cmh

2 weeknight races this week:

Tuesday PIR, Cat 123 field, 6th of about 60, 17 laps of 1.9mi each around a flat auto raceway. Points race with 3 hotspots w/points for top 3 and points for top 10 at the finish. I jumped hard 1/2 a lap before a hotspot with one other rider and we stayed ahead of the field, he beat me but I got 2nd on that hotspot. In the field sprint I took 7th place for 6th with my hotspot points (I think). Other than the hotspot and finishing efforts, I hung in the pack and conserved energy. This is my best placing in this race in a few years.

Wednesday Mt. Tabor 50+ age group. We had a very small field this week with only 9 riders due to forecasts of rain and possible lightning (later races in the evening were cancelled). It was a pretty uneventful race with a few attacks that I made sure didn't get away from me and I managed 2nd in the uphill finishing sprint. That puts me in 1st for the series which has 2 more races. It will be fun (and different) to be the marked rider to beat in the last two races - maybe I'll be able to get some teammates out to work for me.

furiousferret

EF showed up to Dirty Kanza with a squad. Pretty sure they're going to start sending full teams to cancer centuries next year. Grats on 2nd.

Doge

This officially came out today from USAC, although I may have posted before. I can't remember.
In the small pond of collegiate cycling Club, Div II (nerd group) - USAFA won! What they won I have no idea. And why they don't have big MTB points and MIT has the most at 1 is unknown. That is their big discipline.

They did pick up a legitimate school track omnium NC in Sept, however most of this is showing up and getting other riders to show up. I helped junior with that a bit. The typical "I'd race, but don't have a bike." was fixed, mainly just getting parts to make 90% rideable bikes fully ride-able. Excuse gone.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/craft-prod-...m-Rankings.pdf

topflightpro

To be fair, a lot of collegiate team ranking is determined by the number of riders who participate, not just race results.

furiousferret

I raced the local crit series, which is just a loop in a parking lot. Its an open category race with some fast dudes and I wasn't expecting much, which is good because I didn't do much. Spending these past few year avoiding crits and crit practice really shows.

Doge

Participating is a race result. It is just a different set of rules with different measurements. Like popular vote vs electoral college. The outcome is different. I think it is good. I know you know this based on your spouse. My reply is more about the overall program outcome I see as a result.

The rules give points 20+ deep and 1st may be worth one more point (5%) more than 2nd. So the game is not so much beating the person next to you, or by how much, but did you show up and put numbers on the board.

I think this may have a slightly different mental result, kinda like a fondo, than normal category racing where you have the podium, pay only so deep and everyone is pack fodder. Why show up if you can't at least get paid? I know some think that way, even if not many. This environment is less competitive and more friendly and I see some attitudes change. Junior chose the TTT over the ITT (turned out to be the wrong calculation) as he thought it would put more school points on the board. This time last year he was making sure there were working bikes for the female recruits to the track. The won track nats because they got Nicki (female) on the tea to ride.

Doge

Living in SoCal and avoiding crits is pretty much avoiding racing. Or are there secret road races I don't know about.

furiousferret

Not many. If I ever want to upgrade I'm going to have to start getting results in crits, because there just aren't enough road races and with SCNCA attendance so low I don't think the pack fill upgrades apply anymore. For me going to a 3 is a big deal because 4's are locked out of a lot of Master's races and I have better chance in those road races than the 4's.

TMonk

I got plenty of results in crits this year and I've become wary of bunch sprint finishes and the final couple laps. My solution was to attack. Wasn't easy, but I managed to make it work on more than a few occasions.

furiousferret

You did awesome this year, most sprinters would kill for your results!

That's probably going to be my play as well, my 5 second power hasn't broken 1000 watts in a few years and I may improve on that but its never going to be my niche.

TMonk

My sprint power is decent, not the highest max (~1250), but have broken 1000 w for >15s many times. That's how I earned my 4 -> 3 upgrade points. But I'm just too much of a wuss in those final couple corners leading up to it now I guess. Unless it's from a small group.

echappist

discretion is the better part of valor. Nothing wimpy about it. Ask yourself whether you'd like to spend $30k and 25 office visits to fix up broken teeth (and that's on the low end of bad things that could happen). If the answer is no, then you've made the wise decision

there's always someone more willing to be cavalier regarding his well-being (and that of others), and the system really isn't set-up to discourage dangerous riding. You've done well in the cauldron that is SoCal racing, and I'm sure you'll continue to do well

mzeffex 

First 3 race in the books. Kept myself in the top 5 spots for most of the race. The race splintered pretty good, and was happy to be at the front. And then, with 1 lap to go, I wasn't. Mid-pack finish. Struggling with being okay with that and coming down off of an otherwise flawless season in the 4s.

