I skipped Floyd Bennet field on Tuesday night because of work and having spent all weekend building an ikea kitchen extension.
On Wednesday I raced at Kissena and finished 3rd in the Men's B for both races.
Point a Lap description: Points for first place every lap, then extra points for the top 2 finishers in the final lap. 8 laps total.
I tried to take points in the 3rd lap but may have missed by 1/2 a wheel. In the final lap I was behind someone from DC Racing when his team-mate took off. Then I thought I heard him shout, "Go! Go! Go! I've got you I'm blocking!" Since I was behind him this had the opposite effect he wished for, serving as my motivation and cue to go around the guy who thought he was blocking.
9 lap Scratch race description: rolling start scratch race.
For the next race, the DC guys seemed to use the same tactic as before albeit less obviously. It may have worked for them as I got third and may have been able to take second with a little teamwork. Alas no team mates in my category.
"A" feature description: 15 laps scratch race.
I was invited to race in the men's A feature race for the first time. It was fun. There seems to be a bit more strategy and risk here than in the B races. I remember being envious of the B racers who got to ride in the A feature last year, now I am in that position. Neat!
Somehow two third place finishes in two races put me in 4th place for the night, because a single first place finish is worth more than double the points as 3rd place.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
More race reports...
Since I'm a category 4 road racer now, I don't need to keep track of my races. The only way to upgrade from category 4 to category 3 is by winning races and getting points. Not so easy.
Anyway I thought I'd post these reports for posterity. I raced the Bear Mtn. road race on 5/13. The first climb is a 10-15 minute hill. My result was 31 minutes behind the winner, 65th of 95 starters. I finished but got dropped from the lead group towards the end of the first climb. Ughh.
Before that gloriously miserable experience, I did two races at Floyd Bennett Field. In my first race at FBF as cat4, I pushed myself too hard and got a cramp on the 7th lap. In the next race I landed a flat tire immediately after the start. So I was getting my ass kicked for 3 weeks in a row. Ouch!
So I decided to edit my goals. For the Floyd Bennett Field races my original goal was to place in the top 10. My new goal is to finish the race. A week ago I raced with this goal in mind, and satisfactorily achieved success! It wasn't easy, but I got there. Last night I decided to keep the same goal, and I finished strongly, a little better than the week before.
It is a lot of fun racing. More fun than just about anything else worth doing. I'm learning just how deep I can reach inside, hunker down and ride fast even when it hurts. Although I don't know if I'll have a chance of winning a race in this category, I can see the opportunity coming closer.
Anyway I thought I'd post these reports for posterity. I raced the Bear Mtn. road race on 5/13. The first climb is a 10-15 minute hill. My result was 31 minutes behind the winner, 65th of 95 starters. I finished but got dropped from the lead group towards the end of the first climb. Ughh.
Before that gloriously miserable experience, I did two races at Floyd Bennett Field. In my first race at FBF as cat4, I pushed myself too hard and got a cramp on the 7th lap. In the next race I landed a flat tire immediately after the start. So I was getting my ass kicked for 3 weeks in a row. Ouch!
So I decided to edit my goals. For the Floyd Bennett Field races my original goal was to place in the top 10. My new goal is to finish the race. A week ago I raced with this goal in mind, and satisfactorily achieved success! It wasn't easy, but I got there. Last night I decided to keep the same goal, and I finished strongly, a little better than the week before.
It is a lot of fun racing. More fun than just about anything else worth doing. I'm learning just how deep I can reach inside, hunker down and ride fast even when it hurts. Although I don't know if I'll have a chance of winning a race in this category, I can see the opportunity coming closer.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Weekly midweek race report
I raced all weekend (two days) at Kissena velodrome's "opening weekend". Placed 4th overall in my category. Niki took third, I was happy to see him get a medal especially since his parents were there to support him on Sunday! Overall it was a fun time: the chariot race and the match sprint were my favorite events. Simple, short, and incredibly focused.
Andrew L. took photos on Sunday and posted them on his web site. I am the one wearing the blue/white helmet and Kissena jersey.
