Well, tomorrow is the BIG day. The day that we finally (hopefully?) hear all of the evidence in Floyd Landis' doping scandal. So, who cares? I do, for a number of reasons. One, I like to be able to compare myself to the pros. If I ride a mtn that they've raced on, it shows me just how good these guys are - but if they're doing it doped up, what's that telling me? Two, the impact that drugged pro athletes have on our kids is significant.
Recently on bikejournal there's been a fair bit of discussion about dopoing and how guys are doing it and how it's being tracked. I don't even pretend in my dreams to understand all of the biological information out there. I have been following this a fair bit, though, and thought it might be a good idea to put some of my thoughts in one place.
First: I am against doping. Some are calling for legalizing it - let 'em do whatever they want. I want my kids to be able to strive for better performance without thinking they need to be using something in order to get better.
I recently had this discussion with my 15 yr old son. He's a football player and a very good one at that (recently selected to the Provincial All-star game and will be playing a week from tomorrow.) I also suspect he'll be starting on his High School football team as a freshman next year. He's strong, and he's fast - and wants to improve. He was asking about performance enhancing things he could take - like steroids, etc. Fortunately, we have a pretty good relationship and we were able to discuss it and he was willing to listen to what I had to say about it.
Second: I am convinced that there will always be a new designer drug or process that is designed specifically to get around the existing tests. We've seen it in cycling for decades. A new test comes out to catch people using a particular drug, and soon there's nobody getting caught for it anymore. Not that they're not using it anymore, they've just discovered a way to get around the testing. The only way I believe you can ever be 100% sure that someone is clean is to develop a physiological profile like what Team Slipstream has put into place. Here they're not testing for specific drugs, but building a profile that if there are significant changes or deviations from trends would indicate that something is being used. Won't tell you what, will just tell you SOMETHING is going on.
When someone is busted for it drug use, then I think it should be a permanent ban. One time, no second chances. Make the penalty so severe it's not worth the risk.
WADA needs to standardize what is a positive and what is a negative. Currently every lab has their own standards of what they'd call a positive and what would be classified as a negative result. An example of this is Floyd Landis' recent results. Those exact same results (not even questioning the accuracy of the equipment used) in a California lab (which is WADA certified) would all have come out negative. Yet out of this particular French lab, there's a positive result.
The process for hearing re: drug use in sports needs to be more open and fair. Confidentiality MUST be observed by those in control of organizations (not like Dick Pound's rants.) If the structure is percieved to be biased, there's no way the public will ever trust the results. And, bottom line, it's the public, us fans, that get hurt the most when these drug scandals develop.
I have a lot more thoughts on this issue - and maybe sometime I'll go through and copy all of the posts I've made over at Bikejournal into one post here so that it's all in one place.
I HOPE Floyd is innocent. I believe that Floyd should be cut a break on this one because of all of the mistakes that have been made in the processing of his samples, but I have my doubts as to whether or not he's really clean.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
A Tale of Two Tailwinds
My poor little Jetta needed some work done (maintanace stuff like timing belt, brakes, glow plugs, etc.) and the car needed to be in Lethbridge Monday morning by 8am. Rather than getting up at 6 and missing getting in a ride, I had Steve follow me into Lethbridge Sunday night, we dropped the car off - and then on Monday would be able to do a tailwinds ride into Lethbridge to get it!
We left Cardston a little later than planned, so it was going to have to be a quick ride in. Fortunately, the winds were co-operating. We jumped onto the Prarie Schooner and off we went. First check point was to be Magrath - 44 km away.
Up and down coulees, flying along. We hit Magrath in just over an hour (1:01) and an average speed of 42.7km/hr.
I felt strong. After a few minutes of warming up I felt like I could really go. The most dramatic moment to me on this ride was when we went through Pot Hole Coulee just East of Magrath. On the decent I'd let Steve get a couple of hundred feet on me, as we started climbing I started working my way through the gears. As I went by him I glanced down at my computer - I was pounding out a cadence of 103 (standing) and was going at 52.1km/hr. I felt like I was dancing onthe pedals and that I was "chainless" - what a thrill! What a feeling of freedom. I'm super motivated to get my weight down and my power up so that I can feel that on long climbs (this one is only half a km long.)
