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Showing posts with label USA Cycling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA Cycling. Show all posts

Sunday, February 20, 2011

This American Bicycle Race

This post is all about "classic American bicycle racing".  Ladies and gentlemen, My World From a Bicycle presents for your viewing pleasure, "the criterium".

This type of bicycle racing is by far the most common form of licensed/sanctioned road bicycle racing here in the States.  It's the easiest venue for race promoters to produce/organize.  Criteriums are born from the necessity of having to operate many different categories of races (juniors (under 18), women, men, ranked categories (professional thru level 5 amateur), and masters (typically 30, 40, 50, year + ), and obtaining permits for race operation and street closure, combined with safety concerns of securing the course from cars entering, and placing crowd barriers and covering fixed objects (such as fire hydrants and electric poles) with straw bails etc.  All racers are licensed and insured through the governing body, USA Cycling.  The rules of the sport can be read here.

I would like to point out that the below series of videos were actually made possible from a sum mountain of technology.  Beginning with digital technology of computers, internet, YouTube, Blogger, HD Hero cameras, SRM wireless watt meters, several computer software programs, carbon fiber, etc.    And get this........ it's free to view, pause, rewind, jump around and skip, share with others (please do), comment on, or........... *gasp* ignore.

It's my thinking that this race is particularly worth viewing (in part or whole) because of several reasons including:  1. The forward and aft camera perspective gives a more complete view and understanding of the race activity.  2. The embedded speed, wattage, and cadence data.  This information really shows how much a criterium is a "gas-on/gas-off" style of racing.  (for the non-informed, this is fast and hard racing), 3. The level of competition is very high.  In fact, unusually so.  This particular race is typically a regional amateur/professional level race, but on this day it was very much a national level race.  In fact, this race had at least 4 current National Champions including David Henderson, Jonathan Jacobs, Eric Young and Daniel Holloway (current USA Professional Criterium Champion - he's wearing the yellow leaders jersey), and other former National Champions and at least one former World Champion (Steve Tilford).  4.  This race is viewable in it's entirety, and to my knowledge, this is the first and only place that this has ever been done (in this viewer friendly format)

This race took place on Saturday Sept 4th, 2010 in St. Louis, Missouri and was the 2nd race of a 4 day race series.
click here to link to the race site

Race results can be found here. 

I would like to point out that I have a music player device that you may activate at your liking (located on the right column, 2nd item from the top).  The embedded video's audio can be muted or the volume can be controlled with the tool bar settings under the video.  Additionally the video can be "full sized" by clicking on the expanding arrows on the toolbar and the video quality level can be controlled as well..

This is a lot of video time (the entire race is about 90 minutes) and I know most people won't have time to view the entire series, so I plan on writing  a summation of the key points under each clip with a time point, so that viewers can skip to or choose which section might interest them.


The above video (first of 12 part series) opens with all of the racers at the line and the announcer calling up the top race leaders of the omnium series to the line, including 4th place Chad Cagle from team Park Place Dealerships, 3rd place Brad Huff from team Jelly Belly (professional cyclist), 2nd place Rob Bush from team Kenda Pro Cycling Team, and onmium race leader Daniel Holloway from Bissell Pro Cycling.

1:10 officials race instruction, 2:20 message from City Alderman Donna Barringer and introductions to Jimmy Mcevoy @ 4:10 who sings the National Anthem (well done btw).  The race starts at the 6:00 minute mark. 


(above video 2nd of 12 part series) I quickly advance around the pack @1:12 and bridge up to 3 riders @1:43.  Daniel Holloway (in yellow leader's jersey)  can be briefly seen returning to the field @2:25 (? possibly returning to the field after taking a flyer for a prime?)

I briefly take the race lead @2:41.  Jonathan Jacobs pulls by me (too fast in fact) @3:30 and the peloton recaptures me @4:09.

This clip above (3rd part of 12 part series) opens with me advancing to the front of the chasing peloton (there are 6 riders off the front and out of camera view.  This is noteworthy because the previous video footage doesn't show that riders have gone off the front of the field because of me riding in heavy cycling traffic.  I am aware of a break-away because I can not see the lead pace motorcycle).  I make a full pass @0:52.  Daniel Holloway blows past me @ 1:01 (note how fast he blows past me.  I'm at full throttle).  I claw my way back onto his wheel @ 1:40 and I slide off his wheel to draft off the 3 riders who were drafting off of me (James Stemper #111 Kenda Pro Cycling, Jonathan Jacobs #61 Nuvo Cultural Trail, and Eric Young #131 Nuvo Cultural Trail.

I am completely red-lined (suffering hard) and I try to recover by skipping a few pulls.  My next pull is @3:16.  My chase group of four catch the lead break-away of 6 riders @ 4:09  Colton Barrett #120 Texas Roadhouse, Nicolas Coil #22 Tradewind Energy, James Stemper #111 Kenda Pro Cycling, Alex Wiesler #119 ISCorp Cycling Team, Robert White #106 Kenda Pro Cycling, and Josh Ginningham #122 of ISCorp Cycling Team. 

From 7:40 to 8:00 is a good view of the newly formed winning break-away group.  Note that we are riding single file and absolutely flying.  This is the most ideal way for a group of this size to motor. 
The effects of aerodynamics is HUGE in road racing, time trials, criteriums, and even sprinting.  Drafting can reduce oxygen costs by 25 to 40 percent.  Here's a great illustration of the effects of aerodynamics and drafting:  a world class track team time trial riders can produce the following average wattages in a pace-line.  First rider will produce around 607 watts, 2nd rider 430 watts, 3rd rider 389 watts, and 4th rider 389 watts.  Notice that there is a decreasing advantage drafting in 3rd position over 2nd, but no further advantage after 3rd position. (See my post on aerodynamics for more information on the subject.)

The most interesting occurrence in the above clip (number 4 of 12) is @1:47, when James Stemper (#111) of Kenda Professional Cycling, sees me falling back, out of the rotation so that I can skip my turn pulling (I'm suffering pretty badly at this point from earlier efforts and I'm trying to recover a bit.  I'm not certain that I am going to be able to hang.)

Mr. Stemper informs me that if I try to just sit on and not take my turn pulling, he is going to ride me off the back.

Perhaps because he knows that I'm filming this (I don't know), he is extremely polite about  how he tells me this and I acknowledge him accordingly, and we do a sort of low "five hand" in a sporting gesture of acknowledgment. Based on his smile, I think he finds the whole thing amusing.

Note:  The most ideal method for dealing with a rider who refuses to take a turn pulling is for everyone in the break to take turns drifting off the paceline with the "wheel sucker" on their wheel and then sprinting hard, back onto the group.  If everyone does this repetitively, this will eventually cause the "wheel sucker" to fatigue and not be able to claw their way back onto the group.

I don't believe there is yet an official name for this procedure, so for the sake of discussion, hence forward, let's all agree to call this activity of getting rid of a wheel sucker, Operation Drizzopple! 

So if you hear someone say, commence operation drizzopple on rider so-and-so, you will know exactly what to do.   


In the above video (number 5 of 12) I skip a couple pulls, still trying to recover and begin pulling again (too hard from the looks of it).

