Tarmac tire clearance

Mostly in the vein of playing around, and "why not?", combined with a stellar deal on some German tires, I decided to get some fat clinchers.   If you've ever wondered how much tire clearance a 2012 Tarmac SL3 actually has, and how big some of these tires actually are, he ya go.

All the following were brand new tires, mounted on Easton EA90SL clinchers with a 20mm external rim width (15mm internal).   I measured the width at several points around the tire with a set of calipers, the width varied between 0.10 and 0.30 mm, probably related to imperfect rubber, and the fact that I just unfolded them from their packaging.

Tire	Advertised Width	Measured Width
Specialized Turbo Comp	23 mm	23.8 mm
Continental GP 4000s	23 mm	23.8 mm
Continental GP 4000s	25 mm	25.4 mm
Schwalbe ZX	25 mm	24.3 mm
Schwalbe ZX	28 mm	~28 mm

My calipers maxed out at about 27 mm, so the 28mm is an estimate, but they appeared to be very close to the advertised 28mm.

I can't say I noticed any speed differences, just probably too small and too hard to tell, but the 28mm tire sure was fun.  Besides being comfortable, the biggest improvement seemed to be in fast twisty descents, with poor pavement.   With a 28mm in the rear, and a 25mm tire in the front, the bike just hugged the road better, and I felt much more confident at higher speeds.  Where the skinnier tires got skittish, the 28mm held firm.  It felt more like "carving" down the mountain.

As for tire clearance, there are still a couple of mm of room, the tightest place is around the chain stays, but that no issues there.  I only tried the 28mm in the back, not in the front.

Fat tires are fun, give them a try.

Battenkill 2012 Cat 3

These organizers are running a racket, over 2,800 riders at $80 pre-reg, and $100 late, but the event keeps getting bigger each year! I know some who would like to do this race, but refuse to pay that much for a 1-day event. Well, this is my third year, because they have an awesome race, and dammit, they know it.

This year, Jeff and I signed up for the Cat 3 field, and it's been providing training motivation since last fall. It's not just a race I wanted to complete, but a race I wanted to do well in. There is no way to fake it on this course, you can't hide in the pack, and draft your way through the hills and the dirt. With memories of Meetinghouse road, I've been doing intervals and hill repeats almost every Tuesday since February.

On paper, the course doesn't look so bad, just in terms of numbers. Almost 4,000 feet climbing, over 62 miles, and 10 dirt sections. Nothing totally unreasonable. Already this year I've done longer racers, and courses with more climbing. But it isn't the climbing that gets you, or the distance, or the dirt, but the combination of all three that together to take you to the limit. One of those races that is really decided by the legs.

The past two years, I did the Masters 30+, and it was hard racing the entire way, I finished completely drained, with nothing left, so I was curious to see what the Cat 3s would be like. I rolled up to the staging area a little later then I would have liked, but still enough time to get a good spot towards the front. As other Cat 3 Yellow riders filled in, I realized that my shifting was totally wonky, I had just changed the cassette, and the indexing was so far off, I couldn't shift into my 11. Not a big deal, tweak the barrel adjuster, but crap, it is bottomed out. Quick! To the saddle bag for my multi-tool. [I have no qualms about racing with a saddle bag here, it's a lot more convenient, no matter how un-pro it is]. Loosen, re-adjust, and re-attach the cable, with some more twiddling, and I've got my gears back. It wasn't perfect, but it would do. Just in time, the starter was making his announcements, and giving us the count down. Totally my fault, I really should have checked something as basic as that before race day.

Anyway, we rolled out uneventfully, and settled in. After the neutral start, I scooted up forward to be near the front, and we sailed smoothly through turn #1, and the covered bridge. No issues at all. So far the pace was much more subdued then the Masters field. The miles ticked away, and I began to wonder if we'd end up with a large group at the finish. (In hindsight, that was a silly thought, there was still plenty of racing left.) Others may have started to sense the group was a little too relaxed, and one guy launched a solo attack on a long, flat section of paved road. One guy to my left commented: "It's so dumb, it just might work..." Soon, others bridged up in singles and pairs to form a pretty good looking break. I noticed some other strong riders who I had picked out ahead of time (road-results stalking) move up to the front with some discussion. It didn't take much before we hit the next dirt climb, and the entire break got swept back up into the field.

