3kmi

I saw that guy riding away from the race and was very confused

badhat

frostbite time trial

tldr: rode 2/3s of the TT on the horns cuz the crosswind was beating the hell out of me. ended up 3rd in 35+3

long version

11.4 mile out and back to open the colorado road season. its north of Fort Collins, near the wy border, completely open high plains and notoriously windy. last year i got 3rd in SM3 with a 26.5mph effort and a time of 26:30ish. this year i'm thinkin about takin a run at the Road points cup, and doin more stage races, so i figured i'd race 35+3, so as to avoid the aggro young 3s in crits.

alright so i was really lookin forward to this one cuz i love TT and cuz i've been really good with my training this winter and despite not having done any all out half hour TT efforts in full TT getup, i had seem some promising numbers in my training, and was really hunting for a win. its not a huge race, but i typically use to to define the end of my base training and the beginning of interval season.

i havent won a race yet. several podiums, lotsa top 5s and 10s and even a couple of field sprint wins for like 5 or 6 or whatever. i won BAR one year on a lot of near misses, but still havent gotten a nice fat juicy W and i thought frostbite was a really good chance.

i prepared well the night before and got good sleep and left the house on time saturday morning. there was some wind forecast, but nothing crazy, but as we started driving north, it got progressively worse the further north and out of town we got, and by the time we were driving on the highway course next to the course (frontage road) could see the early racers really fighting the crosswind, and tumbleweed blowing violently across the highway.

this was gonna be somethin'.

got signed in and got set up for a warmup and about 10 minutes into a planned half hour a friend walked past my car and trainer and said the refs were advising people not to use deep front rims or disc rearss. apparently theyd already had a number of DNFs and a couple of crashes and were a little concerned.

all i had for a rear was my ea70 with a wheelbuilder disc cover, bolted and taped to within an inch of its life. i started to get a little spooked and though, man i dont wanna risk it i'm just gonna take the disc off... which of course was a pretty time intensive process, cassette tool, remove bolts, remove tape, remove more tape, keep removing tape... took some doing and by the time i was done i needed to roll to make my start time, so... hit the line fairly cold.

as soon as i hit the course i started getting pulverized. just totally gettin kicked around the road by the wind and just struggling to settle into a rhythm and wasnt feelin it, so i got out of the aerobars and sat on the horns, trying to keep my form otherwise aero, and rode most of the out on the horns. totally blew the turnaround on account of wind, despite doing a lot of turnaround work over the winter. and on the way back i was able to get into the aerobars a little more but still spend a good amount of time on the horns.

rolled through and didnt get on site results, and i kinda assumed the worst. never really felt comfortable, my speed was really low (avgd like 22mph), and my time was like 3 minnutes off of last year. kinda beat myself up all day yesterday.

late last night they posted results and i got 3rd in 35+3, missed 1st by 20 seconds, which i easily gave up due to bad form. the guys who beat me are guys ive beaten handily in TTs before. so on that level it was a tough beat, but really, more power to em, they brought something to the game yesterday that a lot of fitter guys didnt- more nerve and better gear selection. racing is always a test and sometimes its a testof something you werent expecting or prepared for. theres lessons there.

the kicker is if i'd have entered SM3, i'd have won by 30 seconds.

anyway, not a terrible start to my season, and when i looked at my data today my pacing was really really good, so thats promising. have a good feeling about this year but we'll see.

gsteinb

bethel 45+ and 1,2,3:

jumped late in the 45+ sprint. Took second. bad job on my part.

Was surprised to find myself contesting the field sprint in the 1,2,3 (1 away) but some lead out guy sat up and caused the race to pinch into the curb and I had to grab a handful of brake as we ground to a halt. Heard to tell tale sound of crashing carbon behind. Ended up 12th.

mattm

Mason Lake RR - 60 miles, Cat 3. 2nd.

Took the field sprint! Made use of a 7-man leadout from another team, I should send them a card.

Was off the front for about a lap (12 miles) with one other guy, but it was too damn hard, and too early in the race.. breaks, ugh.

