Starting to sound like some covert training for a NUE 100miler….
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Crystal Lake Classic: Rhinelander WORS #2
The tale of race isn’t always easily seen in the results. Sunday’s Crystal Lake Classic WORS MTB race in Rhinelander was something of that order. The training I’ve been putting in this winter & spring has been considerable more consistent and focused than has been my blogging.
Despite a somewhat erratic week, by Sunday I was feeling pretty decent. The nerves were up a bit because it was my first Elite WORS level race of the year where everybody (approx. 50-70 entrants) is every bit a damn good racer. The drive down from Ashland with Kate & the three kids went smoothly & surprisingly fast. Happy to hear/see that Paul Belknap from Ashland made good on his intentions and showed up for some racing action as well. His single speed set for some Open or Comp level races. Talking to him later he landed 13th on the day in the 2 lap Comp race and may have done significantly better without some challenges he experienced.
Arriving just a little on the late side, I quickly registered, chatted with Jesse Lalonde and got on the bike to get the body warmed up. Taking a longer route than I should of I got back to the start area, only they’d already called up the Elite racers & where lining up the Elite women, Open & Comp racers. I jumped into the back of the Elite field of approximately 50 racers with a few minutes to spare, enough time to hear the race would be going 3 laps… at 10+ miles/lap… and unless they’d moved a lot of the course to open trails the single track would make this one of the longest time-wise WORS races of the year.
The back of pack start was not to my ideal liking but the opening mile or two of this particular race course if I felt good enough should allow for me to move up. The countdown happened & at “goooooooo” everyone shot off. The dry, dusty gravel lead out with accompanying tight corners quickly stacked up riders & some minor crashes/mishaps happened. I held to the outside and pounced on each opportunity to move up as it occurred. I was surprised with the relative ease I was able to move up and through the wave of racers. Within a few minutes I knew I was feeling very capable and my interval training was paying off. How much so? Well, by two miles in I’d gotten into the top 15 and was holding the pace just fine. Not exactly a shabby group to be in. At some point Adam Swank & I exchanged positions and he looked to be riding really strong. Considering my previous year’s outings in the Elite level races where moving up was not only next to impossible just holding on was tough. Interesting however was that I didn’t feel that different, I dare say it almost felt easier than the other races. What rang true was the comment Coach Powers mentions about when you get faster how it doesn’t necessarily feel any different but your ability to do has increased.
In the ensuing miles of single track riding I kept expecting to see/hear a group of racers latching on from behind or looking to pass. It just wasn’t happening, in fact with each section we went through the more distant the racers behind became. As the race progressed, the lead group with the eventually winner broke away and smaller groups formed, for a good share of time it was myself & one or two other racers. In the later one third of the first lap, getting out of the last section of single track from behind come a couple of single speeders Jeff Curtes & James Lalonde (youngest brother of the infamous Jesse & Marko, it’s spooky at first when yourself racing next to the same Gary Fisher Jersey and tattoos until you realize it’s James). At first you could tell these singlespeeders were just duking it out with each other. If one would jump and attack the other would ramp it up in response. As they hammered at each other I was content to sit back and respond if one made a break. And as luck would have it, Jeff finally broke free as James couldn’t respond and with him I took off soon going to the front and telling him to do his best to hang on.
We had a nice gap in completing the first lap, still sitting in the top 15 and poured it on into the second lap. I recall someone saying we were less than 4 minutes off the front group. I knew the pace was fast, but I was feeling great and having no issues with holding the pace or pushing it. Still it was a long race to go. The first half of the second lap went well we were flying in the single track, I felt my abilities had improved ten times better than the previous weeks race on these trails. At some point, later in the second lap after about 75 minutes of riding I felt trouble coming on, & despite taking in water & gel regularly. Signs of fatigue were coming on much stronger than should be for a race of this duration.
Jeff & I must have slowed down somewhat as James got back on and then the two of them pulled away. I rode alone until being caught from behind by John Lirette. Shortly after he passed me down the trail he made the funniest move ever. I don’t know what he was thinking but instead of swinging wide to round a corner he took a more straight on path & ran through a tapped off area. He looked like a guy that was breaking the tap in the 100 meter dash. Fortunately I had enough energy to laugh at him and give him a hard time about his detour once he caught back up. I road with John & eventually a group of 3 additional riders coming into the finish of lap 2 and really needed to push it to stay with them. It was at that time I knew for whatever reason the tank was near empty and a third lap wasn’t going to be pretty. Better judgment should have perhaps had me call it a day at that point, but I headed out for a the third and final lap hoping I’d survive. And without the boring details of hallucinations in the agonizingly slow final lap, I wrapped it up on the day dropping 20+ places. Ouch!
A promising race but the engine isn’t set to go past 90minutes yet so it might just be a few weeks off the races and intervals training to pack in some longer riding and stretch out the body’s endurance abilities.
