Spring Series 3/4 race, April 26, 2009

It’s a nice feeling to discover talents and find out that you are good at things. Many of us have different skills and abilities that we’ve developed into various levels of proficiency. For example, Peter Frampton and is really good at that TalkBox guitar thingy he’s know so well for. He’s carefully trained his gag reflex and almost completely numbed his dignity receptors to a point that he no longer hears the silly jokes people make about him playing an instrument that makes any musician appear as if he’s having his stomach pumped on stage. But examples of natural ability aren’t limited to just 1970’s era English puke-box rock musicians, there’s also examples from the political world as well. Take Joseph Stalin, for example, not only was he great at completely crushing all his political opposition and making millions of people dead; he was also an accomplished mustache grower. Ask anyone who knew him-they will tell you that he had a wonderful mustache, a manly mustache, a legendary mustache; and then they will tell you that he made many members of their family dead, and they would appreciate it if you passed on their admiration of his mustache back to Mr Stalin, in the hopes that he will not also make them dead.

The thing about natural ability is that you can discover different abilities at different points in your life. Peter Frampton learned to make music by belching out songs in his early twenties, and I’m assuming that Joseph Stalin had a mustache at age nine; my own personal development is still thankfully progressing. I’m like an ongoing nursery rhyme-I fall down and break my crown on a regular basis-and gladly my fairy tale is not yet completed. I am still finding things out about myself. I’ve recently realized that I despise henley shirts-who knew? I also have learned that I cannot stand when people use the word “vacay” instead of saying “vacation.” It’s a one syllable difference! Is it really worth sounding like a fool just to save the few hundredths of a second it would take to say “tion”? Is this were we’re going as a society? If so, let me know, because I’m not sure that I can take it.

But I digress, I was discussing my development as a person, and the unearthing of new talents; which brings me to Sunday’s Spring Series 3/4 race. Frank Arroyo was racing with us on Pacifico for the first time Sunday. Frank is a sprinter who’s back racing after a hiatus and he asked us if we had room on the team. We pretended to check our roster and then enthusiastically agreed to have him join the team. It’s always nice to have a sprinter on your team-as they have a tendency to win a lot, and Frank is no exception. So the plan for Sunday morning was to try some attacks, and if nothing happened, try to set Frank up for the sprint. It was just Frank and I in the race, so the attacking part was up to me. I tried some moves, and was able to get gaps off the front, but unfortunately no one came up to me, so it was me by myself on the front. And right now I just don’t have the personal firepower to stay away all by myself. I have proof of this fact-here’s some data for one of my 3/8ths lap jumps: duration: 2:44, normalized power: 333 watts, max power: 1041 watts, average HR 190 bpm, and average speed: 28.7 mph. Those numbers are enough to get away, but obviously not enough to stay away. I know this because I was caught every time.

We rolled around at a brisk pace, with moments of excitement and moments of inactivity. We passed the master’s race at one point, and I made sure to be near the front of the race, as there tends to be confusion and madness when fields pass at Prospect, but nothing happened. We rolled along some more and then the master’s race passed us back with about 4 laps to go, ensuring that the race would end in a field sprint, as everyone would get a nice rest and feel fresh for the finish. In the past, this occurrence would portend a dismal end for my race-as I would either have to try to escape from a rested field or try my luck in a leadout-free category 3/4 field sprint, the former option being a frustrating one and the latter option being a terrifying and/or scab-producing one. But this morning was different, as I had a sprinter in the race who had a great chance at winning. Good times. 

For the last 4 laps of the race, my role was to “cover and smother” moves and to prevent any attacks from getting away. I jumped on any move that got a gap and helped to keep things together. I raced bummer for the rest of the race and as we hit the bell for the final lap, it was time to go for the win. I found Frank, and told him where I planned on starting the leadout, and then moved towards the front of the race. There was a little acceleration on the hill, but no split. Then I moved up to about 5th wheel or so to see how the race was going to unfold. Luzzo’s had two guys stretching out the race a bit at the front, so I sat behind to see what their plan might be. They helped keep the speed up, so I didn’t have to hit the front. I looked back and saw that Frank was holding a good position. And after we went through the turn after the downhill, I saw that we were going to overtake the master’s field as we headed to the finish. This would require a change in plans, well actually it would require no change in plans as I wanted the race to be strung out near the end anyway, as approaching the finish in a cluster of cat 3s and 4s is a disaster waiting to happen. Fortunately, Luzzo’s was still at the front pushing pace, so we were in a small paceline approaching the finish, which would really help out with the crashing and carnage. We snuck around the master’s race and from there our little lycra chess match began. I saw that the Luzzo’s guy at the front was slowing, followed by Danny Iona, and my plan was to jump as soon as the pace slowed.