From there on, the field seemed content to hit the sections, one after another without any big attacks. Climb, dirt, climb, dirt, dirt. I only looked back once, and was surprised to see the field still mostly intact, it didn't look much smaller then when we started. But there was enough to focus on ahead of me, the new dirt section was gnarly. Weeks of dry weather left a combination of really soft dust and loose rocks that required some concentration to ride through. I saw at least one guy ride straight off the road, into the ditch. In the group, the pace was fast, and you couldn't really pick your own line, instead I felt like I was constantly drifting, trying not to tangle with anyone else. Rocks were pinging out of wheels, ricocheting off spokes, one pegged me in the jaw, and another left a good bruise on my right shin. The dust really started to get thick in places, so that visibility was somewhat limited. But it was hard to look around, my attention was riveted to the wheels in front, and to either side of me.

At one point, Jeff flatted, I looked around, and he was no longer in the field. He was in killer shape, and I'm sure definitely would have been a factor in the finale.

When I hit the climb at the second feedzone, I realized that I was really starting to hurt, the pace that had felt mellow before began to feel like enough that I was going to struggle to just hang on. The hills and miles were taking their toll.



Meetinghouse Rd. is where all pretending and coasting in the pack ends. Now, I was at my total limit, trying not to fall off the back end. By the time we made it over the 3rd roller, the remnants of the Cat 3 field were scattered all over. I looked up, and saw maybe a dozen or so riders in front of me, 6 or so coalesced in to a group and took off, knowing they could lock up the top spots. I got into a larger group, and only barely managed to hang on. I took a few rotations to keep the line moving, but had to be very judicious in my efforts, as I was straddling that fine line between barely hanging on, and exploding spectacularly.

With much relief, I made it over Stage Rd with the little group, and hung on through the last section. I had a vague thought that we might be sprinting for a top 10 spot, so I was prepared to lay it all out for the sprint. I didn't have much left, and rolled through somewhere in the middle of our group. Turns out, we were sprinting for 10th place, and that put me at 16th. A top 10 would have been fantastic, but I'm happy with that.

Yeah, I really want to go back next year again.

Obligatory wheels/tires comment: My Easton road tubeless wheels still haven't arrived, so I ran the Hutchinson Intensives with tubes. They're extremely tough tires, and make a good option for Battenkill, I think. They may be slightly slower, but nobody wants to flat out.

Thanks to KSJPhotos for the pictures.

An excellent post about the Cat 3 pink field, by B2C2.

Thursday Crits

I've been looking forward to these since the end of cyclocross season. It's good to be racing again. The great weather brought out 70 racers on the opening day. Too many for me to be able to be very competitive, but last week went well. Thanks to David DiFrancesco for the photo.

PSU Black Mo' RR 2012

I really like this course, Garret Lynch describes it better then I ever could, he's spot on. The fog really added to the experience, we climbed straight into a cloud, and it was so dense, you could barely see more then a few feet ahead at a time.

I had wanted to do well at this race, climbing usually suits my relative strengths, but it still had to be seen how I would stack up against the strong A field. I knew that it was going to be a hard race, this is really tough course. It didn't take long on the first time up the climb before I was sliding backwards off the group. After reaching the top, there are a few miles of rollers, and here a relatively large chase group formed, we were all motivated to get back with the leaders. I helped a little through the rotations, and eventually on lap 2 we merged. The field was once again, mostly intact. No one was away, so we just rolled around the course for trip 2 up the main climb.

Once again, I couldn't match the pace of the leaders, and had to settle in my own rhythm. Low clouds had been rolling around all morning, and on this lap we climbed straight into the base of one. The fog was so dense that I could barely see the other side of the road. It felt very isolating, I couldn't see anyone else, and all that I could hear was my own labored breathing. A very surreal (and even peaceful) experience. After I crested the summit, the air cleared slightly, and I could see a few other riders straggled ahead and behind me. We formed a small group of about 7, initially we tried chasing, and rotated pretty well, but the gap was 2+ minutes, and there was just no way we were catching anyone.

