I know I shouldn't hang out with these people but what can I say??? I'm a fan.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Vanderkitten Strikes Again
I know I shouldn't hang out with these people but what can I say??? I'm a fan.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Memorial Day Weekend - Frankenmuth/Gaslight
Note to self...remember to use your 11/23 cassette next year at Frankenmuth. Note to self...work harder at your position in those big field crits.
I write these things so that the first thing I see next year as I re-read this post in prep for those races are these little pearls of wisdom.
Frankenmuth was a blast this year. We are still feeling out this field not knowing what is coming next. This year we lined up Zach, Joe, DMO, John Burrows, Scott, Tony and myself. As at every race this year, I liked our team and our chances. This course is 62 miles and pancake flat. The only real feature is the wind as it sweeps across the farm fields.
I had a pre race dilemma whether or not to use my carbon wheels or my powertap. Performance over data. I chose performance and I am glad I did because I found my powertap wheel flattened when I came back to the car. If I would have used it I would have flatted fo' sho'!!
From the start two super strong mountain bikers flew off the front and stayed away for quite some time. They both seemed very strong and were very active most of the race. After that first flurry of activity things settled down. Attacks started coming again on the second lap, I think. It all sort of blurs together but I think it was on the second lap when a couple of little acts of aggression led to a break. I was involved in at least one that looked very promising to me. We six strong riders working together and I thought it had possibilities. Now that I think about it, this may have been the third lap, whatever. Anyway, the field would have none of it and the composition of the break wasn't good enough to overcome their chase.
Before I go any farther I want to honor Joe L.. He admits his endurance is lacking at this point in the season. In spite of this he performed a role on our team that was very helpful for us. He went to the front and attacked over and over again drawing strong riders out of the field and elevating the pace and weakening the field. I love his work ethic and his teamwork. He could hang out in the pack and finish the race but he chooses to be a player and use what he has to impact the race for our team! All I can say is, thank you Joe! As we were racing along at this point I mentioned to one of my team mates that Joe is our MVP in my book to that point in the race. It is hard to order someone to attack knowing they will be burning matches that could help them to a better placing. No one needs to ask Joe. He filled the same role at Gaslight on Monday. That is how you race my friends.
Anyway, there really isn't much more to it. Just like last year the decisive move came on the last lap in the last 10 miles. Jimmy Minema surprised us when he rolled off the front and stayed away. We knew he was strong but we had no idea how strong he was. We went to the front and started working to bring him in. Zach, DMO, myself, Lupe Martinez and a couple of other strong riders working together failed to bring him back. Had I known what I know now, I NEVER, would have let that move go unchallenged. He was all by his lonesome out there after riding 52 miles weathering countless attacks. He must have been struggling, right? One must must also give much credit to his Bissel team mates from Florida Shawn Hebb and Joe Hess. While Jimmy was off the front, his team mates were right there working to obstruct out chase. Even so, our chase should have been more effective. There were moments when I stepped up the pace to something more but I ended up gapping my fellow chasers. I think we all had the mentality that we wouldn't catch the Jimmy so we were looking to preserve some gas for our own attempt at second place.
In the process of chasing we managed to gap the main field. I didn't know this until the end of the race due to our preoccupation with the chase. Kroske was back in that field and he later said we opened up a small gap that they just couldn't close.
On the small hill just before the turn onto the final sprint, I was passed by a few riders. My bad. The finishing straight is downhill and looonnnggg. I was winding out and couldn't even get out of the saddle I was spinning so fast. I was overtaking riders and one, in desperation I think, tried to run me out of road. I yelled at him and motored on. I could see I was gaining on the fourth place rider, one of the Florida Bissel boys. Throwing the bike at the line I missed him by a wheel length taking fifth and $50 for our team.
The speed on the finish was just insane. The second place rider recorded 42 mph on his computer. My computer was in the car. Because I spun out I cursed myself for not putting my 11/23 on for the race. I still think that is a very important move for next year but I was shocked later on when tuning my derailluer to find I couldn't shift down to my 12!! No wonder I spun out so bad.
Somewhere on lap 3 Zach rode up to me and said he didn't think he could hang in there. He not only hung on by he was in the chase at the end and finished 12th!
DMO came to the front just when we needed him. The pack slowed to a crawl on the last lap like it was a track race. He came up and drove the field! He finished just in front of Zach in 11th place. Great job! Tony was up there also driving and attacking to keep the things under control. Scott was suffering with some kind of flu or something but he hung in there. John worked his tail off also but ended up dropped. Overall, I couldn't be prouder of our team. Two of the top four spots were taken by the Florida Bissel boys who really surprised us. Between them, they have an endurance man in Jimmy, a sprinter in Shawn an all arounder in Joe. Pretty formidable but who knew?
Gaslight
After taking Sunday off to enjoy Abby's baptism, we were back on the road Monday with the whole family to enjoy the Tour de Gaslight criterium. I gotta tell you this is an awesome venue with lots of eateries, bars and coffee houses surrounding the course. The major features for the day would be the wind, the field size and the combo 3/4 effect. The wind was just howling out of the northwest making position very important everywhere on the course. I found it very difficult to get myself positioned well early on. Early attacks went off without any response because I was buried behind numerous riders. It was getting frustrating until I realized there was an area of the course that offered a chance to move up on every lap. The wind blew from the left on this stretch and there was a pinch in the course that caused the field to move to the left side of the road. That meant I could move up every lap with a nice wind block. The only problem was that this gave me a difficult line turning onto the finishing straight. If riders overcooked the corner or got forced to the gutter it forced me to slow. If that didn't happen I was in great position because I still had a wind break. I promised myself that I would use this to my advantage if I could on the last few laps.
My team road very aggressively as Joe was mixing it up and even won a prime as did Tony. The Florida Bissel boys were there again as was Larry Warbasse fresh from racing in Belgium. He had at least 2 team mates in Andrew and Taylor. BTW, has Taylor grown or what? Joe was commenting that his rear end is at eye level when riding his wheel.
