to PM me with your thoughts. (I'm not using my Powermeter much outside but maybe that would help with diagnosing this?)