One of the most enjoyable races I've been in, a very interesting race. We caught the handicap group with 4 laps to go.
89 starters
Finish: top 15-20
Lesson: When there's chicanery at the finish line, sprint around it! In second place and glued to a well-known sprinter's wheel 400 yards from the finish, when he slowed down I did too.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Floyd Bennett Field Report
The legs felt like jello yesterday but still raced ok. It was my first top 10 finish at floyd bennett field - riding with category 3&4 guys.
It might have something to do with the new red veloflex tires that I'm riding on.
I pulled a few times in breakaway attempts but nothing stuck. For the sprint I wound it up in a nice heavy gear but didn't get fast enough and didn't have a leadout.
56 starters
finish: 8th or 9th place (top 5 scored)
top speed: 34mph (wind on my back)
sprint speed: 28mph
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Rocky Hill Cycling Classic
Entered the masters category with some 800lb gorillas today.
Only finished 30/42 miles.
I faded off the back on the last part of the georgetown wall. Looking over the garmin data, it seems to me that I shifted into too low a gear and was spinning too much (when I got dropped).
Although I thought I was saving energy by going aerobic, sometimes the fire needs to be stoked and the legs will feel the burn (instead of the heart).
Top speed: 48mph down the other side of the wall.
Only finished 30/42 miles.
I faded off the back on the last part of the georgetown wall. Looking over the garmin data, it seems to me that I shifted into too low a gear and was spinning too much (when I got dropped).
Although I thought I was saving energy by going aerobic, sometimes the fire needs to be stoked and the legs will feel the burn (instead of the heart).
Top speed: 48mph down the other side of the wall.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Numb3rs
Can you tell the difference between these two numbers: 74714853002 and 120135369424?
Hint, the answer is not -45420516422. The second number is actually bigger than the first number.
The right answer is that first number is an integer datatype, but the second number is a big integer datatype. Try to cast or assign the second number as an integer and bad things will happen.
This was confounding the invoicing feature in the software program that I wrote for a long time.
Finally, only after a user took the time to explain the steps to reproduce the error was I was able to fix it. Heaps of praise for active users!
It's very different building a real world app than it is building a prototype or an even an intra/extranet app.
Hint, the answer is not -45420516422. The second number is actually bigger than the first number.
The right answer is that first number is an integer datatype, but the second number is a big integer datatype. Try to cast or assign the second number as an integer and bad things will happen.
This was confounding the invoicing feature in the software program that I wrote for a long time.
Finally, only after a user took the time to explain the steps to reproduce the error was I was able to fix it. Heaps of praise for active users!
It's very different building a real world app than it is building a prototype or an even an intra/extranet app.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Ice Cream
Ice cream is good. And good for you too, especially if you're burning a lot of calories every day.
Today Molly and I hit Il Laboratorio del Gelato for the best.
Molly: small } Mexican Cinnamon & Dark Chocoloate
Me: medium } Espresso, Thai Chili Chocolate, Lavender Honey
Ice cream is always satisfying. If it was always this rich, I think I would eat less of it.
Today Molly and I hit Il Laboratorio del Gelato for the best.
Molly: small } Mexican Cinnamon & Dark Chocoloate
Me: medium } Espresso, Thai Chili Chocolate, Lavender Honey
Ice cream is always satisfying. If it was always this rich, I think I would eat less of it.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Thursday evening, racing and then soaking rain
I'll just link to my team's site for this one.
We got completely soaked on the 30 mile ride home, but by the time we reached the George Washington Bridge the rain had let up. With frequent flashes of lightening across the sky and ominous looking storm clouds, Manhattan was at her most beautiful, blushing pink and looking very Gotham City.
Finished 7th.
We got completely soaked on the 30 mile ride home, but by the time we reached the George Washington Bridge the rain had let up. With frequent flashes of lightening across the sky and ominous looking storm clouds, Manhattan was at her most beautiful, blushing pink and looking very Gotham City.
Finished 7th.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Sweating it out at floyd bennett field
Eric M. and I were the only Kissenas at Floyd in the 3/4 today. I'm presuming Eric had a technical issue, I didn't see him after.