Anyway, this wasn't a particularly hard race physically but it was a bit of a mental exercise. You had to think about position all the time and the sketchiness was pretty bad. Potty Mouth was there but I only saw him once. He cuts an imposing figure in his pink skin suit. I don't think he recognized me this year thankfully. There were two crashes that I know of one of which happened just after I moved up about 30 places in my favorite spot. I had to wonder if I might have been caught up in that mess had I not made that move.
Coming down to the last three laps I commented to Chris that we had to fight for position for the remainder of the race. We could not let ourselves get swarmed at any point or we might not get back to a competitive position in time. I was focusing so hard to make this happen. It was very hard with the level of competition and the field size. Every one of those 70 riders wanted to be in the first 5 places on the last lap and it was a battle royal to see who would be there. If you were not in that position coming to the the last turn to kite, you could just forget it. The big field would slow and you were out...period. I made it to the last lap holding near the front about 5-10 back. The Bissel boys jumped way early for me. I watched Larry Warbasse launch into a sprint right in front of me with at least 300 meters to go. I had no choice but to do the same. If I didn't get to that turn in a good position I was cooked. Well, I got gapped pretty good by the first 4 riders but held on for 5th place. I got a chance to look back with about 50 meters to go and I felt confident enough to ease off the sprint. Saying I was gassed would be and underestimate. If the race wasn't very hard the 300m sprint was a killer.
Doug Gatto lined up with us and held on to the end in a very fast race. He recorded an average speed of 26.11mph.
I write these things so that the first thing I see next year as I re-read this post in prep for those races are these little pearls of wisdom.
Frankenmuth was a blast this year. We are still feeling out this field not knowing what is coming next. This year we lined up Zach, Joe, DMO, John Burrows, Scott, Tony and myself. As at every race this year, I liked our team and our chances. This course is 62 miles and pancake flat. The only real feature is the wind as it sweeps across the farm fields.
I had a pre race dilemma whether or not to use my carbon wheels or my powertap. Performance over data. I chose performance and I am glad I did because I found my powertap wheel flattened when I came back to the car. If I would have used it I would have flatted fo' sho'!!
From the start two super strong mountain bikers flew off the front and stayed away for quite some time. They both seemed very strong and were very active most of the race. After that first flurry of activity things settled down. Attacks started coming again on the second lap, I think. It all sort of blurs together but I think it was on the second lap when a couple of little acts of aggression led to a break. I was involved in at least one that looked very promising to me. We six strong riders working together and I thought it had possibilities. Now that I think about it, this may have been the third lap, whatever. Anyway, the field would have none of it and the composition of the break wasn't good enough to overcome their chase.
Before I go any farther I want to honor Joe L.. He admits his endurance is lacking at this point in the season. In spite of this he performed a role on our team that was very helpful for us. He went to the front and attacked over and over again drawing strong riders out of the field and elevating the pace and weakening the field. I love his work ethic and his teamwork. He could hang out in the pack and finish the race but he chooses to be a player and use what he has to impact the race for our team! All I can say is, thank you Joe! As we were racing along at this point I mentioned to one of my team mates that Joe is our MVP in my book to that point in the race. It is hard to order someone to attack knowing they will be burning matches that could help them to a better placing. No one needs to ask Joe. He filled the same role at Gaslight on Monday. That is how you race my friends.
Anyway, there really isn't much more to it. Just like last year the decisive move came on the last lap in the last 10 miles. Jimmy Minema surprised us when he rolled off the front and stayed away. We knew he was strong but we had no idea how strong he was. We went to the front and started working to bring him in. Zach, DMO, myself, Lupe Martinez and a couple of other strong riders working together failed to bring him back. Had I known what I know now, I NEVER, would have let that move go unchallenged. He was all by his lonesome out there after riding 52 miles weathering countless attacks. He must have been struggling, right? One must must also give much credit to his Bissel team mates from Florida Shawn Hebb and Joe Hess. While Jimmy was off the front, his team mates were right there working to obstruct out chase. Even so, our chase should have been more effective. There were moments when I stepped up the pace to something more but I ended up gapping my fellow chasers. I think we all had the mentality that we wouldn't catch the Jimmy so we were looking to preserve some gas for our own attempt at second place.
In the process of chasing we managed to gap the main field. I didn't know this until the end of the race due to our preoccupation with the chase. Kroske was back in that field and he later said we opened up a small gap that they just couldn't close.
On the small hill just before the turn onto the final sprint, I was passed by a few riders. My bad. The finishing straight is downhill and looonnnggg. I was winding out and couldn't even get out of the saddle I was spinning so fast. I was overtaking riders and one, in desperation I think, tried to run me out of road. I yelled at him and motored on. I could see I was gaining on the fourth place rider, one of the Florida Bissel boys. Throwing the bike at the line I missed him by a wheel length taking fifth and $50 for our team.
The speed on the finish was just insane. The second place rider recorded 42 mph on his computer. My computer was in the car. Because I spun out I cursed myself for not putting my 11/23 on for the race. I still think that is a very important move for next year but I was shocked later on when tuning my derailluer to find I couldn't shift down to my 12!! No wonder I spun out so bad.
Somewhere on lap 3 Zach rode up to me and said he didn't think he could hang in there. He not only hung on by he was in the chase at the end and finished 12th!
DMO came to the front just when we needed him. The pack slowed to a crawl on the last lap like it was a track race. He came up and drove the field! He finished just in front of Zach in 11th place. Great job! Tony was up there also driving and attacking to keep the things under control. Scott was suffering with some kind of flu or something but he hung in there. John worked his tail off also but ended up dropped. Overall, I couldn't be prouder of our team. Two of the top four spots were taken by the Florida Bissel boys who really surprised us. Between them, they have an endurance man in Jimmy, a sprinter in Shawn an all arounder in Joe. Pretty formidable but who knew?