The podum gives me enough points for the cat 2 upgrade, but I'm in no hurry to run with the big dogs.

echappist

cheers, you sandbagger

valygrl

Ouch for the category choice. Nice job on the pacing. I have a lot to learn on that front. Having gone over my power file with my friend/coach, some areas of improvement have been identified.

shovelhd

You looked very good yesterday as did the rest of your squad.

shovelhd

Bethel M45+

Nobody wanted to get off the front with any conviction. Was away twice but not for long. I was on the winner's wheel with 200m to go but he shot through a hole without me leaving a wake of sketchiness which took me off the gas for just long enough to end up 10th.

Bethel P/1/2/3

I do these races for training as the only time I can be a factor is if I'm in the break. I spent most of my time up front because it was awfully sketchy in the middle, more than the usual bumping, swerving, and hard braking. At one point here were four guys about 200m up the road, one of them a Cat1 who I train with occasionally. They're working just fine together. The next thing I see is a wheel going sideways and the guy hitting the pavement really hard. I don't get it. With 3 to go I'm on the right side and some guy starts riding on the curb. Wheels touch. Grinding sounds emanated. Yelling ensued. On the last lap I'm up front, not going to win anything but with a shot at a top 20 when a pair of leadout riders were going backwards through the field fast. I had no problem getting around them but three guys in front of me must have. Some one grabbed the brakes, the guy right in front of me did a stoppie. I had two choices, drop anchor or swerve left in front of the pack. Anchors aweigh. Crunching behind me but no carnage for me. Sat up and rolled in muttering.

Hopefully that gets the bad luck out of the way for a while. I felt good in both races, much stronger than this time last year.

Thanks CDR for your great work.

plantrob

First training crit of the year. Cat 5s (four down, six to go), points format, just 15 short laps through an industrial park with slight uphill finish, sprints every 5 laps. Because my sprint is nothing to write home about, I went early on each of the sprint laps, and each time wound up getting caught by one other rider. Now that I know what to expect if I play things conservatively (not catching too much wind, moving along with the slowness of the group), maybe next week I'll try something stupid, like attacking early and trying to hold a lead. There wasn't much evidence of organization or cooperation in the race yesterday, so there's a slight chance it could succeed...

Homebrew01

shovelhd, glad you survived. The 3s race was sketchy too, with a guy next to me doing cyclocross with 1/2 lap to go. The course is so wide & smooth I don't understand all the craziness .... Maybe we need some chicanes to string things out a bit.

substructure

Two Masters road races the past two Saturdays.
Got into the winning breaks each race.
Got 5th in both races.

waterrockets 

Yeah, I think a hard course is a lot safer. More fun too.

JonnyHK 

https://www.vitagreen.sportsoho.com/map_en.php

"Vita Green Cycling for Heath Marathon" - something lost in translation from the Chinese I'm sure, but it was a crit race.

Course: right in the middle of Central in Hong Kong, probably the first and last time I'll race there so lots of interest from the local guys. New bit of road, out and back course with a roundabout at the far end and a hairpin at the start. Nasty energy sapping dip in and out of a tunnel about 3/4 the way down. About 2km per lap.

Events:
there was a bunch of public events, children's races and even a celebrity lap, but we were there for "Men's Elite" - which was all age groups (19-29, 30-39, 40-49 and 50+) all heading off in one mass start for 12 laps. The men's open race was odd - everything from cheapo MTB, small wheel and folding bikes, all the way to top-end bike bling and even one complete tool on a triathlon rig who was wearing an aero lid and was down in the aero bars on the first lap (someone must have shouted at him because we didn't see him aero again later).

Conditions:
Wet from rain and fog that night and morning. New construction road, so lots of grit and dust. Was going to be slippery in patches and we were expecting a few low-side bike drops on the two corners (some of the earlier events had some comedy moments).

My Race:
The plan was to hang on for as long as possible with the main bunch, then start to hang with the age group bunches as we fell off the back (you could tell who was who by the numbers).

Screwed up from the get go - despite being in a good start position I goofed clipping in and went from top 20 to about 60 real quick. Was struggling with the concertina effect by the end of the first lap and was in a dropped group by the end of the second.

