Category Archives: races

Catching up with George….

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From L to R. Choosak, Jason, Brandy, me and Joseph at 2008 Devil’s Punch Bowl

Suffering at San Luis Rey Road Race

Also at San Luis Rey Mark Thomas from Kahala and another rider rotating through just to finish.

Well I have been getting emails from you my readers as to why I have not kept my blog up-to-date. I have been busy racing every weekend. The challenge I see is how to report back weekly on something as short as a Criterium. These races are 45-55 minutes long. The races are over and done with in such a short period of time. It’s not like my Ultras full of pain and suffering for hours and hours.

Criteriums are all about positioning. For example, positioning is very important at the very start so you don’t end up having to fight your way to front when you are tired. There are often more crashes in the back so staying near the front is advised. Positioning is very important in the last laps of the race to assure yourself the opportunity to sprint for the finish and place well.

Here are my results for races after LA Circuit on March 16 through today May 13th.

3/18–El Dorado 4/5 Pack Finish
3/23–Ontario GP 30+ 4/5–19th
3/23–Ontario GP 35+ 1-4–22nd
3/23–Ontario GP Cat 4/5–52nd after crash with 4 laps to go
3/25–El Dorado Masters– Field
4/1—El Dorado Masters—7th
4/6—Anthill Crit Cat 4– 12th
4/8—El Dorado Masters– Pack Finish
4/15–El Dorado Masters– 12th
4/20–Torrance Crit–16th
4/22–El Dorado Masters– 9th
4/26–Devils Punch Bowl–54th
4/29–El Dorado Masters– 9th
5/4—San Luis Rey Road Race Cat 4– 72nd

Since moving to Cat 4 I have had consistent top 20 finishes in Criteriums with fields over 100. I have not faired as well in road races. At Devil’s Punch Bowl I was dropped on the first lap and had to finish the race alone–basically. I tried to go with the first accelerations straight from the line. I didn’t have a good warm-up and I was dropped. At San Luis Rey I was dropped on the second out of four laps. I had done Breathless Agony, a 12,000 foot climbing event, the day before and my legs were toast. I will not do that again. I must show up with fresh legs since I should be racing next season as a Cat 3.

I have not been placing high enough to upgrade via points. But the regulations also allow for upgrade via experience in 20 races with fields over 50. Currently, I have completed 16 races (need 20) as a Cat 4. I am literally one month away from applying for a Cat 3 upgrade.

Once I achieve my goal of upgrading from Cat 5 to Cat 3 in one season I will then have to focus on my Ultras again. I need to turn on the long distance machine back on and get ready for Furnace Creek 508. I was accepted to the Furnace Creek 508 25th anniversary edition. I am one of 100 racers racing in the solo division.

LA Circuit Race Report

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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

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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.

DSCF9836

USCF Upgrade

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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.

San Diego Brevet Series 300km

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Results

Pictures sign in as a guest.

Finish Line photos with Kevin McNulty

POWER NUMBERS

Total kjs= 6454
Best 30 min— 220watts— 3.24 Watts/kg
Best 60 min— 213watts— 3.13 Watts/kg
Best 120 min— 189watts— 2.78 Watts/kg
Max Power 704— Avg Power 152— 2.24 Watts/kg

On Ultras it’s all about pacing so power numbers aren’t all that high. In additon, long descents bring the average wattage down significantly.

First of all I would like to take this opportunity to thank my sponsors who are supporting me for the 2008 season. Kenda C2C Tires Sportquest makers of CarboPro, CarboPro 1200 and Interphase, Woolistic makers of the best cycling specific wool clothing, Skins compression garments and as always my club Team Velosport/ TEAM SHO-AIR/SONANCE.

Jan 19, 2008

The route covers some of East San Diego’s more rural roads. The stats are

Distance: 177 miles
Elevation gain: approx 13,000 feet of gain (Polar 720i 12,700)
Highest elevation point: Santa Ysabel 2936 feet
Climbs along the way: Honey Springs Rd, Harbinson Canyon, Hwy 67, Old Julian Hwy, Old Hwy 80, Japatul Valley Rd.

WEATHER

It was a chilly morning in the low 40’s. Clear skies most of the day and the best thing no RAIN.

BIKE SETUP

I chose my Serotta again. I think the fit is dialed in now. I rode my Powertap powermeter which is built on Velocity Deep V rim. They are very sturdy very stiff and very reliable. I have them laced 24H and have never had them go out of true. Tires of course were Kenda C2Cs. For lights I carried two small headlights powered by “AA” batteries and a tail light.

CLOTHING

I wore Assos S2 Bib Shorts, in my opinion the best cycling shorts, with knee warmers. I also wore a wool base layer from Woolistic under my 2XU base layer. I wore my Furnace Creek 508 finisher’s jersey with matching vest. This is one I am very proud to wear since I did the race on a fixed gear bicycle. I had a Descente Velom jacket which is very thin, compacts into a sandwich baggie and provided just the right amount of warmth for the first hour of the ride. I was fortunate to have chosen the perfect layering system and felt great temperature wise all day.

