Sea Otter Circuit Race - Men Cat 5 Elite

Race: Sea Otter Circuit Race     

Date: 4/16/2011

Category/Field Size: Elite 5, 30-40 racers

Team Mates: Chris Grove (Army of One)

Weather/Course Description: Cool morning with an 8:00am start time.  Riding the Laguna Seca race track.  Pot holes everywhere!!!  Not really.  The track is in excellent condition.

Race Plan: Stay towards the front and look to get myself in a good position to sprint at the finish.

Race

From just racing last night I was feeling lethargic this morning.  To counter that, I wanted to line up at the very front and do the initial lead up to the top of the corkscrew.  I figured that if I take the early lead I can set the pace most of the way up, and therefore do it at a pace I could handle, and when they start passing me I won’t move too far back into the group.  (I call it the Lemming Strategy.) That strategy worked well as I led the pack half way up at a comfortable pace.  As I started to get passed I just stayed in my seat and let them go knowing that I would catch them in the corkscrew.

The second lap is when trouble started…  I wanted to start keeping up with the leaders on the climb so I got out of the saddle to start pedaling.  As I did, my left foot came out of the pedal.  As I tried to get my shoe clipped back in I realized that I wasn’t getting a solid clip.  Before the race, I had walked from the parking lot to the start of the race with my dad and two of my boys, which I think clogged up my cleat. 

At this point I have some safety concerns.  I don’t feel like it would be good for me to ride up the hills with the pack or be going for a sprint finish.  I decided to alter my strategy a little so that on the climbs, I am way off to the right or left of the pack.  If I am still with the group going into the finish I wouldn’t sprint for it because I don’t want to take out half the peloton.  

Without being able to stand to match the pace of the group up the climb, I was forced into a catch-up mode while riding the rest of the course.  On one climb I fell far enough back that the motorcycle and pace car that was following the peloton passed me.  That didn’t last for long as I put my cornering skills (from BCRT skills clinic) to use on the next descent down the corkscrew. I was back towards the front of the group in no time.  

As I was approaching the hill again I realized that my left shoe finally had a solid clip.  I am back in the race!  I sprung out of my saddle and kept up with the pack on this climb.  Next time around, trouble sprung up again as I dropped my chain!  Need to get that chain catcher before my next race…  I was able to recover without stopping but I was in catch-up mode again.  

I am starting to get tired from burning matches on the catch-up efforts.  I am back with the group with one lap to go.  The pace on the last lap surged up the hill.  I tried to match it but I was totally spent and couldn’t keep up with the pace.  As I made the descent down the corkscrew I realized that there were a bunch of stragglers behind and in front of me.  The main pack was too far off to catch so this became a race between me and whoever was left.  

Maximizing momentum down the corkscrew I came into the sharp left turn after the corkscrew a little too hot and found myself on the warning track.  Thunk-Thunk-Thunk-Thunk-Thunk.  I pulled out of it easily enough and was grinning because it was a very fun experience to be pushing it that close to the edge in my speed.  (I think my wife’s need for speed may be rubbing off on me.) In hindsight I think I also didn’t take the best angle through that turn like I did most of the rest of the race.  I think I was getting anxious for the finish and wasn’t paying as close attention to the details of making a good turn.  

I used my momentum to pass a few people and got behind another guy to get a draft break as we headed towards the finish.  The stragglers were getting restless and started powering towards the line so I did the same.  I passed several people but one guy came by me just before the finish.  I heard him coming but was already maxed out and couldn’t do anything about it.

Results

Initially I was listed as finishing 12^th.  On Sunday night it changed to 16^th.  We will see what number they finally come up with when they post it to the USA Cycling website.

Lessons

1. When you have to park a long way from the start and walk with the family, wear tennis shoes to the start of the race.  Walking on asphalt, sand, gravel, and dirt from the parking lot to the start of the race isn’t good for your cleats.

2. Get a chain catcher.

3. Playing catch-up the entire race isn’t a good way to get a top 10 finish.

Sponsors Note

The pictures my dad took of me on the race track wearing the Nike glasses looks cool.

