#5460481 - 03/27/11 10:03 AM
Re: Cyclists that race - training
[Re: Cheesegoggles]
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nato2377
Post Master Sr
Registered: 07/09/07
Posts: 3472
Loc: Denver, CO
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i have another road race next weekend, its only 19 miles so after yesterdays results im looking optimistic at this next one. its mostly the same guys as todays. 19 miles is going to be a breeze.
i think road racing is definitly going to be my thing and that im going to struggle at crits as well. im going to do a few this month and see how they go.
im pretty much just using this year to race as much as possible, see what my strengths and weaknesses are then next year train to improve the weaknesses. i do this for fun too but im always competitive with everything i do, so i want to win  and having my 40 year old cat 4 neighbor, who is also my teamate, be just as fast as me give me something to shoot for because i cant let him be faster then me since he has 16 years on me haha
Edited by nato2377 (03/27/11 10:05 AM)
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#5467072 - 03/30/11 10:29 AM
Re: Cyclists that race - training
[Re: Sir Ironpool]
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Senor Eduardo_82
miataist
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 01/09/03
Posts: 38041
Loc: Ca�ada
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How the hell do you guys do it?
I tried Spinervals 1.0 (competition, diffculty 9.0) on the weekend and it totally kicked my ass. I probably did 40% of the entire 45 minute workout. And even then I was using lower gears than they suggested, and my trainer was only on tension 3 out of 7.
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#5473759 - 04/02/11 02:22 PM
Re: Cyclists that race - training
[Re: nato2377]
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nato2377
Post Master Sr
Registered: 07/09/07
Posts: 3472
Loc: Denver, CO
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So had the race this morning at 9:30. The course was a 6.3 mile loop, 3 times, for a total of 19 miles. The course had rolling hills with some long gradual uphill straights and long gradual decents. The finish was a 200m long uphill Sprint. There was 35 cat5 men plus a few U19 kids. Rolled out on the start and settled in somewhere in the top 20. Sat in behind a rather large guy and chilled. Over the next two laps I floated from 2nd to the back of the lead pack. On the last lap I worked my way to the front to the top 5. I was worried about getting boxed in in the back. Sat in the top 10 for the lap as the pace increased. Coming into the last turn which lead into a about half mile downhill straight before the final climb, I was back around 15th. I quickly moved up the right to the lead where I was 3 wide with 2 other guys. We start picking up the pace and as we hit the 200m sign at the bottom of the we started sprinting. I took the lead by a few yards and crested the steep part of the hill and continued the last 70 or so yards up the false flat to the finish. I saw a guy on my left and at the line he qnd another guy got me. I got 3rd by .1 seconds. The first two guys had the same time and the 2nd place guy was a U19 kid. Overall I was pumped, I'm not the strongest sprinter so to hold it that long was good for me. I probably shouldn't have led out, but I took a chance cuz I was worried about getting out sprinted. Got a nice little trophy too 
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#5476206 - 04/04/11 12:40 PM
Re: Cyclists that race - training
[Re: Cheesegoggles]
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nato2377
Post Master Sr
Registered: 07/09/07
Posts: 3472
Loc: Denver, CO
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heres the official results. http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2011/04/02-Salisbury-Road-Race.asp .mens cat 5, im bib 559. if you check out the results, there are 18 guys who finished within 11 seconds of first. all of them composed the lead group at the end of the race and got strung out on the last straight/sprint to the finish. i was worried that if someone else led out, that i would be outsprinted. im strong on hills so my goal was to be the first over the hill with as much gap as possible and then try to hang on. worked out well until the part where i didnt hang on but oh well, i had fun
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#5479000 - 04/05/11 03:38 PM
Re: Cyclists that race - training
[Re: nato2377]
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Cheesegoggles
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 07/10/08
Posts: 19073
Loc: Here
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Got on the bike yesterday for the first time in ten days due to vacation. Nice way to lead into this weekend's omnium. 
Plan to throw on the time trial bars today and get out for a ride to get used to them again before Saturday's time trial.
Time trial and crit on Saturday followed by road race on Sunday. Elevation profile for the road race is below - 1 mile neutral start out of town followed by a fucking wall of a hill. I did this last year and as I climbed the hill I passed people standing next to their bikes with their broken chains in their hands. Given my poor climbing ability this will not be pretty.
