Boulder Cycling Group

Subject: Louisville Crit race report

So it took all my strength to pass on the Wondervue/Ned ride with the team and do the crit on Sat. Traci's advice to screw any race with a hill and the fact that I spent all winter training to go fast for 200 meters started to sink in and I was pretty excited for the race. Now to be honest, I haven't done well in any cat 3 crits (races for that matter) and that's what I'm suppose to be good at. I use to line up as a 4, and if it was a crit, I literally thought I was going to win every time. Ha, thoughts before a cat 3 race consist of "don't get dropped" or something else just as bad.

Anyway, so I was looking forward to a flat crit without the staz hill and a chance to actually be at the front for a sprint. I hadn't seen the course but as I ride up to register, I see Jilayne and we chat for a minute. She goes on to explain the course and tells me that the hill has badly mistreated her. Damn it to hell, another hill!! The course is basically a long gradual climb followed by a long gradual descent and now my thoughts of finishing well revert to the don't get dropped on the hill routine.

A quick warm-up and I head straight to the start line hoping I can get a decent place in the pack at the start. Some people seem to be able to start at the back and get to the front with no problem/0 energy expenditure. I'm not one of them. There is a decent turn out and I'm on the second row. The only other RM guy is Noah but we really never hook up during the race. Ha, every time I saw him though, he was pulling past me on his way to the front and I was always looking for his wheel.

We start fast as hell and the first time up the hill is at about 45kph. Of course, I'm now middle of the pack or worse. The next two laps are just as fast but things settle down somewhere in there. I feel pretty good. I'm not killing myself to make it up the hill and you can get a decent rest on the descent (as long as you get a wheel). There are 5 primes so that keeps the pace decent but I'm starting to relax and I'm able to move up to the front third and stay there.

At the 5 to go sign, I'm in a pretty good spot and remind myself that I can't let up and I've got to stay up near the front. 2 laps to go is pretty fast and then at one to go we're flying over the hill. I'm still in a decent spot on the last lap. Now, there is a sharp right hand turn right before the hill and the finish is at the top of the hill. The turn is at the bottom of the decent so we're flying through this part and you take a pretty wide approach into the turn. I'm probably in 10-15th place coming into this turn, which is pretty good since it's a long hill. You don't want to be any further back though or you're screwed and will burn out just trying to get to the front.

So as we're coming into the final turn, a couple of guys swarm the inside. This pushes the guy to my right into me and his hip hits my handlebars. I bump the guy to my left and then bounce off the two of them for a couple seconds. Unfortunately, my get the f!ck out of my way attitude doesn't kick in until about 300 to go and I get squeezed out of my spot (probably for the best though). I probably lost 10 places by this screw up and most of my momentum. The pace doesn't let up pulling into the hill and we're over 30mph. I keep waiting for people to jump and finally say screw it and stick my head out in the wind and pull around the group on the left. I'm well past threshold but amazingly, my legs feel great and I pull past a whole slew of people. Since I started sprinting fairly early on the hill and it flattens out right before the finish, I'm completely spun out. I'm desperately trying to get my finger to hit that SOB shifter but fail miserably (this felt similar to being run out on a climb and trying to make a clip). I'm spinning as fast as I can and going nowhere so I tuck in behind one guy. I'm still trying unsuccessfully to shift, fail again, say screw it and try to pull around on the left.

Now the finish line is a piece of grey tape on the road. There just so happens to be a couple of tar patches that look to my oxygen starved brain, just like the tape. I pull across the "line" in 4th and sit up. Hummm, that's weird, why is everyone else still sprinting? Son of a.. I have just enough time to kick again and save 4th place. Idiot! You would have thought that the large contraption sitting next to the road with the judges would have been enough but I guess not. Ha, oh well.

All in all, a great race and I had a blast. I'm now convinced that I'm not going to get beat in a head to head sprint and that I can actually ride with the 3's (in a crit anyway). I'm also realizing that my race isn't to the finish but to the turn before the finish or where ever you need to be to have a chance at the sprint. Oh yea, and don't forget to shift BEFORE you start sprinting (but that's racing)! ;)

Sunday consisted of a trip to the gym and a easy spin with Traci. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Jeb

Walker Ranch Duathlon

I've been thinking about doing this ever since Bill Briggs and Bart Miller did it this past winter. Winter was clearly too much for a marshmallow like myself, but now that's it spring... I recruited a number of hardmen for this outing, but most dropped out. Stefan, ever the reliable partner, was there, of course, as well as Bill Briggs. Bill didn't have time for the full Monty, so he was going to ride to the summit of Flagstaff and run the West Ridge of Green Mountain to establish the FKT for the Green Mountain Duathlon. I don't have Bill's numbers on this yet, though. Stefan would ride the whole thing on his mountain bike, the Super Walker, which he had just done a few weeks ago.

The 42-degree temperate at that start had me shivering, but then Bill rides up in running shorts. Bill wouldn't be caught dead in cycling shorts, sort of like he hates for anyone to see him at the climbing gym. He's old school, way old school. He does have cycling shoes on and even tri-bars, but I resist picking on him in hopes that he goes easy on me.

We start the clock at the Chautauqua driveway and ride easy up to the turn and the start of the serious climbing. I'm out for a good tempo workout and start going at a decent pace. Bill and Stefan are content to stay together and chat the whole way up. With them expending precious oxygen in conversation, I get off the front a bit. I pass Ryan Cooper's morning running group at one of the trail crossings and say hi to the group.

I wore cycling shorts, shirt, leggings, armings, and a vest. I had my running shoes stuffed in my jersey pockets, along with my iPod, and I wore a small Camelback with some Gatorade in it and three GU's, two of which I ate. I also wrapped a cable lock around my seat post.

I rode solo the entire way, but that was okay. I hit the Amphitheater junction at 21m31s, but this is from Chautauqua and isn't as bad as it sounds. I did take it pretty easy on this lower part, dreading the upper section. The 27 was put to goo use on the upper half and I did a very respectable 15m57s for the upper half. My best on that section is about 15m20s. I hit the summit 37m28 from Chautauqua and rolled on, over the rollers and down the steep descent, and then the short dirt road to the trailhead. I got here in 47m24s and quickly changed into my running shoes, locked up my bike, shed my vest and helmet (after running about twenty yards in it, like I do at triathlons), and took off, hoping to get as much down before Stefan caught me. I wanted to get to the steep steps at the base of the first descent before then.

The Walker Ranch is an 8-mile loop that starts with a big descent to the river, crosses it, climbs big on the other side, then descends back to the river and climbs back to the start. I moved along pretty good and was starting up the steep steps when I saw Stefan behind me. I was walking these steps and eating my first GU and starting my iPod for the first time. I ran most of the way to the top before Stefan came by me, looking strong. Had he been on a road bike and running, he'd have been far ahead of me. I wanted to finish close to him, so that I'd be considered a worthy partner for other adventures this year.

Stefan took a short break at the top of the hill to stretch his back and eat a gel. He did the same at the top of Flagstaff, so clearly he can go faster. I went right on by him, as I can eat my GU's while running or hiking. I ran down at least halfway to the river when Stefan goes screaming by me again. He's an excellent technical rider and flies down this terrain. I cruised down to the river, crossed the bridge and ran the flat section along the river to the last climb. I walked just a bit on this last climb to get my GU out of my pack, eat it, and then trudged onward. I could see Stefan on the final section above me and figured I was only five minutes behind at most.