Meanwhile @2:26 Holloway is trying to commence operation drizzopple on the Kenda rider James Stemper.  In my reviews I was surprised to see how many times these guys were bumping heads.  Also I now see the irony of Stemper warning me not to wheel suck. 

@ 1:20 Texas Roadhouse rider, Colton Barrett gives a friendly hello wave. 

Above video (number 6 of 12) is fairly routine.  Most notable items are at 3:10 when Holloway jumps hard around Nicolas Coil who allowed a gap in front of him in the rotation (probably due to fatigue).  Also the rider James Stemper is not only just sitting on, but also screwing up the paceline when riders are trying to get on the back of the train after taking a pull.  This is evident at the end of this clip and running into the next below. 

There is some cool moto/cameraman action @ 6:26 (above video, number 7 of 12).

Some riders get gaped off @ minute 7:32 by one rider slipping off the pace and causing a gap.  Two of which are Nicolas Coil and Colton Barrett; they don't make it back onto the lead group.

James Stemper of Kenda Pro Cycling starts pulling. 

Everybody is pulling hard.  Very hard, and fast. 

(Above video is number 9 of 12).  @6:16 I sprint for and win a prime.  I didn't plan on going for it, but I was in the lead position coming out of the final corner because of the natural order of the rotation.  I went as hard as I could go and won the prime prize. I thought it was either $100 or $200, but it turned out to be a free night in a studio suite at The Residence Inn, Marriot, in St. Louis (I haven't used it and most likely never will).

Even though I was dying from the prime effort, I kept my speed up so that they wouldn't surge past me and drop me.

Incidentally, Josh Ginningham (#122) of ISCorp Cycling Team was dropped from the surge during the prime.

(Above video is number 10 of 12).  I skip a couple rotations in this clip because I am way over threshold and I was feeling like I was about to die.

The rotation is quite smooth otherwise and of the group there are two teams with team-mates, Kenda Pro Cycling and Nuvo Cultural Trial.  They almost always stay together in the rotation order, which is advisable.  If an attack or opportunity to attack occurs, they can work together. 




f
Above is the last video of this series; also the last 5 minutes and 51 seconds of the race for me.  By the completion of this race we've covered 70 kilometers or 43.496 miles in 1 hour and 25 minutes and 35 seconds, averaging 46.884 kph or 29.1 mph.  I averaged 317.5 watts.  With out a doubt my personal best effort in my entire bike racing experience.  I;m super glad that I was able to record this race as I have.

@ minute 2:15 of this video with 1.75 laps to go Jonathan Jacob takes a monster pull with me on his wheel and the rest of the remaining members of the break-away in tow. The riders include myself, followed by Daniel Holloway (Bissell Pro Cycling), Eric Young (Nuvo Cultural Trial), James Stemper (Kenda Pro Cycling), Alex Wieseler (ISCorp Cycling Team), and Robert White (Kenda Pro Cycling)

@ 2:46 I pull out of J.J's draft because of his monster pull.  I didn't want to have to immediately "pull through" with the finish being so soon (especially after his surge).  I wanted to get back in the draft.  As a result, this created a gap that nobody closed and J.J. was gone for the win.

Keep in mind that J.J. had a team-mate, Eric Young, in the break and he's an outstanding sprinter.  Eric certainly wouldn't pursue his own team-mate  I wouldn't pursue for the previous reasons mentioned and additionally J.J. is personal friend.  Other than me winning, I would choose him to win every time (and Brad Huff...... he's super cool).  Daniel Holloway certainly didn't want to give chase and pull Eric and the others with him, only to be beaten in the final sprint.  He probably thought as I, that J.J. wouldn't hold us off for the finish (which of course he did). 

@ 3:25 Holloway makes his bid in response to the Kenda Pro Cycling rider James Stemper's attack (just before the 1st turn).  We quickly make the catch and I produce a classic textbook counter attack @ 4:18 by launching a full effort through the inside of the 2nd corner of the course.

I cross the finish line @ 5:31 with riders quickly closing my gap, but not in time for the finish line. 


To learn more about the camera that I use to film from my bicycle click here.

To learn more about the bike telemetry that I use click here.

Friday, December 31, 2010

IT'S OVER!!!!!!

The year known as 2010 will be officially history  in a matter of hours.

It has been quite a year for me concerning "My World From a Bicycle"

It's all pretty well documented here in the contents of this blog.

In fact, I have a post called "The Best of GoPro and the Best and Worst of David Henderson"
This post is really my best and worst video experiences related to biking and bike racing (I tried to be heavy on the "best", but that is of course subjective).

Yet I feel that have I evolved this blog into a bit of a free coaching blog as well.  I would say that my top ten thirteen posts related to coaching would be as follows:

1.  http://myworldfromabicycle.blogspot.com/2010/10/psychology-for-competitive-cyclists.html

2.  http://myworldfromabicycle.blogspot.com/2010/11/psychology-for-competitive-cyclists.html

3.  http://myworldfromabicycle.blogspot.com/2010/05/do-this-and-you-will-win.html

4.  http://myworldfromabicycle.blogspot.com/2010/05/question-of-day-week-uh-year-concerning.html

5.  http://myworldfromabicycle.blogspot.com/2010/05/lemonds-sizing-chart.html

6.  http://myworldfromabicycle.blogspot.com/2010/05/heat-management-or-how-to-race-when-its.html

7.  http://myworldfromabicycle.blogspot.com/2010/06/how-to-care-for-or-treat-road-rash.html

8.  http://myworldfromabicycle.blogspot.com/2010/06/how-to-glue-on-tubular-bicyle-tire.html

9.  http://myworldfromabicycle.blogspot.com/2010/07/what-when-and-how-to-eat-for-cycling.html

10.  http://myworldfromabicycle.blogspot.com/2010/07/how-to-determine-your-lactate-threshold.html

11.  http://myworldfromabicycle.blogspot.com/2010/08/dude-your-crank-lengths-fine-you-just.html

12.  http://myworldfromabicycle.blogspot.com/2010/08/bike-safe-my-survival-tactics-for-road.html

13.  http://myworldfromabicycle.blogspot.com/2010/09/aerodynamics-in-cycling-and-how-to-be.html

I have also learned quite a bit about the HD Hero camera and how to edit, share, and archive high definition video.  For reference see this and this.

With that covered, I should announce that not only is the year over, but so is my racing career.  And that's ok.

I am proud not only of my racing accomplishments for 2010; I am also proud of the contents of this blog.  Yet, they don't pay the mortgage or any other necessary living expenses (although I've tried... believe me). 

It's all good. I just need to focus on work and my kids.   If anyone has raced at a Pro 1-2 level you know how racing is. If you are going to be serious about it, it is necessary to devote your life to it. I've done that.   Blood, sweat, and tears.   Literally.  And now it's time for a new chapter for me (I'm no spring chicken).   I'll always love all things bike related though.


I plan on still doing more posts on this blog over time.  I will probably do a bit more coaching stuff.  I do have a large video project in the works currently.  (It's a completely new idea and I don't think it has been done before as I plan to).

My primary goals for 2011 is to develop contents for a new blog.  This one.   And of course ride my bicycle for fun whenever possible.

