Monday, June 6, 2011

Vanport Kermesse - road and gravel combo Belgian style

The Vanport Kermesse was a crapton o'fun. Kevin and I represented. We lined up on a gorgeous spring morning with temps approaching 70. With the heroic events of the Hammer Velo crit yesterday foremost in our minds, we were determined to keep the good run of results for the team going. The 3 miles course was half PIR racetrack and half gravel. Perfect for me - one who is a less than stellar road-racer and an ordinary CCX racer. But when elements of these races are combined I tend to do better. Fitted 28C tyres to my roadbike and inflated to 100 psi - high enough to ward off pinch-flats but a little softenss for the gravel.

The field looked to be about 35 strong. As is customary, Kev shot off the front right from the start. Some brutal track racing in the week and a solid PIR TT outing the previous monday (combined with not racing The Hammer Velo Crit yesterday) had me primed to inflict maximum pain. By the time we have reached the racetrack I had made it to the pointy end and had turned into the arsehole who sets the fierce pace. The pack was strung out behind. 

By the end of the paved racetrack section a breakway of about seven had formed and I was one of them. Goodness! We kept the pace high through the gravel-tastic portion, the short slightly uphill rutted grass section, the technical gravel turn just before the start-finish line. On the second lap five riders got away, leaving me and a skinny roadie. We tried to get back on for a lap and a half but were caught by a chase group of about eight. Just as we had set up an organized pace line to chase the lead group, no more than 200 yeards ahead and catchable, a Showers Pass rider attacked.

Bollocks.

Our group exploded.

One of the cyclisme juniors went after him as did I. It was clear that the chase group behind could not bridge up to us so we pressed on. We continued for another lap until the SP rider gave up and drifted back to the pack chasing Cyclisme junior and I.

Kev was on the sidelines - which did not make sense to me in my tiny world of confusion - why was he not racing?. Something has ended his day.

We passed one of the lead group riders dealing with a flat.

Bonza ! - now only 4 up the road/gravel.

Cyclisme and I worked well together to make sure that we stayed away. Then the bell lap. To my surprise, we maintained the gap to our chase group until another junior bridged across. The three of us worked together for the final mile or so. We passed another lead group rider with a flat.

Bonza squared! - now only three up the road and gravel from me.

We powered through to the finish. Looks like I came home in 4th on the 4/5s. Skinny roadie came in about 40 seconds later. While delighted with that, I was most pleased with how it unfolded - riding and staying away from a group of six or so roadies.

Riding the road bike was definitely the best strategy - it was a roadies course, and those that rode 'cross bikes were at a disadvantage on the smooth fast racetrack which comprised about 40% of the route.

It was a really fun race - with more mini dramas than an episode of 'Real Elvis Wedding Planners of Las Vegas'. It seems that a road and gravel mix is a reasonable combination for this Wombat.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Memorial Day time trial at the local raceway

While we are waiting to hear all about CM's epic 24 hr TT over the weekend I thought I would report on todays Bike Tires Direct TT out at Portland International Raceway (PIR). Having race road, CCX and short-track MTB at PIR at various times in the past, I decided late yesterday to make it a quadrella of bike disciplines and add the TT.

Six laps and 12 miles was on the menu. Having got there early to register I had the luxury of 90 mins before kick-off to fiddle with the bike and warm-up. The wind was a bit squally but happily there was NO sign of rain, let alone hail or snow unlike the EPIC 'Bend Don't Freeze' race of '11.

For a change I was able to tinker with the TT set-up on my bike. Nothing special, just my Cannondale with aero bars bolted on. Skinsuit and booties completed my aero-transformation. Raised the saddle a bit, leveled the bars a bit followed by a solid warm-up had me ready to mix it up with the masters (A 'master-mix', perhaps - sorry, an appauling science joke).

The race itself was uneventful. Got passed a couple of times, and in turn passed a few blokes. Finished in 28m15s to take 8th place out of 14 Masters riders - solidly mid-pack. A couple of things to be pleased about. My average speed of 24.5 mph (40 kph) was faster I had ever done a TT in, but of course, there were no hills and no significant wind to slow this clydesdale down. After lap one, I did not even change from the 50/15 I had settled into, so I was able to hold a very steady pace throughout.

Onwards.......