I completed the loop in just under 1h11m, about 15 minutes slower than Dave Mackey runs it, but probably faster than I can bike it. I was still barely under two hours and had hopes for a sub-2:30 finish. I transitioned back to my bike gear and was riding at 2h01m48s. I tried to work hard up the climb, but my legs were hurting. I figured I could gain some time back on Stefan since he'd been pedaling for a long time now. I made it back to the Flagstaff summit in just under 16 minutes. My elapsed time was 2h17m47s. I'd have to descend back to the park, over 2000 vertical feet, in about 12 minutes. It had taken me over 37 minutes to come up that distance.

I flew down as fast as I dared. I was held up a bit by a pick-up truck on the final 5 minutes, but I'd have only been marginally faster. I turned into Chautauqua Park at 2h27m08s after leaving it. Stefan was there waiting for me, having arrived a couple minutes earlier. His splits were:

Chautauqua: 0h00m
Flagstaff summit: 0h43m
Walker TH: 0h56m
Walker TH: 1h55m
Chautauqua: 2h25m

My splits were:

Chautauqua: 0h00m
Flagstaff summit: 0h37m28s
Walker TH: 0h47m24s
Start running: 0h48m37s
Walker TH: 1h59m29s
Start biking: 2h0148s
Flagstaff summit: 2h17m47s
Chautauqua: 2h27m08s

This was 22 minutes faster than the last time Stefan did this. Both his time and my time are the FKT's for these courses. Mackey or Koski could take the WRD (Walker Ranch Duathlon) down to very close to two hours. Those guys are monsters.

Stefan talked me into going out to breakfast, so any weight loss was immediately put back on. It was yummy though... I doubt the real hardmen ever have two breakfasts. Aragon certainly wasn't even aware of it. I guess I'm more like a hobbit... (nerdy LOTR reference).

This was 15 miles of biking, 8 miles of running, and about 5000 vertical feet of climbing. My watch says 5740, but is usually way off. Maybe 4500 feet of climbing. Either way, it was a pretty good workout. I felt strong most of the way and feel fine now. This was my fourth hard day in a row. When I walked into the office Jilayne says to me, "What are you doing? Training for a stage race?" "Sure," I said. Heck, von Coppock says that's my only chance to get out of the bottom category in bike racing, so I might as well train for it...

This was fun. I'll do it again. I'll also shoot for Brigg's time on the GMD (Green Mountain Duathlon), as soon as I know it. Bill, send your times to me.

Bill

Old Stage and Nelson

Today seemed like a full-on race simulation and it revealed the weaknesses in my riding. It was just Jeb, Eric, and I that met at the big wood bridge. Two sprinters and power riders and one...well, that's not. It was windy and we rode the 25 minutes over to the base of a hill at a moderate pace. Fast enough to pass some riders and pick up an older guy out on a time trial bike, who attached himself to our group like a remora to a shark. We shook him off when we turned on to Lee Hill Road.

I led up Lee Hill and the lower part of Old Stage, trying to keep the pace high enough to prevent attacks. Despite my efforts, Jeb wasn't satisfied with the pace and pulls on by with Eric on his wheel. We mow down a couple groups of riders and I'm popped off the back a bit. I stand and try to hang on, but all I can do is stop the bleeding. I fade a bit more, maybe fifty feet back, and just try to spin the pedals hard. A minute or two later, Eric pops off Jeb's wheel and starts coming back to me. I think he's done and it encourages me to suffer some more. I pass Eric and give chase on Jeb. I can see him looking around and I pull onto his wheel and then even with him. He isn't letting me by without a fight though and I have no fight. I take his wheel and hang on. Near the top, he pulls left. At first I think he wants me to come through and do some pace setting and I pull up even with him, but he's just setting up the sprint. When he goes I do nothing at all. I'm spent and he quickly sits up knowing the KOM points are his.

I coast on by and soft pedal while Jeb sits up and waits for Eric. I'm off the front a bit and work up the next hill, but wait for the other two. Eric comes by and right to the front. I have to jump a bit to take his wheel and he's pounding out a hard pace up the hill. Jeb has fallen back, content to win the first climb. Eric pulls me nearly to the summit and then I jump around him to take the summit. We circle back and pick up Jeb and then start the fast descent.

We scream down Old Stage and out into Left Hand Canyon. We take some pulls here and with the tailwind we are flying. A couple miles before 36, I let a gap of 15 feet open up on Eric's wheel and just then Jeb, on the front, goes hard. I'm dropped. I worked super hard to get back on, but I can't. I spun out in my 53-12. I'm only 20-30 seconds back at 36 and we regroup and head north on 36 into a strong wind, passing a few more groups of riders. We turn east onto Nelson and its paceline time. Jeb is taking monster pulls at the front and working so hard that I can't come through. He pulls to his left at one point and without sprinting, I can't get by him, so I don't. I pull in behind his wheel again. After another mile or two he finally tires and I take over, but not for long. Eric comes by and then Jeb is back in the front once again. I'm in full sprint mode in my 53-12 and I'm a BARELY on the back of this train. Jeb is spinning his 11 so fast that I'm going to get popped. Thankfully we hit a steep downhill and he stops pedaling and costs a bit and I hang on.

We make the turn onto 63rd and its echelon time. Jeb continues to hammer and Eric takes long, strong pulls as well. I don't think I pull at all here and just try to hang on and stay in the draft. At the start of a hill, Eric attacks from the third position. Jeb jumps and I almost immediately downshift and sit up, grateful for an excuse to ease up since I was about to blow anyway. They work together well and build a huge lead over me. Eric is just about to attack again when Jeb says to wait for me. When I get back on, we notice my back tire is flat. Dang it. It isn't completely flat, of course, but it's way soft and we pump it up and continue. A bit further on we see a group of four riders turn onto our street and head our direction. They are in an echelon and clearly know what they are doing. They are going pretty hard too, but we've got a target and can't resist. Each of us take a turn and we pull up into their group. We sit for a bit, but I want to blow by and do on the left. Their leader goes with me and we sprint for the top of the hill. Jeb had just been on my wheel, coming with me to pull in front when he sees this guy get a bit aggro. Jeb blows his doors off and he sits up properly humbled.

We turn onto the Diagonal and those four avoid us by waiting at the light and crossing it. We have to stop twice more to get air in my damn tire, but I don't to change it now. At the final overpass, I fiddle with my shifters (Matson's trick) and drop to the third position. Jeb's in the front and looking over this right shoulder, knowing someone's going to go. I can't resist, even though I also get my clock cleaned, and blast off on the left, forgetting that my back tire is nearly flat. I pull so hard that my back tire skids left and right by a foot each time. I nearly go down and sit up before I do. Eric goes flying by me, but can't get Jeb by the summit.

Now I'm not sure, but I think the final mile on the bike path didn't have any attacks, accelerations, or sprints. What a boring last mile! Man, this was a hard ride and I worked over big time. It was so fun, though.

Bill

Flag and the Monkey with a Twist

Since no one was game to join me for Flagstaff and the Monkey Traverse, I decided to do things a little differently. I couldn't get motivated to do intervals alone, so I decided to just go hard and continuously from the bridge on the bike path up to the Monkey (not all the way to the Amphitheater Road), fire the Monkey Traverse as quickly as I could and return. It would be a biking-bouldering duathlon!

