Day 16 - Sea Otter Circuit Race

Call it not warmed up enough or call it exhausted from the previous races but I just could not keep up With the front pack in this race. After three laps I was dropped and ended up leading the second pack for the remaining laps. I felt better at the end than I did after the first two. One wacky thing that they did is let all age categories go at the same time. There were over 200 at the start line. This made for a sketchy decent!!

Not the way I wanted to finish my sea otter experience but it was a great time all the same. In the end I came in 21st of 37 in the circuit race.

Ryder!!!  The real trophy here at Sea Otter... Sweet!

Day 15 - Sea Otter Road Race - 16th

This Road Race is tough.  One of the tougher that I have done.  It's early in the year and it climbs for over 1600 meters in 86kms.  The finish is stupid.  It pitches twice over about 2.5kms above a 10% grade.  It does not make for a sprint finish.

All the same I stayed with the pack through the race managed to take a few spots up the hill finish to take 16th of 57 riders.  Not too bad.  Could have taken a few spots but I did not have it in me to podium today.

Tomorrow it's the Circuit Race all on the Laguna Seca race course!!

The Atomic Jersey was still wet from washing so... This was the alternate.

Day 14 - Sea Otter Criterium

Well....  All I can say about the crit is that I prepared well and raced well.  On the second to last lap there was some incidental contact on a turn with another rider.  I tightened up my turn a bit and started to pedal.  The first stroke I hit the tarmac with the pedal and immediately hit the road and slid to the corner. I was sitting 6th in the breakaway pack of 8 and feeling really good.  Too bad.  Now I'm just trying to heal up for tomorrow's Road Race.

Crit Start and Finish

Hip Contusion

Take care of that rash!

Holes in the kit

Rashes... :(

Day 13 - Prepare for Sea Otter

I spent most of the day preparing for the Sea Otter Races.  Whether it was changing tires or wheels or brake pads, it was getting done today!

I did all kinds of messing with the bike and then took it out to Laguna Seca to put it through some paces.  All systems go!  Ready for the races that start tomorrow.  Until then.....

Bag of various bike stuff

Laguna Seca Raceway!!!!

Day 10 - Camarillo Duathlon 5th Place Overall

That hurt!  They all hurt!

I raced the Camarillo Duathlon today.  It was a typical set up of two 5k runs sandwiching a 31k bike.  The weather was very un-California like today.  Or at least how I hoped it would be like today.  We raced in about 15 degree weather with fog and light rain. Like the June Gloom of Southern California only colder.  Start time today would be 8am.  The warmup combined with the 1 hour drive from LA meant a 5am wake up call this morning.

Start Finish Line and Transition Area

The race course is flat.  Totally flat.  Should have made for some PBs for me in the run but until I get the results I'm not quite sure what I ran both 5Ks in but it looks like 19:50 and 21:40.  The Bike was around 49min add the transitions for a 1:31 total.

Results were better then I recalled!! 19:14, 48:53 and 20:30

http://results.active.com/events/2013-camarillo-duathlon-3/olympic

Two things affected this race for me.  One was that I lost track of how far I had actually run and thought the run that I was pacing for 5k might actually be 7k.  So I throttled back a bit.  It wasn't until I finished the first run that I knew it was only 5k.  Crazy!  I just botched my distance calculations at the turnaround.  The second was that the light rain made the asphalt like a skating rink.  I could not believe how slippery it was.  The corners were a gong show on the second lap. People were slow or going down; a lot.  A bit sketchy on my little Argon Rocket.  Thank God I kept the rubber side down!!

Finishing and Happy to do so...

All in all I ended up in 5th place overall.  There was some conjecture that some of the racers didn't complete the entire bike course.  Not sure about this amongst the top 10 finishers but I do know some cut the course short. There were no officials or timing mats on the bike course.  Very easy to do one lap of the lollipop course.  Just have to see what happens with the official results are published.

A good day for me.  I ran and rode my plan. Best of all My Mom, Brother John and Sister In-Law Mercedes were there at the finish :)

My Mom and I at the finish

Day 6 - A taste of Sonoma

Today I hit the physical wall. I had planned a ride followed by a run but the run turned into wine tasting which was very un-athlete of me but so very nice.