We also realized that most likely, all the points were gone as well, it looked like at least 20-25 ahead of me on the climb, but it was hard to tell for sure. We rolled around lap 3, pretty chill, just taking it easy. There had been some light sprinkles, and I was pretty sweaty from 2 trips up the mountain, so combined with some descending and slow riding, I was really getting chilled and starting to shiver. I happened to be on the front through a sharp left hand turn, and when I looked back and pulled off, the group was pretty far back. I didn't really want to finish out the route riding solo, so initially I just sat up and waited. However, the group was really taking its time, and I was really starting to shiver. At this point, I just wanted to finish so I decided to keep rolling at a "warming" pace, and let the group just do what it would do. If I'm caught, great, I've got a group to roll with, otherwise, I just wanted to keep moving.

Up the climb for the third time, and then the rollers again. I caught up with a Dartmouth rider, and we worked together, keeping a good pace going through to the finish. I led through the corner, and let him take the finish. Turns out we finished 21/22nd, so I was only 2 spots out of the points, but it might have well been 20, that group was long gone.

I love this course, and I'll definitely be back next year.

Jersey Devil RR 2012 - "Col du Skillman"

Living in Eastern PA is a very good thing for cycling: good training roads, and many of the ECCC races are only 1-2 hours from here. Compared to the schools in New Hampshire and Vermont, we've got it good down here. The Princeton Jersey Devil RR was only about an hours drive, and we sent a full 2 carloads with 7 Lehigh cyclists.

It turned out to be one of those days that went well for everyone, check out the full report here.

Cycling is a funny thing, so many times I've done relatively well when I didn't expect to, and totally biffed any good results in races or courses I thought I had a decent shot at. Last summer was a perfect example. I don't know if high expectations are bad thing for good race results, or, on the contrary, having no expectations frees one to just race. Probably both.

Either way, I've had very little actual expectations coming into these collegiate A races, knowing they're a fair bit higher level then the Cat 4 races I was doing through last year. My goals are not to place well, but rather try and become a better bike racer. With this thinking, I'd rather be racing at the highest level that I can qualify for.

So far it's been some of the hardest racing I've ever done, more fun, and a better experience.

Anyway, I watched Molly, Brandon, and Eric race well, got myself good and caffeinated (coffee, coffee, coffee!), and staged myself for the A race. The forecast called for a chance of rain, and we got a few drops here and their, but fortunately it stayed clear.

Based on the course profile, I had expected the climb to be tougher, but like everyone who had raced already was saying, it really wasn't a very steep or long climb. How hard it is, however, is very relative to how fast you go up the climb, and I definitely hit it a couple of times just about pinned. It wasn't enough to break up the field, but 8 laps takes it's toll in repetition.

As expected, some of the best and strongest got away in a break that mortals like myself could do nothing about. Unfortunately, some of the regular names like Adam Bry, Wyatt Stoup, and others DNF'd. It looks like Adam and another guy tangled on the climb, and maybe some MIT teammates waited to try and pace him back to the group. Good teammates, but either they didn't make it, or didn't attempt it.

I spent basically the first 7 laps just sitting at the back, trying to ride efficiently. The climb really stretched things out, and the descent highlighted my poor descending skills. The back of the field was probably a good place for me to be.

On the final lap, as we were mostly still together, I expected things to get very aggressive setting up the final sprint. I moved up to the top 7 spots on the climb, a Pitt rider attacked and looked strong, so I made a few rotations to help bring him back. Cresting the final series of inclines, I was still near the front of the field, however, by the time I got to the bottom of the descent, I was at the very back once again.

At this point, I felt like I was out of contention, the faster guys were now at the front again. I rolled down the flat, straight section of the course, just sitting at the back of the pack. Some West Point guys tried to attack, but nothing was going anywhere. The paced started to ramp up before the final turn, and the struggle for positioning began.

