Friday, December 16, 2011
The Greatest Cycling Coaching Company EVER!
And, I need to link to the image for our race team blog. Which you can check out here: http://veloworksspokes.wordpress.com/
Monday, December 05, 2011
3 more Race Reports
The editors here at Team Landall are doing a pretty terrible job of actually updating and writing race reports. They're going to blame it on fatherhood.
Schooley Mill CX | Maryland | 11.13.2011
This was a pretty cool race. Upon pre-riding the course I thought it was nothing but turn, turn, turn, turn, turn and wasn't going to suit me very well, but during the race I felt like there was a lot of actual pedaling which I generally like. I started really close to the back because of my late registration. I was number 68 or something. The start went up a hill and wasn't very fast, which didn't actually lead to much opportunity to pass. I rode the first lap pretty aggressively to pick my way through the field. I continually passed guys the entire race and then on the last lap made contact with one of the better placed riders in the series. He was on a different bike than he started so me must have had a mechanical. Instead of trying to ride by him I decided to follow him to see how he cornered, since I assumed he was better at that than I am. This strategy also let a guy I had previously passed catch back on and we had a group of three in the last half of the last lap. We all came onto the pavement pretty much together and he opened it up right away. I ended up winning the uphill sprint for 12th. This was the first race I felt like I pedaled hard and sprinted out of corners for the entire 45 minutes. I was really pleased with 12th, especially considering my starting position. This also meant I'd score some series points and get a better starting position at my next Super8 race.
Bloomer Park CX | Rochester, MI | 11.20.2011
We went to Michigan for Thanksgiving and luckily there was a race in their CX series going on in the same park where Jill used to play softball as a kid. We invited all of her friends she grew up with and I couldn't believe it, but they actually came out to watch. It was awesome having a cheering section and was definitely motivating to keep the gas on.
The race had a really weird mulch pile feature. There was a dip in the middle instead of just being one pile. That dip got really rutted out and going into it on the first lap I stacked it pretty good. I was able to get my bike and get the chain back on while running out of the mulch pile, jump back on and start the chase. I lost probably 3-4 spots there.
It didn't take too long and I had moved my way up to 2nd. I chased as hard as I could but couldn't bring the guy in first back. He was their series leader and ended up beating me by about 30 seconds and I beat the guy in 3rd by about 45 seconds. Except for the mulch pile it was a really fun course and I even got heckled by strangers at the top of one of the hills. That was pretty cool too.
Capital CX | Reston, VA | 12.4.2011
I was really stoked to start on the 3rd row for once but I did not have a very good race. At least not physically. Not sure what was going on but I felt completely gassed after the first lap and just never quite felt like I was riding fast through the hard pedaling sections that I normally do pretty well through. I ended up sprinting for 11th, won the sprint, but the judges recorded me as 12th. Upon not seeing a camera I decided not to file and official protest, but probably should have. I just wasn't sure how I'd prove that I beat the guy other than saying, "I know I won that sprint." Oh well.
My favorite part of the day wasn't the insane drop-in with snow fencing to catch riders gone astray. It was the guy who on the 3rd or 4th lap chose to cut the course after the tape had been broken by someone else and rode straight into a giant hole filled with leaves. Karma will do that to you.
That may be the end of my 2011 CX season. There's a race in Luray this weekend but it's a 2 hour drive and with the baby that is sort of a logistical concern. Jill has been so great about letting me race this year, and really so quickly after Hudson was born. He was only 3 weeks old when I raced Kinder Kross. I realize how lucky I am to have such a supportive wife. She's always on the side of the course yelling words of encouragement and telling me where I'm at in the field. It's really awesome. The racing side of me definitely wants to race Luray. I've managed to eek out 6 upgrade pts and there's a decent chance I could get the remaining 4 I need for my 2 upgrade. The husband in me thinks I should probably count my blessings and not push it by asking my wife and baby to sit in the car for a 2 hour drive while I race for 45 minutes and turn around and drive 2 hours home.
Either way, I'm really happy with the way this season went and I'm already looking forward to next year when I've had to time work on the limiters. I'm confident I'll get my 2 upgrade and start racing for 60 minutes. It's just a matter of time.
