Well, that was up there in the most depressing last two months of bike racing I've had. Much more awful than last year.
Quick summary of the racing:
I finally got back into racing by doing the Gresham Crit. I didn't have much of anything for the final lap and got a horrible sunburn since I forgot to put sunscreen on my arms. The Vancouver crit was particularly frustrating with one of our guys getting in a 4 person break just to end up 5th at the finish. I was very frustrated with the tactics. I couldn't do much at all and was tired.
The next weekend I decided that enough was enough with Therapeutic and rejoined Guinness. Bike racing in the way that the leadership on the team explained it never made sense to me whereas it always did when hearing it from Klipper. Furthermore, I felt like my attempts to form relationships on the team failed whereas I still had some kind of relationship with Klipper. In the crit champs and then at the stumptown crit I finished off the back after getting unglued on the final lap in each race.
I did the state time trial and sucked fairly badly. I did the bridge pedal again.
Eugene was pretty much the most awful weekend I had racing all year. I was feeling so tired and stressed, had some issues at my host housing and then wasn't the lucky crazy dunce that made the break in Briggs Hill Road Race. I attacked so stupidly from lap 3 until I couldn't attack anymore and had nothing to show except for nearly passing out next to the team van of my former teammates due to exhaustion - both mentally and physically. The time trial was also awful. I don't know my time because the results aren't posted online and because I forgot my garmin at the host house, but when 4 people pass you, you know you had a shitty time. I was so mentally out of it that I nearly curled up in a ball and sucked my thumb, but ended up driving home skipping the crit. To top the weekend off, I forgot to return my Zipcar which with the late fee will likely make that weekend cost over $500. But on the bright side, I didn't break any equipment so I guess it was still cheaper than some races. Once I got home, my awesome fiance cheered me up and validated my decision to not race when I didn't feel like it and knew I'd get my ass kicked and get beaten into even more of a pulp.
So with that, I'm done racing... at least in a serious way. I don't think I've been more sore and mentally exhausted than I have before. I could really use a break, but I'm nearly maxed out of vacation at work. Oh crap, I need to go to work.
Showing posts with label Eugene. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eugene. Show all posts
Monday, August 18, 2014
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Eugene
Well, it's that time of year again for my most favorite stage race: the Eugene Celebration! This year in revolving chairs lodging arrangements, I scored a ride and stay with Alex Yale and Kyle Brown of Theraputic Associates.
We totally coulda fit another person or two in the ride.
McBeth
Yeah, same hillclimb, about the same time for me as last year. So moving onwards, let me show you this awesome queen-szie inflatable mattress that Alex let me use:
The bed was a key component of my success the following few races. I put my legs up on the headrest as I slept. It was quite comfortable.
Briggs Hill
Well, going in I knew that this race was going to be quite crazy since it seemed like half of the field was known for attempting and succeeding in breakaways. Also, there weren't really any teams there, so it was basically every man for himself.
About a mile into the race Dillon Caldwell, Ben Thompson and another dude got the gap. Well, I knew that with the small field and combo of riders up there, it would be dangerous, but not many people seemed interested in actually cooperating to bring it back despite me trying to get people to do so. We went up Briggs hill and it seemed like we were trying to get a Strava KOM until it was apparent the field was back together after the turn onto Spencer Creek.
Oh, by the way, at this point, Sam Schartz had been off the front for like half a lap. The pack stopped doing anorganized chase everyone-for-themselves-attempt-to-breakaway and eased up. However, I was at the back and just kept my race speed wondering if anyone would follow, but nobody did. And so I bridged up to Sam Schartz. He then decided to start hammering for me which was fine by me. Before the next hill we were joined by Paul Bourcier and Kai Applequist and we worked well together. The next lap a sizeable group including Colby WM, Kyle Medlin and maybe 2-3 others joined us.
At this point, those 3 that had basically gone from the gun had 2:30 on us. But then our race official car stopped us at the top of Briggs Hill cause an ambulance had blocked the way. And we learned that those 3 had passed the lead car! And the refs said they were disqualified and no longer the race leaders. The rest of the peleton was also stopped at maybe 1:30 behind us.