On Tuesday I raced again at Floyd Bennett Field. It was a combined 3/4 race. Mike Berk kept the pace high from the beginning by pulling the entire first lap. Sometime around the second or third lap, Mike and two others managed a breakaway. They were brought back, then got away again. The pace was very fast, hitting between 32/33mph on the flat. I did a lot of pulling to bring them back the first time, then after they got away the second time I got a leg cramp. It was in the 7th lap and I had to retire. This might be a fit issue or a sodium issue, since it did not feel like maximum exertion.
Andrew L. took photos on Sunday and posted them on his web site. I am the one wearing the blue/white helmet and Kissena jersey.
On Tuesday I raced again at Floyd Bennett Field. It was a combined 3/4 race. Mike Berk kept the pace high from the beginning by pulling the entire first lap. Sometime around the second or third lap, Mike and two others managed a breakaway. They were brought back, then got away again. The pace was very fast, hitting between 32/33mph on the flat. I did a lot of pulling to bring them back the first time, then after they got away the second time I got a leg cramp. It was in the 7th lap and I had to retire. This might be a fit issue or a sodium issue, since it did not feel like maximum exertion.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Battenkill Roubaix
Battenkill, the purported 'enfer du nord'. From the beginning it was a very well organized start, in a small town overtaken by cyclists.
I rode the first 3 miles of the race at a high cadence to warm up. The country roads were hardpack clay with a light coating of mushy stuff on top, like a chocolate bar starting to melt. The middle of the road had lots of potholes at the beginning and it was harrowing to see 150lb guys bouncing high on their stiff aluminum bikes. Nobody went down. This was my first master's race (age 30+, cat1-4) and I noticed that most of the riders had good bike handling skills.
At the first steep climb 25 or so of the riders passed me on the way up, much my surprise and chagrin I dropped back from a comfortable position in the top 1/3 to the bottom 1/2. This little introduction made me realize what was in store for me had nothing to do with the great hill repeats I've done in central park. 'Where did these guys find so much power?' I thought to myself. As I'm usually relatively strong in the hills, I rationalized that the legs needed more warm up time. As it turns out that was just an excuse. The hills were brutal and I was dropped on the second or third steep climb. A guy named Craig and me rode together for a while. I think I was pulling. After a while, the leaders of the Cat3 race caught up to us. We rode with them for many miles - always hanging off the back on paved roads and clay. Then I was dropped again in on a very steep hill. I didn't even bother trying to catch up. This was about 1/2 way through the race (about 30/57 miles) when my front quads were starting to cramp up. At one point I pushed the bike up the remainder of a hill. I'm not sure what happened to Craig... I finished the race mostly on my own, a sort of extended time trial.
It was also my first racing wearing the Kissena club jersey. A few racers seemed happy to see it and shouted out comeon Kissena!
Personal health notes. Drank two full bottles of accelerade, then stopped to fill up a third bottle with water and drank it all. Ate a bag of raisins and a cliff bar when I started to feel weak at around the 40 mile mark. Need one full bottle of fluid every 20 miles to be safe. Leg cramps arrived with plenty of warning.
I rode the first 3 miles of the race at a high cadence to warm up. The country roads were hardpack clay with a light coating of mushy stuff on top, like a chocolate bar starting to melt. The middle of the road had lots of potholes at the beginning and it was harrowing to see 150lb guys bouncing high on their stiff aluminum bikes. Nobody went down. This was my first master's race (age 30+, cat1-4) and I noticed that most of the riders had good bike handling skills.
At the first steep climb 25 or so of the riders passed me on the way up, much my surprise and chagrin I dropped back from a comfortable position in the top 1/3 to the bottom 1/2. This little introduction made me realize what was in store for me had nothing to do with the great hill repeats I've done in central park. 'Where did these guys find so much power?' I thought to myself. As I'm usually relatively strong in the hills, I rationalized that the legs needed more warm up time. As it turns out that was just an excuse. The hills were brutal and I was dropped on the second or third steep climb. A guy named Craig and me rode together for a while. I think I was pulling. After a while, the leaders of the Cat3 race caught up to us. We rode with them for many miles - always hanging off the back on paved roads and clay. Then I was dropped again in on a very steep hill. I didn't even bother trying to catch up. This was about 1/2 way through the race (about 30/57 miles) when my front quads were starting to cramp up. At one point I pushed the bike up the remainder of a hill. I'm not sure what happened to Craig... I finished the race mostly on my own, a sort of extended time trial.
