More Pictures, write up later...
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Some thoughts from Tysons
I was talking to Jose Escobar after the 3/4 race and before his race and he started telling me about the differences between racing in the 1/2/3 this year versus racing in the 3s last year. It was some pretty interesting stuff as he was one of the top three most consistent finishers last year. Some notes:
1) The pace is way faster. There aren't lulls as we have had in the 3/4 races this year. Guys go to the front and drill it until someone else goes to the front and counters and this is repeated until a group gets away. This got me thinking about whether we're going about this attacking thing all wrong. Maybe we shouldn't be launching one person attacks and hovering off the front until the group decides to reel us back in (maybe this works in the 1/2/3 where guys are just that much stronger that they can ride away at 28+ mph from a lazy peloton). What if instead groups just went to the front and pacelined at a ridiculous pace (similar to the 7am Saturday ride on the parkway) until the weak were weeded out. Maybe teams aren't big enough to pull that off...I don't know.
2) He says that there is no love from anyone to let someone into the paceline. If you made a move off the front, it's either fight your way back into line up front or go all the way to the back. Nobody is giving up a wheel at that level. I can believe that.
Anyway, maybe we'll try that the next race...going to the front and setting a wicked pace to try to get people to work with you until your group rides off the front. Take people with you and your probably more likely to succeed than going off by yourself. Maybe the course dictates that though. Who knows.
Cheers.
1) The pace is way faster. There aren't lulls as we have had in the 3/4 races this year. Guys go to the front and drill it until someone else goes to the front and counters and this is repeated until a group gets away. This got me thinking about whether we're going about this attacking thing all wrong. Maybe we shouldn't be launching one person attacks and hovering off the front until the group decides to reel us back in (maybe this works in the 1/2/3 where guys are just that much stronger that they can ride away at 28+ mph from a lazy peloton). What if instead groups just went to the front and pacelined at a ridiculous pace (similar to the 7am Saturday ride on the parkway) until the weak were weeded out. Maybe teams aren't big enough to pull that off...I don't know.
2) He says that there is no love from anyone to let someone into the paceline. If you made a move off the front, it's either fight your way back into line up front or go all the way to the back. Nobody is giving up a wheel at that level. I can believe that.
Anyway, maybe we'll try that the next race...going to the front and setting a wicked pace to try to get people to work with you until your group rides off the front. Take people with you and your probably more likely to succeed than going off by yourself. Maybe the course dictates that though. Who knows.
Cheers.
How can something so good be so bad...
This passion for cycling is a poison. It fills your thoughts...takes up too much mind space. I think about it all the time. A virus.
I love the bike, but it consumes me. I find myself searching for deep section carbon wheels even though I don't want deep section carbon wheels. I try to find team issue fizik seats in red and black (the ones with Fizik written on them). I type gamjams.net into the address bar at least once every 2 minutes. I look for races in states that I know I won't race in or even consider registering for. I wonder if Specialized, Trek, or Xtracyle would hire a government economist with a knack for software quality assurance all the time. I day dream of leadouts, big ring finishes, and epic climbs (and the ability to climb epic climbs).
I should be writing my Progress report now...the government's way of letting Management write their own progress reports. The coffee hasn't kicked in yet, so I'm here killing time till the caffeine hits the brain. Why can't it be Friday yet?
We're going to Jay's barn this weekend. There are about 13 of us going and it's going to be sweet. Pretty much a perfect weekend. I'm not much for climbing (I think Anglers and Brickyard are beasts) so I'm pretty sure it's going to hurt like a b!tch.
Watch out though...when we get back those R1V boys are going to be dangerous...
Coffee has kicked in...back to progress.
Cheers
I love the bike, but it consumes me. I find myself searching for deep section carbon wheels even though I don't want deep section carbon wheels. I try to find team issue fizik seats in red and black (the ones with Fizik written on them). I type gamjams.net into the address bar at least once every 2 minutes. I look for races in states that I know I won't race in or even consider registering for. I wonder if Specialized, Trek, or Xtracyle would hire a government economist with a knack for software quality assurance all the time. I day dream of leadouts, big ring finishes, and epic climbs (and the ability to climb epic climbs).