After a relaxing lunch of yogurt and banana with Eric and J'Lo, I took off with my iPod blaring. I rode the bike to 6th street, arriving in 9m15s. Then I headed up 6th street to Baseline and the base of Flagstaff. This took 6m29s. I rode to the Flagstaff House's second driveway in 4m02s (the sign just beyond that in 4m10s). This was near PR pace for me on Flagstaff, but I was only going this fast since I knew I was stopping at the Monkey Traverse area - just over halfway up the climb.

I hit the Monkey Traverse parking at 9m10s from the base, my PR to here is 8m55s, I think. I transitioned into my slippers (1m18s) and headed down to the traverse with my helmet still on, figuring it would give me some protection if I fell off the exit moves. Three guys were down at the traverse and one guy was on it and nearly across the first third. I'm sure I looked strange: a guy in biking gear, bouldering slippers, helmet on, earphones, etc. I pulled out one earphone so that I could hear these guys and immediately got on the traverse, with my heart rate probably still above 140. I flew through the first section. Thankfully the other guy had fallen off before the first rest and the traverse was clear. I avoided the first rest and cruised through the second section. I paused just a second here and one of the guys asked if I'd like a spot for the finish. I graciously accepted this and he moved down with his pad. I launched into the exit with really no rest at all, something I'd never done before. I got into the iron cross move and then fell off! I landed on the pad and wasn't hurt, but I was disappointed. I haven't fallen off the Monkey in a long time. Perhaps I was rushing things...

I walked back to the middle of the traverse, the first place where you can get back on easily and immediately climbed back to the last third and this time took a couple minutes of rest, before launching into it again. It went better this time and I got to the very last move. I was desperate and clawing the rock to stay on. The jug was inches away, but I was pumping out and couldn't quite reach it. I stab for it and couldn't hang on. I fell from the highest, worst possible place. I landed with both feet on the pad, but one cheek on the boulder next to it. My spotter did a nice job pushing me back onto the pad so that I didn't fall down the hill. Dang it!

I decided to penalize myself two minutes for each fall and an additional minute for not grabbing the last hold. I went back to my bike (7m27s total time for the Monkey Traverse), changed shoes, and started down (1m26s transition time). It took me 15m12s to get back to the bridge, including having to stop at two lights. My total time 50m19s for the roundtrip. After adding in the penalties, it was 55m29s. I'll have to work on this.

Yes, this was a completely goofy thing to do, but this stuff turns my crank. Plus, it might be a good event for me against the pure cyclists. Jeb would crush me, though.

Bill

Carter Lake Road Race (Mark Schwab's perspective)

here is my story from the P/1/2 field.
It took a lot longer to get to park and register
than I thought it would, probably about 15-20 minutes
longer. So, I had just gotten my number pinned on
and ran into my teammate Mr. Southard. He was frantically
digging in his car to get his stuff together for the
race too. So, I waited a minute or two for him... starting
to panic because it was about 10 minutes 'till noon.
We headed down to the start. I rolled up to the back of
the group just as it was rolling away and Mark Southard
jumped off his bike to pee... I never saw him again.
We rolled away from the start and I looked over my shoulder
and was in dead last... terrible position to start in.
So, the slight down hill with the wind was so fast I could
hardly move up. I was totally spun out in my 53x12. So we
made the 1st right turn and I was only about 20 people from
the back. (I think the field was just under 100 to start out).
The field was already ripped into a bunch of small groups
echeloned across the road to the yellow line. A motorcycle
was cruising up and down the groups yanking people who
sought shelter beyond the yellow line.
I chased into a small group of about 6 guys a few of
whom were in the same boat I was, wanting to move up. Some
were just hanging on. A few of us took turns on the front
right side of the road then as we approached the next group
we'd launch ahead into it. Some of us would filter up
through the group and repeat, maybe picking up a guy or
two who'd work and maybe losing a guy or two from the last
bridge. This happened probably 5 times before turning into
the wind to head back to the lake but, I was now in the
second group on the road... and pretty throttled.
We rode in that group of about 10-15 until we were
along the lake. The front group was probably 30 seconds
ahead of us. There were some attacks and I followed them
a few of us, maybe 4 were off and chasing. We integrated with
the front group.
The back side cross wind was brutal again and I was struggling
to not cross the yellow line and hang on. I yo yoed from
the echelon to the line off the back a few lengths back in
all the way to the turn into the headwind west toward
the lake again. We made it up the climb intact as a group
of about 15.
I stuck in there trying to recover along the lake with
the tailwind until we made the right turn into the cross
wind. This time, being totally gassed from chasing and
knowing I was only two and a half laps in (half way)
I popped out of the group and after all that effort
to move forward... I was now moving backward. A few others
fell out of the lead group to and I rode with them for
a while until we were heading into the head wind again
another group containing two of my team mates bill and
micah caught the 3 or 4 of us. We rode till the climb,
it splintered in to several groups I was caught between
the 1st and second group from this explosion and sat
up and waited for my teammates to catch up. The three
of us rode together along the lake, but micah was having
some insulin problems as a diabetic and needed to bail.
Bill and I rode together for about a lap and were caught
by 3 others. The 5 of us rode the last lap together
until the climb 1 guy got away and bill and I rode together
to the finish a bit ahead of the other two... 4 hours
later and a lot of sand blown into my face, ears, eyes
etc... I was done. I didn't feel great but, I finished.

Carter Lake Road Race (Eric's report)

I told myself I wasn't going to write a book about this race. I failed. So before you begin reading, apologies about the length....

Oochy ouch. Worst cramps I've ever experienced. Still, I'm pretty pleased with how we rode.

Lap 1 was, as expected, completely uneventful. For a bit there we were almost going hard in the crosswind and headwind, but then nobody wanted to be in front toward the climb and it slowed way down. Bill and I were fortunate enough to be well placed at the start of the climb. Cat 4 moment: There's a small group of ~8 (including Bill) and a 10m gap to my group. I was about 3rd wheel and riding the white line just above the fee station. We're now into the climb proper. I decide to close the gap when the guy slightly in front of me starts to come over on me. No big, I put my hand on his hip to move him back over. About enough force to move somebody a foot. Except he doesn't really move ... until suddenly he swerves halfway across the road and very nearly takes somebody down. Everybody is yelling and cursing at me for "pushing" this guy, and he starts lecturing me about how if his bars are ahead of mine he can go wherever he wants, "thats the rule." If it wasn't so stupid, it would have been funny. Just cu'z they're over 35 doesn't mean they ain't 4s. Anyhow I decide the debate is wasted effort and close with Bill's group. Did a nice job of doing the minimum effort to maintain contact, and went over the top with the leaders. No real damage done on the first climb.

