State Senior Crit and PLT 1: Just Watching

Yeah, the race entries and results would show that I raced this weekend but it ended up more of being a spectator this weekend at the Senior State Crit and PLT TT.

Senior State Crit
Another great race put on by TriPower. The temps were in the high 90s at race time. The good thing about the heat is that it doesn't take long to warmup.
We roll at the start and my front tire is almost flat - I call out to a teammate, Fishsticks, and he brings me a spare. (Must have been all those trips over the gravel parking lot to hit the porto-johns pre-race). I just sit up in the very back and fortunately, we just took a warmup lap around the first lap and with no hard turns, my tire doesn't roll. I get a free lap and tire change.
It must have been the heat but this was the slowest race I've been in at the Sportsplex. It was sub 24 avg. (This is typically a very fast course with Tuesday nite's hammer practice crits avg 26-27). I found myself up and down the pack. Pulled a lap or two, albeit at 22, and worked some at front but mostly stayed in middle to back of the pack. Watched attacks by Kyle, from Evolution Cycling who traveled down from D20, who got off the front early and often thru the race. Watched a few sketchy turns, squiggly lines and some folks riding on the grass. Watched the inevitable attacks by Fat Frog's Percy. He's fun to watch since he's good for a half-dozen attacks in a race. And watched Dinsey get off the front with an Evolution rider with about 7 laps to go. I thought it was going to stick but they were eventually caught with 1 to go. And then watched Robert from Kitty Hawk Cycling take the win.
Overall, I just paid my entry fee and watched a race from a good seat in the house. Finished 20th (of 41).

Photo by Kevin Dillard. More photos of the race can be found on Demoncats.com.

PLT #1
Last year I watched my times get faster with each of the PLT TTs. I guess this year will be no different as I set this year's time almost 2 mins slower than my PR on this course.
At the first 3 miles out, I watch this idiot driver pulling a boat pass an oncoming cyclist on his way back and squeezing me off the road.
I watched as my minute man, Kitty Hawk's Robert, pass me before my favorite pitstop on training rides - the G.R.I.T.S store (yes, that's right, it's Girls Raised in the South) - I love livin' in Chesapeake.
A few miles later as I sat up to stretch the back, I watched (heard) my 2 minute man yell at me to basically "HTFU", suck it up and stay down in my aero as he blew by me. Couldn't get the jersey to identify him but thanks for that kick in the butt to keep me going.

Congratulations to Jacob (Fiorucci/Cycor) for taking the 4s at 49 and change. Also props out to Tripower Cook for setting a new course record for the women (54:15).

Chain Love

If you're a gear and bike addict like me and browse thru the cycling catalogs and online classifieds, then you'll be happy to see a new site launched by Steep and Cheap that is specifically for cycling and to fuel your addiction.
http://www.chainlove.com/

If you're not familiar with Steep and Cheap, it's an online portal where they place outdoor gear on their site one item at a time. When they sell it all, they place another item on the site. I've picked up some good deals, for example, some Reef flip flops (with the all important bottle opener on the sole) for about $12 (retail - $35). I've seen Timbuk 2 bags for about $40 (1/2 off retail). It tends to favor snow and winter gear (Burton, Marmot, Northface) but you can see the occassional warm weather gear for us not-so-cold regions.

And so you don't miss a deal, you can sign-up for daily deals via email or even get that RSS feed.

