Went into the final Masters 4/5 race for May in 5th place overall, just off the podium. Winning the series was in all likelihood out of reach but a strong ride might get me to the podium. The fact that it was Memorial Day had not discernable effect on the field size which, at 36, was its usual dry day size. Daughter came along to watch Dad ride and did her own ‘warm-up’ on her scooter brought along for the occasion.
While chatting with KB during the warm up I spotted Cristina near the tents and diverted over to say hello. To my embarrassment and the hilarity of a great many riders I actually fell off my bike when stopping before her. In my mind I ‘fell with style’ (to borrow from Toy Story) and sustained only some minor elbow damage. Actually it was a blessing because the mechanic in the tent nearby noticed that my front wheel was soft. I had repaired a puncture a couple of days before (instead of replacing the tube itself) and, as a back-up, brought a second front wheel ready to go in case my ‘patch‘ failed. Grinning like a fool at my brilliant foresight, I waddled as best as one could in bib-tastic lycra and bike shoes back to the car to retrieve the spare wheel. All who had spotted my graceless tumble made sure to tell me about it later.
We would be racing clockwise for 14 laps with three sprint primes. The usual suspects; BE, KB, EA and CS and a gaggle of other Team Oregon riders were in the field. As for the race itself, the pace was quite high and the attacks came at regular intervals. I contested only one prime but left the sprint a little too late and managed a POINTLESS 4th (geddit - it was ‘pointless’ because the points only go to third in the primes and therefore 'pointless' because it was all for nothing). I know, I know - hilarious!
OK, now to the final sprint, which without teammates, was going to be tricky. Whom to stalk? This particular decision was not mine to make because coming ‘round the final bend I was stuck on the inside and the dangerous sprinters were on the outside. Crap. I was locked in behind several ‘chicken-legged-cardigan-wearing-nancy-boys’. Now in biggest gear I continued up the inside passing several, all the while yelling ‘on yer inside ya bastad’ in my best Sean Connery (why? because it sounded commanding).
Then in an instant I was clear of the man-sweat and lube-scented masses with the line in sight. TOTALLY on top of the gear and SO out of the saddle I powered onwards. Mr Smith’s booming voice took me back for a brief second to Cherry Pie which reminded me that he was irritating and motivating at the same time. Further energized, I continued stomping enthusiastically.
To my surprise, I cleared the line in second place. Equal best finish at PIR and enough to secure second place for the series. Apparently, a prize awaits. Here’s hoping it’s the new Cadel Evans biography, ‘Angry Mosquito‘. Word is that it is a devastating blow-by-blow account of racing in Italy.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Two-up tuesday
Race #1
Tuesday night PIR, Cat 4/5 race.
Lowdown: 6 laps, clockwise
Teammates: The Neighbor and Driveby
The Neighbor put out the call for help to win the Tuesday night Cat 4/5 series. Driveby and I were on hand to support him. The plan was to protect Neighbor and restrict the early work to helping out chasing down some of the breaks. I attacked on one occasion but was not allowed to get away. Brad also pulled for a while, although it was a half lap effort and perhaps a little too long. We set ourselves up at the start of the last lap with Driveby in front, me first wheel and Neighbor second wheel. About a third of the way into the last lap after the dangerous RHer, Brad was pulling strongly and found himself at the front in perfect position. He put in a heroic effort down the back straight although at one point pulled off to the side thinking that we were trading 30 sec pull. I yelled ‘forcefully’ at him to get back onto the front and keep going. Driveby took this instruction well and dropped back onto the front and continued.
He pulled us round as a strong steady pace until the start of the last loping corner when he began to fade. I ‘requested’ that he get out of the way - the Wombat-Neighbor train was coming through! I found a high gear, stepped on the gas, and stomped away on the pedals. The Neighbor pulled out from behind at about the bridge and stormed towards the line. KB from BBC was thereabouts as well. Rich nearly got the win and was caught just before the line to finish third. I kept my pace up but faded close to line to finish just out of the points in 11th.
The team had worked well together and executed the plan as we had hoped. Driveby in particular, did exactly what was asked of him and was the one that really set Neighbor up for his podium. I love it when a plan comes together. Now that we have practiced the leadout basics a few times, perhaps it is time to enact some more sophisticated moves. For example, as German pointed out – I could have stayed with Neighbor and blocked those chasing him. We will work on those. Small steps, but we are getting the hang of this racing business.
Race#2
Tuesday PIR Cat 3/4 race
Lowdown: 13 laps (for those coming from the Cat 4/5 race), clockwise, 3 primes
Teammates: The Neighbor and The Kid
After the 4/5 race KB, The Neighbor and I soft pedaled around until the 3/4 field, which included The Kid, caught up with us. Coming round the start/finish line there were 13 laps to go and we jumped on. As with the 4/5 race the weather had kept the field small.
It was my first time racing with Cat 3’s and I expected a challenge. In my mind the pace would be faster and the sprints harder. Actually, this was not the case. The pace and sprints might have been marginally faster but only barely so. Sure, there were plenty of attacks but not much stuck except for the second prime when, notably, KB and another rider broke away in the back straight on a prime lap and no one could be arsed chasing them down. We (and they) assumed that they would be chased down (as I was the previous day). They fought out the points 100M ahead of the rest of the field. This goes to show that the tactic of attacking hard CAN work from time to time.
I got myself into a good position for the final prime. A team Oregon rider went off the front a long way out and, although he faded badly before the line, got the 3 points. I timed my jump well and nearly caught him – taking the 2 points by a gnat’s dick. My prime sprint chase down was encouraging and a sign that, even though the field was smaller than usual, I could be competitive in this mixed category.
Rich agreed to help me out with the final sprint and he did a great job pulling me around. I am starting to get the sprint dialed in. The basic sequence that seems to work for the clockwise races is:
-get embedded in a leadout train with 1 lap to go
-come around the final bend within the top 5 or so
-start changing up into bigger and bigger gears while keeping up with the leadout.
-jump at about the bridge
-stomp it all the way to the line out of the saddle. Prefer to go relatively early and make them chase me, rather than being the one doing the chasing.
Now need to add elements to these basic steps to have more flexibility to deal with other scenarios that may arise during the sprint.
Scored 5th or 6th across the line to finish in (I think) 4th place overall with the prime points. The Kid just behind and The Neighbor a few places back. Good, fun night of racing.
Tuesday night PIR, Cat 4/5 race.
Lowdown: 6 laps, clockwise
Teammates: The Neighbor and Driveby
The Neighbor put out the call for help to win the Tuesday night Cat 4/5 series. Driveby and I were on hand to support him. The plan was to protect Neighbor and restrict the early work to helping out chasing down some of the breaks. I attacked on one occasion but was not allowed to get away. Brad also pulled for a while, although it was a half lap effort and perhaps a little too long. We set ourselves up at the start of the last lap with Driveby in front, me first wheel and Neighbor second wheel. About a third of the way into the last lap after the dangerous RHer, Brad was pulling strongly and found himself at the front in perfect position. He put in a heroic effort down the back straight although at one point pulled off to the side thinking that we were trading 30 sec pull. I yelled ‘forcefully’ at him to get back onto the front and keep going. Driveby took this instruction well and dropped back onto the front and continued.
He pulled us round as a strong steady pace until the start of the last loping corner when he began to fade. I ‘requested’ that he get out of the way - the Wombat-Neighbor train was coming through! I found a high gear, stepped on the gas, and stomped away on the pedals. The Neighbor pulled out from behind at about the bridge and stormed towards the line. KB from BBC was thereabouts as well. Rich nearly got the win and was caught just before the line to finish third. I kept my pace up but faded close to line to finish just out of the points in 11th.
The team had worked well together and executed the plan as we had hoped. Driveby in particular, did exactly what was asked of him and was the one that really set Neighbor up for his podium. I love it when a plan comes together. Now that we have practiced the leadout basics a few times, perhaps it is time to enact some more sophisticated moves. For example, as German pointed out – I could have stayed with Neighbor and blocked those chasing him. We will work on those. Small steps, but we are getting the hang of this racing business.
Race#2
Tuesday PIR Cat 3/4 race
Lowdown: 13 laps (for those coming from the Cat 4/5 race), clockwise, 3 primes
Teammates: The Neighbor and The Kid
After the 4/5 race KB, The Neighbor and I soft pedaled around until the 3/4 field, which included The Kid, caught up with us. Coming round the start/finish line there were 13 laps to go and we jumped on. As with the 4/5 race the weather had kept the field small.
It was my first time racing with Cat 3’s and I expected a challenge. In my mind the pace would be faster and the sprints harder. Actually, this was not the case. The pace and sprints might have been marginally faster but only barely so. Sure, there were plenty of attacks but not much stuck except for the second prime when, notably, KB and another rider broke away in the back straight on a prime lap and no one could be arsed chasing them down. We (and they) assumed that they would be chased down (as I was the previous day). They fought out the points 100M ahead of the rest of the field. This goes to show that the tactic of attacking hard CAN work from time to time.
I got myself into a good position for the final prime. A team Oregon rider went off the front a long way out and, although he faded badly before the line, got the 3 points. I timed my jump well and nearly caught him – taking the 2 points by a gnat’s dick. My prime sprint chase down was encouraging and a sign that, even though the field was smaller than usual, I could be competitive in this mixed category.
Rich agreed to help me out with the final sprint and he did a great job pulling me around. I am starting to get the sprint dialed in. The basic sequence that seems to work for the clockwise races is:
-get embedded in a leadout train with 1 lap to go
-come around the final bend within the top 5 or so
-start changing up into bigger and bigger gears while keeping up with the leadout.
-jump at about the bridge
-stomp it all the way to the line out of the saddle. Prefer to go relatively early and make them chase me, rather than being the one doing the chasing.
Now need to add elements to these basic steps to have more flexibility to deal with other scenarios that may arise during the sprint.
Scored 5th or 6th across the line to finish in (I think) 4th place overall with the prime points. The Kid just behind and The Neighbor a few places back. Good, fun night of racing.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
A dry night at PIR
Monday PIR, Masters Cat 4/5
Lowdown:14 laps, counterclockwise, 2 primes.
Teammates: Quiet Achiever and Curtis.
No rain for a change and field was larger than usual. One could sense that those that had stayed away during the rainy race days were eager to make up for lost ground. This was clear at the first prime sprint when I was left well behind and beaten to the line by many racers bent on getting those 3,2,1 points.
The pace of the race seemed high and full of aggression with attack after attack coming throughout the race. Feeling good and rested I got out of the saddle and attacked one and a half laps before the second prime. Three came with or bridged the gap. Soon we were perhaps 100M off the front. Our group quickly became organized and we traded pulls and kept the pace high – one rider couldn’t or wouldn’t maintain the pace and dropped back. We were still well ahead with half a lap to the sprint as I took the lead, resigned to pulling all the way to the line. We were caught by 4 or 5 about 30M before the line. Bollocks !!- we had nearly made it. The pack had timed their chase well and it took an all out, balls out sprint to catch us. Although disappointed about not taking the prime points, I was delighted to have made them work hard to chase inflicting suffering in the process. Bwahhaahahaha.
Once the pack regrouped the attacks continued but were efficiently chased down. Then it was the final lap. I was situated on Curtis’ wheel about 5 wheels back with QA around to my right also close to the front. By the time I was in the final straight I had lost Curtis’s wheel and found myself behind KB from BBC. He is a good sprinter and usually a good leadout but I found myself fighting for his wheel. Quite embarrassingly, I yelled to the guy to my left that “I have KB’s wheel”. Startled, he backed off and opened up a gap to the left. I took the opportunity to sprint past KB. The sprint was timed a bit early and I faded towards the line but squeaked into 9th place. I was reasonably pleased with this result because it was a strong field and didn’t have the best leadout. Best part for me was initiating, organizing and holding a decent break. This was a new experience. The QA had an excellent race and grabbed second place without much fanfare. That is why he is the Quiet Achiever!
Lowdown:14 laps, counterclockwise, 2 primes.
Teammates: Quiet Achiever and Curtis.
No rain for a change and field was larger than usual. One could sense that those that had stayed away during the rainy race days were eager to make up for lost ground. This was clear at the first prime sprint when I was left well behind and beaten to the line by many racers bent on getting those 3,2,1 points.