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#5491230 - 04/11/11 07:30 PM
Re: Cyclists that race - training
[Re: Cheesegoggles]
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Cheesegoggles
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 07/10/08
Posts: 19073
Loc: Here
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Three race omnium over Saturday and Sunday. I raced in the Cat 4/5 group.
Saturday morning - time trial
I did this time trial last year and, before Saturday, had only done two time trials ever. I don't have a time trial bike. I just slap clip on aero bars on my road bike. No aero helmet, no booties, no skinsuit, etc. The time trial last year was well-suited for me - totally flat.
Then they decided to move it to the hills this year. Last year's course was 11.2 miles with about 150 feet of climbing. This year it was 14 miles with almost 800 feet of climbing. Not a ton of climbing, but some short steep hills that were tough. I averaged about 20 mph and finished mid-pack out of 32 riders in my category.
Stats: 20 mph, 14 miles, 775 feet of climbing, average HR of 176
Saturday morning - crit
I've never done this crit before, but I watched it last year. 1.2 mile circuit with a terrifying fast and bumpy descent down the back side and then a shitty climb back to the start/finish line. The Cat 4/5 riders would do eight laps. To top things off, it was stupid fucking hot for early April - 90 degrees at noon when I lined up.
Most crits I try to line up near the front. In this one I knew that after about two laps there would really be no pack any longer and it didn't really matter. So I stayed back a bit to watch some of the lines down the descent. First time down I rode the brakes a bit and still hit 38 mph.
After the descent, you go through a few turns and then hit the climb. Short and steep with about 130 feet of climbing each time through. I don't know what the grade was, but it took everything I had to get over 5 mph at the steepest part.
Out of 32 riders only ten did the full eight laps. Everyone else got lapped. Same thing happened in every field - didn't matter whether it was Cat 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 there were bunches of lapped riders in every race. I only got lapped once and did 7 laps. Finished mid-pack.
Stats: 15.5 mph (even after breaking 35 mph on every lap), 8.5 miles, 900 feet of climbing, average heart rate of 175
Sunday - road race
This is a 30 mile loop with 2,700 feet of climbing. I did this road race last year and knew what to expect. Last year I was at least ten pounds heavier and there is a really big fucking hill right at the beginning. Really fucking big as in 400 feet of climbing in one mile, so average grade of about 7.5%. Last year this hill took me 7 and a half minutes and was where the lead group dropped me. I also had mechanical problems - dropped my chain three times while shifting in front which lead me to give up and ride the whole race in the small ring up front.
So this year, with less weight and better fitness and no mechanical problems, I should be faster, right? Maybe not - it was 90 degrees again and really fucking windy. 15-20 mph winds with 40 mph gusts.
This year I decide I'm going to do everything I can to not get dropped on the opening climb. Despite the fatigue in my legs from the prior day's races, I climb the hill in 6 and a half minutes (1 minute faster than last year) and still have the leaders in sight at the top. Good start, except now I'm spent and a bit light headed. I hang on for a bit but the heat and the hills and my heartrate, which hadn't yet come down from the mid 180's, get me to back off a bit.
The wind was terrible. There is a nice descent at about mile 12 that I bombed down last year at 40 mph. This year I had a death grip on the brakes at about 25 mph because it felt like the crosswind was going to blow me off the road. At times I felt like I was leaning the bike 5-10 degrees into the wind while trying to descend. I'm heavier than the skinny climber types and that is ordinarily great on the descents and in the rolling sections where I can carry downhill momentum up climbs. The wind totally shut that down.
I do most of the race with no one in sight in front of me or behind me. I pass one stranded rider who has a broken chain and one other rider who is still in the race but obviously spent.
At the end of the day, the race takes me 5 and a half minutes longer than it took me last year. Despite that, I finish almost thirty spots higher than I did last year in a similarly sized field - squarely mid-pack instead of bringing up the rear. I'm extremely happy with that given the conditions and the hills.
The higher categories had to do two or three laps. My wife was waiting for me at the line and told me she saw lots of Cat 1, 2 and 3 riders come through at the end of their first lap and call it quits.
Stats: 16.1 mph, 30.5 miles, 2,750 feet of climbing, average HR of 167
The same rider won the Cat 4/5 crit and road race, and he took the overall win for the omnium. He's 14 years old and looks like he weighs about 85 lbs.