A Day of 3 Part 1 and Part 2

Day of 3 Part 1: Swim + Bike + Run
Raced the Breezy Point Sprint Triathlon on Sunday and finished my first ever tri. If you recall, my first attempt at a tri ended up being a swim only event for me.
Got there early enough to setup transition area, get my chip, socialize, reset up my transition, socialize more, get the wetsuit on and warmup.
My age group started in the 2nd wave behind the Elite group so we had open water ahead of us without having bottlenecks at the bouys. I drifted towards the back as we were about to start because I knew this was not my strong leg and didn't want to get extra kicks/jabs/elbows in the chaotic start. In hindsight, I should have stuck with the main pack and stayed with the draft as much as possilbe. Lesson learned.
I took this swim too casually. After 1000 meters, I didn't feel like I worked too hard but I must have. Got out of the water and it felt like I had dead legs. I had a hard time running thru transition. Peeled of the wetsuit and the hammy started to cramp. Crap, this is going to be a long day if I get a cramp now. Hobbled to the mount area and got on the bike. Swim time = 22:06 (25/40 in AG), T2 time = 3:20 (horrible).
Bike leg was fun blowing by others. These guys were my AG and 10 years younger with some "elites" in the mix. Alot of headwind made for slower times but I maintained an aero position except the times I drank and the sharp corners. I kept targeting riders in front to pick off and that kept my mind off the cramps. I went thru 1.5 bottles in a 12 mile ride just to re-hydrate. Bike time = 33:37/22.1 avg (2nd in AG, 13th Overall), T2 time = 1:21 (not as horrible but still needs improvement).
Threw on the racing flats and hat and hit the tarmac. Boom! Someone turned up the heat by 20 degrees. Luckily I took water as soon as the run began and drank one and tossed one over the head. Ahh, it was ice cold too - thanks Coastal Racing. The legs were still in the cycling mode for the first mile. The first mile saw a few guys I zipped by on the bike overtake me on the run. I finally got my stride at 2 miles and picked up the final 1.1 mile at race pace managing to pass a few. The final sprint into the headwind was hard but the cheering made it easier to take it up a gear. Run time = 25:28 (17/40).
Overall - 1:25:58 and 16th in the AG.

Day of 3 Part 2: Zoe's 3rd Birthday Party
Rushed home after the race to bring the family down to mom's timeshare at the oceanfront to celebrate my daughter's Birthday. (Thanks for letting daddy race on your birthday.)
Chocolate cake and icing was my recovery meal.

The Groms Development Team

Took a few days off from any training this Memorial Day weekend to relax, even out the cycling tan and hit the Outer Banks with family and friends. I also managed to create a few groms in the process.

What's wind-blown ankle slappers to me is EPIC to these groms.


It's all about the stoke.

Fat Cyclist

Most of you have seen the Fat Cyclist blog on other sites (Gamjams.net, StormyWorld.com, Bikingwidow.blogspot.com) but if it reaches out to one more person, then it's worth taking 5 mins for this entry.

A cyclist (fatcyclist.com) is documenting his wife's battle with cancer and his personal story on his blog. Read about it here:

http://www.fatcyclist.com/2008/05/01/like-dandelion-seeds/

While your at the site, check out the TwinSix jersey that he is selling to help raise funds for his wife's battle.



I ordered one today.

If I Were a Bike...

(Chicago Critical Mass - April 08)


If I were a bike, I wish I lived in Chicago.

Spent a few days up in Chicago for some business and got the chance to take in the sights and sounds of the Windy City.
What grabbed my attention as I was riding in a taxi from Midway down Lake Shore Dr to my hotel up on Michigan Avenue?
Was it the famed Soldier Field? Nope.
The skyscrapers that dotted the skyline? Nope.
The museums? The shopping? Nope.
The greenish/blue color of Lake Michigan? Nope.
It was the amount of bike commuters found in the city. As I was sitting in bumper to bumper traffic with taxi cabs blowing their horns, I counted over 50 cyclists that passed my idle butt over a few city blocks.

Chicago has this whole "green" thing down. It's not a trend as other cities are starting to adopt, it's a way of life. Spending 45 minutes in a cab to go 8 miles like my taxi ride, is not the most efficient way of travel in this city. Getting on your bike and utilizing the hundreds of miles of bike lanes and paths the city has developed is the way to travel. Yes, HUNDREDS! As of 2006, Chicago surpassed the century mark of bike lanes within the city. That's a far cry from my current city where there's about 4 miles of bike lanes. The mayor (Daley) is a roadie and has stated, "My goal is to make the City of Chicago the most bicycle-friendly city in the U.S." It looks like he's well on his way of doing that.

I had some hours to kill so I went down to Bobby's Bikes and rented a cruiser for a few hours (the fixies/ss were still boxed up and were about to be built). I biked up and down Lake Shore path on a beautiful morning. Sure I felt like a touron who rents a bike at the Oceanfront boardwalk and tries to pass as a local but I didn't care. I saw cyclists of all shapes and sizes. The bikes ranged from beater bikes who's chains were screaming to be lubed to a Look 585 with Zipp 404s and the cyclist in full team kit. Pistas to Pinarellos.

