How to upgrade as a cyclist / the Rent.

     Once again I found myself at the start of a "pay to enter" race, traveling from Boston to East Hartford to participate.  Being a "beer" level cyclist I was expected to perform adequately, while not doing anything too stellar.  Joe "Chuckanut"* Tindal, a fellow "beer" level cyclist, was lined up as well.  Mark Shea, a newer rider, was entered as a category 4.  Trent Sullivan was entered as a "crappy" (self proclaimed) category 2. 
     In cycling there exists levels or categories of riders.  New riders start out at category 5.  If they are good enough they progress to level 4, then 3, then 2, then 1.  Category 1 riders with a contract are professional cyclists.  After spending time at category 1 or 2 riders may then move to a few other levels of cycling.
      The next step for a category 1/2 rider is the "disenchanted" level.  This is when they start to lose interest and their training suffers.  Riders may last at this level for several months to years before moving on to the other level.
      After the "disenchanted" level exists the "has been / crappy" level.  To reach the "has been / crappy" level cat 1/2 riders must have had their fitness drop to where they are riding at a normal category 3/4 level.  If they are a pure "has been" they may drop down a category or two.  If they are "crappy" they will still ride with their category they once earned but ride extremely poorly for that category.
      The final level is that of the "beer" cyclist.  This is when a category 1/2 has gone through "disenchanted" and "crappy" levels and just rides hard on strava.  Strava is an app for "beer" cyclists that allows them to race category 4 / 5 riders and barely beat them / get beat by them without having to enter a "pay to enter" race.  By using a GPS device these cyclists can record their times on certain segments of the road to race other cyclists.  Bragging rights and wagers on who will beat who on what segment are encouraged. 
      These "beer" cyclists ride hard whenever they feel like it and drink beer whenever they feel like it.  It's spontaneous and "fun" for these riders.   "Beer" cyclists may participate in "pay to enter" races but only to set a fast strava segment on a lap or a certain portion of the course.  A proper strava segment will only be three or four minutes long, so as to not be too hard.
      I was at this most recent "pay to enter" race to give a try at the fastest strava time.  Chuckanut, who was promoted to "beer" cyclist level without going 1/2 due to exception #5**, was entered in the race looking to do the same thing.  It was all about the strava and setting the fastest Rentschler loop time, a segment of 59 seconds for the KOM, or fastest strava time.
     Chuckanut and I had spoken tactics about getting a fast strava time on the loop.  We agreed that attacking mid-way after warming up, going super hard, and popping was the best option for doing a fast Rentschler lap.  The key was to attack before we got too tired so we could have a really explosive burst and set a good strava time.
     The race started and riders trying to win the "pay to enter" race were attacking immediately.  Joe and I hung back, sticking to our strategy.  Soon a breakaway, a group of riders who goes ahead of the field, got a small lead.  Then the breakaway split, a front group of three riders followed by a chase of five riders.
     The chase was about 15 seconds ahead of the field and I figured this would be a good time to race my strava segment.  I attacked, going super hard, and gapped the field.  I told myself to ride one lap super hard.   I quickly realized I had made a mistake by attacking on the backstretch.  I should have attacked coming through the start finish line as I would have to only ride one hard lap.  By attacking on the backstretch I would have to ride one and a half laps hard to make sure I got a fast strava segment.
     I went as hard as I could for that lap and a half.  Before I knew it I was right behind the chase so I jumped on their wheels, closing the 15 second gap.  I started to think maybe I could do well in this "pay to enter" race.  This was mistake #2, a common mistake made by "beer" cyclists and "has beens."  A "beer" cyclists will start to think he or she has a chance in the overall race but most often this is not the case.