This changed the dynamic quite a bit and it sure seemed like Colby and Kai who were up in the GC were no longer interested in doing much work. So after we had climbed Fox Hollow it was grupo compacto except for Paul Bourcier who went just before we were caught. Bedford guttered us all and asked me who had the gap to which I replied "GASP GASP GASP, paul bourcier, GASP GASP GASP." And he saw that the entire field was behind him so he didn't feel like going again, I guess. After a little bit of people waiting for someone to do something I put in my final getaway attempt right before Territorial rd and saw that I was getting away. I got into TT mode for 30 pedal strokes, set my eyes on Bourcier, then checked behind and saw some attempts to bridge to me. And then I was in TT mode for 2 minutes, set my eyes on Bourcier who I was catching up to, then checked behind and saw the gap was growing to the field. And this continued up Briggs hill where I caught Bourcier at the top.
We then drilled it very cooperatively all the way until Bourcier gave me the flick with 300m at which point I unleashed the stompie. I had to give it one final push at 50m to win by half a wheel. It was a good win, but I was most pleased that I had gotten away from the coulda-woulda-shoulda group. In fact Paul and I had gotten away to the tune of 2:30! And that put me in the lead by 3 seconds.
Then Alex and I went out for Thai and I stopped at Laughing Planet for another burrito.
Coburg TT
I was pretty happy about my TT. It was crappy weather, but I was able to put in a great time and lost only 9 seconds to Paul Bourcier (Paul has beat me in every TT at the stage races this year). Also, Colby and English didn't gain anywhere close enough time to get back on GC. Oh, and I got to ride my awesome TT Bike.
Crit
Well, it was just flat and stuff. Oh and it started raining at the start so it was slick. Sam Schartz had exploded yesterday, so he was down on GC and nobody seemed interested in chasing him when he went. But somehow Kaler Marshall also snuck away and both of them lapped us all! The rest of the race was or really all of it was Paul and I mostly defending GC and everyone else attacking. I also did a few attacks but when it became clear that Carl Hoefer was gonna take those remaining 4 bonus seconds for third, I settled for a pack finish and prayed that Kaler Marshall hadn't hoped up too high in GC.
Turned out Kaler jumped from 5th to 3rd with me grabbing 2nd GC and Paul Bourcier finally winning his first Eugene Celebration Stage Race in the p1/2s after 80 attempts.
We totally coulda fit another person or two in the ride.
McBeth
Yeah, same hillclimb, about the same time for me as last year. So moving onwards, let me show you this awesome queen-szie inflatable mattress that Alex let me use:
The bed was a key component of my success the following few races. I put my legs up on the headrest as I slept. It was quite comfortable.
Briggs Hill
Well, going in I knew that this race was going to be quite crazy since it seemed like half of the field was known for attempting and succeeding in breakaways. Also, there weren't really any teams there, so it was basically every man for himself.
About a mile into the race Dillon Caldwell, Ben Thompson and another dude got the gap. Well, I knew that with the small field and combo of riders up there, it would be dangerous, but not many people seemed interested in actually cooperating to bring it back despite me trying to get people to do so. We went up Briggs hill and it seemed like we were trying to get a Strava KOM until it was apparent the field was back together after the turn onto Spencer Creek.
Oh, by the way, at this point, Sam Schartz had been off the front for like half a lap. The pack stopped doing an
At this point, those 3 that had basically gone from the gun had 2:30 on us. But then our race official car stopped us at the top of Briggs Hill cause an ambulance had blocked the way. And we learned that those 3 had passed the lead car! And the refs said they were disqualified and no longer the race leaders. The rest of the peleton was also stopped at maybe 1:30 behind us.
This changed the dynamic quite a bit and it sure seemed like Colby and Kai who were up in the GC were no longer interested in doing much work. So after we had climbed Fox Hollow it was grupo compacto except for Paul Bourcier who went just before we were caught. Bedford guttered us all and asked me who had the gap to which I replied "GASP GASP GASP, paul bourcier, GASP GASP GASP." And he saw that the entire field was behind him so he didn't feel like going again, I guess. After a little bit of people waiting for someone to do something I put in my final getaway attempt right before Territorial rd and saw that I was getting away. I got into TT mode for 30 pedal strokes, set my eyes on Bourcier, then checked behind and saw some attempts to bridge to me. And then I was in TT mode for 2 minutes, set my eyes on Bourcier who I was catching up to, then checked behind and saw the gap was growing to the field. And this continued up Briggs hill where I caught Bourcier at the top.