Nothing much exciting happens across the top and down the hill. The wind gusts are "comfortably" below 45 mph this early in the day, and the theme for the peloton is clearly taking shape: sit in and wait to get dropped later. Bill and I move forward, and Dan Miller (the ICCC guy who joined us on the Roubaix/Hygiene recon ride) appears at the front. I told him about our plan to go hard into the crosswind on lap 2 and he looks ready to work. Some guy spends a few minutes off the front but doesn't appear too serious about it. On the final tailwind descent out of the foothills Bill and I take the front and try to get things strung out a bit before the corner, gobbling up the "breakaway" guy in the process. Howling around the corner and into the crosswind, I take a hard pull and try to get an echelon set up. Bill comes through, but there's nobody in position on his wheel so I grab it and get ready for #2. I pull again, then look for the next to come through. There's a bunch of guys there, in fact the first two are on the same team, but they won't work. "Come on guys, don't you want to race?" says I. No response. Just enough people milling around that it's impossible to rotate back into the echelon. Pointless. I was hoping with the older riders in the 35+/4s we'd get a response and be able to get some work done. Next time we just put everybody in the gutter and be done with it.

So it's back to bunched up, slow, and defensive. Oh well, I can do that too. Problem is I'm having little spasms in my left leg. Quad, then hamstring. I try to stretch one but that just makes the other cramp up. Oh crap, I start going backwards in leaps and bounds. By the time we reach the fee station, I'm the lanterne rouge in our somewhat diminished peloton ... not a good place to be. But as the effort starts, I begin to feel better. Am I going to ride through this? Hmmm... I start moving up, picking off groups and singles as things come apart. I probably did the climb in about the same time as the leaders, but by the time I top out I'm well off the back. No time for a breather, I start my chase. I pass by a lot of riders, but only a few can get on and come with. Eventually I have a group of 4, which is quickly reduced back to just 2 of us by a hard effort over the little hill by the marina. So be it. The descent is fully scary now with the gusty winds and trying to get around more pairs of riders who've been left behind, but we're making up ground on the leaders. We turn East. Oh how I wish I had an 11!!! Between the downhill and the tailwind we had to be sustaining nearly 50 mph for the next 3 miles. But the guy I'm with is tough enough and we keep swapping pulls. We latch back on just after the turn onto CR29, and give each other a bleary-eyed nod and a handshake.

Did I mention the bunch was bunched up, slow, and defensive? This is a good thing when you're trying to recover. Within 5 minutes or so I'm ready to move forward again. I see Bill up there and he could probably use some help. I slide up to him and say "hi Bill, I'm back from the dead." He seems properly surprised to see me again. :) I succeed in keeping him out of the wind about halfway through the crosswinds, but my quads start spasming again ... this time it's both. I let him know I'm cooked and start backwards again. In short order I'm all alone and decide to get off the bike before I lock up and crash. I walk it off and empty a bottle, and feel much better, so I set out West again. I make it only to the fee station when suddenly I have the terrible realization that I have to get off the bike NOW or I'm going down hard. I dismount and both quads lock up en masse. I can't even hold my bike so I dump it by the side of the road. I can't move ... my quads are so locked it's as if I don't even have knees. I'm standing there wishing somebody would shoot me. I can't move. There's a signpost about 10 feet away, and I'd desperately love to have it to hang on to. Eventually I manage to lurch my way over to it. I stand there another 5 minutes with my legs locked tight, and finally just give up and fall over on the ground. My legs look alien ... very lumpy. Another 5 minutes or so sitting there rubbing them and they finally start to let go. Some folks stop in a Suburban ... "hey, I'm a PT student, let me help you stretch those out." I gladly accept. It's enough better by now that I'm not wishing out loud they had a gun in the car. After a couple minutes of therapy they give me a ride up the hill. Turns out it's Dan Miller's family (the ICCC guy). How cool is that?

Bill is a beast. 7th. Fact is he was never worse than 10th on the road at any time during the entire race (except just after the start when we were moving up). I take considerable comfort in thinking that I helped contribute to that. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it, and all the people who wonder where the heck I was when the chips were down approaching the last climb will never change my mind!!!! :)

EC

Carter Lake Road Race

My report is located here

Carter Lake Road Race (Jeb's perspective)

I was hoping to watch the finish of Bill and Eric's race but a last minute
flat had me occupied. There were 5 cat 3's racing and it was pretty cool to
line up with a team. Both Kevin and Matson were there along with Couch and
Cory. Ha, I made a point of saying I was there to help anyone that needed
it but, ah, a drowning man can't lend much help now can he. ;)

Anyway, the start didn't follow the normal bunch up routine and had me
already spinning the 11, wishfully looking at my teammates who were always
100 meters ahead and agonizingly out of reach. Ha, I distinctly remember
pulling up to Kevin (or Matson) and saying, "yea, I made it" only to blink
and have them out of site again. Anyway, once we turn south, everyone
(everyone at the back with me that is) is lined up on the yellow line
hanging on. I don't feel too bad but I'm certainly not chatty. We
alternate between sitting up and short burst but we're probably averaging
40K through the back part of the course. The next hard point was the
straight south portion before turning back west. Couch later told me he had
the 30mph crosswind gig figured out and was dandy at this point but I wasn't
fairing quite so well.
Once we turned back west straight into the headwind, the pace slowed to
about 10mph and it was nothing but trying not to ride over the guy in front
of you. The centerline rule was being STRICTLY enforced so moving up at
this point was a royal pain.
Now the damn hill haunts me. It seems no matter what, I get dropped on it
but I was hopeful this time that the headwind would actually help me by
keeping the pace down so I could recover and get over the thing with the
leaders. I actually make it up the first time with the pack and without too
much difficulty, although I was still almost cross-eyed at the top and
forcing myself to keep pedaling. Going down the hill, about 10 guys right
in front of me literally get blown off their bikes and go tumbling down the
slope. I narrowly avoid hitting one guy's head and then sprint to close the
now 200 meter gap.
The next lap is more of the same and probably a little slower and I'm
starting to finally recover from the climb. Once we turn due west again, I
shift into the little ring and promptly drop my chain. I'm so pissed off;
here I've busted my ass to get in the top third and now I'm off the back
putting my chain on. I sprint the gap and tag onto the back of the bunch.
Matson is right at the back and probably taking it easy since he knows he
can climb with everyone. Me on the other hand, I need to be near the front
if I have any chance of getting up the hill with the pack. I fight my way
through as best I can but I still don't start the hill where I want (which
is really with a minute lead but oh well). I don't feel like I climbed that
bad and I never really cracked but I crest the hill and no one is really
behind me and there is now a decent gap.
I put my head down and manage to keep the pack in sight. Going down the
hill the second time, there is a traffic jam and I draft a pickup truck down
trying hide from the wind. Unfortunately, this lets the pack get even
further away. To make an already long story short, I end up catching the
lead group (I was pretty happy about this) right before the screaming fast
down hill on the backside but don't have enough time to get near the front.
Once we made the turn south and the pace kicked up again, a gap opened about
three guys in front of me. I pull out into the wind and close the gap and
then crack like a .. damn it, I can't think of a good analogy.. Anyway, you
get the idea. The worst part is that I should have just chilled out since
the group closed the gap anyway and then I could have rested for the whole
trek west. As it happened though, I was all alone, pushing a 39x23 at about
10 mph wishing for death. It must have taken me 2 hours to go that final 5
miles to the base of the hill and I literally wanted to get off the bike.
Traci was near the feed zone and was a glorious sight and I promptly jumped
off the bike. Yea, yea, I didn't finish the race but to be honest, I don't
feel too bad about that. Even now, once the pain has faded, I'm still glad
I didn't try to ride that last lap by myself.

Ah, anyway, what a sweet race. I had a blast, had an awesome workout and
got more race miles in my legs.