Then we hit the hard part - the last 23km of this ride is north, a straight cross-wind. I did most of the pulling, I was just feeling good. But holding 30km/hr was a tough slog. We hit Lethbridge in just under two hours, and made it across town to the dealership in a total of 2:13 or something like that.
It was great to be on the bike for more than an hour or hour and half. This was my longest ride of the year. This month will have some seious mileage in it - especially given our little adventure in a little over a week to Salt Lake City (back to back centuries.)
Tues morning I did a little recovery ride with Bart and Chico - NOT! Chico kept the pace high all the way out - Bart and I turned around at Leavitt, Chico hammered on to Mtn View. We had a nice little 37km/hr tailwind ride back, that was a nice recovery!
Tues evening I get the great idea of another Tailwinds ride! I call John and Steve (Bart had to work) and we get my wife to run us out to Waterton for a repeat of mine and Steve's tailwind ride a week or so ago.
I realized right away as we crossed the bridge and it wasn't singing to us that there was no way this was going to be a tailwinds ride! In fact, the wind had switched and was coming out of the South - we had a cross-wind of 35km/hr most of the way. Made for some hard sloggin'! Steve was feeling pretty good, and often mentioned feeling chainless. John was able to generate some pretty impressive power on some of the roller climbs. I just held on and hoped my legs would last long enough to stay with them. My legs felt heavy, and fighting the wind was really taking it's toll on them. Definitely not the Tailwinds ride I had envisioned! Oh well, I was on my bike - can't get any better than that!
This morning was supposed to be a hill climbing ride (South Hill repeates) but there was just no way my legs were ready for that, so I stayed in bed.
I feel like I'm getting some good miles in. I'm liking the performance of my Tarmac, but it's also taking some getting used to the new position.
The frame is considerably smaller than my last frame - and it has changed my position significantly. Muscles are working at different angles. In some ways I feel like I'm in terrible shape 'cause my legs are hurting in ways and places I'm not familiar with. However, the bike fits me better. I feel like I can handle the bike better - I have more confidence in what I can make it do. High speed decents are comfortable (I've only been up to just over 80 km/hr on it so far), and climbing is stiff and responsive. I do notice some of the road buzz more than I did on the Devinci. That's to be expected with a frame this much smaller and stiffer. (and lighter!) It would be great to be able to afford a Tarmac and a Rubaix - but given that I like to race, and I love the performance, the Tarmac is the bike for me! In a couple of years I may try to convince my wife to let me add a Rubaix to the Stable, but I'm very happy with the Tarmac!
Because I've been getting the feel of the Tarmac, my TT bike has been left hanging in the garage. I do need to make a point of getting out on it again sometime next week, but right now I'm really loving riding the Tarmac. I'd also like to put on my Zipp 404's to see how the Tarmac performs with them.
We left Cardston a little later than planned, so it was going to have to be a quick ride in. Fortunately, the winds were co-operating. We jumped onto the Prarie Schooner and off we went. First check point was to be Magrath - 44 km away.
Up and down coulees, flying along. We hit Magrath in just over an hour (1:01) and an average speed of 42.7km/hr.
I felt strong. After a few minutes of warming up I felt like I could really go. The most dramatic moment to me on this ride was when we went through Pot Hole Coulee just East of Magrath. On the decent I'd let Steve get a couple of hundred feet on me, as we started climbing I started working my way through the gears. As I went by him I glanced down at my computer - I was pounding out a cadence of 103 (standing) and was going at 52.1km/hr. I felt like I was dancing onthe pedals and that I was "chainless" - what a thrill! What a feeling of freedom. I'm super motivated to get my weight down and my power up so that I can feel that on long climbs (this one is only half a km long.)
Then we hit the hard part - the last 23km of this ride is north, a straight cross-wind. I did most of the pulling, I was just feeling good. But holding 30km/hr was a tough slog. We hit Lethbridge in just under two hours, and made it across town to the dealership in a total of 2:13 or something like that.
It was great to be on the bike for more than an hour or hour and half. This was my longest ride of the year. This month will have some seious mileage in it - especially given our little adventure in a little over a week to Salt Lake City (back to back centuries.)
Tues morning I did a little recovery ride with Bart and Chico - NOT! Chico kept the pace high all the way out - Bart and I turned around at Leavitt, Chico hammered on to Mtn View. We had a nice little 37km/hr tailwind ride back, that was a nice recovery!