It was a frustrating race. The now familiar tactic of not bridging to a team mates break seemed to come in spades - three teams had a guy in the 4 man break. I think at least one of each BVF, Deno's WW, and Merril Lynch.
Funny thing. Without Charlie I. yelling at me to know that the break is happening, I didn't even realize there was a break until someone shouted from the sideline about a two minute gap. Quite a few riders were surprised by this information. I thought I was keeping an eye on a specific rider's wheel but it turns out that the rider I thought I was looking at has a body double who rides the same brand of bike for the same team.
Each time someone would attack they'd blow up after 30 seconds. One team (slope sports) seemed particularly good at sprinting to the front... then bringing the pace down to a crawl.
All in all a very sweaty and humid race with lots of hard efforts that went nowhere. My bottle cage snapped mid race then almost fell into my rear wheel. I picked it out carefully while still on the bike then threw it into the end-zone.
Finished somewhere around 13-15th.
It was a frustrating race. The now familiar tactic of not bridging to a team mates break seemed to come in spades - three teams had a guy in the 4 man break. I think at least one of each BVF, Deno's WW, and Merril Lynch.
Funny thing. Without Charlie I. yelling at me to know that the break is happening, I didn't even realize there was a break until someone shouted from the sideline about a two minute gap. Quite a few riders were surprised by this information. I thought I was keeping an eye on a specific rider's wheel but it turns out that the rider I thought I was looking at has a body double who rides the same brand of bike for the same team.
Each time someone would attack they'd blow up after 30 seconds. One team (slope sports) seemed particularly good at sprinting to the front... then bringing the pace down to a crawl.
All in all a very sweaty and humid race with lots of hard efforts that went nowhere. My bottle cage snapped mid race then almost fell into my rear wheel. I picked it out carefully while still on the bike then threw it into the end-zone.
Finished somewhere around 13-15th.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Harlem Skyscraper Race
Took 6th place in this crit today.
I wanted to impress my dad who came up to watch the race so I went for the first preem. I almost had it, and a DC guy sucked my wheel to the line then took it by 1/2 a wheel or less.
I learned that to be competitive in a sprint I need to roll it out in a gear that is h-e-a-v-y, maybe starting as low as 75 or 80rpm. When I do get passed I feel like I'm spun out. The times when I have been able to hold guys off and win are when I feel that I can still spin a little faster.
And I got photographed... More pics online at velocitynation.
I wanted to impress my dad who came up to watch the race so I went for the first preem. I almost had it, and a DC guy sucked my wheel to the line then took it by 1/2 a wheel or less.
I learned that to be competitive in a sprint I need to roll it out in a gear that is h-e-a-v-y, maybe starting as low as 75 or 80rpm. When I do get passed I feel like I'm spun out. The times when I have been able to hold guys off and win are when I feel that I can still spin a little faster.
And I got photographed... More pics online at velocitynation.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Long flat burn
I raced the rockleigh criterium last night.
The back side of the course feels like racing in a friend's driveway - full of potholes, debris, and random garden objects. I put in several attacks but in the end was passed by guys with a much faster and more powerful sprint than me.
Here's a link to all of the courses and races mapped with my Garmin 305 GPS unit. On the map, criteriums show up as many many red lines over the same route over and over.
The back side of the course feels like racing in a friend's driveway - full of potholes, debris, and random garden objects. I put in several attacks but in the end was passed by guys with a much faster and more powerful sprint than me.
Here's a link to all of the courses and races mapped with my Garmin 305 GPS unit. On the map, criteriums show up as many many red lines over the same route over and over.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Sunday morning race at prospect park
Category 4 - 31 miles - 82 starters.It's not easy racing at 6:30am. Especially when bedtime is never earlier than 1am and usually closer to 2am. It means leaving the house at 5:45am in order to get to the race in time.
Today's race was fun and fast but my head really wasn't in it. I had no problem staying at the front. At the end, I poured on the power a little too soon, and ended at an imaginary finish line -- 100 yards ahead of the real finish line. Once I realized my mistake I decided to coast into the finish. A good workout, nothing more.
The difference between finishing mid-pack and finishing "in the money" appears to be mostly MENTAL. One must be prepared to win.
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