Working in small groups was OK, but the dip in and out of the tunnel was having a toll. We'd drop a guy or two off the back, but pick up some new ones who had fallen off the main lead group. They were not pulling the slow riders and we overtook a few (including a guy on a 451 small wheel bike - WTF?)

On lap 8 there was a crash a bit ahead of us and the marshals were pushing us onto half the track width. One of our guys from the front of the pack was on sitting on the ground, but some other poor guy from another team was laying flat on his face. Two laps later an ambulance was parked there AND the leaders (break away of 3) were about to lap us, so things got narrow real quick and our group thinned out into a line and broke up.

Dragged myself around the last 2 laps pretty much solo and struggling for pace. About a 35km/h (22mp/h) average for me despite the slow last laps.

Our team's fastest guy (remaining upright!) missed the 3 man break and couldn't get back on. The other teams with guys in the break (2 from one team, one from another) basically sat back and didn't work.

The Accident:
The guy from my team who fell managed to ride away once the ambulance left and only has some rash on his thigh and a slightly chewed up hood on the bike. Other guy didn't look good laid out flat like a soldier at attention. There was plenty of 'claret' on the road later and I have discovered today that he's in a coma in ICU.

One of our other fast guys managed to see the entire crash and avoid it. A guy from another new team basically cut off (with a bonehead move) the victim - who was out of the saddle and when his front wheel was clipped I think he pretty much ate the road face first in one go and stopped dead from at least 35km/h. Our injured man rode right over the top as he was following. Everyone else scattered with a few going between the metal pedestrian handrail and the body - not a lot of room for your bars and fingers. After the race our fast guy caught up with the rider who seemed to cause the accident and gave him a 'stern lecture' or some unprintable words to that effect.

Fun day tinged with a bit of sadness. We're waiting on updates on the injured guy (don't know him though).

JonnyHK 

And I've got the event jersey (given for free) if anyone wants it.

Champion Systems, XL, rather hideous orange design (I think you can see it on the event website).

Yours for the cost of postage (about US$7?).

Link for design and size chart:
https://www.vitagreen.sportsoho.com/info_en.php

carpediemracing 

3-4s - the cross rider was my teammate SOC, he got squeezed on that slight right bend on the backstretch. I'd just moved left of him (he tried to move up, door shut, and I went left when I saw a hole). We were still 20-30 riders back, with 300-350 meters to go. Passed the main group in the sprint, finished with the same speed as the top 6 or so. If I started my sprint a bit further up it would have been better. Teammate won, basically on his own. Impressive. Field was huge. Legs not sore so it wasn't a hard race, but I almost dropped out about 15 laps in.

P123s. When I looked up after unending suffering and saw 40 laps to go I decided I would flare out. Moved up about 5 laps later, got near the front, and that was that.

Clinic went well. Lots of people, I hope a few people learned something. It's tough kitting up at 8AM knowing my race isn't until 1 (I changed back, but still).

Due to a lot of stress and trying to get things running smoothly (someone complained the day of race line was moving along too slowly, like "is there something wrong with the girl at the desk?" a literal question to me) I didn't get results posted until I got home and I have absolutely no race reports.

merlinextraligh

Albany RR. Clear cool day, but 20-30mph winds. 2 laps of approximately 30 miles. Race blew apart toward the end of the first lap in a section that was completely exposed into a cross/headwind.

I didn't make the lead group, spent the rest of the race picking up other people that were shelled. Dropped that group on the final little climb.

Finished 6th in the RR, 5th on GC Masters 45.

I should have been 4th on GC. They had my RR time behind the guy who was 4th, who I dropped just before the finish of the RR. But I didn't wait around for times to be posted, so I can't really *****.

Between, tornado warnings, thunderstorms, and brutal wind, it was an interesting weekend.

slynkie

CDR, your series is always run so well, even if there may be a glitch here or there - I can't believe the gall of people to complain like that, especially about something so dumb. I know it's easier said, but I really hope you don't let those $@&*s get to you too much. I also know my new teammates in the 5s really appreciated the clinic.