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#5525407 - 04/28/11 02:36 AM
Re: Cyclists that race - training
[Re: shamrok]
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bt0
Post Master Sr
Registered: 02/22/10
Posts: 7284
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Anyone have suggestions for good cycling/road bike forums? Seems like a lot of them have hard to find flotsam of solid info/advice floating in a sea of inane banter/petty arguments.
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#5526401 - 04/28/11 12:46 PM
Re: Cyclists that race - training
[Re: Cheesegoggles]
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nato2377
Post Master Sr
Registered: 07/09/07
Posts: 3472
Loc: Denver, CO
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those shoes look nice! i just got a pair of mavic zxelliums a few weeks ago and i LOVE them. much better lighter, stiffer, and way more breathability then my sidi genius shoes. yes, i got the yellow ones too 
also, got my garmin edge 500 the other day and gave here a test ride with some cat3 friends. heres the link.
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fconnect.garmin.com%2Factivity%2F81825221&h=c5fb9
Edited by nato2377 (04/28/11 12:49 PM)
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#5526688 - 04/28/11 02:49 PM
Re: Cyclists that race - training
[Re: Cheesegoggles]
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bt0
Post Master Sr
Registered: 02/22/10
Posts: 7284
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Bikeforums.net is the only general forum I ever really look at. The road cycling forum there is as you described - 90% garbage. The road bike racing subforum does have some useful training and racing info.
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#5539513 - 05/04/11 01:56 PM
Re: Cyclists that race - training
[Re: Cheesegoggles]
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nato2377
Post Master Sr
Registered: 07/09/07
Posts: 3472
Loc: Denver, CO
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nice job! was supposed to have a road race this sat. but went to sign up and its full already... guess ill just take a long ride this weekend instead. got 32 miles in on monday, and 37 last night. heres a pic from the ride my teamate shot. im in the middle with the yellow shoes
Edited by nato2377 (05/04/11 01:57 PM)
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#5547833 - 05/08/11 02:12 PM
Re: Cyclists that race - training
[Re: nato2377]
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nato2377
Post Master Sr
Registered: 07/09/07
Posts: 3472
Loc: Denver, CO
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How far did everyone ride this weekend? 81.27 miles for me
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/84336125
Edited by nato2377 (05/08/11 04:15 PM)
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#5549660 - 05/09/11 01:42 PM
Re: Cyclists that race - training
[Re: Cheesegoggles]
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Senor Eduardo_82
miataist
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 01/09/03
Posts: 38041
Loc: Ca�ada
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17 Miles.
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#5550692 - 05/09/11 08:54 PM
Re: Cyclists that race - training
[Re: nato2377]
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robbbby
master electrician
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 01/23/02
Posts: 15428
Loc: Canada
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I didn't put in as many miles as I wanted to this weekend, probably only about 60 but I did a lot of climbing on saturday with some hard hill repeats and then threw in a couple sets of intervals on flat for fun. Sunday I tried to stick to the road but the hill called me back for a few less intense climbs. My buddy called me to go riding tonight and I really wanted to but I don't want to overdo it.
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#5553435 - 05/10/11 08:55 PM
Re: Cyclists that race - training
[Re: robbbby]
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Cheesegoggles
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 07/10/08
Posts: 19073
Loc: Here
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Tuesday Night Worlds again. Probably a 25-30 minute race tonight. 21 riders entered.
I spend the first half plus of the race in the lead group of riders. It wasn't a totally cohesive group - sometimes there would be as few as four of us that opened a little gap, and at most ten. I'm sucking wheel the whole time and it feels fairly easy. Except for the a little effort to get up the hill on the back side of the course, I'm not feeling bad at all.
Then I take a turn to pull and decide we are done lolly gagging around. I want to separate a few of us from the rest of the pack and I'm going to take a hard pull to do it.
All I can say is
I end up sucking wind at the end of it and can't hang on to the lead group any longer. I fall off into no man's land between a lead group of about eight and everyone else. I finish the race by myself basically and don't get caught. My pull did add some distance between the lead group and the rest of the pack which probably contributed to my teammate pulling out the win. He owes me next week.
Lesson of the week: Don't do dumb shit like that any more.
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