Gaslight
After taking Sunday off to enjoy Abby's baptism, we were back on the road Monday with the whole family to enjoy the Tour de Gaslight criterium. I gotta tell you this is an awesome venue with lots of eateries, bars and coffee houses surrounding the course. The major features for the day would be the wind, the field size and the combo 3/4 effect. The wind was just howling out of the northwest making position very important everywhere on the course. I found it very difficult to get myself positioned well early on. Early attacks went off without any response because I was buried behind numerous riders. It was getting frustrating until I realized there was an area of the course that offered a chance to move up on every lap. The wind blew from the left on this stretch and there was a pinch in the course that caused the field to move to the left side of the road. That meant I could move up every lap with a nice wind block. The only problem was that this gave me a difficult line turning onto the finishing straight. If riders overcooked the corner or got forced to the gutter it forced me to slow. If that didn't happen I was in great position because I still had a wind break. I promised myself that I would use this to my advantage if I could on the last few laps.
My team road very aggressively as Joe was mixing it up and even won a prime as did Tony. The Florida Bissel boys were there again as was Larry Warbasse fresh from racing in Belgium. He had at least 2 team mates in Andrew and Taylor. BTW, has Taylor grown or what? Joe was commenting that his rear end is at eye level when riding his wheel.
Anyway, this wasn't a particularly hard race physically but it was a bit of a mental exercise. You had to think about position all the time and the sketchiness was pretty bad. Potty Mouth was there but I only saw him once. He cuts an imposing figure in his pink skin suit. I don't think he recognized me this year thankfully. There were two crashes that I know of one of which happened just after I moved up about 30 places in my favorite spot. I had to wonder if I might have been caught up in that mess had I not made that move.
Coming down to the last three laps I commented to Chris that we had to fight for position for the remainder of the race. We could not let ourselves get swarmed at any point or we might not get back to a competitive position in time. I was focusing so hard to make this happen. It was very hard with the level of competition and the field size. Every one of those 70 riders wanted to be in the first 5 places on the last lap and it was a battle royal to see who would be there. If you were not in that position coming to the the last turn to kite, you could just forget it. The big field would slow and you were out...period. I made it to the last lap holding near the front about 5-10 back. The Bissel boys jumped way early for me. I watched Larry Warbasse launch into a sprint right in front of me with at least 300 meters to go. I had no choice but to do the same. If I didn't get to that turn in a good position I was cooked. Well, I got gapped pretty good by the first 4 riders but held on for 5th place. I got a chance to look back with about 50 meters to go and I felt confident enough to ease off the sprint. Saying I was gassed would be and underestimate. If the race wasn't very hard the 300m sprint was a killer.
Doug Gatto lined up with us and held on to the end in a very fast race. He recorded an average speed of 26.11mph.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Kensington Festival of Pain
Doug subtly made mention of Kensington in a comment which I interpret as a gentle reminder to post up a recap.
I flew in from Dallas the night before and put the finishing touches on James' excellent pack job. We awoke at 4 am to dine on pancakes. Then, the bikes go on top of the car and off we go to Starbucks then the park. We arrived pretty early and parked right by the toilets. After helping move some picnic tables around we unpacked and got geared up. By the time I got James set up my warm up time was gone so it would have to happen on the first lap.
It was fortunate for me that the first lap was really, really slow. It couldn't have worked out better. I was warm and feeling strong. That is until around mile 30 when I had a stabbing pain in my right calf muscle. The riding wasn't particularly hard yet and after only 30 miles I didn't think I could be cramping. As the miles slipped by the pain kept coming back then migrating and manifesting as that unmistakable pain I know so well. This one took me by complete surprise. I suspected they might become a problem but not until much later in the race. I was able to race and jump still but then the death blow came. Around the 40 mile mark after exiting the neutral zone I flatted. At the time I was beginning to think the field might split and I desperately wanted to stay with the front group. I pulled off and Dominic rolled up with my spare wheel. As soon as I got off the bike my quads cramped. Dominic said he would pace me back to the group so I jumped on his bumper and off we went. We were just flying right up until I hit Snot Hill and the wheels came off the whole operation. I began to cramp horribly and by the time I got to the top of the hill I was audibly groaning in pain. I think it was Brian Adams who jumped up and pushed me the last few feet to the top of the hill. If it weren't for him I might have quit right there but I recovered some on the downhill and the next hill by the finish is fairly gentle so I felt better and decided to continue hoping I might catch a break and ride with some dropped riders or get back on because of a boat trailer or something stopping the field. This wasn't going to be the case.
When I approached the neutral zone I kept an eye out for the field so I could measure the time gap. They passed me going the other way and I started counting as I went through. It was roughly a two minute gap. The next lap the gap was roughly the same or slightly longer. I wasn't getting any closer. By the 8th lap, (second to last), I was giving some thought to retiring at the finish so I could watch the sprint finish. I passed up some women and felt pretty good then came Snot Hill and more cramps. The women just walked by me. That was just demoralizing. I rode to the top of the finish hill logged my time for the eighth lap and quit one lap shy of finishing the race.
I rode through more pain than I ever have before and today, (Tuesday), my quads still hurt. There must have been some serious tearing incurred by riding through the cramps. So, my old nemesis is back and it is back to the drawing board to try and learn what I need to do in the future to prevent this. In this case I think there were a number of factors as opposed to a single one. Cramping can be caused by dehydration, over-hydration, electrolyte deficiency, deficient training or perhaps an issue with ATP production.
Thankfully this isn't my full time job! I'll have another go at it this weekend. I've had bad races before and surely will again.
I flew in from Dallas the night before and put the finishing touches on James' excellent pack job. We awoke at 4 am to dine on pancakes. Then, the bikes go on top of the car and off we go to Starbucks then the park. We arrived pretty early and parked right by the toilets. After helping move some picnic tables around we unpacked and got geared up. By the time I got James set up my warm up time was gone so it would have to happen on the first lap.