The pace of the race seemed high and full of aggression with attack after attack coming throughout the race. Feeling good and rested I got out of the saddle and attacked one and a half laps before the second prime. Three came with or bridged the gap. Soon we were perhaps 100M off the front. Our group quickly became organized and we traded pulls and kept the pace high – one rider couldn’t or wouldn’t maintain the pace and dropped back. We were still well ahead with half a lap to the sprint as I took the lead, resigned to pulling all the way to the line. We were caught by 4 or 5 about 30M before the line. Bollocks !!- we had nearly made it. The pack had timed their chase well and it took an all out, balls out sprint to catch us. Although disappointed about not taking the prime points, I was delighted to have made them work hard to chase inflicting suffering in the process. Bwahhaahahaha.
Once the pack regrouped the attacks continued but were efficiently chased down. Then it was the final lap. I was situated on Curtis’ wheel about 5 wheels back with QA around to my right also close to the front. By the time I was in the final straight I had lost Curtis’s wheel and found myself behind KB from BBC. He is a good sprinter and usually a good leadout but I found myself fighting for his wheel. Quite embarrassingly, I yelled to the guy to my left that “I have KB’s wheel”. Startled, he backed off and opened up a gap to the left. I took the opportunity to sprint past KB. The sprint was timed a bit early and I faded towards the line but squeaked into 9th place. I was reasonably pleased with this result because it was a strong field and didn’t have the best leadout. Best part for me was initiating, organizing and holding a decent break. This was a new experience. The QA had an excellent race and grabbed second place without much fanfare. That is why he is the Quiet Achiever!
Monday, May 17, 2010
The Mexican Wombat Quinella
Third-person Synopsis: The crafty Mexican completely misdirected the field to notch up a magnificent win in the Masters 4/5 at PIR. He lead out the Wombat twice to prime victories and when all attention was on the lumbering marsupial, he steamed down the far-left to take the flag. No-one noticed until it was too late. Brilliant.
Long-winded First-person Detail: It was wild night weather-wise. I rode from Raleigh Hills and got caught by a front of water at the Waterfront downtown. It came down in sheets and I was instantly 10 lbs heavier because of the water-drenched gloved, shoes and socks. Not cold, just very wet. The rest of the ride out was an exercise in avoiding flash flooding and unseen potholes. Note that the disused bridge is now closed to bike traffic.
Huddled under the sponsor’s tent were El Luch and the Quiet Achiever – two of the canniest riders on the team. Looked like about 22 riders had signed up but several names had been crossed out, no doubt frightened away by the tropical monsoon conditions. Four words printed on our team jersey sprang to mind.
The pace was high from the start – we averaged of 24.5 mph or so for the race. 13 clockwise laps were to be done with two primes. Have to admit to nervousness about the corners with just slicks on the back and made sure to push back a la ‘doggy-style’ on the sharper turns to increase weight on the rear wheel.
Soon the first prime lap was upon us. I was directly behind El Luch sitting four wheels back. He kept the pace high and I started to click up through the gears in anticipation of the balls out sprint that lay 30 seconds ahead. After the last turn into the straight and underneath the bridge I pulled out into the wind and accelerated past Mr Other rider #1 and Mr Other rider #2. I stayed out of the saddle the entire way to the line and secured the prime. The nearest was half a bike length back. The sprint felt very good - perhaps the three days at the track last week had changed something? A bit more sprint endurance (oxymoron, I know)?. Are we onto something here? Could we possibly do this again?
A few laps later the bell rang for the second prime. I was behind El Luch again but with just one rider ahead of us. He soon pulled off. Cripes !, what are we going to do now? – there is still an entire lap to go. Can El Luch pull me around for a lap?
HELL YES.
El Luch is a strong rider – he pulled the group for ages on the 'Reach The Beach' century ride Saturday on the long windy stretch before Amity. So he pulled me around the track for 2 miles and I again sprinted for the line out of the saddle from under the bridge. The same riders challenged but I was able somehow to hold on and we took the second prime.
With two laps to go El Luch decided to have some fun. He got a jump on the field and I bridged the gap to join him. The field must have been crapping their spandex because here was a well known strong finisher AND the race leader (at least on paper) out ahead of the pack. We traded pulls and kind-of gave the impression that we were working together to put the race out of reach. The reality was that we were not that serious about getting away and expected to get caught but just wanted to mess with them. We did get caught but with no lasting damage to either of us - good times.
The primes are a bit of a lark but the finish is serious. You have to understand that not everyone is interested in contesting the primes, but EVERYONE is interested in contesting the finish. At the start of the final lap a rider attacked and got about 30m ahead. The Quiet Achiever jumped and gave chase and I dropped in behind him. The pace was very high and we were slowly reeling him in. In the back straight QA indicated that he was knackered. But in an epic display of sacrifice kept the pace steady and kept protecting me. It was a magnificent pull and came from deep within.
Cornering that final bend I could sense the marauders approaching and jumped from QA’s wheel into the tiring rider who had attacked earlier in the lap. By this stage he couldn’t blow the froth off a glass of beer. I took my balls out for a third time and made a bid for the line but a little earlier than in the previous sprints. It was head down, arse up time again. I was ahead and within about 100m of the line when I heard a sound to my extreme left. It was Speedy Gonzales shooting past everyone, solo. I was stunned. First, at the effortless acceleration, and second, by the fact that no one had bothered to mark him. They were chasing me instead. I was caught by two others on the line to finish 4th past the post. It was a brilliant move by El Luch. They all forgot about him – the most dangerous OBRA cyclist Norte de la Columbia.
It was a Hammer Velo quinella - first and second. El Luch got the overall win and I managed 2nd with the prime points. I would not have gotten such a good final standing if not for the protection by El Luch and the Quiet Achiever in the lead-in for the three sprints - it was a great team effort and one that was executed perfectly.
Long-winded First-person Detail: It was wild night weather-wise. I rode from Raleigh Hills and got caught by a front of water at the Waterfront downtown. It came down in sheets and I was instantly 10 lbs heavier because of the water-drenched gloved, shoes and socks. Not cold, just very wet. The rest of the ride out was an exercise in avoiding flash flooding and unseen potholes. Note that the disused bridge is now closed to bike traffic.
Huddled under the sponsor’s tent were El Luch and the Quiet Achiever – two of the canniest riders on the team. Looked like about 22 riders had signed up but several names had been crossed out, no doubt frightened away by the tropical monsoon conditions. Four words printed on our team jersey sprang to mind.
The pace was high from the start – we averaged of 24.5 mph or so for the race. 13 clockwise laps were to be done with two primes. Have to admit to nervousness about the corners with just slicks on the back and made sure to push back a la ‘doggy-style’ on the sharper turns to increase weight on the rear wheel.
Soon the first prime lap was upon us. I was directly behind El Luch sitting four wheels back. He kept the pace high and I started to click up through the gears in anticipation of the balls out sprint that lay 30 seconds ahead. After the last turn into the straight and underneath the bridge I pulled out into the wind and accelerated past Mr Other rider #1 and Mr Other rider #2. I stayed out of the saddle the entire way to the line and secured the prime. The nearest was half a bike length back. The sprint felt very good - perhaps the three days at the track last week had changed something? A bit more sprint endurance (oxymoron, I know)?. Are we onto something here? Could we possibly do this again?
A few laps later the bell rang for the second prime. I was behind El Luch again but with just one rider ahead of us. He soon pulled off. Cripes !, what are we going to do now? – there is still an entire lap to go. Can El Luch pull me around for a lap?
HELL YES.
El Luch is a strong rider – he pulled the group for ages on the 'Reach The Beach' century ride Saturday on the long windy stretch before Amity. So he pulled me around the track for 2 miles and I again sprinted for the line out of the saddle from under the bridge. The same riders challenged but I was able somehow to hold on and we took the second prime.
With two laps to go El Luch decided to have some fun. He got a jump on the field and I bridged the gap to join him. The field must have been crapping their spandex because here was a well known strong finisher AND the race leader (at least on paper) out ahead of the pack. We traded pulls and kind-of gave the impression that we were working together to put the race out of reach. The reality was that we were not that serious about getting away and expected to get caught but just wanted to mess with them. We did get caught but with no lasting damage to either of us - good times.
The primes are a bit of a lark but the finish is serious. You have to understand that not everyone is interested in contesting the primes, but EVERYONE is interested in contesting the finish. At the start of the final lap a rider attacked and got about 30m ahead. The Quiet Achiever jumped and gave chase and I dropped in behind him. The pace was very high and we were slowly reeling him in. In the back straight QA indicated that he was knackered. But in an epic display of sacrifice kept the pace steady and kept protecting me. It was a magnificent pull and came from deep within.
Cornering that final bend I could sense the marauders approaching and jumped from QA’s wheel into the tiring rider who had attacked earlier in the lap. By this stage he couldn’t blow the froth off a glass of beer. I took my balls out for a third time and made a bid for the line but a little earlier than in the previous sprints. It was head down, arse up time again. I was ahead and within about 100m of the line when I heard a sound to my extreme left. It was Speedy Gonzales shooting past everyone, solo. I was stunned. First, at the effortless acceleration, and second, by the fact that no one had bothered to mark him. They were chasing me instead. I was caught by two others on the line to finish 4th past the post. It was a brilliant move by El Luch. They all forgot about him – the most dangerous OBRA cyclist Norte de la Columbia.
It was a Hammer Velo quinella - first and second. El Luch got the overall win and I managed 2nd with the prime points. I would not have gotten such a good final standing if not for the protection by El Luch and the Quiet Achiever in the lead-in for the three sprints - it was a great team effort and one that was executed perfectly.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
There is only one equation in this race report
My shortest race was a 200M track sprint. It took all of 13 secs and, to add some technical difficulty, included exactly 1 left hand turn. The experience was super intense – head down, ears pressed flat, legs spinning as fast as humanly possible, blood roaring through ears, completely spent then recovery. My longest race was the Cherry Blossom Stage race (CBSR) just completed. This four-stage race took 5 hrs to complete spread over 4 days but strangely, included all the experiences of the track sprint……and a few more…although significantly more corners.
The Columbia Hills Road race (stage 1) consisted of 2 laps of an 18 mile circuit with about 2000ft of climbing just north of The Dalles. More than 70 Cat 4 riders started including several other Cat 4 HVers: Mexican, Neighbor, Kid, Quiet Achiever, Ryan and McDreamy.
The part of the course that could be my undoing if it wasn’t ‘managed’ appropriately was a 1.5 mile stretch that averaged 5% grade. This promised to be a challenge for the stouter riders – not so much the grade, but its length – just a bit too long to power over. The field would surely break apart during this climb.
I made sure to be near the front at the roll-out and settled in behind the Mexican on the right side of the road so as not to worry about drifting over the centerline. Initially, the pace was moderate with the occasional acceleration. The group stayed together until the climb about 9 miles into the lap. One of the benefits of riding in a large field is that unless you are stone motherless last there is always someone behind you. I made sure reach the start of the hill in the first third of the pack and from there kept an even tempo concentrating on not red-lining. This seemed to work and although I had drifted back through the pack, I had LOTS of company. I settled in behind fellow Clyde, AH and we summitted the hill together. The descent looked glorious as it stretched off into the green Oregon distance. The benefit of being in fairly good riding shape is that recovery time after extended efforts is fairly short. It was only a few seconds before we ramped up the cadence and bolted down the road ‘doggy-style’– heads down, butts up, like two dogs at an arse-sniffing convention.
We soon came across the now infamous Cat 4 Cherry Blossom crash of ‘10 – the only major bingle of the entire race. According to Quiet Achiever’s computer they were doing 35 mph at the time and some must have fallen hard. We arrived about a minute after it happened. It was like a war-zone, there were bikes, bodies and fragments of carbon strewn across the entire width of the road and even a couple down the embankments off the road to the left. Several race cars had pulled up behind and a race official indicated for us to stop. We came to a halt but were waved through the mess almost immediately. A quick scan failed to spot any HV teammates - somehow they had all escaped the carnage. We learned later that a busted rib and punctured lung was the worst of it.
AH is an excellent time trialist and we quickly made up ground sweeping up riders as we descended. Soon we had a roiling, boiling paceline posse of 10 or so of the heftier blokes in the field. It was a smorgasbord of muscle and fat hurtling down the road at >40 mph resisted only by the wind and the friction of rubber on road. It was a hugely enjoyable display of physics in its purest form. F=M*A indeed.
We caught a large group that included McDreamy, Quiet Achiever and Ryan about 10 miles down the road. Our pack, which now numbered about 25, represented the first chase group. We could see the lead group up the road from time-to-time. They were at least 2 minutes ahead. We started to chase in earnest but, frustratingly, it was a haphazard effort with some putting in the work and others content to not work. This resulted in a strange yo-yo action as we sped up and then slowed down as the chasers rested. Then it was the extended climb for the second time. By the time we reached the top our group split into two with me in the second group and McDreamy and Quiet Achiever in the first. Ryan and The Neighbor had been dropped by now.
