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Copperopolis RR
4/something/07
Cat 3s
Field: 60?
PLC: DNF (stress injury)@ 60 miles
Feel good (before injury): 9.52ish
Breakyfast: Granola, Yogurt, Agua, PB & Bagel
I came to this race with a surprising amount of confidence. Ready for the 84 miles ahead, I arrived at the course, got set up and took a 10 minute warmup with Nick and Andy. At the start, the pace was easy, and I made sure to find a wheel near the front before the field splintering climb.
When we reached the beginning of the hill I was sitting 10th-15th wheel. As the pace quickened, I placed myself within the first few positions. Overall, the first climb was pretty uneventful. I stayed in ME most of the time, but jumped into low AT on the wall portion (everybody was hurting though, so I didn't have much to worry about).
The flat section was pretty uneventful. One rider had gotten clear of the field, but he didn't seem like a major threat as we had many miles left to cover.
By the first downhill, the field was cruising. On the small climb, I rested a bit and drifted to the middle of the field. This was a small mistake as the decent was jenked out (sketchy) beyond belief. I, along with Micah and Nick (pretty much everyone w/ gear restrictions) dropped off the back of the strung out field on the steepest portions, but was able to chase back on without going into ME (very nice).
On the second lap, I knew I had to do some damage. On the first climb, I got to the front with Ethan, a Davis guy, and some crazy orange dude (they win practically everything… why aren't they 2s yet?!) and set a strong pace. Our work paid off as we were able to drop many riders in the field.
Once on the flats, I started to feel some pain in my knee. (About two weeks ago, I smacked it against a piece of exercise equipment causing a bone bruise.) As I held 15th wheel around the flat portion, I could tell that something wasn't right. My doctor had told me that I may experience pain for the next few weeks b/c my knee muscles, when put into stress, would move over the bruise, causing inflammation, etc.
Accordingly, I told Nick that I might be dropping on the next lap to save my knee for Sea Otter. But, on the decent, it seemed to correct itself, and most of the pain had disappeared.
So, on the third large climb, I went to the front again and slammed the pace. This would have been a smart move if my knee was in good shape (it felt okay, but… well, I'll explain later). Many riders were dropping of the back thanks to the efforts of team Davis Rider/Zach, so I was pretty happy.
So, at the top of the climb, I felt amazing. I had been eating and drinking a ton, and was feeling perfectly fit and in control. Then, on the flat section (sitting 3rd wheel), I caught a bit of wind, tried to catch back up and started to feel the knee pain again). It started out mildly, but after 10 minutes I knew that the smart thing to do would be to drop off and save myself for another day.
So, I am both disappointed and happy with my effort. On one side, I had to drop out. But, it wasn't because I didn't have the legs (YAY). I was actually feeling great, but I wasn't willing to risk a top six for a more permanent injury. It just goes to show… race smart. Do not push an injury, no matter how strong you feel. This way, you can race hard all season… Muy importanté.
Bariani (Zamora) RR
Cat 3
Field: 100
Place: pack… came over the line maybe 20th, but they didn't see me, and so I was probably placed at the back. Whatever, I wasn't going to protest a 20th place.
Feel Good Rating: 8
Breakfast: Granola, Yogurt, Soymilk
Pajamas: Pooh bear, One fish two fish double layer
Teammates: 0
So, for this race I was supposed to sit up front and bridge up to any break that looked dangerous. The field was full at 100 riders, so chances were that a break would not be able to survive.
Anyway, I got up at 4:40, drove to the course, and got in 30 minutes of warm-up (which was necessary considering the short distance we were going to cover). At the line, I set up shop next to Zach Wick and Bryan Larsen and listened to the officials.
The 10 mile course consisted of narrow, rolling country roads (w/ centerline in effect), a 300 foot climb, a fast decent and a downhill(ish) sprint. On the first lap, a group of around 5 riders got off the front. Once I noticed that it was a strong break, I made a bridge attempt with Danimal Tisdell. We were away for 5 miles, but by the main climb, our 1 minute gap was reduced to a matter of seconds.
So, that effort hurt… a lot. Tisdell and I did a lot of work, and I was definitely a little tired after we were caught… No worries though.
On the second lap, two riders from the same team got off the front after the S/F line. I bridged, and was followed by Danimal, and a few older guys. Ethan Weiss bridged later, and we worked our gap up to a solid 2 minutes. But, the pack was just too large and aggressive and we couldn't stay off the front for more than 11 miles… bummer.