Despite a somewhat erratic week, by Sunday I was feeling pretty decent. The nerves were up a bit because it was my first Elite WORS level race of the year where everybody (approx. 50-70 entrants) is every bit a damn good racer. The drive down from Ashland with Kate & the three kids went smoothly & surprisingly fast. Happy to hear/see that Paul Belknap from Ashland made good on his intentions and showed up for some racing action as well. His single speed set for some Open or Comp level races. Talking to him later he landed 13th on the day in the 2 lap Comp race and may have done significantly better without some challenges he experienced.
Arriving just a little on the late side, I quickly registered, chatted with Jesse Lalonde and got on the bike to get the body warmed up. Taking a longer route than I should of I got back to the start area, only they’d already called up the Elite racers & where lining up the Elite women, Open & Comp racers. I jumped into the back of the Elite field of approximately 50 racers with a few minutes to spare, enough time to hear the race would be going 3 laps… at 10+ miles/lap… and unless they’d moved a lot of the course to open trails the single track would make this one of the longest time-wise WORS races of the year.
The back of pack start was not to my ideal liking but the opening mile or two of this particular race course if I felt good enough should allow for me to move up. The countdown happened & at “goooooooo” everyone shot off. The dry, dusty gravel lead out with accompanying tight corners quickly stacked up riders & some minor crashes/mishaps happened. I held to the outside and pounced on each opportunity to move up as it occurred. I was surprised with the relative ease I was able to move up and through the wave of racers. Within a few minutes I knew I was feeling very capable and my interval training was paying off. How much so? Well, by two miles in I’d gotten into the top 15 and was holding the pace just fine. Not exactly a shabby group to be in. At some point Adam Swank & I exchanged positions and he looked to be riding really strong. Considering my previous year’s outings in the Elite level races where moving up was not only next to impossible just holding on was tough. Interesting however was that I didn’t feel that different, I dare say it almost felt easier than the other races. What rang true was the comment Coach Powers mentions about when you get faster how it doesn’t necessarily feel any different but your ability to do has increased.
In the ensuing miles of single track riding I kept expecting to see/hear a group of racers latching on from behind or looking to pass. It just wasn’t happening, in fact with each section we went through the more distant the racers behind became. As the race progressed, the lead group with the eventually winner broke away and smaller groups formed, for a good share of time it was myself & one or two other racers. In the later one third of the first lap, getting out of the last section of single track from behind come a couple of single speeders Jeff Curtes & James Lalonde (youngest brother of the infamous Jesse & Marko, it’s spooky at first when yourself racing next to the same Gary Fisher Jersey and tattoos until you realize it’s James). At first you could tell these singlespeeders were just duking it out with each other. If one would jump and attack the other would ramp it up in response. As they hammered at each other I was content to sit back and respond if one made a break. And as luck would have it, Jeff finally broke free as James couldn’t respond and with him I took off soon going to the front and telling him to do his best to hang on.
We had a nice gap in completing the first lap, still sitting in the top 15 and poured it on into the second lap. I recall someone saying we were less than 4 minutes off the front group. I knew the pace was fast, but I was feeling great and having no issues with holding the pace or pushing it. Still it was a long race to go. The first half of the second lap went well we were flying in the single track, I felt my abilities had improved ten times better than the previous weeks race on these trails. At some point, later in the second lap after about 75 minutes of riding I felt trouble coming on, & despite taking in water & gel regularly. Signs of fatigue were coming on much stronger than should be for a race of this duration.
Jeff & I must have slowed down somewhat as James got back on and then the two of them pulled away. I rode alone until being caught from behind by John Lirette. Shortly after he passed me down the trail he made the funniest move ever. I don’t know what he was thinking but instead of swinging wide to round a corner he took a more straight on path & ran through a tapped off area. He looked like a guy that was breaking the tap in the 100 meter dash. Fortunately I had enough energy to laugh at him and give him a hard time about his detour once he caught back up. I road with John & eventually a group of 3 additional riders coming into the finish of lap 2 and really needed to push it to stay with them. It was at that time I knew for whatever reason the tank was near empty and a third lap wasn’t going to be pretty. Better judgment should have perhaps had me call it a day at that point, but I headed out for a the third and final lap hoping I’d survive. And without the boring details of hallucinations in the agonizingly slow final lap, I wrapped it up on the day dropping 20+ places. Ouch!
A promising race but the engine isn’t set to go past 90minutes yet so it might just be a few weeks off the races and intervals training to pack in some longer riding and stretch out the body’s endurance abilities.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Rhinelander Rasta Rally
5th on the day.
Man, Peariso can hammer...
Not a race/course for the weak of heart.... a true single track challenge
(Dis)Liked it so much.... I bit the dog back & did the 15 mile course a second time when it was all over.
Man, Peariso can hammer...
Not a race/course for the weak of heart.... a true single track challenge
(Dis)Liked it so much.... I bit the dog back & did the 15 mile course a second time when it was all over.