The pace just started to ebb and I was beginning my jump when Frank came around my right side. He got a nice gap right away, and I stopped pedaling immediately to make it harder for anyone to come around. And that was it. Frank held his gap and won. Good times. I heard that there was a crash behind us in the finish, which was unfortunate, and I hope that everyone is OK-but I’m not going to say I was surprised.

Schmalz Race Report

As I’ve said before… A win for a teammate is always a wins for me also, so I’ll call this a 1 – as I’ve found out that I have the very specific talent of being able to successfully lead out a category 3/4 race. I can now begin growing my manly Stalin-esque mustache in celebration. Feel free to enjoy my race numbers below. My weight is a bratwurst-inflated 154 this week, and joyfully so.

 

 

Today’s head song was “We All Fall Down” by Egg Hunt, the Fugazi larvae band.

 

 

Branch Brook 3/4 Race April 18, 2009

Due to a mix of familial duties and race scheduling, I was not able to race last weekend. In fact, I was so desperate for riding in a cluster that I almost joined a neighbor on a triathlete group ride-almost, but I came to my senses. I instead did almost no riding whatsoever, as I acquired a cold which gave me an excuse to take a “rest” week, and no one rests like I do. I really excel at resting. I won’t be traveling to any races this year, so I was glad to have an opportunity to race locally, on the day of the big race upstate.

I found my way to lovely Newark, and picked the family-time friendly 3/4 race as my goal for the day.

We had a pretty large group assembled and I had one teammate (mighty Marcus) with me. The organizers announced there were a few primes on offer during the race, and as we rolled up to the first one, I was planning a counterattack if the pace was high enough going into the sprint. At the front of the race, a few stragglers had separated themselves off the front, after the sprint, and after looking around and seeing that they had a slight gap, they decided to ride away. My teammate Marcus was in the breakaway group, so my options in the pack were to either sit at around 5th wheel or so and watch bridging attempts or to sit in and photosynthesize. Which do you think I chose?

After about 8 laps of converting carbon dioxide into organic compounds in the peloton, I saw that the break was away for good, and I set about to try and recoup some of my entry fee. There were primes being offered for the pack during the race and being the greedy deviant that I am, I quickly found a sprinter to conspire with in order to make some money. The key to finding a sprinter to lead out for prime money with is to find a guy who’s been around a while and will feel obliged to offer you a share of the spoils. All too often, those new to the sport forget that it’s common practice to at least offer a portion of their winnings to teammates, or in this case, offer a portion to the guy willing to lead you out. I found my adopted sprinter and with the break safely off the front, we went about trying to get paid. 

;In most 3/4 fields, there’s not a lot of coordinated effort when it comes to sprints. This has to do with the fact that many riders that are new to the sport still think that they have a chance at winning a field sprint, as they have only been about 50 yards or so away from the winners at the finish line in the their last 20 races. This small distance to the finish line convinces racers that they can one day win a field sprint if they just keep trying their luck. But here is the sad reality of this sport-if you’ve never won a field sprint before, chances are that you never will. It would be in the best interest of these racers to try and get into a break to winnow down their competition, and increase their chances for a victory, but it takes time and the harsh lessons of failure after failure to bring about this realization. Meanwhile, it’s actually a boon to guys like me who have paired with a sprinter (albeit a temporary one in this case), as a proper leadout in a 3/4 race can be very effective, because no one else is leading out. So as we headed towards the last prime of the day, I brought my sprinter up, dropped him off, and gunned it at the front to string it out. In a big pack, it’s a good idea to string things out, so your sprinter doesn’t get boxed in or caught behind log jams. They then have a chance to find their best way to the line, and can pick their moment to go. Luckily, things worked out and we got the last prime of the day. We then put our minds to taking the field sprint for 6th, as the race paid 10 places.