It was fortunate for me that the first lap was really, really slow. It couldn't have worked out better. I was warm and feeling strong. That is until around mile 30 when I had a stabbing pain in my right calf muscle. The riding wasn't particularly hard yet and after only 30 miles I didn't think I could be cramping. As the miles slipped by the pain kept coming back then migrating and manifesting as that unmistakable pain I know so well. This one took me by complete surprise. I suspected they might become a problem but not until much later in the race. I was able to race and jump still but then the death blow came. Around the 40 mile mark after exiting the neutral zone I flatted. At the time I was beginning to think the field might split and I desperately wanted to stay with the front group. I pulled off and Dominic rolled up with my spare wheel. As soon as I got off the bike my quads cramped. Dominic said he would pace me back to the group so I jumped on his bumper and off we went. We were just flying right up until I hit Snot Hill and the wheels came off the whole operation. I began to cramp horribly and by the time I got to the top of the hill I was audibly groaning in pain. I think it was Brian Adams who jumped up and pushed me the last few feet to the top of the hill. If it weren't for him I might have quit right there but I recovered some on the downhill and the next hill by the finish is fairly gentle so I felt better and decided to continue hoping I might catch a break and ride with some dropped riders or get back on because of a boat trailer or something stopping the field. This wasn't going to be the case.
When I approached the neutral zone I kept an eye out for the field so I could measure the time gap. They passed me going the other way and I started counting as I went through. It was roughly a two minute gap. The next lap the gap was roughly the same or slightly longer. I wasn't getting any closer. By the 8th lap, (second to last), I was giving some thought to retiring at the finish so I could watch the sprint finish. I passed up some women and felt pretty good then came Snot Hill and more cramps. The women just walked by me. That was just demoralizing. I rode to the top of the finish hill logged my time for the eighth lap and quit one lap shy of finishing the race.
I rode through more pain than I ever have before and today, (Tuesday), my quads still hurt. There must have been some serious tearing incurred by riding through the cramps. So, my old nemesis is back and it is back to the drawing board to try and learn what I need to do in the future to prevent this. In this case I think there were a number of factors as opposed to a single one. Cramping can be caused by dehydration, over-hydration, electrolyte deficiency, deficient training or perhaps an issue with ATP production.
Thankfully this isn't my full time job! I'll have another go at it this weekend. I've had bad races before and surely will again.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Another Tiesto Fan
If you read Bicycling mag last month you were introduced to Liz Hatch of Vanderkitten Racing. It's always good to see the ladies getting props for their racing exploits. Anyway, I think Chris Aten ought to make a bold move and call her up because she likes D.J. Tiesto especially when she is training hard! No Led Zeppelin for these kids. Whadyasay Chris? It's Perry Como, Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby for me. Nothing like ripping up a lung to the smokey tones of one of these cats!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
I feel like a former cyclist
After the big trip I settled in for a great week of training. It was peak week 2 so I only had two days of intensity. I felt fantastic each time I got on the bike. The two days of intensity were both at Kensington. Using the power meter I rode up the hills between 400 and 500 watts. The second day was with James and he really has it going on when it comes to those hills. It took a 600 watt extended effort to finally shake him off my wheel! On the first hill he just blew by me and I had to ask him to let up until I could get a warm up. I ended up spending around 30 minutes over 400 watts all told. We only trained for a couple of hours but I was pretty much leveled. I was bumming about the bad recovery thinking about the amount of time I would have to ride above 400 at the ToKV compared to this training ride then I did the math and realized the race would be done at around 40 minutes. It will hurt for sure but it shouldn't be much worse than that last hard day.
This week I am in Dallas doing a Gulfstream recurrent training session. Hotel stationary bikes, too much restaurant food, lousy sleep, etc.. I feel totally disconnected from cycling.
This week I am in Dallas doing a Gulfstream recurrent training session. Hotel stationary bikes, too much restaurant food, lousy sleep, etc.. I feel totally disconnected from cycling.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Last Leg
I am sitting aboard a Northwest 757 that is just beginning its descent from altitude into Detroit Metro Airport. What a week it has been! My first circumnavigation of the globe! I feel so Magellan. God willing, I will be with my beloved Mrs. Anderson and her brood within the next two hours! Yeeha! All in all the trip went well. We had a great crew and we laughed a lot which always helps with the fatigue and stress.
This kind of travel just blows away any routine in life and it is then that you fully realize how much we depend on routine. Things like getting up in the same time zone at the same time with the sun in the same basic place at the same time of the day are truly necessary for one's health. There is still a lot of suffering I'll have to go through. Chances are I'll have trouble sleeping for the next few days which may further mess up my training. I have this week to train on my bike then next week I travel to Dallas, TX for a week of Gulfstream training. I'll spend that time on the stationary bike at the DFW Marriott. I think there is little doubt that this is going to affect my performance at Kensington. There really isn't much I can do about things other than grin and bear it.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Honolulu At Last!
We left Australia about 4pm for the nine hour and twenty five minute flight to Honolulu and the end of our working trip. We had to steer around a couple of rain showers shortly after takeoff which brought a bump or two but then smoothness for about seven hours.
Let me say this about Melbourne...it is straight awesome. The city is relatively new even compared to American cities.They keep there town spotless. There are people everywhere walking and biking and they are so incredibly friendly. I saw a dozen or more fully kitted riders heading out of the city to train. This is a place where I could easily live.
So we flew overhead Sydney then out over the Pacific to Fiji where we made a slight left hand turn to fly a direct line to Honolulu. We managed to cover the distance in about nine hours eighteen minutes which is a good time for that leg which can easily take 11 hours.
The tradition in Hawaii is to receive their brand of hospitality upon arrival. Our handler gave us all lei's and offered us drinks. This isn't the kind of treatment we get anywhere else in the world. We sat there for a couple of hours before driving off to our hotel at 7am or so. (We landed at 530am on the same day we took off.) The ladies at Air Service Hawaii are the best!! Thanks!