Cable Off Road Classic 2009
First MTB race of the year…
The drive down from Ashland to Cable wasn’t what I expected for a Saturday in mid-May. Rising up over the Great Divide out of Grand View I notice all the evergreen trees have a funny look to them. A white powdery haze covering them -- the unmistakable form of snow. My guess that temps would be hitting the mid 40’s by the start of the race were out of the question.
I arrived about 40minutes before the 10am start. Fortunately I’d pre-registered the night before, and with it got a preferred start, so there wasn’t the added hassle of paperwork and payments to the morning. I could get the bike out of the car, jump on it, grab my timing chip and start warming up. Warming up being the operative word.
It was almost a toss up of just how much to wear for the event. The temps were in the mid 30’s and a wind in the 20mph range but the off-road setting of the Chequamegon forest mother nature’s wind should be muted, but still windchill would be created from the speed of the race. After a 20minute warmup & rolling up to the start line I opted to toss the outer jackets and go with basic longsleeve jersey, undershirt, bibs & knee warmers.
Lot’s of the familiar faces I around warming up or at the start line. McFadden’s, Scottie KJ, Jay Henderson, Tim Swift, follow Bay area guys, Matt Hudson & Paul Belknap. Also folks I’d recognized from previous races just couldn’t place the names. I got to the line early & fell into a front row start. One bitch to have and let it be notice, I don’t care what prima donna you think you are – DON’T THINK YOU CAN BACK INTO THE FRONT ROW. Be there on time, compromise your warm up like the rest of us or GO TO THE BACK! You're at a MTB race, have some class & show respect to your fellow racers. A couple people did it but most notorious was num-nutz Hollywood rider Tim Norrie – he didn’t just back in, he came racing to the front of the start line at the end of the National Anthem with less than 3 seconds to the start. He tries to shed his jacket and turn the bike in a position to get start. All he managed to do is get sideways and block off the right hand side of the front row (of which I was on) when the starting horn/gun went off, he got the obligatory obscene language from a few for being such an idiot. Note: Tim, next time spend your time “Getting Rad” alittle bit earlier so your haze induced state of mind doesn’t completely impair your sense of judgment on what to do when you’re late to the start line.
Determined to stay in the front 6-10 racers I worked up the right hand side of the group & fell in line in the top ten next to Scottie KJ as we worked our way down the several mile hilly gravel road start of the race. Not that particularly hard paced to start as I think there was reluctance of anyone to go to the front & break wind as well as climb hills at the start of the race. I didn’t bother to look back much but it seemed a sizeable group of 20+ riders held together. At one point a couple miles in I was aware of an upcoming hill and to make the most of momentum I took a pull/flyer to the front, guess it was a little bit overkill as I rolled up the next hill with the group 20 or 30 yards back. So if anyone was wondering, I was “that guy”. When the group made no significant effort to catch up I sat up & waited for it to catch me. My training has been coming along good but not so much so that I should be trying to work a gap on such an open course. Speaking of which, unfortunately to some, the race course was changed previous years, making it more open, faster paced & with less single track. I didn’t think I’d like it as much after I did a pre-ride a week earlier but was just fine with it once we were racing it.
After passing the previous race editions single track entry point it was still some length of time before we got into some quasi single track, let’s call it compromised double track. Probably my first mistake of the race. I should have been more aggressive in getting entry in the top 5 or 6, got in about 14th or 15th. From that point forward the racing started to pick up and gaps started to happen. For some reason, I wasn’t reacting well & staying close to the wheels in front of me. Mostly I was being lazy & complacent, not worrying about the gaps. Not exactly the best approach to the first race of the season. The late entry into the single track prevented me from getting into the group I wanted to be with and the climbing & additional single track didn’t make for any optimal passing opportunities. At 15-20minutes into the race it looked like the groups were getting set and I missed the tail end of the top 10 caboose. Shortly thereafter, stomach cramping, something that almost never happens to me, struck and always forces you to go into a neutral gear. (Note to self – don’t be eating pancakes & OJ just an hour before the race.)
When the cramping subsided I was able to pass up the guy in florescent blue & pink that shouldered me out earlier when we originally headed into the single track… to which I mumbled something about “I’d told you I’d get for doing that”…. And soon it was myself, Tim Wilkie and a big young kid whom I didn’t quite yet recognized that had dropped off the lead group. It latter turned out to be Peter O’donnel, he’s not exactly the little pip-squeek he used to be. He may have added some watts to his game but his size increase has neutralized it to some degree. The three of us rotated pretty regularly for what seemed liked the middle third of the race until another guy caught on, but Pete & I then pulled on abit harder and somewhere dropped the other two. We’d get glimpses ahead of 3-5 riders ahead but were never able to close down the gaps.