Schooley Mill CX | Maryland | 11.13.2011
This was a pretty cool race. Upon pre-riding the course I thought it was nothing but turn, turn, turn, turn, turn and wasn't going to suit me very well, but during the race I felt like there was a lot of actual pedaling which I generally like. I started really close to the back because of my late registration. I was number 68 or something. The start went up a hill and wasn't very fast, which didn't actually lead to much opportunity to pass. I rode the first lap pretty aggressively to pick my way through the field. I continually passed guys the entire race and then on the last lap made contact with one of the better placed riders in the series. He was on a different bike than he started so me must have had a mechanical. Instead of trying to ride by him I decided to follow him to see how he cornered, since I assumed he was better at that than I am. This strategy also let a guy I had previously passed catch back on and we had a group of three in the last half of the last lap. We all came onto the pavement pretty much together and he opened it up right away. I ended up winning the uphill sprint for 12th. This was the first race I felt like I pedaled hard and sprinted out of corners for the entire 45 minutes. I was really pleased with 12th, especially considering my starting position. This also meant I'd score some series points and get a better starting position at my next Super8 race.
Bloomer Park CX | Rochester, MI | 11.20.2011
We went to Michigan for Thanksgiving and luckily there was a race in their CX series going on in the same park where Jill used to play softball as a kid. We invited all of her friends she grew up with and I couldn't believe it, but they actually came out to watch. It was awesome having a cheering section and was definitely motivating to keep the gas on.
The race had a really weird mulch pile feature. There was a dip in the middle instead of just being one pile. That dip got really rutted out and going into it on the first lap I stacked it pretty good. I was able to get my bike and get the chain back on while running out of the mulch pile, jump back on and start the chase. I lost probably 3-4 spots there.
It didn't take too long and I had moved my way up to 2nd. I chased as hard as I could but couldn't bring the guy in first back. He was their series leader and ended up beating me by about 30 seconds and I beat the guy in 3rd by about 45 seconds. Except for the mulch pile it was a really fun course and I even got heckled by strangers at the top of one of the hills. That was pretty cool too.
Capital CX | Reston, VA | 12.4.2011
I was really stoked to start on the 3rd row for once but I did not have a very good race. At least not physically. Not sure what was going on but I felt completely gassed after the first lap and just never quite felt like I was riding fast through the hard pedaling sections that I normally do pretty well through. I ended up sprinting for 11th, won the sprint, but the judges recorded me as 12th. Upon not seeing a camera I decided not to file and official protest, but probably should have. I just wasn't sure how I'd prove that I beat the guy other than saying, "I know I won that sprint." Oh well.
My favorite part of the day wasn't the insane drop-in with snow fencing to catch riders gone astray. It was the guy who on the 3rd or 4th lap chose to cut the course after the tape had been broken by someone else and rode straight into a giant hole filled with leaves. Karma will do that to you.
That may be the end of my 2011 CX season. There's a race in Luray this weekend but it's a 2 hour drive and with the baby that is sort of a logistical concern. Jill has been so great about letting me race this year, and really so quickly after Hudson was born. He was only 3 weeks old when I raced Kinder Kross. I realize how lucky I am to have such a supportive wife. She's always on the side of the course yelling words of encouragement and telling me where I'm at in the field. It's really awesome. The racing side of me definitely wants to race Luray. I've managed to eek out 6 upgrade pts and there's a decent chance I could get the remaining 4 I need for my 2 upgrade. The husband in me thinks I should probably count my blessings and not push it by asking my wife and baby to sit in the car for a 2 hour drive while I race for 45 minutes and turn around and drive 2 hours home.
Either way, I'm really happy with the way this season went and I'm already looking forward to next year when I've had to time work on the limiters. I'm confident I'll get my 2 upgrade and start racing for 60 minutes. It's just a matter of time.
Monday, November 07, 2011
3 Race Reports and a Rant.
First, here's three race reports:
Kinder Cross, 10.30.11, Cat 3/4:
First race back after the birth of Hudson. About 2 weeks off the bike and the entire week going into that race I rode indoors on the trainer. The first time I rode outside was from the parking spot to the reg table to get my number. Got a good start despite being on the 6th or 7th row and went into the first bottle neck in the top 15 or so. Fought my way up to about 5th and then starting making mistakes from not having actually ridden my bike in a while. I ended up dabbing a lot more than usual which forced me to chase harder than needed which caused more dabbing. I finished 9th out of 40 something starters. Not bad for the first race back.
