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photo:julie [really big]

candlestick point, san francisco
2005/10/23
cat b
10th/40
teammates: joe, roger (ss), hans (a/v)

i still haven't mastered the 1:30 start time. tried to eat more throughout the day than last time, but again felt undernourished by the end of the race. got a pretty mediocre spot at the line. i had spun by the starting line about :15 minutes early and it didn't seem like the vultures had started circling yet, so i headed out for another lap around the parking lot. 3 minutes later, the vultures had all descended and claimed their spots. i managed to finagle my way into about the 3rd row after the callups but that's the best i could do. thankfully i was off to the left side, and avoided the pileup on the right. felt complacent in traffic through the first lap though. i wan't feeling much energy to assert for a better position and was still testing how stress affected my knee, so settled into my pace. the knee held up fine, so i think i can put that behind me.

by midrace i was slowly working my way back up to joe who had gotten a strong start, but i had a couple technical errors. dropped my chain once on the dismount before the flat barriers. i heard it come off as i shouldered the bike, and had to stop and put it back on before remounting. also tripped over the lower barrier on the runup. just didn't pick my feet up high enough, dropped the bike and landed on all fours. felt foolish. didn't manage to bridge up to joe. found myself on my own the last couple laps and rode in at tempo, finishing just hard enough to stay ahead of a sprinting threesome coming up from behind.

i'm not shedding any tears over saying goodbye to the 'stick for the season. i think pilarcitos has done a great job with what they have to work with there, but i just don't find it an inspiring venue. i was happy enough with 10th place though. after my 11th in race 1, i hope it will get me a call up at coyote point. a faster, better course for me. i will eat more (nervous stomach be damned), and will probably supplement some caffeine for the late start to get a little more spring in my step.

props to joe for his improving form and successful sprint for 8th. and to lauren for her strong start and authoritative 4th place. she has arrived.

and thanks to my cheering section, julie and jay.

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posted by <br> at 05:50 PM | permalink | comments (0) | trackbacks (0)

this is fantastic. check out the video.

[forwarded by jay]

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posted by <br> at 09:58 AM | permalink | comments (0) | trackbacks (0)

the nth commandment of bike racing:

thou shalt not preregister for an event unless there is a clear and present danger of it filling up before race day.

skipped the race this weekend due to my sore knee (which is feeling much better now thank-you-very-much). from what i've heard so far about the race, i'm not too upset about it. it was a hot day on a dusty technical course with lots of running. not what my knee would have appreciated. unfortunately i had preregistered, so threw away that entry fee. thankfully, cyclocross races aren't very expensive. that's the third time i've forfeited a race entry this year, so i need to follow the nth commandment better. just because you can preregister, doesn't mean you should. it's setting yourself up for murphy's law to knock you down. no one can blame me of not supporting bike racing though. logically, the inverse also holds:

the n'th commandment of bike racing:

thou shalt preregister for an event if there is a clear and present danger of it filling up before race day.

got bit on that one once this year too. got turned away from a big event because i didn't preregister. whoops! did get a good ride in at soquel demo that day though.

so instead of racing this weekend, i enjoyed a romantic sunset dinner with my sweetie to celebrate our 4th anniversary at the beach chalet. also spent a nice day with the future in-laws exporing a couple neighborhoods of san francisco that i usually don't have the opporunity to. potrero hill for brunch, and specific whites for a walking tour of victorian era architecture. lucked out on weather all weekend, thanks to the too-short san francisco indian summer.

<br> - velologian

posted by <br> at 01:37 PM | permalink | comments (4) | trackbacks (0)

i did some futzing with the colors and fonts to make this here blog a little easier to read. background is dark gray instead of black. text is light gray instead of white. to bring down the contrast a bit. font is verdana 11px with 17px line-height (poached from jay).

feedback? good?

