Chappell Hill Report

Today's race captain, David James, did Velocity proud, finishing towards the front of his first Cat 4 road race after 62 sweltering miles. As for me, I showed up, was dropped a quarter through the race and switched roles to feed zone support. There were at least 70 at the start. (I'm told that 80 started the 45+ race and the Cat 5 hit its ruled limit of 50 riders over a week ago, which is why I cat'd up.)

David got miscued and thought there would be neutral water at the feed zone and showed up to the start with only one bottle. It was easy going before we reached the circuit and the most challenging part was staying alert and ready to hit the brakes. Every few minutes a strong puller would swing off the front and drop the speed of the pack by several mph, making everybody behind the leaders hit the brakes. As I was starting to drag early on in the race I swapped with David my larger bottle for his smaller one. I'm satisfied I was max'd out as I was being dropped. It's a slow fade of only 1-2 mph, they seem so close ahead, drawing away ever so slowly, but drawing away nonetheless.

I was waiting ready at the feed zone at the end of the second lap of the circuit, and David heard me yelling "Velocity" but he wasn't expecting me and was on the far side of the pack. I hadn't seen him that loop but I caught him the next time around, he grateful to get his full bottle back. (I had already rehydrated with a kind cold offering from the Sugar Cycles team support.) At that end of the last circuit a breakaway of about a half-dozen riders had a two-minute gap on the main pack, which had no hope of closing it in the remaining 13 miles. By David's report, approaching the finish, another breakaway of another half-dozen or so riders split off and finished off the top 10. David led the remaining pack across the finish line.

I ambled back, passing tired, dehydrated racers and as I passed them I felt obligated to let them know that I was actually 24 miles behind them (having rested two laps in the feed zone).

All in all, a fine race day. I'm much happier to have raced than to not have raced.

13 Hours on a Barstool: AT&T Crit Report

On Saturday 6/16 instead of any form of exercise all I did was sit on a bar stool, and watch bike racing. The next morning my calves felt like they were on the verge of cramping. It was strange having that sensation since the closest I came to my bike in the preceding 3 days was passing it in the garage.

Here's how the day unfolded.

Raining Again

The original plan was for Michael to come to my house at 0730 AM, and we were going to ride down to the 2nd St District and watch Daniel race with the Cat 5's, and then hang around until 0930 and watch Gerry ride with the Masters 45+, 55+, and 65+. Gerry was the only 65+ racer, so it would be basically a 50 minute victory lap.

Alas, all of this was not to be on account of the sound of thunder that awakened me from my pre-AT&T crit slumber at 0430. When I awoke for real, at 0630 it was coming down steadily and the roads were very wet. Michael showed at my place at 0715, and he and I drove downtown for coffee and bike racing. I let him borrow a pair of my citizen shorts, and I put on my Velocity jersey, and wore a pair of citizen shorts as well. Even though I wasn't going to be riding, I thought it was important to show some "club love" for the home team.

We arrived at the Start/Finish line at 0730, and got some coffee and breakfast tacos. We pulled up some bar stools and got ready to spectate. We found out then the that the two Cat 5 races has been combined for "safety reasons" on account of the rain. As a result instead of 20 racing in each race, there were now 40 Cat 5's racing.

Enter the Guppy Hunter

Frank showed up at 0800. He had been threatening to ride from So. Dallas to the race, but the rain put him in the Dodge truck. He found a bar stool, and we all got ready to watch some Velocity smack down. In reality, Michael and I went to the turn #1 to watch what we thought would be the inevitable crash of the Cat 5 race. Daniel was in the peleton respledent in his Velocity kit. Here's a photo of him negotiating turn #1 at some point in the race:

Daniel looked good, and reported later that on account of the wet road conditions the peleton never really got its rhythm together. Daniel looked good as he finished. He didn't crash, and he lived to race another day.

Where's Gerry?

At 0900 there was no sign of Gerry King our Velocity 65+ representative. I got on the phone, and reached him at Casa de King wherein he informed me "I've broken too many bones to risk racing on wet streets." Fair enough. I asked him if he was planning to come on down to spectate, and he demurred. Since I really didn't have a whole lot else to do, I got some more coffee from Jo's and settled in to my bar stool for some Master's racing action. Here's photo of Michael and Frank enjoying the downtown spectacle:



Working the magic of my cell phone, I reached John Howell at Casa de Howell, and harrassed him and his lovely wife to come down and join the rest of us non-racers. Luckily they obliged. The Master's race was quite exciting. Greg Hall from Violet Crown and 3 other Master's racers got into a break and stayed away. Greg's team did a great job neutralizing any attempt to bring the break back. Meanwhile John and Maureen ordered breakfast. Watching and cheering all that racing made me really hungry, so I helped myself as Frank "the Guppy Hunter" Irwin offered a distraction. Who is that man in the shades? Crusty, is that you?



During the race Phil Sladek had the tell-tale sign of a crash, torn shorts. Unfortunately, that would not be the only pair of torn shorts we'd see. There was a crash in every single race. Quite a few were in turn #1.

Sun-up to Sun Down

I wish I could say the rest of the day was more interesting. What the day consisted of was Frank, Michael, and I sitting on bar stools, ogling women, eating, and taking pictures.