Tues evening I get the great idea of another Tailwinds ride! I call John and Steve (Bart had to work) and we get my wife to run us out to Waterton for a repeat of mine and Steve's tailwind ride a week or so ago.
I realized right away as we crossed the bridge and it wasn't singing to us that there was no way this was going to be a tailwinds ride! In fact, the wind had switched and was coming out of the South - we had a cross-wind of 35km/hr most of the way. Made for some hard sloggin'! Steve was feeling pretty good, and often mentioned feeling chainless. John was able to generate some pretty impressive power on some of the roller climbs. I just held on and hoped my legs would last long enough to stay with them. My legs felt heavy, and fighting the wind was really taking it's toll on them. Definitely not the Tailwinds ride I had envisioned! Oh well, I was on my bike - can't get any better than that!
This morning was supposed to be a hill climbing ride (South Hill repeates) but there was just no way my legs were ready for that, so I stayed in bed.
I feel like I'm getting some good miles in. I'm liking the performance of my Tarmac, but it's also taking some getting used to the new position.
The frame is considerably smaller than my last frame - and it has changed my position significantly. Muscles are working at different angles. In some ways I feel like I'm in terrible shape 'cause my legs are hurting in ways and places I'm not familiar with. However, the bike fits me better. I feel like I can handle the bike better - I have more confidence in what I can make it do. High speed decents are comfortable (I've only been up to just over 80 km/hr on it so far), and climbing is stiff and responsive. I do notice some of the road buzz more than I did on the Devinci. That's to be expected with a frame this much smaller and stiffer. (and lighter!) It would be great to be able to afford a Tarmac and a Rubaix - but given that I like to race, and I love the performance, the Tarmac is the bike for me! In a couple of years I may try to convince my wife to let me add a Rubaix to the Stable, but I'm very happy with the Tarmac!
Because I've been getting the feel of the Tarmac, my TT bike has been left hanging in the garage. I do need to make a point of getting out on it again sometime next week, but right now I'm really loving riding the Tarmac. I'd also like to put on my Zipp 404's to see how the Tarmac performs with them.
Friday, May 04, 2007
My new Ride
I just realized that I haven't posted anything at all about my new Specialized Tarmac S-works!
My wife and I ended up flying to California to get it - as the bike shop there was the only one I could find anywhere in Canada or the US that could get me what I wanted in my size. As it turns out, if other bike shops had known what they were doing they could've got it for me. It all worked out good, though. Melanie and I were able to get away for a couple of days without the kids and really enjoyed ourselves. I've realized that I really need to make a point of taking off with her on a regular basis - even if it's just to Calgary - to get away from things for a few days and spend time with just us.
Back to the bike. It's a Tarmac S-works in size 49cm. Fits like a glove! SRAM Force equipped, and came with the Roval Wheels. I swapped out the Barmac stem/handlebars and went with the FSA K-wing bars and an FSA stem. I've also taken off the Roval wheels (currently for sale on ebay) and replaced them with Neuvation R28 SL3's. Using speedplay pedals, and riding on Conti GP4000 tires. Bike, with pedals, one water bottle cage, and all the mounting hardware for my Edge305 weighs 15.12 lbs. I'm looking at buying some Sprint 350 wheels to lighten it up another 200grams - that'll make it a real machine for Triple Bypass!! I'm also looking for the compact spider and rings to make the crankset a compact for that ride. I suspect I'll lose some more weight off the bike with that move. (Now to get the engine lightened up!)
I've loved riding the bike! It's fast, and comfy. I've still got lots to get used to with it, as my position has changed and I'm using different muscles now, but I'm really happy with it. I've got almost 700km on it in the last week since I bought it.
The original Roval wheels are fast - they just are pretty expensive and I've decided to sell them on ebay. If I get what I want out of them I'll have enough to have paid for the Neuvation's and a disc wheel for my TT bike and my Sprint 350's. Can't beat that! (And I'll still have my Zipp 404 tubulars!)
Which brings up my other new ride - my TT bike. It's a Guru with carbon seat stays. I've got it largely equipped with Dura Ace, but there's a few 105 parts on it. I'd like to get a 10spd bar end shifter for it so that I can run 10spd on it, that would mean less hassle with cassette changes and stuff. I've only ridden the bike once - a quick trip out to Leavitt and back - but the bike feels quick.
