My applicaton for Furnace Creek 508....

Yesterday I submitted my application for Furnace Creek 508. So if/when I am accepted to race I will have to shift my short duration high intensity training to long duration and medium intensity. I will have to start commuting again and getting some serious miles.

LA Circuit Race Report

First Race as Cat IV
Field Size 100
Weather WINDY 20-30 Mph gusts
Finished 12Th place

Well as I suspected the winds were still strong on race day. My goal was to stay hidden in the pack. I did that so well that Brandy said she had been trying to take pictures of me but couldn't find me. I told her that was the plan.

The course was two long straights with two U-turns at either end. Our speeds going into the wind were mid 20's our speed with the tailwind was well over 30 mph.

So this is what would happen every lap. We would go really fast with the tailwind (over 30mph) then slow down to a crawl (about 10mph) into the U-turn then full throttle into the wind then crawl into the other U-Turn then full throttle as we came out of the turn with the tailwind. Repeat this for four laps.

It became very apparent that sitting in was more important than trying to be a hero. So I sat in until the last turn and then the sprint was on. We came out of the corner at almost full throttle with at least a mile to go to the finish line. I sensed the move coming from my left and chased after it. Well he tried to get into the train and they didn't let him in. As he tried to enter the train he cut my buddy off which threw off my line, then he cut me off, which threw off my line again and by that time he had created a gap. I hesitated whether I should chase or if I should just wait until someone bridged the gap and follow the wheels to the 200 meter line. Well other riders did come up and I was swallowed up. I had to fight for 12Th place.

In retrospect, I should have followed that flyer because he brought me to the front and if I would have stayed with him I would have been that much further ahead of the pack when he rolled off to let his teammate win. I have replayed this in my head for the last 12 hours and I can't get it out of my head.



HIDING IN THE PACK. CAN YOU SPOT ME?





FIELD SIZE 100



THE SPRINT FINISH





I'M LIFTING MY RIGHT HAND BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT MY NUMBER BLOCKED BY THE BIG GUY NEXT TO ME

LA Circuit Race Eve

View Larger Map

Saturday night and I am wondering what the weather will be like for my circuit race tomorrow. The weather today was very windy with gusts over 20mph. If the high winds continue it will make for a very interesting race tomorrow. Staying in the pack and not pulling will be key.

On another note...I visited Centennial Farm today with Brandy and the kids. Somehow I managed to be suckered into this. Enjoy.

USCF Upgrade

My request for upgrade for my USCF License from Cat V to Cat IV has been approved.

I am still very concerned with crashing. It seems that every race that I have watched or participated in has had crashes. This is very scary to me. Yes cycling is a dangerous sport to begin with it. I would like to think that I can control my destiny by riding smart and towards the front of the pack. But I have been reading reports of crashes happening even in the first 10 wheels. In the thousands of miles I have ridden in Ultras I have come close only a handful of times BUT I have never crashed. The one time I did crash in a double century I was alone and fell asleep and ran off the road. Granted the intensity is less but we still have pacelines and we are in them for hours upon hours. I like the adrenaline rush of USCF racing but I am terrified of inexperienced riders or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

My next goal is to upgrade to Cat III.

Here is the upgrade criteria straight from USA Cycling.

"4-3: 20 points in any 12-month period; or experience in 25 races with a minimum of 10 top ten finishes with fields of 30 riders or more, or 20 pack finishes with fields over 50. 30 points in 12 months is an automatic upgrade"

For Criteriums and Road Races
Number of Starters


Placing 5-10 11-20 21-50 50+
1........3.....4.....5......7
2........2.....3.....4......5
3........1.....2.....3......4
4..............1.....2......3
5....................1......2
6...........................1

For Road Races

Points awarded for Road Races
Number of Starters

Placing 5-10 11-20 21-50 50+
1........3.....7.....8.....10
2........2.....5.....6......8
3........1.....4.....5......7
4..............3.....4......6
5..............2.....3......5
6..............1.....2......4
7....................1......3
8...........................2
9...........................1






See you at the races.