I should be writing my Progress report now...the government's way of letting Management write their own progress reports. The coffee hasn't kicked in yet, so I'm here killing time till the caffeine hits the brain. Why can't it be Friday yet?
We're going to Jay's barn this weekend. There are about 13 of us going and it's going to be sweet. Pretty much a perfect weekend. I'm not much for climbing (I think Anglers and Brickyard are beasts) so I'm pretty sure it's going to hurt like a b!tch.
Watch out though...when we get back those R1V boys are going to be dangerous...
Coffee has kicked in...back to progress.
Cheers
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Tysons 3/4
It's been a while since I last posted. Before I go into the race recap at Tysons some quick review of last weekend to today:
- Rented an RV with a bunch of the college buddies and spent the weekend going to Blacksburg and Martinsville, VA to hand out at the old school and watch the Craftsman Truck series race (awesome).
- Drank A LOT of beer.
- Had a couple of good rides this week but was concerned about "wasting" the weekend (bike wise).
Now, back to bike racing:
The 3/4 race at Tyson's was a deep field with lots of the teams
having deep entries. Joel, Carlos, Cernich and I toed the line for us
with the intention of having Joel and I putting in the major efforts
early and trying to keep Carlos and Scott fresh for getting into a
break or setting up for the finish. The race wasn't too memorable
except that anytime anyone went up the road the entire pack surged
after them. We all took a couple of flyers early on, but none lasted
more than a lap.
With about 7 to go we realized that nothing was going to get away
from the group (surprising with the amount of people the other teams
had). Scott, Carlos, and I started making our way to the front and
were sitting about 6 or 7 back going into the last lap. A DC Velo
flyer looked promising at turn 1 and for a second I though the
suicide move was going to stick for him and that we were all racing
for second...then out of nowhere Joel comes flying up the right side
and starts the run in. This move turned out to be a good one as a
couple of the heavy hitters were sitting 2nd and 3rd wheel and were
forced to chase down the back stretch. I was sitting 7th and was
hoping Scott and Carlos were behind me. The group dived into the
last turn at speed and about 6 wide (scary). We held the outside
line and ended up squeaking by the DC Velo rider right out of the
turn and started the sprint from way out. I think I was sitting 3rd
at this point.
I gave everything knowing that it was way to far out, caught one, got
passed by three...actually sat and gave up at one point thinking my
leadout was done (I know, I know...need to work on mental toughness)
but nobody came around so I got back out of the saddle and kept
going. Crossed the line 5th leading out Carlos for 4th. A Bike
Doctor rider (Josh Kaney) actually got penalized for sprinting
outside the cones so we ended up getting 3rd and 4th...in the money,
and two R1Vs in the top 5...not bad.
Plus I got a pair of sweet cotton t-shirts at Gap afterwards...so
pretty much a perfect weekend. ;)
Jose got first in the 4 race today and Brooke took first in the 4 race at Walkersville yesterday too...impressive wins for both of them and I can't wait for them to cat up and start mixing it up with us.
More on the race and my thoughts on it later....
Cheers.
- Rented an RV with a bunch of the college buddies and spent the weekend going to Blacksburg and Martinsville, VA to hand out at the old school and watch the Craftsman Truck series race (awesome).
- Drank A LOT of beer.
- Had a couple of good rides this week but was concerned about "wasting" the weekend (bike wise).
Now, back to bike racing:
The 3/4 race at Tyson's was a deep field with lots of the teams
having deep entries. Joel, Carlos, Cernich and I toed the line for us
with the intention of having Joel and I putting in the major efforts
early and trying to keep Carlos and Scott fresh for getting into a
break or setting up for the finish. The race wasn't too memorable
except that anytime anyone went up the road the entire pack surged
after them. We all took a couple of flyers early on, but none lasted
more than a lap.