We then drilled it very cooperatively all the way until Bourcier gave me the flick with 300m at which point I unleashed the stompie. I had to give it one final push at 50m to win by half a wheel. It was a good win, but I was most pleased that I had gotten away from the coulda-woulda-shoulda group. In fact Paul and I had gotten away to the tune of 2:30! And that put me in the lead by 3 seconds.
Then Alex and I went out for Thai and I stopped at Laughing Planet for another burrito.
Coburg TT
I was pretty happy about my TT. It was crappy weather, but I was able to put in a great time and lost only 9 seconds to Paul Bourcier (Paul has beat me in every TT at the stage races this year). Also, Colby and English didn't gain anywhere close enough time to get back on GC. Oh, and I got to ride my awesome TT Bike.
Crit
Well, it was just flat and stuff. Oh and it started raining at the start so it was slick. Sam Schartz had exploded yesterday, so he was down on GC and nobody seemed interested in chasing him when he went. But somehow Kaler Marshall also snuck away and both of them lapped us all! The rest of the race was or really all of it was Paul and I mostly defending GC and everyone else attacking. I also did a few attacks but when it became clear that Carl Hoefer was gonna take those remaining 4 bonus seconds for third, I settled for a pack finish and prayed that Kaler Marshall hadn't hoped up too high in GC.
Turned out Kaler jumped from 5th to 3rd with me grabbing 2nd GC and Paul Bourcier finally winning his first Eugene Celebration Stage Race in the p1/2s after 80 attempts.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
HAHA!
The previous week, it seemed like there was a common theme going on where there were situations happening to me that would've elicited this response from onlookers:
As noted in my Walla Walla post, I discovered that one of my cleat screws was missing and thus tried to fix it in the morning, but had to go to Athlete's Lounge to get the correct screws and then ended up finally getting to work at 11:30. At PIR it was a rather dull race for me since I still couldn't figure ou that close to the front is the better place to be for a sprint.
On Thursday, I did some 3 minute hillclimbs up upper hall drive. On the 2nd climb, my left cleat was extremely loose between the shoe and the first apparatus of the cleat. And this lady in regular clothes with commuter bike with a pannier bag on her bike climbed up the hill just 20ish seconds slower than me, which made me feel not very fast.
Then, when I went to pick up my bag that I had left behind a power box. But it was gone. I then biked around the area and found the wallet that was in my bag on the ground by a street kid and got that back. Then I saw my bag on the bench and got that back. Then I saw my U-Lock in the hands of another street kid and also my keys in his hands which I convinced him to give back. But, I was still missing my employee badge, drivers license, phone and $40. I called the cops which arrived about a minute too late.
At least I had a few encounters with other strangers the rest of the weekend that made up for that bad experience. On Friday night, my frat bro, Gianpaolo came down for two nights. On Saturday night I borrowed another longboard from Peter and we skateboarded through Ladds, across the river on Hawthorne and then down the garage until security kicked us out. Then Sunday night to Tuesday night I hosted my first couchsurfer Charles who had a bunch of fun in town.
Right, so back to race day Saturday at Eugene. Continuing with the random strangers, I carpooled with an OBRA listserv dude down there who then stayed for the weekend. And on the way back I picked up a craigslist rideshare gal and drove her as far as Salem and made back most of my stolen wallet money. But the race definitely had a tone of HAHA to it. HAHA first off to all the riders who flatted. I rode 25c tires and had no problems and was doing great the first 2 laps. On lap 3 there were some breakaway attempts and such, but no dice so I stayed at the back. Then going into the gravel I started slowly riding off the front and then kept going and before I knew it I was about a mile ahead of the field.