In the second half of the race come what I like to call “the climbs” a succession of 5-7 steeper pitched hills that pound on you at close to an hour into the race. Somewhat conscious of them I’d raced moderate to conservative in the first hour so I didn’t blow up on any of these hills. It was here we came across two other racers, Scottie KJ being one, he was slowed up considerably but I wasn’t sure what happened. I later asked him on the final 2mile stretch in but I couldn’t really hear his answer. While it felt great to close down some gaps at last & pass some people, however I wasn’t truly motivated to race like I normally am. I just didn’t have that mental spark, I felt like I was going through the motions.
Pete & I stayed together until the Ojibwa single track started when he began to pull away. I was starting to feel drained & hadn’t taken much time for fuel or drink to that point -- probably my biggest mistake all day. I’m one of those racers who’s body counts on it to keep up the pace, if not I’m just one steep hill away from a sizeable bonk. Shortly into this section I got some sweat in my eyes & squeezed them tight to try & get it out. Only when I open them I have the most faint light headedness & the outside perimeter of my vision is getting blurry & blackened. Oh great! I'm starting to black out! That's just wonderful. Exactly what I need right now.
Though I know what’s going on, I just never experienced that way before – my head is bonking before my legs. I quickly grab for my water & a single gel. Most of the time if it gets to that point, it’s too little too late and for the most part it proved to be the case. I was reasonably happy with how my racing & position had been to that point and to quite literally “seeing” it slip away was really frustrating. Perhaps with 4 or so miles left I could hear racers coming up from behind me again, it was Tim Wilkie and later Scottie KJ coming back on to catch me. Fortunately we were back into mostly open forest roads & I was able to hang onto them for a period of time. But as we crested a hill that led onto Randysek Rd, I’d been dropped and it was now Tim on his Gary Fisher SuperFly & Scottie assumably on a new Trek Top fuel riding a super fast downhill gravel road. At this point, as bonked as I was I had to remotely smile and think to myself I can catch these guys. They had a 30-40 yard gap on me when I was able to hit the downhill. I was hoping power & some physics would be in my favor. I raced my Trek Top Fuel 69er with Bontrager 2.0” Revolts in the rear & a DryX 29x1.75”s in the front. What I would tell anyone is do not underestimate the power of that skinny front tire. Terrific rolling resistance with just enough grab to handle most any single track. I run it with 25lbs pressure & put 28lbs in the Revolt. It’s a great setup on the 69er.
Even with Tim & Scottie drafting each other & rotating to some degree I managed to catch them just before the end of this ½ mile + downhill. I was still bonked all the same but happy as hell I’d latched back on. We rolled through the remaining gravel roads & finally got out on that final 2 mile stretch of former railroad grade that leads to the finish. It was here Scottie & Tim seemed to be chatting away like there out for some Sunday ride and I’m dying to hold their wheels. Fortunately I was able to until 1 mile to go. At this point, it appeared that no one was near enough behind me to threaten getting to the finish line before I so I back off & soft pedaled in for a 15th place overall finish.
Not bad, not great, but certainly better than my several previous Cable Off Road Classic experiences where placing in the 30’s & 40’s had become the norm. At least it was closer to where I felt I could & should perform at for the work & training put in. What was great to see as well was the cadre of one of the Bay Area’s 4 man 24-9 mile team place so well. Matt Hudson who’s finally been able to put some dedication into his bike training came in a minute or two back in 19th place & Paul Belknap & Kelly Mcknight came in 30th & 34th respectfully.
With frozen clubs for feet I sought out Katie & the kids as soon as I crossed the finish line. We got to the car where she informed me the thermometer for the car never showed a temp higher than 37 degrees for the entire race – guess that would stand to reason why it took my feet 30 minutes to return to life after placing them on the car heater vents. Would have loved to stick around & catch up with folks but with Scottie KJ having edged me out for any kind of award, I took a somewhat sick wife & sleepy kids home as a quick exit was in order.
Crazy thing happened on the way home, however, since we took separate cars. Kate was driving my Toyota Celica & I had the Prius & kids with me in front of her. I called her on the cellphone about 4 miles from home to tell her about where I'm planning on stopping before coming home. We're chatting 30 seconds when she's gasps nervously "Something just went wrong with your car!" In the rearview mirrow I see her fading back. Come to find out the next day at the mechanics the time belt tensioner malfunctioned and wrecked havoc on the engine. On the positive it can be fixed and at least it happened on the way home instead of on the way to the race.
Up next, back to good solid week of training and the Rhinelander Rasta Rally on the 24th.
The drive down from Ashland to Cable wasn’t what I expected for a Saturday in mid-May. Rising up over the Great Divide out of Grand View I notice all the evergreen trees have a funny look to them. A white powdery haze covering them -- the unmistakable form of snow. My guess that temps would be hitting the mid 40’s by the start of the race were out of the question.
I arrived about 40minutes before the 10am start. Fortunately I’d pre-registered the night before, and with it got a preferred start, so there wasn’t the added hassle of paperwork and payments to the morning. I could get the bike out of the car, jump on it, grab my timing chip and start warming up. Warming up being the operative word.
