Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Wednesday, 4/30

No miles today...too windy and I'm on call and tired :)

Looking forward to tomorrow. Will probably go hit the Big Steamer series with Corinth Cycling. Top speeds hit the low 30s on that ride...will do a few miles warmup before we get rolling so I'm good and warm.

Happy birthday Brother Tyler!

DB

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Nice try though...

I didn't get the hoped for metric today, but I did get in a good time on my 27 mile "Historic" loop, so named because one stretch of about a mile is on a street named Historic. Not a bad route...very few dogs (2), a couple of climbs just big enough to get your attention, a lake, some trees and not all that many cars.

Came in just 28 seconds off a personal best 18mph avg, with a South wind that increased from 10 to 24 mph while I was out there. Heavy bike mode too

Aside:

Heavy bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp, Shimano Wheels with Armadillo tires (420g each) and clip on Profile AirStryke bars, seat bag with tube, air, lever and about $5 in loose change.

Race bike: Same Specialized, but with Neuvation M28Aero wheels, sub 200g tires, no seat bag, no aero-bars and only one bottle if in a crit.

Makes a difference, especially the wheel/tire combo.

So...did this help prep me for a race? Probably not. But my next race is a week off and I have the Frisco to Ft. Worth MS150 this weekend, done as a buddy ride with the IC3 guys. Should be getting in 27 miles or more Wednesday and Thursday as well...

Texas Cup update: I'm 4th overall in the 35+/Cat 4, track standings :)

Rider to pray for today: Tyler

Ride Fast, Finish Strong, outrun the dogs...

DB

Monday, April 28, 2008

Life gets in the way

As an aging cyclist, sometimes I and the other rookie geezers ;) have to put aside or away the training plans and do non-cycling things.

My plan for today was to work from home, take son to school, get in a 60 miler at 10, clean up, pick up son, do more work, relax.

Yeah..sure...

Work started yesterday at 3pm with a customer's website down. Waited until about 1am this morning for the restores to be complete. Blackberry not working properly, I didn't get started on what I needed to until after 6am. Took son to school...clothes, lunch and everything! Back to the house..conference with people in Dallas, Denmark and Jerusalem. Fix part of problem. Now its noon. No 60 miler in my day...need to leave at 2:30 to pick up son. Sigh. Maybe I'll get on the trainer tonight, unless another call comes in :)

Try for a 60 tomorrow? Maybe...

Cyclist to pray for today: Bill in Georgia. For good health.

That is all...

DB

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Moritz Sprint Series

I've never done a Match Sprint before....

So I took a 4 hour clinic taught by former Elite racer and one time 200M TT record holder Jeff Labauve. I learned quite a bit about slingshots, razors and how the 200m tt is done for seeding the racers. Did not learn or have a chance to practice how the actual sprint itself is run. Oh well.

At 5:30, we started the seeding process, which involved having all 29 racers do a Flying 200M TT. For those not familiar with track racing, they give you a push onto the track on the back side and you have 3.5 laps to go. Only the last 200 meters count...the rest is just windup. I did mine in 14.3 seconds, having never gone below 15 before (all practice. This was the first real one).

Since there were only two racers in the 35+/Cat 4 category, Mike and I were set for a best 2 of 3 night.

In the first race, I drew the "down track" position, which is the leadout position. I had watched a few of the earlier masters races to get a feel for how they run. 3 laps, be in front at the end. I lead us out and kept an almost constant watch on Mike. I saw and heard him jump, but my reaction was too slow and he beat me to the line by a large margin.

In the second race, I was in the uptrack or follow position which is definitely my preference for drafting and strategy reasons. At 1.5 laps to go, as Mike was turning his head to look over his right shoulder, I jumped to his left. He was riding the blue line (mid track) and we were in turn 2, so I had plenty of room and gravity on my side. Apparently I got a decent gap on him initially as he had to get out of the saddle to start chasing. We did a 1.5 lap drag race to the end and I lost by half a wheel (even have the finish line camera picture to prove it)

So...2 and out, but I learned a lot and had a good time. Got 2nd place, $20 in prize money and 2nd place Texas cup points, which should put me in 3rd place in my category.