There is a gentle "S" turn after the last corner, before the finishing straight where we get full use of both lanes. Swinging through there, the field fanned out, spreading it's proverbial wings as everyone tried to move up on the outside. As holes appeared, I just played the patient opportunist and slid forward, filling gaps.



It was like the seas parted, and the red carpet rolled out. When the West Point guys in front opened up, I had a clear open line down the very center and followed their wheels out the front of the congestion. I got a little too ambitious when I tried to come around one too early, hit a lot of wind, and couldn't move up further, but managed to hold onto 5th for the field sprint, 9th overall.

I really wish I had kept the video camera on for that race, it was certainly a sprint worth watching. Anyway, I'm definitely happy with that result. Race Predictor had me at 32nd.

Next up, PSU, I absolutely love that course.

Philly Phlyer Crit

This unbelievable weather continues, and we had 60s-70s with sun, awesome for March, and perfect for a crit. Continuing my string of screw ups for the weekend, I pinned my number on the wrong side, and didn't realize it until it was too late. Ah well, on this course, with this field, it was just going to be a matter of hanging on as long as possible anyway. Three weeks in, time to get my act together.

After a neutral lap, we were off in earnest. Like usual, I staged myself towards the rear, and spent the first few laps tail-gunning. I quickly realized that was a bad idea on this course, as the the pace was really high, the accordioning around the turns was really tough, and as riders were popping, I was trying to close gaps. Ouch.

I was too cross eyed to know when it happened, but at one point a break went, and I popped off the main group. I figured I was done at that point, but soon drifted back to a sizeable chase group. We were definitely out of contention, but at least it was a group to ride with. Back here, it was a completely different race, felt like the pace was half as fast. I took some turns at the front, it was definitely much easier and faster riding a clean line through the turns. With a couple to go, the lead pace car came through, and we got over to let the leaders through. I think that technically we were allowed to mix it up as lapped riders, but I had no interest getting into a group that I didn't belong.

Coming into the final lap, we still had a small group going, and I was hoping to at least get a chance to sprint it out, if even for only twenty-umpteenth place. However, approaching the final turn, more riders came through to lap us, and I considered my race pretty much neutralized, so just rode it in.

I still felt like I had a bunch left for a sprint, but not going to happen when you're lapped.

Oh, and I did charge my camera today, but apparently didn't hit start. Oh well, next time.

Philly Phlyer circuit race

This was the 3rd time I've done this course, first time was as a 5 back in 2009, I think. Last year I did the collegiate "B" race, and went to early, faded on the roundabout, and lost a few spots on the final sprint when I had nothing left. The finish was nervous and positioning was aggressive on the final incline, so I was curious to see what the A race would be like this year.

We started just easy, but the climbs were brisk, and the field was slowly whittling down. I heard one nasty crash off to my right near the gutter along River Dr, probably a victim of a sewer drain. Then on the next lap I got caught behind some crash on the climb near the hay bales, I was far enough back that I managed to scoot around cleanly, and then chase hard, but that probably ended a few races.

I tried out the $40 "keychain camera" from some Chinese eBay seller, and for it's cost, it looks pretty good. This one is the 808 #16 version. One minor drawback is that the battery lasts only about 40 minutes, but a more significant issue is that the cheap CMOS sensor uses a rolling shutter, so you can get some bad motion induced artifacts. Anything with vibration looks just awful. I decided to try and get the camera mounted as securely as possible with a bit of dense rubber, and try out some of the post processing options to remove camera shake. Some of the more advanced tools can even compensate for a rolling shutter by applying a different transformation to different parts of the frame. I tried a plugin for Transcode and it seems to work pretty well. You can really see it working in on the final climb when I'm rocking the bike. Edited with Kdenlive.

Here is the video. I originally had a much better soundtrack picked out, but my M83 selection caused the video to be blocked in the US. So instead I substituted some bad, royalty free beats. Apologies. Anyway:



The finish was much more reserved then the B race was last year, although when the top guy went, the rest of us were left to just drag race for the final few points.