Oh yeah, if you are thinking about getting a video camera that can film both above and below water, shoots 5 MP stills, time-lapse photography (2,5, 10, 30, 60 seconds), several different video resolutions/sizes, and high-speed 60 frames/second, and can even record your biking adventures, click here to learn more at my blog post:
http://myworldfromabicycle.blogspot.com/2010/09/buy-best-high-definition-video-camera.html

Happy New Year everyone.  PEACE AND LOVE!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Masters National Road Race Championship

[Special Note:  I have a "Music Player" gadget, 4th down to the right. You may run audio from it or the video as you see fit by pausing the music player or muting the embedded video. Enjoy!]


The above video of  the USA Cycling Masters Road National Championship Men 40-44 was shot at Louisville Kentucky on August 6, 2010.

Before I can properly discuss this race I have to review last year's National Championship. Several people were affected by it (including myself) and  I believe that the results had significance on this year's race.

Last year Roger Aspholm and I were in the leading break-a-way (leading by something like 20 seconds) on the final lap of the National Championship race.  I jumped first with 400 yards to go up a moderate incline and into the finishing chute of the course.  Eventually Roger inched up alongside me, until we were neck and neck charging to the finish line.  We both threw our bikes at the line and I instantly knew that he had beaten me by a couple inches.    It was so damn close!  I missed a National Championship title by the closest of margins!  Flashing through my mind were all of the countless hours of training, the expenses of equipment, traveling, and entry fees, along with the sacrifices, the suffering, and the hopes and dreams for this one moment,  only to be beaten by a nip at the line!  I let it out in a roar as I came to a halt.

But then, things went from bad to worse!

My friend Fred came up to me and said, "You better go protest."
"Protest?" I said, "I just got beat.  There's nothing to protest."
"You guys did an extra lap." Fred says, "They've got it all screwed up."

It turned out that we had indeed done an extra lap.  There were several reasons why.  1. The finish was on an attached chute or arm of the course (not on the main course).  The course was never closed for the finish.  In fact the pace motorcycle had led Roger and I around for another lap!  Race officials said that the course was left open to allow lapped riders (on a 5 mile course) to continue racing. 2. The lap counter was at zero on lap two and one. 3. Roger asked the pace motorcycle/official what lap we were on.  The official indicated one more to go (he was also confused, it was bell lap). 3. On the bell lap, there was no bell for Roger and me.  Apparently the bell ringer thought Roger and I were not the lead riders, but instead were lapped riders (there were many).  4. The bell ringer did ring the bell for chasing riders behind us (several people told me this).

So on what was the actual finishing lap Roger and I were clearly in the lead by a significant margin.  As we missed the finishing chute, spectators began yelling at us to turn back, but we had already made our turn and their shouting just sounded like cheering.  (this next part is from spectators/friends accounts) The next group of three also started to make the wrong turn, but they were able to understand the crowd's pleas and they turned around and started racing to the finish line, but they were caught by another chase group and passed in the sprint.

My understanding is that what would have been 5th place became 1st place.  Roger and I were officially placed at 53rd 54th.  They denied our protest and said that, "it is the riders responsibility to know the course." And that was that.

I took it a bit easier than Roger, mainly because I felt I was only cheated out of second place.  For Roger it was the National Title.  He swore he would never do another Masters National race again.  He wasn't too happy about the whole thing.


The next day was totally different.  I experienced something that I totally didn't expect.  In fact, even now, I'm still impressed by it.  I don't think I have ever heard of something like it in competitive sports. 

Daniel Casper was officially awarded the second place medal in our Masters National Road Race.   He came up to me and said, "This is yours", and handed me the silver medal from the previous days National Championship race.  I was amazed and I told him how much I appreciated it (and I really did).  In my book Daniel Casper is the true definition of a Champion:  first among competitors in honor and integrity.
So that's the background story leading up to this year's race that is featured in the above video.  Some things did change and some didn't.  The race officials went all out this year.  The course was completely closed off and did not have a special finishing chute.  The lap counter was high tech and digital.  The announcers were highly professional.  The officials even required riders to wear electronic chips to keep track of the riders in the race.   I was told (but I can't confirm) that last year's chief official was not invited to return.

So what didn't change?  The course was the same, and the race roster was nearly the same, including one Roger Aspholm.  He swore he wouldn't come back!  When I saw his name of the list of registered riders, I thought, "Damn it, he's going to be hard to beat!" 

Damn straight, he won again! (Sorry for the video spoiler).  I did the best I could, but I was pretty spent after a bridge-up to the lead break-a-way.  I never really recovered.

After the race I saw Roger and I said, "How did you do?" (I really didn't know yet)
He looked at me and smiled, "I won."
I congratulated him.  I was really happy for him and said, "Well, that ought to help make up for last year."
"A little." He smiled again.  
To which I said, "I'll do well tomorrow.  I always race better on the second day."

Damn straight!
To learn about the best video camera in the world for videoing cycling (which is the cameras that I use for my videos) click here.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Mid Town Alley Grand Prix, (AKA The Hipslapper)


[Special Note:  I have a "Music Player" gadget, 4th down to the right. You may run audio from it or the video as you see fit by pausing the music player or muting the embedded video. Enjoy!]
I just received the following questions from a concerned reader:


"How was everything after the crash?
Bike?
Body?
Pride?"

On the first one:  Pretty good.  I popped up immediately and saw bike racers coming at me and I sprinted (as best I could in cycling shoes on wet pavement) to get off the course.  It was a close one! 

On the second one:  I surveyed the bike and found it to be entirely intact with the exception of the new handlebar tape and a tiny bit more saddle abrasion on it's sliding edge.  Oh, and I lost a water bottle down a storm drain.  It was as if my bottle said, "I've had enough of this crap.  I'm getting the hell out of here now!"  It skidded across the wet pavement and went directly down into the mouth of the storm drain.

On the third one:  I landed on my left side which  was unfortunately  the same injured side from the week before.  My skin is still growing back from that one.  A couple of spots are still tingling and burning a bit.  Happily they are unaffected.  The bulk of my impact was absorbed on my rear/hip.  I received almost no road rash.  Only my coccyx hurts a bit and the styloid process of my left foot.  Both are minor injuries and just like Wolverine I will regenerate (just not as quickly).

Lastly:  I don't feel too bad about the crash.  I of course wish it didn't happen.  The absolute best thing is that I didn't take anyone else down.  To me that is the most important thing....... well that and not getting seriously injured....... oh, and not destroying my bike/wheels. 

I sorta regret not finishing the race, but not much.  I easily could have taken a free lap and gotten back into the race.  I debated that for several seconds.  On one hand it would be brave to jump back in and finish.  Some people believe that it is good for a racer's psyche to immediately get back on the bike after a crash.  I do not disagree with this, but often crashed rider's are more likely to crash again because their confidence is also damaged. 

I decided not to continue racing for several reasons.  I didn't want to press my luck.  I was basically ok and I hadn't caused anyone else a crash.  I didn't expect to do well in a rain race even before a crash, and now I would be worse off.  Plus I had an 89 mile professional race the following day.