Well, after towing a bunch of old guys at the front, I was getting pretty tired. This was when I started making mistakes. Before my break attempts, I was able to hold 10th wheel or so pretty easily. But, once I got a little tired, I lost confidence and quickly dropped to the rear of the field. This was NOT the place to be - Very sketchy, as chris and I would say… “jenky… hella jenky.”
So, I spent the entire last lap trying to get to the front. But, I was just too tired, and could not advance to higher than 20th wheel. Then, on the final climb, two riders in front of me touched wheels, almost went down, and practically stopped half the field in its tracks (I was part of the lucky half).
Okay, so, with the field screaming ahead, I had to start from a crawl, chase back on, and prepare for the sprint. Then, BAM, another crash… great. I lost 10 wheels in less than a second, and knew that I would not be sprinting for a top ten.
Then, ahead to my right, some jerk took out Ethan's wheel. About five guys flew off the road, Ethan broke his bike in half, and another guy couldn't even get back on for the finish.
So, I rolled over the line absolutely petrified. Overall, those were about the sketchiest 10 miles I have ever ridden. In my opinion, it was a stupid decision on the organizers' part to allow a 100 + 3's field on such narrow roads. Wow, that was um… not as much fun as I had hoped.
Snelling RR
2/24/07
Finished behind the sprint
Field: big for a jrs race
Breakfast: 2 PB&J, Banana, Granola
Socks: Black capos
Feel good rating (out of 10): 6
Shiny Sunscreen: Heavily applied
So, this race was not that great for me. I arrived at reg an hour late and was forced to scramble around before warming up with Nick and Andy. But, my story does not start on race day. Actually, it begins in the gym on Wednesday after Fresno weekend.
While doing some savage bench presses, I tweaked my back, and ever since then I have had moderate back pain with shallow breathing. The breathing has become more difficult, which explains why I was not at the ride today. So, onto the race. During the promenade, I felt okay. But, when the pace picked up I started to have some difficulty breathing. Even in LE, I just couldn't get the proper lung depth. I found myself fighting for air much of the time while my back and upper abdomen started to hurt from the effort.
Anyway, I still attacked (as always), but once I got into AT, I couldn't hold the pace. I quickly realized something was wrong, so I dropped back and sat in. On the second lap, nick and I were first and second wheel respectively, and when I noticed a slight acceleration, I decided to drift backwards to give Nick a gap. This worked well.
While nick was off the front for about 40 minutes, I did a lot of blocking in the field. JP got, well, angry, and Ben and I exchanged a few words. First, JP would pick up the pace. I would immediately sit on his wheel, and once he pulled off, I blocked pretty well. Then one or two unknowns would try to jump on, but I continued to steal second wheel and mess up the chase. Eventually, JP got fed up and yelled at the chasers to not let any Tieni Duro in the paceline. This didn't work, as many of the riders willing to work weren't as confident and would give up a place easily. After 10 more minutes, JP got angry, Ben told me "Don't push it", and the two worked together to bring Nick back. I tried to squeeze into the chase, but they worked very well together, and after nearly getting run off the road by Ben, I decided to let YE and andy deal with the rough stuff.
Unfortunately, Nick was caught, and I was unable to counter. Andy then attacked, but he was chased by Swift and some others. The pace then slowed down until the fourth lap.
So. Last lap: I attacked (stupid), and couldn't get any power. I then sat in for much of the lap until the last 5 miles when Nick and I decided to pick up the pace on the rollers. When cresting each hill, I would get passed by a few riders, indicating that I didn't have much power left in the lungs (the legs were fine though... a little soar, but no worries). With one K to go, I decided to give an effort at the front. I accelerated, was covered, and kept the pace high, until I needed an oxygen break. By the start of the sprint, I asked my lungs to give one last effort. They responded with a resounding "hell no, idiot!" so I coasted half heartedly across the line.
What a bummer, dudes. But, andy did place second with Ye in third (i think), so koodos to their efforts. Nick did an awesome job off the front, making the stiffest competition lead the chase.
So yes. I'm off to the doctor's office tomorrow. But if any coaches/mentors have any knowledge of shallow breathing problems, etc. Perhaps Rick? or Dr. Chris, I would greatly appreciate advice, etc.
Dinuba Criterium
Junior 17/18
Place: 1st
Temmates: Andy, Nick, Ye, Eric
First, and most importantly, this was the third day of racing for us five guys. We covered more than 150 miles in two days, so waking up on Monday morning was a major chore.