     Stan L. immediately attacked, favoring his "pay to enter" chances, splitting the chase group in two.   Had I been a "pay to enter" racer, like back in the day, I would have dug deep and jumped to his wheel.  However this was not the case.  I am a "beer" cyclist now and deep down, even though I wanted to deny it, I knew my strava segment was over.
     I was resigned to the back part of the chase which included two other "crappy" cyclists, a former cat 1 and a former cat. 2, Trent Sullivan.  With two "crappy" cyclists and a "beer" cyclist our "pay to enter" chances were over.  We pretended to keep our hope alive working together for a few more laps, while in our hearts we knew that the race was over and beer was waiting.   After a few more laps we were caught by the field, still containing Chuckanut and Mark Shea, a new cyclist to "pay to enter" races, who kept on with youthful enthusiasm.
     Once in the field I kept mentally tough as a "beer" cyclist.  I knew my "pay to enter" chances were over, missing the winning breakaway, but there was opportunity to train for further strava segments.  By fighting to stay with the fast moving field I would improve my fitness and speed and perhaps beat some cat 4's in a local segment around Boston maybe earning a cyberspace trophy that I could post on facebook or if I was feeling saucy, twitter.
     Several "pay to enter" racers pushed on, trying to win the A "pay to enter" race (there are A and B versions, the A being the faster of the two).  Under this pressure the field eventually split into three groups.  I was keeping as vigilante as a "beer" cyclist could be, and therefore was in the third group.  Chuckanut was there as well.  Mark Shea, still racing for the "pay to enter" race was also hanging tough in our group.  Unfortunately for us three the other two groups were accelerating away.
     I saw this and jumped across to the 2nd group.  As a "beer" cyclist my fitness was naturally low, however years of experience had told me when to use my small amount of power that was left.  Mark and Chuckanut didn't make it across.  As soon as I got to the 2nd group, both groups slowed and came together.
    I immediately went to the front of the field and rode hard on the front for the next three laps.  This was to prevent Shea and Chuckanut from coming across.  Back stabbing your fellow riders is a legitimate tactic.  It typically works best when your opponent has a flat.  As soon as he or she has the flat, you ride wicked hard to get a gap.  Sometimes it works when they are fatigued and can't hang on.  This tactic is best used for flats but since Shea and Chuckanut didn't flat their fatigue was all I had to use.  Shea fell for it and continued to proceed chasing in the group behind.  However Chuckanut, a tactical genius, came up with an even better tactic than mine.
    Chuckanut immediately pulled off of the race course.  He preceded to take a "safety" break saving his energy to go full strava later in the race.  A "safety" break is when you feel blown, pretend to have some sort of mechanical problem with your bike and work on fixing it while taking several laps off.  Joe used his wheel as an excuse for the "safety" break.
   I continued to ride hard at the front, for future strava training, thinking my strava race was over.  Chuckanut bided his time, then jumped back in the field as they came by the start / finish line.  There were only a few laps left and it was strava or never.  Chuckanut knew this and placed himself near the front of the field.  He went fast on the final lap and had the best strava time of the night.
    Excellent kudos must go out to Chuckanut.  However Chuckanut and I both made a mistake.  The night featured a strong side wind and was not conducive to an overall KOM.  I could only manage 29.6 mph average while Chuckanut did slightly better around 30 mph.  The fastest lap on strava is at 33.2 mph average though, so both our lap times were off, by 7 and 6 seconds respectively.  However it wasn't a total loss, some competitors haven't even downloaded the app for their mobile device and were unable to break a strava record.  Take the case of Mark, who hasn't used strava yet, he probably woke up Wednesday morning and said to himself, "did I ride the Tuesday crit?"