Combined Race Report Post

03/01/02 BAKER TO DEATH VALLEY 80 MILE ROAD RACE -- FINISHED 30TH

03/02/08 DASH FOR CASH CRITERIUM------------------- FINISHED 19TH

03/04/08 EL DORADO TWILIGHT RACE SERIES CRITERIUM-- FINISHED 7TH

03/09/08 TOUR DE MURRIETA CIRCUIT RACE------------- FINISHED 10TH







03/01/08 SATURDAY BAKER TO DEATH VALLEY Finished 30th

RESULTS

80 MILE ROAD RACE 3,000 FEET OF CLIMBING.

A break went off the front on mile one. We (the peloton) let them go because we thought we would catch them later. Well they stayed away the whole race. I got dropped on the climb around mile 30. The pace was mellow for the first 10-15 miles and then somewhere around mile 20 the field split and I got caught out. I worked real hard to bridge the gap. It took almost 9 miles to get back on. But by then we were approaching the base of the climb. I didn't have enough time to recover before the climb started and about .5 mile into it I got dropped. I just didn't have the legs to keep up with the pack.

At the top of the climb, I noticed there was noone in front of me and noone behind me. So I basically did a 40 mile TT. Yes I was alone from the top of the climb to the finish. I finished in 3:23 for an avg of 23.4 Mph. There was a tail/crosswind and I am sure that helped the peloton.

03/02/08 SUNDAY DASH FOR CASH CRITERIUM

RESULTS

The challenge with doing races on consecutive days is recovery. Not only did I do a 80 mile road race on Saturday but I also spent five hours in the car driving back from Death Valley to Huntington Beach. As soon as I was able to change out of my cycling gear I put on my Skins Travel & Recovery tights for the drive home. Once home Brandy gave me a leg massage, a good meal and some rest and relaxation.

On race day I did a decent warm up and lined up thinking "I just want to sit in." Well the yahoos that were racing prevented me from doing that and soon enough I was in the front 10 riders enjoying clear lanes to take the corners.

But then I between turn 2 and turn 3 (slight uphill) a rider attacked. I happened to be near him and jumped on his wheel. We got a gap from the pack and as we turned on 3 I noticed we had a little more of a gap. As we neared turn 4 he was still pulling and I was tucked in behind him. He lookeed down and saw my shadow and he hit it again rounding turn 4. But now I had the perfect position --- he was pulling to the line and it was a slight downhill. I coasted for a couple of seconds caught my breath and then slingshotted around him 30 meters from the line for the prime.

The sprint was anti-climatic I was on such a high from the prime I didn't really care. I wanted a top ten finish but when we rounded turn 4 on the last lap I was out of gas for the sprint. You think it has something to do with the race the day before? Of course.




03/04/08-- EL DORADO TWILIGHT RACE SERIES 60 mins FINISHED 7TH (4 POINTS)

RESULTS

I was feeling really strong and decided I would take chances and see how things worked out. The race is held in a park and it feels safe although there is one turn that takes you right into the sun and it is a tight left handed. There were a couple of attacks and I went with them just to test my fitness. We got neutralized when the pros past us and then it was on for the last lap. But then there was a crash in the Pro 1/2/3 field which caused the IV, V group to be neutralized right in front of our charging pack. I was in 5th wheel and sat up because I didn't want to sprint into the IV, V field and lost a couple of places as we came across the line. I felt great the whole hour.

03/09/08 TOUR De MURRIETA CIRCUIT RACE 37 MILES -- FINISHED 10TH

RESULTS

So I finally got a Top 10 in a race. I had been nipping at it with the previous Crits (11th Roger Millikan, 12th Anger Management the day after a 10:46 Butterfield Double) and this time it worked out. Oh and the lunge across the line meant the difference between top 10 and top 20. (This is what I thought all the way home from the race. The results from the Eldo race had not been posted and I thought this was my first top ten.)

I knew I was going to have a good day on Sunday because my pre-race leg opener on Saturday went well. I did a 30 miler and went up Newport Coast in 7:21 from the base at PCH to Pelican (new PR). On the way home I did 5 sprints all over 900watts. I haven't hit 900w (150 lbs) on any of my previous Crits. Ok ok so these aren't big numbers but as an Ultra cyclist I am all slowtwitch now and there just aren't that many opportunities (read necessity) to SPRINT or climb at or above threshold.


I followed good wheels all day and stayed in the top 10 of the group and watched every break.



THAT'S ME ON THE RIGHT SPRINTING FOR 10TH

San Diego Brevet 400km (256 miles)

I am falling behind on my blogging. I'm racing so much and trying to recover. I did the 400km with 13,000 feet of climbing. I was brutal I didn't have a good day and I didn't have much fun. I finished first in 20 hours which meant I was awake 24 hours.