It was almost a toss up of just how much to wear for the event. The temps were in the mid 30’s and a wind in the 20mph range but the off-road setting of the Chequamegon forest mother nature’s wind should be muted, but still windchill would be created from the speed of the race. After a 20minute warmup & rolling up to the start line I opted to toss the outer jackets and go with basic longsleeve jersey, undershirt, bibs & knee warmers.
Lot’s of the familiar faces I around warming up or at the start line. McFadden’s, Scottie KJ, Jay Henderson, Tim Swift, follow Bay area guys, Matt Hudson & Paul Belknap. Also folks I’d recognized from previous races just couldn’t place the names. I got to the line early & fell into a front row start. One bitch to have and let it be notice, I don’t care what prima donna you think you are – DON’T THINK YOU CAN BACK INTO THE FRONT ROW. Be there on time, compromise your warm up like the rest of us or GO TO THE BACK! You're at a MTB race, have some class & show respect to your fellow racers. A couple people did it but most notorious was num-nutz Hollywood rider Tim Norrie – he didn’t just back in, he came racing to the front of the start line at the end of the National Anthem with less than 3 seconds to the start. He tries to shed his jacket and turn the bike in a position to get start. All he managed to do is get sideways and block off the right hand side of the front row (of which I was on) when the starting horn/gun went off, he got the obligatory obscene language from a few for being such an idiot. Note: Tim, next time spend your time “Getting Rad” alittle bit earlier so your haze induced state of mind doesn’t completely impair your sense of judgment on what to do when you’re late to the start line.
Determined to stay in the front 6-10 racers I worked up the right hand side of the group & fell in line in the top ten next to Scottie KJ as we worked our way down the several mile hilly gravel road start of the race. Not that particularly hard paced to start as I think there was reluctance of anyone to go to the front & break wind as well as climb hills at the start of the race. I didn’t bother to look back much but it seemed a sizeable group of 20+ riders held together. At one point a couple miles in I was aware of an upcoming hill and to make the most of momentum I took a pull/flyer to the front, guess it was a little bit overkill as I rolled up the next hill with the group 20 or 30 yards back. So if anyone was wondering, I was “that guy”. When the group made no significant effort to catch up I sat up & waited for it to catch me. My training has been coming along good but not so much so that I should be trying to work a gap on such an open course. Speaking of which, unfortunately to some, the race course was changed previous years, making it more open, faster paced & with less single track. I didn’t think I’d like it as much after I did a pre-ride a week earlier but was just fine with it once we were racing it.
After passing the previous race editions single track entry point it was still some length of time before we got into some quasi single track, let’s call it compromised double track. Probably my first mistake of the race. I should have been more aggressive in getting entry in the top 5 or 6, got in about 14th or 15th. From that point forward the racing started to pick up and gaps started to happen. For some reason, I wasn’t reacting well & staying close to the wheels in front of me. Mostly I was being lazy & complacent, not worrying about the gaps. Not exactly the best approach to the first race of the season. The late entry into the single track prevented me from getting into the group I wanted to be with and the climbing & additional single track didn’t make for any optimal passing opportunities. At 15-20minutes into the race it looked like the groups were getting set and I missed the tail end of the top 10 caboose. Shortly thereafter, stomach cramping, something that almost never happens to me, struck and always forces you to go into a neutral gear. (Note to self – don’t be eating pancakes & OJ just an hour before the race.)
When the cramping subsided I was able to pass up the guy in florescent blue & pink that shouldered me out earlier when we originally headed into the single track… to which I mumbled something about “I’d told you I’d get for doing that”…. And soon it was myself, Tim Wilkie and a big young kid whom I didn’t quite yet recognized that had dropped off the lead group. It latter turned out to be Peter O’donnel, he’s not exactly the little pip-squeek he used to be. He may have added some watts to his game but his size increase has neutralized it to some degree. The three of us rotated pretty regularly for what seemed liked the middle third of the race until another guy caught on, but Pete & I then pulled on abit harder and somewhere dropped the other two. We’d get glimpses ahead of 3-5 riders ahead but were never able to close down the gaps.
In the second half of the race come what I like to call “the climbs” a succession of 5-7 steeper pitched hills that pound on you at close to an hour into the race. Somewhat conscious of them I’d raced moderate to conservative in the first hour so I didn’t blow up on any of these hills. It was here we came across two other racers, Scottie KJ being one, he was slowed up considerably but I wasn’t sure what happened. I later asked him on the final 2mile stretch in but I couldn’t really hear his answer. While it felt great to close down some gaps at last & pass some people, however I wasn’t truly motivated to race like I normally am. I just didn’t have that mental spark, I felt like I was going through the motions.
