Thursday Night Criteriums

So we have the fortune of having a fantastic weekly criterium series nearby in Trexlertown. I only recently discovered the series in July and joined the early race not knowing what to expect.



What I found is that it is a great place to really learn a lot, such as riding with the group, practice sprinting, and experiment with different racing strategies. Because it isn't a "serious" race, I feel free to attempt moves that I wouldn't necessarily do in an actual race. I'm not talking about risky or dumb stuff, like cutting people off or squishing into tight places, but strategic moves like taking an early flyer, trying to get a break started, how to make steady pulls in moderation, or trying to give leadouts for the sprints. The best way to learn is just to do it. I'm finding my limits, seeing how the pack reacts, and through a slow process, figuring out what does and doesn't work for me.



Of course the pack's reaction is always an uncertainty. I have a tendency to get a little too excited when I get to the front to help keep things moving. Sometimes the pack just lets me roll off the front, other times they'll string out single file and then no one wants to keep the rotation going. For my own good, I've got to learn how to pull in moderation at a steady pace.

Two weeks ago, I was coming up the little "hill" on the backside of the course with my friend David on the front, I had some extra speed and came around him. He quietly mutters "go" under his breath so I start going just to see what will happen. I look back after half a lap and I see that I've got a pretty good gap going. I hope that someone comes along, but after hesitating a bit, no one looks interested, so I decide to make a go for it solo. I get to the bell lap and my gap is holding and I focus on maintaining a sustainable pace. I don't look back until someone comes around me on the final turn into the sprint, the two of us are still safely away, but at some point he bridged up to me. I had no idea how long he was there, but he was going for the sprint and I did my best to contest the sprint points. It was close, but he definitely out kicked me in the end. My friend David did a good job sitting on the front of the field and hampering any chase effort that might started.

I'm not an explosive sprinter type; at 135 lbs, the only time I have an advantage is when the road is going significantly upwards. I do think that I have pretty decent aerobic capacity and quick recovery and I'd like to learn how to get in and stay in breaks as my best chance to place well. Plus I like riding hard for sustained efforts, it suits the runner in me. The best I've managed was a few weeks ago a break of 7 got away on a Thursday night. I think we stayed away for only 6-7 laps, but it was fun. We dropped two riders along the way and ended up with 5 for most of that time, every time a sprint lap came around we'd all go for it, and I always came across 5th, out of the points. But points weren't the point, so to speak, it was fun riding in a break. It is definitely something that one needs to practice, in order to ride smoothly, rotate steadily, and make it work.



Last Thursday a few of us decided to try and make a break happen. It didn't really work, I think our timing wasn't very good. It seems like the best strategy is to just take advantage of the right opportunity, or respond if someone else goes first.

So anyway, the Thursday night criteriums are a lot of fun, and an excellent place to learn. I think I've enjoyed this series more then any single road race or criterium, except perhaps Mt. Nebo.

Flint Hill

Today was one of those defining workouts where it is made clear that yes, I am indeed getting faster on a bike after 9 months of training and like the famous quote goes, training doesn't make riding any easier, it just means you go faster for the same effort.

I have the fortune of living on the side of a small mountain, it makes for good views, interesting weather, and great bike riding. On any ride I take from home, I have to do plenty of climbing, either on the way out, coming back, or both. Some of my favorite rides take me up and down the mountain at the beginning and end of my ride, just like my Flint Hill Loop. That is one of my benchmark routes, I like to ride it periodically as if it were a time trial to gauge my fitness. I love climbing, and at 135 lbs it is definitely my cycling strength, I only wish the hills around here were longer, it is difficult to find any climbs more then about a mile long.

So anyway, my best ride so far this summer was somewhere around 70 minutes, but today clocked in under 63 minutes (18.4 average), a sudden improvement. I'll document it here for the sake of future comparison. My average HR was 167, 34 minutes in zone, 8 minutes below, and 21 minutes above. I always try and maintain as high a speed as possible on each of the climbs, out and back.



If I'm doing well, I can sustain over 10 mph for the entire climb. On the way back, I frequently pop near the top of the last climb, it kicks up to a max of 11%.



Today I held between 10.5 and 11 mph for the entire climb up, including the 11% section where my heart rate was hovering around 185-189 bpm. According to a bike power calculator, that was roughly 400 watts for the minute or so it took to cover that section of the mountain.



Not bad, that felt like the absolute maximum that my body could do for 60 seconds without exploding. Man, that was fun.

Really, this ride was what I needed to give my season a good kick of energy for the final weeks of road racing. I had been winding down, feeling like I didn't have much to motivate my training. Now I feel like I can see the fruits of my efforts and I'm ready to give final hurrah to the 2009 racing season.

Just one word...

For today, I've only got one word:

They say it is only a matter of time...

...before every bike racer goes down in an accident. Well my time came at the Cat 4 Deodate Road race.

It couldn't have been much more gentle if I had been gently lowered onto a bed of cotton balls by a stork. I heard some crashing sounds and the riders in front of me are playing the fall down game right in the middle of the road. I'm trying to brake to a stop, steer to the grass, and not roll over the guy in front of me doing a rather elegant tuck and roll maneuver. It all happened in a split second, but I saw it in slow motion. I tumbled down and quickly assessed the situation, blades of grass were sticking out of various orifices (bicycle, mostly), but no one looked hurt. One guy was swearing up a storm, but he was just pissed off. So I grabbed my bike, jumped back on the road, clipped in, and tore off.

I realized my chances of chasing back on solo were slim, so I waited up for another guy. I asked him if he wanted to try and chase back on, and he did, so we went. It was tough, and we got the pack to within 20 seconds and I just couldn't seem to close the final gap. It took hard work, but finally, after about 5 miles, we hooked up. After a brief instant of relief, I had a moment of shock and disappointment when I looked around and the race numbers I saw were all wrong. It looked like the masters 35 45+ race... I was getting ready to charge off the front in search of the Cat 4s, when I realized that they were all up there, apparently we had swept up a bunch of riders from the master's race.

Then it came down to positioning again. It was bell lap and I had 6 miles to recover a bit, and try to move up again. I made it to the front 10 or so, and got pushed off onto the grass. Although I managed to stay up I was in the back of the field again. The final kilometer has two sweeping 90 degree turns, before the last 300 meters. I was trying to move up again and a guy in front of me goes off into the grass and skids to a stop before the corn field so I had to back off. Finally, we're going around the final turn and I'm surprised my legs still feel so good. The last 200 meters and I'm weaving around people, moving up quickly, and passing a bunch of people. I ended up 10th again, not bad for chasing back on after the accident.

The lesson learned is bike racing is like real estate, position, position, position. Although I made it to the front of the pack several times, I quickly slid back again when I'd get stuck behind a slow wheel. Strategically, if I'd been more willing to work on the front, I would have been able to maintain a good position as well as miss out on the wrecks at the back of the pack.

Kudos to Levi for taking the win, it was well deserved. He did a ton of work at the front. Levi is a classy, courteous, and selfless rider. The few times I've raced with him, he's stood out for his willingness to work hard, and help out any other rider who is also willing to put forth the effort. At the Smoketown airport crit Cat 5 race he offered me his wheel to help me take a preme.