My wife and I ended up flying to California to get it - as the bike shop there was the only one I could find anywhere in Canada or the US that could get me what I wanted in my size. As it turns out, if other bike shops had known what they were doing they could've got it for me. It all worked out good, though. Melanie and I were able to get away for a couple of days without the kids and really enjoyed ourselves. I've realized that I really need to make a point of taking off with her on a regular basis - even if it's just to Calgary - to get away from things for a few days and spend time with just us.
Back to the bike. It's a Tarmac S-works in size 49cm. Fits like a glove! SRAM Force equipped, and came with the Roval Wheels. I swapped out the Barmac stem/handlebars and went with the FSA K-wing bars and an FSA stem. I've also taken off the Roval wheels (currently for sale on ebay) and replaced them with Neuvation R28 SL3's. Using speedplay pedals, and riding on Conti GP4000 tires. Bike, with pedals, one water bottle cage, and all the mounting hardware for my Edge305 weighs 15.12 lbs. I'm looking at buying some Sprint 350 wheels to lighten it up another 200grams - that'll make it a real machine for Triple Bypass!! I'm also looking for the compact spider and rings to make the crankset a compact for that ride. I suspect I'll lose some more weight off the bike with that move. (Now to get the engine lightened up!)
I've loved riding the bike! It's fast, and comfy. I've still got lots to get used to with it, as my position has changed and I'm using different muscles now, but I'm really happy with it. I've got almost 700km on it in the last week since I bought it.
The original Roval wheels are fast - they just are pretty expensive and I've decided to sell them on ebay. If I get what I want out of them I'll have enough to have paid for the Neuvation's and a disc wheel for my TT bike and my Sprint 350's. Can't beat that! (And I'll still have my Zipp 404 tubulars!)
Which brings up my other new ride - my TT bike. It's a Guru with carbon seat stays. I've got it largely equipped with Dura Ace, but there's a few 105 parts on it. I'd like to get a 10spd bar end shifter for it so that I can run 10spd on it, that would mean less hassle with cassette changes and stuff. I've only ridden the bike once - a quick trip out to Leavitt and back - but the bike feels quick.
Tailwinds ride 29 April
As written by my riding buddy, BowWow
Yesterday Mrs. Rob drove us 45 km into a stiff headwind, to the gates of Waterton National Park. There Rob and I disembarked the Robstermobile, thanked Mrs. Rob profusely, and leapt upon our carbon steeds for a True Tailwinds ride.
The wind was howling off the lake, my legs were howling at me to get spinning. I stood on the pedals without cranking, and was blown up to 4 km/h almost instantly. This was gonna be a goodun! We headed out, squirming to get settled in the saddles, working out the accumulated desk-jockey kinks in the backs. The road ahead bode well for us as we crossed the Shrieking Bridge. Rob commented that the car folks never hear that song...
Speed comes quickly when you have a nice tailwind. We soon were cruising at well over 40 km/h, looking at the big ring/smaller cogs before even getting warmed up. The rising road felt like a descent, the rollers rolled under our wheels, the wind roared it's impotent wrath at our backs.
Glancing to the south we were stunned by the glory of the snow-glazed ridge rising in Rocky majesty just across the US line. The grasslands in the foreground were an interesting mix of intense green rising inexorably through the brown remnants of last summer's graze. Rounding a rising corner we noticed three elk staring intently at us across the road. Not quite sure what to do, they started, then stopped again, wide-eyed at the humans. We called to them, asking why they were so far out of the park, and wondering where the other 997 were. They jumped, and headed into the sheltering brush.
Cresting the ridge then dropping into the river bottom, we both sprinted with the wind at our backs. Rob led out, pulling to 75 km/h. I glanced past him and instantly hit the pedals, spinning up to well over 120 rpm. I knew we had enough room to make 80 before the bridge. 83.5 to be exact! As I blew past Rob he jumped onto my wheel and we shot across the bridge without even noticing the expansion joints. Ain't carbon grand!
The climbs floated by, the flats became 50 k runs, the descents went to over 70. We "exceeded the speed limit" through Mountain View, crested the ridge past the Beazer turnoff and gave our mighty steeds their heads over the rollers and into the Leavitt valley. Rob let me get a good lead as we headed to the base of Monson's hill, then blew by me halfway up. I managed my pace well, keeping the effort under control, and crested without blowing up (still climbing way slow, but that'll come...), and held 21 over the top.