Assuming our most aerodynamic positions, once again we settled into a downhill chase. Imagine this for a second……a ragtag collection of 15 tall, wide (or both) 1.5+ Contador-unit racers trying to get aero. It must have been quite a sight ………think…… the cast of ‘Free Willy IV - Return of the Pod’ on bikes. No wonder OregonCycling-frickin-Action NEVER takes any pictures of us. However, despite the visual comedy we were fast. The cool mountain air didn’t know what hit it as it was pushed aside quicker than a bride’s nighty on her wedding night by the pod of spandex-clad Orcas.
Nearly at the end now and running out of road. Our mini-peleton was close enough to see the group ahead. If we, the second chase group, could catch the first chase group we would record the same times. Well, we chased hard, made up a lot of ground and got pretty close but we didn’t quite catch them – we needed another 200 yards. In the end I was 6 seconds down on the chase group and nearly 4 minutes down on the lead pack.
It had been a drama-filled day of racing for the Cat 4’s with moderate climbing, blisteringly fast downhill chasing, a crash, more organized chasing, and a mad sprint to the finish. I was pleased to have been in a position to work with others to fight for the race. Also, it was nice to finish strongly in front of the family.
We ended the day at Double Mountain with pizza and an IPA. Heaven.
Highly skewed accounts of Stages 2, 3 and 4 to come……
The Columbia Hills Road race (stage 1) consisted of 2 laps of an 18 mile circuit with about 2000ft of climbing just north of The Dalles. More than 70 Cat 4 riders started including several other Cat 4 HVers: Mexican, Neighbor, Kid, Quiet Achiever, Ryan and McDreamy.
The part of the course that could be my undoing if it wasn’t ‘managed’ appropriately was a 1.5 mile stretch that averaged 5% grade. This promised to be a challenge for the stouter riders – not so much the grade, but its length – just a bit too long to power over. The field would surely break apart during this climb.
I made sure to be near the front at the roll-out and settled in behind the Mexican on the right side of the road so as not to worry about drifting over the centerline. Initially, the pace was moderate with the occasional acceleration. The group stayed together until the climb about 9 miles into the lap. One of the benefits of riding in a large field is that unless you are stone motherless last there is always someone behind you. I made sure reach the start of the hill in the first third of the pack and from there kept an even tempo concentrating on not red-lining. This seemed to work and although I had drifted back through the pack, I had LOTS of company. I settled in behind fellow Clyde, AH and we summitted the hill together. The descent looked glorious as it stretched off into the green Oregon distance. The benefit of being in fairly good riding shape is that recovery time after extended efforts is fairly short. It was only a few seconds before we ramped up the cadence and bolted down the road ‘doggy-style’– heads down, butts up, like two dogs at an arse-sniffing convention.
We soon came across the now infamous Cat 4 Cherry Blossom crash of ‘10 – the only major bingle of the entire race. According to Quiet Achiever’s computer they were doing 35 mph at the time and some must have fallen hard. We arrived about a minute after it happened. It was like a war-zone, there were bikes, bodies and fragments of carbon strewn across the entire width of the road and even a couple down the embankments off the road to the left. Several race cars had pulled up behind and a race official indicated for us to stop. We came to a halt but were waved through the mess almost immediately. A quick scan failed to spot any HV teammates - somehow they had all escaped the carnage. We learned later that a busted rib and punctured lung was the worst of it.
AH is an excellent time trialist and we quickly made up ground sweeping up riders as we descended. Soon we had a roiling, boiling paceline posse of 10 or so of the heftier blokes in the field. It was a smorgasbord of muscle and fat hurtling down the road at >40 mph resisted only by the wind and the friction of rubber on road. It was a hugely enjoyable display of physics in its purest form. F=M*A indeed.
We caught a large group that included McDreamy, Quiet Achiever and Ryan about 10 miles down the road. Our pack, which now numbered about 25, represented the first chase group. We could see the lead group up the road from time-to-time. They were at least 2 minutes ahead. We started to chase in earnest but, frustratingly, it was a haphazard effort with some putting in the work and others content to not work. This resulted in a strange yo-yo action as we sped up and then slowed down as the chasers rested. Then it was the extended climb for the second time. By the time we reached the top our group split into two with me in the second group and McDreamy and Quiet Achiever in the first. Ryan and The Neighbor had been dropped by now.
Assuming our most aerodynamic positions, once again we settled into a downhill chase. Imagine this for a second……a ragtag collection of 15 tall, wide (or both) 1.5+ Contador-unit racers trying to get aero. It must have been quite a sight ………think…… the cast of ‘Free Willy IV - Return of the Pod’ on bikes. No wonder OregonCycling-frickin-Action NEVER takes any pictures of us. However, despite the visual comedy we were fast. The cool mountain air didn’t know what hit it as it was pushed aside quicker than a bride’s nighty on her wedding night by the pod of spandex-clad Orcas.
Nearly at the end now and running out of road. Our mini-peleton was close enough to see the group ahead. If we, the second chase group, could catch the first chase group we would record the same times. Well, we chased hard, made up a lot of ground and got pretty close but we didn’t quite catch them – we needed another 200 yards. In the end I was 6 seconds down on the chase group and nearly 4 minutes down on the lead pack.
It had been a drama-filled day of racing for the Cat 4’s with moderate climbing, blisteringly fast downhill chasing, a crash, more organized chasing, and a mad sprint to the finish. I was pleased to have been in a position to work with others to fight for the race. Also, it was nice to finish strongly in front of the family.
We ended the day at Double Mountain with pizza and an IPA. Heaven.
Highly skewed accounts of Stages 2, 3 and 4 to come……
Friday, April 16, 2010
When you know that you are mad for cycling when:
1. briskly walking past broken glass you put your left hand down and wave it a little to warn the pedestrians behind.
2. driving down Barbur boulevard you absentmindedly speed up to draft off the car in front.
3. calling ‘on your left’ when passing a slow label-reader in the supermarket with your trolley
4. you consider bringing a bottle filled with Perpetuum on a long dissecting day in the lab for fear of bonking before the end of the day.
5. you debate endlessly before work trips about whether to bring your bike or instead rent once you get there.
2. driving down Barbur boulevard you absentmindedly speed up to draft off the car in front.
3. calling ‘on your left’ when passing a slow label-reader in the supermarket with your trolley
4. you consider bringing a bottle filled with Perpetuum on a long dissecting day in the lab for fear of bonking before the end of the day.
5. you debate endlessly before work trips about whether to bring your bike or instead rent once you get there.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The ‘El Luchador delivery device’
For the first time, the team tactics and their execution played a major role in the outcome of the race. We were 5 strong including the Neighbor, El Luchador, Ryan, and Andrew. At over 50 riders, the field was large. The only other team with a presence was BBC with large contingent of juniors and a few adult riders.
The course ran clockwise with a brisk headwind waiting for us in the final straight. The race was pretty quiet really with some attacks that were quickly reeled in. All the Hammer Velo boys had a go off the front at some point but nothing stuck. Soon we were into our final lap. I followed Ryan out of the finish straight taking the inside lane and close to the front. The Neighbor was nearby and El Luch. hovering thereabouts. With half a lap to go with some strong riding, Ryan found himself at the front of the pack directly ahead of the Neighbor, myself and El Luch in a paceline – HV was leading the charge like a big ugly hair sticking out of a mole. Ryan kept on going and passed the lone rider off the front. Then Neighbor took over and with a few words of encouragement really stepped on the gas. The pack, off El Luch’s left shoulder, was under a lot of pressure and no other riders could join us. As we rounded the final bend, the Neighbor pulled out of the way, gassed. I then took off, legs a pasty blur, and I think was in the lead for a short while. Exact details are lost in an oxygen-deprived fog. Then El Luch rounded me and took off with about 200ft to go only to be beaten on the line by another rider.
We had timed the ‘El Luchador delivery device’ to perfection and had got him in good shape to contest the finish. In my opinion, the Neighbor’s long, strong pull was the decisive one and took us a long way towards securing second place. I was beaten into 5th place by a BBC rider. Although delighted by such a high finish, my giddiness was tempered by the realization that the BBC rider was 12 years old! I had been ‘tweened’.
It was a good day on the track for us – everyone did their part. It was the best example of teamwork I have experienced so far with this team.
The course ran clockwise with a brisk headwind waiting for us in the final straight. The race was pretty quiet really with some attacks that were quickly reeled in. All the Hammer Velo boys had a go off the front at some point but nothing stuck. Soon we were into our final lap. I followed Ryan out of the finish straight taking the inside lane and close to the front. The Neighbor was nearby and El Luch. hovering thereabouts. With half a lap to go with some strong riding, Ryan found himself at the front of the pack directly ahead of the Neighbor, myself and El Luch in a paceline – HV was leading the charge like a big ugly hair sticking out of a mole. Ryan kept on going and passed the lone rider off the front. Then Neighbor took over and with a few words of encouragement really stepped on the gas. The pack, off El Luch’s left shoulder, was under a lot of pressure and no other riders could join us. As we rounded the final bend, the Neighbor pulled out of the way, gassed. I then took off, legs a pasty blur, and I think was in the lead for a short while. Exact details are lost in an oxygen-deprived fog. Then El Luch rounded me and took off with about 200ft to go only to be beaten on the line by another rider.
We had timed the ‘El Luchador delivery device’ to perfection and had got him in good shape to contest the finish. In my opinion, the Neighbor’s long, strong pull was the decisive one and took us a long way towards securing second place. I was beaten into 5th place by a BBC rider. Although delighted by such a high finish, my giddiness was tempered by the realization that the BBC rider was 12 years old! I had been ‘tweened’.
It was a good day on the track for us – everyone did their part. It was the best example of teamwork I have experienced so far with this team.
Monday, April 12, 2010
The King's Valley disaster – how, why and what!
WARNING, WARNING – unusually high number of scientific jokes contained in this report. Do not read if you have liver damage, are a serious cyclist, or may become a serious cyclist. Your doctor can conduct a simple test if you are at risk.
April 12th, 2010
Dear Editor of ‘Crap Cycling’,
Please accept our paper on the analysis of Sprint Wombat's King's Valley Road race. We feel that our findings will be of interest to the wider cycling community and our hope is that with publication in ‘Crap Cycling’ others will learn from his mistakes. In accordance with the international nature of the Journal we have used SI units throughout.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Dr. Cannon Dale, Dr. Van Iller and Sir Velo.
Lactic Threshold Laboratory
Institute of Advanced Cycology
Bonktown, OR
Title: The King's Valley disaster – how, why and what!
Study Aim: To dissect the 2010 Kings Valley (KV) road race of Sprint Wombat (‘the subject’). His self-proclaimed goal was to support more talented Hammer Velo team mates; Driveby, El Luchador, The Kid, Mr Smith, The Neighbor, The Quiet Achiever, and Ryan (no known alias), and finish as high as possible with a minimum of errors. This paper is based on observation, satellite imagery, mental telepathy and interviews with the subject and race officials. It analyzes the known knowns (but not the unknown unknowns - we know what they are) and attempts to understand what went wrong.
Method: The subject (aka ‘The Wombat’) rode his bike around rural Polk County (Oregon, USA) for 93 km (56 miles) under OBRA race conditions. The subject rode a 2010 Cannondale CAAD 9 (54 cm) modified with fancy titanium time trial seat-post and saddle. 50/34 x 11/23.
Results: 47th out of >60 (actually number of finishers will never be known because of mass quitting and at least one rider who took a wrong turn and nearly ended up on 99W).
Discussion: With input from a well meaning, non-cycling State Champion, a well-crafted team plan was formulated. The ‘body mass index (BMI)-challenged’ were to stay close to the front of the pack to control the pace. The plan was for these BMI-challenged individuals to work later on in the race protect the 4th percentile BMIers (light fourckers) for the final sprint. The subject totally ignored this plan for no good reason and settled mid pack for the first half lap. This turned out to be a grave error because of the narrow road, large pack and large quanta of inexperienced riders who braked at every opportunity. There was little room to pass. The wind on the back half of the course was formidable but not an issue for the ‘mid-pack’ plodders.
The 25 km (15 mile) point marked the hill that what would become the finish line. At a mean grade of 6.02 (+/- 0.56)% the hill was of modest steepness and about 1 km in length. The subject was in 41st position at this point. Due to his high BMI, the subject slowly drifted back through the pack at -2 m/sec. This backward motion is described in the ‘regression analysis’ plot shown in Figure 1. Within seconds, the subject was ‘off-the-back’ and losing ground at a rate of -5 m/sec. The subject was observed to repeatedly shout at his legs “shut the f*** up, legs”.
