More Casey Auto Group Crit Pics

Posted by Dan on 29. April 2009 07:49

I've posted a few more pictures of Wick at the 2009 Casey Auto Group Crit Cat 4 race.

Thanks to Tim for taking and sending this photos.

Waynesboro Grand Prix Results

Posted by Dan on 29. April 2009 06:29

The results for last weekend's Waynesboro Grand Prix have been posted to USA Cycling, VA Cycling and pre-reg.com. We were all so eager to get on the interstate Sunday that we didn't stick around to see how we finished.

Cat 5/Cat 5 35+: Steve Knott - 21st.
Cat 3/4, Masters 30+: Kyle - 10th
Dan - 14th.

And there you have it.

Functional Threshold Power Test

Posted by Dan on 29. April 2009 01:59

I set out today for Chesapeake's Peter Teeuwen's Time Trial course. My objective was to retest my functional threshold power. When I got my PowerTap last October, I did this same test and my FTP was 266 watts. I retested at the beginning of March after some decent early season training and it moved up to 279, which is where I've had it ever since. Several weeks ago, I started noticing my Intensity Factor (IF) exceeding 1.0, which means I was consistently able to ride harder than my threshold. That could only mean that my FTP should be rested as it probably needed to be raised (a little). The Mean Maximal Power Curve for the last 28 days indicated it could be between 290 and 300.

The downside to doing this now is the URI I've been fighting for 2+ weeks. I was completely off the bike for 7 days, then took it easy for a week while I got back in the swing of things. I'm probably exhibiting the behavior that gets athletes into trouble by pushing hard when they should be recovering and taking nice 2 hour CP180 rides. When this occurred to me, I was already unloading the bike and it was too late.

For this ride, the winds were blowing from 230 (SW) at 10 knots, gusting to 15 knots (12/17 mph). The temp was around 88 degrees. I'd say it was hot, but not like tires melting to the pavement hot. The course starts out going south for about 6 miles, then makes a 10 mile loop and returns down the initial 6 mile stretch. When I rode this TT last year on my road bike, I did it in 0:57:57. As the FTP test is the maximum average power sustainable for 60 minutes, I did two laps of the lollipop before heading back to the car to be sure I had enough data.

Another purpose for this ride was to test out a HED H3 aero wheel that East Coast Bicycles had let me demo. I've never ridden on an aero rim any deeper than the 31mm "aero" rims that come on a the Trek Equinox. My research says the tri-spoke HED wheel is great and does a fantastic job of eliminating the turbulence from spokes by eliminating the spokes altogether and replacing them with three well-designed carbon airfoils. Sounds great, but I've also heard that they're unstable and sensitive to winds. Before laying down my hard-earned money, I wanted to see for myself.

I used the first six miles as a warm up, spinning for a minute then recovering for a minute and gradually picking up the pace and intensity. The PowerTap was telling me my heart rate was 210+ when I got in the aero position (my max was 181 last time I tested it). If I sat up, it quickly came down to 160. I haven't a clue why. I tested this a couple times during the warm up. I adjusted the strap and snapped it a few times, but it wasn't going to come down. So once again, I was flying by perceived effort and not by keeping the heart rate at 100% of max.

I haven't ridden my TT bike in over 3 weeks (since the Conquer the Canal TT on 4/5) while gearing up for a crit-heavy weekend just prior to me getting a virus with a bacterial infection and deep hatred for all living things - me in particular. Before that, I had not logged many hours in the aero position, so it's hard to say whether it was my handling skills that needed work or the quartering headwind coming at me at 50 degrees acting on the wheel (optimal is 17.5), but I was fighting the bike. Not a lot, but if I relaxed and let the wheel go where it wanted, I'd probably still be working my way out of the deep ditches out on Shillelagh Rd.

The rest of the ride was pretty boring. I was breathing heavy, wondering when I would stop worrying about watts long enough to take a drink. I was sweating profusely and had whatever the Mucinex worked free streaming from my beak. I wasn't coughing, so that's something. I'd occasionally look down and see 215 watts and get on it hard. When I'd see 340+, I'd let off. I knew I hadn't improved that much and the longer I stayed there, the shorter this ride was going to be. I completed my two laps and made the right turn down Shillelagh Rd. towards the Walmart and what was sure to be my black Volkswagen Oven. As usual, the effort showed signs of cracking on this stretch. By the time I reached the Ruritan Club (start/finish for the PLT TT), I could no longer stay seated. It was either stand up and ride or get off and walk. I don't know who made the shorts I'm wearing, or more importantly, the chamois, but when I find that person, I'm going to make them eat them. You can call me El Barto.

So there's the back story. Here's the important part: the data.
The entire ride was 34.11 miles long and it took 1:26:56.40 making the avg speed 23.7 mph and avg power 245 watts. This included the warm up and that period where you pass what you know is the 1 hour mark and just stop pedaling for awhile until you realize you cannot coast to the car.