On the last lap, we had a dangler off the front at about 10-15 seconds or so, and there were some guys riding at the front of the race, and that’s about all they were doing, riding at the front of the race. If they were chasing, they were doing a terrible job, and the dangler was still away as we hit the 90 degree corner before the finishing straight. We were in jeopardy of not bringing him back, so I had to jump to either: join him and stay away, or cause a reaction and chase from the field, bringing my sprinter up to the front for me. I jumped and got about 100 meters or so right away, I went all out, and stayed off the front for about a minute. The pack came to life and swept up the dangler, and my sprinter got 3rd in the field sprint. In hindsight, I could’ve gone later and made a genuine attempt at a placing, but I erred on the side of caution, and brought the dangler back. If you look the results from the day, you will notice I finished dead last. But sometimes finishing dead last pays much better than 11th in the field sprint.

I had my power tap on and it was functional, so here’s the numbers from the day:

 

 

 

 

 

Side note from the morning

Normally, the only location safer in a race than the front of the race is the sign-in table or perhaps the porto-john. Today was an exceptional day, there were 4 or so fellows at the front of the race, who were riding in a straight line. I was sitting behind them, in case their chase was successful, but their chase was not successful, granted they found a way to fling themselves to the ground while at the front of the race in a paceline, but they were not successful in their goal of bringing back the breakaway. I managed to narrowly escape yet another early season crash, and to be honest, I wasn’t even fazed by the event. This is now the second race in a row (and third of the season) where I’ve been right next to a crash, and was able to avoid it. I am left to imagine that I am either very unlucky for being right next to so many crashes, or I am very very lucky for being next to crashes and then managing to avoid them. I will choose the latter, and hope that I do not have to test my luck any further this year.

Schmalz Race Report

Marcus finished 3rd on the day and I was able to freelance a little, so all in all not a bad morning, a 4.

Today’s head song was “Pop Queen” by Ben Lee.

CRCA A point’s race 4/4/2009

The race today was a point’s race, a race format that I’ve described in numerous reports as a disgusting, filthy, awful way to spend a morning. I describe the race this way because it also happens to be a race format that gives me little or no chance for any sort of success, as it requires a favorable outcome in multiple sprints. And race after race has made me painfully aware that I do not possess any real sprinting prowess. As they say, knowledge is power; annoying, annoying power.

Our race today was 6 laps with a sprint on each lap at Cat’s Paw Hill. We started out fast and furious, and were flinging ourselves towards the first sprint. In the lead out to the first sprint, I was minding my own leadout business when I looked over to my right to see Tony Hall riding what was left of his bike like a stick pony in a washing machine. He was sliding his disintegrating mount to a halt without the benefit of any rear wheel. He was able to not swerve violently enough to hit me, which was great. This ruined any chances we had at the sprint though. This makes the second time this year that someone has pasted themselves to the tarmac right next to me, and I consider myself luck- as I’d rather have a crash next to me instead of in front of me.

After the first sprint, we collected the race back together and moved on with our lives. After the climb on Harlem Hill, Ken Harris and others broke away, I wasn’t sure what happened as I was near the back recovering from my leadout effort and the accompanying terror hangover from the crash. It soon became evident that every team had riders represented in the break, our team had two guys up, and we all seemed happy with the mix up front. The race then turned into a training ride, which was fine with me as I do despise the point’s race format. We went so slowly that we were eventually passed by the B field, whose spirits were undoubtedly bolstered by the knowledge that they passed our field. Huzzah, B field! Well played.

I had a functioning power meter this week, and I have the data for the first lap. 

 

 

 

 

And here’s the data for the entire race, well the 5 laps that t

he A field were allowed to do.

 

 

 

 

I also rode home after the race with the NYVC team, which I’m just smugly posting here for no apparent reason. I was still pretty fresh despite racing one furious lap of Central Park, so I was probably setting an annoying pace at the front. Note to self, 404s and high winds on the GWB are not a soothing mix.

 

 

 

 

Schmalz race report

Like I’ve said before… Let’s call this a five, no strong feelings one way or another.

Today’s head song was an odd metamorphosis; it went from “Where Eagles Dare” by the Misfits, to “I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross. I’m just going to take those facts at face value and not dig any deeper into the meaning of these two songs being in my head during the same race.