I was extremely surprised that I had crashed.  I did not expect it at all.  I've gone through countless corners at higher speeds, during which I was almost sure that I was going to go down hard, but didn't.  Crashing unexpectedly shakes my confidence a bit.  Happily I have it on video and I can study the elements of the crash.  I believe that my mistake was applying too much torque while beginning a turn.  My rear wheel broke traction and instantly laid me and my bike down.  Solution:  don't pedal through wet turns.

At any rate, I'm fine and my racing will continue.  I think that the best is ahead of me, in fact.

I did want to mention that I was running 100 psi in both my front and rear Vittoria Tubulars on Zipp 404 wheels.  I should have run my tires at 85/95, due to the conditions, but most importantly I should have not been trying to pedal into the corner that I went down in.

Below is some supplemental information from Thomas McDaniel concerning cornering and correct tire pressures for racing.  Thomas is currently working on his Master's in exercise physiology and most importantly was a professional bike mechanic for the Pro-bike racing team, Jelly Belly.


"Thomas McDaniel June 2 at 3:24pm
Dave, I read your blog about cornering and felt compelled to add commentary. You make reference several times about keeping weight over the center of gravity, but then later add to point the knee into the turn, which in fact moves valuable weight outside the center of gravity (or more importantly, away from above the contact patch of the tyre). The reason pointing the knee towards the inside of a turn helps is because it facilitates the hips rotating, which guides you through a turn. Bicycles are steered with hips, not hands. Unfortunately most cyclists are so tight through their hipflexors they cannot keep their knee above the tyre while rotating their hips into the turn, thus losing the benefit of additional weight atop their contact with the road.
As for other ideas....tubulars are not meant to be run @ highest of pressures. In fact, I would run tyres for the team @ 90 front and 105 rear on techincal courses like Downers Grove, but only 85/95 if raining. My riders absolutely loved it, and rarely crashed because of it. The supple nature of the pressure allows the tyre to soak up lots of the effects of cornering, and keeps the tyre consistently in contact with the road, which is great for high speed cornering and power transfer. The energy potentially lost is neglegeble compared to the security and performance of properly inflated tyres. Keep in mind, this is from 284 days of racing with 9 bikes worth of tubulars per day. Never a rolled tyre, and significantly fewer punctures and crashes, especially in wet conditions."

Lastly, I briefly encountered Brad Huff    while warming up the following day at the "Tour de Grove" and expressed that I was having trouble cornering.  He said shortly, "Push down hard with the outer leg", and  that the previous race (the one in this blog, WHICH IS THE ONE HE WON, BTW) was "ok, you just couldn't pedal through the corners."

Monday, June 7, 2010

Winning and losing at the same time.


[Special Note:  I have a "Music Player" gadget, 4th down to the right. You may run audio from it or the video as you see fit by pausing the music player or muting the embedded video. Enjoy!]


The good, the bad and the ugly.  It's all in there if you look for it.

The O'Fallon Grand Prix Criterium started out great.  The temperature was reasonable.  The field size was very small.  Tracey Smith cracked a joke on a train being on the course.  Aaro produced a masterpiece painting that was up for grabs as a prime.  Everyone laughed.  And then it was race time.

Zack Reed came ready and took off like a rocket and I jumped on his wheel and bang.  We were gone.  Eventually we lapped the field.  Turns out a couple riders were off and soon two more from the field jumped.  I saw Zack chasing them solo and responded and caught up with him and then the next two riders which included his team mate Justin Maciekowicz.

There was a tiny bit of confusion when a race official indicated to us that Zack and I could not help them catch the next two riders.  Actually, I am still a little confused by this.  In the old days lapped riders could work off the front with the riders who lapped them.  Apparently the rules have changed.

No matter, Zack and I both decided to fall away from those two riders in order to have a safer finish for ourselves (or so we thought).  It turns out that I pulled a bone head move.

Zack was waiting to jump me for the win.  I couldn't talk him into pulling at the end (totally fair).  I was (almost) certain to get beaten by him in the sprint.  So I thought it would be best to try and surprise him by jumping him through a corner to see if I could produce a gap and then try a time trial with only a couple laps left.

Well, the surprise was on me.  My bike slide out from under me and Zack ran into me and fell from his bike in a fairly bad off cambered turn coming out of a narrow roadway (less than seven meters wide).  It was totally my fault, but still extremely accidental.  If you watch the video, you can see that the speed and line were hardly any different from the previous runs through this corner.  I believe I was just shifting my weight to start pedaling and then WHAM!  No warning.  Just a sudden slide out.  

I saw that Zack appeared uninjured and without the slightest hesitation I jumped back on my bike and took off to continue racing.  I spent no time evaluating the condition of myself or my bicycle.  I was only thinking, "Go, go, go".  The race was still on, no free laps and riders were chasing from behind.

It wasn't until the race was over that I realized that I was a total douche bag for not waiting for Zack after accidentally crashing him.  Zack was of course rightfully furious  and for this I sincerely apologized (as I do now).  I asked him if he was ok, and luckily he was fine (unlike myself) and had very  little effects from the crash.  He was of course screwed out of first place.  The only way I felt I could make a wrong right was by offering my sincere apology and awarding him the difference in prize money that he would have received otherwise.  I believe he accepted my apology. 


If I could do it over again I would have happily taken second place and not crashed over winning as the result of a crash that I caused.  That's why I sorta feel like I actually lost instead of won.  I most certainly lost some skin.  But that's bike racing. 



I'll be fine and racing again this coming weekend.

To learn about the best video camera in the world for videoing cycling (which is the cameras that I use for my videos) click here. 

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Do This and You Will Win

So you want to win a bike race (i.e. criterium, road race, or time trial).  No problemo.  The surest way is to compete in a race where the only other cyclist is your little sister (if your little sister happens to be a badass, sorry you may be SOL).  Ok, seriously.  If you follow my advice to the letter you will eventually win a race.  This advice is primarily for the entry level competitor; however the following guidelines apply across all categories and levels.

Training

The first step is training.  A plethora of books have been written about this.  PhD's have been attained on single detailed elements of this massive topic.  I'm going to boil it down to you in a couple of lines:  Ride your bike at least one to two hours a day, and rest one day a week (rest means no riding or riding at less than half-effort).  Do intervals training once a week as follows:  ride absolutely as hard as you can for one minute, then soft pedal as easy as you can for three minutes; repeat 5-8 times or until you think you see Jesus.  Place your rest day two days before your race.  This would be Thursday for a Saturday race.  Also place your interval day on Tuesday or Wednesday.  The day before the race you can ride moderately hard, but NO LONG HARD INTERVALS...... that's what the race will produce. (From personal experience I tend to race better on a second day of criterium racing, but not as well on the day after a long hard road race). 

At the Race

Now it's time to get ready to race.   You've done the training and you're riding the right equipment.  What equipment you ask?  Let me be pithy.  For the beginner to intermediate racer, the bike frame and components make (almost) absolutely no significant difference as long as they are functioning.  As you improve and move up in categories, I then begin to suggest spending some money on fast wheels such as 404 Zipp tubulars, or HED Stingers (or similar wheels by another company) and good carbon-soled shoes.   I would also suggest that you buy used wheels, and new shoes.  On second thought, at the category 4/5 level,  the special wheels and shoes are not necessary, but I would rank equipment as follows:  (1) wheels; (2) shoes & pedals (it's the point of energy transfer to the bike, plus it's rotating weight, and important for comfort);  (3) all else.