It was a great day.

Probably the most exciting race was the Women's Cat 3/4 race, naturally.

At the finish, a rider from Violet Crown offered up an intense sprint for the line with Violet Crown taking the victory and Lori Barnet from Velossimo taking a close 2nd.

Throughout the day as I coughed down homemade potato chips and coffee, I never had a regret about not racing. This was especially true when I watched the Cat 4 race, and a rider from Wooly Mammoth limped across the line.

Michael had said that the Wooly rider had run into a barrier on one of the straights.

The other dramatic crash was in Turn #4 right before the finishing straight in the Cat 3 race. There was a literal pile-up of bikes and bodies sliding into the hay bales.

Pro Time

The pro race started at 7 15. Toyota United, AEG Toshiba, Health Net A& F Development Squad, and some other pro teams were represented along with usual pro suspects: Team Hotel San Jose, Team AT&T, and Bike Barn. The race had about 100 riders, and they literally tore up the course. Their bike handling was superb, and they made it all look really easy. Here's a photo of Frank Pip from Health Net on one of the circuits. He eventually got 2nd:





Another notable rider was Kristian House who rides for the Navigators. He apparently spent his formative cycling years in Austin, and then went to England and became a pro. He was quite impressive as well. I heard somewhere that the pros averaged about 27 mph around the .5 mile circuit. Very impressive.

There was a 3 man break during the latter half of the race containing a rider whose name escapes me, Sean Sullivan from Toyota United, and local yokel Phil Wikoff. With one lap to go, Sean had a 7 second gap on the field, but the escapees were caught in the final turn when Cuban Frank Treviaso took the sprint. It was a really awesome race, and if you missed it be sure to get out there next year.

Season Finale

The cycling season has another four months remaining, so it's just Spring that ends on Thursday and it will be the first Thursday in a while that I won't be racing. Rehearsals for A Skull in Connemara begin tomorrow.

My AT&T Crit performance was a little disappointing, but I am not discouraged. There were originally two Cat 5 races scheduled. The 30-minute race scheduled for 7:30 am was combined with my race at 8:15 am. The rain had stopped, but the course remained wet. The saving grace was that the more water that ended up on me meant less on the road. From the start it was a half block to (left) turn #1 and we all approached the turn gingerly and, to my surprise, no one fell. After the turn, we sprinted up the slight incline two blocks, then slowed for (left) turn #2. At least one person took it too wide and managed to stop before the curb. Keeping in mind, with Cat 5s it could be somebody's first race, so I'm particular leery of riders I don't know or who aren't clearly in control. Turn # 3 is the easiest, allowing for a wide approach and a wide exit. The main pack doesn't seem to understand this, takes it narrow, slows down, then sprints back out. Right before turn #4, two steel plates cover the ideal turn line, so we avoid that, but then it's impossible to avoid the two manhole covers in the approach and another manhole cover 12 inches from the inside of the corner. You either take the closest line, or if that's obstructed by other riders, you have to take it wide, but the turn is from a four-line road into a two lane road and curbs abound. Then it's a sprint again.

So the race consisted of the series Sprint, Slow, Turn, Sprint, Slow, Turn, Sprint, Slow, Turn &c &c. I'm strong enough now to stay within the draft of a pack ( i.e. "suck wheel"), but I can't keep up with the leaders, so after about 15 minutes of this, I fall out. At least two people have taken spills (one got right back in) and the refs are pulling people getting lapped. I wasn't pulled, but probably only because they knew me and perhaps they knew that I am very experienced in getting lapped and equally experienced at staying out of the way. So I finished, I think about two laps behind the lead pack and 1-1/2 laps behind the second pack. Later that day I was asked if it was fun. It was fun, but more in a "satisfying" way than an "enjoying the experience" way. Happily for subsequent racers, the course remained dry the rest of the day.

What was fun in an "enjoying the experience" way was watching races while volunteering as a corner marshal. Most fun was when I was at turn #1 during the pro race last night. Fans were crowded around and I had to keep people from crossing on the far side of a blind corner. When the racers came by, it wasn't a puff of wind, it was a breeze that lasted several seconds after they passed. They were flying! I could hear the prime announcement and watch them pick up the pace. I had my stopwatch with me and I could track the speed of each lap and the gap between the break away and the main pack. When the pack wasn't passing, I was letting people cross and pouncing on anyone who attempted right before the pack arrived. It was all very thrilling to watch.

I showed up this morning at The Driveway to volunteer and the day was a washout. The pro race had less than 20, and I think half of them were still hungover from a night of partying. The combination of following the Downtown Crit, Father's Day and a risky weather forecast contributed to the problem and my race was canceled. David James showed up, so we took the opportunity to just ride the course. I probably wasn't ready to race, anyway, having spent the entire previous day either racing or on my feet, so I was happier just to be able to go on a ride with a teammate.

Last week I stripped my carbon/steel frame and "added lightness" to it with a brand-new group I bought on eBay, and transfered the old group to another steel frame of identical geometry (another eBay purchase). So my racing bike was sweeter than ever for these races. I'll be sporting the new cherry-red Lemond for training rides and living-room-trainer rides. I plan on spending the rest of this evening completing its assembly. I'll have four bikes (the others are a fixie and a touring/commuting bike), so I'll be shipping my son's bike to him in Upstate NY to free up some room.