<br> - futzer

posted by <br> at 04:27 PM | permalink | comments (3) | trackbacks (0)

seems like blogging has reached a kind of critical mass recently. maybe it just seems that way to me because i started this one and have been more interested in the paradigm and in following more friends' blogs. they seem to be creeping into my life in other ways too though. search companies like the one i work for are looking for interesting ways of tapping into the blogosphere. and the local governing body of bike racing has started posting colorful cyclocross race reports in blog form, which has lead to my first ever inclusion in any kind of cycling journalism that i'm aware of.

from CCCX#2:

"The story of the Men's B race just might have been the lean and talented 13 year old Jeremy Blalock (Joselyns). This youngster was charging against the rest of the field and knew exactly where to gauge his efforts having won the junior division the previous race. The 13 year old was attacking the front and really was doing most of the work that enabled a break to go clear in the first 2 laps. Locked on to the impressive Blalock's wheel were Brian Rogers (SyCip Racing), Murray Swanson (Peninsula Velo) and Martin Suro (Bay Bikes). This move went clear and after Blalock blew up as his thin body ran out of the youthful exuberance, it was left to 3 riders to decide the win. This three man battle was very exciting and it came down to the last few turns to make the placings. The reckless and skilled Rogers [!?!?] used his technical abilities to just claim a hard fought win over Swanson and Suro in that order. These finishers were one second apart at the finish line, making it the tightest race of the day for the custom CCCX medals. Jeff Patton (Cotcam Cycles/AMD) missed the winning move and had to setle for a solid 4th on the day. The very talented Andrew Hammond (Specialized) took 5th on the day one second ahead of Blalock. Six seconds back came Jordi Cortes (Missing Link/Bianchi). With Ryan Glades (La Peine), Russell Anderson (Sunshine Bikes), and Joe Ernst (SyCip Racing) filling out the top ten spots in that order. Ryan Schlichting (SF Sort & Spine) just missed the top ten by only 10 seconds and looks poised to make that up in race #3."

it didn't feel reckless. well, maybe just a little. wreckless, for sure. i guess the skill part comes in how reckless(ly fast) can you ride and remain wreckless. because crashing is almost always slower than not crashing. so i'll take it as a complement.

but then, just as i was starting to pinpoint some racing weaknesses and find more direction in my training, the fates have decided that i've been having too much fun, because they have bestowed upon me a sore knee. so i've been resting it for a couple days. riding the bus. hoping to get an easy spin in tomorrow and that it will settle down in time for racing this weekend. we'll see.

<br> - gimpy

posted by <br> at 10:46 AM | permalink | comments (2) | trackbacks (0)

ft. ord
2005/10/09
cat b
1st(!)/25
teammates: joe

now this fast course really suited me. it was billed as being one of the fastest courses around, and boy was it. had to be careful not to enter almost every corner too hot. lowered the pressure in the new tubies a bit at dennis' suggestion, and they stuck just fine.

got a good starting position in the front row even though they didn't do call ups. got off the line and over the first set of high speed barriers in the lead. it's a rush to have all that energy behind you, even if it's not sustainable. i let some of the other hard starters by before we hit the dirt. didn't want to pull the whole pack through the first flats. i was content to settle into my rhythm in about 5th place, which was 2 places better than my result in the first race.

we stayed pretty tight at the front the whole race. i don't think the leaders ever had more than 10 or 15 seconds on me in 5th. with 2 laps to go, i was happy to see 3rd and 4th coming back to me, so i focused on reeling them in, grabbing their wheels on the flats, and working my way past them. once i had an unobstructed view, i realized that it looked like 1 and 2 really weren't moving very fast. 'well this is interesting' i thought to myself, 'everyone is fading'. so i managed to reel them in with one lap to go. i think they were suprised to see me again. 2nd place bobbled his remount after the fast barriers with an expletive, so i grabbed the leader's wheel and was able to recover a bit on the flats before the descent to the parking lot. stuck to his wheel through the singletrack to the bottom, and was able to sneak by him as he fishtailed through the sandy corner at the bottom of the dirt power climb. gapped him enough so he couldn't get my wheel when the climb opened up to pavement, which was good, because i really needed to recover a bit if i was to have anything left to contend with at the finish. managed to keep it together through the dumb tree barrier and technical singletrack sections to get my hr back under control before the last uphill barriers and mad dash home. thought i had a couple seconds on him going into the final little paved climb, but he was right on me at the top. really tried to bury it through the last corners and twisty dirt so he couldn't get around. exited the dirt with him breathing down my neck and gave it all the gas i had left. i probably could have gotten a little more speed out of a bigger gear, but couldn't get the shift out. he started to come around next to me, but ran out of road. i threw the bike a bit but didn't really need to. had him by about a length. glad that finishing stretch wasn't any longer...