VCU CX, 11.05.11, Cat 3:
This was a smaller race with only about 20 guys on the start line. The course was awesome and had a bunch of really cool features. It was also short so we rode 10 or so laps for the 45 minutes instead of just 4-5. Moved into the top 5 by the end of the first lap then into 3rd by the end of the 3rd or 4th. I got caught by a guy somewhere around the 5th or 6th lap and I tried to recovery a bit while keeping him in striking distance. He was cornering better than me but I was riding faster through the pedaling sections so I figured I just needed to come to the pavement with him and I'd beat him. That's what happened and I out sprinted him for 3rd.
Ed Sander CX, 11.06.11, Cat 3/4:
At the MABRA races the staging takes place based on the order in which you register. The only good thing about this policy is that at least it's transparent and everybody knows it. The bad thing about this policy is that it's dumb but I'll get to that in my rant in a second.
I started 89th, third from last row. I couldn't even see the helmets of the guys in the first 5 rows. I liked half of this course but the section through the Lily Ponds I didn't really find very useful. It wasn't hard as it was just a series of 90 degree corners through the ponds, but it was almost impossible to ride fast because it was turn, pedal twice, turn, pedal twice, turn. I think you get the idea. The other half of the course actually required some fitness, some bike handling skills and concentration. That part of the course was much better.
I ended up in a group of guys and had almost nothing left on the last lap. I was hoping I could hold them off but I gave up a few spots late. I finished 26th on the day, which, in retrospect isn't terrible considering I started 89th. On the results sheets they had a column marked kills, which, in theory is the number of guys you beat based on where you started. I had the 2nd most on the day. The guy with the most started on my row and ended up on the podium. I have no idea how he got through traffic to get all the way up there. Hats off to that guy! http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
And, my rant.
Staging is supposed to act as a means of pre-ranking the riders based on their achieved results that year. At UCI races you are staged based on your UCI points and so the person with the most points it's 1st and it goes from there. At these local races each race assigns series points. And I think that's a good system and those people should get call ups and priority staging. But, after that, staging should be done based on a scoring system that ranks every single rider in the field against one another. But, you may ask yourself, how would the race promoter know how to rank people in that fashion? Easy, crossresults.com already does this work for every single race promoter who uses bikereg, which, all of ours do. All you have to do is copy/paste the url for the confirmed riders into to the race predictor tool and it automatically spits out a list of registered riders based on their crossresults score. In theory, and obviously this wouldn't be absolutely perfect, but you'd get a much more accurate staging line up based on riders previous results. This wouldn't even be any extra work for the race promoter because you're already using an excel sheet to assign race numbers, all you'd have to do is copy/paste the race prediction into an excel sheet and carry on like you previously did. This, would make for a much more accurate race and would still encourage online registration, because you could revert to the old system for anybody registering day of by making those people start in the back, first come, first served.
Obviously this rant is based on the fact that in races where I don't start 3rd row from the back I have all top 10 results and 2 podiums. When I have to fight through rows and rows of people I'm faster than I'm just out of the top 25. Again, I'm not suggesting extra work for race promoters to do a better job with staging at these larger races, but this solution would fix the problem and create a much more accurate race. I just don't like that people get rewarded for sitting at their computer and trolling for registration to open instead of out training. You shouldn't be penalized for pre-registering even if it's 1 minute before online registration closes.
Kinder Cross, 10.30.11, Cat 3/4:
First race back after the birth of Hudson. About 2 weeks off the bike and the entire week going into that race I rode indoors on the trainer. The first time I rode outside was from the parking spot to the reg table to get my number. Got a good start despite being on the 6th or 7th row and went into the first bottle neck in the top 15 or so. Fought my way up to about 5th and then starting making mistakes from not having actually ridden my bike in a while. I ended up dabbing a lot more than usual which forced me to chase harder than needed which caused more dabbing. I finished 9th out of 40 something starters. Not bad for the first race back.
VCU CX, 11.05.11, Cat 3:
This was a smaller race with only about 20 guys on the start line. The course was awesome and had a bunch of really cool features. It was also short so we rode 10 or so laps for the 45 minutes instead of just 4-5. Moved into the top 5 by the end of the first lap then into 3rd by the end of the 3rd or 4th. I got caught by a guy somewhere around the 5th or 6th lap and I tried to recovery a bit while keeping him in striking distance. He was cornering better than me but I was riding faster through the pedaling sections so I figured I just needed to come to the pavement with him and I'd beat him. That's what happened and I out sprinted him for 3rd.