Warming up before the race

Sea Otter Road Race - Men Cat 5 Elite

Race:   Sea Otter Road Race

Date:    4/15/2011

Category/Field Size:    Elite 5, about 50-60 racers

Team Mates:  Chris Grove (Army of One)

Weather/Course Description: Warm and windy with a 3:30pm start time.  Neutral start down a canyon road to a looped course and then you climb back up the hill that served as a neutral start.

Race Plan:  Stay towards the front.  Look for breaks and get on one if I can.  Be in the lead group for the final climb.

Race

The Naval Post Grad team was there in full force with at least 9 riders (that is how many were in front of me at the start, there might have been more scattered around).  The 9 that I counted were at the front of the start line stretched from side to side.  I lined up directly behind then so that I could spy on them and use them as a wind break as the race got started (is it legal for me to do that to our military?).

As the race got off to a neutral start, the peloton was really sketchy, especially on the descent down Barloy Canyon Rd.  My spider senses were tingling and I was looking for a safe spot to descend when someone in front and to my right crashed.  His crash went left (towards the riders in front of me) and took all of them out as well.  I was suddenly dodging bodies, wheels, hands, legs, and a frame pump (who races with a frame pump?!?!?).  I made it out okay but somehow my seat angle got knocked all the way forward.  I couldn’t get it to go back in place while riding so I got off the bike, got it close enough, hopped back on and caught back on to the peloton.

 

As we went around the loops we would lose riders off the main pack with every climb.  I was worried that the Naval team would have some sort of strategy, but most of them dropped off the main group quickly.  On an early break attempt I used momentum on the rollers to slingshot the gap but the break didn’t stick.  

As the race was going on I was getting tired keeping the pace up the two climbs in the loop.  I sucked through one of my bottles in no time.  I still had a full second bottle when I hit a series of small pot holes the knocked my second bottle (Good bye Body Concepts bottle) out of the cage.  Fortunately Hammer Nutrition was providing support with bottles filled with some sort of energy drink.  It was foul tasting but I needed the energy more than the taste.  

At this point there are about 12 of us left in the lead group. As we go around to the start of another lap a racer aggressively attacks the hill.  I didn’t really consider it much of a threat (the guy seemed pretty tired on previous climbs) and neither did anyone else.  Next thing we knew this guy had a huge lead.  The lead was too big for me to try and gap and I was barely hanging on as it was.  The group eventually organized to get a pace line going to try and catch him.  I was extremely tired and decided not to participate in the line and hung off the back.  That may have ruffled feathers but I felt that if I took a lead I would be too tired to latch back on at the end of the line.  Once organized, the guy was caught pretty quickly and the pace settled down for the last lap through as everyone was anticipating the big climb out.

There were some strong climbers in this group and I didn’t really think I stood a chance at finishing in the top 3 as they had outpaced my best efforts in the loop.  So my plan was to work my way up as many riders as I could on the climb out.  Top 5 isn’t out of the question.  During the climb I was with the group when some riders started to fall off the pace.  Things were going well until a guy next to me started to have shifting problems.  He stared down at his gears and veered left, right towards me.  I stopped pedaling and veered left as well to avoid being hit.  This instantly gave the group a good sized gap on me.  And I was left going solo the rest of the way up.    I did pass another rider, maybe two…  Not enough oxygen to keep the brain working properly so I can’t remember.  

While, because of the pace, the final hill was difficult it wasn’t really that steep, which would have worked to my strengths. I tried to push as hard as I could all the way to the finish and I was thankful to see the white line coming up because I was getting light-headed. In the end I was satisfied because I was utterly wiped; I had put forth my best effort and I raced in the strongest group of riders I have ever ridden against in an elite age-group in such a major race with folks participating from all over.

Results

I finished 8^th.

Lessons

1.  Listen to your spider senses.

2.  Don’t carry a frame pump.

3.  This is the third time that an obstacle arose close to the finish which caused me to stop pedaling or throw me off my pace.  I need to get better at blocking that stuff out and pedal through problems. 

Turlock Lake Road Race - Men Cat 5 Masters 35+

Race: Turlock Lake

Date: 4/9/2011

Category/Field Size: Men Cat 5 35+.  About 24 riders.

Team Mates: Chris and Felix

Weather/Course Description:

COLD!!!!  8:50 start was about 40 degrees.  The course has some rollers.  The finish has no significant elevation change.