Jeb

Today we rode out east. We rode in a nice, relaxed paceline without any attacks or a hard pace. Despite all this, J'Lo still popped off and split the peloton. Apparently Couch, and then Troy, was pulling too hard, but we then sat up and immediately regrouped. We had a little hike-a-bike section when a train was stalled out blocking the road. Today it was Eric, Jeb, Jilayne and myself (i.e. the Core Four) and Andy Couch and Troy, also of Rocky Mounts. Five teammates on the same ride! It was a beautiful day. The only damper was when Eric told us the weather forecast is for 28mph westerly winds during the Carter Lake Race this Sunday...Oh joy...

Bill

Carter Lake Recon

I was up at 5 a.m. this morning and driving north by 5:40 a.m. I met H.C. and Big Mat up near the Carter Lake Road Race course at around 6:20 a.m. It was 38 degrees out. I put on leggings, my cycling coat and my wind vest. It would prove to be a bit much, but I wasn't ever cold or really very hot. It was a gorgeous morning for riding the entire time with very little wind.

Jeff, the mountain biking wizard, showed up next and Jerome pulled in. We were riding by 6:40 a.m. and took things easy heading north, and then west toward the lake. At the bottom of the hill I marked the time to see how long it lasted and Kevin attacked. Jeff jumped on his wheel and Matson went by as well. I wasn't ready for such suffering and didn't know the length of the hill. I spun hard and tried to limit the damage but was about 30 seconds back by the time we hit the dam. The hill took me about 4m30s to climb. Jerome had stayed on my wheel on the climb and now we worked together to reel in the others, but it wasn't until they sat up at the start of the descent that we caught back on.

The descent, at least with only five riders, is way casual. You don't need to brake at all on this hill and it isn't that fast. It's nothing compared to descendig the big climbs around Boulder, but I know with a pack of forty of your best friends, things will be different.

We took turns pulling, but it was quite disorganized. By the time we were heading south, Jeff got out in front for a pretty long pull. Just as we hit the bottom of a short hill, Kevin attacks hard and Matson and I are in full sprint mode to grab his wheel. Someone gets popped off the back, but I know I've got a rider behind me and I assume it is Jeff because of his climbing prowess, but it isn't. It's Jerome. Attacking Jeff at the bottom of that hill was pure race tactics and a bit harsh for a group ride, I thought. To make matters worse, we never let him get back on. I feel bad about that now and should have asserted myself, but I'm the low man in this group and I just try to hang on myself.

We made the turn and headed west for the climb a second time. Jeb told me that during the race to definitely not lead this section into the hill, as it is a false flat and it saps you. I held Kevin's wheel and when he pulled left, I followed him, refusing to go to the front. I wanted to stay with the big boys on the climb this time and to do that, I needed to be fresh at the bottom. Matson came by on the right and I grabbed his wheel. He knew what was going on and went really slow, 15-16mph. When he dropped to 14mph, pretending to futz with his shifters, he forced me by and into the lead, but I held the slow pace and readied myself for the attacks. I had hoped to get to the base of the hill before things got cranked up, but Kevin came around early and upped the pace. I hung on behind Matson, with Jerome behind me. At the base of the hill, the attacks started, with Matson going, Kevin matching, and me gapped. I stood and worked hard to reel them in, but not too fast, I didn't want to blow.

I caught them at the first switchback and we rode three abreast for a bit and then I attacked. I went hard, trying to get a gap, but to no avail. I made the next switchback and was hurting. I eased a bit going into the final hill, but no one came around. I stood and went again at the final hill and led most of the way to the top when Kevin started to come by on my right. I worked hard to stay with him and Matson tells me to drop back and take his wheel. I refused. I wasn't taking anyone's wheel. I was trying to beat Kevin to the top of the hill. Matson tells me you do that on the third lap. I was only doing two laps, so this was it for me. We all topped out together after that exchange.

We sat up a bit and Jerome was soon back on. I know we gapped him, but I don't think by much. We chatted and rode together, but at a descent pace as we crossed the dam, did the short climb after it and then down the descent. Matson then comes to front and announces we're going to paceline it back to the start with 30-second pulls. Sounds good to me and I take his wheel, then Kevin, then Jerome. Matson pulls his 30 and then pulls off. I'm careful to not surge and just keep the pace. I pull 30 and pull left. Kevin puts the freaking hammer down and ups the pace by 4 mph. He doesn't do it smooth either and Jerome keeps having to fight to get his wheel each time. Kevin also pulls for about a minute. I don't think he had a computer and I don't know if it was intentional, but he was blasting Jerome and I was glad I wasn't following Kevin. That dude is super, super strong, but when he gaps the rider behind him, he isn't doing the group any favors. Maybe that was the idea, simulate a racing situation.

This goes on for many miles and eventually Kevin's surge is too much and a big gap opens in front of Jerome. Matson tells him, "You have to close that down." Jerome stands to close it, can't, and pulls off. Matson and I go hard and get Kevin's wheel, but it is bye-bye Jerome. We continue to hammer down to the turn towards the hill. I'm dying in the back when Kevin is pulling, but okay otherwise. It's a fast pace and Jerome is out of sight by the time we make the turn for the hill. I bid good-bye to the big boys and turn around. I circle around at the intersection for a bit until Jerome comes by and we soft-pedal back to the cars.

We're standing around talking about climbing when Jeff pulls up. He had ridden the entire second lap solo. That sucks. He's way cool about it and doesn't seem upset. Some truck goes by and complains about us stripping off our cycling clothes in public. No nudity was involved, by they seemed pretty tweaked by us cyclists.

This is a brilliant, challenging course, and the race is going to be tough. The final pull into that hill and then the climb will be serious red-line, puking territory, but once at the top of the hill, the going is pretty fast and there is a very good chance the lead climber, or better yet a small group, would stay away to the finish. The pack will definitely not re-group the last time up this hill so any chase group is going to be very small. It's only a few miles to the finish. It would be nice to make it to the base of this hill with the lead group. The race is this Sunday...

I rode for 100 minutes, doing slightly more than two laps, with the stem out to the course. My average heart rate was 147 and peaked at 171 going up the hill the second time. I covered 34 miles, so it seems the loop is less than 17 miles and the race is less than three laps for the Cat. 4 riders, since it ends at the top of the hill and starts at the bottom. My race should probably only be 45 miles instead of 51. The average speed was 20.7 mph and I hit a max of 50.6 mph, though I never thought I was going that fast. My watch says 2700 feet of climbing, but it is notoriously bad when reading it off the watch. Once downloaded it will probably be around 1500 feet, but I'm not sure. Ack! I see that my computer says I only had 84 minutes of riding time and we never stopped, so I must have lost 16 minutes somehow and that might account for the lost mileage.

Bill

Stazio Smackdown

This was only my second time for this workout. It consists of riding the 1.1 mile Stazio Criterium loop and sprinting the finish. We had five for the workout including Jeb, Jilayne, Andy Couch, Dan Franklin and myself. We did a few laps to warm-up and then Andy volunteered to lead out the first sprint. He started cranking it up nearly a half mile out. He pulled into the final straight at 33 mph and I was having trouble holding his wheel. Dan went first and I tried to grab his wheel. We made Jeb start from dead last and it still wasn't enough handicap. He came by to take it.

