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Part 4 of our crit/road series the other night. Better turnout, similar racing. The wind was blowing again and we did the same out and back course so all the attacks were on the way out. A few different combinations tried to go and then things would start looking dangerous and everyone would chase. Strategy with Brian and Cory was "don't let Ben win" and then nearing the turnaround Ben and Jake and Brian were up the road a bit. Dan decided to bridge up and then some of us were able to follow causing a break of about 8 of us. Then Ben was yelling and getting upset about us all not immediately rotating the way he wanted (a number of the guys were really new to road racing) and then he and Jake wind up with a gap and go with it. "ok cool I want to let Ben sit in the wind a bit on the way back and we keep it within maybe 45 seconds? Then Ben drops Jake and is still up there and oh out of our group of like 6 there are actually only 3 of us really chasing, and it's hard to get 3 out of 6 actually organized and working together and staying on the front. I'd often drift back and then find myself blocked in by guys not pulling through and Ben is still out there and getting more room and poo poo now Brian and I are just taking huge pulls everytime we get up there and we lost Cory on one of the hills and we're almost at the finish. I'm yelling at Vince that he better pull through this time and Brian is making sure to cut in front of Dan and occasionally someone attacks and then we all chase and regroup and kind of sit up and Ben is still out there. We got closer though, and coming into the last couple hundred meters Brian and Dan jump, I'm behind Vince though who can't stay on the wheel and I go around and am just like a few bikes back all the way to the finish. Brian catches Ben at the line and wins, Dan 3rd, me 4th.  2nd overall in the series  I was not as fresh as last week and definitely felt like it was harder the whole time while not hitting the same HR numbers. But feeling good about my fitness now and just need to keep this going for a few more weeks and Butte. Last year I had a pretty good crash that didn't help so I'm going to try to not do that. Two of the nica coaches broke collarbones recently and practice starts next week so I was going really slow downhill the other night. jamal fucked around with this message at 04:39 on Jul 3, 2022 |
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Jul 1, 2022 15:46
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After getting back into Crit racing and enjoying it I was convinced to get back into Time Trialling too. 1st 10 mile TT in over 3 years at Goodwood Motor circuit. I did it on a road bike as my TT bike is still in pieces and I legit had a fantastic time. I think it being in effect a closed road made it all the more better, not having to worry about a truck taking me out on a dual carriageway made it far more enjoyable. 4 laps is also a nice number. I mean as enjoyable as a 10 mile TT can be. I hadn't ridden much in the 2 weeks proceeding this due to work and I knew I was in bad shape on the warmup as my HR was a good 15bpm higher than it would normally be. Thought about quitting on the 2nd lap as I was dying but caught sight of my minute person and the motivation from reeling them in kept me going. I always find miles 3-5 the worst in a 10, I guess because that's when the pain really sets in and you've still got so far to go. Stuck to my target power despite feeling like I was going to die as well so the legs were okay, cardio not so much as you can see...  That actually is my all time bests for 1 min, 5 and 10 min HR. Theres a weird record logged which I've now found and deleted that had my PR's at 250+ from faulty data.