The ride

I grabbed the TT bike today to test the new handlebar installation. I planned 60-70k up to Sonoma lake and back. What I didn't know was that at about 25k the rout turned vertical. Not exactly what I wanted on the TT bike (Betty Ford). The climb was steep with a few spots that levelled off. The views of the lake and hills were gorgeous just like previous days. I think about three cars passed me once I reached the lake so, I was alone for most of the ride. After about 3000 feet of climbing I turned around with plans on extending the ride to 100k or so. This plan ended when I hit the next hill there was nothing left in the legs. So much so that I cancelled my planned run for the afternoon. Good thing is that the handlebars stayed in the same position.

The New Plan

Well at 2:00 in the afternoon and nothing that you have to do and your in Sonoma.... WINE TASTE!! Not to bore you with details but I went to tastings at J, Rodney Strong and Seghesio. The last two provided hardier reds so they were my favourites. All the same I took 7 bottles away with me.

Moment of zen for the day: Why don't cyclists in this area wave to one another like they do back home? I was 1 for 12 today for wave backs. Not very friendly like.

Tomorrow it's a run in the morning (yes a run). Followed by a drive down to Camarillo to seethe course for the next race. 6 or so hours of driving. Fun fun...

Day 5 - the geysers

Today was a great riding day. With temperatures in the mid twenties and sun all around how could it be bad?? I started the morning off with a big ride. Before leaving I changed the tires on my road rims from 23mm wide to 25mm. This was under the recommendation of Jonathan at Jonathan's bikes. The rims I have are wider than normal so he said that the roads are rough in the Geysers and my previous set up was libel to puncture. Well all I can say is that the new set up was awesome for those conditions. It was rough back there with portions or gravel.

Once suited up I head out for the geysers. After getting lost several times I found the famous road and it did not disappoint. Beautiful vistas and awesome riding. After a moderate climb for about an hour on a one lane rough road, I came onto a near highway like road with smooth surfaces (for the area) and no traffic. I mean none!! I have no idea why the road is there and in such better condition than the others but I took advantage.

The climbing is tough and steep and fairly hot on this day. But once I crested the top, there is a 10-12k section of mostly descending pavement is in great condition. I took it kind of easy but it was so enjoyable with the big grippy tires and NO CARS!! So, I could not help thinking of the possibilities.
In Vancouver's north shore mountains there is Digger who maintains the trails. Digger is paid for his efforts though grants and some fundraising. It wouldn't take much more to spruce up some of the bad roads good enough for road bike traffic. It might just be a big boon to the bike economy in the area . Anyway. After some 100k of riding fun, I finished back at the hotel very satisfied. I must admit I was drooling g at the 100 or so wineries I passed with their wine tasting...

Next it was down to Santa Rosa for a run with my friend Glenn and a wonderful dinner that his wife Tanya prepared. Best day yet!

Problem is... I don't know what I'm doing or where I'm going tomorrow... Gotta figure it out. See the pictures :)

Race Report – Axel Merckx Gran Fondo Penticton.

Race Report – Axel Merckx Gran Fondo Penticton.

Distance: 160kms

Temperature: 21 – 34

Background

Do not stay at Apex Mountain the night before the race.  It’s too far away. Travel time in the morning was about 45min. Really nice place but too far from town.

Pre-Race

I arrived too late to properly position myself in the corral.  I was about midway back with maybe 1500 riders in front of me.  It was choc-0-block.  No moving forward.  I knew that I was going to have to give it some serious effort in the beginning to get near the front. 

Start

I crossed the line 2:33 after gun time.  Made my way to the left side of the road and started to work hard.  Up Vancouver hill, I was passing many riders.  I kept on the gas out on my own or dragging others for about the first 10K.  I settled into a pack that was riding at a pretty good clip to rest.  I made my way to the front of this pack as we rounded the corner onto Hwy 97.  At this point, I could see the front of the race maybe about 2K ahead.  I went off the front to bridge to the next pack dragging a fair number of riders with me.  One of these brave souls was Bryan Rahill!! We chatted and then decided to work together and get to the front.  On the gas big time just Bryan and I.  We bridged one pack two pack.  We are now at the back of the front pack after 22K of riding. 

