My last post was about winning. This time it's about getting dropped. It's happened twice this year, both times at Floyd Bennet Field, both times in the 1/2/3 race, on the backstretch near the old finish line. It was on very windy days.
The backstretch is completely flat but on windy days I should approach it like a steep hill. When a little gap opens up, it's just as tough as being on a steep hill. It's the kind of challenge where dropped riders churn a 39x17 at 70rpm into the wind while the field pedals away in a 53x19.
The first time it happened, on the 9th lap of a 12 lap race, I chased for about 3 minutes and gave up. After the race I looked at the results and there was only one cat3 rider who finished. Even if I'd finished last I would have been the 2nd place cat3. So when I got dropped on 8/18, after trying wildly to avoid this, I decided to motor on. How did I finish? DFL. But out of 33 starters I was the 18th and last finisher. This reminds me of the first bike races I did in 2005/2006, where I got dropped the first few times.
I'm actually happy about it. It feels like a challenge, and I like challenges.
.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Velodrome results
It doesn't happen often - but sometimes I win. Since this is an open personal diary (more so than anything else), I'm writing this post to remember what I did in the days prior to a win.
Sunday: governor's island bike race
Monday: very easy 17 mile spin
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: podium
Wearing glasses full time also helps me see things up the road, even when there's nothing there.
This is me off the front at the Governor's Island criterium on 8/09/09. Unfortunately my position at the finish was not great, I got 11th. Note to self: look for a landmark to initiate the sprint before the bell lap.
Photo credit: anthony skorochod
Sunday: governor's island bike race
Monday: very easy 17 mile spin
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: podium
Wearing glasses full time also helps me see things up the road, even when there's nothing there. This is me off the front at the Governor's Island criterium on 8/09/09. Unfortunately my position at the finish was not great, I got 11th. Note to self: look for a landmark to initiate the sprint before the bell lap.
Photo credit: anthony skorochod
And here is my favorite photo, credit goes to my team mate Wai2Fast for taking this lovely panoramic at the Kissena Governor's Island Criterium.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Analyzing my first race as cat3 in a pro/1/2/3 field
Downloaded the powertap data and was surprised at what the numbers show.
Even though there were a lot of accelerations in the race, the numbers show a near "personal best" for 30 minutes power output (cough cough).
That would explain why later in the race I was unable to keep up with accelerations. Normally I have little trouble keeping up with riders accelerating but when the endurance number is pushed to the limit everything else is wiped off the table.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
First race as "cat3" rider
Upgraded to the 3's, here's my lame FBF race report:
I was pretty psyched see a guy in Team Bissel kit at the start line with us... racing with a pro!
The conditions indicated there'd be a break as it was very windy. The first few laps (in the 1/2/3 field) were much more aggressive than in the 3/4s, with hard efforts followed by periods of relative calm and me sucking wheels. I should have been much less active in the beginning. Joaquin was off the front for a while with a few others. I didn't have the legs to counter and realized that I'd spent most of my capital in the first few laps. Duh!
Around lap 5 (of 12) I decided no more chasing attacks or efforts, I ride as efficiently as possible in order to finish. But the field kept wittling down and it was impossible ride caboose, even in the middle I kept having to close gaps.
Around lap 6 a champion systems guy shouted in Spanish, "ok, let's get some training in" (it helps to be bilingual). They (champion systems) started riding tempo at the front and things got really strung out. On lap 7 I was expending over 4/wkg just to stay in a draft on the back stretch.
Lap 8, coming out of turn 2, the guy in front of me pops. I knew it was going to happen but was hoping someone else would make the effort to close the gap since there were a lot of us stuck behind him and champsys was still setting the tempo.
Willie Payton(?) passed me but he was going to fast for me to latch on. I started working harder to bridge the gap. Coming out of turn 3 I saw a rider whom I know from the velodrome up the road. He seemed to be losing steam so I shouted at him to come on, we can make it. As I passed, I noticed his front tire was going flat! I've never seen so many flats in a race. Horrendous attrition in this race: 47 started and only 16 finished. I suspect some guys carry thumbtacks to use at the most opportune moment - when they think they're gonna get dropped they'll bust a derailleur with a bit of fishing line, or pop a tube with a tack to avoid embarrassment. In the end only two from my group made it back to the group, and I wasn't one of them. I struggled to finish the lap while realizing the gap was getting bigger. So I survived 9 laps.
Funny thing is an hour ago when I started writing this, I was going to write that the race was hard and upgrading sucks. But I took a break for a phone call and some beer. Now I think it feels good to push hard. New things to learn and new limits to expose. Wiser tactics to unravel. In essence, a whole new piñata of fun.
.
I was pretty psyched see a guy in Team Bissel kit at the start line with us... racing with a pro!
The conditions indicated there'd be a break as it was very windy. The first few laps (in the 1/2/3 field) were much more aggressive than in the 3/4s, with hard efforts followed by periods of relative calm and me sucking wheels. I should have been much less active in the beginning. Joaquin was off the front for a while with a few others. I didn't have the legs to counter and realized that I'd spent most of my capital in the first few laps. Duh!
Around lap 5 (of 12) I decided no more chasing attacks or efforts, I ride as efficiently as possible in order to finish. But the field kept wittling down and it was impossible ride caboose, even in the middle I kept having to close gaps.
Around lap 6 a champion systems guy shouted in Spanish, "ok, let's get some training in" (it helps to be bilingual). They (champion systems) started riding tempo at the front and things got really strung out. On lap 7 I was expending over 4/wkg just to stay in a draft on the back stretch.
Lap 8, coming out of turn 2, the guy in front of me pops. I knew it was going to happen but was hoping someone else would make the effort to close the gap since there were a lot of us stuck behind him and champsys was still setting the tempo.
Willie Payton(?) passed me but he was going to fast for me to latch on. I started working harder to bridge the gap. Coming out of turn 3 I saw a rider whom I know from the velodrome up the road. He seemed to be losing steam so I shouted at him to come on, we can make it. As I passed, I noticed his front tire was going flat! I've never seen so many flats in a race. Horrendous attrition in this race: 47 started and only 16 finished. I suspect some guys carry thumbtacks to use at the most opportune moment - when they think they're gonna get dropped they'll bust a derailleur with a bit of fishing line, or pop a tube with a tack to avoid embarrassment. In the end only two from my group made it back to the group, and I wasn't one of them. I struggled to finish the lap while realizing the gap was getting bigger. So I survived 9 laps.
Funny thing is an hour ago when I started writing this, I was going to write that the race was hard and upgrading sucks. But I took a break for a phone call and some beer. Now I think it feels good to push hard. New things to learn and new limits to expose. Wiser tactics to unravel. In essence, a whole new piñata of fun.
.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)