Rob mentioned running chainless - not today for me, but that'll come soon enough this season. And we both could have used that 11 tooth cog often on this ride!
We dropped over the edge of Tracey's hill and I took the pull (I do that on the descents...), and we rocketed around the final turn. Two quick rollers and one sign sprint (I caught Rob napping - hee hee!!!!), a very fast +50 k along the false flat, and we were into town and home.
It seems like the past couple of years of cycling have been focussed on fitness. Slogging into the headwinds, doing hill repeats, hammering the dark winter away on the rollers.
Yesterday was simply joy. The joy is back!
Yesterday Mrs. Rob drove us 45 km into a stiff headwind, to the gates of Waterton National Park. There Rob and I disembarked the Robstermobile, thanked Mrs. Rob profusely, and leapt upon our carbon steeds for a True Tailwinds ride.
The wind was howling off the lake, my legs were howling at me to get spinning. I stood on the pedals without cranking, and was blown up to 4 km/h almost instantly. This was gonna be a goodun! We headed out, squirming to get settled in the saddles, working out the accumulated desk-jockey kinks in the backs. The road ahead bode well for us as we crossed the Shrieking Bridge. Rob commented that the car folks never hear that song...
Speed comes quickly when you have a nice tailwind. We soon were cruising at well over 40 km/h, looking at the big ring/smaller cogs before even getting warmed up. The rising road felt like a descent, the rollers rolled under our wheels, the wind roared it's impotent wrath at our backs.
Glancing to the south we were stunned by the glory of the snow-glazed ridge rising in Rocky majesty just across the US line. The grasslands in the foreground were an interesting mix of intense green rising inexorably through the brown remnants of last summer's graze. Rounding a rising corner we noticed three elk staring intently at us across the road. Not quite sure what to do, they started, then stopped again, wide-eyed at the humans. We called to them, asking why they were so far out of the park, and wondering where the other 997 were. They jumped, and headed into the sheltering brush.
Cresting the ridge then dropping into the river bottom, we both sprinted with the wind at our backs. Rob led out, pulling to 75 km/h. I glanced past him and instantly hit the pedals, spinning up to well over 120 rpm. I knew we had enough room to make 80 before the bridge. 83.5 to be exact! As I blew past Rob he jumped onto my wheel and we shot across the bridge without even noticing the expansion joints. Ain't carbon grand!
The climbs floated by, the flats became 50 k runs, the descents went to over 70. We "exceeded the speed limit" through Mountain View, crested the ridge past the Beazer turnoff and gave our mighty steeds their heads over the rollers and into the Leavitt valley. Rob let me get a good lead as we headed to the base of Monson's hill, then blew by me halfway up. I managed my pace well, keeping the effort under control, and crested without blowing up (still climbing way slow, but that'll come...), and held 21 over the top.
Rob mentioned running chainless - not today for me, but that'll come soon enough this season. And we both could have used that 11 tooth cog often on this ride!
We dropped over the edge of Tracey's hill and I took the pull (I do that on the descents...), and we rocketed around the final turn. Two quick rollers and one sign sprint (I caught Rob napping - hee hee!!!!), a very fast +50 k along the false flat, and we were into town and home.
It seems like the past couple of years of cycling have been focussed on fitness. Slogging into the headwinds, doing hill repeats, hammering the dark winter away on the rollers.
Yesterday was simply joy. The joy is back!
Racing Again
Race Report from May 1, Tuesday night series.
Finally! First race of the year for me. I knew I was out of racing shape, and knew this was gonna hurt - but the best way to get into racing shape is to race, so here we go...
Group is small - more on that later.
The course is relatively flat with some long rollers of 2-3%. I only got about 15 minutes of warm-up time in, so I'm hoping for a slow start to the day. Race is only 33.42 kms long tonight, so my guess is that we'll stay together until the turn-around and then the attacks will come, we'll end up with 3 or 4 guys up the road and everybody else schlacked off the back.
Off we go. Pace is slow - only 28km/hr. Phil (by far the strongest rider of our club) and I are chatting off the back. BowWow is up front, and before we hit the first hill kicks the pace up a little and gets a bit of a gap. Only one guy reacts, and he grabs his wheel. Phil and I continue chatting, and as the hill tilts up a little, we reel 'em back in. Pace slows again to the 28km/hr range.