Dan led the second one and also started way early and cranked it up to well into the 30's as well. Couch was last wheel and went way early, hoping to draw the punch out of Jeb's legs. Once again, it wasn't enough and Jeb won, Couch, then myself. Jilayne revolted a bit at this point and wanted a more reasonable lead-out that started a bit closer to the finish. To set an example, she volunteered to lead the third one. I was last wheel this time. Once again Couch goes very early and this time holds off Jeb at the finish.

We took a rest lap and then it was my turn to lead out. I went through the last turn at a reasonable 23mph and then cranked it up to 31mph or so. Dan and Andy go by on one side, Jeb on the other. I get after it as well and am able to reel in everyone but Jeb. The next time around Jeb is the lead-out man and I've got Andy "I go super early" Couch's wheel. I'm determined to let him pull me into nearly the finish. Sure enough he goes hard early and I'm all over his wheel at 35 mph. I wait and wait and then I wait some more, remembering my rookie mistakes the last time I did this. Finally I pulled around and go hard for the tape for my first ever victory...except for Jeb. He led out the sprint and then gets back up to nip me by less than half a wheel at the finish. Oh well, I lost to a good man.

We take another rest lap, despite my protests. Jeb has really emptied himself with that lead-out/sprint combination and if we are ever going to take Jeb, we have to strike now. After a rest lap, Couch leads out. Jilayne has his wheel and she waits and then finally pops a good jump, flying off the front of the group to Couch's hearty cheers, "Go, Jilayne! Go!" Jeb isn't done yet, though, and the sprint lasts a tiny bit too long for Jilayne to hold on and not quite long enough for me to get Jilayne. All three of us finish within a bike length.

That's it for the Smackdown and Andy and Dan take off. Jeb, J'Lo, and I ride another lap or two as a warm-down and then do a short loop out east. We're riding real slow, the day is gorgeous and we chat, wishing we could ride another hour like this, but work calls us back. Fun times!

My peak speed was 39.7 mph and this was on a very flat road (possibly, slightly uphill). Jeb topped out at 41 mph.

Bill

Ja, OK, I'm the designated report writer today.

It was a cool, blustery day at the Staz. Not Winnie-the-Pooh blustery, but definitely enough to define the sprints. In front was not the place to be, and coming around on the left was pretty much automatic.

The plan was to really spin the legs out, recover fully between efforts, and generally not go too deep with Roubaix only 3 days away. I'd say we were pretty successful.

It was just Jeb and me for the first sprint, which I led out. As expected I was dispatched without incident. Bill showed up for the second round, Jeb on the leadout and me in back. Tactically I wasn't where I wanted to be, as the best plan would be to slingshot Jeb at the last possible minute without anybody affecting my line. Being at the back I had to go a little early so as not to have to come too far around. For the first time this year, I was pleased to hit the pedals and have something happen, and I pulled up smartly even with Jeb. Now I had a small problem, as my nose was now in the wind and it was a dead-even drag to the line with Jeb, and a good 100m still to go. Fortunately for me he'd been at the front for a bit too long, and I put my head down and finished it. Whew! I posted. I posed. Hey, if you got a chance to beat Jeb in a sprint, you would too.

Bill led out #3. I launched it from the second position and tried to kick again when the inevitable postal rocketship started overtaking me on the left, but there was no denying the man with the bulging calves. We went all the way to the line but I'd given up a bike length by the time we got there.

I was back on the point for sprint #4. Jeb was glued to my wheel, and it just ain't fair; he doesn't fear my jump and he knows all my tricks. I feinted at 250-to-go. Nothing. I went all out at 200-to-go, then checked under my shoulder. Nothing. Dangit, I need this guy to bite. With about 150 to go, Jeb goes blowing by in his 12. I grab my 12 and lunge for his slipstream. I miss, and there's no time to come back, so I have to concentrate on holding off Bill for the leftovers.

Since Bill showed up late, we do two more leadouts, Treno Azurri, with Bill the designated sprinter. Look out, he climbs, he sprints, he trail runs, he boulders, he's the Boulder Reniassance man.

Can't wait for the joy of racing Roubaix in the snow.

EC

Super Sunshine

The big dogs were meeting at 6:30 a.m. to ride Sunshine Canyon up to Gold Hill and I wanted in. It was 43 degrees when I left my office at 6:20 a.m. and rode the bike path west to meet these guys at 4th and Mapleton, the start of the Sunshine Canyon climb. This would be the final stage in the Boulder Stage Race in early May. I got there just a couple of minutes early and soon I see the peloton riding south on 4th street: team captain Couch, Kevin "H.C.", Jerome, and Big Mat. I was dorking around stripping off my jacket and the others turned up the canyon, so I had to chase a bit to catch on, but they were waiting for me as well.

I figured my role in this group would be sort of like Roberto Heras for Armstrong. I'd set a steady pace on the lower part of the hill, string out the peloton a bit and then fade into obscurity and let the big boys fight it out. I did this and set a reasonable pace, chatting sometimes with Couch or Kevin. A couple of times Big Mat, the padrone of the peloton, called up to me and told me to ease off the gas a bit, as I was popping Jerome off the back. I did as I was told.

At the start of the steep section, things got interesting. Big Mat first went to front and made it clear that the casual riding was over. I shifted up a gear, stood, and went by. Then Couch attacks and gaps me good, taking Big Mat with him. They string things out pretty good, but I keep up the chase, catch and pass Couch, and then pulled up with Big Mat. We're suffering along when Kevin comes by going hard and he drops me and leads Matson over the top of the first hill. The three of us regroup on the downhill section and once the climbing starts, I take the lead again as the pacesetter. We wouldn't be seeing Couch again until the summit and Jerome disappeared completely from the ride.

At the next steep section it was Matson's turn to attack and gap Kevin and I over the top. On the flat section above this, Kevin went to the front and pulled us along in the big ring at high speeds. When we hit the final climb before the end of the pavement, I decided I better put in a showing at the front or lest be forgotten completely. I wanted to let these guys know that I was on the ride at least. I attacked here and went a bit too hard. I also underestimated the distance to the end of the pavement and was in danger of blowing up. I could see Matson's shadow come up on me, but I wasn't ready to give up yet. I kicked again and he fell back. I was hurting, but wanted to at least make the dirt in the lead.

I hit the dirt at 35m03s minutes from 4th street, three minutes down from when Eric and I rode it, but we had a lot of climbing to go. Like the others had done I sat up and waited for Matson to get back on, but he went straight by me and I figured we weren't waiting for Kevin to get back on. My experience with Kevin is that he always gets back on and I didn't worry about him. I worried about me not getting a bigger rest before pounding up the long dirt section.

I rode with Matson for a mile at most, probably a half mile before he dropped me. I tried hard to hold the gap, but it would grow mostly, but occasionally diminish. Kevin was close behind, but then I couldn't see him because of the switchbacks. The road is steep, relentless, and pretty rocky. It was 5.7 miles of climbing to the start of the dirt and I knew we had 3.3 miles to go. These would prove to be very long, tough miles. There is a short paved section up here and my hopes rose that we were close to the finish. When the surface turned back to dirt I was demoralized. All the time there was Matson in front of me, taunting me within reach, but I didn't have the will or the strength to close the gap.