Also flatted 10 minutes prior to the start and my HR was 5 BPM higher than typical, with my normalized power 40w lower. Not my day I guess.

robertorolfo

Rode my second ever race/crit yesterday, and did OK.

Prior to the race, I came up with what I thought was a brilliant and foolproof strategy: enter a race on July 2nd, on a night when there is a fair chance of thunderstorms, and hope that everyone has either left town early for the holiday or got scared away by the weather forecast. Suffice to say, my plan didn't work.

Plan B was to try a breakaway, because... why not? Plan B failed as well, but at least I was able to latch back onto the main group after I got caught, and so I finished with the pack again.

After the race I got to meet @TimmyT , which was pretty cool. We started riding back home together after the race, but at a certain point I had no clue where I was going and so we parted ways pretty suddenly. Hopefully he didn't get too soaked by the time he got back home.

mzeffex 

Entered the fast local race last night. Was impressing myself sticking with the lead group for 40 minutes before I got dropped and was in no man's land. Glanced at my garmin to see my NP and slammed into a cone. 2 hours in the ER later and I have a broken fork, wheel, saddle, and some stitches.

Racing is a cruel mistress.

revchuck

@mzeffex - Ouch!

echappist

Indeed; speedy recovery!

Hermes

@mzeffex Yikes, heal up fast.

furiousferret

Eh, it happens to all of us, just probably not in a race . I hit a car once staring at my garmin, luckily it was uphill and I was going slow!

Doge

If you are near 30, it is because that is when the Male brain finishes development.

hack

Ha ... I did the same a couple years back on a 100+ F day not far from home. I knocked on the owners door since there was a scuff on the car. I felt like an idiot, but they were beyond nice and gave me some ice water.

wktmeow

Also crashed this past weekend at CBR. Was half way through the 2 hour crit when a rider 2 wheels in front of me flatted his front and slid out:


Hit my head pretty good and cracked my helmet, had some very mild concussion symptoms but a day off work and a lot of sleep later has me feeling pretty normal again. Other than that, just some scrapes and bruises and pulled some muscles in my neck and left hamstring. Going to try to get an easy spin in today and see if the legs feel good enough to ride.

I was hoping to leave for Intelligentsia next week but really depends on how I'm feeling. Part of me is nervous about having another hit to the head :\ I'm planning on entering a semi-retirement/hiatus after this. Would you guys still do it? I can probably get a refund for the airfare at this point, not sure about race registration. Kind of on the fence. Mentally I was feeling over it yesterday and ready to throw in the towel, but watching race videos and stuff on instagram has me wanting to reach for glory again...

furiousferret

@wktmeow unfortunate fall; looked 100% preventable but that's bike racing. Its a mixed bag if you should race again. I took a long time to start racing after my lung puncture and I still really haven't gotten my mojo back (not sure if I ever will despite being the strongest ever). So if you see yourself doing crits and races in the future I'd go (assuming you feel 100%). Just like in Top Gun when Mav lost Goose, they sent him back up asap.

topflightpro

Head injuries are a weird thing. They can take a long time to fully recover, and you can have little to no symptoms while recovering. I'd first try a hard effort or too and see if you have any symptoms - headache, nausea, dizziness - before committing to racing.

burnthesheep

My little tracking spreadsheet for TSS by zone also has my max power per ride for 5s through 1 hour. It claims that my max 5 sec power in the last year was 1163. I'll usually crack 1000 for 5sec power once a week. Either to beat a stop light or at the end of the group ride.

It was going to storm locally one night a few weeks ago so kept it in the hood and did some sprints up the street. Trainingpeaks says 10sec at 955 and 12sec at 872.

I don't really "train" my sprint. I just do a couple a week during an easier ride out of boredom. I'll do some squats/sled for 10 minutes once a week. That's it.

Maybe I should cruise Craigslist for a crit bike and take that on next year.