No riding today, hopefully a couple of long rides Monday and Tuesday to finish up prepping for the MS150 next weekend.

Cyclist to pray for today: Pat M.

DB

Friday, April 25, 2008

Solo practice 4/24

I spent a good bit of time trying to decide where to ride last night...solo near the house or go ride with Corinth Cycling Club and their Big Steamer points series (just because there is no entry fee doesn't mean its not a race).

Solo training into the wind with heavy wheels and no aerobars won out...primarily because I didn't want to load up the bike and drive to Corinth after just having driven from Las Colinas to Aubrey.

I did my Historic loop in 1:37, with the last two miles into an increasingly difficult headwind. Still not a bad ride, considering my back is still sore from the company golf tournament on Wednesday.

Was originally thinking about heading back down to the lake and back to make it a 40+ ride, but fatigue and family nixed that idea. This is the decision all of us aging cyclists make...long rides, or family time.

No riding today, so I can be fresh for the Sprint class at the Superdrome tomorrow and the Moritz Sprints tomorrow night.

Feel free to comment on any of these posts...negative or inflamatory comments will be removed :)

DB

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Crits 4/22

Not the result I was hoping for tonight...dropped at 13 minutes and lapped twice after that. But better than last week's first lap drop and puke on the way home from the virus that went rampaging through the family.

The B race has consistently been averaging 25.5 at the point I get dropped (or flats), which is more than fast enough to win the C race. 2 mph over what I was struggling to do last year.

You never get better if you don't challenge yourself...in this case by trying to hang with riders that are clearly stronger than me...for now ;)

Why did I get dropped? I was riding ok, back half of the pack and they just rolled away from me. Not sure if I slowed down or they sped up, but I had no legs to catch them. I jumped on each time they came around (at the back of course), and the yo-yo effect just killed me. I'm not strong enough to be in the front 10-15 guys without being dangerous at this point.

Perhaps the track racing this weekend had both the positive effect of improving my spin and the negative of not being even close to the time/distance of a 50 minute crit? A long track race for a Cat 4 is 30 laps...less than 5 miles.

Either way, I was not even in the race (pulled myself at 3 to go) when the 5 or 6 rider crash happened at the end in turn 3. Got a fire truck and an ambulance called out for that one...

Goofy Pic by Ryan Lange

Next up: C0mpany golf tourney tomorrow, long? training ride somewhere (CCC?)Thursday, off day Friday, Sprint class/Moritz track sprints Saturday, and the Family Cycling Day at FBC McKinney Sunday

Riders to pray for today: M.G. and Reed. Feel free to join me...God knows what they need :)

DB

Serious recovery ride

I'm told recovery rides should be very slow....like Zone 1 or 2.

So, I took my kid for a ride around the block last night. Him on his 16" single-speed complete with training wheels, coaster brake and bell. Me on my 1987 Free Agent BMX bike, complete with rust.

His winter and early spring training have really paid off (being on a tag-a-long behind my Wal-Mart MTB...), as he made it all .7 miles around the block including the uphill of our street (<1% grade..).

Last year, I would have walked beside him. He's faster now :)

Crits tonight...oughta be slightly faster ;)

DB

Monday, April 21, 2008

Now THAT was fun...

Spent the weekend racing and watching at the Matrix Track Cup at the Superdrome in Frisco.

Raced in the 35+/Cat4 category (age and skill level combined for us old rookies), with 13 other entrants.

Saturday, 8th of 14 in the omnium (Scratch, points race, points race)

Sunday, 4th of 10? in the omnium (Scratch, Melting Snowball, Houston Tempo), including a 3rd place in a 3 lap scratch. My best result since the BMX days.

I earned 25 Texas cup points for my efforts, which puts me in 5th place in the category overall.

This track thing is every bit as much mental as physical. I took away spots from other guys in Sunday's Melting Snowball simply by passing those who sat up with 2 to go. They knew they weren't going to get any points, but apparently forgot that finish order determined the tie-breaker of all the zero point scorers :)

Sometimes age comes in handy!

next up...the FDM Tuesday night crits, B race.

