2016 Ballard Criterium - Crashed with 2 to go

Well I am sure you can guess from the title that my race this weekend did not go as planned.  I ended up hugging a tree, just as I bridged and with 2 laps to go.

Crashing, sucks period.  Yes I was frustrated and unhappy, no it was not intentional, the guy apologized and yes it could have been a lot worse, for which I am truly grateful.  I got off lightly with scrapes and bruised ribs.  My rear wheel was not so fortunate, did I mention it was an expensive weekend, but here again it could have been worse.

Video Links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8iltmLtcI4 - Crash (my camera)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91TsUhRWb4o - Full race (my camera)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdAL8BgwBCo - Scott Stout posted this view (crash at 34:45)

That's the summary, here is the full account.

The plan was to rack up 75 minutes of racing by competing in both the Cat 4 men immediately followed by the masters 1,2,3,4 35+, talk about a deep field.  The races were back to back, not ideal but doable.  With my chances of a good finish most likely in the first race the game plan was to race hard in the first race and ride in the pack in the second race.

The sun was shining as we parked the car and broke out the trainer.  As it was my first criterium of the year I used my Cyclocross warmup then jumped on the course for a couple of orientation laps.
It was a four corner short lap circuit with a slight uphill grade into the finish then slightly down hill for the rest of the course.

The race started fast with lots of attacks right out the gate.  I found myself having to mark and chase down attacks which was not ideal for conserving energy.  I had two attempts at breaking away both of which failed and although I had expended a lot of energy I was feeling confident.  I could not believe it when I saw with 7 laps to go the pack had allowed another rider to get free and I found myself digging deep to help real him in.  It is worth pointing out, that on reflection my lack of recent racing experience led me to work harder than needed, with a little more patience I would not have had to do so much chasing.  On the upside it was a good training effort.

As I bridged the final few meters to the break I eased off the gas as I did not want to find myself on the front with 1 lap to go, I was tired but I felt confident that I could put in a strong finish.  I needed to rolled back into 4th or 5th to recover for a final big push.  I was in 2nd and everything was going to plan when I was surpised by a rider on my right who then cut across me as a rider hit my left side and drove me into a tree going down with me.  Fortunately I was not going at full speed and was able to hit the brakes.  The impact rattled my cage good and after my emotions had exploded out of me verbally, you know something like "goodness gracious that hurt, how unfortunate you dro
ve me into a tree" all condensed into one word ending in "K",  I was helped to my feet. My thoughts turned to my bike and the next race.  Sure I was bruised and scraped but I was up and I wanted to make the start line.

Sarah handed me the keys to the car and I started to head back to get wheels when I was directed to the FSA neutral support.  The guys switched out both wheels, straightened my bars and brake.  The officials delayed the race by 5 minutes and I made the start line.

From there everything went south, I failed to clip in and had to scrabble to find a wheel, I was able to move up but then found myself going backwards rapidly,  I just could not meet the accelerations to hold a wheel and by lap 2 I was out the back and by lap 4 pulled of the course.  I simply had nothing left in the tank and was more than a little disappointed with myself.  I took consolation in riding an aggressive first race and taking one preme.  The second race highlighted the work I need to do in the coming months.

On the way home we were excited to see on Facebook our friend Dawn had successfully completed the flying wheels century and was looking good.  We thought they might still be at the finish so we called and instead received a surprise invite for dinner, which was awesome, even more so as they are now paleo and we did not have to explain what we can and can't eat.  Great company always makes a day better.  When you max life out it does not always go to plan but it is always epic.


Hope you had a great weekend keeping it Rubber Side a Down and MaxLifeOut.

A few thoughts on Wheels

I thought I would share my thoughts and experience with different depths of wheel rims.  Specifically the effect of cross winds on deep section wheels.  First I have to say aesthetically I really like the look of deep section rims and was lucky enough to purchase my road bike with Enve 3,4s which many sight as the best combination for cross wind stability.   I will be the first to admit I did not even think or consider cross winds when I saw the wheels, I just thought, they are cool and I still think they are cool. 