THE RIDE

The 300km attracts mainly brevet riders. You no longer find road racer types or people that “Gee I’d like to try a brevet.” It is just short of a double century but I find it just as hard because you don’t have support every 25-30 miles. The controls were spread out as such:

Control #1 55.1 miles —with 4300 feet of climbing
Control #2 96.1 miles— with 3500 feet of climbing
Control #3 140.1 miles— with 2450 feet of climbing
Finish 176.4 miles— with 2520 feet of climbing

NUTRITION

I estimated I would be on the course 12 hours and needed an avg of 300 calories per hour. 12×300= 3600 calories

1. The night before I mixed VIGOURSLY 1 bottle of CarboPro 1200 (16oz) and 6 scoops of CarboPro in a water bottle. I then split the mixture in two 8oz flasks. 1800 Calories

2. I then made two water bottles of 300 calories each with CarboPro 1200.

3. For the drop bag at mile 96 I sent another bottle of CarboPro 1200. 1200 Calories

So that meant I had 2400 calories I was carrying with me and 1200 calories waiting for me at the turnaround point mile 96 for a total of 3600 calories

Obviously, I expended more calories than 3,600 but I have found that consuming more than 350-400 for too long really causes me GI issues. Using the CarboPro1200 was so easy on my stomach that I strongly recommend that you should try it on your next Ultra. I felt well fueled all day. I went on a liquid diet meaning no solids and felt great

The powermeter said I used 6454 kjs which is pretty close to the number of calories. A heart rate monitor will show many more calories expended.

Start to Control #1 55.1 mile Arrived at 9:33am

6am start and it was cold. I saw Kevin McNulty and thought I should try and ride with him and I would finish with a good time. Well that wasn’t to be. Kevin took off right from the start and I just could not keep up. After seven miles of killing myself I let him go and settled into my own grove. Soon enough about five riders (Bruce Taylor, Chris Kostman, Chris Haddikan and others) caught up to me and we chit-chatted for a little while until the Honey Springs climb and then I did my own thing. Bruce Taylor got ahead of me because I was having issues with my gearing. I couldn’t get the 27T to stay in gear. Not a big deal at this point but definitely necessary on Japatul Valley Rd at mile 145. I eventually caught Bruce on Steele Canyon and we rode for a couple of miles and then I climbed Harbinson Canyon at my own pace.

Control #2 96.1 mile Arrived at 12:44pm

I was feeling a little warm on the Hwy 67 climb. I removed my vest and climbed the rest of the way to Ramona. Once I turned on to Old Julian Hwy the winds started to pick up. I would guess about 20-30 mph. All I kept thinking was “I can’t wait to turnaround and take advantage of this tailwind.” I like Old Julian Hwy. It is a great climb and there is very little traffic on it.

Control #3 Mile 140.1 Unmanned Arrived at 3:30pm left at 3:39pm Carl’s Jr

There was lots of descending from Santa Ysabel with little rollers here and there. I like the climb up Old Highway 80. I used to live in Santee and would climb up to Alpine often. When I got to the unmanned Control at Carls Jr I couldn’t believe how long the line was. It took me almost 10 minutes just to get a reciept. But I had to keep in mind that this is not a race. Although I was frustrated since I had worked really hard on the climb up to Alpine.

To the Finish

I wasn’t looking forward to the Japatul Valley Rd climb. All day I was conserving energy so I would be able to tackle the 10-14% grade ramps found on this climb. I got through it eventhough I hadn’t done that much climbing since Furnace Creek. I made the right turn on Lyons Valley and thought for sure there would be a long descent. I guess I forgot that it isn’t that much of a descent. I was happy to make the left turn onto Honey Springs Rd because I knew that would be the last climb of the day. As I summited the climb, I read a text message from Brandy that said “I’m at the finish”. Oh that felt great. I read that and found new motivation and sped on to the finish.

I had ridden with some riders intermittenly up until mile 30 and then I rode Solo the rest of the way. I felt well fueled and comfortable on the bike. The only thing lacking was good legs. I’m happy with my result and placing second to Kevin McNulty — who holds the two person RAAM, and two person Furnace Creek 508 records and won the California/Nevada State Climbing Championships in the Cat 4/5 isn’t bad at all.

RECOVERY

I downed a bottle of Interphase and Recover Amino Power capsules just as I got off the bike. I then gave in and ate McD’s…I figured I had earned it. I used the restroom of McD’s to get out of my cycling gear and put on my Skins Travel and Recovery tights to begin the passive portion of my recovery and because I had a 1.5 hours drive before getting home.

I’ve been asked if I sleep in them— YES! My legs feel so much better the next morning. Sunday morning I went out for a 22 mile recovery ride and then came home and took a 1.5 hours nap. By Monday, I was commuting to work from Huntington Beach to Encinitas (65 miles).

THANK YOU

I’d like to say a huge thank you to all the volunteers!! Mike B. great route and Japatul in the latter stages of the event is a real leg zapper. You all great THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING!!

Kevin McNulty way too strong to keep up with. The guy’s an animal!!



NEXT UP THE 400KM BREVET.

Official RAAM Finisher

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Picture courtesy of :TBD

Well I did it. I am an official finisher of the world’s toughest bicycle race, RAAM. I was a member of a 2 person team called Team Beat Cancer #209. Rick Schulze and I braved the elements and the terrain to finish with an official time of 9 days 18 hours and 55 minutes. The graphs are from my Polar 720i Heart Rate Monitor/Cycling computer. The graphs represent just my portion of the 3043 miles and the 108,000 feet of climbing.

I competed in the 2007 edition of Race Across America which started in Oceanside California and traversed this great country of ours and finished in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The course covered 3043 miles and 108,000 feet of climbing. The California mountains, Arizona deserts, Colorado rockies, flat plains of Kansas and the steep rolling terrain of West Virginia and Pennsylvania really tested my resolve.

STATS FOR THE EVENT 1578 MILES AND 66,362 FEET OF GAIN IN 9 DAYS

I know now that I would rather race Solo RAAM. I have always ridden my ultras for the solitude and the expectation of challenging myself to find my new breaking point. I will be racing in Solo RAAM 2008. Please support me in every way that you can to make the rest of 2007 a successful year and help me prepare for 2008.