As the subject breached the hill he placed his arms in the ‘drops’ and proceeded to increase cadence to 95 rpm. With the tailwind and downward gradient, the subject increased velocity to 43.4 kph in an attempt to rejoin the pack. Within 3 km the subject caught a strong rider from Portobello. Together, they worked to bridge the gap with the pack, passing riders at regular intervals. They gained ground on the pack on the flats at a rate of 10 m/min but lost ground on the climbs and in the wind at a rate of 5 m/min. After working together for 16.84 km they ceased the chase and ‘sat up’. Mr Smith, who had been chasing the subject for a time then caught up and they rode together discussing their options still with 40.09 km to complete the race. The long-range microphone picked up the subject uttering the phrase “mate,……. I’m buggered if I’m going to get another DN-friggin-F”. Mr Smith then replied “although my ass really, really hurts I’m with you all the way, Jay-me”. At this point it turned into a training ride and the subject and Mr Smith rode the rest of the way, taking turns to ‘pull’ each other. Although the final kms (miles) were traversed with 20% lower intensity than something faster, they appeared to be pleased to finish in the top 50. At the end of the race the subject was overheard to remark that his mouth was “as dry as a dead dingos’ donger” and sought rehydration assistance.
In summary, the subject rode poorly and was positioned too far back in the pack to cope with the finish line hill on lap 1. Consequently, the subject was dropped and failed to influence the race in any way at all. We hypothesize that with a more advanced position at the start of the hill, the subject would have been safely cocooned in the pack-womb sucking his thumb. We predict that he would have survived to deeper into the race.
Conclusion: STAY AT THE FRONT 95 (+/- 7.0)% OF THE TIME
April 12th, 2010
Dear Editor of ‘Crap Cycling’,
Please accept our paper on the analysis of Sprint Wombat's King's Valley Road race. We feel that our findings will be of interest to the wider cycling community and our hope is that with publication in ‘Crap Cycling’ others will learn from his mistakes. In accordance with the international nature of the Journal we have used SI units throughout.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Dr. Cannon Dale, Dr. Van Iller and Sir Velo.
Lactic Threshold Laboratory
Institute of Advanced Cycology
Bonktown, OR
Title: The King's Valley disaster – how, why and what!
Study Aim: To dissect the 2010 Kings Valley (KV) road race of Sprint Wombat (‘the subject’). His self-proclaimed goal was to support more talented Hammer Velo team mates; Driveby, El Luchador, The Kid, Mr Smith, The Neighbor, The Quiet Achiever, and Ryan (no known alias), and finish as high as possible with a minimum of errors. This paper is based on observation, satellite imagery, mental telepathy and interviews with the subject and race officials. It analyzes the known knowns (but not the unknown unknowns - we know what they are) and attempts to understand what went wrong.
Method: The subject (aka ‘The Wombat’) rode his bike around rural Polk County (Oregon, USA) for 93 km (56 miles) under OBRA race conditions. The subject rode a 2010 Cannondale CAAD 9 (54 cm) modified with fancy titanium time trial seat-post and saddle. 50/34 x 11/23.
Results: 47th out of >60 (actually number of finishers will never be known because of mass quitting and at least one rider who took a wrong turn and nearly ended up on 99W).
Discussion: With input from a well meaning, non-cycling State Champion, a well-crafted team plan was formulated. The ‘body mass index (BMI)-challenged’ were to stay close to the front of the pack to control the pace. The plan was for these BMI-challenged individuals to work later on in the race protect the 4th percentile BMIers (light fourckers) for the final sprint. The subject totally ignored this plan for no good reason and settled mid pack for the first half lap. This turned out to be a grave error because of the narrow road, large pack and large quanta of inexperienced riders who braked at every opportunity. There was little room to pass. The wind on the back half of the course was formidable but not an issue for the ‘mid-pack’ plodders.
The 25 km (15 mile) point marked the hill that what would become the finish line. At a mean grade of 6.02 (+/- 0.56)% the hill was of modest steepness and about 1 km in length. The subject was in 41st position at this point. Due to his high BMI, the subject slowly drifted back through the pack at -2 m/sec. This backward motion is described in the ‘regression analysis’ plot shown in Figure 1. Within seconds, the subject was ‘off-the-back’ and losing ground at a rate of -5 m/sec. The subject was observed to repeatedly shout at his legs “shut the f*** up, legs”.
As the subject breached the hill he placed his arms in the ‘drops’ and proceeded to increase cadence to 95 rpm. With the tailwind and downward gradient, the subject increased velocity to 43.4 kph in an attempt to rejoin the pack. Within 3 km the subject caught a strong rider from Portobello. Together, they worked to bridge the gap with the pack, passing riders at regular intervals. They gained ground on the pack on the flats at a rate of 10 m/min but lost ground on the climbs and in the wind at a rate of 5 m/min. After working together for 16.84 km they ceased the chase and ‘sat up’. Mr Smith, who had been chasing the subject for a time then caught up and they rode together discussing their options still with 40.09 km to complete the race. The long-range microphone picked up the subject uttering the phrase “mate,……. I’m buggered if I’m going to get another DN-friggin-F”. Mr Smith then replied “although my ass really, really hurts I’m with you all the way, Jay-me”. At this point it turned into a training ride and the subject and Mr Smith rode the rest of the way, taking turns to ‘pull’ each other. Although the final kms (miles) were traversed with 20% lower intensity than something faster, they appeared to be pleased to finish in the top 50. At the end of the race the subject was overheard to remark that his mouth was “as dry as a dead dingos’ donger” and sought rehydration assistance.
In summary, the subject rode poorly and was positioned too far back in the pack to cope with the finish line hill on lap 1. Consequently, the subject was dropped and failed to influence the race in any way at all. We hypothesize that with a more advanced position at the start of the hill, the subject would have been safely cocooned in the pack-womb sucking his thumb. We predict that he would have survived to deeper into the race.
Conclusion: STAY AT THE FRONT 95 (+/- 7.0)% OF THE TIME
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
PIR, oooh LaLa
The pressure was on for me at PIR after failing to finish three out of my last four races (dropped, bonked and crashed :)). As I was riding down to PIR it was clear that last weekend’s crash had damaged my brakes and it looked like the rear brake cable had been stretched. The brake lever was sticky causing the brakes to say on. I would have to deal with this later. Met Brad along the way and chatted about what to expect since it was his first Big-Boy race (triathlons DO NOT count). We were well warmed up for the start. Joined by four other HV 4/5s for the race; RM, AL, KL, RR. Looking around at the start line – it looked like the local crèche has fielded a team…with many young BBC racers. Reckon there were probably a few 14yr olds in the mix as well. Also, the race was going to be very short at 6 laps – I was used to the 14-16 lap masters fields on Monday nights. Not sure how I would go in the final sprint against a bunch of youngsters and 20-somethings in a short race.
In the first lap Brad, RM and I were at the front of the race exchanging pulls. This lasted only a short while before other riders took over, perhaps not comfortable at our controlling the pace. The race was mostly without incident - I tried to get away at one point but was unsuccessful. The main worry was a couple of the younger riders using their brakes too much and driving erratically – they had to be avoided or watched carefully if ahead.
At the start of the last lap, four of us set up a train that took the inside line. The goal was to deliver the fourth rider to the front with about 100m to the line. But for now, it was important to stay within striking distance of the front and conserve energy for the upcoming lactic slapfest. I was sitting third behind the Mexican and Brad with Rich immediately behind me. AL was trapped a couple of riders wide and KL was lurking somewhere no doubt gathering himself for the sprint. The pace quickened as we approached the final bend. A Pacific Blue rider went very early then, as I recall, RM went all out as BF and I struggled to keep up, I passed BF and (fairly quickly) RR passed me on the inside. Hah…….we had delivered RR about 300m before the line (sorry about that, Rich!). AL and KL were ahead of us at this point as well. I had nothing in my legs for the sprint and sat up a long way out and everyone besides Brad and myself finished very high. I cannot honestly say that our HV train was entirely successful. Looking back, I was the weak link and the one not able to provide much of a lead out for Rich. The positive, however, is that we DID get organized – something to build upon for future PIR races.
And I did finish the race…….
In the first lap Brad, RM and I were at the front of the race exchanging pulls. This lasted only a short while before other riders took over, perhaps not comfortable at our controlling the pace. The race was mostly without incident - I tried to get away at one point but was unsuccessful. The main worry was a couple of the younger riders using their brakes too much and driving erratically – they had to be avoided or watched carefully if ahead.
At the start of the last lap, four of us set up a train that took the inside line. The goal was to deliver the fourth rider to the front with about 100m to the line. But for now, it was important to stay within striking distance of the front and conserve energy for the upcoming lactic slapfest. I was sitting third behind the Mexican and Brad with Rich immediately behind me. AL was trapped a couple of riders wide and KL was lurking somewhere no doubt gathering himself for the sprint. The pace quickened as we approached the final bend. A Pacific Blue rider went very early then, as I recall, RM went all out as BF and I struggled to keep up, I passed BF and (fairly quickly) RR passed me on the inside. Hah…….we had delivered RR about 300m before the line (sorry about that, Rich!). AL and KL were ahead of us at this point as well. I had nothing in my legs for the sprint and sat up a long way out and everyone besides Brad and myself finished very high. I cannot honestly say that our HV train was entirely successful. Looking back, I was the weak link and the one not able to provide much of a lead out for Rich. The positive, however, is that we DID get organized – something to build upon for future PIR races.
And I did finish the race…….
Monday, April 5, 2010
Another glorious fail
Since Tom's baseball game was rained out I decided last minute to go down to Salem for the Willamette University Criterium. Not sure whether other HV folk would be there. Turns out that Andrew, Kolben and Jamie B had similar thoughts. Squeezed in a 15 min warm-up on the trainer then it was off to the course. The 0.7 mile rectangle-shaped circuit was rough in places particularly the first LH turn after the start. The road was rough enough for the wheels to skip out on occasion - must remember to be careful on this turn. Also there was a zebra crossing after turn 2, which could be tricky when accelerating out of the turn. About 45 Cat 4/5s started the race. Lots of familiar faces : Kyle and Tyler from CCX Clydes, Eric from masters 4 and a couple of others.
The race was to be 35 mins in length and three sprint Primes were on offer as well on designated laps. The race got underway. Kolben and I stayed pretty close to the front for the first few laps. The pace was not that high and a couple of breakway attempts were made. I bided my time and decided not to invest too much energy in working at the front. The conditions were atrocious - cold (around 40oF) and wet, wet rain. Everyone was soaked within minutes and cold to the bone. As 'well-insulated' as I am - I too was feeling the cold and regretted the decision to wear only bib-shorts and not to cover my legs. The field slowly warmed up as the race went on.
Then after about 8 laps Jamie B went off the front. I was a great effort and lasted for about 2 laps. I had been lurking in about 15th place but in light of the 'blocking' discussion stimulated by the Cat 4 POC race last week, I decided to 'suck it and see' and powered around the field and settled on the front. I tried to reduce speed slighly while at the same time give the impression of pedaling hard. This was difficult to do. After about another half a lap I was overtaken on both sides by, what seemed to be, a swarm of angry mozzies. Jamie B was slowing and had been joined by another rider. Then the bell sounded for the sprint lap. I was feeling pretty strong and on the back stretch decided to 'make a bid' for the Prime and surged to the front with a blinding burst of acceleration. I was clear and kept on going - legs ablur. 'Round two more corners and then the long straitaway to the finish line. I was able to hold off an approaching rider and, to my astonishment, claim the sprint Prime. Spent, I waited for the field to catch up. Looking back I think that Jamie B's move off the front softened the field enough for me to stay away on my sprint. We should use this as a deliberate strategy in other similar situations.
Then Jamie B came up alongside and told me to drop in behind him - 4 laps to go now. Kolben was nearby and Andrew was ahead, embedded in the first few places. The pace had quickened now. Jamie was doing a great job of protecting me and Kolben was either behind or alongside and Andrew still ahead. The pack was together now.
1 lap to go. Going into the first corner after the start/finish (the rough one, remember) one of the riders washed out and slid in slow motion into my path - I went wider and wider and eventually ran out of road. My bike connected with the fallen riders bike and the sidewalk at about the same time and I went down with about 5 others at about 25 kph. I made the mistake of NOT taking an inside line in the last few laps of a crit. I dusted myself off and inspected the damage. For my trouble I was painted with roadrash on R knee, elbow and hip. The wet conditions saved me from a more severe scraping.