I spoke with the guy at the bike shop and was talking about how great the cycling vibe was in the city. He told me the monthly Critical Mass has over a thousand cyclists and even gets a police escort. Not many cities would do that for cyclists. I flew out Friday but would have loved to rent a bike and rode in thier Critical Mass.

If you're ever in Chicago, I recommend getting a bike to rent for a few days and explore the city.

And if you ever wondered if you had a twin somewhere, I found Dinsey's red-headed twin in Chicago.


All photos courtesy of Donsorsa.

Right or Left Side?

Finally I can pin on a number again. Left side?
My off the bike hiatus is over and decided to do my 1st group ride of the year on Thursday and then a TT on Saturday followed by crit on Sunday. Nothing like racing into shape. I have been on my TT bike for a few training rides to satisfy my triathlon curiousity (see Smithfield report below) but nothing that put me into race shape. It's pretty bad when your running shoes have almost as many miles as your bike does at this point in the year.
On to the race reports:
Conquer the Canal TT - Saturday. My expectations were low - don't be DFL in my CAT. I also didn't expect to beat last year's time (32:03) due to my lack of fitness. The winds blowing 10-15 SSW which is a headwind/sidewind on this course. Got to the line and clipped in and went. I'll spare the mile by mile account but the highlights of TT was eating 2 bugs on the way out and dry cotton mouth (after 2 bugs and inhaling a pound of pollen) by mile 3.
With the headwind I was happy to keep it over 22 on the way out and around 26/27 on the way back. As I had the finish line in sight (1 mile), I looked down and realized I would come close to beating my time from last year. I finished, hit the Lap button and it read 32:10. Dang - seconds off from last year. Rolled around to spin out my legs and heard someone talking about how the course was 13 miles this year (versus 12 from last year). Cool - I would have beat my time by last year by at least 2:30. Bonus! Final results posted - 18th out of 21. Goal accomplished. Offical time: 32:06

Part of the scenary along the TT course. The Dismal Swamp was part of the "Underground Railroad". More history on the canal can be found here.



Picks courtesy of Dan Gibson. Click on his link for more TT pics.


Langley Speedway Crit CAT 4 Race - Sunday. My expectations on this race was stay latched on with the pack and get a gauge on my fitness. This was only a "practice" crit for me at this stage of my training. My strategy was to help a teammate get into a break or reel any breaks in. That's kind of hard sitting in the rear of the field the majority of the race. I did manage to get into a break early on in the race but that ended quickly. It was flattering to hear someone yell out when last year's BAR Champ AJ and I took off on a breakway - "Hey watch them - don't let THEM get away." I'm sure he really meant, "Don't let AJ and whoever that wheelsucker is get too far away."
I would waste matches moving up and back on the field (by the way, my matchbook looks like the ones you find at the bottom of a washing machine at the corner Suds 'n Duds - there ain't nothin' to light). Front of the field felt safe but man that was too much work - give me the rear of the pack with the shelter of drafting off of 50+ riders. I wanted to try to be at the right spot when the prime ($100) would go off and to attempt to get on a decent break when it launched. Again being at the back of the field didn't help. $100 prime bell goes off and I'm sitting back 3rd of the field. 10-12 man break gets off the front and I'm sitting back 3rd again.
No breaks stuck today and it was down to a massive field sprint. With 2 laps left, I latch onto Amos' wheel and he pulls me on the outside up towards the front. As the bell sounds, I find where my zero base miles of training hits me. I start losing positions rapidly until I just sat up with 1/2 of a lap left not wanting to contest for a 30th spot. I got a good view of the sprint and watched Shawn pick up a 7th.

It was good to be back on the race scene again. A few more "practice" crits for me and some long training rides and I should be peaking when everyone else is burned out by July/August.

Big thanks to Jeff Craddock and the rest of the Fat Frogs team for putting together another excellent weekend of racing.

I saw K Dillard with his camera. Check out his site for some pics.
www.demoncats.com