globecanvas

Well heck, I'll post a report here, even though I posted a brief one in the whippersnappers forum.

Bethel Crit 45+, with shovelhd and gsteinb. 12th of ~65, although about half the field (the guys who weren't in shape) got shot out the back immediately so it seemed like a much smaller field.

Really strong field. Maybe 6 guys in the "if he gets away it's over" category and most of them had strong teammates too. 2 of the big guys went OTF pretty early and were eventually out of sight, and one of them had a teammate the size of shrek back in the field. A few chasers went off late and managed to stay away. They dangled within reach for the last couple of laps but nobody put in the necessary dig to get him back. Interestingly, two of the strongest guys in the race (teammates) did zilch beyond a couple of strong-looking moves that fizzled out fast.

I stayed near the front and tried to be watchful, but during the race I kept thinking of the line about how if you don't know who the sucker at the poker table is, you're the sucker. I followed a couple of moves although in hindsight both of them were clearly head fakes. A couple of times I found myself shuffled onto the very front in a situation where I needed to commit to bridging, chasing, or getting the hell out of the way. The first time I got out of the way. The second time was more important, with 2 to go, and when the field wouldn't come around me I sort of half-assed it and did threshold in the gutter, not going all-in to chase, but also not sitting up completely and committing to the field sprint. In the finish I sprinted late and didn't have much snap, crossed the line a number of bike lengths behind gsteinb. I wouldn't have won the field sprint, but placing was maybe within reach if I'd played the end better.

A great learning experience. Racing well is all about intention, knowing your strengths, knowing why you are doing what you are doing and committing to it. For much of the race I didn't really have a plan beyond "be watchful", and as a result, in hindsight, I was the sucker at the table. Really looking forward to racing with these guys again next week.

sarals 

Globecanvas, great report! I loved your tactics, I don't know that you're quite the sucker that you portrayed yourself as. Being close to Gsteinb for the sprint is saying something. Great result, congratulations!

sarals 

Shovel, I wish I could race with you, but I'd probably only be able to hold your wheel long enough to say I held your wheel. Great result, my friend! Quite the list of celebrities in that race, and good on CDR for helping you out.

sarals 

"good times" and "don't care for" don't jive. You did really well! I knew your strength would get you through that race, and that you'd be at front. No arguing, I'm a woman, and that makes me automatically right.

Great job, IBO! Terrific result!!!

sarals 

Cleave, you seem to be riding pretty well! Those average speeds were getting up there. You and the others, with your detailed reports, are really helping me with tactics. Good job, my friend!!

Are you going to do any races up in Washington?

globecanvas

I wouldn't call it "close", there were a half dozen guys in between, but thanks

sarals 

nacler22

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades.

Caught your report in the 33, but thanks for posting it here..............which I like to think of as a kinder, gentler 33.

IBOHUNT

My belief is that I only did well as it may not have been a strong field. Not sure of the ages. There were some younger than me and I think one older than me.


Thanks, for me it was brutal.

Um, yeah. Doubt it. May do another next month. There's a bunch of ITT's that I'd love to do but many are zillion miles away like one in Chesapeake VA


"good times" and "don't care for"...
I enjoyed the day with other racers and friends, didn't care for the race itself. It's like having to go to the city with family... you can enjoy spending time with them just not the city
Yep, you're always right.. if 'strength' = bullheaded.

Hermes

@Dalai Great shot of the track and weather.

@shovelhd Good start for the season. Has your boss (I mean coach) suggested tubeless? That will definitely give him some ammo.

@Cleave As a shareholder of Boeing, I think you should work all the time.

@globecanvas. Great report and start to the season. I really liked "if you don't know who the sucker at the poker table is, you're the sucker." That may also apply to BF.

@IBOHUNT Props for some great racing.

shovelhd

Hermes, yes, and I'm not buying at this point. I raced on clinchers because there was so much junk on the road I was sure I was going to flat a new tubular.

Hermes

I think if you asked him if he would prefer to mount a tubeless tire and fill it with sealant or have sex the answer would be.....

revchuck 

Rouge-Roubaix 2015 M40+/M55+ - DNF

Well, it's done, and I'm not really happy with the outcome...but it is what it is. The below is an edited version of what I sent my coach:

Quote:

Prior to the start of the race, I had this nagging "I'm not ready for this" feeling that went beyond what I've usually felt as pre-race jitters. I had prepped as well as I thought I could, was hydrated and fueled, and hadn't forgotten anything. The race started - full field of 75 - and the first few miles felt easier than last year. When it started in earnest, it seemed stop-and-go. I was mid-pack, and there was a ton of braking going on where I saw no need for it. It could have been the fast guys trying to pop people off the back, or it could have been the half of the pack who hadn't raced this race before and hadn't yet accepted that the pavement really was that bad. At about 35 minutes in I lost a bottle on a section of rough road, luckily I had a spare in my jersey. Then at about 45 minutes in the pack came to almost a complete halt at the bottom of some steep rollers and then took off up the hill, and I came off. I kept pushing for a while, and the pack hit the first gravel section about a half mile ahead of me. I passed a few guys who had flatted, but that was it.

I spoke with her yesterday and went over the race. She was unhappy that I had not finished since she believes that it makes it that much easier to quit in the future, and she has a point. She also said that she accepted part of the responsibility, but in my view she could only base her prescriptions on what I told her I felt like, so the fault was mine. She re-did the training schedule and pushed back the intensity a week, giving me extra time to rest and recover. My team's home race is the weekend after next, and I had decided before speaking with her that I wouldn't race it to give us some space to re-arrange things. (Looks like I'm driving the wheel truck now.) I probably won't race again until the first weekend in May, which is the next race in our LA.