Ed Sander CX, 11.06.11, Cat 3/4:
At the MABRA races the staging takes place based on the order in which you register. The only good thing about this policy is that at least it's transparent and everybody knows it. The bad thing about this policy is that it's dumb but I'll get to that in my rant in a second.
I started 89th, third from last row. I couldn't even see the helmets of the guys in the first 5 rows. I liked half of this course but the section through the Lily Ponds I didn't really find very useful. It wasn't hard as it was just a series of 90 degree corners through the ponds, but it was almost impossible to ride fast because it was turn, pedal twice, turn, pedal twice, turn. I think you get the idea. The other half of the course actually required some fitness, some bike handling skills and concentration. That part of the course was much better.
I ended up in a group of guys and had almost nothing left on the last lap. I was hoping I could hold them off but I gave up a few spots late. I finished 26th on the day, which, in retrospect isn't terrible considering I started 89th. On the results sheets they had a column marked kills, which, in theory is the number of guys you beat based on where you started. I had the 2nd most on the day. The guy with the most started on my row and ended up on the podium. I have no idea how he got through traffic to get all the way up there. Hats off to that guy! http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
And, my rant.
Staging is supposed to act as a means of pre-ranking the riders based on their achieved results that year. At UCI races you are staged based on your UCI points and so the person with the most points it's 1st and it goes from there. At these local races each race assigns series points. And I think that's a good system and those people should get call ups and priority staging. But, after that, staging should be done based on a scoring system that ranks every single rider in the field against one another. But, you may ask yourself, how would the race promoter know how to rank people in that fashion? Easy, crossresults.com already does this work for every single race promoter who uses bikereg, which, all of ours do. All you have to do is copy/paste the url for the confirmed riders into to the race predictor tool and it automatically spits out a list of registered riders based on their crossresults score. In theory, and obviously this wouldn't be absolutely perfect, but you'd get a much more accurate staging line up based on riders previous results. This wouldn't even be any extra work for the race promoter because you're already using an excel sheet to assign race numbers, all you'd have to do is copy/paste the race prediction into an excel sheet and carry on like you previously did. This, would make for a much more accurate race and would still encourage online registration, because you could revert to the old system for anybody registering day of by making those people start in the back, first come, first served.
Obviously this rant is based on the fact that in races where I don't start 3rd row from the back I have all top 10 results and 2 podiums. When I have to fight through rows and rows of people I'm faster than I'm just out of the top 25. Again, I'm not suggesting extra work for race promoters to do a better job with staging at these larger races, but this solution would fix the problem and create a much more accurate race. I just don't like that people get rewarded for sitting at their computer and trolling for registration to open instead of out training. You shouldn't be penalized for pre-registering even if it's 1 minute before online registration closes.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Tachinno CX Race Report
Yesterday I won a cyclocross (CX) race. I’ve never written a race report from a race I’ve won because, well, I’ve never won a bike race before, of any kind. It’s sort of hard thinking back on the day to write about any details that would make it interesting to read about in this format but since I have friends and family who don’t get to come to races I’ll do my best to recap how it went.
In CX the start is sometimes the most important part of the race. If you’re unfamiliar they stage us all in rows of 8. Every region seems to have a different method of handling staging, but here, they do it by order of registration. I was number 36, which meant I was the 36th guy to register and found myself on the 5th or 6th row. The field was probably over 100 deep so if you’re on the 10th+ row your race, if you’re trying to place, can be over literally at the first corner when 100+ guys are trying to squeeze through, and the further back you are, the more likely you come to a complete stop. Obviously this is bad when the guys on the front are riding as hard as they can while you’re standing still.
With the importance of the start in mind I lined up on the far left of my row. There was about a bike width of room between the edge of the road and the course tape and so my plan was to shoot up that side through the grass as long as it was open and available. Luckily, the guys lined up in front of me were content with staying on the pavement and I was in the 3rd row before some guys were even clipped in. When that lane of grass ran out an opening to my right presented itself and I shot into that gap continuing to move up as far as I could before the choke point. At this race the choke point happened to be a right hand corner at the stop of an uphill drag. I went into that corner in around 10th position. Out of that corner was a slight downhill that went into an off camber left hand u-turn. I was surprised at how many of the guys in front of me were coasting this downhill so as I continued to pedal I was able to move up maybe 2 or 3 more spots. What goes down must come up and so the next section was another uphill drag in which I was able to continue to move up a few more spots until I found myself sitting 3rd wheel. At this point, I was pretty content to sit there and try and feel out those guys to see who was strong and who just sits at their computer to register the second registration opens so they can start on the front. We went through a few more off camber sections and I noticed that there was a small gap, maybe just a second or two forming behind me.
This brought us into the run up where the first guy shouldered his bike while #2 and I pushed ours. The ground wasn’t muddy so you weren’t at a disadvantage just pushing it. Number 1 tried to make himself wide which isn’t a terrible strategy but he wasn’t running fast enough I went to his right to pass him. He sort of blocked me with his front wheel (maybe not intentionally) so I just assertively made some room for myself and ran by. #2 got the top of the run up at the same time I did so I decided it’d probably be better to get at least a little bit of draft so I let him get on first and followed him for the remainder of the lap.
The run up definitely stretched our gap out but only by a few seconds. There were still plenty of guys within striking distance. It was still early in the race so I didn’t want to attack this guy only to have him sit on my wheel and then smoke me at the finish. And, to be honest, it didn’t seem like he was working that hard. About half way through the second lap I looked back and realized we had a gap of probably 10 or so seconds to the chasing group so I figured at this point it was well worth the effort to work with him to increase that gap and then deal with any winning tactics on a later lap. I pulled around him on the straight away beside the pit and said, “We got a gap, let’s go,” and he responded, “Good job.” I was completely puzzled by the response but decided to just keep the pace high and I could ask for clarification later. After this straight there was a sweeping left that led into a flat right handed u-turn. When I got through the u-turn I looked and saw that he wasn’t into the turn yet. I didn’t feel like I’d accelerated but I read that as a sign that he was gassed so I decided to roll the dice and I hit it hard to try and make that gap expand.
Describing 90% of the rest of the race wouldn’t be very interesting. It was a lot of me riding as hard as I could, alone off the front. I was definitely nervous that I went too early as I was in completely unchartered territory, but, I like racing my bike, not riding in packs, so I figured even if this was a fly and die move, at least I’d tried.
Apparently my gap continued to increase over the next four laps, which was good considering that I crashed on an off camber corner on the last lap. Luckily my friend and teammate Thom, who wasn’t racing, was standing right where I crashed. He immediately started with the reassurances of “It’s ok, stay calm, you’ve got a gap.” Then, when I got up and realized my chain was off, again, “Just put the chain on. You’ve got time.” That made a huge difference. I don’t know how long I was on the ground or how long it took me to get going again but it felt like an hour. I’m sure without his reassurance I’d have panicked and taken at least twice as long. Luckily, the gap I’d built it up was more than enough to recover from that crash.
I rode the rest of that lap pretty cautiously, which ironically meant I actually took a lot of the corners much smoother and faster than before. I guess that’s a lesson for another day. About half way through I realized I’d won as long as I kept it upright and so I started to think about the finish line celebration. I’m sure I’m not the only bike racer who has stood in front of a mirror and thrown my arms up in the air until I got one that I thought looked cool. All of that practice was for absolutely nothing because when I did cross the finish line I had no idea what to do. I did post up but it was more of absolute shock that I’d held everyone off and somehow managed to win a bike race. I rode slowly for a bit and then went back to find Jill because if anything, she’s the one who helped me win that race. I spend a lot of time on my bike and she’s always been nothing but supportive, encouraging and motivating.
With the baby due in a week but could decide to show up anytime I haven’t registered for any more races. This means that I’ll be playing them all by ear and registering at the race if the baby is still holding out for a higher signing bonus and incentive package. With registering at the race I’ll likely be starting dead last in the field. That means I’ll probably get stopped behind the choke point and have to chase and fight my way through traffic instead of leading it and picking my own lines through the corners. But, that’s ok, because bike racing is still fun, no matter what, and just because I got 1 result doesn’t deviate from my goals for the season. I can still ride my bike hard regardless of where I start and regardless of where I finish. But finishing first sure is nice!
And a link to some photos my friend Thom took.