The peak 60 minute period:
Distance: 24.498 mi
Normalized Power: 263
Average Power: 260
Max Power: 650
Average HR: 182 bpm
Average Cadence: 103 rpm
Average Speed: 24.5 mph

While an average of 24.5 mph is pretty good for an hour, especially with today's winds (never a tailwind), I must say I'm disappointed in the average power output. 260 represents a significant drop from what it was and even more from what I thought it should be.

And finally, my list of excuses:
10. No bottle cage, couldn't reach water bottle in my jersey.
9. I had a water bottle in my jersey.
8. I forgot to put electrical tape over the front wheel's valve hole.
7. I had the front wheel on backwards.
6. I wore fingerless gloves.
5. I wore my non-aero helmet.
4. I was spooked by what I thought was an alligator in the road.
3. I used my legs for other stuff yesterday.
2. I got caught at the light.
1. I confused my Assos Chamois Cream with Icy Hot.

For now, I'll leave the FTP alone. Next time I'm doing the 95% of the 20 min peak power and switching to DZNUTS high viscosity chamois cream in the distinctive black tube.

Waynesboro Grand Prix #1

Posted by Dan on 27. April 2009 05:01

Today's race in scenic Waynesboro, VA served to teach us many lessons. So many lessons that I'm going to think of this race as a "learnin' race". For example, I learned that when you have a serious upper respiratory infection that settles in your lungs and lasts more than 2 weeks, you really need to wait until the cough is gone before you try racing. Failure to do so will not result in cramps or sterility, but it will guarantee that your performance will make you question your athletic choices (like "Why did I quit the ping pong team?"). This seems too important to get wrong, so I'm going to retest this theory at Wintergreen and again, if necessary, at Fort Lee if it doesn't clear up this week.

I also learned that racing in Tidewater spoils you. Our pancake-flat terrain with a few lousy bridges does not make us climbers. We enjoy a nice fast race where the guy with better technical skills leads the pack through the corners and into a bunch sprint. That's what we like. Throw a hill in there and we're all discombobulated, fragmented and sucking wind. That's why we decided today that my son is going to UVA. I can't bear to watch him doing ineffective intervals on the Campostella Bridge like his old man.

Here's another one: when you're receiving the pre-race briefing while waiting for the police to give the "all clear" and the ref says, "We've decided to allow feeding on this 60 minute race", there's probably a good reason for it. Until today, our races have been in held in the low 40's to mid-70s. I think there were two that made it as high as the 80s. Today was 94, sunny with calm winds. That brings us to the three most important things in bike racing: hydrate, hydrate and hydrate. I think I took exactly zero drinks while I slobbered my way around the streets of Waynesboro.

Lydia, the kids and I loaded up the van up with bike stuff and a dog and headed west this morning around 9:00. If you're interested in a half-hearted recap of the trip, see my tweets. We pulled into town and parked in what seemed like the designated parking area. While the registration office was just across the street, the start/finish line and everything else that makes a race a race was up the hill about half a mile. While Lydia setup her spectator/photog/kennel station across from the judges tent, I went about getting dressed and tending to last minute bike things. Wick and Kyle had also sashayed up to the VIP parking lot and were doing the same. The juniors (10-18) were on the course and Steve Knott and the other Cat 5s were warming up wherever they could. Little did they know they'd get plenty warm as soon as they took to the course. Steve said later that he could feel the road getting hotter with each lap as the sun rose overhead.

The start/finish line was on a relatively short and flat section between two climbs. On go, riders made their way up a slight hill and made two left turns while continuing to climb. At the top of the climb, they'd zig right and immediately zag left to begin the descent which was by far the greatest part of the race: high speed, no effort and a cooling breeze. The descent lasted a few blocks where a left hand turn led to another and then the Waynesboro Wall. Having come home and watched the 95th Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Versus, I guess it wasn't THAT bad, but I'm from Norfolk. See lesson #3 above.

The start proved to be a little problematic for some but all gaps were quickly filled and the pack would take the first left turn as a happy group. They'd all explore that first climb up the back of the course together. At the top, they'd all make sure they were in their big chain ring and tuck in for the quick run to the bottom. Here's where things would get strung out. Once again, the heavier guys would lay down and let gravity draw them to the bottom with blistering speed while the light guys couldn't lay down enough. So now we have this nice long string of riders barreling down the hill towards an upcoming left turn. They'd all make it around and start to bunch up a little. After maybe a block and a half, they'd make the next left and prepare for the hill. This is where the charges were planted. The pack would explode with each pass until there were roughly 10 people per group plus a ton of stragglers. The stragglers usually rode until Ruth would point a bony finger of death and utter those terrifying words, "You'll be caught by the pace car within a lap. Pull off!" So ended many a race today.