Anger Management Criterium Race Report

OFFICIAL RESULTS POSTED AT THE RACE SITE



LINING UP AT THE FRONT FOR SAFETY BRIEF



AM I NAPPING DURING THE SAFETY BRIEF??? (I'm in the Sho-Air black/red/white kit)

Bike Setup

Cervelo Soloist (SLC) with Zipp 404's Tubular with a PowerTap.

Before last week's Roger Millikan Criterium where I placed 11th, I eased up on my weekly mileage and shortened my commutes to save my legs. In a stark contrast, my preparation for the Anger Management Criterium in Long Beach, CA included commuting the full length only twice (65 miles each way), I did some half commutes (30 miles each way) with the train ride in the middle and then a double century (194 miles with 9,000 feet) the day before the Criterium, bringing my weekly mileage to 460 miles by Saturday. On Sunday, this in-depth study revealed that the extra mileage resulted in losing only one placing in criterium racing and this week's crit yielded a 12th place finish. ;)

If you've read my last post, you know that I finished Butterfield Double Century at 5:01 p.m. on Saturday evening--good enough to be the third best time overall. We made it to bed around 9:30 p.m. and Brandy administered the dreaded "stick" massage. The alarm was going off again at 4:00 a.m. The plan was to be in Long Beach no later than 5:45 a.m. to give myself an hour to warm up on the trainer before the 7:00 a.m. race.

We arrived closer to 6:00 a.m. and by the time I registered and pre-rode the course, I didn't get much of a warm-up. But heck I did 200 miles less than 12 hours earlier. How much warm-up did I need?

The field was very sketchy, which is indicative of a Cat V field--but I have to do my time. 2 out of 10 races done. I stayed near the front in the top 10-15 places of a 50 man field. As the pace picked up for the final five laps, I felt good enough to maintain my position. On the final turn when the sprint began I had no legs to do a sprint and only eeked out a 812 watt sprint. I ran out of gas 50 meters from the line. I sat back down, spun up the cadence, got as aero as I could and FINISHED 12TH. I wasn't happy with my result at the time, but now that I have had time to reflect, 12th place in a Criterium after a third place finish in a 200 mile event the day before with a time of 10:46 is pretty darn good.

NEXT UP 400KM (252 MILES)BREVET WITH APPROX 15,000 FEET OF CLIMBING.

SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG. I WILL BE RACING ALMOST EVERY WEEKEND THIS YEAR.

Butterfield Double Century Ride Report

ELEVATION PROFILE NOTICE THE GOOD PORTION OF CLIMBING AFTER MILE 150



BRANDY MY GIRLFRIEND WHO FINISHED 8TH OVERALL, SECOND FASTEST WOMAN



CERVELO SOLOIST SL LIGHT, STIFF AND AERO



NITERIDER MINEWT DUAL.X2 LIGHTING SYSTEM, PROFILE DESIGN SONIC CSX AEROBARS (NOTICE HOW LOW THEY SIT ON THE HANDLEBARS)

Thank you to all my sponsors, Cervelo and their fantastic Soloist Carbon SLC-SL, very aero very comfortable and very stiff in a sprint, Niterider lighting systems,Kenda Tires for the C2C's, Showers Pass for their Protech Jacket that I wore in the morning and again in the afternoon as the temperatures dropped, Nathan Sports for the reflective gear. Sportquest for their amazing CarboPro 1200 nutrition product, Red Star Energy for their quick pick me up energy tablets, and as always my club Team Velosport Team Sho-Air Sonace.

RESULTS FOR BUTTERFIELD DOUBLE CENTURY

Saturday was the first double century of the California Triple Crown Series. I have done the right preparation for the limited time that I have to train. I felt good during the event. I came in with the third fastest time 10:46. I had good energy but lost the power in my legs around Mile 155. I had worked hard all day off the front with one or two other riders and paid I for it. Additionally, I had done 260 miles of commuting during the week before the double century and that was also something I would pay for on the course. However, in the annual plan, this was just a training event with Everest Challenge and Furnace Creek 508 being goal events.