I tried to maintain a maintainable pace, but there was plenty of looking back over my shoulder. I stayed out there the rest of that lap and hoped I could pull off something at the end. The next time up the hill I was trying to conserve some energy and sort of went through some traffic of the women's field. Once I got on the backstretch the gap was not enough for my comfort but I knew I should save something for the rollers. I thought that if I made it through the final curve with a gap I'd have a chance.
Except Rob English seeked his revenge and caught me at 1k, then another Eugene guy gave a kamakazie sprint and then the rest of the field passed me and I ended up 21st, just one place out of Oregon Cup points. After the finish I had to do a cool down partly cause I was at threshold for the past 45 minutes and partly cause I was pissed off at the peleton. I rode until I didn't want to yell at anyone and then I turned back.
At least this week has been a rest week, so I've got a little break.
As noted in my Walla Walla post, I discovered that one of my cleat screws was missing and thus tried to fix it in the morning, but had to go to Athlete's Lounge to get the correct screws and then ended up finally getting to work at 11:30. At PIR it was a rather dull race for me since I still couldn't figure ou that close to the front is the better place to be for a sprint.
On Thursday, I did some 3 minute hillclimbs up upper hall drive. On the 2nd climb, my left cleat was extremely loose between the shoe and the first apparatus of the cleat. And this lady in regular clothes with commuter bike with a pannier bag on her bike climbed up the hill just 20ish seconds slower than me, which made me feel not very fast.
Then, when I went to pick up my bag that I had left behind a power box. But it was gone. I then biked around the area and found the wallet that was in my bag on the ground by a street kid and got that back. Then I saw my bag on the bench and got that back. Then I saw my U-Lock in the hands of another street kid and also my keys in his hands which I convinced him to give back. But, I was still missing my employee badge, drivers license, phone and $40. I called the cops which arrived about a minute too late.
At least I had a few encounters with other strangers the rest of the weekend that made up for that bad experience. On Friday night, my frat bro, Gianpaolo came down for two nights. On Saturday night I borrowed another longboard from Peter and we skateboarded through Ladds, across the river on Hawthorne and then down the garage until security kicked us out. Then Sunday night to Tuesday night I hosted my first couchsurfer Charles who had a bunch of fun in town.
Right, so back to race day Saturday at Eugene. Continuing with the random strangers, I carpooled with an OBRA listserv dude down there who then stayed for the weekend. And on the way back I picked up a craigslist rideshare gal and drove her as far as Salem and made back most of my stolen wallet money. But the race definitely had a tone of HAHA to it. HAHA first off to all the riders who flatted. I rode 25c tires and had no problems and was doing great the first 2 laps. On lap 3 there were some breakaway attempts and such, but no dice so I stayed at the back. Then going into the gravel I started slowly riding off the front and then kept going and before I knew it I was about a mile ahead of the field.
I tried to maintain a maintainable pace, but there was plenty of looking back over my shoulder. I stayed out there the rest of that lap and hoped I could pull off something at the end. The next time up the hill I was trying to conserve some energy and sort of went through some traffic of the women's field. Once I got on the backstretch the gap was not enough for my comfort but I knew I should save something for the rollers. I thought that if I made it through the final curve with a gap I'd have a chance.
Except Rob English seeked his revenge and caught me at 1k, then another Eugene guy gave a kamakazie sprint and then the rest of the field passed me and I ended up 21st, just one place out of Oregon Cup points. After the finish I had to do a cool down partly cause I was at threshold for the past 45 minutes and partly cause I was pissed off at the peleton. I rode until I didn't want to yell at anyone and then I turned back.
At least this week has been a rest week, so I've got a little break.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Bike Racing Season Over
Dating Season Begins! Yes ladies that's right, this man is on the market if you are looking. I like long bike rides on the beach, hanging out with friends on bikes, and living life to the fullest (while on a bike). I'm looking to date a bike (or two or more!). Nah, in all seriousness I am looking. I even made an online dating profile here.
So yeah, bike racing season is over. Yeah, I don't really count cyclocross or races in California. Eugene Celebration Stage Race is really the last big race of the year it seems. Last year I did quite well getting 2nd in the prologue hillclimb and eventually 4th overall in the 4/5s. This year I was expecting a bigger challenge.