With the fall not too far from the finish I was in a good position to see the riders sprint for the line. Kolben scored 6th and Andrew 8th with Jamie B further back. Great effort from the boys. I won $20 for the sprint Prime which lessened the disappointment of falling (on the last freakin' lap). Despite this is had a blast - it was fun trying to influence the race through team tactics.
So for HV - 6th, 8th and $20. Can't sneeze at that!
The race was to be 35 mins in length and three sprint Primes were on offer as well on designated laps. The race got underway. Kolben and I stayed pretty close to the front for the first few laps. The pace was not that high and a couple of breakway attempts were made. I bided my time and decided not to invest too much energy in working at the front. The conditions were atrocious - cold (around 40oF) and wet, wet rain. Everyone was soaked within minutes and cold to the bone. As 'well-insulated' as I am - I too was feeling the cold and regretted the decision to wear only bib-shorts and not to cover my legs. The field slowly warmed up as the race went on.
Then after about 8 laps Jamie B went off the front. I was a great effort and lasted for about 2 laps. I had been lurking in about 15th place but in light of the 'blocking' discussion stimulated by the Cat 4 POC race last week, I decided to 'suck it and see' and powered around the field and settled on the front. I tried to reduce speed slighly while at the same time give the impression of pedaling hard. This was difficult to do. After about another half a lap I was overtaken on both sides by, what seemed to be, a swarm of angry mozzies. Jamie B was slowing and had been joined by another rider. Then the bell sounded for the sprint lap. I was feeling pretty strong and on the back stretch decided to 'make a bid' for the Prime and surged to the front with a blinding burst of acceleration. I was clear and kept on going - legs ablur. 'Round two more corners and then the long straitaway to the finish line. I was able to hold off an approaching rider and, to my astonishment, claim the sprint Prime. Spent, I waited for the field to catch up. Looking back I think that Jamie B's move off the front softened the field enough for me to stay away on my sprint. We should use this as a deliberate strategy in other similar situations.
Then Jamie B came up alongside and told me to drop in behind him - 4 laps to go now. Kolben was nearby and Andrew was ahead, embedded in the first few places. The pace had quickened now. Jamie was doing a great job of protecting me and Kolben was either behind or alongside and Andrew still ahead. The pack was together now.
1 lap to go. Going into the first corner after the start/finish (the rough one, remember) one of the riders washed out and slid in slow motion into my path - I went wider and wider and eventually ran out of road. My bike connected with the fallen riders bike and the sidewalk at about the same time and I went down with about 5 others at about 25 kph. I made the mistake of NOT taking an inside line in the last few laps of a crit. I dusted myself off and inspected the damage. For my trouble I was painted with roadrash on R knee, elbow and hip. The wet conditions saved me from a more severe scraping.
With the fall not too far from the finish I was in a good position to see the riders sprint for the line. Kolben scored 6th and Andrew 8th with Jamie B further back. Great effort from the boys. I won $20 for the sprint Prime which lessened the disappointment of falling (on the last freakin' lap). Despite this is had a blast - it was fun trying to influence the race through team tactics.
So for HV - 6th, 8th and $20. Can't sneeze at that!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Best DNF ever
The Piece of Cake race was always going to be tough for me. Two weeks off the bike. In that time I had consumed about 30 buffalo wings, 50 beers or so, taken 11 rollercoaster rides (Simpsons ride at Universal is the goods), enough fried food to choke Gigantor and some one-on-one manatee time. Looking forward, the consequences of all this hedonism would probably be a less than glorious final sprint in Piece of Cake. With this in mind my strategy was to work up front for as long as possible to soften the field for one of the other HV guys to bring home the Cake. Our race was in the afternoon at 1.35. I was there for the morning races as well and witnessed the carnage in the Cat ½ field. The rain and cross winds devastated the field causing at least 20% to retire after the first one or two laps. It was going to be a long and uncomfortable day for all.
Besides myself, the Cat 4 posse included Kolben, James R, Ryan, Curtis, and Keith. The field included around 8 Team Oregon riders - these guys had a major role in how the race played out. I had purchased a 1500g wheelset from Singapore recently and fitted some nice Vittorio tyres (OK, OK…tires) on them. Contributing a wheel set for the pool made me feel like a grown-up racer.
After the neutral start there was a long lead-out to the 12 mile loop that we had to complete 4 times before being funneled back down the lead-out stretch and the finish line – 54 miles in all. The loop was to be completed in a counter-clockwise direction. The tailwind that pushed us for the initial 4-5 miles got us up to about 30mph. Then we turned left into the cross winds and the first real attack began. A group of 4 (I think) jumped off the front and were joined by another rider in the next few miles. Significantly, there was a Team Oregon rider amongst them. I was close to the front and could see this unfolding. Since it was early in the race there was not much enthusiasm about chasing. However, it soon became clear by the presence of 5 or 6 Team Oregon riders glued to the front of the chasing pack that they were shutting down the race. They were clever about it too because they made sure that was little room to pass (file under: tactic for blocking when you have lots of teammates). Like a 17yo virgin in a cathouse, I waited for an opening and went for it. Curtis and Ryan, who were lurking nearby, came with. Other non-Team Oregon riders burst through the dam and the chase was on. We traded pulls for a while until the team Oregon rides reasserted their control and the race slowed a bit. This herky-jerky racing continued for a while into the cross and head winds and I cannot say that we were totally effective in reeling in the breakaway but the race was still early stages and there was plenty of time left. At one point Kolben stormed ahead and I went with him and we swapped the lead dragging the pack with us. I would drift back a few paces and then be let back into the paceline by HV teammates. It was interesting to ride in the crosswind- headwind mix because the best place wasn’t ALWAYS on a wheel - instead the echelon formation often made sense. One lap down.
By half way through the second lap the group up the road were 1m50s ahead. This alarming news seemed to spark the pack into life. There were more non-team Oregon riders at the front now and we worked pretty well to keep the pace high. Of course the TO riders never pulled, or if they did then it was an anemic effort. Towards the end of the second lap there was a crash - I understand that someone wedged a wheel between the spokes and rear derailleur of the rider ahead. It was enough to send one rider just ahead of me to the ground. Another rider leaned into me in an evasive action and pushed me across onto the oncoming lane - I was able to ride around him and escape - it was a close call. We continued on.
After 2.5 laps the lead was down to 35 secs. This was very encouraging news, we had nearly reeled them in with still more than 20 miles to go. Up until that point I had felt very comfortable and has carefully measured my attacks and chases so as to keep the pace high but not to overdo it. Then I noticed that I was slowly drifting back through the pack - I could not find any power in the tree trunks. Holy crap !! I was BONKING. I knew the signs - no power, jelly legs, strange backward cycling motion. Soon I was out of pack-mates and all alone. I quickly downed a Hammer gel but it was too late, I was screwed. All the work at the front had drained the glycogen from my muscles. My legs were as useful as tits on a nun. I had lasted about 2.5 laps. I limped back with a group of masters 123 dropees after completing only 3 of the 4 laps, about 42 miles in all.
I glumly waited for the Cat 4 field to come in. It ended in a bunch sprint that included all the other HV guys. James R and Keith finished very well, around 5-7 with the others a little further back. The highest any Team Oregon rider finished was 10th. It was a great effort by the team and was more teamwork than I had seen in previous races which bodes well for futures races with this group.
My downfall was not the lack of condition but fueling. I should have had some Perpetuum on hand to sip on during the race of this length. I normally just use Perpetuum for the longer endurance rides. Clearly, I need to consider taking this with me on races longer than 30 miles. I was surprised to have bonked after such a long time off the bike when muscle glycogen would be expected to be maximum. Well there you go…….
I was pleased to have worked at the pointy end of the race for a long as I did and help reel in the breakaway. Despite the DNF, it was satisfying to work for the team in this way.
Besides myself, the Cat 4 posse included Kolben, James R, Ryan, Curtis, and Keith. The field included around 8 Team Oregon riders - these guys had a major role in how the race played out. I had purchased a 1500g wheelset from Singapore recently and fitted some nice Vittorio tyres (OK, OK…tires) on them. Contributing a wheel set for the pool made me feel like a grown-up racer.
After the neutral start there was a long lead-out to the 12 mile loop that we had to complete 4 times before being funneled back down the lead-out stretch and the finish line – 54 miles in all. The loop was to be completed in a counter-clockwise direction. The tailwind that pushed us for the initial 4-5 miles got us up to about 30mph. Then we turned left into the cross winds and the first real attack began. A group of 4 (I think) jumped off the front and were joined by another rider in the next few miles. Significantly, there was a Team Oregon rider amongst them. I was close to the front and could see this unfolding. Since it was early in the race there was not much enthusiasm about chasing. However, it soon became clear by the presence of 5 or 6 Team Oregon riders glued to the front of the chasing pack that they were shutting down the race. They were clever about it too because they made sure that was little room to pass (file under: tactic for blocking when you have lots of teammates). Like a 17yo virgin in a cathouse, I waited for an opening and went for it. Curtis and Ryan, who were lurking nearby, came with. Other non-Team Oregon riders burst through the dam and the chase was on. We traded pulls for a while until the team Oregon rides reasserted their control and the race slowed a bit. This herky-jerky racing continued for a while into the cross and head winds and I cannot say that we were totally effective in reeling in the breakaway but the race was still early stages and there was plenty of time left. At one point Kolben stormed ahead and I went with him and we swapped the lead dragging the pack with us. I would drift back a few paces and then be let back into the paceline by HV teammates. It was interesting to ride in the crosswind- headwind mix because the best place wasn’t ALWAYS on a wheel - instead the echelon formation often made sense. One lap down.
By half way through the second lap the group up the road were 1m50s ahead. This alarming news seemed to spark the pack into life. There were more non-team Oregon riders at the front now and we worked pretty well to keep the pace high. Of course the TO riders never pulled, or if they did then it was an anemic effort. Towards the end of the second lap there was a crash - I understand that someone wedged a wheel between the spokes and rear derailleur of the rider ahead. It was enough to send one rider just ahead of me to the ground. Another rider leaned into me in an evasive action and pushed me across onto the oncoming lane - I was able to ride around him and escape - it was a close call. We continued on.
After 2.5 laps the lead was down to 35 secs. This was very encouraging news, we had nearly reeled them in with still more than 20 miles to go. Up until that point I had felt very comfortable and has carefully measured my attacks and chases so as to keep the pace high but not to overdo it. Then I noticed that I was slowly drifting back through the pack - I could not find any power in the tree trunks. Holy crap !! I was BONKING. I knew the signs - no power, jelly legs, strange backward cycling motion. Soon I was out of pack-mates and all alone. I quickly downed a Hammer gel but it was too late, I was screwed. All the work at the front had drained the glycogen from my muscles. My legs were as useful as tits on a nun. I had lasted about 2.5 laps. I limped back with a group of masters 123 dropees after completing only 3 of the 4 laps, about 42 miles in all.
I glumly waited for the Cat 4 field to come in. It ended in a bunch sprint that included all the other HV guys. James R and Keith finished very well, around 5-7 with the others a little further back. The highest any Team Oregon rider finished was 10th. It was a great effort by the team and was more teamwork than I had seen in previous races which bodes well for futures races with this group.
My downfall was not the lack of condition but fueling. I should have had some Perpetuum on hand to sip on during the race of this length. I normally just use Perpetuum for the longer endurance rides. Clearly, I need to consider taking this with me on races longer than 30 miles. I was surprised to have bonked after such a long time off the bike when muscle glycogen would be expected to be maximum. Well there you go…….
I was pleased to have worked at the pointy end of the race for a long as I did and help reel in the breakaway. Despite the DNF, it was satisfying to work for the team in this way.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
That's better
After the debacle of last week the pressure was on to lift my game. The Neighbor picked me up plenty early so we would arrive at the course with lots of time to spare. Mission accomplished. We got there a full hour before the first rider went off. JT and AC were already setting up and The Quiet Achiever was nearby. Jamie B was enroute (and lost…I think…).
First thing I did was get on the bike for a warm-up. 20 minutes or so to my personal ‘interval mix’ iPod playlist got the blood pumping, heart rate up and legs embrocated from the inside. Did I mention the cold – well it was cold. I would say 36-37oF- cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass wombat. My race was 10.30, about 20 mins after The Neighbor, and JT and AC on the tandem started. So I rode over to see them off.
