Saturday, May 26, 2007

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!

Monday, May 21, 2007

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


Monday, May 14, 2007

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.

Monday, May 7, 2007

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.