Race Plan: 

With only two riders we decided to use this race to play around some.  Felix and I were going to cover and/or attack.  If we are together at the end, try and get a lead-out going.

Race:

I was shivering at the start and wasn’t anxious to get moving.  It didn’t appear anyone else was ready to race either.  We slowly left the start line and gently worked our way up to a 15mph pace.  The slow pace continued for the first 8 miles.  As we were riding I was surveying the type of riders in the group and it appeared that there were a lot of power guys there.  That had me really motivated to catch or create a break.  I am not going to win many battles with the power guys on a mass sprint to the finish.  

About this time we were approaching one of the steeper climbs.  As we started to go up the lead rider continued the low-effort pace by slowing down.  I thought this would be a good time to do a low-risk test to see who the strong riders were.  Instead of slowing down with him I kept the pace all the way up the hill.  Without much effort I was first up the hill with a gap over the rest of the group but I could see people charging up to come after me.  I had no intention in trying to solo the next 45 miles so I let them catch me and grabbed on to one of the wheels that was going around me.  The race is on!!!  

The riders that caught me took off on a blistering pace.  Someone was yelling about having a gap and was urging everyone to continue the high effort.  As we were getting about 15 miles into the race I was starting to fatigue a little and took a glance behind me.  No one was around for as far as I could see.  We lost Felix somewhere.  If I don’t keep up the pace, the race could be over.  Fortunately the pace slowed down shortly after that and we settled into a more moderate pace.  

As we finished the rollers on Hawkins and got into the flat area next to the Start/Finish, the pace really started to slow down.  Riders started reaching for their gels and other foods.  I did the same but had a problem…  It was so cold at the start I had my clumsy long fingered gloves.  As I pulled out the food I wasn’t able to get the packs open (I should have pre-opened them before the race).  As we got back towards the rollers I noticed that with a monster effort, Felix and another rider managed to catch back on.  Awesome!!!  We have about 11 riders in the group including Felix and I.  This is perfect for landing at least 1 rider in the top 5.

I tried to go with an attack from Peter (Rio Strada) and we were out there for a little bit but the peloton was determined to not let us slip away.  As we are approaching the rollers on Hawkins I am feeling really strong.  Felix is a little tired from catching the peloton but he is probably good enough for a lead-out.  Looking at the power guys, I am guessing that they are tired too by the way they are riding.  The power guys were also taking a lot of pulls on the final lap.  With the power guys looking tired I am thinking that the rollers on Hawkins might be a good place to do another test to see who responds and maybe I can get a break going to the finish.    

With Hawkins in sight we see a bunch of riders from another category stopped at the turn.  We come to a stop as well and the race is neutralized for 40 minutes due to an accident from the women’s category along Hawkins road.  By the time the race is started again we had 20 something riders back together and rested.  

The pace takes off pretty quickly and my calves start to cramp a little.  At that time a rider from Fun Sport Bike (FSB) takes off to get a break going.  I want to join him but I am riding cautiously because of the cramps.  The FSB rider has a huge lead on the rest of the group but we manage to bring him back in with less than 1 km to go.  As we approach the 200m line I lost track of where Felix is at and I am second in line.  The rider in front takes off on an early sprint which leaves me in the wind so I go after him.  By the time I catch him I am burned out and have nothing left for a sprint.  I got passed by a LOT of riders.  I think I finished 10^th but I am not sure because we didn’t have time to wait for the results.  

Results

I think I finished 10^th but I am not sure because we didn’t have time to wait for the results.  Felix came in shortly after.

Lessons

1.  This is the second time I have been in a lead group and had the race neutralized where everyone catches up.  It really adds to what has already been said about how hard it is to win a race.  You can be doing everything right only to have a wild card show up and ruin the plans.

2. I need to be a little less aggressive from 1km to 200m.  I keep burning myself out before the finish.  On the bright side, if I was leading for someone, the designated rider would be delivered to an awesome position on my last two races.

3. I need to communicate more with Felix.  He was with us going through Hawkins and I should have asked him to get in front of me so that we could have worked together down the final stretch.

Sponsors Note

The Nike Vision glasses continue  to work great.  The MaxAdapt lenses provided a bright and clear view for the early start but continued to provide enough shade for the mid-day finish.