In CX the start is sometimes the most important part of the race. If you’re unfamiliar they stage us all in rows of 8. Every region seems to have a different method of handling staging, but here, they do it by order of registration. I was number 36, which meant I was the 36th guy to register and found myself on the 5th or 6th row. The field was probably over 100 deep so if you’re on the 10th+ row your race, if you’re trying to place, can be over literally at the first corner when 100+ guys are trying to squeeze through, and the further back you are, the more likely you come to a complete stop. Obviously this is bad when the guys on the front are riding as hard as they can while you’re standing still.
With the importance of the start in mind I lined up on the far left of my row. There was about a bike width of room between the edge of the road and the course tape and so my plan was to shoot up that side through the grass as long as it was open and available. Luckily, the guys lined up in front of me were content with staying on the pavement and I was in the 3rd row before some guys were even clipped in. When that lane of grass ran out an opening to my right presented itself and I shot into that gap continuing to move up as far as I could before the choke point. At this race the choke point happened to be a right hand corner at the stop of an uphill drag. I went into that corner in around 10th position. Out of that corner was a slight downhill that went into an off camber left hand u-turn. I was surprised at how many of the guys in front of me were coasting this downhill so as I continued to pedal I was able to move up maybe 2 or 3 more spots. What goes down must come up and so the next section was another uphill drag in which I was able to continue to move up a few more spots until I found myself sitting 3rd wheel. At this point, I was pretty content to sit there and try and feel out those guys to see who was strong and who just sits at their computer to register the second registration opens so they can start on the front. We went through a few more off camber sections and I noticed that there was a small gap, maybe just a second or two forming behind me.
This brought us into the run up where the first guy shouldered his bike while #2 and I pushed ours. The ground wasn’t muddy so you weren’t at a disadvantage just pushing it. Number 1 tried to make himself wide which isn’t a terrible strategy but he wasn’t running fast enough I went to his right to pass him. He sort of blocked me with his front wheel (maybe not intentionally) so I just assertively made some room for myself and ran by. #2 got the top of the run up at the same time I did so I decided it’d probably be better to get at least a little bit of draft so I let him get on first and followed him for the remainder of the lap.
The run up definitely stretched our gap out but only by a few seconds. There were still plenty of guys within striking distance. It was still early in the race so I didn’t want to attack this guy only to have him sit on my wheel and then smoke me at the finish. And, to be honest, it didn’t seem like he was working that hard. About half way through the second lap I looked back and realized we had a gap of probably 10 or so seconds to the chasing group so I figured at this point it was well worth the effort to work with him to increase that gap and then deal with any winning tactics on a later lap. I pulled around him on the straight away beside the pit and said, “We got a gap, let’s go,” and he responded, “Good job.” I was completely puzzled by the response but decided to just keep the pace high and I could ask for clarification later. After this straight there was a sweeping left that led into a flat right handed u-turn. When I got through the u-turn I looked and saw that he wasn’t into the turn yet. I didn’t feel like I’d accelerated but I read that as a sign that he was gassed so I decided to roll the dice and I hit it hard to try and make that gap expand.
Describing 90% of the rest of the race wouldn’t be very interesting. It was a lot of me riding as hard as I could, alone off the front. I was definitely nervous that I went too early as I was in completely unchartered territory, but, I like racing my bike, not riding in packs, so I figured even if this was a fly and die move, at least I’d tried.
Apparently my gap continued to increase over the next four laps, which was good considering that I crashed on an off camber corner on the last lap. Luckily my friend and teammate Thom, who wasn’t racing, was standing right where I crashed. He immediately started with the reassurances of “It’s ok, stay calm, you’ve got a gap.” Then, when I got up and realized my chain was off, again, “Just put the chain on. You’ve got time.” That made a huge difference. I don’t know how long I was on the ground or how long it took me to get going again but it felt like an hour. I’m sure without his reassurance I’d have panicked and taken at least twice as long. Luckily, the gap I’d built it up was more than enough to recover from that crash.
I rode the rest of that lap pretty cautiously, which ironically meant I actually took a lot of the corners much smoother and faster than before. I guess that’s a lesson for another day. About half way through I realized I’d won as long as I kept it upright and so I started to think about the finish line celebration. I’m sure I’m not the only bike racer who has stood in front of a mirror and thrown my arms up in the air until I got one that I thought looked cool. All of that practice was for absolutely nothing because when I did cross the finish line I had no idea what to do. I did post up but it was more of absolute shock that I’d held everyone off and somehow managed to win a bike race. I rode slowly for a bit and then went back to find Jill because if anything, she’s the one who helped me win that race. I spend a lot of time on my bike and she’s always been nothing but supportive, encouraging and motivating.
