Unable to ‘Bear’ the heat: A Rookie’s recap by Niko
Union Vale. July 16th, 2006 Cat 4/5 35+ About 45 miles with 3 difficult but not too selective hills per lap. Then a tough 1.5 mile finishing climb not on the course that had grades above 10% and was too tough for me and my 25 sprocket. It was pretty crazy how hot it was today. Above 90 with no neutral water. At the recommendation of a more experienced team mate I decided to go with an extra half filled bottle of Poland Spring in my Jersey. This turned out to be hopelessly inadequate as I ran out of water about half way through the 3rd lap. I guess I am a sweater.
The pace was VERY moderate the first lap. So moderate that I was tempted to punch it on the hardest of the 3 climbs but that would have been the rookiest of rookie mistakes and I didn’t take the bait. The only action for the better part of 2 laps was a big strong (strong for football not cycling) looking cat 5 guy who took a solo flyer and was soon out of sight. He was largely ignored and although he stayed away a long time he later got caught. When I tapped him on the back and said “nice work” he looked like he was ready to die.
Warning: Bear in the road!
@##=#<1,L>@##=#
In the middle of lap 2 someone in front called out “bear up” in the same tone as “car up” and “pedestrian up” and there it was: A bear the size of a Sub-Zero Refrigerator running accross the road! I couldn’t believe it. If I wasn’t in the middle of a bike race I would have been scared. Later a turkey was in the road and then a duck.
Near the end of lap 3 the ever shrinking peleton surged a few times with some attempts at breakaways now starting. On the flats Adam from Merril pushed the pace a bit (and Dean too?). On the hills there were Westwood guys and a few others along with Olsen from Adler and Aaron from Edgemont who upped the tempo. Earlier in Lap 3 (I think, not sure on exact timing) a guy from Westwood (help w/name?) took off on one of the climbs and was never was seen again. He won. About 20 made it to the base of the final climb together. Lots of CRCA guys in final – Semel from VB, Todd B from Setana along w/ myself and Etsu from Nyvelocity. The Peloton then exploded… some went forwards, some went backwards and some first went forwards and then went backwards. I was in this last category. The final climb saw riders zig-zagging and doing 30 rpms. It was hella hot. Olsen took second, Aaron W took 4th… Still waiting for official results.
Great report Niko and great effort, lets hear from Olsen and Wolf!
Foundation just gave the bear a spot on the roster.
i heard there’s a bidding war between foundation and organic athlete for the bear
I betthat bear is on some sort of EPO or steroids. No way he can be that big and can still out run us on bikes.
nice job niko! you def didn’t leave anything out there judging how you finished that climg. nice ride.
There was a hill going into and out of the feedzone. Going out somebody just stomped it. That was the first serious application of pressure as alot of guys, including my worn out legs, were caught a bit by surprise. I was dangling for 30 sec off the back for the remainder of the lap 2 and into lap 3. Lost contact as the field crested the hill before the big descent that passes the registration / parking field. I could see the field but had nothing in the tank to bridge on that climb. During that initial attack I saw Wolfe and Niko shoot up the right side from what looked to be near the back to pretty much 10 guys from the front I believe. Couldnt really get a good look as I was too busy chewing my stem. Impressive ride gents. Olsen took a bump from a Sanchez rider and promptly asked’em if he was wearing football pads under his kit. No harm done though. I’m glad I did this race instead of Parkridge.
Nice race Niko.
There was really a bear??? And you guys thought it was a good idea to keep riding towards the bear?
Yeah, there really was a bear! It was on the last lap. I had just pulled my head out and learned that there was a guy way up the road, so I attacked near the top of the second climb, put my head down, and someone yelled out "Bear!" It was a black bear headed straight across the road. It didn’t seem to notice us.
So who’s gonna make the bear pee in a cup to find out?
It was two Westwood guys that attacked at the feed zone.
Smart move or bullshit move? Jury is out on that one.
I was bridging up to them and the Sanchez dude was on my wheel, I did the ol’ elbow flick and he said " I am not pulling through". Didnt understand the loging since neither guy in the break was on his team. If you want to save energy, don’t be second wheel on a chase. (Strong rider though, whoever he was)
My thanks to the guys left on the last lap who literally pushed me along as I got my chain back on. Sliced a hole in my finger doing so, but it was worth it.