For the first year of use I really did not know what all the fuss was about cross winds, sure I got subtle bumps on local rides but I put that down to my aero frame rather than the wheels.  I now realize I had it wrong.  It was not until my first decent of Mt Lemon in Tucson that I got to understand the true effect of cross winds.  At 35mph I could feel the wind knocking me around and the faster I went the more dramatic the effect.  As I leaned into a corner it was like an invisible force snatching at my bike forcing me to focus on keeping upright as much as taking the right line.  Again I placed most of the blame on my aero frame although the effect on the steering suggested wheels, I was still leaning towards the aero forks.

Well as you might of read in my Tour of California blog, at the last minute my rear wheel went bad and I was forced to switch to standard rim wheels, in this case Campagnolo Urus wheels.  At first I was frustrated but I soon came to appreciate the switch especially during the long descents in windy conditions.  I was forced to face the fact that 90% or more of my issues in the past was due to my wheels.  I was simply blown away or rather not blown anywhere.  I watched riders in front of me fighting to control their bikes whilst all I had to do was concentrate on taking the fastest line.  So it's not my frame I was forced to conclude.

The most dramatic experience I had was the super fast decent off the top of Lake Tahoe.  In front of me was a coach and I watched the wind literally knock him all over the road.  I was being knocked about but in nowhere near the same manner.  Just watching him was scary and at the bottom he turned around to wait for the rider behind as he was so concerned about the wind.

I still love my Enve 3,4's and BikeRadar has a good review of them if you are interested in learning more.  I for one have a new appreciation for the effect of deep section rims.  From now on I will be more conscious of my choice of wheels for specific rides and conditions and if forced to make a choice of one set of wheels I would go for a standard rim over a deep section one in the future.

I really enjoyed and my Campagnolo wheelset that is for sure.  I hope you found this helpful.

Until next time keep it Rubber Side Down and MaxLifeOut

Wednesday Night Track Racing #1

It just seems to be a week of unplanned firsts, well that is not entirely true, riding on the track yesterday was planned.  What was not planned was racing tonight.  It just so happened that tonight was the first official Wednesday night race of the season and I just so happened to be at the track yesterday to learn of said event.  That would have been the end of it had I not then texted my coach only to receive a reply this morning of "let's race tonight". 

Yes if you have to ask my first response was butterflies in the tummy, quickly followed by the thought maybe I should not have gone so hard yesterday, finishing with resignation and excitement at the thought of actually racing for the first time this year.

Checking out the schedule I was licensed to race both the Master B and Cat 4 Men.  Combining the two would give me six races, three in each group.  As the intention was training, we rocked up to the track with that in mind.

Oh, I have to sidebar for a second.  Last night I messaged the Friends of Herne Hill with yesterdays blog and was shocked to find that they posted it on their facebook page.  The upshot was reconnecting with a friend I have not had contact with for probably 25-30 years.  He was the one that sold me my track bike, yup the very same one I am racing on now.  How cool is that?

Back to the racing.  It was a balmy temperature with the threat of rain and a few laps around the track confirmed that the wind had switch 180 degrees from yesterday hitting us as we turned into the home straight.  At the end of the 45 minute warmup one of the riders rolled up and I am ashamed to say I did not recognize him and therefore very grateful that he said hi.  We had raced together during the cross season and had a mutual friend in common.  It was his first official track race which was awesome.

The first race of the evening was a Master B, 10 lap scratch race.  My plan was to use it as a race warmup with the knowledge that I had a Cat, 8 lap scratch to follow.  I hung with the pack and sat up in the home straight not wanting to blow all my energy in the first race, on hindsight that was a mistake but then that is the wonderful thing about hindsight.

For Cat 4 races gearing is restricted so at the start of the first race there was a roll out to check gearing.  I confidently joined the line only to find that I was long, my gearing was too big.  No idea what happened, ok I do I had the wrong gear setup - DOH!!  My new friend offered me a wheel but I decided to pass on the race.  The offer was very much appreciated but would have been a pain for both of us since it was the wheel on his bike not a spare.  Reluctantly I resigned myself to just the Master B series.  To be honest it was probably a good thing as the races came round unusually quickly.

Next up was an Unkown Tempo, not a race I was familiar with.  It is a points race with 2 points and 1 point given to the 1st and 2nd riders across the line each lap.  I chatted with my new friend in the warmup/cool down circle.  I suggested if we got the chance to work together we might get away.  We had an agreement and rolled up to the rail.  The race started hard with two fast laps, I was 5th or 6th wheel when my friend took off like his ass was on fire.  I had to make a snap decision and got out the saddle to chase him down, it took me almost half a lap to catch him and when I did he pulled up.  We were committed and we had a great gap on the field.  I put my head down and took my turn like a man, yes it hurt.  We then worked together sharing the points until the bell rang.  We were still clear of the field but he was fading in the back straight, not wanting to lose the ground we had made I accelerated past him in the back straight to take the win.  He followed me in to take 2nd.  It was a texted book 1/2 escape and he did awesome.  Next time they might not let us go but it is sometimes worth the gamble.