BIKE SETUP

I rode the Cervelo Soloist SL--Sasha. I wanted to ride the SLC-SL because of the long miles that I would ride solo. I expected to be dropped by the lead pack so I also put clip-on aero bars. I used the Profile Design Sonic CSX because they are very low profile. They rest right on top of the handlebars, they are light at 280 grams because of their full carbon construction. I ended up being the lead pack all day and used the aerobars when it was my turn to pull in the paceline and when I got dropped a couple of times and maintained my third place position during the last 50 miles.

LIGHTING SYSTEM

The NITERIDER MINEWT.X2 DUAL LIGHTING SYSTEM is a very lightweight system with a small battery pack and two very bright headlights. The benefit of the dual headlights is you can point them in different directions to make a broader beam pattern, or "stack" them to create a longer beam pattern i.e. one shining close to your front wheel and one overlapping but shining further ahead to allow more time to react to debris on the road. My only gripe with this light is that it appears to use the same battery pack as the MiNewt which is only one headlight hence the burn time is cut in half to 1:45 hours on High and 3:30 hours on low since you have to the draw of two headlights on the MiNewt.X2. ON THE OTHER HAND, you are getting twice the light as the MiNewt which is really nice when you are in rural sections of your double century. I would accept the weight penalty for longer burn times on the MiNewt.X2 Dual if the battery pack was bigger. Currently, the battery pack fits underneath a stem length of 90mm or longer. Very neat and clean installation!!! I strongly recommend the Niterider MiNewt.X2 Dual if you expect to finish within three hours of sunset in your double century efforts. If you need more burn time GET THE MINEWT IT IS LIGHTER, AND THE BURN TIME IS LONGER. The MiNewt is a fantastic light choice for commuting!


The route was very urban, subsequently there were way too many traffic signals and stop signs as we meandered from Irvine (start) to the coast, "inland" and then back to the coast again. We started as a HUGE group and during the first stretch I took the time to coach Brandy on her pack riding skills. The traffic signals kept the pack together as we did the rollers. The ride finally started to move and pick up the pace as we got back on the coast at Crown Valley Pkwy and headed South through Dana Point and San Clemente. By the time we reached the San Onofre Campground we were down to seven riders in the lead pack.

MILE 54.7 I was in and out of the first rest stop in two minutes or less. I went out on my own and got caught by David "Mudcat" Holt about 1.5 miles before getting off the I5 southbound freeway. About 1 mile from the off ramp a paceline of six riders caught me.

MILE 66.2 We took the exit off the I5 freeway and Max tells me someone flatted behind us. I knew there were eight of us in the paceline and now it's just the two of us, so I figured a few riders had stopped so Max and I rolled on. When I pulled into the lunch stop I find out that Keith Brodsky had crashed. After the event I found out he fractured his clavicle. I wish him a speedy recovery he is nice guy and fierce competitor. I'll miss chasing him for the next 6 weeks. From the 5 Freeway to lunch it was just Max, another rider and I off the front.

MILE 84.7 Max, another rider and I pulled into the lunch stop together but I didn't stay long. I checked in, said thank you to Phil Thomas for volunteering, said hello to Jon S. and I was off in two minutes again. I knew Max was stronger than me. I thought if I took-off ahead of him he would chase me and hopefully each time he had to chase me it would wear him down. Remember, I left out of the first CP first and they had to chase and catch me for 12 miles. But Max didn't stay too long and he was on my wheel half-way up the Circle R Rd. climb. We chatted for a little bit and then he said we needed to keep the tempo up otherwise the tandem would catch us on the second half of the course. And with that, Max accelerated his pace and I couldn't keep up. I was dropped and he was gone. I WAS NOW RUNNING IN SECOND PLACE.

MILE 100.4 I was alone for the next 15 miles and just as I was about to make the left turn on to Reche Rd off of the 395, I was caught by Dan and Phil. That is where I had my "defining moment". Their pace was faster than mine and they were working together climbing a roller. I got dropped. I knew that the roller came down to the entrance of Live Oak Park (Fallbrook). If I didn't get on their wheel now I could possibly lose them and going West on the Oceanside bike path would slow me down even more. I made a huge effort to catch them. They were about 100 meters away. I dug deep and was able to make contact just as I blew up. I recovered on the downhill and since they were larger riders I was able to recover and draft off of them until my turn came to pull. It was a gamble and it paid off because I was able to ride with them until mile 155.5.