Down the backside - and then we begin the second climb - I'm feeling pretty good and start thinking about making a break, just to see if they'll let me go. I start moving up to the front, and then Phil moves up ahead of me, and then Roy (another REALLY strong rider) - I take 3rd wheel, and Phil kicks the pace up - we're now doing 32km/hr, still a nice leisurely stroll. I don't know where my head is at this point, but I obviousely was NOT thinking - I'm still in the small ring.
Phil suddenly surges about half-way up the hill. Roy doesn't respond at all and there's suddenly a gap of 15 feet. I jump and try to grab Phil's wheel. Instantly I'm spun out - that's where I realize I'm still little ring. We crest and I shift big ring and really hammer down the back side. (At this point we're only 3km into the race!) I do a quick check behind me and see that I've got about 200 yrds of gap - I'm in no-man's land by myself. Only one choice, gotta catch Phil.
I settle in to a hard TT - my HR is pounding at 177 as I hit the 3rd climb - this is where I know I've got to bridge the last 50 feet or so, or it ain't gonna happen. I accelerate up the hill - I'm within 4 feet of Phil before we hit the top. I start to ease off a bit to recover (my HR is pounding away at 185) - Phil turns, sees me, smiles - I swear he gives me "the look", he says he didn't - and then sprints over the top and drops me like a rock. That's all I'll see of Phil for the rest of the race.
As I crest I check over my shoulder - there doesn't seem to be a chase taking place yet - there's at least 300 yrds back to the closest riders. I drop my pace slightly to recover on the down-side and settle in to fighting the wind on my own. Suddenly there's Roy pounding past me! Where did he come from? I'm not getting dropped again today! I sprint up to his wheel, recover, and we start working a pretty good 2man rotation to try and pull Phil back.
We hit the turn-around, and realize that we've had a wee bit of a tail/cross-wind on the way out, now it's a nice little headwind. Hey, that might give us a chance to reel Phil in! We up the effort.
Half-way back we run into the rest of the group. Apparantly the reason our start had such small numbers is some guys didn't understand where the start was at and were camped out at "the other start" waiting for us. They turned around and joined Roy and I - suddenly there's 4 of us together (we dropped the others pretty quickly.) Fresh legs to pull us in? Hmmmmm
One of the guys with us blasts off the front - what's that about? He can't win, he's already out of the race. We decide to chase him down. There's a young guy with us that is pretty strong, and Roy and I decide to let him do his share of pulling. We don't seem to be making any ground up on our little break-away guy. Then the jockeying begins for the sprint. We're still 4 km away!
We hit the the long down-hill and the pace is up to 55km/hr, straight into the wind. Problem is, I'm running a 12/27 cassette and with my legs being tired, spinning at 106 is getting a little tiring. I'm barely holding Roy's wheel. Finally at the bottom I realize that official 3rd is as good as I'm gonna get today - Roy is WAY too strong for me today. Roy and I start chatting and he says he wants to clip this young guy at the line, I told him I'll try and give him a good lead out. We're closing into the finish fast, despite it being a slight up-hill into the wind. (We're still clipping along at 40km/hr.) So, I grab the young guys wheel and wait for the right moment. I've never done a lead-out in a race before, so really don't know how far out to go from, I"m usually waiting for someone else to make the move first.
The young guy reaches over to grab his water bottle and I decide it's a great time to let her rip, I look back and nod to Roy and go. As I go by the young guy I glance back, Roy's on my wheel - I look up the road... OH NO! I've gone WAAAAAAAAY too early. I'm still a good 700m away from the line. Oh well, I'm committed now!
I hammer away as best I can, glance back and see that I've got about 30 foot gap... is it possible? I try and find some more oomp for the last 300m. Suddenly Roy and the young guy are there. With less than 75m to go the jump - I try to catch a wheel, but there's nothing left in the tank.
And that is how the first race of the season ends for me, limping across the line totally spent and having made just about every mistake in the book. What a great night!!
Finally! First race of the year for me. I knew I was out of racing shape, and knew this was gonna hurt - but the best way to get into racing shape is to race, so here we go...
Group is small - more on that later.
The course is relatively flat with some long rollers of 2-3%. I only got about 15 minutes of warm-up time in, so I'm hoping for a slow start to the day. Race is only 33.42 kms long tonight, so my guess is that we'll stay together until the turn-around and then the attacks will come, we'll end up with 3 or 4 guys up the road and everybody else schlacked off the back.