My fellow pilots just joined me and I think we will hunt up some dinner. Bye for now.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Out of India
Wow, what an experience. India is truly a world away from anything I have ever experienced. There are no words that could adequately explain the situation there. I stayed in my hotel room while my colleagues toured the city. They borrowed my camera and shot this picture. After we got off the airplane we had to drive around the airport and it was just crazy. A one lane road that was shared between our van all other opposite bound vehicles and numerous dogs. It was just crazy.
The next day we we arose at 3:30am to make the trek back to the airport. The airport situation there is just horrific. Airline passengers spend an average of 4 hours getting through security and bureaucracy. We were not going to have to do that but it still took over an hour to make it through.
The south Indian people have an interesting way of bobbing their head to the side when they speak. It serves as a sort of punctuation mark on their speech and at times it is a stand alone communication device. We have all been working on our version of it but it is truly unique. As we moved through the airport we noticed a bobble head doll that we just had to have. The day before I was telling the crew about a Yahoo story I had read about Iron Maiden's tour jet. The lead singer is also the pilot and he has this bobble head statue that sits up on the glareshield judging landings by the degree of head bobble. It was agreed that we needed to work on some similar sort of device. This little doll now serves that purpose on our airplane. I call him Rageev.
We are now in Australia after a 10 hour flight. It is fall here. The winds were blowing with temps in the high 40's which is quite a change from our last stop. Driving through the city to the hotel city workers could be seen powerwashing the sidewalks. What a difference.
Chris Aten is one of my athletes and he always likes to hear DJ Tiesto when he tests. I went down for a coffee today and saw this little curry shop across the street. Lunch was found. As I walked out, behold I saw this poster advertising a concert tonight! I should go for Chris but I won't because I hate Tiesto. Chris knows this and never gets offended but I like Chris and out of respect for him I though I would post this pic.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Next Leg
We left Turkey yesterday and flew east two time zones. The place where I am now smells like soiled baby diapers roasting in a 300 degree oven. Here's a pic snapped during engine start-up in Istanbul. It was a slow go getting out of there. Once airborne we flew across Turkey and into Syria. Syria, Lebanon and Israel have some coast line and green space. Other than this, the Middle East is some of the most lifeless desert I have ever seen. Lebanon seemed especially nice with snow capped mountains and lots of vegetation. Syria was not so nice. Jordan was even worse and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Oman were all desolate. Oman looked a lot like some of Arizona with much more mountain and canyon.
The UAE was flat and dry. There was this cool island development near Dubai. You can see this thing on Google Earth pretty clearly.
Below you can see us on final approach to ???.
I managed a workout today and darn near died. The ergometer I rode had some issues with calibration. That combined with a general state of fatigue combined for a very nasty effort. I suffered for an hour and called it quits. This travel stuff is like chemo. It is a long slow death. What saves you is that the trip ends before too much damage is done. Don't laugh it's true.
Below you can see us on final approach to ???.
I managed a workout today and darn near died. The ergometer I rode had some issues with calibration. That combined with a general state of fatigue combined for a very nasty effort. I suffered for an hour and called it quits. This travel stuff is like chemo. It is a long slow death. What saves you is that the trip ends before too much damage is done. Don't laugh it's true.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Istanbul
Hi all. I am not biking over here. I am almost totally sedentary. Thanks to all who have chimed in with their advice and I agree with the consensus. I think there is little to be gained with long slow distance training. There is a killer health club here at my hotel but, alas, I am completely drained and it is the last day of my rest week. Therefore, I will make every effort to get a tough workout in on Tuesday.Due to my limited intellectual capabilities I just now realized I have no hope of doing Cone Azalia. My flight arrives home that morning after flying all night home from Honolulu. So, before I have turned a single pedal in anger I am firmly established in last place in the points standing. My only comfort is my team mates are 1, 2 & 3!
Today I had the very great privilege of touring one of the oldest churches in all of Christendom. St. Sophia, or Hagia
Sophia as it is also called, was built in the 6th century, (I think), by the emporer Justinian. There were older churches that stood at this same sight but they were destoyed. There are some ruins credited to Theodosius and legend has it that Constantine built the first church there in the fourth century.We took a taxi from the hotel to the entrance. I paid the driver while the other two pilots and flight attendant exited the cab. They were immediately greeted by a very energetic Turkish carpet salesman. He very quickly singled out our flight attendant for his attempt to tour guide us to his carpet shop. We saw it coming but she didn't. We tried to separate her but the longer she allowed him to shower her with tour guidance the more he was inclined to feel she owed it to him to come to his shop.
The Blue Mosque is across the street facing St. Sophia. He suggested we go there first because it was about to close so we were time limited whereas St. Sophia was open all day. Oh, and guess where his carpet shop is? You guessed it, right next to the Blue Mosque.
We formulated a plan to have her tour the mosque then we would offer a tip to this guy and walk away when she came out and there was always a chance he would give up on her while she was in there. Well, the rains started to pour so now every would be tour guide became an umbrella salesman shouting, "Umbrella, umbrella, umbrella...," at the top of their lungs. Our guy came over to me and I told him I was fine. He took offense to this and said, "What is wrong with you people!"
I found shelter under a portion of the mosque with one of the other pilots away from out guide. When Jan finally came out he came right at here. We tried to tip him away and he became even more offended and said he didn't want out money but that we should go to his shop and look at carpet. I don't need carpet. My wife buys a carpet a week from Meijers which comes from China. I already have exotic Chinese carpet in my house and, now, into my garage as the indoor carpet is replaced.
When we finally got free we had a splendid time touring this magnificent, historic cathedral.
CAKE - The Distance
This song just makes me want to go fast! It disappeared from youtube for a while so enjoy its reappearance.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
A Coaching Scenario
Your athlete must go on a business trip that will, literally, take him around the World taking off from his home to the east and return from the west. The day his trip leaves he will be just finishing up his rest and recovery for build phase 2. The following week is Peak 1 then Peak 2 then Race and at the end of that week he will be racing his first A-race of the season. He is a 45 year old cat 3 racer and a pilot crewing a flight. He will fly on the airlines to a join up with a trip. His schedule looks like this:
Friday - Airline travel 7 time zones leaving at 540pm from his home base.