Hills and spills

After 22K it was time to climb up to Summerland.  I was pretty knackered after all the effort getting to the front so I climbed at a moderate pace losing a bit to the leaders.  I figured that I would make some of it up on the downhill (been descending well lately).  The front pack had separated into about 3 packs due to the hill.  I was at the front of the third pack at the start of the downhill. The downhill was fast but safe.  There was only one other rider descending at the pace that I was. We were now about 10 – 20 seconds off the front of this pack.  The slope got steep and going fast required skill.  I felt really good and could blast into corners with confidence.  Onto a very steep bit I see a white pickup truck on the course about 100meters ahead in the middle of a switchback.  We both started to yell at him to get moving.  The spectators started yelling at him to move.  We both intuitively decided to go left around the truck but we were also breaking hard to scrub off some speed.  WTF! The truck starts very slowly to head towards the left side of the road fully blocking our path.  There is no time to take him on the right.  We both lock up the brakes.  He puts a foot down.  I CX it and swing my leg over as my bike goes down.  I leave the bike at about 15kph and run it out all the way into the scrub on the side of the road.  I come to a stop.  I’m totally fine but my bike is under the truck.  I look back and yell at him not to move.  He apologizes and I tell him that he could not have seen me but what was he doing on a closed race course?!?  I pull my bike out from under the truck.  Chain is dragging behind the bike.  It doesn’t look too bad.  I get the chain back on. Check the other bits of the bike.  It looks OK.  Back on the bike I go.  Race is ON!

Gotta Catch Up (Again)

I spent about 7min at the side of the road so, I knew that there was no way that I was going to get back to the front.  I was shaking with adrenalin and feeling totally lucky that I wasn’t licking wounds.  I started to work hard again.  Bike making nasty noises.  Grind, click, pop.  Oh but, this is going to be a long ride.  I’m passing riders again and quickly.  I’m starting to fade a little as the wind hits me in Penticton.  I latch onto a group and slowly make my way to the front.  Bridge another group taking a few riders with me.  Bridge another.  Turn onto Mclean Hill.  I’m feeling good and I pick up the pace rolling up to another group.  Shit!  Who’s this?  It’s a team I recognize.  Wholly!  It’s team Botranger  Livestrong  (Axel’s junior team).  I know these guys are really strong, like they performed well in the Tour of California strong.

Riding with the Boys

I latch on with the team.  They must be on a casual ride because I’m able to stay with them no problem.  I start talking with them. Great guys!!  Lots of stories that I will tell you later.  Double pace line.  I take my time in the wind and again and again and again.  I’m keeping to pace at their pace.  All good.  At 92K they peel-off at the lunch stop.  I thank them for the pulls and keep going along.  I attract a group who latches onto me and I pull for about 5 min.  I try to get someone to go through.  No go!  I see up ahead the TNA team.  So, I pick up the pace and latch onto them.  Make my way through their pack and onto the front.  Sharing the load I ride with them for a while.  They are not going as fast as I like so when the climb begins up golf course road I leave them behind.

Climb Climb!!

Up up I go.  Passing riders at a good pace.  Half way up the climb, I have to stop to refill a bottle.  A 30sec stop long enough to fill one bottle.  I’m 125k in and I have 1.5 bottles.  All good, I can get to the end with that.  Climb and climb. With a few nice people exchanging stories and stuff.  I’m now at the top and I’m in the front of a pack of about 20. I can’t get them to work. I pace at about 37.  They pace at 33 when I’m not on the front.  No good.  So I turn it up on the front. Who wants to go fast can come along.  If you don’t then go away!

The last 30k

A couple of riders stay with me and will work a little.  We are going at a good clip.  I see a small group ahead of 3.  I decide I’m going to make it to them.  I do and dropped the others as they didn’t keep up on the hill.  I start talking with these guys.  They look good.  One has an accent.  We are joking and laughing.  Up another hill with them.  I’m staying with them and we are pacing well.  On e the front I go.  They seem happy.  OK. The guy with the accent… Is he Axel.  So, I ask. Yes.  It’s Axel Merckx.  OMG!  Too funny.  And the other 2 guys are pros from somewhere.  OK. Here we go. I’m going to ride with Axel.  And so I did all the way to the 5k mark.  I see a train blast by on my far left and I’m on the front of my pack.  I yell that I’m latching on or something like that.

The Finish

Well as hard as I tried I could not catch up the train that was Axel’s junior team again.  I have no idea how fast they were going, but my sprint (say 50k) could not catch them.  I look back.  I’m 100m in front of Axel’s pack with 5k to go.  OK.  I’m going to TT it until the pack catches me.  Head down I take it to the 100m line and pick it up a bit to the finish line. I guess I can TT J

UCI Masters World Championships 2012 - South Africa

UCI Masters Road Race World Championships 2012 - South Africa

It's twenty degrees cooler (celsius) and reportedly the winds have died down as I watch the under 40yo racers flow through the starting gate this morning. 