Off we go. Pace is slow - only 28km/hr. Phil (by far the strongest rider of our club) and I are chatting off the back. BowWow is up front, and before we hit the first hill kicks the pace up a little and gets a bit of a gap. Only one guy reacts, and he grabs his wheel. Phil and I continue chatting, and as the hill tilts up a little, we reel 'em back in. Pace slows again to the 28km/hr range.
Down the backside - and then we begin the second climb - I'm feeling pretty good and start thinking about making a break, just to see if they'll let me go. I start moving up to the front, and then Phil moves up ahead of me, and then Roy (another REALLY strong rider) - I take 3rd wheel, and Phil kicks the pace up - we're now doing 32km/hr, still a nice leisurely stroll. I don't know where my head is at this point, but I obviousely was NOT thinking - I'm still in the small ring.
Phil suddenly surges about half-way up the hill. Roy doesn't respond at all and there's suddenly a gap of 15 feet. I jump and try to grab Phil's wheel. Instantly I'm spun out - that's where I realize I'm still little ring. We crest and I shift big ring and really hammer down the back side. (At this point we're only 3km into the race!) I do a quick check behind me and see that I've got about 200 yrds of gap - I'm in no-man's land by myself. Only one choice, gotta catch Phil.
I settle in to a hard TT - my HR is pounding at 177 as I hit the 3rd climb - this is where I know I've got to bridge the last 50 feet or so, or it ain't gonna happen. I accelerate up the hill - I'm within 4 feet of Phil before we hit the top. I start to ease off a bit to recover (my HR is pounding away at 185) - Phil turns, sees me, smiles - I swear he gives me "the look", he says he didn't - and then sprints over the top and drops me like a rock. That's all I'll see of Phil for the rest of the race.
As I crest I check over my shoulder - there doesn't seem to be a chase taking place yet - there's at least 300 yrds back to the closest riders. I drop my pace slightly to recover on the down-side and settle in to fighting the wind on my own. Suddenly there's Roy pounding past me! Where did he come from? I'm not getting dropped again today! I sprint up to his wheel, recover, and we start working a pretty good 2man rotation to try and pull Phil back.
We hit the turn-around, and realize that we've had a wee bit of a tail/cross-wind on the way out, now it's a nice little headwind. Hey, that might give us a chance to reel Phil in! We up the effort.
Half-way back we run into the rest of the group. Apparantly the reason our start had such small numbers is some guys didn't understand where the start was at and were camped out at "the other start" waiting for us. They turned around and joined Roy and I - suddenly there's 4 of us together (we dropped the others pretty quickly.) Fresh legs to pull us in? Hmmmmm
One of the guys with us blasts off the front - what's that about? He can't win, he's already out of the race. We decide to chase him down. There's a young guy with us that is pretty strong, and Roy and I decide to let him do his share of pulling. We don't seem to be making any ground up on our little break-away guy. Then the jockeying begins for the sprint. We're still 4 km away!
We hit the the long down-hill and the pace is up to 55km/hr, straight into the wind. Problem is, I'm running a 12/27 cassette and with my legs being tired, spinning at 106 is getting a little tiring. I'm barely holding Roy's wheel. Finally at the bottom I realize that official 3rd is as good as I'm gonna get today - Roy is WAY too strong for me today. Roy and I start chatting and he says he wants to clip this young guy at the line, I told him I'll try and give him a good lead out. We're closing into the finish fast, despite it being a slight up-hill into the wind. (We're still clipping along at 40km/hr.) So, I grab the young guys wheel and wait for the right moment. I've never done a lead-out in a race before, so really don't know how far out to go from, I"m usually waiting for someone else to make the move first.
The young guy reaches over to grab his water bottle and I decide it's a great time to let her rip, I look back and nod to Roy and go. As I go by the young guy I glance back, Roy's on my wheel - I look up the road... OH NO! I've gone WAAAAAAAAY too early. I'm still a good 700m away from the line. Oh well, I'm committed now!
I hammer away as best I can, glance back and see that I've got about 30 foot gap... is it possible? I try and find some more oomp for the last 300m. Suddenly Roy and the young guy are there. With less than 75m to go the jump - I try to catch a wheel, but there's nothing left in the tank.