I'll see what training I can get in. Saturdays from 10am - 2 pm I'll be in rehearsals, so my big weekly ride will likely be Sunday mornings. I plan on a "bumper crop" racing season in September/October.

Thursday Night Crits

They're like clockwork, every week, but each week's crit has its own unique characteristics and flavor. Last night three Velocity teammates raced in the 35+ 4/5 race along with two other categories that totaled over 50 riders. Robert Pillmore helped officiate all the races.

Being such a short race of only 25 mins, I'm told it has a faster pace than the earlier 3/4 race that lasts 45 minutes. After signing up for my race I saw David James replacing his front wheel. He showed me that its hub had broken earlier during the 3/4 race (which was still ongoing). It was an Ultegra hub and without cross lacing, and it's not designed or warranted for that. (I think they've relaxed that on some newer hubs).

He flatted during last week's race, so was particularly frustrated. But he was ready in plenty of time for our race. I mentioned a few posts back about 13-y/o (14?) Avery Visser and last night at the start I joked that I would be staying on her wheel. I knew from previous races that she'd stay with the main pack throughout.

In fact, I had it as my goal to stay with the main pack myself, so I was really only half joking. A Cat 3 buddy from work, Bob McGhee, offered some tips and unwittingly asked me to make it my goal stay with the pack last night. The back-and-forth turns tend to stretch out the pack, but it seemed like a faster start last night, and my power meter reported that we were fastest in the second 0.8-mile lap, averaging 26 mph. It was never "easy" but I never felt like I was going to completely collapse. I wasn't looking back and was trying to allow no more than about 10 riders in front of me, but it felt a lot more stretched out that usual, it started to bunch up and slow down around the 4th lap, but a couple of laps later at the last turn before the straightaway a woman went down, she sliding across the asphalt left, her bike sliding right and me somehow slipping in between.

I later learned it was Avery, ahead of me, of course, possibly going down from complications of a lapped rider. There's a left-right switch right before then and it's a particularly problematic spot for passing a lapped rider. I understand that Avery was not seriously injured, but did suffer some road rash and bruises. I had nightmares after seeing my own son go down when he was 15 and he barely had a scrape, so I'm particularly thinking about Avery and her folks today. I imagine she's experiencing a lot of delayed-onset pain.

The 5-lap card comes out and I'm still strong -- I'm actually going to make it!

At two laps to go, I fall back from the lead group of about a dozen riders when they ramp up for the finish, but fortunately both teammates are still in it. I finished about 75 yards behind them and while not exactly with the lead pack, it was a stretched out race, there are 35 or so behind me, so I'm feeling pretty good about my best finish ever and my fastest 25 minutes on flat ground. Being lapped is a distant memory.

Right now I'm still debating getting up early for the June 16th downtown crit and racing in one of the 30-minute Cat 5 races, else sleeping in and racing the 50-minute 4/5 race in the early afternoon. I'm leaning towards the shorter race that I'm more accustomed to. It just occurred to me that I could try both! :-)

May 26th Velocity Ride:Rain Will Not Slow Us

Morning Regrets

I awoke hoping it was raining. Daniel and I made a back-up plan to ride trainers while watching the Giro.

I made it over to CDT (Casa De Truxillo:Stanton's House) at 0710 and hooked up with James. I was hoping Jen M. and Richie Howell would be there; alas, we were solo.

Spill(s)

When we got to Bannister and Ben White, I called Daniel who informed me that we were a half hour early. Up until then, the ride was largely uneventful. When James and I were on the off-camber turn before St. Elmo a thought occurred to me that the roads were slick and one of us could fall. Was it intuition? Or was it PTSD from my spill at the Thursday Night Crit?

As soon as the thoughts of spillage crossed my synapses into the oblivion where thoughts go, James took a spill and skinned up his right knee real good.

Here Comes Richie

At Slaughter and So. 1st, I was happy to see Richie Howell pulling up on Slaughter. We rode down So. 1st together and watched as Daniel sped by in his vehicle. We arrived at the school at 0800-ish. David Van Newkirk showed resplendent in his Cicle C jersey.

We kicked around the school parking lot for a few minutes. We rolled down So. 1st a bit hoping to see more Circle C-ers. We saw only Danskiners. As we rolled back toward the school, I saw the bruise-colored skies spewing pockets of liquid in the distance.

It didn't look good.

When we rolled through the school parking lot, Bob Pillmore greeted us with a report of his first of 3 anticipated flats.

Where Do We Go From Here?

It seemed like a good idea...at the time. We were going to ride south to San Marcos, so if it rained, we could turn around and have the wind at our backs.

The rain started to fall as we got on San Antonio Rd. Bob said something about how it was breaking up.

It was.

The clouds were breaking up into little pieces of rain.

Paging Noah...

By the time we were halfway down Old San Antone Rd it was full on deluge time. Mrs. Noah, line up the animals!