Since I haven't seen any other reports from the cat 4 race, I'll offer mine. We had a pretty decent size field (80?), with good representation from a few of the usual local teams. After a pretty fast first lap (28mph?), things settled in - a little too much. Lots of slowing, bunching, nobody making the effort to string things out. My self and my teammates included, equally at fault. For maybe the first 10 laps I surfed the back, unsure of my own fitness after a pretty unproductive off-season. Finally I made my way up to the front, for safety. Bell rang for a prime. Coming around to the back stretch, two riders jumped way way early; I'm not sure if they had heard the bell, or if they were just trying to break away. Anyway, I followed them for the hell of it. The 3 of us easily got a gap from the field, with the first guy 5-10 meters ahead of me and the other dude. Other dude flicks me through (? - again, not sure if they knew it was a prime lap..), I pause next to him to ask, is there a break up the road? He answers no, I say OK, and I jump up to the first guy. Sit on him part way up the hill, then jump again to grab the prime.

On the one hand this was exciting for me because I've never won a prime, on the other hand I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a big fight for it. And just to clarify, I don't mean that in an "I dominated" way - trust me, my power #s for it were nothing impressive, and in fact I had higher power on the go up the hill from the previous lap. Then again, I got a $25 gift card so I have nothing to complain about

The second half of the race wasn't much different than the first. A few riders tried to break away, nothing stuck. With 3 to go I tried to get myself in position to help teammates in the final, but got boxed in a few times and gave up looking for holes. Rolled in with the pack.

I didn't see much of it, but I heard (overheard from CDR, actually, after the race) that the winner totally killed the sprint.

allawayr

First race ever this weekend - I'm a grad student who just started racing this year. Was convinced by a couple guys to start C's (I ran in undergrad and did a fair amount of cycling as cross training, along with a couple of informal training race things).

Eventful start, was warming up for my ITT and a passerby dropped a coat on my (rapidly spinning) cassette. Shredded the jacket, ripped my derailer off, and totally twisted the chain. It was so sickening to look down and see the carnage. Luckily a teammate lent me his bike, quickly threw my pedals on and got in line to race - totally cold by this point. ITT went OK, though as I say I was not warmed up and I was on a 56 with a low saddle when I ride a 58 with considerable drop - felt a bit like a gorilla on a tricycle.

SRAM Neutral support was at the event, he generously replaced my chain and threw on an emergency hangar, so I got to ride my own bike for the RR later in the day. That was OK - I started in the back and the pack was gone from the gun; that was a fatal mistake on my part. Spent the first lap trying to TT my way back up to them, but that was nearly impossible. Didn't feel too bad, but none of the stragglers wanted to work with me to get back into the pack. Took an (admittedly dumb) spill on the second lap, hit a pothole coming through a very wet and slick corner. Very gentle fall, only a small scrape and some damaged bar tape. Hitting the pothole and falling was enough to flat my front tire though, and there was no wheelvan so that was the end of my race pretty much.

Day 2, I raced another guys bike that fit me quite well after a saddle adjustment, because I was having issues related to the emergency hanger - I wanted to switch out the rear wheel because my fall bumped it out of true. Anyway, I realized that that was not going to be easy with the emergency hanger (only realized this after taking the wheel off, and the emergency hanger with it) - tried anyway to put the other wheel on and move the hanger but my drivetrain was having none of it- was totally seized up. Anyway, got on another guy's bike, very generously lended to me, and raced the crit on that. I felt that I did quite well in the crit, hung with the pack the entire race and got 8th overall I was too focused on not crashing and wasn't watching the lap counter, so the bell lap came up before I anticipated it (failed to hear the bell too, somehow). I am pretty confident I would have contended for the win had I realized earlier that I was on the final lap. Felt extremely good after the race and as if I had a lot of matches left to burn.

Spending a bit more time after the race I was also able to fix the drivetrain - got it to the point where it runs smoothly, and isn't locked up. I am going to take it to a LBS - though not my regular one - why are all LBSs closed on mondays > - to make sure the derailer wasn't badly tweaked by getting pulled into the wheel, and that the emergency hanger is aligned correctly and safe to ride on until my new hangers come in later this week. Glad the hanger seems to have done it's job, though.