Pete & I stayed together until the Ojibwa single track started when he began to pull away. I was starting to feel drained & hadn’t taken much time for fuel or drink to that point -- probably my biggest mistake all day. I’m one of those racers who’s body counts on it to keep up the pace, if not I’m just one steep hill away from a sizeable bonk. Shortly into this section I got some sweat in my eyes & squeezed them tight to try & get it out. Only when I open them I have the most faint light headedness & the outside perimeter of my vision is getting blurry & blackened. Oh great! I'm starting to black out! That's just wonderful. Exactly what I need right now.
Though I know what’s going on, I just never experienced that way before – my head is bonking before my legs. I quickly grab for my water & a single gel. Most of the time if it gets to that point, it’s too little too late and for the most part it proved to be the case. I was reasonably happy with how my racing & position had been to that point and to quite literally “seeing” it slip away was really frustrating. Perhaps with 4 or so miles left I could hear racers coming up from behind me again, it was Tim Wilkie and later Scottie KJ coming back on to catch me. Fortunately we were back into mostly open forest roads & I was able to hang onto them for a period of time. But as we crested a hill that led onto Randysek Rd, I’d been dropped and it was now Tim on his Gary Fisher SuperFly & Scottie assumably on a new Trek Top fuel riding a super fast downhill gravel road. At this point, as bonked as I was I had to remotely smile and think to myself I can catch these guys. They had a 30-40 yard gap on me when I was able to hit the downhill. I was hoping power & some physics would be in my favor. I raced my Trek Top Fuel 69er with Bontrager 2.0” Revolts in the rear & a DryX 29x1.75”s in the front. What I would tell anyone is do not underestimate the power of that skinny front tire. Terrific rolling resistance with just enough grab to handle most any single track. I run it with 25lbs pressure & put 28lbs in the Revolt. It’s a great setup on the 69er.
Even with Tim & Scottie drafting each other & rotating to some degree I managed to catch them just before the end of this ½ mile + downhill. I was still bonked all the same but happy as hell I’d latched back on. We rolled through the remaining gravel roads & finally got out on that final 2 mile stretch of former railroad grade that leads to the finish. It was here Scottie & Tim seemed to be chatting away like there out for some Sunday ride and I’m dying to hold their wheels. Fortunately I was able to until 1 mile to go. At this point, it appeared that no one was near enough behind me to threaten getting to the finish line before I so I back off & soft pedaled in for a 15th place overall finish.
Not bad, not great, but certainly better than my several previous Cable Off Road Classic experiences where placing in the 30’s & 40’s had become the norm. At least it was closer to where I felt I could & should perform at for the work & training put in. What was great to see as well was the cadre of one of the Bay Area’s 4 man 24-9 mile team place so well. Matt Hudson who’s finally been able to put some dedication into his bike training came in a minute or two back in 19th place & Paul Belknap & Kelly Mcknight came in 30th & 34th respectfully.
With frozen clubs for feet I sought out Katie & the kids as soon as I crossed the finish line. We got to the car where she informed me the thermometer for the car never showed a temp higher than 37 degrees for the entire race – guess that would stand to reason why it took my feet 30 minutes to return to life after placing them on the car heater vents. Would have loved to stick around & catch up with folks but with Scottie KJ having edged me out for any kind of award, I took a somewhat sick wife & sleepy kids home as a quick exit was in order.
Crazy thing happened on the way home, however, since we took separate cars. Kate was driving my Toyota Celica & I had the Prius & kids with me in front of her. I called her on the cellphone about 4 miles from home to tell her about where I'm planning on stopping before coming home. We're chatting 30 seconds when she's gasps nervously "Something just went wrong with your car!" In the rearview mirrow I see her fading back. Come to find out the next day at the mechanics the time belt tensioner malfunctioned and wrecked havoc on the engine. On the positive it can be fixed and at least it happened on the way home instead of on the way to the race.
Up next, back to good solid week of training and the Rhinelander Rasta Rally on the 24th.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Cable Off Road Classic.... a preview
Training....In the rain, the snow, the wind, the cold... did I mention the cold? Finally this morning one can get out and see how all the winter & spring efforts pay off. It's been a very different type of off season so one can only wonder...
With the WORS & MNSCS opening races on Sunday, along with the windy & cooler conditions today it'll be interesting to see who shows up to toe the line at the Cable Off Road Classic. In past couple years it's had between 190 racers to as many as 250 when there's not be other races the same weekend.
Anyone hoping for the delightful opening singletrack in the first half of the race...well, you'll have to wait another year. A course revision likely from not enough rider input has the 23 mile course spending an inordinate amount of time on forest & gravel roads without the normal mix of single track. On the positive side, the race will go by fast... very fast (hold onto your lactate threshold).