Ok, so now it's time to race.  (You better know what and when to eat first)  Warming-up prior to your race is important for time-trialing and criteriums.  Again, there are many variations.  Let me be pithy: ride 30 minutes at a conversational pace with 2-3 one minute intervals at 80% (estimated) efforts with full recovery in-between.  Allow about 5 minutes to get to the start line.  If you have a bike trainer, bring it to the race in case the surrounding streets are unsuitable for warming up.  Try not to use the trainer if the temperature is high, due to the potential for overheating and dehydrating.  If the trainer is absolutely necessary, you can dampen your body with water and consume ice water to keep your core temperature down.


How to win a Criterium Race

The type of course should determine the importance of starting and riding at or near the front of the peloton.  If the course is a simple, flat square or rectangle, your starting position is unimportant.  If the course is technical with a lot of cornering and the field size is large, it is critical to start and ride as near to the front as possible.  There are 4 reasons for this:  (1) It is safer because you tend to be in front of most crashes;  (2) higher chance for making it into a winning break-a-way;  (3) you will have smoother and easier cornering, with much less "accordion" effect of braking into and sprinting out of the corners;  and (4) you won't get gaped off the main group due to riders in front of you falling off the pace.  

The first two laps and the last two laps are generally among the fastest and hardest, so mentally expect this.  Focus on the wheel of the rider ahead of you.  Stay nicely in his/her draft.  Try to relax but concentrate on good cornering.  Do not half-wheel.  Faster races are safer than slow races because the riders become single file and if a crash occurs on a corner, the rider is swept out of the way by pure momentum.  Be wary when the group bunches up - allow yourself some escape room.  On very slow corners, ride the outside and faster corners try to be on the inside if riders are paired/grouped up.

Generally, the first half of the race is inconsequential.  Save your energy and spend zero time at the front pulling the field or sprinting for primes (prize laps).  Do stay close to the front during a prime lap, especially later primes.  This is a good opportunity to get into a break-a-way.  The strongest riders will naturally be up front during this period and attacking/launching off field after this period is ideal.  Often, the prime winner will not make this counter-move, which is also nice because you have illuminated a potentially good sprinter. If you do get in a break-a-way, it is critical to initially ride very aggressively.  The best scenario is to get out of the view of the chasing pack (out of sight, out of mind).  If you are lucky, you will have maybe 2-5 other riders with you that are all from different teams. Their team-mates should not chase you and may actually discourage others from pursuing you by drafting off the chasers behind you and not rotating through.

Winning break-a-ways generally occur when the field is at their most tired state and the strongest riders tend to be at the front, a gap occurs and bang they are gone.  If you are in the draft of other riders and are suffering, alarms should be going off in your head that this is the time that a break could occur.  Try to get near the front if it is possible.  You should do this in bursts and advance past as many riders as you can each burst.  If you are lucky, you can jump on a wheel of someone who is advancing in front of you.   If the field is single file it is generally best to wait until it slows down and starts to bunch up.  On the other hand, if a gap occurs and a break develops, it is best to bridge across as fast as possible, then try to sit on and recover, then start working with the break ASAP.  When in a break, generally try not to do more "work" than the racer who is doing the least amount of "work." Basically, after the break-a-way appears to be successful, try to save your energy.

 Often the winning break-away occurs late in a race when the least tired riders (i.e. at the business end everyone is hurting) will make the move.  Two common mistakes of beginning racers is to either be too aggressive at the beginning when everyone is fresh and strong or not aggressive enough at the end when a properly placed attack can win the race.  It generally takes experience and confidence for a rider to know when or even if they should leave their break-away companions late in a race. Lance called it divide and conquer.   And Boonen, who is a feared bunch sprinter,  said it was much easier to win alone than try and win a sprint!  It's important to know racing tactics and how to apply them to pull off this feat.  

Often break-a-ways don't succeed and even if they do the winner is typically determined by a sprint.  Bike racing is all about timing.  The last two laps of a criterium is critical for positioning.  If the race is not single file the back of the pack will swarm the front.  You must be aggressive (not reckless) and constantly try to stay at or near the front.  This is not a time to worry about drafting.  Get out front if necessary, you will be safer and if you don't go full out you should be able to get back in the draft.  You may be very tired at this point, but no matter what you must not let yourself give in and let off the gas.  The winner will generally not be the first person out of the last corner unless it is less than 100 meters and that person is a good sprinter.  You should be in 2nd position around 100 yards and perhaps 3-4 if the finish is around 200 yards.  There could be some variation to my description based on the sprinting abilities of you and your competitors.

How to Win a Road Race

Nearly all of my tips for winning a criterium apply to winning a road race.  However,  there are some major differences.  Road races tend to be much longer in duration and often the course is composed of either a 4-8 miles long course that is ridden for several laps,  or a very long loop raced in just a single pass (rarely point to point races exist).  And, whereas criteriums are commonly an hour long, road races typically last 2-6 hours in duration.  As a result, it critical to know the course, conserve your energy, and consume both food and fluids.

Get a map of the course and study it.  If possible, preriding the course on your road-bike is ideal; otherwise if possible have someone drive you while you study both the course map and the terrain.  Mark on your map:  (1) where the feed-zones will be located; (2) technical areas with a lot of turns or narrow roadways; (3) road hazards such as pot holes, large cracks, significant hills and/or descents, etc.   Try to memorize associated landmarks that can help you remember these critical points and alert you as you approach the finish during the last 3 kilometers, the last kilometer, 500 meters, and the final 200 meters from the finish.  It may be helpful to know the history of outcomes from previous years on a particular race course.  Often, the final outcome of a race is determined  as much by the design of the course along with it's specific weather conditions as the racers themselves.  This information can help you anticipate critical points of a race (such as the winning break typically occurring at a specific hill late in the race, or that the race always ends in a field sprint, or the race typically has a very high drop out rate, etc).  Most importantly know where the finish line is; if you do not know where the finish line is, your chances for winning are greatly diminished.    

Consider the weather and prepare accordingly; conditions can change significantly during longer races.   If it is very hot out, feed zones are critical to your success.  If neutral support isn't available, long before the race you should find someone who will give you cooled bottles containing water and electrolytes.  If it is hot out, it is advisable to carry as many full water bottles with you as you reasonably can.  The weight and discomfort is worth the price.  (Read my article on heat management; it will help you).  If it rains or there is a high probability of rain, you should run a lower tire pressure.  Drop your psi down to  90 in the front and 105 in the rear.  If the course is technical and you are running tubular tires, it is recommended to drop another 5 psi.  It is also advisable to know the wind direction in order to get the best drafting position and know where cross-winds can be used for or against you.  Wind direction can change during a race.  Look for flags, plant leaf direction, and your senses of sound and pressure sensitivity to guide you (note it is hard to determine wind direction during winter because of lack of leaves and your skin and ears are covered up; as a default,  draft the same as others racers).   Cold weather requires having multiple layers of clothing that can be opened and/or removed and stored in your jersey pockets as you race.  If you are in doubt about as to what to wear, look at what everyone else is wearing. Being prepared is a key component to successful road racing.