Apparently the wind was blowing in the opposite direction from last week. WhatEVAH……Went back to the trainer for another 10mins of warm up just to be sure. Popped TWO hammer gels just to be sure. Then it was back to the start line. I was to be released 1 minute behind QA. The start line was pretty much the last time I saw QA. I was careful to pace myself a little better in the first few hundred yards in order to tackle the dreaded hill with some common sense. It felt good going up the hill not totally maxed out. Then it was a period of mostly down hill and I was reaping the benefit of the 11/23 which had replaced the 12/27 in the week. I was going so well in fact that I NEARLY missed the ‘hidden’ LHer that claimed me last week even though I KNEW it was there. A quick tweak of the brakes saved the day and I swept through the turn with the grace of an ice dancing hairy-nosed wombat.
The rollers ahead were powered over for the most part paying attention to turning the pedals in circles (as opposed to hammering) and staying down on the bars for as long as possible. About this time I passed a recreational rider on a MTB. He was probably wondering why be was being buzzed by a never-ending stream of uptight lycra-clad Cancellara wannabes. Near the turnaround I could see QA in the distance and we looked to be about a minute apart (still). Dang, he is a tough nut to crack. Unfortunately, he was too far ahead to lob rocks at and demoralizing mind games do not work at a distance of 300 yards. It was clearly going to be a tight race between the two of us.
The second half was uneventful with care once again paid to pacing and technique, and went quite quickly with the slight tail wind. The downhill sprint to the line was fun. With a time of 32m46 sec I took about 40 secs off last week’s time. QA came in at 32m45s. I was beaten but not disgraced, and actually quite delighted with taking so much time off last week’s time. Shows what can happen when care is taken with preparation, warm-up and technique. Jamie B had a great time at 31m something, Neighbor came in at 33m something. AC won her category and JT got second. These two blew the other team away in the tandem race.
The hills make this course hard to get right and I enjoyed the challenge of taking apart my first effort and seeing the improvements in the second.
First thing I did was get on the bike for a warm-up. 20 minutes or so to my personal ‘interval mix’ iPod playlist got the blood pumping, heart rate up and legs embrocated from the inside. Did I mention the cold – well it was cold. I would say 36-37oF- cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass wombat. My race was 10.30, about 20 mins after The Neighbor, and JT and AC on the tandem started. So I rode over to see them off.
Apparently the wind was blowing in the opposite direction from last week. WhatEVAH……Went back to the trainer for another 10mins of warm up just to be sure. Popped TWO hammer gels just to be sure. Then it was back to the start line. I was to be released 1 minute behind QA. The start line was pretty much the last time I saw QA. I was careful to pace myself a little better in the first few hundred yards in order to tackle the dreaded hill with some common sense. It felt good going up the hill not totally maxed out. Then it was a period of mostly down hill and I was reaping the benefit of the 11/23 which had replaced the 12/27 in the week. I was going so well in fact that I NEARLY missed the ‘hidden’ LHer that claimed me last week even though I KNEW it was there. A quick tweak of the brakes saved the day and I swept through the turn with the grace of an ice dancing hairy-nosed wombat.
The rollers ahead were powered over for the most part paying attention to turning the pedals in circles (as opposed to hammering) and staying down on the bars for as long as possible. About this time I passed a recreational rider on a MTB. He was probably wondering why be was being buzzed by a never-ending stream of uptight lycra-clad Cancellara wannabes. Near the turnaround I could see QA in the distance and we looked to be about a minute apart (still). Dang, he is a tough nut to crack. Unfortunately, he was too far ahead to lob rocks at and demoralizing mind games do not work at a distance of 300 yards. It was clearly going to be a tight race between the two of us.
The second half was uneventful with care once again paid to pacing and technique, and went quite quickly with the slight tail wind. The downhill sprint to the line was fun. With a time of 32m46 sec I took about 40 secs off last week’s time. QA came in at 32m45s. I was beaten but not disgraced, and actually quite delighted with taking so much time off last week’s time. Shows what can happen when care is taken with preparation, warm-up and technique. Jamie B had a great time at 31m something, Neighbor came in at 33m something. AC won her category and JT got second. These two blew the other team away in the tandem race.
The hills make this course hard to get right and I enjoyed the challenge of taking apart my first effort and seeing the improvements in the second.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Bananas indeed
Almost didn’t race the Banana Belt series because of the hills. What convinced me was a conversation with Kristin about how it was possible to power over the hills. She was right.
My goal for BB#1, which ran clockwise, was simply to hang on to the pack and not get dropped – a ‘sit-in and see’ strategy. A last second derailleur adjustment lost me the use of the middle two gears – would have to make do with the high and low gears and the (compact) chainring.
We started with five HV riders, including Kolben, Lincoln, Keith and James R. As it happened, the pace was not that great and I didn’t have any trouble keeping up with the peleton. The pack always slowed enough at the peak for everyone to get back on. The lack of a sustained pace surprised me because it is an opportunity to string out the pack. The only real technical part was the sharp RHer down the big hill just before the dam. The race was marred by a couple of crashes - one of these took out Keith.
The sprinters got a lucky break when the field was neutralized on the final hill before the finish, about 2 miles out. This changed the race completely and played right into the hands of the big sprinters. We all duly soft-pedaled at 10 MPH up the hill and reached the top as a group. Essentially it was a sprint to the end with way more down than up. In the final sprint was able to hang on for 9th place just behind the youngsters Lincoln and Kolben. I was delighted to: a) finish the race, and b) be in the mix at the end, and c) get a solitary upgrade point.
BB#2 was run anti-clockwise and, with the big hill to tackle four times and an uphill finish, was going to be a different story to BB#1. Though that final stretch was not as long nor as steep as the Cherry Pie finish it was clearly going to favor the strong lighter guys. We started with John G, Kolben, Ryan. Keith and James R. The plan was to stay near the front and then for me (and maybe John) to push the pace for the last half lap to stretch out the field for Kolben and James to go for a high place. The race was pretty uneventful. One particular rider would go off the front just before the dam and the big hill in an attempt to get away. He was always caught within about half a lap although on the last lap he was only caught about a mile before the line. The only hiccup for me was nearly getting dropped on the third lap when accessing and consuming Mountain Shmickle berry Hammer Gel – a birthday present from JT. I had to TT about 50 meters back to the pack. John G was heading backwards at this point and was done for the day after the previous day’s MTB epic.
As per the plan, I made my way to near the front on the final half lap alongside Kolben and James. The pace was pretty high at this stage and I was not able to go off the front. The 30-strong (or so) pack was closely bunched at the 1km mark and even by the 200M mark when the road widened, no-one had taken off. Then the bunch sprinted. From the back of the pack I gave myself plenty of room on the left and let ‘er rip. As the heart was pounding and legs screaming I managed to make up a few places and finished 19th, just head of James who was along-side me and Kolben who had drifted back slightly. Ryan was back another 10 places or so. Keith ran a fine race and recorded a 9th place. Working as a team proved to be hard and will take some time and a few races to sort out.
It was a tough finish. The only way to improve would have been to be closer to the front at the start of the sprint. Got to remember to do that. Being closer to the front would have also helped out Kolben and James a little more as well. Overall, I was pretty happy with the effort and finished higher that I imagined considering the uphill finish. All the winter work is paying off and I have been in the mix in all three road races this season.
The thought of the downhill finish at BB#3 has my heart pounding as I type this. Ok, need to have a cup of tea and a lie down now……
My goal for BB#1, which ran clockwise, was simply to hang on to the pack and not get dropped – a ‘sit-in and see’ strategy. A last second derailleur adjustment lost me the use of the middle two gears – would have to make do with the high and low gears and the (compact) chainring.
We started with five HV riders, including Kolben, Lincoln, Keith and James R. As it happened, the pace was not that great and I didn’t have any trouble keeping up with the peleton. The pack always slowed enough at the peak for everyone to get back on. The lack of a sustained pace surprised me because it is an opportunity to string out the pack. The only real technical part was the sharp RHer down the big hill just before the dam. The race was marred by a couple of crashes - one of these took out Keith.
The sprinters got a lucky break when the field was neutralized on the final hill before the finish, about 2 miles out. This changed the race completely and played right into the hands of the big sprinters. We all duly soft-pedaled at 10 MPH up the hill and reached the top as a group. Essentially it was a sprint to the end with way more down than up. In the final sprint was able to hang on for 9th place just behind the youngsters Lincoln and Kolben. I was delighted to: a) finish the race, and b) be in the mix at the end, and c) get a solitary upgrade point.
BB#2 was run anti-clockwise and, with the big hill to tackle four times and an uphill finish, was going to be a different story to BB#1. Though that final stretch was not as long nor as steep as the Cherry Pie finish it was clearly going to favor the strong lighter guys. We started with John G, Kolben, Ryan. Keith and James R. The plan was to stay near the front and then for me (and maybe John) to push the pace for the last half lap to stretch out the field for Kolben and James to go for a high place. The race was pretty uneventful. One particular rider would go off the front just before the dam and the big hill in an attempt to get away. He was always caught within about half a lap although on the last lap he was only caught about a mile before the line. The only hiccup for me was nearly getting dropped on the third lap when accessing and consuming Mountain Shmickle berry Hammer Gel – a birthday present from JT. I had to TT about 50 meters back to the pack. John G was heading backwards at this point and was done for the day after the previous day’s MTB epic.
As per the plan, I made my way to near the front on the final half lap alongside Kolben and James. The pace was pretty high at this stage and I was not able to go off the front. The 30-strong (or so) pack was closely bunched at the 1km mark and even by the 200M mark when the road widened, no-one had taken off. Then the bunch sprinted. From the back of the pack I gave myself plenty of room on the left and let ‘er rip. As the heart was pounding and legs screaming I managed to make up a few places and finished 19th, just head of James who was along-side me and Kolben who had drifted back slightly. Ryan was back another 10 places or so. Keith ran a fine race and recorded a 9th place. Working as a team proved to be hard and will take some time and a few races to sort out.
It was a tough finish. The only way to improve would have been to be closer to the front at the start of the sprint. Got to remember to do that. Being closer to the front would have also helped out Kolben and James a little more as well. Overall, I was pretty happy with the effort and finished higher that I imagined considering the uphill finish. All the winter work is paying off and I have been in the mix in all three road races this season.
The thought of the downhill finish at BB#3 has my heart pounding as I type this. Ok, need to have a cup of tea and a lie down now……
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Time trial FAIL
My race day was less than perfect but not in the same league of sorryness as JT. The new bike was in the shop at RC all week for the 30-day and to look at a couple of shifting issues from BB#1. I picked it up on Friday afternoon which meant that there was not really chance to test ride ahead of the TT today. Hopefully all was OK.
There were lots of small mistakes that together impacted my race that made it my worst TT outing ever. First , on the drive down I missed the turn off 99W and drove an extra 5 miles south (and back). This cut into my warm-up time. I arrived at about 9.35 for a 10.15 kick-off. Then the bike had to be set up for aero bars which took a little longer than expected. Then there was the emergency bathroom visit to the retirement home chapel to take care of a gurguling stomach, wasting precious minutes. Then there was the change into Hammer race clothes since I was too late to hunt down JT for the new kit. Thankfully, the number was on the correct side. By the time the trainer was inconvenienced it was 9.57. Two minutes later, the warm-up was done and it was off to the start. I had enough time to stretch the legs up and back along the road before I was called to the start. I was screwed even before I started. All rushed and no warm-up to speak of. Andrew Hayes was the started behind me. I regularly beat him all CCX season but he is a kick-arse TTer and did 33 to my 37 mins at Jack Frost. I was convinced that I had a genuine chance of finishing last.
Ok, now to the race. The first two miles were hell. The road quickly turned upwards with a reasonably steep climb. WTF????? The HR max out about halfway up and then I just hung on for grim life, waiting for Andrew-frigging-Hayes to swoosh past me. At the top of the hill (nay, mountain!!) the road descend and round a tight RHer. The HR while still high was coming down towards 90%. Then about 3 miles in there was a LH turn with the option of going straight ahead. WT-friggin-F????. No flagger or indication of which was the path of Truth or the path of despair. I chose to stay straight but glanced away to the left as I passed through the intersection looking for riders. OF COURSE there were riders there, I had picked the wrong door - no prize for Fitzgerald, thanks for playing.......Lost about 20s in the turnaround. My anger at going off-course was dulled by the pains in my legs and I soldiered on. The next few miles were a series of smallish rollers. I found myself picking myself out of the aero bars way too much and using the drops for leverage to power over the rollers. There was alot of gear changing too. Like an engineer in a hip-hop club, rhythm was non-existent.