Slop. Grit. Slop. Rooster tails. It wasn't pretty. And to top it all off, we were HAULING ASS! We were averaging 20 mph on OST (Old San Antone) Rd. As all of my faithful readers and riders know, averaging 20 mph on OST is barely remarkable. But it is when the Lord is unzipping his pants and taking a nature break on your face.

We're Breaking Up

By the time we got to Buda David and Bob Pillmore turned off. Bob said something about the wisdom of riding into the rain. I was heading for Bill Miller’s BBQ for shelter and maybe some ribs.

We stood under the awning about 5 minutes thinking about our options. Richie voiced a desire to keep on keeping on. What was the worst that would happen: we would get wet.

I hope you only had one flat for the day, Bob.

The Adventure Begins

James appealed to the angels of our slower nature stating that going 20 mph in the rain was not really a good idea. We agreed. Then James hauled ass down the road into Buda and the rain.

We eschewed 2770 and the cement trucks for the more scenic Cole Spgs Rd and 1626. We were having fun, spraying each other with road spray. Then as we ventured on to 1626, Daniel got his flat. We stood around in the rain and lost every BTU that was inside of us. At that point wisdom said to turn it around. We listened.

Now we hauled ass back through Buda and up OST. It was awesome, dramatic. We were the hard men of the South, and we were the only knuckleheaded cyclists we saw.

When we made it back to the school, the rain had let up. Daniel headed out in his car, and Richie road with James and me to Dittmar on So. 1st. The humidity grew thicker, and by the time we got to my house, the streets were largely dry.

It was an awesome ride!

I Want a Velodrome!

I want a velodrome! Nearby, that is.

Last month I posted a message on the TXBRA road racing forum to see if any other Austin racers wanted to join me in the monthly "development class" at the Superdrome in Frisco (north of Dallas). Jennifer Joy (35+ Cat 4 Woman) and Nick Lewis (30+ Cat 3, itching for Cat 2) confirmed. Jen did more MTB'ing last year, is getting into road racing this year and did her first crit on Thursday at The Driveway. Nick lives in New Braunfels, so he alternates weekly between the Driveway Crit and the crit in New Braunfels in addition to competing in most of the state-level road races.

I set three alarms and so awoke on time at 4:00 am Saturday morning and we were rolling from my apartment on time at 5:00 am. With a fast-food sit-down breakfast en route we arrived at the Superdrome just as the the door was being unlocked to distribute the stable of track bikes. Bikes used on the track have three critical requirements: 1) they're fixed-gear (the pedals only stop when the rear wheel is stopped), 2) brakes are not allowed and 3) the bottom bracket is higher than on a road bike, to allow steeper banking (at slow speeds). Also, a track bike generally has shorter crank arms (by 5-10 mm, again, for steeper banking) and a shorter wheel base.

Barry started up with a brief history of the Superdrome. They're always in need of donations to maintain the wooden track. It was originally constructed to have a tent-like covering, but that was never installed, so the wood and its paint is subject to the rain, ice, snow and blistering heat. There were a few chips of laminate layer missing from some of the plywood panels. The banking of the track is 44 degrees at the center of each turn and\n17 degrees at the center of the straightaways. There is no curve to\nthe banking: it's the same at the top as at the bottom. The innermost lane is at the same height all the way around the track. The higher lanes, however, require climbs into each turn and descents out of them. So in addition to being longer around the lap, the outer lanes require extra work around the turns.

Next, Barry walked us over to the track to see the various lines. The innermost line (the black "pole line") is where the 250 meters of the track is measured. It's the inside of the sprinters lane which is where you want to be to cover the least distance in one lap.

On our bikes we rode a few minutes in the concrete infield, learning how to mount, start and stop with pedals that are always turning, then Barry lead us onto the "apron," the flat concrete ring just inside the sprinters lane and technically not part of the racing portion of the track. Without warning, he led us a couple of feet onto the banked part of the track and we followed him around, slowly, at about 12 mph. Our bikes remained perpendicular to the earth and 44 degrees against the banked turns, so I was nervous about going so slowly. I felt that Barry was going slowly for those afraid of going faster, but it helped me gained a sense of just how slowly you can actually go without slipping. We picked up a little bit more speed and he led us halfway up the track for a couple more laps. Finally, we went to the top and tapped the rail on the straightway and followed that line to the top of the track, not going more than about 15 mph. Pretty spooky and I was ready to pick up some speed.

The banking of the track is 44 degrees at the center of each turn and 17 degrees at the center of the straightaways. There is no curve to the banking: it's the same at the top as at the bottom. The innermost lane is at the same height all the way around the track. The higher lanes, however, require climbs into each turn and descents out of them. So in addition to being longer around the lap, the outer lanes require extra work around the turns.

Next, Barry walked us over to the track to see the various lines. The innermost line (the black "pole line") is where the 250 meters of the track is measured. It's the inside of the sprinters lane which is where you want to be to cover the least distance in one lap.