The year hasn't begun auspiciously, but it's still early.

shovelhd

Hey chuck, sometimes the dog wins. No shame in quitting if you felt like crap.

revchuck 

When I came back to where the team was parked and was asked how I felt, a phrase from my Army days came unbidden to my lips: "Like a bucket of used ********."

ETA: You can type "ass," and you can type "hole," but the filter won't let you combine them!

IBOHUNT

back to the bath tub?

IBOHUNT

@revchuck - hold your head up. You're racing and my *VERY* limited understanding of this bike racing bit is that stuff happens. Doubt the paycheck you won't get for a DNF will impact you financially.
First weekend in May is your time

Hermes

@revchuck Well, we are not machines. We are not made of steel but rather flesh, blood and minerals deposited in interesting shapes controlled by emotion, sensation and ambient conditions. There are so many variables that affect human performance on any given day, I am surprised that we do as well as we do.

You chose a very tough race that is specifically designed to throw curve balls at the athletes and make the outcome more unpredictable.

You signed up, trained well and gave it your best shot. Many would not even try do to that level of difficulty. The key is to stay focused and take outcomes such as this as yet another training and learning experience. Plus, without the premise of that race, you probably would not have trained as hard in preparation. So your training may serve you well in a future event.

Props to you and your coach for a great effort.

Post Scriptum...I do not agree with your "coaches" assessment that stopping reinforces quitting. You are not a quitter from all that I have read here. The workout is over when you can no longer do it. There can be reasons that one should stop and I think it is better to listen to your body. IMHO.

Racer Ex 

I absolutely agree with this.

You were dead, flat, and bonking OTB and you're supposed to keep riding just to finish? To what end? I'm all for hanging even if you feel like death if you're still in contention. But if you're visiting the Offthebackistan National Memorial?

A while back someone here who shall remain nameless went out and did just that, and it wiped the athlete out for several weeks from a training standpoint, but more importantly demoralized them mentally. They were seriously thinking about quitting the sport.

Quitting when you feel like poo makes it easier to quit in the future? That's triathlon/marathon thinking, where the point/goal is to finish and everyone gets a hug and a medal if they do and 99% of the folks are competing against the course, with no chance of a podium.

This is MMA, where you tap out if your arm is being broken then go try to break someone's arm next week. Your arm was being broken.

The best bike racers in the world quit races when it's not happening for them, and I've watched some of them do it in person. Go look at the DNF list for some of the classics. FWIW I've quit probably 40 races over the years.

Anyone here think I quit easily?

You have an account in the "suffer" bank. It should be spent wisely. Wearing both my hats as a racer and coach you did the smart and correct thing.

And you aren't off base regarding rest.

revchuck 

All - Thanks for the comments! I do think I made the right decision about stopping. FWIW, there were seven other guys in my race who DNFed, including one Cat 1 40+ guy who was involved in a crash. To clarify about my coach's thoughts about stopping, she was unhappy, not upset, and had noted that it was a decision I had to make; she also described it as "full body tired," which is an accurate description of how I felt.

"Visiting the Offthebackistan National Memorial" cracked me up, and certainly describes where I was. I thought about making it my sig line, but decided I'd rather keep the one I have, which is the title of Jean (Louisons's brother) Bobet's book Tomorrow, We Ride in French. I was pretty discouraged, but damned sure don't want to get to the point where I want to quit the sport.

LAJ

Awesome report, @globecanvas. It was a very good read, and you did great!

LAJ

There is some pretty amazing advice here, @revchuck.

That day, you did your best. No one can ask for more. Good work.

shovelhd

Rough day at the office.

Bethel M45+, low 30's, 10-15mph wind, 15th. After struggling with my warmup I was more than a bit concerned about this race, although in the past I've had poor warmups and great races. The pace was up and down all over the place. All attacks were chased down. At around the halfway point I started to struggle getting up the hill. Normally I am able to crunch a good sized gear at 90rpm or spin my way up in the 53/23. Neither tactic worked, so I had to fight my way back after losing spots on the hill. Towards the end a solo rider got away with two chasers. I was still making my way up to the front, but I was hurting pretty bad. I felt that if I crushed it to try and bring it back I would last until the hill and then go off the back, so I gave it all I had for the sprint, which wasn't much.

Bethel P/1/2/3, DNF. The attacks started at the *** and strung everything out. I fought for wheels and shelter but had a hard time staying mid-field. On the second lap I had to close a gap to stay on. Hit the hill, and lost more position. Then another gap opened and I had to bridge again. Hit the hill again, and now I'm on the back. Guy blows up in front of me, I close the gap again, but as I start to go up the hill I fall off, and pulled the plug. I had nobody to work with, and they were pulling riders quickly. Some days you just have to throw in the towel.

It's way too early to determine whether this is a trend. I'm not used to being non-competitive. Definitely an eye-opener. Next week, new course. Try again.

globecanvas

shovelhd, it was great to see you today as always. You don't mention this in your report, but I know you're weeks or months behind where most of these guys are in training, and I also know you're fighting off a bug. I'm bummed for you that you had a bad day, but it's just a bad day. Last week you were slicing through the field like a knife.

shovelhd

Thanks, man. You had a hell of a day. Go for the points.