Well this week did not go quite as planned at the Tuesday night races. I was in a good group off the front until Ben W. attacked it, after that it all went downhill. I eventually rode myself out of the race. Oh well, good workout I suppose.
One positive? thing that came out of the Tuesday night races was Joe T. convincing me to go up to Mass and race at Attleboro with the lure of a free ride up there. So I guess I will race at least one day this weekend. Jose is also trying to get me to race New Britain on Sunday. If I do both it may be a quiet weekend in the evenings. Sigh. Perhaps I will test out my "toughness" with a late Saturday and New Britain Sunday ... hmm. It is tour time so maybe I should see how tough I am ... yeah, yeah that's the ticket ...
Anyhow in the tour this past week there was news that during bike check for the team time trial saddle level was checked and the UCI made every rider set their saddle perfectly level. The guys are riding along the last 20 km at 40 mph in their leadout trains and the UCI is worried about saddle level? Apparently tilting the saddle down in front provides better lumbar support, thus allowing riders to push a slightly larger gear so now the UCI says it's illegal. So if it's healthier it should be illegal but drugs like EPO that can cause blood clots and death are all good. Anyhow I might tilt down the nose of my saddle 2 millimeters ...
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Thursday, June 30, 2011
I found my hammer ... will I put it down soon?
Starting to ride well: Here I am attacking the lead group after we lapped the front of the field (and the back, and all the other groups). I was caught with two to go, but the legs seem to be coming around. I take it as a positive I was able to withstand Ron L.'s constant attacks and counter off of one of his to go solo. (Ron was recently 22nd in the national championships, a very good result.)
Other news: Instead of riding 5 to 6 hours a day I've been relatively lazy. I found an app on my phone that counts calories and have very slowly been trying to lose weight while lifting and riding quality miles to maintain muscle mass. I was thinking just ride a ton of miles during my break but as a coach I had to remind myself that plan could be disastrous. I sensed signals from my body that huge mileage wasn't the best idea and I listened. I think my recent race shows that I'm on the right track. I also found www.endomondo.com. It's a pretty cool website for blackberry users that uses your phone to GPS your ride. It takes into account your weight, elevation changes during the ride, and speed to calculate caloric burn. It also records other workouts (running, weight lifting, fitness walking to the bar, etc.) It's been great for me to really keep track of my diet, etc. For instance today I realized that if I want to party tonight I needed to do a 2nd ride. So I went out and rode again this afternoon and I should be good to party. :)
Monday, June 20, 2011
20110607 Rentschler Field A Race - 3rd - SprinterDellaCasa Helmet Cam
Here is a video of the last race I was in (on June 6th). This race was a fairly quick Tuesday night race, we averaged 27.7 mph for about 50 minutes. Considering slowing for the corners, that is about 30 mph or so down the straights on average. Note: the video may take a little while to buffer. Aki Sato, a fellow racer, used a helmet cam to video the race. He gives his perspectives on the race and shows you how he moves through the field on the last lap on the way to finishing a respectable 3rd place. Aki is a field sprinter so it's a unique viewpoint for a breakaway rider like myself. He's probably swerving through the field on the last lap at close to 40 mph, lol. Anyways I noticed I look like a bit of a tub in the video so I've started my "scientific" training program (note: not scientific) since school has ended.
I started my "scientific" training program by riding a little over 5 hours on Saturday. Today I went to the gym as I needed some structural fitness (everything bothered me after Saturday ... ankles, knees, back, hips ... which is not normal for me). My "scientific" plan is to ride 5 to 6 hours a day on days when I feel like it, go to movies / fill out job apps / beg for change in the street on days I don't feel like it (I'm a teacher), cut back on the beer, hit the gym some, and throw in some races until July 18th when summer school starts. After July 18th I will cut back on training and do more short intense workouts due to time constraints. I will also type poorly written blogs with bad grammar and run on sentences when I'm bored. Totally scientific ...
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
1st Massachusetts tt of the low key mid week races.