All in all, I learned tons (like, always bring extra hangers, and keep people the F away from your bike when you're warming up, pay attention to the lap counters, that I'm coming into the season much stronger than I thought I was, and much more), and had a really fun weekend, all mishaps aside. And, I wasn't "that guy" that you wanted to stay away from in the crit - which was a big concern of mine.

shovelhd

Upon exciting the pottie, one well known and respected Master starting b*tching at me about the condition of said pottie. Please. If your baby a$$ is so precious, please stop at the McDonalds on the way in.

gsteinb

names?

dstrong 

Awesome results grwoolf!

mattm

Thx - I've always wanted to be a cat 3 sandbagger!! Now I can live the dream for a bit.

Points don't expire until June, which is also the race I'm waiting for to win again (for the 3rd year in a row). We'll see.

I'll upgrade before the season ends I think.

carpediemracing 

Thanks. I think the negatives stand out because they just do. That rider looked so mad (and since rider was talking to me, I felt like the rider was so mad at me), never smiled, even when we got the rider their number in about 30 seconds.

I hope that the clinic goes well for the rest of the Series. Really a huge help from shovel, homebrew, docm. Without them it wouldn't have been possible. Shovel was especially helpful since he gave me cues as I totally forgot what I was supposed to say during the chalk talk session.

Primes are often that way, unless it's cash. Outdoor Sports Center was extremely generous, giving out $25 and $50 cards. Even if you just go in to get bar tape (I just bought 3 rolls of Serfas tape, feels really grippy, perfect for a rainy crit), it'll be $25 of your own you don't spend.

I happened to come out when the 4s were finishing. The guy won by, I don't know, 30 feet? I actually told my teammates to look out for him in the 3-4s. He was hauling up that hill.

If you think I need a 4th I'll get one. We got more riders than we expected so I don't know how they were by day end. I usually try and use the portapotties but yesterday I simply didn't have the energy to even think of it. I don't want to be a snootie executive type in their crystal palace. I'll walk outside and use the thing too.

Wait, that wasn't gstein was it

btw the girls have to clean the bathrooms after the race. Frank said one was just for us, and that's the one we were supposed to clean after, but they went and did the second bathroom too. It was pretty messy.

echappist

Fark. That's effing terrible.

What were the organizers thinking mixing up everyone in one field?

Monkeyclaw

Nice racing, way to power through the circuit, it's tough when you've been dropped. I raced in the 5A's.

Friday TT: VERY windy when we went. Gusty cross winds made handling tough, along with a mix of rollers and climb at the end. I also ended up 5th in my group.

Saturday RR: Not mentioned above is the climb to the finish Stayed with the pack. There was a 1-man break from the beginning that got a minute or two on the group. The teammates of the guy in the break blocked with a false chase for a while. I made a half-hearted attempt to catch the break, but it was mostly just to up the pace of the group. I made it about half-way, then was caught on a downhill into a headwind as the bigger guys led the chase. We caught the break on the 2nd lap. The team then attacked and counter-attacked on the flat just before the turn to the final hill. I just followed the leaders who kept bridging but it was nice to see the team organization in a cat 5 race. On the final hill, we dropped a lot of people and I finished 5th right behind the race leader.

Sunday circuit race: Someone attacked right at the bell and this time I was ready. I followed him out and caught his wheel. When this happened, one of his teammates bridged and they slowed down. I heard them complain about how 'they' (the field, I assume) were watching this time. It was just the 3 of us, but they didn't want to push it. They let me go to the front, and I rode a casual ride at the front until people got tired of going so slow and went around me. I settled into the top 5-10 riders for much of the ride watching for any gaps and trying to hold my position. Got into a small break with a good group on the 4th lap but it didn't hold. On the final climb to the finish, a couple of people got off and hammered in. I finished 7th, 8 seconds off the winner (the same guy who won the day before).

Finished 6th GC. The guy who won the RR and CIR got 20 seconds of bonus time and kicked me out of 5th position. He had great finishes and earned it.