Saturday - Arrive at first destination at 2pm in that time zone. Arrival at his hotel at 4pm.
He will be staying at a hotel with decent exercise equipment.
Sunday - Athlete has this day free but would like to do some sight seeing.
Monday - 3:00 am wakeup call for a 5:30 am departure to fly 7 hours and at least 4 more time zones. He should arrive at his hotel by 6pm that evening. His hotel has decent exercise equipment.
Tuesday - He has an off day scheduled.
Wednesday - 5:00 am wake up for an 8:00am take off to fly 10 hours to the next destination. Arrival there should be at 6pm. The hotel here has good equipment.
Thursday - Off day.
Friday - Fly 10 more hours leaving at 6pm and arriving on Friday at 8am. (Int'l date line)
Saturday - Fly home on the airlines leaving at 6pm arriving at his home around 12pm the next afternoon.
Considering the wear and tear on his body from all the travel, his location in the annual training plan how would you coach your athlete to maximum performance for his upcoming A-race? (BTW let me just say "thanks" in advance! ~ d)
Friday - Airline travel 7 time zones leaving at 540pm from his home base.
Saturday - Arrive at first destination at 2pm in that time zone. Arrival at his hotel at 4pm.
He will be staying at a hotel with decent exercise equipment.
Sunday - Athlete has this day free but would like to do some sight seeing.
Monday - 3:00 am wakeup call for a 5:30 am departure to fly 7 hours and at least 4 more time zones. He should arrive at his hotel by 6pm that evening. His hotel has decent exercise equipment.
Tuesday - He has an off day scheduled.
Wednesday - 5:00 am wake up for an 8:00am take off to fly 10 hours to the next destination. Arrival there should be at 6pm. The hotel here has good equipment.
Thursday - Off day.
Friday - Fly 10 more hours leaving at 6pm and arriving on Friday at 8am. (Int'l date line)
Saturday - Fly home on the airlines leaving at 6pm arriving at his home around 12pm the next afternoon.
Considering the wear and tear on his body from all the travel, his location in the annual training plan how would you coach your athlete to maximum performance for his upcoming A-race? (BTW let me just say "thanks" in advance! ~ d)
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Crusin'
This is my rest and recovery week for build 2 and I am loving it. I rode 3 hours yesterday and 3 hours today front-loading hours in anticipation of my long trip that begins Friday. Today I felt so incredible after all the stress of build.
It was warm but not too warm and the wind wasn't a factor at all. The only complaint might be the presence of swarms of these little bugs that got stuck inside my helmet. This is the kind of day I have been waiting for since last October.
It was warm but not too warm and the wind wasn't a factor at all. The only complaint might be the presence of swarms of these little bugs that got stuck inside my helmet. This is the kind of day I have been waiting for since last October.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
STS #4 Recap
A beautiful day for the last training race before the official season start and it was for sure the best race day of the season weather-wise. James raced and I helped coach the C-race today. Sarah Uhl, (I was going to hyperlink to a website for more info on Sarah but I couldn't settle on one...look her up yerself), was our guest coach so we were able to just hang out and help where needed. James and Alexey absolutely tore it up jumping the field and forming a break that ended up lapping them. They both looked very strong indeed. James took third and Alexey was either fifth or six. They continue to draw ooh's and ah's from folks as they watch these little guys reek havoc on the adults they race with.
As soon as the C's were done I had to run back to Saline to pick up some gear for a rider, then back to Runway, then take James to church, pick up Abby then return to Runway. So, to race the A's today I had to miss church. This wasn't my plan but by the time James was finished Pastor Chuck was into his second sermon point. Jean met me at the entrance of the church for the trade off. She wasn't pleased and she was justified. I royally screwed up everything.
Abby and I hurried back to Runway so I could get some kind of warm up in. If we had a team meeting, I wasn't able to make it.
We had a big field today. I lined up at the very back and the field was 7-8 deep filling the road. I am guessing we 50-60 riders. The field was a good one with riders from the Bissell team joining the fray. I also noticed that dude with the Hooters team who won James' suffer-face contest last year. ( Check that...it might have been Rigdon who took that prize.) Ben Renkama was there along with Bart Carlson and several other Coasties. The Wolverines were very well represented with Danny Klein, Big Ray, Tim Finkel, Kroske and a host of others.
Describing the first half of these crits is getting pretty boring. By now you are getting the picture I think. It was fast, fast, fast then a couple of breaks go, they get caught, the pace slows and a serious attack succeeds. I managed to get into a couple of these little skirmishes that went nowhere. Matches were needlessly burned but I had a lot of confidence that I could recover and go again. My chance came with about 30 minutes left. A Bissell rider had gone off on a flyer. Meanwhile, the pace slowed and I thought, "Shoot, I might as well take a shot here." So that's what I did. I jumped and rode off the front. Now, I have done this a few times in the last two seasons when riding this field but it doesn't seem to be appealing to anybody because no one will ride across to me. I can't blame them. Why should they risk missing a break with known strong riders to join up with me. After I jumped I just rode a shade harder than FTP. No powermeter today but I suspect I was pulling 300-320 watts. Enough to maintain my gap but probably not enough to make it 30 minutes. After nearly 1K off the front Ray Dybowski rode across to me and no one followed. I want to tell you, I feel like Rodney Dangerfield sometimes in that field. "Aw shoot, don't worry about those two. Ray can't make it with that guy. We'll reel them in." When I saw Ray I looked over and said, "C'mon Big Ray, LET'S GO!" And that's what we did. You see, I think Big Ray knew something the others didn't because he and I were in the most hideously painful, (for me that is), break at Ada last year. I think Ray calculated that this might be an opportunity and he capitalized on it guessing the field wouldn't feel threatened.