With about 7 to go we realized that nothing was going to get away
from the group (surprising with the amount of people the other teams
had). Scott, Carlos, and I started making our way to the front and
were sitting about 6 or 7 back going into the last lap. A DC Velo
flyer looked promising at turn 1 and for a second I though the
suicide move was going to stick for him and that we were all racing
for second...then out of nowhere Joel comes flying up the right side
and starts the run in. This move turned out to be a good one as a
couple of the heavy hitters were sitting 2nd and 3rd wheel and were
forced to chase down the back stretch. I was sitting 7th and was
hoping Scott and Carlos were behind me. The group dived into the
last turn at speed and about 6 wide (scary). We held the outside
line and ended up squeaking by the DC Velo rider right out of the
turn and started the sprint from way out. I think I was sitting 3rd
at this point.
I gave everything knowing that it was way to far out, caught one, got
passed by three...actually sat and gave up at one point thinking my
leadout was done (I know, I know...need to work on mental toughness)
but nobody came around so I got back out of the saddle and kept
going. Crossed the line 5th leading out Carlos for 4th. A Bike
Doctor rider (Josh Kaney) actually got penalized for sprinting
outside the cones so we ended up getting 3rd and 4th...in the money,
and two R1Vs in the top 5...not bad.
Plus I got a pair of sweet cotton t-shirts at Gap afterwards...so
pretty much a perfect weekend. ;)
Jose got first in the 4 race today and Brooke took first in the 4 race at Walkersville yesterday too...impressive wins for both of them and I can't wait for them to cat up and start mixing it up with us.
More on the race and my thoughts on it later....
Cheers.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Mental health days...
I was "sick" on Tuesday.
Now let me define sick. Part of me was sick that I missed Sunday's ride. I was also sick that I hadn't put in a truly "big" day of riding yet. I was also sick that I had to be inside on what ended up being a really nice day. I was also not feeling well enough to go to work.
But surprisingly, I was feeling well enough to go ride my bike. :) I got 100.3 miles in with a good session at Hains Point in the middle. I left the house with Kari as she was going to work around 9:00am, did a loop out to and down Great Falls on the Maryland side and then made my way back to HP for the lunch ride. Nima, Frick, Young, and a doozy of other heavy hitters were there so the pace was good and the sprints were fast. Here is the lesson learned from Tuesday:
1) In the sprint, if you're reacting to the launch, your race is as good as over. Frick and Young did a couple of two man leadouts that were unstoppable due to them catching everyone by surprise. At that speed, getting just enough of a jump on everyone else is enough to seal the deal. Even if someone else is feeling strong, they still have to come across to the two who took off and then somehow find the extra gear to pull through for the win...and against that kind of talent...good luck.
2) There is some serious talent locally in the D20/MABRA region...I'd put our top riders up against any other region and I'm betting we end up on top. Jersey? New York? Penn? California? Arizona? They got nothing on us. And when I say "us" I mean those 1 boys that are killing us all at HP and on the group rides.
3) 100 miles felt really good. I actually didn't feel that sore today and wanted to get out and ride with Esmonde and the gang in Arlington today...too bad work got in the way.
Tomorrow post work is DC World Championships at HP. Feeling pretty good, so we'll see what happens. I'm actually getting a bike fit finally at CHB at lunch tomorrow...maybe if the fit is dialed in a little better I'll be more comfortable on the bike...and maybe that will result in more power...who knows.
Cheers all.
Now let me define sick. Part of me was sick that I missed Sunday's ride. I was also sick that I hadn't put in a truly "big" day of riding yet. I was also sick that I had to be inside on what ended up being a really nice day. I was also not feeling well enough to go to work.
But surprisingly, I was feeling well enough to go ride my bike. :) I got 100.3 miles in with a good session at Hains Point in the middle. I left the house with Kari as she was going to work around 9:00am, did a loop out to and down Great Falls on the Maryland side and then made my way back to HP for the lunch ride. Nima, Frick, Young, and a doozy of other heavy hitters were there so the pace was good and the sprints were fast. Here is the lesson learned from Tuesday:
1) In the sprint, if you're reacting to the launch, your race is as good as over. Frick and Young did a couple of two man leadouts that were unstoppable due to them catching everyone by surprise. At that speed, getting just enough of a jump on everyone else is enough to seal the deal. Even if someone else is feeling strong, they still have to come across to the two who took off and then somehow find the extra gear to pull through for the win...and against that kind of talent...good luck.
