Two years in review

Well, since I deleted two years worth of powertap data (see previous post), I may as well summarize what I've done/learned since I got the powertap.

1. Usually I don't have much stamina or brains for racing before 8am. This may be due to my living situation on the lower east side where it's impossible to get to bed early on a Saturday night. Otherwise I'm a fair all arounder when my head is in it.

2. Last year I won two silver medals (cat4) and a gold (master's) at the state track championships. I missed the 200m sprint starts and wasn't able to land a spot on the omnium.

3. This year I won my first road race, the tour of freedom crit in NJ with about 50 starters. The race started at 3pm. Getting there involved taking a train then riding 8 miles. The perfect stress-free warmup. Driving elevates my heart rate from rest by 10-15 bpm, taking the train or getting a lift does not.

4. Helping team mates and friends win is amazing - but I expect the same loyalty/effort in return ...this is probably asking too much.

5. Taking the outside line in a crit may be faster but more dangerous since the inside rider is more likely to wipe out and take others with him. This happened to me twice and resulted in one broken bike. In the last minutes of a race it's important to be at the front. When it's time to go all out for the line, it doesn't matter so much who's behind you as long as no one is in front of you.

6. Training to peak works.

7. Rest. Rest a lot. It's a good thing to take it easy and miss races. The "race less and win more" strategy worked pretty well this year.

8. As long as the equipment works, bike weight doesn't seem to provide a great deal of advantage. More important is durability and efficiency. Light bikes sure are cool though!

9. Tubulars are expensive!

10. Don't crash.