*nickname developed by Siri

**exception #5 allows category 3 cyclists to become "beer" cyclists if they probably have the potential to be cat 2 but "just don't care enough to train in any manner that resembles scientific training."

Strava, drafting, and bringing it with P90X, all in an attempt to get Joe to buy me beer ...

     It was an overcast day, slightly humid, with temps in the low 70s.  I had decided today to enter the master 35+ race at New Britain as I wanted to test myself against riders with many years of experience.   Before the start I noticed Sean McCormack getting ready and talked with him briefly.  I noted he looked to have leaned down a bit and was getting back into the racing shape that he had once used to great effect.
     Sean, a former two time national medalist, was one to be watched in any race.  While sprinting was his forte, he did have the ability to climb and time trial as well.  He was also an expert tactician, knowing exactly when to make or follow a move in a race.  Sean was not the only rider to be reckoned with in this New Britain race though.  Ernest Tautkus was also on the start list.  Ernest, a category 1 rider, the highest category awarded to riders at the amateur level in "pay to enter" races (I'll get into this later on), could turn the pedals in anger and was to be feared in a sprint finish as well.  There were others as well.  Mike McGinley, another category 1 and a proficient criterium rider, could win a race from a small breakaway.  Ron Fantano, the writer of Rondo's rage and a category 2 cyclist, could be considered a darkhorse for the win.  Many other top local riders lined up as well.  There was one rider that was missing.  That riders name was Joe Tindal.
     Joe Tindal had been setting the local riding scene afire.  Joe had recently taken many KOMs on strava in the Tolland area.  For many who don't know this strava is an app for cyclists, specifically cyclists in their mid 30s who only go to "real" races a couple times of year.  These "real" races or "pay to enter" races are races of the old school of cycling.  Before the internet explosion and numerous GPS tracking apps, racers would enter these races to test their merit against other competitors.  Now with the invent of smart phones such competitions are unnecessary or for competitors who don't drink beer after riding.
     Joe had partaken in races such as these in the past, but now he had focused on the all important strava.  Joe and I had raced such illustrious segments such as, "The driveway at work" and "that hill I probably got dropped on."  These strava races had increased our short term power, as some were only 21 seconds long, and prepared us for New Britain, which while being a longer pay race was composed of short term power bursts, which are typically seen in criteriums.
    In the build up preparation for New Britain, which had included remembering my credit card number so I could sign up on bikereg and driving there, I had feared Tindal.  To my relief though, he had decided to enter the cat 3 race.  
    As the race started I felt confident in my ability to ride at least one fast lap for strava.  I owed it to strava, but I felt no pressure on myself and to her credit, strava did not pressure me either.  You see strava was not a categorist as many race promoters are.  Many race promoters would have category 1 and 2 riders race together, while excluding category 3 and 4 riders, making them ride a different race.  Strava didn't do that.  They could all ride together.  No unrealistic pressure was placed on me being a category 1.  I wasn't expected to take the KOM.  I might take it, but if I got 3rd or 4th I would still get a little trophy in cyberspace.  I could take this trophy and post it on facebook, perhaps causing some of my facebook friends to unfriend me.  I was content.
    The race started and from the gun there were attacks as riders, I presume, were attempting to break Cliff Kenyon's strava lap record.  Some may have been trying to win the "pay to enter" race as well.  Soon the field split into two groups under the pressure.  About 20 riders inhabited the front group, while 30 took up the rear.
      I unfortunately was in the rear group.  I thought they might come back but eventually the gap grew to 30 seconds and I thought I had made a mistake.  Then I noticed Frank McCormack, former US Pro criterium champion.  I hadn't even known he was in the race!  I saw him riding next to Sean.  Something was up.
     I soon figured that Frank would take Sean across the gap near the end of the race.  So I sat behind those two and waited ... and waited ... and waited.  Was I wrong?
     It was now five laps to go and I figured I was perhaps wrong.  So I started moving up and got all delusional about going across by myself.  I could do something like that back in the day, back in the day when I entered these "pay to enter" races on a regular basis.  I was a cat. 1.  I could do it.  Sure.
     Then it happened.   Frank went by on the other side of the pack with Sean on his wheel.  I awoke from my delusion and jumped onto his wheel.   This would be easier than crossing alone.  David Hildebrand and Michael Norton jumped on the train as well.
     Sean took a pull, then it was Frank, then Dave.  I thought about pulling then said, "nah, I'm good."  Then it was all Frank the rest of the way across.  We got across to the lead group in a lap and a half, and when I say we I mean Frank, Sean, and myself.  David and Michael had not made it.
     The race was decided.  The front group would stay away.  Soon the sprint began, Sean got a good lead out from his brother and got 3rd.  I rode like a pansy and got 19th, but at least I wasn't in the rear group.  All in all it was an adequate day.
     The question you may be asking is how was I able to put forth such an average performance?  What you didn't ask that question?  Too bad, I'm going to answer it anyways.
     The answer is strava, specifically racing strava with Joe Tindal.  We have a wager.  The end of July we will race up bear mountain recording our strava times.  Whoever loses has to buy the other a six pack of beer, not a keg as Joe contends.  Joe has taken an early season strava advantage pushing me to beat his strava times.
     This racing allowed me to follow Frank up to the front group.  After all, I don't want to have to buy a six pack of beer.  So you see, it was Joe who allowed me to get 19th place. 
     Moving forward to our battle at the end of July I am looking to further strava, now near Watertown challenging the local riders to segments.  I have also started P90X and plan to "bring it" as Tony Horton suggests.  I figure by "bringing it" P90X style Joe can "bring the beer" in July.  I have still to work out the details of finding a P90X type beer but there is still time.

Note: if you are still reading this, perhaps a hobby is in order.