MILE 155.5 The left turn onto Antonio Pkwy was where I started falling apart. Dan and Phil dropped me on the "endless climb up Antonio Pkwy." I was fine as far as nutrition but I had no legs left. I was slowing and slowing and kept looking back but no one was coming. I WAS NOW RUNNING THIRD

MILE 167.5 CP#4 Trabuco Oaks General Store I was caught by a pack of 7-10 riders. I was in and out in about 2 minutes again. Lee was there volunteering and I told him that I was hurting. It was 3:30pm.

I left the rest stop as quickly as possible and didn't see anyone chasing me except David "Mudcat" Holt. He caught me on one of the rollers exiting Live Oak. My feet were really starting to hurt. I WAS NOW RUNNING FOURTH

MILE 171.7 Right turn Santiago Canyon Rd. My right foot hurt so bad I had to take my shoe off and pedal with my foot on top of the pedal. I hadn't had "hot foot" this bad since I was training for the 508 back in 2006 and I would go out on 150 training rides. I mean I was so close to pulling over but I didn't want to get caught and so slow and steady I moved through Santiago Canyon. I pedalled like that for a good 5 miles and finally my foot felt better and I put my shoe back on. When I finished putting my shoe on I looked behind me and saw the tandem of Craig Robertson and Graham Pollack. I knew this was going to be a fast chase because we were on a slight downhill. I timed my acceleration just right and jumped on the tandem's wheel. I stayed on the tandem for the last 10 miles in to the finish. On the way we picked up David "Mudcat" Holt. I WAS NOW RUNNING THIRD AGAIN. The positioned remained unchanged until the finish.

I finished at 5:01pm

RECOVERY

This was very important because the very next day at 7:00 a.m. I was doing the CBR Anger Management Criterium in Long Beach. I immediately took my Recover Amino capsules from Sportquest and downed a bottle of Endurox. I needed to wait for Brandy to finish before I could go home and get some sleep. As part of my recovery I immediately put on my Skins Travel and Recovery Compression tights which I would later wear to bed. My legs were sore the next morning but I know they felt better than if I didn't wear the Skins. The Skins truly helped my recovery since I only had 5.5 hours of sleep. After eating a recovery burger at the restaurant next to the hotel, I went to get the truck to double back on the course and see where Brandy was. As I pulled up to the front of the hotel I recognized her bike outside! Well, she really surprised me being there that soon...she finished 8th overall, second fastest women's time with a 12:18!! I wonder if it was her dedication to training or my superb coaching?!?!?! ;)

Oops January Month End Numbers....

I forgot to post my January month end numbers so here they are.

26.......Rides
1427.....Miles
51,210...Elevation Gain in feet


Not bad considering it is January and my climbing months are not until the summer. Although I will do some climbing in March for the early season doubles like Mulholland Double Century which has almost 17,000 feet of climbing.

On My Commute today....

I Adopted the southbound I-5 Freeway...allow me to explain.


The Butterfield Double Century will be held on Saturday Feb 16, 2008. Although I don't have an official route sheet yet I have an idea which roads the route will take. I still don't understand why Planet Ultra doesn't provide route sheets prior to the event... seems silly to me. From the Planet Ultra Butterfield website,

"From Dana Point you'll be on the coast through San Clemente, and along the bike path through San Onofre, all the way to Oceanside."

I am assuming we are taking the I-5 freeway to get from San Onofre to Oceanside. I commute a couple of times a week from Huntington Beach to Encinitas. On my commute I take the I-5 freeway southbound in the morning and northbound in the evening. This morning I decided to take note of the condition of the shoulder and the debris strewn on the road.

Generally speaking, the shoulder was clear as of 6:30 this morning. There are scattered rocks, no bigger than an average sized plum. Between mile marker 56.5 and 56.0 (bridge) there was a lot of blown tire tread that I moved from the center of the shoulder to the right-most edge.

The two most significant issues with the southbound shoulder are:

1. Just as you approach the last roller and see the sign indicating: Harbor Blvd 3/4 miles (I can't remember the mileage). There appears to be remnents of a car fire. There is glass, and burnt remains of car parts that are raised above the surface and centered in the shoulder. If you are riding solo no problem but beware if you are in a paceline. I removed most of the big pieces of blown tire tread in this section as well.

2. There is a storm drain on the exit ramp. It is closer to the white line on the left side of the shoulder but it does take a good portion of the shoulder. There are orange arrows painted on the ground that should warn you of impending danger. The drain is sunk in about 8" below the surface of the road. Once again you will see it if you are riding solo but beware if you are in a paceline.