Juniors were supposed to roll at 11:00 (far later than our previous 730-8 start times), with cat 3s shortly thereafter.
Over the past two days we were working extremely well as a team, blocking and attacking very lazy 3s racers, and so we wanted to keep this form in the juniors. Our stiffest competition would come from Grant (a cat 2 for those of you who don't know him… he placed second at Sea Otter; trust me, he's good). Brandon Howard (Cat 3) and some other 3s from CVC were registered as well.
Accordingly, Nick and I decided to drill it for the entire race so as to make Grant work before any final sprint. Though my legs were extremely sore, I was super exited to get out there and attack (sometimes I get a little antsy and attack as much as I can… well now I had an excuse).
Well, my first attack came off the line. I stayed away for one lap of the l-shaped loop before being drawn in by… Grant. I then pulled for a bit longer until Nick got off the front. Grant and Brandon covered (perfect), and I think another attack went up the road (Andy or Ye? Not sure). Anyway, once that was drawn in, I attacked again. This time I was chased down pretty quickly by none other than our friend from Simply Fit.
What did I do next? I'll give you a hint. I attacked. This time, however, I got a gap, which I was able to hold for the majority of the race (at least 15 laps). From what I heard, Grant had to bridge up by himself with Andy and Ye drafting behind. This was great news, as once this break caught me, we would have a clear advantage with two fresh sprinters at the ready.
So, I was caught with 4 to go by the 3 man break. On the second to last lap, Andy attacked and was drawn in by Grant after one lap off the front. Once any was caught, I drilled it, got a lead, and heald it to the finish.
This was a great race. When I crossed the line, I lapped the main field, which just goes to show how tired we made those guys. Nick did an awesome job blocking the main field, while Andy and Ye put in some sweet efforts throughout the race. Wow, was fun… no podium girls, but that's okay with me.
So… The moral of the story is “Just Drill It”. Good weekend guys. The rest of you will get to see my abs some other time.
Pine Flat
Cat 3s
2/18/07
Field: 40ish
Place: 5
Teammates: Andy, Nick, Ye
The 62 mile course profile is as follows:
1. long out and back w/ several small climbs
2. fast decent out of the foothills onto a 20 mile flat semi-loop.
3. One major climb (1000+ ft)
4. Two miles of flat followed by a 1k finish hill (very steep).
We arrived at the course with an hour to spare before our 730am start time. The field was about forty strong with some juniors (the most notable of whom were Brandon and Davis Bently… don't worry Peter. I beat him for you. But he's damn strong for a 14 yr old… wow).
Anyway, the race started out with a steep, neutral climb from the registration area to the course. Andy controlled much of the pace for the first few miles, while multiple attacks followed midway through the out-and-back. Nick got off the front with a few other riders, but he was chased back before we had the opportunity to block.
One rider (I can't remember the team name) kept attacking and stringing out the field. On his third attempt with more than 40 miles to go, I saw that the move would be decisive. I bridged immediately, and soon the two of us had a 30 second gap. Confident that our guys would be blocking, I put in a lot of effort, increasing our lead to around two minutes.
We held this gap for much of the race, and I was feeling very comfortable on the flats and rollers. But, by the main climb, I was starting to feel the effects of the previous day's 78 miles. My break partner, seeing the field closing, attacked, and I was soon dropped. Hayden, a very strong 3 from Cyclesport, attacked on the climb and caught me towards the summit. Along with him and two other riders, I was able to bridge back up to the solo leader. With a 15 second gap on the field, I was assured a top five. So, I put a full effort into keeping us off the front. On the 1k finish hill, Hayden attacked. I tried to cover, but the long breakaway had taken a heavy toll on my legs. After a few seconds, I cracked, and fended off the main field for a fifth place finish.
This was another great race for the team. Andy and Nick, with Ye's help, quelled all chase attempts in the main field, and from what I heard, the other threes were not too happy about the blocking. Good show gentlemen, good show.
Cantua Creek
Cat 3s
2/17/07
Field: 27
Place: 7
Teammates: Andy, Nick, Ye
Mercy: None
So, Cat 3s were supposed to be on their way by 8am. Accordingly, we got to the course with about an hour to spare. Not much of a warm-up was needed considering the 78 mostly flat miles we would soon have to cover.
Okay. The chief ref was being moody, but we got rolling pretty much on time. The pace for the first few miles was extremely slow, a super strong rider got off the front, and Nick covered soon thereafter.