Know your competitors (and yourself).   Sun Tzu says in his masterful work, The Art of War, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle”.  Applied to bike racing you need to know both you and your competitors strengths and weaknesses and act accordingly.  Typically, in bike racing you will race the same people - both locally and regionally - again and again and you should come to know your competitor's strengths and weakness.  If you travel abroad to a race with an unknown cohort group of racers, however, you would be advised to do recon.  Conduct an internet search the preregistered names, check their rankings and write down their jersey numbers on a piece of tape and stick it to your stem or top tube.  High criterium rankings suggest that your competitor is a good sprinter, whereas high time trial rankings suggest that your competitor is an extremely strong rider, but probably doesn't have a great sprint (a great rider to be in a break-a-way with), and high road racing ranking suggest an all-arounder.  Staying proximal to the wheel of riders who typically win can allow you to get in the winning moves. 

Road racing can be done individually or as part of a team, and thus far I've only described it individually.  Being part of a good team increases your chances for either you or your team-mate winning not only statistically, but because team tactics can tip the balance of winning greatly to the team who does so wisely.  Because the final outcome of road racing is so heavily weighted on endurance and conservation of energy for a strong finish, teams that protect and favor a specific rider can greatly increase that rider's chances for winning.  This is primarily done by protecting a favored rider from the wind, and by having team-mates chase down break-aways in order to keep the peloton together for a sprint finish or helping your team-mates bridge up to a break-away.  Also, supplying water and food for a favored rider makes a difference.  Often, the biggest help that a team-mate can provide is to not give chase against another team-mate, and to counter-attack if their teammate is caught.  Beyond the race tactic advantages of being part of a team there are a number of other advantages that team membership provides, such as having traveling partners, sharing expenses, having people you can socialize with, trust, support and encourage reciprocally.  Developing long term friendships with team-mates and even competitors can be considered an act of "winning" in itself.


How to Win a Time Trial

There are several ingredients required to bake a victory cake in the time trial.  The first ingredient is fitness, which is produced by training.  10 to 15% of your total training should be high intensity interval training, 75% should be low intensity (able to easily talk and ride) and the remainder should be between low intensity and lactate threshold level (not able to talk easily).

The second ingredient is bike/body positioning and equipment.   Because aerodynamics is critical to speed, a smaller frontal profile is ideal.  This is best accomplished by going as low as reasonably possible and becoming streamlined (note that the rider/author pictured would be more aerodynamic if the head was lowered by lowering the arm-rests/cockpit area).  Body position is best accomplished with the aerobars and is the most effective method for becoming more aerodynamic.    In order of importance add, aerohelmet, skinsuit (vs loose clothing), aerodynamic wheels, aerodynamic bicycle, and then shoe covers.  If you are racing in the Merckx category (i.e. none of the above equipment is allowed), then the best way to get the most aerodynamic body position is to simulate an aero bar position with your forearms resting on the handlebars.  This is currently legal for UCI racing, but obvious caution must be applied.  Do not attempt during cross winds, turns, or poorly conditioned roads; otherwise riding with your hands in the drops is the best position.

The third ingredient is a good warm-up.  Ride easy for 20-30 minutes, then follow this with a few efforts at or just below your expected time trial effort.  This isn't hard science.  You can do 4 leg openers. These should last for 3 minutes each. Over the first minute, gradually bring yourself to your threshold heart rate. This should be just below your time trial pace. Hold it there for one or two minutes and over the last minute bring your effort back down to an easy/moderate pace. Recover 5 minutes and repeat. These should be just hard enough to get your heart rate up and a sweat going, but not tax your system or require any significant recovery time.  Or you can do 2 five minute efforts with five minute recovery between and just before starting the actual time trial.

The fourth ingredient is proper pacing.  If you have a watt meter, pay attention to it and ride according to your predetermined threshold level.  Always try to hold back a little during the first 5 to 10 minutes of a longer time trial, such as a 40k.  Because of adrenaline and fresh legs that are relatively lactate-free, it's extremely common to start too hard.  If you don't appropriately hold back you will more than pay for any gains later and have a net slower speed/time.  Instead, try to gradually increase your speed/effort slowly throughout the entire effort.  You should not be able to sprint across the finish line. 

A few additional tips.
(1)Take the shortest line through turns;
(2) run high air pressure in your tires (do not exceed manufacturers limits);
(3) if you have a choice go first in the morning or last in the evening because winds tend to increase in the morning and slow down in the late afternoon.  No wind is always better than any form of wind on out-and-back courses;
(4) hydrate before the race, and no drinking during the time trial if possible; consume your fluid intake before the time trial and use my recommended heat management techniques on hot days to help you;
(5) make sure your equipment is in good operating condition well in advance of a race and try to never make significant repairs to your bike just before a race (common rookie mistake);
(6) on hilly courses, pace your self by going harder on the uphills and recovering on the descents.  Hard efforts on steep descents is generally poorly spent energy;
(7) if you have to brake (such as a turn-around) do so at the last moment and then get back up to speed calmly, but quickly;  this is a technique that you should practice prior to the time trial;
(8) ride your ideal cadence (it may be lower than you've been told);
(9) focus on your breathing, cadence and pedal stroke (research shows that pulling up is not helpful for time trialing).  I suggest Lemond's method of a slight backward drag at the bottom of the pedal stroke, much like wiping your feet off on a mat.  The idea to help create a smooth pedal stroke through the dead zones of the pedals being straight up and down;
(10) don't slow down at the finish line; rather suffer all the way past the finish line and collect your prize and podium place accordingly. 


Badda bing, badda bang!  If you did everything just as I described, you have just won your first race!  Ok maybe not, but eventually.  You'll never forget your first victory no matter how small.  Mine was 2nd season as a category 4 in the Tidewater area in Virginia, while I was in the Navy, 1989.  I only caught partial seasons due to being out to sea on Mediterranean Cruises, but this 2nd season was the very last race of the season.  For some reason it was a really small race, almost like a tiny training race, maybe 15 guys.  It was around a school football stadium.  It didn't even really have true corners and I jumped the guy who typically won the sprints and did a long sprint (typical sprints are 200 meters and around 10-12 seconds) and he couldn't really come around on the curving finish.  That was over 20 years ago and I remember it happily.  I promise that you'll never forget your first win...... unless you bonk your head...... or become senile (like Fred does sometimes) ....... otherwise, you'll never forget it!!!!!

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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The Carondelicious Circuit Race


[Special Note:  I have a "Music Player" gadget, 4th down to the right. You may run audio from it or the video as you see fit by pausing the music player or muting the embedded video. Enjoy!]

Hello race fans!  Here's my video of the Carondelicioius Circuit Race.  I was basically skunked in this one, but I'm ok with that.  Racing in the rain, typically isn't my bag.  I did accomplish some of my primary goals though.  1. I raced.  2.  I finished.  3.  I didn't crash.   So other typically goals would include having some degree of fun (otherwise why do it?) and placing well or hopefully winning.  I failed on the last one, and I had a mix on the fun category.   Stacie Tindle and Cory Redmond put this race in the "fun" column.  I did not expect their hijinks, but it was greatly appreciated by at least me.  I think it helped everyone's moral who was standing at the line in the rain while waiting to race.

