Red Rider

I was there yesterday...Haskins Hill is drop-dead gorgeous for scenery; if you're doing it right you'll hardly notice.

My perspective is that it's either uphill or downhill. There's little, if any, flat areas. So if you're a climber/descender you'll have it made. The descent after finishing on Haskins Hill might require newspaper...it was darned cold yesterday and it was merely "overcast."

Red Rider

Thanks, Hermes, for this. I purposely didn't hammer this ride so I could assess the roads, the turns, and the conditions. It's hard but definitely doable. I'm looking forward to seeing you & Velodiva & being humbled on this race.

Red Rider

I worked hard Saturday & Sunday, as did c_gallagh, so today we showed the tandem some love and called it recovery. Just what the legs needed.

I plan on a big hill repeat workout tomorrow, a TT practice Wed., recovery Thurs., off Fri, easy ride Sat., 30k TT race Sunday. If there's any blood left in my brain I'll post up. Otherwise I'm planning to bury myself.

nacler22

Thanx Hermes.

Yea, I'm not sure if we're tougher, or just know how to bounce better. Most likely, it's due to the slower speeds and softer surfaces. (unless you find a rock or tree) Getting taken down by a Sand Snake in a cross race is cake, compared to just about any unscheduled dismount on the road that I can imagine.

p.s. Whoever dreamed up chipseal, is devil-spawn.

chasm54

This. Appalling stuff.

Another hundred miles yesterday -101, actually. As usual after a rest day, I felt a bit dead. I've often noticed this before when touring, one's legs aren't there after a day off. Stage racers report the same thing, I wonder why that is?

I feel I am doing now the high-volume, relatively low intensity work I should have been doing in December and January when I was nursing my broken ribs etc. Timing all wrong but wotthehell, at worst it's money in the bank for next year. And the sun continues to blaze down in positively Californian fashion. Thunderstorms expected tomorrow, though...

Cleave

nacler22, still not sure I know what kind of race you did (I tried looking it up on Google) but congratulations on a good result.

chasm54, it seems at our age -- at least from my experience -- volume training is money in the bank. When I was younger I could get to a relatively high level of fitness relatively quickly and maintain it. Now it seems everything in the build up is in slow motion and having base volume is important for having speed work be effective.

Red Rider, may your TT fortunes be much greater than mine.

Hermes, unfortunately I have an old college roommate and his wife visiting on June 16th so I won't be able to do the VSC TTs that day. I haven't been to the track for a few weeks but I'm planning to go on Thursday evening.

AzTR, when is your first TT?

Racer Ex, hope your wife is feeling better. Also hope you did some fun riding after the TTT.

Meanwhile, I had a relatively good 55+ crit. I went on a 2-man break with the guy who has been cleaning up in 55+ this year. Unfortunately it was a 2-man break. I was hoping reinforcements would come sooner than later. After 4 laps of a 0.9 mile course I was hurting and taking shorter pulls. I saw a group coming but I couldn't hang on. I ended up back in the field. We almost caught the break and my teammate jumped across with another guy. I blocked a bit and the break opened a larger gap. Unfortunately my teammate got shelled. With 3 to go I tried again with another friend but we got caught after just over a lap. After that I thought I might try something in the field sprint as there was just one paying place (5th) left for the field. However, I never got positioned properly and that was that. I was still happy with the effort.

The 50+ crit was going OK. I was just hanging out and I figured I'd try something near the end of the race. I had moved up and was looking for a good wheel when the back end of the bike started feeling funny. My rear tire was going soft and I had to pull out with 4 to go. Since we were on lap cards there was no free lap for mechanicals -- not that it would have mattered. First flat ever on that course (and I've raced there countless times). Obviously I've done something to distress the tire gods.

I started the 45+ race just to get in a few more miles. I was tail-gunning that race and dropped out after I had accumulated enough miles for a total of 42 for the day.

Last Tuesday night race of the year tonight. District road race on Sunday and Senior Games next Tuesday and Wednesday finish a big block of racing. After that the focus is prep for nationals in September with the caveat that racing is the best training -- right?

shovelhd

Good luck, Cleave, and nice racing.

AzTallRider

Good stuff, Cleave. My first TT is a flat 40K on June 10. I need to get a helmet, and maybe a skinsuit, before then. I don't really want to buy a generic skinsuit, but the next team kit order will be for next year. I'll probably just wear the tightest kit I have, which unfortunately is just not that tight.

VanceMac

This was a pretty spunky race. Avg speed was a hair slower than Chuck Pontius, but numerous half-hearted breaks in the first half made it more taxing as we covered them. Things settled down, but then just before your flat, a break of 10 built up a decent gap. I figured this would almost certainly stick, considering both the size and composition. So I chased. I caught them after about a lap, but as soon as I did, they threw in the towel. Teammate (who managed 8th) gave me credit for pulling them back, but I'm still baffled (and disappointed) that they didn't manage to stay away.

First CBR race (not counting Eldo). Overall Chris (promoter) seems to do have it down.

Allegheny Jet

Nice finish after a crash.

A new casino just opened up in downtown Cleveland. One news item that made the local TV coverage is people can ask to be placed on a "not allowed to enter list". After watching YouTube videos of DD races, I'm tempted to contact USAC and request they block any online registrations for downhill MTB races in my USAC account.

AzTallRider

cbr?