On our bikes we rode a few minutes in the concrete infield, learning how to mount, start and stop with pedals that are always turning, then Barry lead us onto the "apron," the flat concrete ring just inside the sprinters lane and technically not part of the racing portion of the track. Without warning, he led us a couple of feet onto the banked part of the track and we followed him around, slowly, at about 12 mph. Our bikes remained perpendicular to the earth and 44 degrees against the banked turns, so I was nervous about going so slowly. I felt that Barry was going slowly for those afraid of going faster, but it helped me gained a sense of just how slowly you can actually go without slipping. We picked up a little bit more speed and he led us halfway up the track for a couple more laps. Finally, we went to the top and tapped the rail on the straightway and followed that line to the top of the track, not going more than about 15 mph. Pretty spooky and I was ready to pick up some speed.

So I'm glad I brought the stopwatch for the open riding that followed. I and a couple of other guys practiced 200-meter sprints. The starting line is halfway through the first turn. To get maximum speed for the sprint, you build up speed before the turn at the outermost part of the lane and at the start of the curve, you then "dive bomb" across all lanes and down to the start line at the sprinters lane. The bikes were set up for easy pedaling, so we would spin out pretty quickly, but we had some fun. I did my best of \n14.04 s (31.87 mph) on the first attempt. In a later attempt just before the "dive bomb" I slammed against the high wall, got some "wall rash" and a bloody knuckle and I left a tire scuff on the wall (but I didn't scratch the sprint). I'm bringing a bigger chain ring next trip. :-)

Then we did some races. The rides start on the straightaway all in a row hanging on to the rail. To start, everyone starts rolling a neutral lap and gets together in a pack. The first race was a "scratch race," simply a fixed number of laps (9 in our case). As with road racing, time doesn't matter, so racers often sandbag at the start. I was having none of that, so led out relatively easily, but keeping some pressure on. At the end, I was just behind the #2 racer, so I slowly started accelerating about 3/4 lap before the finish and pulled up and outside of the far turn. It was more work climbing the turn, but I could be slightly behind him at the end of the turn and take advantage of the height and surprise him by coming down in the last few meters. And that almost worked. I came in third by only a couple of inches (the line "ref" said he would not have been able to tell, had he not lined up his eyes on the line).

So I'm glad I brought the stopwatch for the open riding that followed. I and a couple of other guys practiced 200-meter sprints. The starting line is halfway through the first turn. To get maximum speed for the sprint, you build up speed before the turn at the outermost part of the lane and at the start of the curve, you then "dive bomb" across all lanes and down to the start line at the sprinters lane. The bikes were set up for easy pedaling, so we would spin out pretty quickly, but we had some fun. I did my best of 14.04 s (31.87 mph) on the first attempt. In a later attempt just before the "dive bomb" I slammed against the high wall, got some "wall rash" and a bloody knuckle and I left a tire scuff on the wall (but I didn't scratch the sprint). I'm bringing a bigger chain ring next trip. :-)

Then we did some races. The rides start on the straightaway all in a row hanging on to the rail. To start, everyone starts rolling a neutral lap and gets together in a pack. The first race was a "scratch race," simply a fixed number of laps (9 in our case). As with road racing, time doesn't matter, so racers often sandbag at the start. I was having none of that, so led out relatively easily, but keeping some pressure on. At the end, I was just behind the #2 racer, so I slowly started accelerating about 3/4 lap before the finish and pulled up and outside of the far turn. It was more work climbing the turn, but I could be slightly behind him at the end of the turn and take advantage of the height and surprise him by coming down in the last few meters. And that almost worked. I came in third by only a couple of inches (the line "ref" said he would not have been able to tell, had he not lined up his eyes on the line). The "Miss & Out" is a little more interesting. You start out riding a few laps and then after so many laps (4 in our case), the ref starts removing the last rider on each lap. This keeps someone from drafting behind the entire pack during the entire race. So, of course, my strategy was to draft behind the entire pack during the entire race, *except* at the lap line, when I would sprint ahead, overtaking the lap loser. :-) When the field is whittled down to three racers, the final lap determines final places.

We Austinites had considered hanging around for the open riding session, but all the riding in class and the early start was enough. Afterwards we toured through the Richardson Bike Mart, mouths agape at the size of the place, had lunch and drove back. A long and very satisfying day.

More information is at www.superdrome.com. If you decide to take the devo class, one tip not mentioned is to measure your road bike fit dimensions, so when you get the track bike you can more easily adjust it to match your fit. Also, in addition to bringing your own pedals and shoes and helmet, you might also consider bringing your own saddle.

Photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/danorton/200705MaySuperdromeDevoClass

The Armadillo Hill Country Classic: Club Love or Following Frank

The Start

There were six of us at the Armadillo Hill Country Classic start. Four of the six of us were showing our “club love” by adorning our club kit so proudly. For other reasons, Daniel and Dane chose to where differing accoutrements. The other four of us were full on Velocity kit including gold socks.

The stated goal by me and others was 105 miles at Zone 2, or “cruising for chicks” speed as Daniel put it. Naturally, at the start there were the requisite Violet Crown folks among other weekend warriors with the exception of Stephan Schwartz, local Ironman luminary.

Zone 2 Anyone?

We started off slow enough, and as we got to the hills out of town the pace quickened. I was in Zone 2 for about 15 minutes. In short order the Zone 2 became Zone 3 and 4 and a bit of Zone 5. Greg Hall from Violet Crown was pushing the pace as was Stephan Schwartz. “I thought this was supposed to be Zone 2?” Frank queried me several times, and then his voice echoed off into the distance as the lead group separated from the line of folks heading out of Liberty Hill.