The rain and in particular, the poor visibility put this race in the "not fun" column.   Part of that was my own fault.  I wore my prescription sunglasses instead of contacts and my "Transitions" eye-ware.  It was much darker than I expected.  Also, not warming up before the race started put this race in the "not fun" column.  But I recovered from that and adjusted to the shock of not being able to see well (for a visual reference see the end of my next video..... my vision was actually worse for a while)  and returned mostly to the fun column.  I was going to set up my tent and trainer, but I was solo on this trip and simply didn't have time.  Typically it is advisable to warm up before a criterium or a time-trial.  There are many ways to do it, but as a general description for a newbie with no high tech heart-rate or wattage gadgets I would suggest the following:  30 minute warm-up.  1st 10 minutes easy to moderate, then 3-4 30 second bursts (80-90% effort) with a minute of soft to easy pedaling in-between. Follow this with a steady pace that would allow conversation if riding next to a fellow teammate/racer.  There are plenty of other variations including some short threshold (a maximal effort that you can sustain for up to an hour) intervals for a minute or so with plenty of recovery to eliminate lactic acid. 

Two important points of the race:  I was afraid of crashing and the other important point is that I was afraid of crashing.  Despite not warming up I choose to race at the front early on.  This is very good advice for racing in the rain.  I always want to be in front of a crash instead of in or behind one, plus I can pick my line and not get tire spray in the eyes.  I did make a couple efforts at the end, but I was pretty much gassed for the actual sprint and again "I was afraid of crashing".  I'm sure hard core racers will criticize me for this, but to that my response is...... I will be racing another day, no broken bones or bicycle on this one.

As a matter of fact, I raced the time trial just a few hours later.  I was 2nd fastest in the category 1-2 field.  The funny thing is that I had an absolutely fabulous tt, one of the best I've ever done, only to find out that I had mistakenly turned too early!  The race official (Buddy) asked me if I turned early and I truly thought I hadn't, but after a bunch of questioning we figured out that I had in fact made an error.  So I said, "No problem.  I'll just do it again."  I did, but it just wasn't like the first one.  I was about 20 watts lower, plus very slow near the area that I had mistakenly turned on the first go round.  The road is not visible at first.  At first glance (while traveling near 30mph) it appears as if the road loops back upon itself.  The actual road/course is hidden from view, downhill and sweeping to the left.  Most people got it right (they were probably going slower and had more time to see the road), but some other riders also made the same error as myself.  I'm only half dumb.  This is one case where a video would have either vindicated me or implicated me.

I have some really good rain racing tips that I'll share in the next post which is shortly coming up.


Have fun cycling everyone and try to keep your pecker powder dry!

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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Hermann Road Race/conclusion of Omnium Stage Race


[Special Note:  I have a "Music Player" gadget, 4th down to the right. You may run audio from it or the video as you see fit by pausing the music player or muting the embedded video. Enjoy!]

Hello race fans.  Here's my video of the last stage of the Tour Of Hermann Omnium Stage Race.
Race results are to be found in the below link:
http://www.ultramaxtri.com/timing/2010/2010_Herman_Omnium/Tour_of_Hermann_OmniumFINAL.htm

The final stage was a 90 mile Road Race on a very hilly course, with one very very steep section (but short)  Racers could pick and choose individual stages, but must do all three to qualify for the overall prize list, which was by far the majority of the prize.  Individual days only paid four places and very little.  To give you an idea, I made $40 for 3rd place on my TT,  $25 on my 4th place Criterium placement and zero for 6th in the Road Race and $275 for 3rd place overall.  So basically I am absolutely rolling in prize money..... oh I had to split my money with team-mates (I still owe Dan and Jonathan at this time).  Entry fee was something like $95 for all three events.  Happily my entry was free as the current defending MOBAR Champion from last year.  

There is a reason why I am starting with money.  It is important.  It determines many things.  Like whether you will do the race in the first place.  There's fuel, food, possible hotel expenses to consider, and possible lost work wages as well (sucks to be a surgeon, conversely it's probably a  break even scenario  if you're a burger flipper).  Also it determines how hard a person might race, or at least it can for me.  For example:  My bicycle costs over $8,000.  My wheelset alone costs over a $1,000 used.  I decided it wasn't worth wiping out in the last set of turns (turns out finishing one up would have made no difference).  I would have to win several races to pay for destroyed wheels or bike frame.   I have no idea what a doctor bill for an injury might be, but I'm pretty sure it can be considerable.

So money has a push pull effect for me and most cyclists, but clearly it is not the reason for racing at the amateur level.  It's the thrill of the event,  the challenge, the adrenaline, the commradery, and for older riders it's a way to stay young....... oh and a little cash winning never hurt.

I totally got off of the race analysis.  I wanted to point out that because it was a points stage race with bonus points as primes in the criterium it is a little difficult to instinctively know what the hell is going on.  Ethan and I knew the basics.  Austin Allison 1st, Zack Reed 2nd, me third, then Justin M. 4th, and then Ethan 5th overall going into the last day.  We told Dan Miller and Larry Simonson that they could be aggressive early on (they did not do all 3 stages), but not to work in any break with the Overall Top GC Dogfish riders, but otherwise go crazy.

Turns out they did!  They both got in the break.   Dan ended up 4th in Road Race!

You know, I could go on and on about the details of the race, but I think the video is adequate.  I just want to say a few things.  The riders of the Dogfish team are really good riders, but not only that...... they are good sports and people in general.  In particular I have to single out Jim VanDeven for not "gigging me" at Froze Toes Race, and Zack Reed for being so darn friendly.  That dude is fast all around and I've never heard a single bad thing meantioned about him (plus he's not a trash talker) and in my racing circle that is rare (there are certain people who are haters...... you know it's true! LOL)

Speaking of talent....... Austin Allison.  Pro material?  Yep.  19 or 20 years old.  He's just going to get stronger.  I would suggest that he polish his TT skills, climbing power, 5-20 minute power maximums and not work too much on the sprint.  He shouldn't have to sprint too often.

Well, that's somethin' for race commentary.  I think I'll start getting ready for the Tour of St. Louis.

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Sunday, April 18, 2010

Hermann Criteriuim


[Special Note:  I have a "Music Player" gadget, 4th down to the right. You may run audio from it or the video as you see fit by pausing the music player or muting the embedded video. Enjoy!]

Ok, I only have a moment before I have to leave this morning for the 90 mile Hermann Road Race, so I will do a more through analysis later.  In short, I placed 3rd in the tt an 4th in the criterium

Concerning the video:  I somehow lost the finish data (about 5 minutes), but it wasn't terribly fascinating anyhow.  The big deal is that I did get the beginning and then some.  I was also a little unhappy with the very loud clicking that was associated with my pedal cadence.  (I've since discovered that the clicking noise is from the buckle of the camera mount and is preventable by installing a rubber device into the buckle.  The rubber device is provided with the camera.  I just didn't know about how to use it or what it was for.)  I normally don't put music on my race videos, but I decided to delete the video audio and replace with my own musical creation.  I would love to use professional music, but copyright issues disallow this.  Anyhoo, if my music absolutely sucks, I suggest muting my stuff and turning on your own music.