With the baby due in a week but could decide to show up anytime I haven’t registered for any more races. This means that I’ll be playing them all by ear and registering at the race if the baby is still holding out for a higher signing bonus and incentive package. With registering at the race I’ll likely be starting dead last in the field. That means I’ll probably get stopped behind the choke point and have to chase and fight my way through traffic instead of leading it and picking my own lines through the corners. But, that’s ok, because bike racing is still fun, no matter what, and just because I got 1 result doesn’t deviate from my goals for the season. I can still ride my bike hard regardless of where I start and regardless of where I finish. But finishing first sure is nice!
And a link to some photos my friend Thom took.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Candy Pedal Question
Hey Fellow CX folks, I have a question for you. I switched pedals this year to egg beaters but wasn't having the easiest time getting back into them. I won a set of candy 1s so I switched over to see if they were any better. I like the extra platform they provide and they're easier to find when oxygen is no longer at a maximum level in my brain, but I do have an issue.
Eggbeater:
Candy:
The big plus of eggbeaters or candy pedals are the 4 points of entry. But, I find that's only sometimes the case with my candy pedals. The engagement piece (we'll just call it the eggbeater for ease of visual aid and referencing) spins freely from the platform which in theory should still allow for the 4 points of engagement. However, I find that it doesn't spin free enough not to also spin the platform and what this means is that occasionally I end up with the eggbeater orientated perpendicular to the platform with only 1 piece sticking up through the platform instead of 2, which is what you need to "properly" clip in.
I say properly because you can still get clipped in this way but the amount of float is almost zero and the amount of twist required to disengage is also a lot greater. They still "work" when this happens but it's not ideal.
Visuals of what I'm attempting to describe above.
Good:
Not Good:
So I basically have 2 questions:
1) Is there a fix for this? I've applied lube to the connecting pieces and spun the two pieces independently trying to get them to loosen up more but it doesn't seem to do much good unless I'm physically holding the platform and spinning the eggbeater with my other hand. If I just push the eggbeater portion the platform spins as well.
2) If there's not a fix, does it make sense to somehow (maybe super glue) fix the eggbeater into place so that there are only 2 points of engagement, but they would be perfect points of engagement and provide reliable, consistent performance. While this option would eliminate the benefit of the 4 points of engagement of the crankbrother's systems it wouldn't be any worse than most companies standard 2 point systems.
I'd appreciate any input that anybody has. Thanks!
Eggbeater:
Candy:
The big plus of eggbeaters or candy pedals are the 4 points of entry. But, I find that's only sometimes the case with my candy pedals. The engagement piece (we'll just call it the eggbeater for ease of visual aid and referencing) spins freely from the platform which in theory should still allow for the 4 points of engagement. However, I find that it doesn't spin free enough not to also spin the platform and what this means is that occasionally I end up with the eggbeater orientated perpendicular to the platform with only 1 piece sticking up through the platform instead of 2, which is what you need to "properly" clip in.
I say properly because you can still get clipped in this way but the amount of float is almost zero and the amount of twist required to disengage is also a lot greater. They still "work" when this happens but it's not ideal.
Visuals of what I'm attempting to describe above.
Good:
Not Good:
So I basically have 2 questions:
1) Is there a fix for this? I've applied lube to the connecting pieces and spun the two pieces independently trying to get them to loosen up more but it doesn't seem to do much good unless I'm physically holding the platform and spinning the eggbeater with my other hand. If I just push the eggbeater portion the platform spins as well.
2) If there's not a fix, does it make sense to somehow (maybe super glue) fix the eggbeater into place so that there are only 2 points of engagement, but they would be perfect points of engagement and provide reliable, consistent performance. While this option would eliminate the benefit of the 4 points of engagement of the crankbrother's systems it wouldn't be any worse than most companies standard 2 point systems.
I'd appreciate any input that anybody has. Thanks!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
CX Season Goals
I'm a big believer in the value of goals. I like to have things to strive for and most importantly, remember what I'm working for when the going gets tough. Sometimes, just like the tag line on this blog says, we set completely unrealistic goals and then get frustrated when we fall short.