At the top of a downhill section, I pulled up along side Mr. Schwartz. “Why don’t you get in front of him?” I heard Tom Hall call out. “Okay, I’ll work,” he said as he bombed down the decent to the creek bed. At around New Hope cemetery, I started getting a cramp in my left calf, and I started to back off. I didn’t want to kill myself like I did last year (See “A Deeper Shade of Fried”). I went to the back of the group and was dismayed to find only Tom there. I asked Tom where everybody went, and he told me we dropped them about 15 minutes ago. I let him know about the cramp, and he held back with me. We kept up a nice pace taking pulls until we got to Bertram. He wanted to wait for Dane, and I wanted to wait for Frank and Daniel, so we went to the rest stop.

Mistaken Identity

Tom and I were grazing at the rest stop and I hear “Hi there, John Howell!” I turn to see Preston Tyree addressing Tom Hall. Tom corrected him and acknowledged that the moustache and the outfit must have been the source of confusion. I was quick to get on the pickles because I figured it would be a crampy day. We saw some folks roll to the stop who we thought would be with Frank. David, a real strong rider and someone I’ve been leaning on to join Velocity, told me that Frank passed up the stop, and was “about a minute ahead on the road.” David had broken my heart recently because he told me all of this as he wore a Violet Crown jersey. He got away this time. Tom and I decided we would go out and try to find Frank.

Chasing Frank

Tom and I go back out on to the road and start taking pulls, blowing and going to try and catch Frank. It turns out David’s Violet Crown jersey was doing all the talking because we were averaging 20 mph, and there was no sign of Frank anywhere. Up in the distance we see a lone rider and figure it’s Frank. When we catch the lone rider it turns out to be “Thursday Night Hill Ride” Greg. He’s not wearing a Velocity kit, but we hope he will be soon. Tom, Greg, and I and this guy wearing winter apparel settle into a groove in the hopes of finding Frank. At the third rest stop, Tom turns off, and Greg and I soldier on in our quest for Frank. I was so toasted at the stop; I suggested we wait for Frank because usually when I ride Frank that is my condition. Not today. On we went toward Burnet. We found some other folk and got into a group and took pulls up to Burnet. Seeing Frank at the Burnet rest stop was our reward. We all greeted each other. I was sad to hear that Frank was noodling along the road the whole way, and here I was a puddle of sweat and pre-cramps.

Enter Jennifer

Jennifer is a really strong rider. I met her last year at the “Members Only” ACA century last year. She was riding a Madone 5.5, and has long blond hair. She was also wearing Spd Sandals. She also dropped us all like a rock. At the Armadillo she had the Madone and the blond hair, but new cycling shoes. She also had really bad allergies. When Frank and I saw Jennifer saddling up and getting ready to go, we forgot about everybody else at the stop, and decided to ride with her.

Running on…Running on Empty

It turned out Frank had met Jennifer on previous Armadillo rides, so we rolled on toward Lake Victor into the head wind. At this point as in last year, I was pretty much toast. I had learned last year that eating a bunch of cookies would not help my cause, so I stuck to the performance food, pickles, and water. As I mentioned before, Jennifer’s allergies were terrible. Her nose was running, and her eyes were watery. Snot hung from her nose repeatedly. As we pressed on, we shared stories, philosophies, and turns at the front. As the afternoon got hotter, I spent less time at the front, and more time following Frank. I was most worried about the hills on the return and was not relishing a total quad lock-up that seemed imminent.

Following Frank

Like most centuries I’ve done before there is a region of pain and suffering I endure between mile 70 and 80. I feel terrible, and I attribute it to the fact that I don’t tend to do many training rides over 70 miles as I don’t have races over 50 miles long, generally. Additionally, with the heat, the air dried out, and my lungs began to feel tight and inflamed. Great. I continued following Frank the whole way back. I was lucky that there was no serious crampage, but I was glad when the 106.5 mile ride was over.

Proselytizing

I don’t know about other Velocity members, but I do know that when I go to events like the Armadillo and the Thursday Night Crits, I chat up Velocity as much as possible, and wish to make the club as accessible as possible. Frequently, I’ll run into former members who didn’t know we were still around. I find that there is a lot of interest in our developmental cycling club, and I feel that folks like Frank and Daniel are excellent ambassadors of our cycling club.

Brazos Senior Games Report by Tom Hall

Gerry and I did the 40K today (Sunday) with four laps.

The day was warm and we had a strong south wind. The 50+ and 55+men and women started together, and then everyone else a few minutes later. Everyone seemed to know everyone else, except me, of couse. A couple of guys were from Richardson Bike mart. One was on the team time trial team you chased home last year. He said you about killed them single-handedly. I didn't realize it at the time but Mickey ???, their big gun, dropped out about 3 km from the finish of the TTT.

Anyway, we took off and everyone behaved pretty well the first lap. We were riding single-file, with Gerry next to last and I last. The leaders pushed it pretty hard on the second sharp turn, and both of us had to accelerate to catch back on, but other than that it was pretty uneventful. I was having flashbacks to the Fayetteville race, when I again was last in line and got dropped when the guy in front of me couldn't stay with one of the accordion-effect accelerations after a corner. So I moved up in the pack when I got a chance.