Just before the finish, at the Mile 9 mile marker, I see a shadow behind me. It is Kevin, of course. As he pulls even with me, I know I can't match him. I reach over, pat him on the back, and say, "Nice job, dude," expecting him to go by me. Kevin needs to prove nothing to a chump like myself and he graciously doesn't attack. We finish together at 26m09s (for me) of dirt climbing, for a total of 1h01m12s from 4th street for the 9-mile, 3000+ foot climb. We are about twenty seconds behind Matson. Matson and I think the climb has been brutal, but Kevin looks fresh and thinks it wasn't too bad. He rode the climb with a 23 in the back, as did Couch, who rode up a minute or two later. Matson had a 25. I felt wimpy with my pie-plate 27. Around my running friends I have huge legs. Around these guys my legs are skinny and weak, seemingly consisting mostly of fat instead of muscle. But I know my limitations and I am silently thankful for my 27.

We don some extra clothes and head down. My feet are quite cold and I expect misery. It was 42 degrees when I left the office and I'm now facing a 9-mile, high speed downhill run. Thankfully, it had warmed up some. By the time I got back to the office it would be 55 degrees with some nice sunshine and my feet didn't get any colder. I followed Matson back down to the pavement, making sure I stayed vertical. Once on the pavement I went to the front and set the pace, until Matson came by again. Kevin was taking it easy on the descent because he suspected his front fork might be cracked.

As we neared the short uphill section on the descent, I moved up close to Matson's wheel, ready to make Kreighton's patented, and duly licensed, move: Attack out the back! I love this short uphill section and always hammer up it. And I always get swarmed over by whoever I'm riding with, but what the heck. I was thinking about this hill too much and closed too close on Matson. I didn't see the dirt on the road and skidded sideways a foot or so before regaining control. At 35 miles per hour this isn't a good thing, but it did force me to pay attention for the rest of the ride.

I attacked hard up the hill and Matson let me go. Maybe it was a small reward. He can't win everything, take every prize. He had to throw his teammate a morsel and I accepted. Once on top, I kept hammering pretty hard down the canyon, expecting Matson to come get me, but he didn't. Couch did, though. He ran me down near the bottom of the hill and we all regrouped at 4th street. It had been a great ride and Matson was keen to do it again. I just wanted to forget the pain and suffering. I left the group and spun east on the bike path to work, arriving around 8:30. Fun stuff!

Bill

Koppenberg and Morgul TT(T?)

What a group it was today. Jilayne and I hooked up with Jeb and Eric for the ride out to Superior. Jeb and Eric were cruising along so easily an old lady on a mountain bike passed them. Jilayne refused to chase her down for us, so we let her go, conserving our energy for the shenanigans to come.

King Kreighton and his cohort, Brian Somebody-Who-Used-To-Race-Alot (I found later that this was Brian Hludzinski of Boulder Racing and he puts on the Koppenberg Race!), were ten minutes late for the Koppenberg Loop, so we headed out as a foursome since we had to meet Matson and company for the Morgul. We road tempo on the dirt, washboarded roads until the 20% hill, where the attacks came as expected. Eric and Jeb crested first with a tremendous display of power while Jilayne and I were off the back. The conditions were ideal and everyone could ride the hill without much trouble. Unfortunately there is a 90-degree turn right at the bottom of this hill and I could imagine all sorts of mishaps here ending in a cyclo-cross run up the hill.

Jeb and Eric sat up and let Jilayne and I get back on and we pressed the pace a bit back around to the Conoco station where it was Matson's turn to be late. The allowed Kreighton and Brian to join up. Matson's crew included Kevin and some other dude with legs and ass even bigger than Matson. He looked like an NFL fullback. You wouldn't want to sprint against this guy, but the Morgul TT course involves three hills: the Hump, the Wall, and the Feed Hill. Unfortunately, Jeb thought the course consisted of only the first two hills.

Matson and Kevin were set an individual TT, while the rest of us balked a bit at that. Jeb, Eric, and I decided to do a team time trial. Jilayne left about ten minutes early to get a head start and avoid suffering up the hills. She told us to give a yell to her when we approached, but of course no one either heard this or paid attention to it.

We started pretty casual and then Matson when straight to the front and put the hammer down. Next off was Mr. Fullback and then Kevin. I led our threesome for a bit and then Brian went by. Apparently this is when Kreighton executed his patented technique: attack out the back! No one expected this move and it worked perfectly. :-) This guy is not in cycling shape, but he ran me into the ground last month and is a former Junior National Team cyclist who raced in Europe. Bottom line: you don't want to ride with him when he is in cycling shape!

We swarmed by Mr. Fullback before the top of the Hump and had the rotation going nicely when we swallowed up Brian. He jumped into our group and we had a foursome working pretty good up to the base of the Wall. Heading up the wall we were closing nicely on Kevin and passed him on both sides. Some glass here also shattered our group a bit, as did the 10% grade. We hit the top still pretty much together though, but Jeb sat up, thinking it was over and I think Eric and Brian did as well, since I gapped them big time and had to sit up and wave them up to me, yelling, "That's not the finish, come on!"

Brian and Eric bridged up and we worked into the wind a bit, but things were more ragged and we had dropped Jeb, who latched onto Kevin's wheel for a tow to the bottom of the Feed Hill. We swarmed by Jilayne and I figured that was the end of her, when I got popped off the back on the downhill into Feed Hill. Jilayne goes by me here and sits up until I can latch onto her wheel, then she tows me up to Matson. She's thinking this is a road race, when it is actually a complete chaotic time trial, so she coasts and drafts behind the monstrous wind break that is Matson. I was having none of that coasting business and went flying by on the left.

I settled into the grind of the Feed Hill, spinning for all I was worth. Matson goes by me here and we both close on Eric and Brian and pass them. I go spinning by Matson again and am leading the hill for a bit, when Brian comes by. He blows after a bit, though, and I go by him again. I've gapped the group and figured to spin to the finish, but this hill keeps going and going and going. It's the Energy Bunny of hills. Matson comes by me. This guy doesn't know when to quit. Kevin comes by me, as well. Remember both of these guys were the only ones doing a complete solo time trial. These dudes are strong! We finish in that order (Matson clocking a 17:15 for the course and Kevin at 17:28) and regroup going down the hill toward 93. After a minute or two Jilayne goes flying by thinking we're still time trialing despite the fact that we sitting up and riding no handed. She's so cute...

We all regroup going down the hill, except for Kreighton and Mr. Fullback, who I hadn't seen since the Hump. I don't think I saw Brian again either and I think he turned around at the end of the TT at the top of the Feed Hill. We head north on 93 and I'm just off the front soft pedaling when only Jeb, Eric,, and Jilayne come up behind me. The others have all turned around to head back to work the other way. We go FLYING down 36. I'm spinning absolutely as fast as I can in my 53-12 to pass the train and I'm wishing for an 11 in the back. We're doing 50+ mph. We take the turn onto 170 and finally ease off the gas. We turn onto Cherryvale and Jilayne throws down an attack going up the small hill there. I ignore it, but Jeb and Eric take the bait. Those two then go off the front and gap Jilayne and I big time. We finally get organized and work together to chase those two down, helped greatly by the red light stopping them at South Boulder Road. The rest of the ride was casual, thank god. I recorded 32.5 miles of pretty aggressive riding. Conditions were great on the dirt road and the weather was very nice.

Bill

Five weeks in a row...