2) There is some serious talent locally in the D20/MABRA region...I'd put our top riders up against any other region and I'm betting we end up on top. Jersey? New York? Penn? California? Arizona? They got nothing on us. And when I say "us" I mean those 1 boys that are killing us all at HP and on the group rides.
3) 100 miles felt really good. I actually didn't feel that sore today and wanted to get out and ride with Esmonde and the gang in Arlington today...too bad work got in the way.
Tomorrow post work is DC World Championships at HP. Feeling pretty good, so we'll see what happens. I'm actually getting a bike fit finally at CHB at lunch tomorrow...maybe if the fit is dialed in a little better I'll be more comfortable on the bike...and maybe that will result in more power...who knows.
Cheers all.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Not enough time in the day...
ISO Cycling/Family Man Mentor...
This is my open letter to those who have ridden farther, for more years, and have more knowledge than I do on how to balance biking and this thing called life:
Question: How the $@#$ do you guys/gals do it? Minus leaving the house at 3:30 in the morning to get 5 to 6 hours in, I don't see any other way. If you have a significant other, kids, jobs, etc...how do you make the time and how do you keep the household from exploding?
As an example, I love the 10:00 am Saturday ride from Rock Creak...love it. It's one of those measuring stick rides that allows you to see where you're at against some of the top local riders. Problem is, to do that ride I have to leave the house at aprox 9:00 am to ride up there and I usually don't get back till just before 2:00 pm. That's 5 hours of peak "getting stuff done time" on a Saturday...Brunch, trips to Frager's, cleaning around the house, etc...and I don't have kids either. I started the ride this past Saturday, but had to duck out early as my time to use my "go out and play" pass was quickly expiring.
Thing is, I understand both sides. I like to ride the bike, especially when I'm feeling fit. I also really like group rides (I can't motivate myself to ride by myself...it's a problem). So biking is a priority and I make time to do it. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to spend a week suffering at working and then, once the weekend comes around, not get to spend any time with the person I love. Having to wait till 2pm to say good morning to your significant other sucks. That clicked Saturday, so I stayed home on Sunday and had a great day hanging with Kari and getting stuff done. The fitness may have suffered a little, but the enjoyment of the day more than made up for it.
Anyway, the big question is how do you do both? How do you get in your training (especially the long rides) and also keep the homestead in a peaceful state? How do you explain to someone, "look, i need to go out and ride my bicycle for 5 hours once a week"? Can you help a brother out?
Cheers.
This is my open letter to those who have ridden farther, for more years, and have more knowledge than I do on how to balance biking and this thing called life:
Question: How the $@#$ do you guys/gals do it? Minus leaving the house at 3:30 in the morning to get 5 to 6 hours in, I don't see any other way. If you have a significant other, kids, jobs, etc...how do you make the time and how do you keep the household from exploding?
As an example, I love the 10:00 am Saturday ride from Rock Creak...love it. It's one of those measuring stick rides that allows you to see where you're at against some of the top local riders. Problem is, to do that ride I have to leave the house at aprox 9:00 am to ride up there and I usually don't get back till just before 2:00 pm. That's 5 hours of peak "getting stuff done time" on a Saturday...Brunch, trips to Frager's, cleaning around the house, etc...and I don't have kids either. I started the ride this past Saturday, but had to duck out early as my time to use my "go out and play" pass was quickly expiring.
Thing is, I understand both sides. I like to ride the bike, especially when I'm feeling fit. I also really like group rides (I can't motivate myself to ride by myself...it's a problem). So biking is a priority and I make time to do it. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to spend a week suffering at working and then, once the weekend comes around, not get to spend any time with the person I love. Having to wait till 2pm to say good morning to your significant other sucks. That clicked Saturday, so I stayed home on Sunday and had a great day hanging with Kari and getting stuff done. The fitness may have suffered a little, but the enjoyment of the day more than made up for it.
Anyway, the big question is how do you do both? How do you get in your training (especially the long rides) and also keep the homestead in a peaceful state? How do you explain to someone, "look, i need to go out and ride my bicycle for 5 hours once a week"? Can you help a brother out?
