This is true. Getting that level of recognition would probably require a promoter who didn't work 50+ hours/week in his day job, plus race, though this year there's a new guy doing it. Besides, there may be an issue of reverse snobbery involved. ;)

I don't know... it does run through Redwood Gulch, and there have to be Banana slugs around (on the ocean side of the hills)... They haven't posted the official route - there's a chance to avoid the more travelled roads. The nice thing about this ride is its local, so I can do the whole thing ahead of time and be familiar with the terrain. For some reason, the second time up a hill always seems easier to me.

Oh it's not the slug gluch one, I was thinking of a different century in the sierra foothills.

I just looked at the link, my sister did the 100K version a couple years ago, and I used to ride all those roads when I lived there. Should be spectacular and very hard. Looks great.

I ride up that way pretty much every weekend - the scenery is awesome, its one of the main reasons I like riding so much. Whats best is that as I've gained some fitness, the number of route options has just exploded.

48 minutes at recovery pace...well, most of it was. Towards the end of the ride, I'm coming down a half mile long 6% grade with a stop light at the bottom. If it's red - and it usually is - I slow and turn right, then do a U turn to get onto the road leading to my apartment. It was green today. :D I left the shoulder and got into the left lane (two lanes in each direction) to pass the semi in the right lane, and used the bottom of the descent to launch. I had to slow down to 30 mph for the cars in my way. :rolleyes: I made the turnaround for my apartment and did a quarter mile at just under 30 mph to the gate of my apartment complex. It just felt so damned good!

Rode the Shiv 1.2 today. Increased the stack by 20mm, changed out to shorter crank arms, tilted the seat up and dropped it 10mm.

Whoosh.

He's back.

Waiting on some bars to complete the renovation.

An hour of pace, and a set of sprints starting from 25mph. Not setting any PR's, but feeling stronger.

Too new to be a renovation. It's a reboot.

2.5 hour tempo / threshold ride. Basically, I rode as hard as I could for 2 hours and if saw the power drop below tempo, I hit the gas. It was a very windy, cool, partly cloudy day and the pollen levels are up. My eyes are a mess. Rain is coming in tonight and should reduce the pollen count and provide some needed rain. Any riding the next couple of days will be on the trainer.

42 mile group ride today. Mixed it up a little bit in first 1/3 of the ride (I think the people in the group expect me to do that, nowadays) then shut it down and cruised. The legs felt okay, certainly nothing special. I suffered a bit on the last long climb, more than usual, but I think that was because I was conscious of not pushing it.

Tomorrow, form sprints. Rain is in the forecast. I hope I can get the workout in!

1.0 hour at pace today on the spin trainer while it rained, then went out on the road to do two sets of sprint intervals. Legs are coming back, felt pretty good when the session was over. Max wattage was 630 with an NP of 168. Max speed (10 MPH headwind) was 30 MPH. Marianne Vos I am NOT!

You go girl!!!

Marianne Vos isn't 50+, so doesn't count :P

Those sound like pretty good numbers to me.

Thanks, fellas. I can put up some good numbers - briefly! My 5 minute power, where it counts, still lags. Also, I tend to need a long recovery after a tough interval, and I haven't figured out yet how to make that work in a crit or road race.

By sitting in. Not on the back, up a few rows. Ideally, split yourself between two riders that have a rider ahead of them in between them. This forms a Flying V with you in the pocket.

I have it my head to do that, Shovel. I get into trouble when a big surge that I didn't anticipate happens, or I loose position on a roller or a climb, and I don't have enough ooomf to get back into the peloton. Right now I burn a lot of matches unnecessarily due to mistakes, and then find myself chasing. Usually I'm really close to my limit when something like that happens, and then I use all I have to (try to) chase back on. That's all part of why I need to be closer to the front, I know that much. It's part of learning the game, I know. I'll get there!

This weekend I'm racing on a course that is just death for me. I'm not a good enough climber to hang with the group that will be there, so I plan to use it as a training exercise. Workin' on gettin' up them hills!

Make your race the fight to stay in the V. Don't worry if that's off the front or off the back. If the racers are smart around you, they may fight you for that position. It's popular. That's another thing that I like to work on in the early season, fighting for wheels. Anyway, don't worry so much about conserving, use your energy to stay in the pocket.

Good luck this weekend.

My power is slowly, very slowly, starting to increase. At least I have turned the corner.

That can be a pretty big if, can't it Shovel? You are trusting that those folks aren't going to allow a gap, because it's going to be hard for you to close it if it happens, right? Asking because I recognize your crit skills, and my tendency is to avoid positions that prevent me from moving up if I need to. That puts me on either the inside or the outside, and I typically prefer the outside, since I like to carry speed through the corners, and a tight pack tends to get balled up on the inside of any tight corner. Of course, from what you've reported, you are generally racing with a group of fast and competent guys, which makes it less likely they are going to get you gapped.

What I have seen in the pelotons I've been in SO FAR is a wide variety of skills and confidence. The gals who know what they're doing and have bike skills are either on or towards the front, or sitting in close to the front biding their time. The back tends to be messy. Cornering back there is scary, and there is lots of yo-yoing. Not always, I've been in a few races that were populated by very savvy riders (except for me). I'm at the stage of the game where conservation is very important to me if I want to get through the race and stay attached. Of course, I've yet to stay attached, but that will come.

Shovel, I too am starting to get my legs back. That two race weekend really kicked the crap out of me! Today is the first day since then that my legs felt GOOD after a workout, and I hit the targets. Small victories!

It's a common thing for newer racers to only move up on the periphery. It takes time and practice to develop the skill of moving through the field. It is a skill that is critical to all mass start racing, even more so for road racing where there are narrow roads, a yellow line rule, and moto refs.

Gaps happen all the time in Masters and P/1/2/(3) races, from attacks, course features, conditions, crashes, etc. You can't avoid them. The key is to be in the right part of the field for your objective at the moment. If my objective is to rest, I prefer somewhere in the middle of the bunch with a lot of riders surrounding me. If my objective is to be vigilant and be prepared to attack or respond to an attack, then I'm up near the front, the top ten or so. Having the skill to move through the field at will keeps me from using excess energy moving up on the periphery. Also, if you are resting towards the back, find the sweet spot in the V where you can coast as the pace slows, and start pedaling before the riders in front of you do. This avoids the power spikes that eventually wear you down. But don't fear the gap. It's not going to kill you. Sometimes they are inevitable.

As soon as you feel yourself yo-yoing, settle in, then start moving up a bit. It usually is only a row or two between the rubber band and a much smother pace. It may take a little energy to move up and stay there, but that energy is better spent than in the rubber band, which is nothing but a waste.

That's great. Your legs feeling good after a workout is the first sign of form. It's coming. Usually after a rest week.

I have been in catch-up mode since February, with very little long rest. I really had no choice if I wanted to get back up to speed quickly. I have been doing things like hard training up until two days before a double race day. It had to be. The fact that I feel stronger and haven't had long rest is a very good sign. If I can get close to mid-summer form in another month I will be ecstatic.

Look at that. Four posts in a row.

What a blowhard.

1:24 tonight, with three each alternating eight minute LT and one minute VO2 max intervals, two minutes RBI, and endurance pace for the remainder. IF was .95 for the entire workout, indicating again my FTP has increased and I need to re-test. I'll worry about that after Rouge-Roubaix. :)

I'm stronger right now than I've been since I started cycling. I know I'll be totally wasted after this race, but I'm looking forward to it. :thumb: