Back on the "road"

I haven't done much road racing lately. In fact, I think I only did one (a criterium) last year. This year, I'm back to road racing and last weekend was the Mead Roubaix. It's tough to call it a road race since half of it is on rough dirt, but since I was on a road bike I guess it's a road race. The race was 3 laps on a 12 mile loop, with 6 of those miles on dirt. My road season is pretty unstructured back this year, so I wasn't sure quite what to expect out of my fitness. I just wanted to ride smart and keep all of my skin.

I pre-rode the course on Friday, so I knew what to expect and I knew where I wanted to be. As we approached the first dirt section, I rode to the front of the group and set a quicker pace to (hopefully) get the group single filed. Regardless of what was happening behind me, I was able to pick my own line through the gravel, which was pretty nice.

Everyone took the opportunity to recover when we hit the pavement again. While the first dirt section was pretty consistent and flat, the next one was pretty killer. It's covered with washboard for a while, then you have a 2-tierd climb to make it over (after you're gassed from powering over the washboard). I started near the front, but I was getting passed by people who were a little more on the gas. I managed to stay on the tail end of the lead group up the climb and through to the end of the first lap.

The pace was still high on the second lap, but I was hanging in there okay. I got gapped as we hit the downhill pavement and had to work really hard to get back into the group. My lack of mass helps me on climbs, but hurts me on descents. If I'm not on someone's wheel, I end up working way too hard while people are coasting.

The next trip through the rough dirt was rougher than the first. I was on the right side of the road when someone came up the gutter and bumped my bars as they bounced around on the dirt. I got pushed left, corrected, and did a little fishtail. Then I felt someone hit my rear wheel and go down. It sucks to be part of a crash like that, but I'm sure that guy understands I wasn't just squirrel-ly (is that a word?) riding around. I lost some ground with that slowdown and never quite regained solid contact. I was just getting to the back of the lead group as we reached the climb. I was nearly in contact after the first tier of the climb, but I was completely gassed and got dropped.

I chased solo for a while, but I wasn't pulling them in. I saw a couple riders coming up behind me, so a sucked down a gel while I waited for them. I didn't have any chance solo, but I thought we might be able to make the catch with three of us. We all worked well together, taking smooth equals pulls, but it wasn't to be. We rode hard enough to not get caught from behind, and I finished 13th.

Back in the saddle

Back from vacation, it's time get on with the riding. Early on this year, I kind of figured that I wouldn't do as much cyclocross racing this year as last year. So far, I think I'm right. The long vacation has kind of gotten me out of the training groove. But cyclocross is fun regardless of your fitness level. Unlike a criterium, where getting dropped in the first lap means your race is over, in a 'cross race you're still out there having a good time by yourself.

My race start time wasn't until 4PM so I had plenty of time to sleep in before heading out to a new venue in Allenspark. The course had all sorts of technical features that made it a challenge for a slacker like me. It wasn't "scary" technical, but "fun" technical. I wish I had a course like that to practice on near home. I'm sure it exists, I just need to find it.

Since I missed the only points race of the season so far, I wasn't getting a call-up to the start line. It's probably better that way, since I'm feeling kind of slow. Instead, I pretty much started at the back and took it easy for the first lap. After that, I hit the gas, and started having some fun. I had a couple mechanical issues - dropped chain, pedal issues, and a front derailleur that wasn't adjust right, but whatever. Not sure where I finished, but I had a good time. Fun to have some teammates on the sidelines cheering/heckling.

Rist Hill Climb

26 miles, 3500 feet of climbing, and a lot of sucking wind. That's the Rist Hill Climb (which ought to be called a road race instead of a hill climb, but that's neither here nor there). I look forward to the Rist race for a couple reasons: It's one of the few races near my house, and I like climbing.

Thanks to Christine's earlier start time (7:30 AM), I got to Masonville plenty early to see her off, get ready, and actually warm up. I kind of pushed my luck a little with the warmup, but I made it back to the starting line in time to line up.

From the very start, the race felt quicker than last year. I didn't really spend any time at the front of the race, I just sat in and made sure I had space to get around people on the climbs if needed. I had one teammate in the group, and he did a great job of giving me a friendly wheel to draft. (Not only was Zach tired from working hard the previous day, he ended up getting a flat partway up Rist and had to ride to the finish on a rapidly deflating tubular. Anyone who rides a flat up at 12+% climb deserves a medal.)

Riding across the dams was hard as usual, with some accelerations and half-hearted attacks. You're not going to win this race for yourself on the dams, but it's a good place to soften people up.

We reached the base of Rist with a fairly large group (I think, I didn't actually spend time looking back). Things heated up quickly as there were several really good climbers on board. I've ridden with some of these people on group rides, and seen them hang with cat 3's and better. I wish they'd go ahead and get the mandatory upgrade already. :)

I got dropped early on the climb this year. A little before the first set of mailboxes. I was bummed because I made it so much further with the leaders last year. I was cramping up pretty bad, and had to really take it easy for minute while I had a stitch in my side. I don't know what that's all about, but the cramping is annoying. After I recovered, I was able to settle into a good rhythm. I caught a friend a couple miles from the top and we climbed up together for most of the rest of the way while we chatted.

When we got up to the top, I was pretty shocked when I looked at my time. According to my clock, I finished in 1:34:50. To put that in perspective, I rode the same course last year over 4 minutes slower. I finished in 14th this time, whereas last year I was 7th. Go figure. The whole group went ahead and got quicker. Damn. So, while I'm bummed that I didn't place better, I'm happy to see that I'm significantly faster.

My day of speeding around wasn't over yet. Christine and I had a 3PM flight to Austin to catch, so I had no time to hang around at the finish. I hooked up with another local rider for the ride back down to Masonville. It's a rip-roaring fun ride through Buckhorn Canyon. I should mention that the other dude is a 200+ pounder so while he's coasting along, I'm in my 53x11 pedaling hard. I was happy to have the motivation to ride fast because I really needed to get moving so we could make our flight.

Morgul-Bismark

Hey, guess what? I'm still alive. My workload is cutting into my spare mental time, so blog posting has gotten pushed aside.

Last Sunday was the return of a classic road race - The Morgul-Bismarck loop. It's a course that was used back in the 80's for the Coors International Bike Classic and was featured in the movie "American Flyers". I've ridden the course a couple of times on my own, but it was cool to finally get to race it.

This race was part of a multi-day event in the town of Superior, the Superior Morgul Classic. As far as road races go, this was the most organized and most well run event I've done. They seemed to have everything dialed and it made for a great experience.

I entered the race with no goals other than to test my climbing legs and do what I could to help out a teammate who was fighting for an overall podium spot. From the beginning of the race, I went to the front and kept a steady pace on the early climbs. I normally don't spend that much time sticking my nose in the wind, but given my goals it seemed appropriate.

My legs did not feel great to begin with. The first trip up the infamous "Wall" was a little shock to the system. But I forged on and managed to hold my position until we hit some downhill stretches. The same lightness that makes me a good climber also means I have to work harder on the downhill. People would be coasting going by me while I'm pedaling in my 53x11. Kind of demoralizing. Normally I can do alright by drafting but I wasn't really diligent about that this time. The high-speed, narrow lane, and my unfamiliarity of the course put me into "self-preservation" mode and I decided to keep a safe distance.

I worked my way back up to the front until we hit some dicey stuff through a neighborhood. There were curbs, cones, and even a poorly placed cop car to contend with. Again, I find myself near the back just as we approach The Wall again. Figuring that I don't really care whether or not I get dropped, I powered up to the front again. I was whooped, but I was glad to see that other people were climbing slower too.

The next lap went about the same way - lead on the climbs, trail off on the descents. This time, leading up to The Wall, we passed a different group of racers. Only, I didn't know we were passing them. So I was happily on the back of that group and then I noticed a gap opening up. I didn't have the legs to close it, and I was off on my own with one more lap to go.

Honestly, I would have liked to have just stopped right there. But then I looked at the time and thought I might catch Christine on the road if I kept riding. I didn't work super hard that lap. I mostly just enjoyed the nice riding weather. There were a couple of people from my group who also got dropped and they were apparently still interested in racing each other. They sat on my wheel for a bit and then attacked each other around me. I was happy to let them go and do their thing.

I didn't quite catch Christine. The final time up The Wall, I could see her ahead and I tried to catch her before the finish line. I didn't quite make it, so after I finished I dug deep and caught her on the downhill. That may have been the hardest effort all day. :) We chatted for a minute and then she went on her way to finish her final lap.

In the end, I got what I wanted out of this race. I know where I stand climbing-wise, I got a great workout for the day, and my teammate ended up nailing 3rd overall.

Next up - Rist Canyon Hill Climb. I'm pumped for this race. I'm going to go into it more rested and in better shape than I did last year. After the race, Christine and I head to Austin and I may do a race there on Sunday. Hopefully the plentiful oxygen makes up for my tired legs.

Louisville Crit

I feel like race season has started. Today I lined up for my first "real" crit of the year.

8AM Start. Ouch. That means I needed to leave Fort Collins by 6AM and get up with enough time to get some food in me. As far as I can tell, there are really only a couple good things about being the first race of the day: You can warm up on the course, and the port-o-potties aren't completely dominated by nervous racers.

I got on the trainer and warmed up for a bit before I decided that my long sleeved jersey was going to be an overkill. After I swapped my number to a new jersey, I just decided to take some laps on the course. I did this race last year, so I was already familiar with hit. It's a really simple course. Wide and safe, and there's a hill. I love it when there's a hill in a crit.

The first 15 minutes of the race felt pretty hard but then it predictably slowed down to something more reasonable. I didn't make too much of an effort to be at or near the front of the race in general. I wanted to chill out and see how my knee was feeling after the ski crash last week. Turns out, it's feeling okay, so that's nice.

I finished the race safely in the lead group. Rubber side down, all skin intact, knee is functional. Success.

Colorado State CX Championships

Yesterday was my last bike race of the season - the Colorado State CX Championships. Mentally, I was done with my season a couple weeks ago, but I decided to drag it out a couple weeks and race states since I was doing reasonably well. The body was willing, but finding the motivation to ride in the recent cold snap was difficult.

As much as I wanted to stay sitting in the nice warm car, I got out and raced. This was just not a good course for me. The temperature was dropping, and any hope of mud was rapidly freezing away. With some tricky descents and off-camber snowy slopes, it was more technical than I was ready for. Mental note for next year - do more skills work later in the season.

I got a decent start, and went into the first corner in the top 10 or 15. That put us on to a pretty tricky section, and I lost some spots as I was being tentative. I also dropped my chain. First time of the season amazingly.

I could see the leaders pulling away. Always a disappointing sight. Within a lap or so, I settled in with a group of 3 and I was content to follow them all the way to the end. We swapped positions occasionally, but I mostly just tried to sit on them and not set the tempo. My lack of motivation towards racing was really showing. :)

Eventually, one of that group had a mechanical and that just left two of us. I took a nice spill on the off-camber snow, but caught back up. I really wasn't working all that hard surprisingly, and I should have just attacked. In the end, I finished just behind that kid for 8th place overall.

Just for fun, I looked up the ages of the people in front of me. Everybody in front of me was younger (22, 22, 26, 23, 29, 14). So, I'm first place in the 30+ crowd. :)

Green Mountain Sports 'Cross

The cyclocross season is winding down. Last Sunday it was back to Golden for the final race in the Green Mountain Sports series. It was at the same location as my first race of the season where I decided to really take it easy. This time I wanted to go full gas.

Alpha Cross

Another weekend, another race. Today's special: Alpha Cross in Brighton.

My legs were missing some snap today. Don't know why, they were just kind of dead. I had to hope to outlast people instead of attacking them. My second row call-up was quickly killed when there was a lot of pushing and shoving at the start. I was a little bit unprepared to deal with it, but this was more than the usual elbow and shoulder bumping. This was "I'm going to put my skewer in you spokes" kind of action. After nearly going down on the gravely start, I ended up near the back of the group. Ugh. Lot of spots to make up throughout the race.

The course was not exactly my favorite. With the exception of one bumpy grass section, the entire course was on dirt. It seemed like more of a short track MTB course than a cross course. Not only was there a lot of dirt, but it was rutted up, construction traffic tread bumpy. Adding to the fun were several switchbacks. It was like they needed to add time to the course so they just kept adding switchbacks. I don't have a problem with switchbacks as a technical element, but 10 (there were at least that many) is a bit much.

It seemed like there were always people around me, which is nice. It's way more fun that way, rather than racing alone. On the last lap there were a couple people in front of me and a charging pack behind me. One of the riders in front of me took a water bottle in an unusual spot and it was easy to cruise around him. I managed to hold of the rest and finish 14th.

Not my best performance, but Christine put it all in perspective for me. She reminded me that I used to be happy with top 20. So yeah, 14th out of 50 is decent. I can deal with that.

Blue Sky Velo Cup

Yesterday my team put on a huge race, and it went off in a major way. Our race, the Blue Sky Velo Cup, was part of the North American Cyclocross Trophy series, and a UCI C2 categorized race. (The UCI is the international cycling organization.) What all that means is that this race would have the eye of the national and international cycling world and we'd play host to some of the best cyclocross racers in the country.

In the end, everything went amazingly well. The UCI official on site was shocked that this was our first UCI race. The lion's share of credit for the quality of the race goes to our race director, Bill Teasdale. Throughout the year, he has put in a ton of time getting all our ducks in a row and dealing with the UCI, USA Cycling, and ACA to make sure our race was a professional quality event. A lot of thanks also goes to the volunteers. We had an army of people setting up, tearing down, marshalling, registering racers, and more.


In week leading up to the race, Colorado saw some record snowfall. I wasn't sure what to expect of the course Friday when I prerode it. I was surprised to see that the course was mostly free of snow. They didn't get as much snow there, plus our setup crew did a good job of clearing snow in a lot of areas. With the sun out and the snow melting, there was a lot of mud. Sticky Colorado mud. It was clearly going to be a fun course.

After my win last weekend, I got a sweet front row call-up and I was hoping to perform well at our home race. My legs were a little tired from pre-riding the day before. I guess I worked harder than I meant. I went hard up the long uphill starting straight and went into the first corner in the top 5.

The cold overnight temperatures froze the all the muddy ruts from Friday's preriders, and that made for some tricky racing. I hit one section of ruts that bounced me around so hard that both of my feet popped out of the pedals. As the race went on, though, the course warmed up and there was a tricky mix of frozen ruts and mud. Every lap brought new conditions and challenges.

By the second lap, there was a group of 4 of us off the front. I drifted on and off the back of this group, but felt pretty comfortable for the most part. With a long climb to the finish line, I knew I had an advantage over most people. With 1.5 laps to go, tragedy struck.

I was running my tubeless tires and I burped some air out of my front. I rode gingerly for a little while, but then it was just futile and I had to run. I picked up a wheel a little while later and got back into race mode. I didn't know how many places I had lost, but I figured I'd at least try to finish strong.

I gave it my all for that last lap as I saw someone closing in on me. Every corner I'd check my progress and I was happy to see I was keeping my distance. Through all the mud and slop, I was trying to be careful while still riding fast. When all the mud wrestling was done, I finished in 8th place.

It's a little frustrating, because I just knew I could have gotten on the podium. But at the same time, it gave the feedback about my form that I was looking for. Was I just lucky in winning last weekend? I guess not entirely. I actually *am* in good shape right now. Now, I wonder if I should upgrade to the next category and get my ass handed to me all over again.

Castle Cross

I don't normally cut to the chase on my blog, but I'll make an exception today:
I won today. I f'ing won. (Read on if you need more detail than that)

Red Rocks Velo 'Cross

What a difference a week makes. Last weekend I was bundling up in all my warm cycling clothes. Yesterday I was sweating my tail off in a short-sleeved skinsuit for the Red Rocks Velo cyclocross race at Tony Grampsas Park in Golden.

The problem with racing on Sunday is that I have a tendency to workout too hard on Saturday and then I'm tired by Sunday's race. As I took a few warmup laps before my race, it was pretty clear I had overcooked things on Saturday. It was also clear that this was going to be a tough course for me. There were a lot of loose, bumpy, and off-camber corners. On top of that, there were two sand pits, and a steep staircase.

The only thing that save me on this race was the elevation gain. There were two long climbs on the course that turned the screws on most people. If you weren't already tired, these climbs were going to change that.

I had a decent starting position in the second row, but I didn't get a very good start. My legs didn't have the 'pop' necessary to get me off the line quickly so I just settled in well behind the leaders and waited patiently for people to blow-up. I made one bobble early by taking a corner too hot, but I kept it upright. Other than that, things were pretty smooth.

Round and round we went. I steadily caught and passed people, dirt caked on my face and on the roof of my mouth. Thankfully, Christine was there to hand up a water bottle to me every lap. Invaluable. Not so much necessary for hydration as it was for getting some moisture back in my dessert of a mouth.

I rode my way into 12th place. I was really hoping for a top 10, but give the difficulty of the course (for me) I'm happy with that. I like to think I earned the two apple fritters that I destroyed this morning. :)

Boulder CX #2 – Interlocken

Winter arrived just in time for the second race in the Boulder Cyclocross series. This one was at Interlocken in Broomfield. I’ve always like this course because it’s not particularly technical and it features a lot of energy zapping grass.