On the second lap, one of the 65+ guys attacked, and four of us 60+ guys went with him. Gerry was in the bunch that got caught out, so I was on my own. I think I now have a greater appreciation for Custer's situation. I was riding wtih a guy named Wally.


At the end of the second lap, I got a chance to try something that may never happen again. I got a feed! Or at least a water bottle. My feed zone chick was my wife Susan, who was along because we were coming back from Galveston. It worked just like it was supposed to; she held it up and I grabbed it. Pretty cool. She said for her it was like holding a cigarette in her mouth while I shot it out with a pistol. We also passed the 50+ bunch on the second lap.

Three 50+ guys passed us on the third lap, and then slowed down, so we were drafting them. I was on Wally's wheel at the end of the third lap, and he kept looking back at me and moving closer and closer to the shoulder so I couldn't get a draft off him, until he was riding about 4" from the edge of the pavement. Then one of the guys went around him on the left and he forgot about me because he had to chase the other guy down.

The first half of the fourth lap was uneventful, but the second half, people quit taking their pulls and started jockeying for position. On the bottom of the long hill on the back side, one guy attacked, but his jump was non-existent and I could stay in the saddle and still stay on his wheel. Toward the top of the hill, he attacked again, with the same result, so we stayed in the same order until halfway up the last rise before the right turn to the finish. Gerry and Stanton had worked out a plan for me since I have no sprint, so I gave it a shot. I jumped and dug for the turn, and was leading at the start of the straightaway. At that point the flaw in the plan (or, rather, in my conditioning) appeared. I didn't have the legs to hold my lead, and everyone came around me. I was fourth in my age group and last of 5 in the lead bunch. My second completed race and my first finish in the lead bunch.

Wally won.

Gerry finished with the second bunch, and won his age group.

West Texas By the Numbers: Hammerfest Race Report

Here's how my week has been.

Monday: Feel sluggish and out of sorts. Allergies. Do 2x Mesa with Frank and Stanton.

Tuesday: Feel sluggish and out of sorts. Night sweats. Rainy day. No Tuesday night TT for me.

Wednesday: Night sweats. Raw sore throat all day. Do a spirited ride with Frank and Daniel. Feel like crap at the end of the ride. Stop on the way home to by sugar free popsicles for my throat. Don't really work.

Thursday: Night sweats. Feel crappy. It's a rest day. I rest.

Friday: Night sweats. Bad frog in my throat. Really, really sore throat, sneezing, and teary eyed I leave for Ft Davis at 7 am. At 0930 I receive a call from Frank saying that he and Gerry won't make it. Friday I pick up my packet, do a warm-up, feel crappy. I meet up wtih David James who pledges fidelity to Velocity for a place to crash. He even claims Velocity on his license. We eat in Alpine. I wonder several times if I should go to a hospital because my throat hurts so bad. I've been eating Chloraseptic strips like candy. When we get back to the hotel, I Google the symptoms of strep throat and determine that I don't have them. I start having a dry, unproductive cough.

Saturday: No night sweats. I wake up and my throat feels "better". I eat a real breakfast because my start isn't until 1113 for the TT. I drive down to the TT start and take pics of David warming up and his TT start. I go back to the hotel, do a decent enough warm up. Feel like a zombie and go through the motions of getting ready for the TT. I'm not particularly jazzed about the new Zipp wheels I'm riding. By now the wind is a stiff 25 to 35 MPH gust out of the SW. Head wind all the way out and quartering tailwind coming back.

Oh, by the way,I'm number 801, and I'm first in my Category. I start off feeling halfway decent and start pushing a big gear. I make the turn and keep on. About half way up the road to the turn around I start to falter, and burp up some breakfast. I made a point to drink several times because that was an issue last year.

No matter.

Shortly thereafter 805 and 806 pass me. I cannot respond. I can't get my heart rate up. I start having negative self talk and try to shake it off. The wind is oppressive. I finally hobble to the turn around and glance back and there's another rider gaining on me. He passes me in short order. I'm spinning back to the finish avg 30 mph while grinding out 9 miles previously at 17 mph avg. I feel terrible.Then 2 more riders pass me up. This is a low point. I end up getting 14th in the TT with a time of 46 and some change. No good.I go back to the hotel, shower, change, put on my numbers for the next race. I get some food and wolf it down, and attempt to take a nap.

I begin to feel worse.

I intend on doing the hill climb and then cashing in my chips. As the afternoon wears on this seems less and less like a good idea. I call Stanton who counsels me to bag it which I do gladly.

I go down to the start of the hill climb and take some pics of David starting. I then drive to the Observatory and hike up Mt Locke. I get to see the Cat 3 finish and every other finish. It was very interesting watching the finish from the stand point of spectator. Everybody struggles up that hill, and they look terrible doing it. I cheered folks, and then snapped pics and got some film of David James' finish.

As I watched my race finish, I was shocked at who won, and a bit disappointed because I could have done pretty well if I wasn't sick. David and I went to the Spaghetti dinner, and we both won prizes in the raffle.