Then it was the turn around. Gave myself a mental pack on the back that Andrew hadn't caught me. But he was not too far behind and passed by about a mile after the turnaround - I yelled something vaguely encouraging at him as he went by. He was having a blinder of a race, although I found out later that he too missed the same LH turn that I did. Now with about 5 miles to go I tried to focus on reining in the HR and making smooth pedal strokes in the right gear. The rollers made it very difficult to do this and there were period where there was no pedaling - just conserving energy for the next roller. About 2 miles from the end saw JT forlornly walking his bike back. I finished 33.25, good enough for in 7th place in the Cat 4/5 race. Bit surprised that I beat so many others as I had a frustratingly crappy race.
There were so many areas to improve: better overall preparation, arrive much earlier, actually do a warm-up, better pacing with few red zone spikes, better concentration with pedal stroke, stay on-course. Will definitely ride faster in the new kit as well :).
My goal is to beat today's time by 1 minute next week.
There were lots of small mistakes that together impacted my race that made it my worst TT outing ever. First , on the drive down I missed the turn off 99W and drove an extra 5 miles south (and back). This cut into my warm-up time. I arrived at about 9.35 for a 10.15 kick-off. Then the bike had to be set up for aero bars which took a little longer than expected. Then there was the emergency bathroom visit to the retirement home chapel to take care of a gurguling stomach, wasting precious minutes. Then there was the change into Hammer race clothes since I was too late to hunt down JT for the new kit. Thankfully, the number was on the correct side. By the time the trainer was inconvenienced it was 9.57. Two minutes later, the warm-up was done and it was off to the start. I had enough time to stretch the legs up and back along the road before I was called to the start. I was screwed even before I started. All rushed and no warm-up to speak of. Andrew Hayes was the started behind me. I regularly beat him all CCX season but he is a kick-arse TTer and did 33 to my 37 mins at Jack Frost. I was convinced that I had a genuine chance of finishing last.
Ok, now to the race. The first two miles were hell. The road quickly turned upwards with a reasonably steep climb. WTF????? The HR max out about halfway up and then I just hung on for grim life, waiting for Andrew-frigging-Hayes to swoosh past me. At the top of the hill (nay, mountain!!) the road descend and round a tight RHer. The HR while still high was coming down towards 90%. Then about 3 miles in there was a LH turn with the option of going straight ahead. WT-friggin-F????. No flagger or indication of which was the path of Truth or the path of despair. I chose to stay straight but glanced away to the left as I passed through the intersection looking for riders. OF COURSE there were riders there, I had picked the wrong door - no prize for Fitzgerald, thanks for playing.......Lost about 20s in the turnaround. My anger at going off-course was dulled by the pains in my legs and I soldiered on. The next few miles were a series of smallish rollers. I found myself picking myself out of the aero bars way too much and using the drops for leverage to power over the rollers. There was alot of gear changing too. Like an engineer in a hip-hop club, rhythm was non-existent.
Then it was the turn around. Gave myself a mental pack on the back that Andrew hadn't caught me. But he was not too far behind and passed by about a mile after the turnaround - I yelled something vaguely encouraging at him as he went by. He was having a blinder of a race, although I found out later that he too missed the same LH turn that I did. Now with about 5 miles to go I tried to focus on reining in the HR and making smooth pedal strokes in the right gear. The rollers made it very difficult to do this and there were period where there was no pedaling - just conserving energy for the next roller. About 2 miles from the end saw JT forlornly walking his bike back. I finished 33.25, good enough for in 7th place in the Cat 4/5 race. Bit surprised that I beat so many others as I had a frustratingly crappy race.
There were so many areas to improve: better overall preparation, arrive much earlier, actually do a warm-up, better pacing with few red zone spikes, better concentration with pedal stroke, stay on-course. Will definitely ride faster in the new kit as well :).
My goal is to beat today's time by 1 minute next week.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Jack Frost Time Trial race report - Haiku version
spring close …heart …zone 5
arms out …head down ……spinning fast
passing… being passed ……done
arms out …head down ……spinning fast
passing… being passed ……done
Monday, February 15, 2010
Humble Pie
Annoyingly, I managed to catch a cold in the days leading up to Cherry Pie. I debated whether to pull out and recover fully, or to enact a cunning Kandra-esque ploy and race when sick and bugger the consequences. Of course, I decided to race. Excitement had been building throughout the men’s team for a few weeks with Rich declaring early on the he was riding and several others looking to give it a go – some racing for the first time.
Drove down with Rich in the ‘refrigerator box’, my affectionate term for his Honda Element. It has the significant advantage of cargo capacity to hold several bike upright in the back – no wheels on and off, just straight in and out - glorious!
We met the ‘iyans, (Ry and Bry) at RCB and caravanned down arriving a full 60 minutes before the race start. We picked up our numbers and I bumped into a few familiar faces, Todd, Brian, Eric, Jon, Einar. Also, found time to squeeze in a quick rub of the hammies by the massage dude on the table.
After a briefing on the rules by the officials and a plea not to be a dickhead on the road we were off. Mindful of JT’s advice about being close to the front at the start, I snagged the second row on the grid with Rich in the next row back. So far….so good. The long neutral ride took us to the start on Independence highway. Initially, the pace was very comfortable with few willing to do the work needed to force the pace (what’s new?). With the tailwind, I led off the front for a bit to see what would happen – and drifted slowly back when it was clear that no-one was keen on breaking away. It got more interesting at about the halfway mark when a couple of modest ‘big-chain ring’ rollers came along. A few attacked on the uphill portions stringing the pack out temporarily. The group came back together on the downward side of the rollers although it was quite tricky with all the breaking going on by the less experienced riders and there were a couple of close calls.
Managing to stay within the top 15, I took a pull and soon after lead off the front for a couple of minutes. They worked hard to catch me this time. This aggressiveness led to a couple of compliments that had me blushing like a tech schoolgirl with a crush on Mr Smith. I settled back in again and following another attempted breakaway by another rider settled into a good rhythm with some nice long pulls by myself and a couple of other riders. Only one arsehole wouldn’t let me slot back into 5th or 6th and my ‘angry’ rheumy eyes burned a hole in his bib shorts for a while until I turned my attention back to the job at hand. The ride had been not too strenuous until this point – certainly no worse than some of the HV training rides. I felt pretty good and not too impaired by the snot in my head that continuously being ejected in quanta from nose and mouth. It must have been a pleasant sight….errr…..not so much.
With two counts against me (fat and sick), I knew that the final climb would be a bastard for me unless I could string out the pack. So with about 6 miles to go I decided to make a final attempt to go off the front. This was a split decision – of the relevant organs, heart and articular cartilage agreed to go, quads and lungs disagreed, colon abstained. Brain cast the tie-breaker and said LETS GO…… so I took off and led with a sizeable gap (at least in my mind) for about 2 miles before they caught me (I swear I heard lungs rasp ‘ I told you so”). I knew then that my race was over. By the time we reached the Fire Station near the bottom of the climb I was still with them in body but not in spirit and sitting in about 10th place. The climbing began following a RH turn and I churned away with tired legs. About 20 skinny old dudes passed me on that first uphill section as I struggled to maintain speed yet not become too exhausted. Then following the brief respite that the flat section brought, I continued on after the RH turn and encouragingly, managed to pass a handful on the last uphill stretch. Bryan’s booming voice at the roadside was at the same time irritating and motivating (mirritating, perhaps?) and urged me to get out of the saddle. But to be honest - I couldn’t be arsed. I was clear of the next rider, who happened to be Rich, and didn’t feel like sprinting for a mid-field finish. I crossed the finish line exhausted in 25th place and immediately released another bolus of snot. I was done. Rich did a great job of staying with the lead group the entire race and finishing strongly.
Overall, I was happy to have mixed it up for 23 of the 25 miles but let myself down a little bit at the finish. Looking back, my quads and lungs were right - it was a mistake to lead off the front that last time so close to the end.
Drove down with Rich in the ‘refrigerator box’, my affectionate term for his Honda Element. It has the significant advantage of cargo capacity to hold several bike upright in the back – no wheels on and off, just straight in and out - glorious!
We met the ‘iyans, (Ry and Bry) at RCB and caravanned down arriving a full 60 minutes before the race start. We picked up our numbers and I bumped into a few familiar faces, Todd, Brian, Eric, Jon, Einar. Also, found time to squeeze in a quick rub of the hammies by the massage dude on the table.
After a briefing on the rules by the officials and a plea not to be a dickhead on the road we were off. Mindful of JT’s advice about being close to the front at the start, I snagged the second row on the grid with Rich in the next row back. So far….so good. The long neutral ride took us to the start on Independence highway. Initially, the pace was very comfortable with few willing to do the work needed to force the pace (what’s new?). With the tailwind, I led off the front for a bit to see what would happen – and drifted slowly back when it was clear that no-one was keen on breaking away. It got more interesting at about the halfway mark when a couple of modest ‘big-chain ring’ rollers came along. A few attacked on the uphill portions stringing the pack out temporarily. The group came back together on the downward side of the rollers although it was quite tricky with all the breaking going on by the less experienced riders and there were a couple of close calls.
Managing to stay within the top 15, I took a pull and soon after lead off the front for a couple of minutes. They worked hard to catch me this time. This aggressiveness led to a couple of compliments that had me blushing like a tech schoolgirl with a crush on Mr Smith. I settled back in again and following another attempted breakaway by another rider settled into a good rhythm with some nice long pulls by myself and a couple of other riders. Only one arsehole wouldn’t let me slot back into 5th or 6th and my ‘angry’ rheumy eyes burned a hole in his bib shorts for a while until I turned my attention back to the job at hand. The ride had been not too strenuous until this point – certainly no worse than some of the HV training rides. I felt pretty good and not too impaired by the snot in my head that continuously being ejected in quanta from nose and mouth. It must have been a pleasant sight….errr…..not so much.
With two counts against me (fat and sick), I knew that the final climb would be a bastard for me unless I could string out the pack. So with about 6 miles to go I decided to make a final attempt to go off the front. This was a split decision – of the relevant organs, heart and articular cartilage agreed to go, quads and lungs disagreed, colon abstained. Brain cast the tie-breaker and said LETS GO…… so I took off and led with a sizeable gap (at least in my mind) for about 2 miles before they caught me (I swear I heard lungs rasp ‘ I told you so”). I knew then that my race was over. By the time we reached the Fire Station near the bottom of the climb I was still with them in body but not in spirit and sitting in about 10th place. The climbing began following a RH turn and I churned away with tired legs. About 20 skinny old dudes passed me on that first uphill section as I struggled to maintain speed yet not become too exhausted. Then following the brief respite that the flat section brought, I continued on after the RH turn and encouragingly, managed to pass a handful on the last uphill stretch. Bryan’s booming voice at the roadside was at the same time irritating and motivating (mirritating, perhaps?) and urged me to get out of the saddle. But to be honest - I couldn’t be arsed. I was clear of the next rider, who happened to be Rich, and didn’t feel like sprinting for a mid-field finish. I crossed the finish line exhausted in 25th place and immediately released another bolus of snot. I was done. Rich did a great job of staying with the lead group the entire race and finishing strongly.
Overall, I was happy to have mixed it up for 23 of the 25 miles but let myself down a little bit at the finish. Looking back, my quads and lungs were right - it was a mistake to lead off the front that last time so close to the end.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
CCX redemption
At last, something to write about - a couple of clean races. After the frustrations of Alpenrose (jammed wheel), Ranier (multiple chain drops), Sherwood (twisted chain) and Hillsboro (crash and last lap flat) there were no major mechanical issues – just minor ones. After the Sherwood debacle, the bike went to the LBS to be set up by the experts. They shortened the replacement chain to reduce the chance of chain drop, adjusted the chain guide and for good measure, installed some proper CCX canti brakes. The misfortune of the first four races were a result of inexperience, poor bike set-up and crappy riding. But enough whining…what did Astoria hold in store………………
First up, the Saturday race. Picked up JA at his home in SE Portland at the ungodly hour of 6.30 and headed for the coast. We arrived early enough to fit in a quick ride of the course. Clearly it was going to be a difficult day. The grassy runs and off-camber turns through mud promised a technical ride, one not for the fainthearted. Included in the mix were a couple of short steeper sections that almost certainly would have to be run. Spotted a couple of decent stretches where overtaking could take place. Anyway,….after a shortish warm-up it was off to the start line with Bryan. As I stood at the start line a quick glance behind brought an ironic smile to my face- there were more riders ahead of me than behind by about 2 to 1. So much for the much-prized call-up. Lots of familiar faces – this would be my 5th race against these guys. A few nods of recognition were passed around – everyone nervous about the impending 45 mins of pain. We were off. What I thought was a fast start was in fact pretty mediocre and a couple of places had been dropped by the first turn to the right. Managed to claw back a few positions as the race unfolded. I was enjoying the race and able to target riders ahead and mostly catch them. The exception was my Nemesis (He: Dr Evil, I: Golden Hammer member). As with Hillsboro he started slower but built up speed throughout the race and passed me in the last lap. I stayed with him through the sheds for a while and while concocting a fiendish plan to outsprint him at the finish, took a couple of poor turns that allowed him to get out of reach. He will keep for another day. I finished in 7th place from about 20th into the first turn. A victory for me – the first time I had finished without any major technical problems – the gears slipped a little especially in the lower range but can’t say that it slowed me too much and did not lose any places because of it. It felt real good. 7th position was about right for me - stronger than most of the Clydes except for a handful.