It was also my first racing wearing the Kissena club jersey. A few racers seemed happy to see it and shouted out comeon Kissena!
Personal health notes. Drank two full bottles of accelerade, then stopped to fill up a third bottle with water and drank it all. Ate a bag of raisins and a cliff bar when I started to feel weak at around the 40 mile mark. Need one full bottle of fluid every 20 miles to be safe. Leg cramps arrived with plenty of warning.
Monday, March 26, 2007
My first category 3/4 race
Sunday 3/25 was my birthday and my first race of the season. It was my first race as a newly minted category 4 rider and more than twice as long as any of my previous races. 34 miles of racing (instead of a measly 14 miles). The racing didn't even start until the 4th lap.
It was a lot of fun since my only goal for the race was to gauge my abilities and not get dropped. I sat in the front 1/2 most of the race.
I put in a strong effort at together with 5-10 strong men up grand-army hill (in lap 6?) and the pack strung out quite a bit - but when I blew up I got gobbled by the pack. I think we were going over 20mph up the hill.
I recovered mid-pack, and felt fine by the time we approached 15th street. It was very windy there and the smart thing to do was ride on the right-hand-side and to avoid the strong cross wind.
It was easy to spot the winning break... 4 strong riders who sat in and never attacked until they were ready to go all in. By the time they passed the guys riding on the front they must have been going quite a bit faster, and the element of surprise combined with speed made it impossible for anybody riding on the front to catch them.
I ran out of liquids and started to feel a little crampy. Next time I should make sure to hydrate the night before. Also my hands got numb. Not a bad start... Battenkill is in two weeks.
It was a lot of fun since my only goal for the race was to gauge my abilities and not get dropped. I sat in the front 1/2 most of the race.
I put in a strong effort at together with 5-10 strong men up grand-army hill (in lap 6?) and the pack strung out quite a bit - but when I blew up I got gobbled by the pack. I think we were going over 20mph up the hill.
I recovered mid-pack, and felt fine by the time we approached 15th street. It was very windy there and the smart thing to do was ride on the right-hand-side and to avoid the strong cross wind.
It was easy to spot the winning break... 4 strong riders who sat in and never attacked until they were ready to go all in. By the time they passed the guys riding on the front they must have been going quite a bit faster, and the element of surprise combined with speed made it impossible for anybody riding on the front to catch them.
I ran out of liquids and started to feel a little crampy. Next time I should make sure to hydrate the night before. Also my hands got numb. Not a bad start... Battenkill is in two weeks.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Shimano ready to launch coasting
There's an article in the 4/07 edition of Bicycling about a new breed of bikes.
The program is called "Coasting." It is backed by Shimano and will only available on bikes sold by Giant, Raleigh, and Trek this year. It is supposed to be revolutionary.
What struck a chord with me a quip from Sheldon Brown describing the program as "a wrong-headed exercise in form over function."
The more I learn about these bikes the more the purist in me agrees.
But... there's nothing wrong with form over function if the bikes enable non-cyclists to ride their bikes and feel comfortable and good about it. They sound like cool bikes with automatic power sensitive internal freehub.
Here's a photo of a cosmetic gizmo that looks like a chain-guard, but somehow isn't.
photo courtesy of bikeportland.org
The program is called "Coasting." It is backed by Shimano and will only available on bikes sold by Giant, Raleigh, and Trek this year. It is supposed to be revolutionary.
What struck a chord with me a quip from Sheldon Brown describing the program as "a wrong-headed exercise in form over function."
The more I learn about these bikes the more the purist in me agrees.
But... there's nothing wrong with form over function if the bikes enable non-cyclists to ride their bikes and feel comfortable and good about it. They sound like cool bikes with automatic power sensitive internal freehub.
Here's a photo of a cosmetic gizmo that looks like a chain-guard, but somehow isn't.
photo courtesy of bikeportland.org
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Being Green means indoor bike parking
I just found out that the Hearst building has indoor bike parking. That's a sweet benefit! It's also apparently one of the requirements for getting certified as a green building.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Bike race #8.
Rollers. Wait by pool table. Rollers. Wait by pool table. Rollers. Wait by pool table. Rollers. Drink beer.
Last week I had the privilege to race on Dave Perry's fantastic italian rollers. Riding these feels like someone has lifted your bike and you're just riding on air.