Today started with work and then a trip to the DMV to clear up tinted windows and a license plate that got lost or was stolen off the front of my car. Needless to say I had a lot of pent up rage.
I was ready to ride hard and long ... well not that long, average. I do have good endurance though. Anyhow at the start there was an older gentleman lining people up. I asked if I could start near the back, although not last, so I could have riders to pass. I figured I was in the fastest five riders. He said to me, "well we can start you near the middle." (The fastest riders start near the end so they have others to chase). Finally I convinced him to start me more near the end riders after assuring him I was a cat 1 albeit a bit out of shape due to perhaps spending a bit too much time at the happy time factory this past winter.
Today I decided to ride regular road position with just a front aero wheel. The time trial course featured rolling hills and was 9.78 miles long according to another rider's computer. Starting out I was chasing Mark G., the eventual winner, who I told the older gentlemen to let start behind me. I knew he would be faster due to the fact he spent less time at the happy time factory. Other riders appeared to have avoided the happy time factory altogether but I felt I could beat them due to the fact they had not harnessed their inner BA yet. Not only that but their grip on sanity appeared intact ... not good for a bike racer.
Once the race started I settled in for a brief period and I felt I was closing in on Mark but after a few miles he started to pull away. The wind was difficult yet again with a headwind / sidewind combination on the way out and sidewinds on the way back. The effort for me was interesting as I went from going at a good pace in a 53 x 11 on sections to sitting up on uphills barely riding 15 mph. Nonetheless I feel like I am priming myself for the weekly summer races for all important liquid carbohydrate fun juice.
After the race there was suggestion of a slight fee and a trophy for the winner at the end of the series. Mark G. suggested a 24 oz. can of Fosters with 1st place written on the front of it. Perhaps though they can aim higher and have a 40 oz. first place trophy with 36 oz. for 2nd and 24 oz. for third.
I was ready to ride hard and long ... well not that long, average. I do have good endurance though. Anyhow at the start there was an older gentleman lining people up. I asked if I could start near the back, although not last, so I could have riders to pass. I figured I was in the fastest five riders. He said to me, "well we can start you near the middle." (The fastest riders start near the end so they have others to chase). Finally I convinced him to start me more near the end riders after assuring him I was a cat 1 albeit a bit out of shape due to perhaps spending a bit too much time at the happy time factory this past winter.
Today I decided to ride regular road position with just a front aero wheel. The time trial course featured rolling hills and was 9.78 miles long according to another rider's computer. Starting out I was chasing Mark G., the eventual winner, who I told the older gentlemen to let start behind me. I knew he would be faster due to the fact he spent less time at the happy time factory. Other riders appeared to have avoided the happy time factory altogether but I felt I could beat them due to the fact they had not harnessed their inner BA yet. Not only that but their grip on sanity appeared intact ... not good for a bike racer.
Once the race started I settled in for a brief period and I felt I was closing in on Mark but after a few miles he started to pull away. The wind was difficult yet again with a headwind / sidewind combination on the way out and sidewinds on the way back. The effort for me was interesting as I went from going at a good pace in a 53 x 11 on sections to sitting up on uphills barely riding 15 mph. Nonetheless I feel like I am priming myself for the weekly summer races for all important liquid carbohydrate fun juice.
After the race there was suggestion of a slight fee and a trophy for the winner at the end of the series. Mark G. suggested a 24 oz. can of Fosters with 1st place written on the front of it. Perhaps though they can aim higher and have a 40 oz. first place trophy with 36 oz. for 2nd and 24 oz. for third.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
First Expo TT of 2011
Well the night started on a bit of a down note. As I turned onto I-84 a cop stopped me on the entrance ramp. I ended up getting a warning for tinted windows. I now have twenty days to get them corrected and checked by the DMV or I will get my registration suspended and possibly my license. I should note that as a middle school math teacher I am a serious threat to society and should be harassed by cops. Luckily he didn't search my car. Only God knows what kind of crazy lesson plans he might have found.