On to Sunday. We were running too late for the traditional warm-up on the trainer and gossip with Bryan. So straight to the line it was. As I found out on that eventful first lap, the course had been altered from yesterday’s race with some parts switched to the reverse direction. I lined up alongside Raggedy Ann, Voodoo man, French maid, Bunny rabbit, Whoopy cushion, an impressive Hooters girl and a couple of others. Who were these people and what were they doing in a bike race – oh yeah, Halloween. I was Rasta mon – a pathetic attempt at costumery that should have attracted boos in beer alley. I didn’t have an opportunity to ride the course beforehand – always a bad move. We were off……. It was clear from the start that it was going to be a long 45 minutes. The barriers came up very quickly and surprised me like a ‘White Raleigh SS in a bike box’. The dismount was crudely comical and I could feel the crowd cringing. The course was loaded with slick muddy off-camber turns and I fell several times on the lap - it felt was alot slicker than the previous day. The sheds were a compete nightmare. The hard packed sand inside the shed was as ‘dry as a dead dingo’s donger’ and tricky to adjust to after the sloppy carnage outside. This however, was the easiest part of the sheds. The runs between the sheds were hell. They were thick with mud and rutted which made it very difficult to hold a decent line. I fought the bike all the way - if you slid down into a rut your front wheel might be in a different rut and then it meant climbing up out of the rut and sliding down the side of the next rut. The bike was sideways more often than straight on. Not happy. It took all my effort to keep the bike upright. After exiting from the Shed-from-Hell complex there were a couple of slippery turns in a small forested patch and a nice fast downhill section and short climb. This was a good place to stretch the hammies and hammer. At the top was a short flat section and barriers, then a RH turn onto 200m of beautiful, beautiful road. After nearly ‘crying for mummy’ inbetween the sheds I was now praising Ja with tears of joy. God I miss the feel of bike on road. My elation was short lived when I took the RHer laneway too hot and smacked my head on the same road I had loved with all my being just seconds before. I had hit the ground hard, real hard. After the race the Voodoo man riding behind admitted that he didn’t think that I was going to get up. But I did….. and being the bone-headed thick-skulled, dim-witted Neanderthal that I am got on the bike and continued. Needless to say I did not make that mistake again although later in the race three went down in front of me at the same turn. I fell two or 3 times more and finished in 8th place. It was a very difficult race for me and not all that enjoyable. It took all my energy to stay upright and could not really focus on targeting racers ahead. People……it was pure, gonad-tightening survival.
It felt good to close out the races at Astoria – my reward – a pair of top ten finishes. We have had six different HV winners in this series – a fantastic effort. I am unlikely to be added to this list but maybe, just maybe I can sneak into the top 5 in one of the remaining two races. We’ll see……
First up, the Saturday race. Picked up JA at his home in SE Portland at the ungodly hour of 6.30 and headed for the coast. We arrived early enough to fit in a quick ride of the course. Clearly it was going to be a difficult day. The grassy runs and off-camber turns through mud promised a technical ride, one not for the fainthearted. Included in the mix were a couple of short steeper sections that almost certainly would have to be run. Spotted a couple of decent stretches where overtaking could take place. Anyway,….after a shortish warm-up it was off to the start line with Bryan. As I stood at the start line a quick glance behind brought an ironic smile to my face- there were more riders ahead of me than behind by about 2 to 1. So much for the much-prized call-up. Lots of familiar faces – this would be my 5th race against these guys. A few nods of recognition were passed around – everyone nervous about the impending 45 mins of pain. We were off. What I thought was a fast start was in fact pretty mediocre and a couple of places had been dropped by the first turn to the right. Managed to claw back a few positions as the race unfolded. I was enjoying the race and able to target riders ahead and mostly catch them. The exception was my Nemesis (He: Dr Evil, I: Golden Hammer member). As with Hillsboro he started slower but built up speed throughout the race and passed me in the last lap. I stayed with him through the sheds for a while and while concocting a fiendish plan to outsprint him at the finish, took a couple of poor turns that allowed him to get out of reach. He will keep for another day. I finished in 7th place from about 20th into the first turn. A victory for me – the first time I had finished without any major technical problems – the gears slipped a little especially in the lower range but can’t say that it slowed me too much and did not lose any places because of it. It felt real good. 7th position was about right for me - stronger than most of the Clydes except for a handful.
On to Sunday. We were running too late for the traditional warm-up on the trainer and gossip with Bryan. So straight to the line it was. As I found out on that eventful first lap, the course had been altered from yesterday’s race with some parts switched to the reverse direction. I lined up alongside Raggedy Ann, Voodoo man, French maid, Bunny rabbit, Whoopy cushion, an impressive Hooters girl and a couple of others. Who were these people and what were they doing in a bike race – oh yeah, Halloween. I was Rasta mon – a pathetic attempt at costumery that should have attracted boos in beer alley. I didn’t have an opportunity to ride the course beforehand – always a bad move. We were off……. It was clear from the start that it was going to be a long 45 minutes. The barriers came up very quickly and surprised me like a ‘White Raleigh SS in a bike box’. The dismount was crudely comical and I could feel the crowd cringing. The course was loaded with slick muddy off-camber turns and I fell several times on the lap - it felt was alot slicker than the previous day. The sheds were a compete nightmare. The hard packed sand inside the shed was as ‘dry as a dead dingo’s donger’ and tricky to adjust to after the sloppy carnage outside. This however, was the easiest part of the sheds. The runs between the sheds were hell. They were thick with mud and rutted which made it very difficult to hold a decent line. I fought the bike all the way - if you slid down into a rut your front wheel might be in a different rut and then it meant climbing up out of the rut and sliding down the side of the next rut. The bike was sideways more often than straight on. Not happy. It took all my effort to keep the bike upright. After exiting from the Shed-from-Hell complex there were a couple of slippery turns in a small forested patch and a nice fast downhill section and short climb. This was a good place to stretch the hammies and hammer. At the top was a short flat section and barriers, then a RH turn onto 200m of beautiful, beautiful road. After nearly ‘crying for mummy’ inbetween the sheds I was now praising Ja with tears of joy. God I miss the feel of bike on road. My elation was short lived when I took the RHer laneway too hot and smacked my head on the same road I had loved with all my being just seconds before. I had hit the ground hard, real hard. After the race the Voodoo man riding behind admitted that he didn’t think that I was going to get up. But I did….. and being the bone-headed thick-skulled, dim-witted Neanderthal that I am got on the bike and continued. Needless to say I did not make that mistake again although later in the race three went down in front of me at the same turn. I fell two or 3 times more and finished in 8th place. It was a very difficult race for me and not all that enjoyable. It took all my energy to stay upright and could not really focus on targeting racers ahead. People……it was pure, gonad-tightening survival.
It felt good to close out the races at Astoria – my reward – a pair of top ten finishes. We have had six different HV winners in this series – a fantastic effort. I am unlikely to be added to this list but maybe, just maybe I can sneak into the top 5 in one of the remaining two races. We’ll see……
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Baptism of fire...
Here goes…… Rode the Clyde category with Bryan. Lotteried into mid-field at the start line just ahead of Bryan. The first mile or so scared the crap out of me. All the mad bastards resentful at being banished to the rear of the field vented their frustration by attacking on the start of the long downhill alongside the velodrome. This was expected but the intensity of it took me by surprise. It was about this time that I was overtaken by Bryan - that was the last I saw of him…..
The pre-race ride of the course paid off with the uneventful navigation of the dreaded RH turn at the bottom of the hill. I accelerated up the hill passing a few riders moving backwards - so far…..so good….. Picked up a few more down the long run alongside the car park and again past the tents. The tail end of the C’s were being caught about now which made for some traffic. Shouldered the bike all textbook-like for the run-up. Sped ‘round the velodrome apron - home turf for me. Although, riding the wrong way ‘round the velodrome felt very naughty. Alas, my time in the velodrome comfort zone ended far too quickly and it was time to get dirty again. The rest of the lap was uneventful as were the next two. Passed quite a few riders but most of them seemed to be the slower C’s - I didn‘t seem to be moving up through the Clyde field. Where were they? - had I taken a wrong turn somewhere and joined a unrelated race? Then, as I was considering this possibility some more…..the chain jumped off mid-sprint for no apparent reason in the straightaway before the switchback steps. This threw off my (until now) flawless (!) on-off technique and I arrived at steps with the wrong foot still in the pedals and little room to correct. Managed not to fall over and ascended the steps without incident. However, not before a few riders passed by - curses!.
Then it was the bell lap - I was engaged in mortal combat with a Showers Pass rider - I would pass on the straights with a blinding burst of speed and he would tuck in behind and get me on the corners in the grass. I overtook him on the run-up and was first into the velodrome. All was going well until the final barrier when the front wheel caught the barrier flicking it back. One of the arms of the cantilevered brakes wedged under the downtube and the wheel was locked in place almost turned around. This was not obvious at first and precious secmins (seconds that feel like minutes) were spent puzzling over this disturbing juxtaposition of wheel and frame. Aha …..through the fog of oxygen deprivation I spotted the problem. The wheel was wrenched back into place with unreasonable force and, following the remount, it was a sprint to the line. This last minute mechanical left me a bit deflated. Oh, and the front tire was also 80% deflated - not sure when it occurred but probably pretty late in the race.
Final placing 14th. Looks like about 6 places were lost with the mechanical at the end since the Showers Pass guy finished 8th. Oh, well - I guess that’s how it goes. Overall, I was pretty happy with how it all went. The support was great from the sidelines. Lookin’ forward to next week……………..
The pre-race ride of the course paid off with the uneventful navigation of the dreaded RH turn at the bottom of the hill. I accelerated up the hill passing a few riders moving backwards - so far…..so good….. Picked up a few more down the long run alongside the car park and again past the tents. The tail end of the C’s were being caught about now which made for some traffic. Shouldered the bike all textbook-like for the run-up. Sped ‘round the velodrome apron - home turf for me. Although, riding the wrong way ‘round the velodrome felt very naughty. Alas, my time in the velodrome comfort zone ended far too quickly and it was time to get dirty again. The rest of the lap was uneventful as were the next two. Passed quite a few riders but most of them seemed to be the slower C’s - I didn‘t seem to be moving up through the Clyde field. Where were they? - had I taken a wrong turn somewhere and joined a unrelated race? Then, as I was considering this possibility some more…..the chain jumped off mid-sprint for no apparent reason in the straightaway before the switchback steps. This threw off my (until now) flawless (!) on-off technique and I arrived at steps with the wrong foot still in the pedals and little room to correct. Managed not to fall over and ascended the steps without incident. However, not before a few riders passed by - curses!.
Then it was the bell lap - I was engaged in mortal combat with a Showers Pass rider - I would pass on the straights with a blinding burst of speed and he would tuck in behind and get me on the corners in the grass. I overtook him on the run-up and was first into the velodrome. All was going well until the final barrier when the front wheel caught the barrier flicking it back. One of the arms of the cantilevered brakes wedged under the downtube and the wheel was locked in place almost turned around. This was not obvious at first and precious secmins (seconds that feel like minutes) were spent puzzling over this disturbing juxtaposition of wheel and frame. Aha …..through the fog of oxygen deprivation I spotted the problem. The wheel was wrenched back into place with unreasonable force and, following the remount, it was a sprint to the line. This last minute mechanical left me a bit deflated. Oh, and the front tire was also 80% deflated - not sure when it occurred but probably pretty late in the race.
Final placing 14th. Looks like about 6 places were lost with the mechanical at the end since the Showers Pass guy finished 8th. Oh, well - I guess that’s how it goes. Overall, I was pretty happy with how it all went. The support was great from the sidelines. Lookin’ forward to next week……………..
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