The folks are great hear and the scenery is spectacular.Sunday: I will sleep in. I may do a light spin. David is borrowing another jersey and my race wheels. He's facing 74 miles of some of the toughest roads in Texas with some really fast company. He's going to need the support.This event is so well put together and a lot of fun, and I recommend it to anyone.

Thursday Night Crit Race Report: 3/28/97

First off, it was drizzly and overcast with a 8 to 10 mph wind from the SE creating a head and tail wind depending on where you were in the course. There was about 12 to 15 racing in a combined field of Cat 5's and 35+ 4/5's. There were also 2 women, Pamela Leblanc included in the race.

Pamela will be writing about her exploits soon I guess. (To end the suspense she got lapped several times during the race). The other woman was named Betty and she rode for Austin Flyers. I don't know what it says about me, but I was looking at her as a potential competitor--maybe it was the skinsuit.

She got dropped in the 2nd lap.

The Cat 5's consisted mainly of a bunch of UT Cycling guys. The 35+ 4/5's were myself the incomprable Daniel Norton of Velocity, Inc. and a smattering of unattached folks. The first lap started off pretty liesurely. A guy from UT Cycling went off the front-ish which means he was cruising off the front adn there wasn't much interest in him. On the 2nd lap I believe he got a flat. On the third or 4th lap in the turn going into the finishing straight, I came up the middle with an attack and got a small gap on the bunch. I glanced back and there was a rider from UT named Tony who was in last week's race. "Let's go!" I shouted to him and unlike any other time I was in a break of any kind, he glanced back and went for it.

Tony and I took turns off the front several laps creating a sizable gap with the main field and lapping Pamela LeBlanc a few times as well.
The only threat was a Cat 5 guy who caught on wiht 6 laps to go. Before he caught on, Tony noticed him and mentioned that the other rider "seemed to be taking it easy." I figured I had 35+ 4/5 in the bag, so I said, "He's first to your second unless we stay away." When we came to the finishing straight, the other rider called out "I'm on!" at which point Tony stepped on the gas and we dropped him.

Tony and stayed together until there were 2 laps to go wherein he really threw down and I had couldn't hang on. He was about 50 yards up the way the whole way. He soloed to a Cat 5 and overall victory and I sewed up 35+ 4/5.

There were puddles on the course during the race and Kenny Hill the title sponsor of the race was so kind to be sweeping them off the course during the race.

The crit was loads of fun and a real confidence builder. Afterwards when Daniel and I were watching the Cat 1,2's, I wondered aloud how Gerry King would fair in the 35+ 4/5's given his Cipollini-esque sprint.

Perhaps I'll find out some day.....

Pain a Plenty or Hurting in Fayetteville

This was my first attempt at Fayetteville. Last year's attempt was averted by
my brother's nuptials at which I was best man.

This race is a fast race. This race is a hard race. The other thing I'm
pondering is that last year as a Cat 5, I got to ponder the depths of
humiliation in my first few races and to really think I'm old and talentless.
Then like I pheonix I got some pretty good results and realized that I'm just
an average roadie with a ways to go.

Funny how things don't change because this year is starting out the same way, and
I would think that I would have the wisdom to know the difference.

Saturday night after the first RR in which I came in near the bottom, I
thought a lot about being 40 years old and getting dropped by the pack in the
first lap. I enjoyed the TT and did halfway decent getting 24th.

SUnday's RR was about survival, and I hung with the pack in the first lap and
fell off. Falling off meant falling off with the really strong headwind that
would have killed me if it weren't for the chase group I ended up with. I
finished a tad better in that race and since so many people bagged it, I
ended up being someting like 30th on GC. I cramped like you wouldn't believe
in the second RR. The biggest lesson in the second RR was perseverence. I
thought several times about cashing in my chips, and collecting a DNF. The
funny thing is a lot of people did and as a result of "hanging on" I got a
sort of good result.

The best thing about getting my ass handed to me at this race was the company
I kept. It was sooo great having lunch with the Velocity crew Daniel, Frank, and Tom after the first stage and then dinner after the TT. The comradarie really made this
race.

Additionally, I was working hard to recruite Ritchie Howell who is 38 and who finished in the top 20 GC. Ritchie says he's on for Hammerfest as am I and some other Velocity folks.

Bring the Pain

The racing season has started and Velocity's members have been representing at Walburg and Lago Vista. Since most of us are neophytes, we're still learning the ropes and feeling the price of admission for racing USCF races in central Texas: humiliation.

We've not done too well so far, and we're showing up.

The next big thing for the club is that a group of us will be racing in the 35+ Cat 4/5's at the Fayetteville Stage Race.

Stay tuned for future reports!

Presidential Briefing

Hi, all,

Welcome to the Velocity Cycling blog! I'm Robert Dole, and I am the President of Velocity Cycling club. I am also a newly minted Cat 4 racer.

We have a lot of exciting things happening with Velocity this year. First off, our new cycling kits are in, and they look great. Also we are in the planning stages of putting on a USCF race. The current race plan is a hill climb up Big View in the Riverplace Subdivision. Please check our calendar for information about meetings, rides, and other excitement.

Also a big thank you to Daniel Norton for putting this blog together as well as resurrecting the Velocity website!

Best,
Robert