Cheers.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Tactics, lessons learned
I keep thinking about the UMD race and what went well and what didn't. Breaks didn't really work to well due to the lack of team depth and probably the course layout. Being able to see the people off the front from anywhere kept them in mind and reminded you that you needed to bring them back...they were never "out of sight, out of mind". What I've been thinking a lot about is the end of the 4 race actually. Rayman did a great job at scoring the win, but it shouldn't have played out that way.
With about 5 laps to go, there were only a handful of guys left in the race that actually had a shot at it. We (R1V) had about 6 guys left in the pack to everyone else's one or two. This is where tactics would have been interesting. We should have been attacking and counter attacking the group. With that many guys left, we could have caused some stress to the group by forcing everyone else to bring back the pack to the attacker. If we sent someone up the road and forced another team (individual) to bring him back we could launch someone else up the road once the catch was made and repeat until everyone else was exhausted and we had someone off solo for the win or been fresh for the sprint. We had enough to even have done that while also saving someone for the sprint....I know, tactics at our level is tough. Most of the time we're just holding on for dear life for the finish, but that was a race where we could have pulled it off. The thing is also that the attacks didn't need to be suicide attacks...just enough to cause a little separation and force someone else to put in a little effort (as opposed to sitting in and staying fresh).
I say this purely for spectatorship reasons...I think it is one of the most awesome things when a team can put it together and actually accomplish the goal they set out to do. We've done it a few times at the DC World Championships (Thursday nights at Hains Point...is it sticking?!?) with leadouts, and not only is it fun to be a part of...they're unstoppable and work every time against someone trying to take the sprint solo.
One major problem is that there is no definition of roles until you get to much more serious levels. Not a lot of teams and riders are willing to go into races knowing that they're only role is to help someone else have a shot at winning. Maybe the organization isn't there until you get into the P/1/2 categories...I know we all know about that stuff (we get the magazines and we watch the race coverage), but maybe it's just harder to implement in reality. I went into this season with aspirations of being the team player and trying to get those who have been 3's and higher longer than I have shots at winning races. This past Saturday was just me being fortunate to be in the right position at the right time and making the right move, but I know I'll get a bigger kick out of being responsible for getting a teammate a win.
Plus, if I've learned anything from my current professional career, it's that I'm no winner. :)
Cheers...
With about 5 laps to go, there were only a handful of guys left in the race that actually had a shot at it. We (R1V) had about 6 guys left in the pack to everyone else's one or two. This is where tactics would have been interesting. We should have been attacking and counter attacking the group. With that many guys left, we could have caused some stress to the group by forcing everyone else to bring back the pack to the attacker. If we sent someone up the road and forced another team (individual) to bring him back we could launch someone else up the road once the catch was made and repeat until everyone else was exhausted and we had someone off solo for the win or been fresh for the sprint. We had enough to even have done that while also saving someone for the sprint....I know, tactics at our level is tough. Most of the time we're just holding on for dear life for the finish, but that was a race where we could have pulled it off. The thing is also that the attacks didn't need to be suicide attacks...just enough to cause a little separation and force someone else to put in a little effort (as opposed to sitting in and staying fresh).
I say this purely for spectatorship reasons...I think it is one of the most awesome things when a team can put it together and actually accomplish the goal they set out to do. We've done it a few times at the DC World Championships (Thursday nights at Hains Point...is it sticking?!?) with leadouts, and not only is it fun to be a part of...they're unstoppable and work every time against someone trying to take the sprint solo.
One major problem is that there is no definition of roles until you get to much more serious levels. Not a lot of teams and riders are willing to go into races knowing that they're only role is to help someone else have a shot at winning. Maybe the organization isn't there until you get into the P/1/2 categories...I know we all know about that stuff (we get the magazines and we watch the race coverage), but maybe it's just harder to implement in reality. I went into this season with aspirations of being the team player and trying to get those who have been 3's and higher longer than I have shots at winning races. This past Saturday was just me being fortunate to be in the right position at the right time and making the right move, but I know I'll get a bigger kick out of being responsible for getting a teammate a win.
Plus, if I've learned anything from my current professional career, it's that I'm no winner. :)
Cheers...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)