Three years ago I raced my first cross race. It was ugly. I'll spare you most of the details but I dropped my chain 17 times (yep, I counted) and was lapped twice. It was probably the most fun I'd had on a bike in a long, long time. After that race I immediately made some changes to the bike, not least of course, to prevent the chain from falling off, and raced again the next weekend, and the next weekend, and so on and so forth.
Since that initial year though I've done a terrible job of managing my motivation and fitness through late summer. I always found myself burned out and needing a rest from the road and then all of sudden it was late September and I hadn't done anything to get prepared for CX season. This left me feeling flat and exhausted and not willing to spend my hard earned dollars on entry fees when I could take a beating for free if I really wanted to.
This season I somehow managed to remember that CX season was on the horizon. I was approved the purchase of an aluminum CX bike with working shifters which, in theory, should make a huge difference in my racing. I find myself coming into this season mentally and physically prepared, at least as much as I can be. I'm ready to race and I'm excited to get in as many races as I can given life's commitments (there is a baby set to be born any day now).
So with all of that in mind I decided to write out some goals for CX season. Realistic goals that I think I can stick to but most importantly use to define success. Winning bike races is hard. If 100+ guys show up to an event only 1 guy wins. It doesn't happen very often for a variety of reasons and because of that I'm going to no longer use "win" as a goal. If all goes well, hopefully I can find myself in that hunt and make that happen. You can't control what other people do in a race, but you can keep control of what you do and so my goals are written from that perspective.
Goals:
1) Ride as hard as I can for the entire race.
2) Improve technically.
3) Have fun.
4) Race.
If at the end of every race I can look back and say I did those 4 things, maybe I'll get lucky enough to snag a result or two.
Three years ago I raced my first cross race. It was ugly. I'll spare you most of the details but I dropped my chain 17 times (yep, I counted) and was lapped twice. It was probably the most fun I'd had on a bike in a long, long time. After that race I immediately made some changes to the bike, not least of course, to prevent the chain from falling off, and raced again the next weekend, and the next weekend, and so on and so forth.
Since that initial year though I've done a terrible job of managing my motivation and fitness through late summer. I always found myself burned out and needing a rest from the road and then all of sudden it was late September and I hadn't done anything to get prepared for CX season. This left me feeling flat and exhausted and not willing to spend my hard earned dollars on entry fees when I could take a beating for free if I really wanted to.
This season I somehow managed to remember that CX season was on the horizon. I was approved the purchase of an aluminum CX bike with working shifters which, in theory, should make a huge difference in my racing. I find myself coming into this season mentally and physically prepared, at least as much as I can be. I'm ready to race and I'm excited to get in as many races as I can given life's commitments (there is a baby set to be born any day now).
So with all of that in mind I decided to write out some goals for CX season. Realistic goals that I think I can stick to but most importantly use to define success. Winning bike races is hard. If 100+ guys show up to an event only 1 guy wins. It doesn't happen very often for a variety of reasons and because of that I'm going to no longer use "win" as a goal. If all goes well, hopefully I can find myself in that hunt and make that happen. You can't control what other people do in a race, but you can keep control of what you do and so my goals are written from that perspective.
Goals:
1) Ride as hard as I can for the entire race.
2) Improve technically.
3) Have fun.
4) Race.
If at the end of every race I can look back and say I did those 4 things, maybe I'll get lucky enough to snag a result or two.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
tumblr.
The management team here at TeamLandall has decided that we needed to venture out and utilize another social media tool. Sometimes the writers on staff here have something to write or post but it doesn't quite justify an entire blog entry but it's a bit more than 140 characters. In those instances we've decided to post thinghttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifs to tumblr.
We can be found at teamlandall.tumblr.com.
Right now there isn't a lot posted. In fact there isn't much at all. But there is a video of me going through the barriers at cx practice last night. I've been working pretty hard on this (the barriers, not the posting to social media) so I'm pretty stoked for the upcoming season.
See you out there.
We can be found at teamlandall.tumblr.com.
Right now there isn't a lot posted. In fact there isn't much at all. But there is a video of me going through the barriers at cx practice last night. I've been working pretty hard on this (the barriers, not the posting to social media) so I'm pretty stoked for the upcoming season.
See you out there.
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