The last race of the evening was supposed to be a 4x5 20 lap points race but each race our numbers had dwindled so a snap decision was made by the officials to reduce it to a 4x4 16 lap points race.  We rolled out and got started straight away but no one was really willing to work.  At the first sprint I was in the top 5 and with the lead out 4 of us had a small gap for a bit but then one of the riders pulled up unwilling to work which shut it down.  That was frustrating as it was effectively a waste of energy.  The second sprint was launched and again I mixed it up in the top 5 only this time I did not waste any energy trying to create a break but sat back in to watch the riders around me.  For the 3rd sprint I was ideally placed and took 1st leaving us with 4 laps to go.  It was cat and mouse with one rider high on the banking,  I watched him literally roll away, I was sure they would not let him go but sure enough with 2 laps to go he had a good lead on us and he did exactly what he should he used it to launch and attack.  At the bell he had almost a free half lap and went on to win the race.  Me on the other hand thought what the hell it is the last race of the evening and went for a flying lap.  It very nearly worked but they caught me just before the line although I did salvage 5th.

Ok I am going to admit I was a little frustrated with myself in the home straight as I gave up and did not embrace the pain cave, it might not have made any difference but still there it is I admitted it.

All told I finished out the evening 3rd overall which for my first race night of the season was not too shabby even if I do say so myself. 

Hope you are getting out there and ripping it up. 

 

 

 

 Remember to keep it Rubber Side Down and MaxLifeOut.

 

 

1st Track Training Day of 2016

With the Tour of California behind me it was time to get back to the track and turn some of the endurance I have been working on into speed.  Today was an open track training day with no particular training schedule.  A good friend suggested I join them for there training session but unfortunately I missed there warm up.  I did get to jump in on a short pace line effort.  With no structured training and with no plans of my own I decided to turn the evening into an interval session and boy did my legs complain about that.  It was good to open the lungs and discover that I need to do a little brushing up after so many hours working on distance riding and climbing.

I had my support team (Sarah) there to make sure I drank and took on food.  Oh and I got to wear my Friends of Herne Hill jersey to represent the track I cut my teeth on as a school boy and junior back in England.

My next decision is whether or not to race the Ballard Crit on Saturday.  A lot will hinge on my ability to upgrade from a Cat 5 to a Cat 4.  I know those of you that know me will be saying Cat 5, but remember I did not have a UCI ranking until last year and the only UCI road race I participated in was the Redmond Derby Day.  If I can get the upgrade then there are two races I can ride but if not it hardly seems worth the effort for a 30 minute race.  I will get the category hurdle out of the way before deciding on racing or not.



Remember to keep it RubberSideDown and MaxLifeOut.

Urban Road Warrior

What a dramatic title, well that's how I felt astride my fat electric bike.   I needed to be in the office today and after spending so much time riding I did not feel like driving.  On the other hand I also did not feel like getting changed into my cycling kit and then getting changed when I got to work.

Then I remembered, this was one of the purposes I purchased our Sondors electric bikes.  The purchase was a bit of an experiment and todays was a chance to put the experiment into practice.  I was a little nervous that the bike would not have enough range but having been out with Sarah on hers I estimated it would be fine.

You might be thinking, "What's the big deal if the battery runs out, you are a strong rider, just ride without power", well that was my thought until I tried to ride the bike without power.  It is like trying to move an anchored lead weight. 

I headed out and soon discovered that although I had assist it still took effort to ride.  It did however have enough range to get me to work where I could recharge the battery.  What's more the energy output was low enough to keep sweating to a minimum, which was a good thing as I did not have a change of clothes.

On the ride home I passed a couple of riders and I have to admit as a cyclist I felt a little dirty, but only for a moment. 

Experiment over, I estimate I put in 40%-50% of the effort it would have taken if I had ridden my road bike.  So I got a little active recovery and passive exercise whilst avoiding the traffic and breathing some fresh air.  I will take that.