Once again I rode Flagstaff and then did some bouldering at the Monkey Traverse. Once again, only Michelle joined me. That was fine, though, since many riders were on Flagstaff today. The only thing better than chasing other bikers is passing them and today I had a great time. I rode solo over to Flagstaff and while soft pedaling and fiddling with my MP3 player on Baseline, a cyclists passes me. He's on an over-priced, under-performing Litespeed with fancy aero wheels. As he passed by he was checking his watch, as if getting ready for a good time trial effort. Perfect! I tried to relax and not get overly excited.

I started probably 30 seconds behind this guy and made a conscious effort to go slower up to the Flagstaff house. I passed a couple of mountain bikers on this section, one of whom was standing up and pedaling furiously. Litespeed was setting a good pace and I was barely closing on him. I had no intention of closing this gap too soon. As we neared the Flagstaff House, I saw Michelle up ahead and I passed her just past the restaurant. At this point I was only 5-10 seconds down on Mr. Litespeed and I said to Michelle as I passed her, "I'm going to get that boy," with apologies to Rocky Raccoon.

I closed the gap and locked onto his wheel. I was still taking things pretty easy, spinning in my 27 or 24 even on these flatter sections. I figured to trail him to the Monkey or so and then attack hard, just for fun. He noticed me on his wheel, but didn't alter his pace. I still wanted a pretty good time and I sensed Litespeed was fading a bit. I went on by, but didn't attack, still hoping to wait to the Monkey. I towed him for a minute or so and then he started to fall back. Then way back. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted and there was fresh game ahead!

Michelle had ridden over with her friend Bryan and he was now in my sights. I saw him look back over his shoulder, so he knew there was a freight train heading this way. I went by him on a switchback and then pushed hard to pass another rider, a chick, just in front of him. I probably went a bit too hard here, in a rare chance to show off. I nearly blew up after that, but kept working hard to the finish. I crossed in 16:41, forty seconds faster than last week, despite getting to the Flagstaff house 30 seconds slower! That just proves to me that you really have to pace the start of this ride well. Flagstaff still has a lot to teach me.

I immediately turned and headed down to ride back up with Michelle. She was doing well and riding the entire hill in her middle chain ring for the first time. She was about forty seconds off a PR, I think. It's probably better for her to use the triple until the Flagstaff house, but she got in a great strength workout.

We descended to the Monkey Traverse area, which was a bit wet. It must have rained up there recently. We started with the Monkey Traverse and I sent it again, without using the first rest. I had a bit more trouble with the finish than normal and felt I almost came off. I rested a bit on the finishing jug and then tried to reverse the final section. Again, I failed to do it, but now I've got a good project. The problem is that this is a bit high off the ground. Michelle gave it one try and nearly got to the first rest.

We then headed over to the Pratt Mantle, which I sent again. I've got this baby down now, but it is still quite hard for me. I tried the problem just right of this a couple of times and got pretty high, but I need a pad and/or a big, strong spotter (no offense, Michelle) to go any further. That was it and we blasted down the hill and back to work. Fun stuff!

Bill

This is a self-portrait of me riding on the bike path after riding Lee Hill/Deer Trail. We were supposed to take a photo of the Eric, Jeb, and I in our team uniforms, but we spaced it. I guess we lost too many brain cells on the climb...

Fearsome Fivesome?

I've always considered the four baddest hills near Boulder to be SuperFlag, Mag, Sugarloaf, and Sunshine Canyon. Each is about five miles long and climbs about 2000 feet, with Magnolia being the granddaddy of them all, universally feared by every rider. I had planned to ride Sugarloaf today as it was the only one the Magic Bike (tm) has yet to see, but construction nixed those plans. As an alternative, I chose Lee Hill to Deer Trail.

We had the blue train going today as Eric von Coppock, Jeb "Petacchi" Dunnuck, and I were all decked out in our team kit. Eric Lahtala, an off-road triathlete, was coming along this time. He asked me before, "What's the pace of these rides? Because I'm just getting over a cold." I said it was casual...as long as we weren't climbing. Things tend to get pretty up-tempo once the road tips skyward.

We tooled over to the base of the hill and started the clock at Lee Hill and Broadway. Eric took the lead and set a strong pace along the relatively flat road to the base of the climbing. He kept going strong up to the intersection with Old Stage Road and here, Eric Lahtala turned around, probably because the pace wasn't conducive to recovery. The road gets quite a bit steeper here and Jeb immediately pops off the back. He's just back from a week of snorkeling and we specifically picked a big, bad hill right away, hoping to catch him at a rare weak moment.

Eric and I are always dueling things out on the hills and his vast experience always has me worried that he's planning something tricky. He has tremendous power and awesome acceleration and I know my only chance with him is attrition. I knew this climb was long and hoped it was long enough, but when Eric started going quite a bit easier, I figured he was going to just go easy until within his striking distance, of say five minutes or so. I wouldn't stand a chance then. I took over the lead about ten minutes into the climb, but didn't attack, as it was way too early for that. I have a bad habit of going too hard, too soon, so I just upped the pace a bit, to make sure Eric was working hard enough to eventually crack. I was surprised to immediately gap him and figured he was plotting something tricky, but the gap kept on growing. I'd find out later that Eric just didn't have the legs today. I figured he'd catch me on the short downhill section, but by then I didn't want to give back what I had gained. I continued at what I thought was a reasonable pace, but it started to hurt pretty good before the top of Lee Hill.

It took me 16 minutes to top the first hill on Lee Hill (from Broadway) and then another 9m06s to top Lee Hill. I turned left onto Deer Trail and this is where the suffering really started. This road is frighteningly, distressingly, demoralizing steep. If it wasn't for the occasional break in the angle, I'd have been walking my bike. Suffering on my 27, I thought of sea-level Jeb with his 23 behind me. That's torture. I did this climb on my 23, but then I was taking it slow the entire way. Doing Deer Trail after a hard effort on Lee Hill is a completely different story.

I had taken 15 minutes to climb Deer Trail before and I assured the guys that it would be closer to ten minutes if we were pushing. I was just barely right, climbing Deer Trail in 12m29 (I averaged 163bpm for this section), for a total climb of 37m35s. This took longer for me to climb than Magnolia. Longer than SuperFlag. Longer than any other climb around. It does have a significant downhill section on Lee Hill, but it seems to more than warrant inclusion with the big four.

I descended, met Eric and then climbed back to the top with him. He finished in 4m16s after me. We did the same for Jeb and he finished 2m50s behind Eric. With 20 or 30 seconds to go, Jeb looks at me and says, "You ready?" I was. I shifted up and started to spring. Jeb gave me every advantage and then blew me away with ease. The man has power to burn, even after 45 minutes of climbing.

We stopped at the top and tried to recover our breath and lower our heart rates while drinking copious amounts of GU2O - highly recommended. Then Jeb led us down the high speed ascent. We regrouped at Lee Hill and then Jeb was off to the races again. Eric gaped me as well, as these guys are very good bike handlers. I attacked hard on the climb on Lee Hill, expecting Eric to go with and then bury me, but he didn't have the legs, as I previously mentioned. I closed furiously on an unsuspecting Jeb and got on his wheel only to see him immediately counterattack. I was shot from my chase up the hill and he sped away with ease on the flat section before the final descent.

We regrouped at Old Stage and got the Blue Train going down the final descent and east to Broadway. It was a great ride. If you like pain and suffering, that is.

Bill