Props to Aaron for riding strong the entire race and almost staying away on the last lap.
The Merrill guys, NYV guys and the VB dude rode well also. A very good showing for CRCA in this race.
That Metro rider would be me. You should know, I have a reputation for not doing work. The move did not look dangerous. I finished the race w/ a tubular flat, so I’m glad I saved something to get me up that hill.Anyway, CRCA had a great showing, congrats to the guys in the top 10.
The bear refused to wear ‘GO VEGAN’ on his butt, so he must be with Foundation.
Greg O — You seemed to have had an extra set of legs or jet in your legs? You were cool as a cucumber(a la Ligget) and smooth going up every hill(including when you had your mechanical). In the last lap I stayed on your wheel for the most part when the road went upwards, b/c I know you can climb. I was right behind you when we started the last climb and then BOOM! you started to fly. How close did to come to the winner? So strong, congratulations.
It was two Westwood guys that attacked at the feed zone.
Smart move or bullshit move? Jury is out on that one.
I was bridging up to them and the Sanchez dude was on my wheel, I did the ol’ elbow flick and he said " I am not pulling through". Didnt understand the loging since neither guy in the break was on his team. If you want to save energy, don’t be second wheel on a chase. (Strong rider though, whoever he was)
My thanks to the guys left on the last lap who literally pushed me along as I got my chain back on. Sliced a hole in my finger doing so, but it was worth it.
Props to Aaron for riding strong the entire race and almost staying away on the last lap.
The Merrill guys, NYV guys and the VB dude rode well also. A very good showing for CRCA in this race.
Ah, another sighting of the elusive Goodstein, demonstrating his patented wheel-suck. Man, that guy can suck a wheel. At least he admits it…gotta love that.
sorry for hitting refresh before. rookie mistake.
think the winner got it by 20 sec. he deserved it.
That last climb is all about tempo. You just have to do 95% of your max (HR or Watts) all the way up and not worry about anyone else. The five guys that took off up the hill out of the saddle all couldn’t keep it up.
There was a cute spanish gal feeding me liquids for this race. Didnt know her but she was certainly nice to keep me topped off with the fluids on a hot day. While looking for her all of a sudden guys just started hammering (hard) at the front. I had to bypass the feedzone. That sucked. I really didnt expect it but I hear sometimes really competitive types attack here. I’ll know next time.
Great Report Niko good Job Nyvelocity team and the other Crca riders
look, nobody likes to have someone sit on their wheel when trying to bridge up to a break, BUT that’s what bike racing’s all about. He was playing poker, betting the break wouldn’t make it but getting in it just in case. Probably if it was someone that he knew could crush him he would’ve done a little work, but maybe not. Either way, it’s not his job to help you win the race, remember, he wants to beat you, just figure out the best way. If you don’t like it, just sit up every time you find yourself in a break with him and he’ll have to start working. Otherwise, he knows you’ll do work because you really want to win, and he just won that poker game. Really, he’s one of the few CRCA B’s that can win (or more likely place) even when he’s not the strongest, and that’s a compliment.
The bear is probably a very good sprinter!
we had similar guys in the u35 crew. if you want to hang, you can do it on 5th wheel. if you do it on 2nd, you just stall the chase, helping nobody.
nice job to those in the u35 that didn’t blow up on the hill (like me) – especially edgemont for pushing the front on lap 3.
In response to "re: goodstein" – Sittin in on a bridge attempt without out a teammate up the road seems a bit puzzling. You either want to get up there or you dont. What are the odds of one guys efforts in bridging up as opposed to two or three. If CG was not as strong as the bridge mate his pulls could have been shorter and he still would’ve been riding wheels but served in a better manner by getting up to a lead group.
Judging by his finish time, he lost the poker game. In the end, we are all Cat 4’s for crying out loud and should accept constructive criticism.
I was in a simular situation. i was in a five man group just 25 sec. off the back and yet we still couldnt get the organization of working together to get back on. I voiced this to the others but everytime we could see the peleton and could quite literally hear collective gears shifting on the climbs they would get excited and start attacking to bridge, fail and then try again and fail instead of staying into rotation until they were close enough. We splintered up and none of us made it back!
goodstein says he got a flat, that wasn’t part of the poker game. He was trying to take a free ride across to a break, he didn’t think the break was a good one so he didn’t want to expend energy to get up there only to be brought back. Sounds like a good bet to me, even if he was wrong. You can do something smart and still lose, just like you can race like an idiot and still win.
also, catching back on after you’re dropped is far different than killing yourself to get to a break that you think will be brought back anyway. Kill yourself to get into a losing break=wasted energy. Not working to get back to the main field=race over. Get it?