Mostly it'll be good to see all the guys & gals that I haven't seen since last Sept/Oct and swap stories and catch up. You can bet the Duluth crew will be in their normal stellar early season form (may I be fortunate enough to latch on). If it's a smaller race field and not alot of the MNSCS racers come up today, heck even if they do -- I'm going with my three picks for winning Todd McFadden, the guy just always seems to perform at this race(he's got a 2nd place, a couple 6th places) this could be his year. Then there's Scotty KJ -- fast race, shorter distance if he's previous ailments are behind him he'll definitely be out front at a big portion of this race. Of course, if the hometown Jesrin Gaier been back on the horse training and I was a bookie in Vegas you could give the entire field a significant point spread and Jesrin would still pull out the big W. On the ladies side, again unless a speedy Jenna Zander or Kyia Anderson show up Sara KJ & Diana McFadden would be my guesses this early in the season.
Good likelihood the Cheq. Bay area guys will have one of their best races as a group, each year their abilities, the amount of time on the bike and likely their competativeness grow. I think it's even hard to pick the order of finish among them with Matt Hudson being the wild card. Belknap usually can come off ski season without almost any time on the bike and hold his own but it'll be interesting to see what Mcknight & Hudson have to say about it.
The Cable area will be missing Scottie Chapin but still represent well and the rest of the field is always a question mark as to who will come from Central WI or the Twin Cities.
Good luck & hope to see you all there!!!
With the WORS & MNSCS opening races on Sunday, along with the windy & cooler conditions today it'll be interesting to see who shows up to toe the line at the Cable Off Road Classic. In past couple years it's had between 190 racers to as many as 250 when there's not be other races the same weekend.
Anyone hoping for the delightful opening singletrack in the first half of the race...well, you'll have to wait another year. A course revision likely from not enough rider input has the 23 mile course spending an inordinate amount of time on forest & gravel roads without the normal mix of single track. On the positive side, the race will go by fast... very fast (hold onto your lactate threshold).
Mostly it'll be good to see all the guys & gals that I haven't seen since last Sept/Oct and swap stories and catch up. You can bet the Duluth crew will be in their normal stellar early season form (may I be fortunate enough to latch on). If it's a smaller race field and not alot of the MNSCS racers come up today, heck even if they do -- I'm going with my three picks for winning Todd McFadden, the guy just always seems to perform at this race(he's got a 2nd place, a couple 6th places) this could be his year. Then there's Scotty KJ -- fast race, shorter distance if he's previous ailments are behind him he'll definitely be out front at a big portion of this race. Of course, if the hometown Jesrin Gaier been back on the horse training and I was a bookie in Vegas you could give the entire field a significant point spread and Jesrin would still pull out the big W. On the ladies side, again unless a speedy Jenna Zander or Kyia Anderson show up Sara KJ & Diana McFadden would be my guesses this early in the season.
Good likelihood the Cheq. Bay area guys will have one of their best races as a group, each year their abilities, the amount of time on the bike and likely their competativeness grow. I think it's even hard to pick the order of finish among them with Matt Hudson being the wild card. Belknap usually can come off ski season without almost any time on the bike and hold his own but it'll be interesting to see what Mcknight & Hudson have to say about it.
The Cable area will be missing Scottie Chapin but still represent well and the rest of the field is always a question mark as to who will come from Central WI or the Twin Cities.
Good luck & hope to see you all there!!!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The BoneCrusher.....
Ever have to live or deal with a problem for a really long time… and no I don’t mean your wife or boss. Cycling is one of those sports whereby if you do enough of it, you're pretty likely to get one eventually. Though I’d love to be an exception to the rule, that’s not the case.
The repetitive motion, muscle imbalances, less than ideal body fit & mechanics, the injuries from a major or minor crash and if you’re not on top of it, an underlying problem creeps into your life slowing and insidiously. Making a home for itself in your otherwise blissful cycling world.
It’s probably even fair to assess that most people, even or especially athlete’s create premature wear on their bodies, joints in particular. It'd be easy to go on a long tirade of how proper mechanics, strengthening & flexibility could save a whole heck of a lot of grief & greatly lengthen one’s time in any sport. Your joints don’t wear out just because they wear out – rather like a set of imbalanced tires on your vehicles, if you put the wear & pressure on an isolated area, instead of the full intended area, it’s not going to last anywhere near the fully intended duration. And like that set of tires, you don’t notice it suddenly. It just creeps into your life slowly & methodically.
So word to the wise, even if you think you’re doing your heart & lungs the best thing in the word by going for a 1 to 5 hr ride (which you are), don’t forget the muscles & joint structures that make it possible and they need care & treatment as well.
About a third of my training time is spent on pre/post care & prevention – warming up & activating certain muscles groups before riding, stretching afterwards. A lot of time? Well, considering the alternative, not necessarily. Add to that the incorporation of strength & balance training each week to areas that don’t get used when I’m on the bike and it keeps me feeling pretty good.
I’ve made more mistakes than most and tend to always learn the hard way, but in time either you get smarter or ….suffer and suffer some more. Secondly, the bad news of all this is you can try & do things perfect but you’re still going to miss some things some times.