And that is how the first race of the season ends for me, limping across the line totally spent and having made just about every mistake in the book. What a great night!!
So, Rob, Have you Met....
Ride report from May 2 with Steve.
BowWow and I decide to get in an after-work spin this evening, and meet at 5:30 for a ride we expect will be around 50 minutes. The first half of the ride will be into a headwind, but the second half will be a beautiful tailwind!
We meet at BowWow's house, and off we go - only to turn around 'cause I asked BowWow if he had now decided to go lidless on his rides. On the way back a car burns into the intersection and almost takes him out... better get that lid on in a hurry!
Finally we're off. up hill to the end of the street, then turn to head out to the highway. The highway is beautiful. New pavement last year - two lanes and a wide shoulder, and traffic that even with one lane would seem like there wasn't any. We're headed out to Leavitt. The Reserve is on our right, town limits on the left. We're riding the dividing line between two different worlds. We're just spinning along at about 25km/hr, nothing even remotely strenous, and chatting. Enjoying just being out on the bike. We're doing more of that again since our tailwind ride of last Saturday.
BowWow turns to me and asks, "So, Rob, have you met the new German Sheppard out here yet?"
"Yup," I reply, "I've gotten to know him up close and personal."
Just as I finish saying that we hear a rustling in the grass and I catch a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. BOOM! I'm off, sprinting hard. BowWow's laughing - this dog runs right by him and is chasing me hard. Suddenly I hear, "Get him! Hurry boy, catch him!"
Yeah, thanx BowWow, like this mutt needs any more encouragement.
By this time I'm pounding away at 45km/hr, and this dog is closing. BowWow is laughing so hard he can't even encourage the dog anymore. Finally Eddie gives up and then it's my turn... 'cause bait is riding towards Eddie! Suddenly BowWow is a little less concerned about how funny I looked.
Unfortunately, the mutt was tired out and never even gave BowWow a scare. I looked down at my HR monitor and I'm sure it had just dropped back down to 200 something. We couldn't pedal for the next couple of kilometers 'cause we were laughing so hard - what made it really funny? It wasn't the German Sheppard, but this little mutt that has been running out by us for years. He's never caught anyone, but always gives a good chase.
Thanx again, BowWow, for a great ride.
BowWow and I decide to get in an after-work spin this evening, and meet at 5:30 for a ride we expect will be around 50 minutes. The first half of the ride will be into a headwind, but the second half will be a beautiful tailwind!
We meet at BowWow's house, and off we go - only to turn around 'cause I asked BowWow if he had now decided to go lidless on his rides. On the way back a car burns into the intersection and almost takes him out... better get that lid on in a hurry!
Finally we're off. up hill to the end of the street, then turn to head out to the highway. The highway is beautiful. New pavement last year - two lanes and a wide shoulder, and traffic that even with one lane would seem like there wasn't any. We're headed out to Leavitt. The Reserve is on our right, town limits on the left. We're riding the dividing line between two different worlds. We're just spinning along at about 25km/hr, nothing even remotely strenous, and chatting. Enjoying just being out on the bike. We're doing more of that again since our tailwind ride of last Saturday.
BowWow turns to me and asks, "So, Rob, have you met the new German Sheppard out here yet?"
"Yup," I reply, "I've gotten to know him up close and personal."
Just as I finish saying that we hear a rustling in the grass and I catch a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. BOOM! I'm off, sprinting hard. BowWow's laughing - this dog runs right by him and is chasing me hard. Suddenly I hear, "Get him! Hurry boy, catch him!"
Yeah, thanx BowWow, like this mutt needs any more encouragement.
By this time I'm pounding away at 45km/hr, and this dog is closing. BowWow is laughing so hard he can't even encourage the dog anymore. Finally Eddie gives up and then it's my turn... 'cause bait is riding towards Eddie! Suddenly BowWow is a little less concerned about how funny I looked.
Unfortunately, the mutt was tired out and never even gave BowWow a scare. I looked down at my HR monitor and I'm sure it had just dropped back down to 200 something. We couldn't pedal for the next couple of kilometers 'cause we were laughing so hard - what made it really funny? It wasn't the German Sheppard, but this little mutt that has been running out by us for years. He's never caught anyone, but always gives a good chase.
Thanx again, BowWow, for a great ride.
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