The even was called "spillage in the village" and there was plenty of spillage. Race details as follows.
First qualifier, my back wheel taps the wall behind me. This sends me flying forward off the rollers. Bizarre. I'm allowed to redo the qualifier when this is pointed out to the official.
Second qualifier. Feels like I can only get 8 pedal strokes out before slipping off the rollers. No biggie. After I come off, I realize that the drums are still spinning at around 40mph when I try and rest my hands there.
First race. What the #$^&>? Why do they put me up against A. Lacorte? He's faster than me by a mile and in it to win. That makes me nervous. I get 3 pedal strokes out and fall off the rollers. Big disappointment for the crowd. But then I see Lacorte slow down to ride easy. This makes me a little angry, so I plop my bike back up on the rollers and I ride my legs off just so he doesn't get a free ticket.
Second race. My friend Tito is spotting me. I ask him to help me get a couple of test starts in. Things go a little more smoothly. The official asks us to get ready and we're off. After a few seconds, the crowd is in a serious frenzy, stomping the floors and banging the ceilings. We must be neck and neck I think. Tito tells me that the race is mine. I relax a little... and there is my big mistake. I am caught. After the race is over, I think I've won but the referee tells me that I would have won this heat if the race was 990 meters. Unfortunately the race was 1000 meters. I feel better after I get home when I find out that I lost to Dave Wiswell, a pretty good rider.
There are some videos and photos up at nyvelocity.com.
Here's my race.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JbO1glVv4c
And videos of the crashes, including the one where I go flying forwards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe3Z4ffIYTM
Is this really only race #8? Next roller race need to focus more on the smooooooth start than the jump start.
Last week I had the privilege to race on Dave Perry's fantastic italian rollers. Riding these feels like someone has lifted your bike and you're just riding on air.
The even was called "spillage in the village" and there was plenty of spillage. Race details as follows.
First qualifier, my back wheel taps the wall behind me. This sends me flying forward off the rollers. Bizarre. I'm allowed to redo the qualifier when this is pointed out to the official.
Second qualifier. Feels like I can only get 8 pedal strokes out before slipping off the rollers. No biggie. After I come off, I realize that the drums are still spinning at around 40mph when I try and rest my hands there.
First race. What the #$^&>? Why do they put me up against A. Lacorte? He's faster than me by a mile and in it to win. That makes me nervous. I get 3 pedal strokes out and fall off the rollers. Big disappointment for the crowd. But then I see Lacorte slow down to ride easy. This makes me a little angry, so I plop my bike back up on the rollers and I ride my legs off just so he doesn't get a free ticket.
Second race. My friend Tito is spotting me. I ask him to help me get a couple of test starts in. Things go a little more smoothly. The official asks us to get ready and we're off. After a few seconds, the crowd is in a serious frenzy, stomping the floors and banging the ceilings. We must be neck and neck I think. Tito tells me that the race is mine. I relax a little... and there is my big mistake. I am caught. After the race is over, I think I've won but the referee tells me that I would have won this heat if the race was 990 meters. Unfortunately the race was 1000 meters. I feel better after I get home when I find out that I lost to Dave Wiswell, a pretty good rider.
There are some videos and photos up at nyvelocity.com.
Here's my race.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JbO1glVv4c
And videos of the crashes, including the one where I go flying forwards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe3Z4ffIYTM
Is this really only race #8? Next roller race need to focus more on the smooooooth start than the jump start.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Google maps mashup : bike race and event locator
I almost forgot about this, I programmed it a couple of months ago. http://www.alphabetware.com/gmaps/
It's a simple bike race finder that uses data from Bikereg.com to show the races as events marked on the map. It can be useful if you're a racer and you're willing to travel - but want to find a race nearby, or if you are trying to decide between two races to see which one is closer, or you want to see how far away a specific race is, etc, etc...
It's a simple bike race finder that uses data from Bikereg.com to show the races as events marked on the map. It can be useful if you're a racer and you're willing to travel - but want to find a race nearby, or if you are trying to decide between two races to see which one is closer, or you want to see how far away a specific race is, etc, etc...
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Visual Resistance
This stencil is just around the corner from home. I saw the culprits putting it up. It reads, "we own the street" and has an image of a track bike. Nice job!
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