A follow-up post to this one is  called How to High Speed Corner (next in the order of posts)

[Update:  I now have a license to use certain copyrighted songs. Additionally I have added a music player gadget on my sidebar for everyone's listening pleasure.  When watching a video, mute the player or the video otherwise both will play.  You have to be a bit of a DJ on this site. :-)]

Gotta go race!

To learn about the best video camera in the world for videoing cycling (which is the cameras that I use for my videos) click here.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Finish of Tilles Park Criterium


[Special Note:  I have a "Music Player" gadget, 4th down to the right. You may run audio from it or the video as you see fit by pausing the music player or muting the embedded video. Enjoy!]

This is the finish of the Tilles Park Criterium.  This was an unusual race for me in that it was stopped and restarted due to a serious crash.  Fortunately for me, I was in a break-a-way group of six (including myself) and avoided the crash.  I was told that Mike Weiss was injured (broken collar bone?), and I saw Andy Chocha bike was ruined with a fracture through the top tube. 

I didn't personally finish very well.  I think the video says way more than I can.  Just count the attacks.
 _________________________________________________________________
April 15th, I've been thinking about this race and how I did it all wrong, or at least major parts.

Typically when I race I operate more on instinct than deep cognitive thought.  In fact it is best to have a series of rules to operate by so that decisions can be made very rapidly.  For example:  Never attack on a downhill or into a headwind. It is best to attack uphill or with a strong crosswind or a tailwind (second to crosswind all because of drafting factors)  Keep in mind there are some exceptions to almost all rules, but in general these rules help a racer who is often at a level of mental distress to make correct decisions.  I broke several rules.  Always expect a counter-attack when closing an attack.  Based on this rule I should have not entirely closed a chase by myself.  I should have sat up and forced my drafters to work.  They would have most likely done so with an attack, but it would have been a much more managable attack.  Another rule is to do the least amount of work as possible until the finish.  

I think my single biggest mistake was taking a flyer on the bell lap.  I over estimated myself and far underestimated four other riders.  I think I forgive myself for this blunder because just a few laps earlier I had chased Justin down successfully and when I moved off to set back in the rotation nobody moved up and Justin easily rode away.   At the time this meant to me that the group had no juice left, but I was quite wrong.

Another mistake I made was gifting my drafters with a free pull up to an attacker.  This is a subtle thing, if I do not believe I can close a gap by myself, then I should try to keep riders with me so that I can fall back into their draft later for recovery.  On the other hand, if I believe I can close the gap by myself I should NEVER PURPOSELY allow other riders a free draft.  This is a sure way to get beat, and this is exactly what I did.

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Tilles Park Criterium 2010 part 1 of 2


[Special Note:  I have a "Music Player" gadget, 4th down to the right. You may run audio from it or the video as you see fit by pausing the music player or muting the embedded video. Enjoy!]

Here's the begining of the Tilles Park Criterium.  Pretty good sized field and great weather (about 80 something).  Sadly there was a serious crash (broken bones and bicycles) and happily I didn't see it because I was off in the break-a-way.  This video shows the difficulty of being able to move up.  Also you can see why it would be easy to crash when the field isn't moving real fast.  The pack bunches up at slower speeds and the roads are curvery with a bit of curb here and there.  I sensed a pending crash just before I moved up.

I have a second video that is pending due to processing from YouTube. It features some very good riders and lots of attacks.

Have fun cycling everyone!

To learn about the best video camera in the world for videoing cycling (which is the cameras that I use for my videos) click here. 

Monday, April 12, 2010

2010 Hillsboro RR (finish)


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 Race Results
Here's the end of the Hillsboro Road Race.  I didn't do so well.  I was unable to pickup water in the feed zone and this resulted in race stopping leg cramps.  I just missed the final sprint.  I plan on trying to produce a "best of" Hillsboro race video later.

Let me just say that if you ask the guy who won, "What did you think of the race?" or "What did you think of the course?" He's going to say something like "It was great", or "It was a challenging, but a good course."  Then, if you ask almost anyone else (especially an unhappy finisher like myself or better..... someone who crashed or flatted) They would say something like this...... That was the biggest pile of shit race course that I have ever done.  I don't think they could have designed a more f'd up kind of course.  Much of the roads are so narrow that only one car  can operate on them.  All of the turns are full of gravel, the field size is so big that  staying to the right of center is ignorant or reality.  Placing cones and barricades up on an already ridiculously crowded feedzone is like begging racers to crash.  And if the cones don't get you, then maybe one of the two motorcycle operators can screw with you until you do.  Oh and to put a cherry on top, how about a local kid placing a log across the road on a turning descent!  That was NICE! You know, crashing and destroying a several thousand dollar racing bicycle and going to the hospital with a broken collar bone and concussion really isn't a big deal (or worse)

I would suggest that this race should have a rolling enclosure.  There are almost no cars out on it in the first place, the roads are narrow, the field size is large, and they already have two guys on motorcycles who could be riding ahead flagging cars over, pulling logs out of the road, or just simply alerting the field to traffic instead of badgering the field.  If the pack can dodge those two, then they can dodge a car.  It's the same concept as:  "If you can dodge a wrench, then you can dodge a ball."

Oh yeah, maybe the motorcycles could carry spare wheels so that the wheel vehicle doesn't abandon the riders behind the lead.  Just a thought.

I understand it is tons of work for the promotors and volunteers to put on this race and most people do it for free.  And I do appreciate them for that.  I also understand that they believe placing cones and baracades in the feed zone is to protect the riders (it doesn't, it endangers us), as well as the motorcycles honking and corralling the racers to the right side of the road.  I know the best intentions are meant, but in my opinion this race should either have a rolling enclosure or  not be held at all.
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April 16, 2010 Update or addendum:   I had some time to reflect and I've talked to several people about the race since I (we) did it last weekend.  I think my analysis was a bit too harsh.  I think I was suffering from sour grapes syndrome.  The course was overall fairly good and the race was certainly well organized. 

I was contacted by Rich Pierce (former Hillsboro Race Organizer) to discuss how the race could be improved.  The race has grown dramatically over the years and the organizers have put a lot of thought and care into making the race successful, safe, and basically fantastic.  There are no guarantees for rolling enclosure, but it was discussed.  Or possibly a partial enclosure on the large finishing road where the wind typically is a cross-wind that tends to put riders in the wrong lane.  Otherwise it is generally understood that most of the small roads are driven down the center (by locals) until a car is viewed and adjustments made.  Clearly a cross-wind from the left does not need any special attention for the race/racers.  I also suggested neutral wheels on the motorcycles and a tall flag for the first cone of the feedzone and no saw-horse style barriers on the feedzone.  The wheel vehicle should remain behind the main pack.  I think the field size is ok with a partial rolling enclosure.

In conclusion, I give the Hillsboro Road Race a thumbs up.  I wouldn't expect a rolling enclosure next year, but it would be beyond fantastic if they could pull it off.  Until next year!

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