whew! 206 max on the hr monitor. this was my first time even leading a race after the initial dash, and it was a rush to get out front and realize that there was no one else ahead. kind of a trip.

so my fitness and speed are good. the races i've excelled at have had lots of extended pedaling and fast barriers. extended running and acceleration from slow speeds? not so much. so i'll be working on that during the week to try to bring up my slow game.

even though i didn't really run away with it, a win begs the question of upgrading again. i thought i might commit to doing surf city in the a's, but then realized that, based on my experience two years ago, aptos high is exactly the kind of course that i'm not so great at i don't think. spoke to coach scott about it, and he didn't think that would be a good way to debut. he said as long as i'm still learning a lot in the b's and am not showing up expecting to be top 5 every race, i should stay put, have fun, and learn as much as i can so i can apply it in the a's eventually. so that's my story, and i'm sticking to it. for now.

mad props to brett and aron for 3rd and 6th in the a's. and to all the a's for being out there for 8 long laps. bjm (the winner) was out there for 1:11 for crying out loud!

<br> - 5 laps is plenty

posted by <br> at 08:49 PM | permalink | comments (4) | trackbacks (2)

"Are you stuck drifting through life in a state of existential confusion wandering aimlessly through the multitudes of energy products not knowing which one is the right one for you? Then look no further for the true meaning of life then Master Sensei Seagal's Lightning Bolt Energy Drink!"

Features:

* 100% Pure Steven Seagal Juice [ick!]
* Designed for intense mortal combat or any extreme situation requiring ultimate energy [guess i've found my secret to better race results!]
* Can has Steven Seagal's face on it (who could ask for more!?!) [looks like captain james t. kirk to me]

posted by <br> at 03:02 PM | permalink | comments (4) | trackbacks (0)

photo:chris patterson [bigger]

candlestick point, san francisco
2005/10/02
cat b
11th/49
teammates: joe

i finished better than i felt in this race, which is a good sign for the coming season. got a good start in the second row off the line, and was ahead of the inevitable pileup through the first dirt corners. heard the commotion just a few places behind me. glad to be in front of that. i think i spent most the first half of the race around 6th or 7th, but faded. based on the heartrate i was running at, i thought i'd have more left at the end, but i lost 4 or 5 positions in the last couple laps. i was starting to get the chillies and was just not grabbing and holding wheels through the increasingly windy flats like i usually can. didn't fully bonk, but i don't think i ate quite enough between breakfast and the late start time. with how i was feeling, i thought i finished more around the mid or upper teens, so was glad to see 11th. a little bummed i missed a call up next race by only one slot.

the remainder of this entry is dorky gear talk...

i debuted my new race wheels this race. woo hoo! black anodized phil wood hubs laced to black velocity escape tubular rims with 34mm black-on-black tufo elite tubulars. thank you sponsors! my second and third wheel builds. my first attempt at gluing tubulars. messy, but apparently successful, as they stayed on. i'm glad my kitchen floor is a rental... not the lightest wheelset in the world, but they should be smooth and rugged once the hubs finish breaking in. the 34mm tufos are fat for 'cross tires. was glad to have the cush through the lumps and bumps at candlestick. i need to stay on top of them on the fast loose corners though. maybe it's an illusion, but it doesn't look like tufo scaled up the tread for the larger casing, so the round sidewalls seem to be exposed more and the tread doesn't wrap around to the sides quite as much. got scarily close to losing the front wheel once on the fast, off-camber right hander just before heading back onto the pavement. had to tripod and scratch a bunch of speed to avoid going down. think that will just take some getting used to. if i were to do it again, i think i'd go with 32mm instead. but these are glued on, so they aren't going anywhere...

<bt> - kal-el

posted by <br> at 05:44 PM | permalink | comments (0) | trackbacks (1)