Well, we threw the hammer down and it was go-time. Before long we reeled in the flyer so now there were three. The riding was excruciatingly painful. After pulling too long once, I yelled as I had to give it all I had to hold the wheel of the guy in front of me. I heard some time gaps yelled out and I wasn't impressed with what I was hearing then silence. We held out all the way down to 2 laps to go. Somewhere in here an Essex Brass rider rode across to us and just kept going. I think it was Bruce Rivera. Anyway, no way I could hold his wheel as I was fading fast. I got back with Ray and we worked together to try and stay away. The field was closing fast and I knew it was going to be close. The entire last lap I was huffing and puffing the same way I do when collapsing on the graduated exercise test. The Essex Brass rider stayed away, the Bissell rider took second, Ray got third and I took fourth. We made it but by a hair's breath. It was close. The field sprint missed me by feet. I'll take it though.
Now 4th place in a training race isn't much to get excited about but finishing in front of a very strong field like that does give me a sense of accomplishment and if nothing else, perhaps others will take a chance on me in the future.
I didn't get a chance to hear about our team's work back in the field. If anyone can post up a comment on the race from that perspective it would be nice. My guess is the SLC boys were doing their best to gum-up the works back there.
As soon as the C's were done I had to run back to Saline to pick up some gear for a rider, then back to Runway, then take James to church, pick up Abby then return to Runway. So, to race the A's today I had to miss church. This wasn't my plan but by the time James was finished Pastor Chuck was into his second sermon point. Jean met me at the entrance of the church for the trade off. She wasn't pleased and she was justified. I royally screwed up everything.
Abby and I hurried back to Runway so I could get some kind of warm up in. If we had a team meeting, I wasn't able to make it.
We had a big field today. I lined up at the very back and the field was 7-8 deep filling the road. I am guessing we 50-60 riders. The field was a good one with riders from the Bissell team joining the fray. I also noticed that dude with the Hooters team who won James' suffer-face contest last year. ( Check that...it might have been Rigdon who took that prize.) Ben Renkama was there along with Bart Carlson and several other Coasties. The Wolverines were very well represented with Danny Klein, Big Ray, Tim Finkel, Kroske and a host of others.
Describing the first half of these crits is getting pretty boring. By now you are getting the picture I think. It was fast, fast, fast then a couple of breaks go, they get caught, the pace slows and a serious attack succeeds. I managed to get into a couple of these little skirmishes that went nowhere. Matches were needlessly burned but I had a lot of confidence that I could recover and go again. My chance came with about 30 minutes left. A Bissell rider had gone off on a flyer. Meanwhile, the pace slowed and I thought, "Shoot, I might as well take a shot here." So that's what I did. I jumped and rode off the front. Now, I have done this a few times in the last two seasons when riding this field but it doesn't seem to be appealing to anybody because no one will ride across to me. I can't blame them. Why should they risk missing a break with known strong riders to join up with me. After I jumped I just rode a shade harder than FTP. No powermeter today but I suspect I was pulling 300-320 watts. Enough to maintain my gap but probably not enough to make it 30 minutes. After nearly 1K off the front Ray Dybowski rode across to me and no one followed. I want to tell you, I feel like Rodney Dangerfield sometimes in that field. "Aw shoot, don't worry about those two. Ray can't make it with that guy. We'll reel them in." When I saw Ray I looked over and said, "C'mon Big Ray, LET'S GO!" And that's what we did. You see, I think Big Ray knew something the others didn't because he and I were in the most hideously painful, (for me that is), break at Ada last year. I think Ray calculated that this might be an opportunity and he capitalized on it guessing the field wouldn't feel threatened.
Well, we threw the hammer down and it was go-time. Before long we reeled in the flyer so now there were three. The riding was excruciatingly painful. After pulling too long once, I yelled as I had to give it all I had to hold the wheel of the guy in front of me. I heard some time gaps yelled out and I wasn't impressed with what I was hearing then silence. We held out all the way down to 2 laps to go. Somewhere in here an Essex Brass rider rode across to us and just kept going. I think it was Bruce Rivera. Anyway, no way I could hold his wheel as I was fading fast. I got back with Ray and we worked together to try and stay away. The field was closing fast and I knew it was going to be close. The entire last lap I was huffing and puffing the same way I do when collapsing on the graduated exercise test. The Essex Brass rider stayed away, the Bissell rider took second, Ray got third and I took fourth. We made it but by a hair's breath. It was close. The field sprint missed me by feet. I'll take it though.
Now 4th place in a training race isn't much to get excited about but finishing in front of a very strong field like that does give me a sense of accomplishment and if nothing else, perhaps others will take a chance on me in the future.
I didn't get a chance to hear about our team's work back in the field. If anyone can post up a comment on the race from that perspective it would be nice. My guess is the SLC boys were doing their best to gum-up the works back there.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Tmax
it,s Saturday night and tomorrow will be the final workout in Build 2. Friday afternoon I wandered back into O2 depravation mode with 8 Tmax intervals. It was very hard but very gratifying. I lost count and wasn't sure if I had 1 or 2 more to finish. So, I added up the total time I should have ridden to that point. We'll see when I get to read the file.
We did some TT work out at Willow this morning with the AAVC junior team. James looked very good. I predict a sub-34 minute time for him. I rode my new TT bike around trying to get the feel for it. It's getting better but still feels a bit foreign to me.
Tomorrow's final STS looks to be epic with perfect weather and decent form.
We did some TT work out at Willow this morning with the AAVC junior team. James looked very good. I predict a sub-34 minute time for him. I rode my new TT bike around trying to get the feel for it. It's getting better but still feels a bit foreign to me.
Tomorrow's final STS looks to be epic with perfect weather and decent form.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Fading to Grey
One of my goals in build phase is to make it to 8 Tmax intervals. I inched ever closer by finishing seven last night. It wasn't easy after rep #3 but I was able to hold my target power output through all the intervals. I had at least one more in me I think but I'll save that for another effort. By the time I got to the last 30 seconds on each interval I started to do that "huff and puff" thing we do when we are going for a max effort.