I scored a rideshare down with the Cat 3 OBRA Hillclimbing champ and was stoked that he ended up being my 30 second guy in the prologue. I was keeping up until the hill started and then didn't see him until the finish. It also didn't help that my real derailleur was skipping between 4th and 6th cogs. However, I still finished with a decent time of about 12 minutes and good enough for 6th place. The road race I attacked way too much, didn't realize that 2nd and 3rd in GC broke away and then didn't have the magical intuition to know who's wheel to suck in the field sprint. Oh well.
I also like Eugene because it is a really hippie kinda town. Although it's smaller than Portland I'd argue that per capita it is more hippie. It's really easy to find vegan food and lots of people bike! Case in picture:
At the time trial I was a bit worried about losing a lot of time. However, I pulled out a surprising 6th place finish getting a time two minutes and eight seconds faster than last year. This year I had carbon wheels, aero bars, a TT helmet and a skinsuit. But what matterred by far the most was that I went in with a plan to average a specific speed in mph. I didn't even look at my heart rate, I just looked at speed. I found it way easier to force myself to suffer to reach a certain speed than heart rate. It also helped that I was warring with the guy behind me. He had a full TT setup, disc wheel and all and passed me shortly after the final turn. However, I kept passing back this guy probably 3 or 4 times. At the final 500k I pushed it into 29mph and passed him for theWIN, no enjoyment of being an ass, NO - the avoidance of being humiliated by being passed in a TT.
The crit was like the PIR (Portland PIR) of Eugene. So dang flat and straight and no crappy pavement. Yet there still managed to be a crash which kinda got onto my nerves and took away my aggression to find a good wheel for the final sprint. Gotta work on these kinda sprints for next year. After this I had some lunch with the Brownies and then headed back home.
Well, that's about it for this post. I might get around to doing a racing season reflection post or something, but I'm too busy trying to meet a hot babe and planning a vacation to Portlandia at the moment.
So yeah, bike racing season is over. Yeah, I don't really count cyclocross or races in California. Eugene Celebration Stage Race is really the last big race of the year it seems. Last year I did quite well getting 2nd in the prologue hillclimb and eventually 4th overall in the 4/5s. This year I was expecting a bigger challenge.
I scored a rideshare down with the Cat 3 OBRA Hillclimbing champ and was stoked that he ended up being my 30 second guy in the prologue. I was keeping up until the hill started and then didn't see him until the finish. It also didn't help that my real derailleur was skipping between 4th and 6th cogs. However, I still finished with a decent time of about 12 minutes and good enough for 6th place. The road race I attacked way too much, didn't realize that 2nd and 3rd in GC broke away and then didn't have the magical intuition to know who's wheel to suck in the field sprint. Oh well.
I also like Eugene because it is a really hippie kinda town. Although it's smaller than Portland I'd argue that per capita it is more hippie. It's really easy to find vegan food and lots of people bike! Case in picture:
At the time trial I was a bit worried about losing a lot of time. However, I pulled out a surprising 6th place finish getting a time two minutes and eight seconds faster than last year. This year I had carbon wheels, aero bars, a TT helmet and a skinsuit. But what matterred by far the most was that I went in with a plan to average a specific speed in mph. I didn't even look at my heart rate, I just looked at speed. I found it way easier to force myself to suffer to reach a certain speed than heart rate. It also helped that I was warring with the guy behind me. He had a full TT setup, disc wheel and all and passed me shortly after the final turn. However, I kept passing back this guy probably 3 or 4 times. At the final 500k I pushed it into 29mph and passed him for the
The crit was like the PIR (Portland PIR) of Eugene. So dang flat and straight and no crappy pavement. Yet there still managed to be a crash which kinda got onto my nerves and took away my aggression to find a good wheel for the final sprint. Gotta work on these kinda sprints for next year. After this I had some lunch with the Brownies and then headed back home.
Well, that's about it for this post. I might get around to doing a racing season reflection post or something, but I'm too busy trying to meet a hot babe and planning a vacation to Portlandia at the moment.
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