VanceMac

Sorry, CBR = California Bicycle Racing. Local promoter, who used to be independent due to bickering with USAC. They managed a truce this year. Cleave has done dozens (hundreds?) of his races over the years.

nacler22

Cleave,

From Wiki: Super D - Super D (SD) is a blend of cross-country and downhill. Most of the race is downhill, on trails similar to the downhill segment of a cross-country race. There are also short (100–500m) uphill sections which make the use of downhill bicycles difficult, as a result, most riders use cross-country or 'trail bikes'. Depending on the trail and race venue, the start may either be seeded (riders start in short intervals), or Le Mans mass start (riders run to their bikes, timing is started when the riders start running). Probably the most famous of this type is the Megavalanche.

Our's was timed and pretty short. My time was ~ 10'

Doing three crits. in a night is "hardman" no matter the age.


A' Jet,

It is addictive. I may need an intervention.

nacler22

shovelhd,

Read your race report in the 33..................damn..............just.........damn.

shovelhd

Thanks. I need a therapist stat.

nacler22

Ha, try this on for size. He's cheaper and less touchy-feely.

AzTallRider

Nice quote... One of my big goals is to know I've left it all out there on the course more often, as Shovel was able to do in a fiercely competitive race.

Hermes

Wow. I commend you for doing a 40K as your the first TT. There is a reason that 40K is typically used for championships due to it being so hard. To quote Erich Whalburg (sp) a local P/1 strongman, one should have the slight taste of blood in your mouth during the last 10K.

Hermes

Shovelhd, Your NRC race sounded exciting. The sprinters timed the catch perfectly. And they bring the field with them. Philosophy... You are a great breakaway artist. When it works it works and when it does not work, well, it just does not. The really good news is that you have a competitive advantage that works in some races even with the best racers in the area as evidenced in your other NRC win.

Hermes

Cleave, We will be at VSP on Thursday before racing on June 16th, Saturday for Roger's 4PM session and we will probably do part of the 7PM.

AzTallRider

Yeah, well... there are 20K and 40K options for that race, and I was told to do the 40K option as a learning experience. You know... like throwing a kid in the deep end of the pool, and if he/she survives, you start swimming lessons?

Anyone else using a Garmin 500? I just updated to the latest firmware, which adds two more screens, plus a bunch of new data fields: Training Stress Score, Normalized Power, Intensity Factor (all those are Coggans-Allen concepts), plus vertical speed, which I suspect is VAM or VAM-like but haven't confirmed it. I'm going to use the expanded capability to add a TT screen and HC screen. Currently I have a basic riding screen, an intervals screen, and a ride summary screen. For TTs, I want distance as well as time, whereas I normally don't pay too much attention to how far I've gone.

ericm979

I use a 500. I think it had VAM before 3.0. The extra screens are useful- I have a riding around screen, an intervals screen, a summary screen and a race screen.
The race screen shows only distance and time, so I won't see my watts or HR and back off.

sarals 

What a jumbled mess of "training" I've done this month! There is no structure at all to what I'm doing, other than adding miles and pushing harder (or trying to). This month has seen me ride over 500 miles, and heaven knows how much climbing. All that has done is leave me frustrated, I just don't see the gains, even though other riders I know tell me "you're looking strong out there". The proof is in the pudding, and I know the pudding isn't ready. I'm not strong enough to stay with the pack I'll be "racing" with on Sunday, I know that. How can I be when I'm mid-pack with a club group ride, regularly smoked on climbs, and unable to stay with the A and B level riders when the pace goes up to the mid to high twenties on the flats? Fast pace line? Take a pull? I can manage 22 to 24 for maybe a mile, then I'm back to 20 to 21 and in need of shelter - quick! On the field sprint today I tried to follow one of the faster guys to the front of the field. That meant gluing myself to his wheel. I did it for a short period, then got gapped, just slightly, at 28 MPH, but that's all it took and I was off the back. I tried hard to bridge up, but blew up trying to do that at 26 - 27 MPH on my own - I just can't hold that pace.

On the big climb today I was feeling pretty good, so I tried an attack on two of the stronger women in the group. I managed to pull out about ten feet on them before I had to sit down and take my lumps. I tried, though - and I really think they were humoring me.

Race? Me? Yeah, right. I have ZERO natural talent. Determination, yes, but I'm beginning to feel the frustration in knowing that determination alone just is not enough. Big engine I do not have. I'm a mid pack everyday rider with big aspirations, and I think it's time I woke up to that fact.

Red Rider

So, Sara, what results were you seeing this time last year? Similar, or is this year markedly changed (as in improved)?

Success rarely feels good when we're achieving it. It's hard work. Hard. Work. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

You have talent -- you need a structure to help you maximized that talent. I suggest a coach.

AARP membership negotiable. *cheesy grin*

Red Rider

My pre-race ride on Sunday, and c_gallagh's friskiness on the tandem yesterday combined to give me weak legs this morning when I woke up. I have a plan for that race next month, however, and it includes a lot of HTFU and Jens Voight methods.

So I ended up doing this today and the win for me was ignoring the multiple urges to quit or make it easier or not push so hard or do whatever it took to minimize the pain in the legs. My Suffer Scores, VAM, power, etc. aren't anywhere close to most of you men, so I celebrate my victories and Strava scores for what they: My PBs.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.