41 degrees at the start

I can't think of the proper words to describe the race yesterday. It was one of the most torturous things I have ever done and I have done a few crazy things in my life. 

There were several factors at play in the race and a bit of misfortune on my part. The reported temperature at the turnaround point of the race was 43 degrees celsius or  109 degrees Fahrenheit with 90% humidity.  The wind gusts on the course were 60-80kph. The course is 96kms long with 1650 meters (5400 feet) of climbing. This was exacerbated by only 2 hydration stops on the course with none in the last 35k.   This set the scene for a difficult day for sure. 

The race started where it would end in Alexander Park in pietermaritzburg. At 1pm the 100+ riders were let go under sunny skies. 

I stayed in the front third of the pack through town and up the first climb. The second climb is long at about 6kms but not overly steep at 5% grade.  A breakaway group of 5 took off for which I did not chase. I stayed with the main pack. At the third climb the  steepest of the day, I stayed with a pod of five riders about mid-way in the now fractured main pack. After this climb you are in Wartburg.  This was the first hydration station.  There was a bit of a lineup and knowing i would be back in 25k, I opted not to stop.

It flattens to a slight incline here but is very exposed. Gusts are very strong and pushing the lead riders sideways  violently. About 4k of working with this group taking turns at the front, a crosswind pushed a riders back wheel into my front wheel causing me to crash. I wasn't going particularly fast at the time but still  clipped  in to my pedals i fell very hard onto my hip. I looked at my front wheel. The tubular tire had come off the rim which it was glued to. I pulled the tire back onto the rim. Seemed to go on however both front and back rims were rubbing on the brakes. I managed to adjust the brakes enough so that they no longer rubbed. 

Back on my bike and off I go again. As I start to pedal I realize that my hip is really hurting and causing me to sit slightly to the right side of my saddle. In addition to this, I was worried about the up coming downhill. My tire is libel to come off again if I corner hard at speed. Sure to be a disaster. I started to flag down race vehicles. None had any wheels at all. Before the race I put an extra set of wheels into the neutral support supply so in case of a flat I could pull a wheel from them.  I was loosing a lot of time flagging down cars so I gave up after about 20 minutes of trying. 

Soon I was back in Wartburg and the hydration station. I stopped and they gave me an open bottle. I asked for another without opening it. They gave me another open one. I asked for a cap. This took a while to be understood. Finally I was underway with one bottle in my hand and a full one in my jersey with 35k to go. 

Soon I was at the 500m climb. I don't really know how to describe how difficult this climb became. During the climb, I drank the rest of my water with 22k to go. I felt totally shattered. I thought that I must be the last person in the race. I'm out of water and totally dehydrated. There's a very strong sideways gust that is blowing me about 5 feet one way or the other. My speed is a out 10kph which is dismally slow. My feet feet like they are on fire and every ounce of pressure makes them scream in pain. I'm not kidding. The pain from my hip and my feet is so intense that I'm really worried about my ability to finish. 

A car comes from behind and offers me water. I decline as its against the rules and I don't want to be disqualified (I later find out that they removed this rule about midway through the race). I'm really dying and there is about 2k left to climb. I pass two riders who are not racing. I compliment one of them on their bike (same one as mine). He thanks me and offers me a coke. Oh yes!!  Not from a car, this has to be legal. I down the coke like a frat boy downs his first beer on Friday night.  Boy, that was good. 

15k from the finish and mostly down or flat. I can only manage to turn my legs against the hell winds that are trying to push me back. I'm spent, dead, shattered, done. I gave everything I have just to get to the finish line at a snails pace. 

100m after the finish I collapse to the grass where i can't move without passing out for about 20 minutes. My outfit is crusted white with salt. My hip and elbow are bleeding and stinging from sweat.  My time 3:20 minutes. My place 27th. 30 minutes behind the leader. Most riders arrived alone and not in groups. One was sent straight to hospital from on the course and three from the finish. 13 riders attended to for heat exhaustion by the paramedics. I went straight to my hotel, took a shower and rank 2 liters of water. 

I really don't know what I think of my result. I'm glad I finished. I wish that I had not crashed.  I can only think that of all the training that I could do, I still would not have been on the podium that day. 

My hats off to those that did and those that just finished. I have never been though such adversity on the road before. And I really hope I don't again. 

Love south Africa. Love 'Maritzberg. Great place and people. No regrets.