DB

Friday, April 18, 2008

Prep work today

Tomorrow is day one of the highly anticipated Matrix Track Cup...

Today I will do a slow metric on the road bike to get my base in. Tried to get a crit practice session going last night but three of the five racers on the team couldn't make it. Michael did, and we had just enough time to warmup and lay down some timed two lap efforts so I could get a baseline for him (2:11 standing start and 2:18 lap 2 is pretty quick for a guy that's never raced).

Then it rained and I was already starting to feel the effects of the stomach virus that put me in bed for 24 hours earlier in the week.

So today I roll slow and long...making sure I stay hydrated and caloried up properly.

Nice having the day off :)

DB

Thursday, April 17, 2008

2008 Matrix Track Cup

Next up on the race schedule:
April 19-20
http://www.txbra.org/db/events/2008MatrixTrackCup.pdf

I'm entered in the 35+/Cat 4 category both days. This is a D1 level event for the Texas Cup competition, which I am unofficially chasing a decent standing in. Consistent decent finishes here will get you a good position, as not everyone can hit all the races. I have no intention of traveling to Houston, so I need to hit all the local races at the SuperDrome.

Saturday:
4 lap scratch
20 lap points race
30 lap points

Sunday:
3 lap Scratch
8 lap 'melting snowball'
20 lap 'Houston tempo'

ouch. Sunday is gonna hurt.

Monday off, crit Tuesday. Recent history has proven that track racing or training on the road fixie is fantastic training for crits...

DB

races 2006 to April 2008

Raced a bunch of crits, 1 masters only TT, a few road races and one stage race and 4 times on the track.

Best results:
7th place of 20+ in the Fort Worth, TX Wednesday night crit series
Road: Have yet to not get dropped.
Stage: Finished the first 2 stages within the time cutoff, but well off the pace, DNF the final stage
Track: 6th of 14 in the 35+/Cat 4 category (omnium) once in April 2008
Time Trial: Dead last...masters classes are full of former Cat1 - 3 racers.

Upgraded from Cat 5 to 4 in October 2007 to force myself to train harder.

My best race ever was the Tinbutt in 1996. UMCA 12 hour time trial...156 miles.

While this does not sound terribly impressive, I have gone from getting dropped in the Plano, TX Tuesday night crit series 'C' race to getting dropped late in the 'B' race. My times/avg. speed this year would have won every C race last year. That's pretty cool.

Short version of 2 years of racing history :)

Welcome

Welcome to anyone that cares to read the ramblings of a (racing age) 40 year old cyclist that is trying to play a 20 year old's game...

I started riding road bikes in 1987. Started racing in 2007. I'm trying to see how much of that 20 year gap I can make disappear...

Why the gap? I had no idea of how to fit a bike in 1987 and the pedals I had caused me knee pain after 20 miles on every ride, so I never tried to go any further. I thought I just had a bad knee. The sad thing is that I never asked anyone for help. Until 1996.

Fast forward to 1996...got a set of used Shimano SPDs after a LBS ride from Richardson BikeMart where it took me forever to clip in from every stop and I got dropped at every light.

Instant relief.

My wife and I split that year, which took me off the bike for the next 8 years (got re-married to a different wife and had kids during that time as well)

So...youngest kid is now at the age I don't need to be there all the time and I can do some more fitness type riding. I go hard all the time. Going at less than the max is painful for me.

200 lbs in 2000, 160 as I type this. 150 is the goal.

My motivation to train is my team: the International Christian Cycling Club. Yup...I ride and race to glorify God. This is why I can still smile at the end of a race I took last place in, or DNF'd. Because its not about me.

My goal...become a competitive Cat 4 on the road. Cat 3 takes too much training time. Would like to be Cat 3 on the track someday. Fantasy goal of being competitive in any Master's Nationals competition someday. 2009 at the absolute soonest.

Follow along as I have good races and bad, smart moves and the random ID10T moments :)

DallasBikr