Remember to keep it Rubber Side Down and MaxLifeOut.

Back to the Real World

It was wonderful arriving home yesterday and being met at the airport by my darling wife.  It was strange waking up in the hotel room hours earlier and not getting ready to ride.  The trip to the airport and the flight home was uneventful thankfully.  I was shattered but our first stop was at Microsoft.  Prior to my vacation I had promised to sit on a Hack for Good panel and I had no intention of letting them down.  The panel discussion went really well and I was excited to see the non profit participation.  Sarah and I then took off home to catchup.  Not that I was much good in the catching up department, being dog tired has that effect on you.

One topic of conversation was "What Next?".   It is a great question and I am still working on it.   The priority for now however is recovery and to that end my coach suggested that if I felt up for it, Sarah and I could go for a ride together today.  I told him that surprisingly enough despite feeling tired I was eager to get back out riding.

Today the alarm clock did not go off in the morning, well that's a lie, it did but it did not stay going for very long.  I stayed in bed and it felt good.  Once up we had breakfast and took the dogs for a walk before heading out for almost a 2 hour spin in the valley.  It was an overcast but warmish day and it was wonderful to breath in the green air as we bumbled along.  Well I bumbled along, if you ask Sarah she has a different version and I could not be more proud of how well she rode. 

I spent the evening working on my Tour of California and CTS trip summary, but now it is time to get in some more recovery.

Remember to keep it Rubber Side Down and MaxLifeOut.

Tour of California 2016 - Stage 8

Completed 86 miles and 600ft of elevation.

This morning I got an extra hour in bed with my alarm going off at 6am.  I reached over and turned the light on before I turned over and went back to sleep.  I was tired but today was the last stage and I intended to finish strong.

Stage 8 was a pancake flat stage with just a little over 600ft of accumulative elevation.  We kitted up this morning at the hotel and road 15 minutes to the start line and then we were off.  The ride started out mellow and I am sure like me others were reflecting on there week.  I was very pleasantly surprised about how good I felt, sure my legs felt tired but nowhere near as badly as I thought they would feel.

The group stayed together for the first couple of hours and then the pace lifted as eight riders including me pulled away.  The day might have been flat but the head and cross winds made it hard work on the front.  We did turns pulling and the time flew by.  I could not believe it was nearly all over.  Before long the over enthusiasm of some of  the riders in our group started to show and by the end of the ride we were down to 6 riders with one having to be helped along by the coach.

As a result me and one other ended up doing the majoring of the pulling in the last 2 hours of the ride.  It was not exactly the easy day I had envisioned but it was really good to finish strong.   We came in as the woman's race was finishing so we did not get a chance to cross the finish line which was  a little disappointing but quickly forgotten.

After changing out of my kit and grabbing a bit to eat, I headed to the VIP tent with plans on a last visit to the Expo.  The VIP tent was packed and after seeing the woman's race finish and bumping into Freddie I decided to head back to the trailer to watch the race come n to TV instead of just getting a glimpse as they charged the line.  I headed towards the Expo and took one look and decided to give it a miss.  It was swarming with people and honestly I just wanted to chill out and watch the race come home.

With the riders home it was time to pack up and head back to the hotel.  Whilst everyone was returning I took the time to watch the riders return to there team buses.  Once back at the hotel it was time for a final massage followed by packing to return home.  It was odd not to be preparing for a ride tomorrow but also really nice to be heading home to my girls.

We gathered in the hotel lobby at 6:45pm for a final group dinner at a local restaurant where everyone shared there trip  highlights.  When it was my turn I shared both the lows of the crash and the highs of the achievement.  The highest  point for me came today from my darling wife Sarah.  She has invested and sacrificed so much for me to take on this challenge.  Supporting me through the training, putting up with the hours on the bike, the seemingly endless requirement for equipment and ensuring that I fueled properly both on and off the bike.  So when I texted her the message "I finished :)" it was not exactly the message she was expecting which as a stupid man I was completely oblivious to. She said 5 words that meant more to me than anything else "I am proud of you".  I can't wait to see her tomorrow.

I hope you have enjoyed the journey with me, it has been a real pleasure to share it with you and I hope in some small way you are inspired to climb your mountain whatever that might be.

Here are a few pictures from the day:

 

Remember to keep it Rubber Side Down and MaxLifeOut