Then we had a whole lot of slow… not much to say. I did a lot of work screwing things up at the front until the third lap.
On the only climb on the course, I got off the front with Julian, a Cyclesports guy, and a rider from LGBRC. We were away for some minutes, but were chased down pretty quickly.
Then came the last 20ish mile lap when I went a little crazy. I must have attacked 3-4 times… I can't even remember. The most sizeable gap I got was with a UCSB rider who wouldn't do any work and was just off the front to “test his legs”… weird.
Anyway, nothing worked for me, so I decided to sit in until the sprint (my favorite part of any race). So yeah. Sprinting uphill is okay for me, but I was boxed in. I thought about attacking earlier, but Andy was holding a small gap and a third place for him was much more secure than a random 1k attack on my part.
So the sprint came, I got caught behind some riders, had to swerve around Julian, who had attacked earlier, and I settled for 7th. I'm pretty sure I could have done better, but then again, the series of attacks on my part were a little taxing. Now that I know I have the legs, racing should be about conserving energy and taking calculated risks… not just flinging myself off the front every ten minutes.
Cherry Pie Crit
Cat 3's
Feel Good Rating: 8
Field Size: Large
Place: pack
I was actually very happy with this race. At the start, I attacked from the line. I then sat in for a few laps, and attacked again with T Brandt (again). We were away for some of the back stretch, but were caught within the lap. Then I stayed near the front, and did some work to pull in Bryan L. I stuck on Logan's wheel for a while, and tried to break again w/ no avail. With four laps to go, I got of the front again, but this time I had a gap (actually, I think i initially got away with T Brandt... again. weird).
To say the least, I was putting in as much as I could. But, Tyler and I were caught by some insane CVC rider (the future winner) who set an intense pace. Tyler popped, and I hung on for a lap. Then I blew up (ouch) and was soon thereafter integrated back into the pack. I still had a little bit of energy left, so I decided to sprint. Once again, I found myself on Tyler's wheel.
Then the guy in front of us completely stopped in his tracks. Boxed in, I had to brake, work my way around, and then sprint for the finish. By the time I avoided the potential crash, I had lost 10 places, and could not make up the necessary ground. I probably slid in with a top 20, but I can't be sure.
Cherry Pie
2/11/07
17/18
Field: 30?ish
Teammates: Andy, Nick, James, Eric, Jon, Ye
Breakfast: 5:40am. Bean Cheese Burrito! OJ, Granola, H20
Feel good rating: 7.5... 8 tops.
Yesterday, being Saturday, I was pretty run into the ground with a cold, but I still expected to make it out today for the juniors race. At the very least, I planned on sitting in and getting a point for starting. This was, of course, the worst case scenario, and if I felt okay I would be more active.
I woke up at 5:00, said "screw this", and then went back to sleep for 20 minutes. Despite the early morning delay, I got in my breakfast and arrived at the course before 7am. Nice, step one was complete... I actually made it, which was good considering I wasn't feeling so hot.
After spending the next forty minutes puttering around, I got organized and put in a solid 50 minutes on the ROLLERS (like a true pro1/2... nick... basically like tyler... but more savage). I passed rollout, which was a good relief considering my gears were apparently too big last year (even though I'm still riding the same ratio... whatever, that was last year). Speaking of last year, I was not going to get dropped. I would cough up a lung before giving up, basically.
So the race started; Andy and Ben (one other as well) got a gap from the start. They were caught on the backstretch of either lap one or two (i can't quite remember). I was actually surprised by the speed of the group. It didn't feel nearly as fast as last year, which could be a testament to the off season training (including weights... YEAH).
I attacked a few times, and spent most of the race at the front of the main group. I tried to get away once with Tyler Brandt (Swift), but that didn't work. Then, Andy and four others got a large gap, so Ye and I stayed towards the front, attempting to control the pace, etc. James then caught on with Micah's break, which didn't seem to threatening to me, seeing as how Andy could definately outsprint him. And we got another teammate up front, which was a big bonus. Coming into the last lap, I got away with T Brandt and a CVC guy. I was stupid, attacked too early (AGAIN) and got nicked at the line by CVC (b howard?)... not sure. But, I knew I had more legs than both, and if I stayed patient, I would have definitely taken the sprint. But then again, T Brandt and I were up front doing work for much of the race, and that CVC guy was pretty much just sitting in. So who knows, he might have beaten me regardless.
Well, we got 2nd, and i tried to do my part in the main pack. so, I was pretty happy.
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