Today I am sitting in Louisville. The Master's Nationals are going to be held here this summer so yesterday I drove to Cycler's Cafe to see if anyone knew anything about the courses. The road course is going to be through a hilly metro park near Lexington and Grinstead.
The crit will be downtown and the TT starts from some casino over in Indiana.
Today I am sitting in Louisville. The Master's Nationals are going to be held here this summer so yesterday I drove to Cycler's Cafe to see if anyone knew anything about the courses. The road course is going to be through a hilly metro park near Lexington and Grinstead.
The crit will be downtown and the TT starts from some casino over in Indiana.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Bad Weather
Build 2 week 2 came to a close today. The weekend racing was disrupted by winter's resurgence. Yesterday we had temps in the 30's and rain all day. This morning I woke up to snow. That notwithstanding, I went to Runway Plaza to coach the C's and was amazed to see 10 or so hardy soles ready to mix it up! Pretty impressive really. These guys area all new to racing but I think they are fully hooked after three weeks or racing. The wind was pretty nasty but the snow made judging wind direction very easy.
I gave serious thought to racing the A's but I didn't make it back from church in time. The field was chopped up pretty badly. The winning break got off with Big Ray, Tim Finkel, Pete Shilling and Larry Warbasse. Ray did what he does and just motored off the front with a couple of laps to go. My money was on Peter Shilling to win the sprint but Ray forced the issue.
After, we had a junior practice with a great young rider who came all the way from Grand Rapids to ride with us. That's commitment.
I gave serious thought to racing the A's but I didn't make it back from church in time. The field was chopped up pretty badly. The winning break got off with Big Ray, Tim Finkel, Pete Shilling and Larry Warbasse. Ray did what he does and just motored off the front with a couple of laps to go. My money was on Peter Shilling to win the sprint but Ray forced the issue.
After, we had a junior practice with a great young rider who came all the way from Grand Rapids to ride with us. That's commitment.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
waiting
Here's a post from my Blackberry. BB and I are sitting in my car waiting for his youth group posse to arrive. 16 minutes late so far.
Last night called for 4 fifteen minute zone 4 intervals. I got the first one and collapsed and had to stop the workout. I was so completely wasted. I tried so hard to listen to the coach and not the athlete. I knew the right thing to do was to stop. Today I am still feeling off and elected to take a rest day instead of driving myself deeper into this nasty fatigue I am experiencing. I need more sleep than I have been getting. I think getting up Monday @ 230am and going to bed at 1130pm that night tool more out of me than I first thought.
Last night called for 4 fifteen minute zone 4 intervals. I got the first one and collapsed and had to stop the workout. I was so completely wasted. I tried so hard to listen to the coach and not the athlete. I knew the right thing to do was to stop. Today I am still feeling off and elected to take a rest day instead of driving myself deeper into this nasty fatigue I am experiencing. I need more sleep than I have been getting. I think getting up Monday @ 230am and going to bed at 1130pm that night tool more out of me than I first thought.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Waterford #2
This was our first foray into the racing at the Waterford Raceway. This is a race course for cars but it serves us well as bike racing venue.
James went first and raced like a banshee in the C-racing. He was in the hunt as they headed for the sprint. Unfortunately he was crashed out a couple of hundred meters from the finish. When I realized he didn't make it to the finish I scanned the course for him found him in the grass. When we got to him he was sitting up struggling to breath. I made him lay back down to recover from the trauma. After a few more minutes he was able to breath easily again and get up. Zach brought in the camera and interviewed him. I think he has that on his blog if you haven't checked it out yet.
My race was an hour and thirty minutes plus 2 laps. Danny Klein flew off the front from the whistle. I couldn't believe it. We had a ton of racing and we were already flying. I rung up 330 watts for the first five minutes. That is zone 5 for me meaning I had about 6-7 minutes before things were going to start blowing up. Thankfully, my power requirement dropped down to 280 watts for the next five minutes which was manageable. Joe told me to hang onto Ben Renkema which sounded like a good idea but for how long? Look, this was a long race and there were a lot of turns and acts of aggression but in the end, none of the breaks were successful and it all came down to a field sprint. My legs felt great and I had a decent sprint left. Vince Roberge led me up to the front and I launched from several riders back. I didn't have any chance against the class of the field but I moved up some and finished in eighth place. Our own John Rigdon took 7th.
Overall, it took 281 watts of normative power and I averaged 161 beats per minute for one hour and thirty seven minutes. Phew! It hurt but I finished feeling fairly strong. I wish I had more time to write about the race but I just ran out of time. I hope to get some video up of the finish tomorrow.
James went first and raced like a banshee in the C-racing. He was in the hunt as they headed for the sprint. Unfortunately he was crashed out a couple of hundred meters from the finish. When I realized he didn't make it to the finish I scanned the course for him found him in the grass. When we got to him he was sitting up struggling to breath. I made him lay back down to recover from the trauma. After a few more minutes he was able to breath easily again and get up. Zach brought in the camera and interviewed him. I think he has that on his blog if you haven't checked it out yet.
My race was an hour and thirty minutes plus 2 laps. Danny Klein flew off the front from the whistle. I couldn't believe it. We had a ton of racing and we were already flying. I rung up 330 watts for the first five minutes. That is zone 5 for me meaning I had about 6-7 minutes before things were going to start blowing up. Thankfully, my power requirement dropped down to 280 watts for the next five minutes which was manageable. Joe told me to hang onto Ben Renkema which sounded like a good idea but for how long? Look, this was a long race and there were a lot of turns and acts of aggression but in the end, none of the breaks were successful and it all came down to a field sprint. My legs felt great and I had a decent sprint left. Vince Roberge led me up to the front and I launched from several riders back. I didn't have any chance against the class of the field but I moved up some and finished in eighth place. Our own John Rigdon took 7th.
Overall, it took 281 watts of normative power and I averaged 161 beats per minute for one hour and thirty seven minutes. Phew! It hurt but I finished feeling fairly strong. I wish I had more time to write about the race but I just ran out of time. I hope to get some video up of the finish tomorrow.
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