Our team has a tent that we’ll set up sometimes at cyclocross races. It’s nice for shelter if the weather gets nasty, but it also marks out our territory and gives us a nice place to hang. Ideally, different team members would take turns setting up the “Blue Sky Velo Compound”, but in reality it usually comes down to just a couple people that do it. I always feel bad about not being to help out with tent duties, so with Christine out of town I decided to spend the whole day down there and put in my time for the team.

I dressed pretty warm, but I was still pretty darn cold sitting outside. The weather man was predicting highs in the 40’s, but it lingered in the low 30’s most of the day. I spent some time in the car in the afternoon just to get warm.

I bundled up an hour before my race and headed out for some warmup laps. Surprisingly, I wasn’t too cold once I got working hard. Once of these days I hope to figure out how to keep my toes warm. On my warmup, my legs felt tired. Not sore, just dead. I figure it was from being out in the cold all day, or maybe from my “carbo-loading” the night before at the Crown Pub. Whatever the reason, I didn’t feel like starting in the front and clumsily getting in the way. I skipped my call-up and started near the back and talked shit with a couple friends.

The whistle blows, and it’s, of course, mayhem. There were a couple early crashes of from people rubbing wheels and locking up brakes on the wet grass. I was too busy laughing at my friends in front of me trading elbows into the first corner to notice. About halfway through the first lap, things were good and spread out and it was time for me to start picking people off. One thing I like about this course is that there is ample opportunity to pass. You’ll spend some energy riding through the thicker grass instead of the matted down race line, but the opportunity is almost always there.

My biggest problem on the day was getting clipped into my pedals after remounting. I had adjusted the position of my saddle Friday night, and this was my first time testing it out. I’m hoping that’s what led to my pedal fumbling and that I’ll take care of that with a little more practice this week. I messed up one time in the sand because I wasn’t clipped in, and I took a nice forearm to the back from somebody. I thought that was pretty lame, so as I was running, I made sure I cut him off. Never saw him again.

Coming into the final few turns, there were a couple people within reach. I took those corners as fast as I could and then outsprinted them to the line for 17th place out of 77 riders. I’m surprised, because I started pretty near the back. If I hadn’t wussed out on my call-up, I would have been top 10 for sure. Oh well, I’ll save it for next weekend.

I don't have any pics of me, but here's a teammate in the sand

Longmont Crit

I always spend a lot of time deciding whether or not to do a crit. It's a stressful event. Today I decided to line up for the Longmont crit and at least get some good exercise.

Louisville Crit

I woke up Saturday morning still not sure if I wanted to race. As I sat eating my breakfast, contemplating my day, I got an email from a friend - "Are you racing this morning." Eventually we convinced each other that the rain was going to hold off and that we should race.

First '08 race

The racing season started on Saturday with a time trial near Fort Collins. I've only done one other time trial before, and this was my first one using aero bars. This was only my third time on aero bars and I'm still messing with the position on my bike.

I don't know what exactly happened, but I couldn't seem to produce any power (even with the sweet TT helmet I borrowed). Maybe it was the lack of experience on the bars, maybe it was the killer wind, or maybe I was just having a bad day. For the most part, I was 30 watts under what I know I can do for that kind of length. Very frustrating.

I went out again on the aero bars on Sunday to see if I could make some tweaks to the position. We'll see how much it helps the next time I get out for a TT-like effort.

First race of the year

Today was my first bike race of the year - The Boulder Beer road race. If anyone has watched the classic movie "American Flyers", we were on part of the Morgul-Bismark course that was in that movie.

I didn't expect much of myself from this race, especially since I rode fairly hard yesterday and it's then end of a training block. It was mainly a chance for me to get some race time in my legs this year. I'm never a fan of riding in a tight aggressive pack, so this type of training race is a good time for me to work things out.

The course is a 7 mile loop that we did 5 times, and it contained some big hills and tricky 180 degree turnarounds. On the first lap, I was close to the front of the pack for the turnaround. That was a *scary* turnaround. There was a lot of late braking, and I rubbed wheels with someone, but nobody went down. I stayed with the peloton until somewhere during the 3rd lap. I had slipped a little off the back on a downhill and couldn't make up the gap when the group headed up the next hill.

Despite getting dropped, I'm feeling good about my fitness so far this year. I'm definitely stronger than last year, and I'm looking forward to the main focus of my early season at the end of April.