Anyways I got to the time trial and saw a familiar face from the past, Tom Phillips. He didn't recognize me as apparently since my teen years I've gotten "thicker," lol. I prefer to think of myself as buff or beer strong.
The time trial started with not a single person warming up properly before, yet chatting at the start line while waiting to start. Noting that it makes you tougher when you don't warm up for a hard effort I followed suit. Soon it was time for pain.
Riders started at 30 second intervals and I had plenty of riders to chase. I started and quickly ramped up my speed to 40 kph ... then I noticed I was going up hill and slowed down to 27 - 30 kph on the up hill portions during the first part. I started to pass riders and then felt sort of badass despite these weird burning sensations coming from my legs. Knowing that the hill was ending and I knew I would be rewarded with more body friendly terrain I started to get psyched as I reached the halfway point.
On the more body friendly terrain I noted my speed going up to 48 kph (30 mph) from time to time but today there was a strong headwind and it was a _________________ (insert bad word here). I literally hid my head in my aerobars preferring to hide from the wind as much as possible versus looking at the road. I figured if I crashed the effort would end and that burning sensation would at least be transferred from my legs to other parts of my body. Eventually I made it through and despite passing 5 people and not being caught myself I figured I'd have a good time but alas it was nothing to write home about. Yet still I am typing.
After the race Ben and I compared notes. He is 6'3" and 198, while I am 5'11" and 199 or so. He noted my arms were bigger than his when we flexed. We got some weird look from some guy pretending to be a cyclist as he left. Ben noted that "we can do whatever we want, we're cyclists." Obviously that guy was not a cyclist or he would have thought, "whatever, two cyclists randomly flexing in a parking lot after a race, totally normal ..."
Anyways, Aiden, the skinny one, won the race. To add insult to injury, Aiden's van has window's that are totally covered and he doesn't get harassed, probably because he doesn't live near Uconn. I guess I can take solace that if Aiden and I were in an arm flexing contest I would totally win.
Anyways I got to the time trial and saw a familiar face from the past, Tom Phillips. He didn't recognize me as apparently since my teen years I've gotten "thicker," lol. I prefer to think of myself as buff or beer strong.
The time trial started with not a single person warming up properly before, yet chatting at the start line while waiting to start. Noting that it makes you tougher when you don't warm up for a hard effort I followed suit. Soon it was time for pain.
Riders started at 30 second intervals and I had plenty of riders to chase. I started and quickly ramped up my speed to 40 kph ... then I noticed I was going up hill and slowed down to 27 - 30 kph on the up hill portions during the first part. I started to pass riders and then felt sort of badass despite these weird burning sensations coming from my legs. Knowing that the hill was ending and I knew I would be rewarded with more body friendly terrain I started to get psyched as I reached the halfway point.
On the more body friendly terrain I noted my speed going up to 48 kph (30 mph) from time to time but today there was a strong headwind and it was a _________________ (insert bad word here). I literally hid my head in my aerobars preferring to hide from the wind as much as possible versus looking at the road. I figured if I crashed the effort would end and that burning sensation would at least be transferred from my legs to other parts of my body. Eventually I made it through and despite passing 5 people and not being caught myself I figured I'd have a good time but alas it was nothing to write home about. Yet still I am typing.
After the race Ben and I compared notes. He is 6'3" and 198, while I am 5'11" and 199 or so. He noted my arms were bigger than his when we flexed. We got some weird look from some guy pretending to be a cyclist as he left. Ben noted that "we can do whatever we want, we're cyclists." Obviously that guy was not a cyclist or he would have thought, "whatever, two cyclists randomly flexing in a parking lot after a race, totally normal ..."
Anyways, Aiden, the skinny one, won the race. To add insult to injury, Aiden's van has window's that are totally covered and he doesn't get harassed, probably because he doesn't live near Uconn. I guess I can take solace that if Aiden and I were in an arm flexing contest I would totally win.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)