Which leads to me to the BoneCrusher…. for 6 months and probably much, much longer I’ve had nagging problems despite all precautions & preventative measures I endure to put in place. Contrary to what I said above, you can think you’re doing all the right stuff, but if you miss a critical area, all the “right” stuff you are doing isn’t going to fix it. Thinking it is – which usually describes me – just keeps making things worse.
I’ve had a chronic mid back, hip & pelvic issues for a long time. Last week it came to head when I had difficulty just walking, let along trying to pedal. It was time to resort to the BoneCrusher. I’ve had massages done, I’ve gone to physical therapists, I’ve incorporating stretching & core training, but sometimes things still get missed or undiagnosed. That’s my entire point, don’t hesitate to get professional help & when it doesn’t work continue to see some other professional until it does.
I spent last week getting crushed, pressed on, twisted & electrocuted, several times over. Went to a sports medicine Chiropractor aka BoneCrusher. And despite my ill-thought notions of Chiropractors, if you find the right one, it can help and you don’t feel like you have to “drink the chiropractic Cool-aid”. I’ve still got a ways to go before I’m fully mended but at least I was able to get back on the bike & pedal with my right leg, and not only that I was able to pound out some of my best intervals this year.
For the most part I’m just enjoying the training process right now. Anxious for racing? Of course, but six weeks is still a long ways to go before the Cable Off Road Classic & the Iola Bump & Jump. Winter still seems to have it firm grip on the northern most reaches of Wisconsin, because if it’s not cold, it’s windy…. Or actually it’s usually both lately. However just like stock markets that go down & down & down, they eventually turn around and go up & up, as does winter give way to spring & summer. Sometimes both just take alittle more patience than one seems to have.
The repetitive motion, muscle imbalances, less than ideal body fit & mechanics, the injuries from a major or minor crash and if you’re not on top of it, an underlying problem creeps into your life slowing and insidiously. Making a home for itself in your otherwise blissful cycling world.
It’s probably even fair to assess that most people, even or especially athlete’s create premature wear on their bodies, joints in particular. It'd be easy to go on a long tirade of how proper mechanics, strengthening & flexibility could save a whole heck of a lot of grief & greatly lengthen one’s time in any sport. Your joints don’t wear out just because they wear out – rather like a set of imbalanced tires on your vehicles, if you put the wear & pressure on an isolated area, instead of the full intended area, it’s not going to last anywhere near the fully intended duration. And like that set of tires, you don’t notice it suddenly. It just creeps into your life slowly & methodically.
So word to the wise, even if you think you’re doing your heart & lungs the best thing in the word by going for a 1 to 5 hr ride (which you are), don’t forget the muscles & joint structures that make it possible and they need care & treatment as well.
About a third of my training time is spent on pre/post care & prevention – warming up & activating certain muscles groups before riding, stretching afterwards. A lot of time? Well, considering the alternative, not necessarily. Add to that the incorporation of strength & balance training each week to areas that don’t get used when I’m on the bike and it keeps me feeling pretty good.
I’ve made more mistakes than most and tend to always learn the hard way, but in time either you get smarter or ….suffer and suffer some more. Secondly, the bad news of all this is you can try & do things perfect but you’re still going to miss some things some times.
Which leads to me to the BoneCrusher…. for 6 months and probably much, much longer I’ve had nagging problems despite all precautions & preventative measures I endure to put in place. Contrary to what I said above, you can think you’re doing all the right stuff, but if you miss a critical area, all the “right” stuff you are doing isn’t going to fix it. Thinking it is – which usually describes me – just keeps making things worse.
I’ve had a chronic mid back, hip & pelvic issues for a long time. Last week it came to head when I had difficulty just walking, let along trying to pedal. It was time to resort to the BoneCrusher. I’ve had massages done, I’ve gone to physical therapists, I’ve incorporating stretching & core training, but sometimes things still get missed or undiagnosed. That’s my entire point, don’t hesitate to get professional help & when it doesn’t work continue to see some other professional until it does.
I spent last week getting crushed, pressed on, twisted & electrocuted, several times over. Went to a sports medicine Chiropractor aka BoneCrusher. And despite my ill-thought notions of Chiropractors, if you find the right one, it can help and you don’t feel like you have to “drink the chiropractic Cool-aid”. I’ve still got a ways to go before I’m fully mended but at least I was able to get back on the bike & pedal with my right leg, and not only that I was able to pound out some of my best intervals this year.
For the most part I’m just enjoying the training process right now. Anxious for racing? Of course, but six weeks is still a long ways to go before the Cable Off Road Classic & the Iola Bump & Jump. Winter still seems to have it firm grip on the northern most reaches of Wisconsin, because if it’s not cold, it’s windy…. Or actually it’s usually both lately. However just like stock markets that go down & down & down, they eventually turn around and go up & up, as does winter give way to spring & summer. Sometimes both just take alittle more patience than one seems to have.
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