Both situations involve an individual or group attempting to join another through combined effort. I Wrote that they were simular not the same. It’s good that you’ve illustrated this point for some of the new riders indicisive on what to do when in both of our situations. I was surprised that I couldnt get cooperation with the peloton totally catchable.
Nice report, but Niko, it was hot? You raced the 4’s in the morning. Try racing the P/1/2 in the afternoon — 10 degrees hotter and two laps longer. 6:00am races in CP and PP never get anyone ready for out-of-town summer races. Blake (ML) had a great race with the 1/2’s. Congrats to AnnMarie Miller on her win too.
What were the warnings (Hines) and DQ’s (Neu) for?
It took me so long to get up the hill it was the afternoon by the time I got to the top – so I knew how hot it was. Submit a race report about the Pro, 1,2 from your perspective I am sure everyone would love to hear it
Yellow line rule. Didn’t know about the dq until I saw the results. Best as I can tell I was about 12th over the line.
If you are going to be known for something, I wouldnt want it to be for wheel-sucking. Just sayin.
It is not wrong, just annoying. I think everyone’s goal at this level should to be to try to get to the next level and tactics like that just ain’t going to do it.
since no one’s said it yet…congrats on cat 3 upgrade olsen
Olsen, I’d could care less what is thought of me. I drink every night, enjoy smoking stuff and have two beautiful kids that keep me on my feet both before and after races. I have tons of fun racing and if the regimen of partying and playing eventually gets me up th the 3s–great. Congrats on the upgrade and maybe one day I’ll do the same thing to you in the 3s.
"and have two beautiful kids that keep me on my feet both before and after races"
yeah they should do a handicap race in which riders who have kids get a 2 minute head start. 5 minutes if they’re under age 2.
hate to break it to you guys but olsen has kids too…let’s try another excuse for why you can’t beat him
plus, he drives a Hummer. clearly doesn’t give a fuck..
While I hate his wheelsuckin’ ways, I have to say that I respect his candor. The rest of us are the retards that can’t seem to learn to sit up when he get’s on our wheels or drop him from breaks. Goody – keep it up, it doesn’t seem like anyone is catching on to your tricks.
Love it! More action on the post race blog than the actual race!!
By the way Mr. G, I believe you meant you couldn’t care less not you could care less. Also, try not to smoke and drink in front of the children.
Much respect if you can upgrade to 3 with two kids.
Actually, much respect to your wheel sucking ass for being as good as you are with two kids (not that you could care less).
Just looked at the results again. Great result Aaron!
Thanks. I was really 4th, but the guy in front of me had his helmet unclipped and was relegated one spot.
Third Man In
"So Jens, what do you think of the ‘wheel suckers’ of the world?"
"VEEL ZUCKERS? Poozy’s! Vee shood take zare bikes avay."
"Thanks Jens. Now interestingly enough, Lt. Kendrick is here from A Few Good Men. So tell me Lieutenant, what would you say about a man that sucks wheel?"
"I’d say that such a man has no honor………… no code."
"Thanks Lt. By the way, you look fit enough to have a go in the Tour of Cuba this year – been cycling much?"
"No. Too busy wooping ass down here, but seriously thinking about the Ultimate Fighting Championships when I get out. I guess you could say I’m training every day for that. Head kicks, choke holds,……. the works. Hey, you want me to talk to that ‘wheel sucker’ for ya?"
"No thanks Lt., I think we’ve pretty much covered it."
I just realized(after looking at the pictures) that I went up the last climb in the big chain ring — newbie Cat 4 mistake. In the "heat"of the moment, I must have forgotten. No wonder why I wanted to give up.
Mr. Olsen, next time, I will try to stay behind you all the way ’til the end. Congrats again for being so strog consistently
are the pictures?
Those are some random pictures taken by our teammates of our team riders. If you give me your e-mail address, I will share them with you.
What type of pictures are we talking about here?
Dirty ones
wheel suckers……suck……the reason he sucks wheels is because he can’t pull through……check the times on the time trials……and why if he gets the results is he still a 4?
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