All the races seemed to follow this pattern, more or less. The Cat 5 race was like this. Steve was unfortunate enough to be left by the main field, but at that time, there really wasn't a "main field". He finished the race and did not get yanked by Ruth, so I consider that a victory.

The Cat 3/4/Masters 30+ ride was a little bit sadder than that. This race had a strong Team Fitness Together showing with Wick, Kyle and me in the field. After getting the "all clear", we rolled out, except that I couldn't clip in. Big surprise - I upgraded from old-school Look pedals to new Keo Carbons and moved the cleat back about 1 cm. It's like learning to ride with clipless pedals all over again. Our group happily made its way up the hill to begin the descent where we formed a giant line all the way down the hill. Fattest guys first, then the scrawny guys and finally those of us that struggled up that first climb. Oh yeah, it was going to be a good race. I remember seeing glimpses of that awesome new Team Fitness Together jersey here and there. Wick and Kyle were both moving around mid-pack. I know this because I was right behind them near the back. Bad place to be. I stuck it out for a few laps then lost contact with the pack. I remember thinking that if Ruth didn't get me and I didn't drop dead, I'd keep going at whatever pace I could muster. After two laps, I motioned to my wife Lydia, who was taking pictures of the contorted faces of Tidewater climbers, that it was all over. For whatever reason, I kept going past the parking lot.

A few more laps and I was about cooked. I could no longer see Wick or Kyle or the field for that matter. I was "working" with one other dropped rider until I moved up to pull, turned around to see where he was and couldn't find him. I'm guessing he pulled off as there were no open manholes. As I was making my way up the hill toward the next dropped rider, imagining how awesome it'd be to pull off, Lydia shouted, "One more with your jersey zipped up!" Bah. So I took another lap after zipping my jersey up. And then another. And then... Ruth. Bam. I was out. Game over. Wick had already made it back to the car and was clearly not happy with the way things played out. We shared our stories while Kyle took another 4 laps before he too was pulled out. The constant climbing in intense heat with no acclimation period took its toll on everyone. There were about 24 starters and only 9 finished.

And that's our story. Lydia ran to the backside of the course to get some descending shots and then the camera battery died. The kids and the dog and the heat and dead camera battery were all saying, "Time to go." So we went.

Thanks again to Lydia for taking some great pictures of the Juniors, Cat 5/Cat 5 Masters 35+ and the Cat 3/4/Masters 30+ races before the battery died. If she didn't get your race and you're interested in donating a backup battery, please leave a comment.

Thanks to the Van Dessel Factory Team and the officials for putting on a great race, even if it did teach me things.

Team Fitness Together on Twitter

Posted by Dan on 26. April 2009 16:44

Never miss another important race update! Team Fitness Together is now on Twitter! Well, I am anyway and I tweet when I remember to and when my phone gets reception, which is not very often when we're traveling to races in the middle of Virginia, but it's something, right? Worst case scenario, you have to wait until we're back on the interstate. Follow @celeritycycling.

Twisted Tire/Spring Cup

Posted by Dan on 24. April 2009 06:34

by MIKE SHIPP

Trey Duty, who has raced Mt. Bikes for many years, and I travelled up to Poor Farm Park in Ashland, VA on Sunday the 18th for the Twisted Tire/Spring Cup. Poor Farm is a fun single track park. Zeus, Trey’s dog, traveled with us. Zeus is one of the coolest dogs I have ever hung out with.

The race course is about a 7 mile loop, mostly single track with about three climbs. The weather was great, sunny and around 70. Trey and I raced in the Sport Vet (35-44). There were 20 racers in our race.

The race started off racing around a field much like a crit before we shot into the woods. I had to work my way up towards the front. Trey was second into the woods and I was third; we stayed that way for till about the half way point. Once we passed the leader we got a small gap on most of the other riders. Towards the end of the first lap we were caught by one and went out and back into the woods with Trey in first another rider in second and me in third.

Every thing was great for me until about the half way point into the woods. I was gapped and sitting a few blocks back of the now three leaders. I started running out of water and was getting really bad leg cramps, so by the end of the second lap I fell to 6th place. Trey was still racing super strong and sitting in first place.

On the last lap, Trey kept up his pace and put those on his wheels in difficulty. By the end of the third lap Trey crossed the line in first place. I was still sitting in 6th place till right at the line and another rider snuck up behind me and passed me as the line and 7th was my official place for the first Poor Farm race of the year. All in all, it was a great time and a lot of fun riding my new Gary Fisher Paragon from East Coast Bicycles. 29er wheels are super fast and great fun riding.

New Jerseys Have Arrived!

Posted by Dan on 22. April 2009 18:49

FedEx delivered our first shipment of team kits this morning from the lovely folks at Champion System. Benny and Sadie grudgingly agreed to model them.