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Jul 3, 2022 18:30
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It's finally sort of summer vacation. After Missoula XC and the last two friday night races we went straight into those road races and then today had "Garden City Gravel." These are all things put on by mtcx and so generally I'm working and setting up course and then trying to go race it too and then cleaning up after. This new garden city thing is Shaun's attempt at creating a gravel race with a bigger draw like those other popular ones you hear about. He got a lot of prizes and money together and a few pros came but in it's first running things were pretty small. We're doing a 2nd one in september so it's kind of a two race series. For this one we kept it pretty simple and started at Bjorn of big sky brewing's house as usual and went up the roads in that area where we have plenty of other races, like that gravel challenge stage race this spring. There are a lot of dirt roads up in there and we found a new one to use that goes up the west side of the ninemile valley parallel to the main road and then comes back down and reconnects. So, you basically had to make one left turn, and then one right turn, and you're back at the finish. Sweet. Easy for me right? except it is a 50 mi route and does generally need some signs to keep people from straying off course and to reassure you that you're going the right way and also to warn you about sharp blind turns and giant metal bridge edges and the like. The course was planned and permitted months ago but neither of us had actually been on that section of road so I went up there a few weeks ago and took a ride.    Pretty nice. So then yesterday we had to get up there and set up and mark the course. I've started just printing all the signs out myself and made little course markers with the logos and a bunch of arrows and even glued some of them to foam board and laminated them because the turn arrows don't really stay flat when zip tied to a plastic stake and instead curl around and are harder to see, also there were t-storms in the forecast so a little protection for the ink seemed like a good idea. So I had all that, warning signs for some sharp edges, kom start and finish signs, and also needed to go pick up the shirts and maps that were being printed out for display at the start and also handed out to everyone. That took way too long because shirts were done late and then maps done even later and I wasn't out at Bjorn's until like 3. Then I get out there and just barely dodge a huge t-storm and then just go about getting things marked. I wasn't home and eating dinner until almost 10pm and then had to get everything ready for an 8am start. So not as much rest as I'd like and hadn't really gotten to ride for 2 days. Thankfully I didn't have anything to do today except show up and race. Like 30 something in open men, about 60 racers overall. Definitely shooting for more but it's summer break and there was another big gravel ride in whitefish so that probably didn't help. We did have a few pros show up like Caleb Swartz and then Dan was there and Andrew (who just raced both pro and amateur nats and got 7th in the amateur road race) and these other guys Carter and Evan. Then the usuals like Jake and Ben and Elliot. We had a pretty flat slightly uphill start for about 10mi and then took the turn onto the side road where the first kom started immediately. Pretty short, like 600 vertical feet, ~12min. I rode Brendan's wheel up the side a bit then got on Kevin then Ben and hey we're almost at the front behind behind Caleb, Dan, Carter, Andrew, Evan. It's pretty hard but I'm thinking :yeah I can keep this going a little longer" and have the live segment showing me it's like 4-5 more min and not my usual heartrate screen. Ben pulls the plug abruptly and then I have some space to close and am thinking eh maybe that's not a great idea and Jake comes by and seems to be thinking the same thing. Andrew decides he's not into it either a few minutes later and so those 4 guys ride away and everyone else is pretty strung out. Jake and Elliot and i get to the top pretty much together and it appears Jake did 341w for 12min and is lighter than me. Then it's a bit of downhill and flat/rolling, and then you get to the real climb that is like 4mi and 1200 feet. Jake and Elliot go into it first and I'm like welp see y'all later but then don't get too far away and there are like 6 of us all kind of in a group. We have Jake and Elliot, Travis, Ignacio, and Luuk the young guy from Bozeman and we keep it mostly together all the way up, hit the flatter section, descent, and get back to the main road a little strung out but then all catch back on together. Ignacio and Travis start pushing the pace on a part where I really wanted to stay chill because it was a bunch of potholes obscured by shade (but many were spraypainted orange by me the night before) and then Ignacio drops his chain so I use that as an opportunity to get us to all slow up a bit and wait for him. Then it's like 10mi slightly downhill on real smooth dirt and we get a really good paceline going into a bit of a headwind and are moving and working good. I had some slight hopes we'd pick up a solo rider or two (we didn't but got pretty close to 4th). The finish is on a slight climb, same spot we did at the gravel challenge. I go into it first and then Travis kind of takes a pull and then Jake sneaks off. Elliot chases him and I get on Elliot's wheel and then he's getting really close but not quite there with 1k or less and I think well I guess I have to do it and go around. Have momentum, decide to attack, and am like "is this it? am I doing it?" Look back, and no, not really. less than 200 to go and they both go by me on each side and Jake gets it for 5th overall and the win in our 30+ group. So I got 7th and then 2nd in age group, not bad I suppose. I didn't feel great out there on that 2nd climb and couldn't really get my HR into higher threshold but it turns out I maintained a pretty high HR for a pretty long time. Next up is butte 100 on the 23rd. I seem to have been getting ok results but really feel like my riding has been less consistent this year so we'll see how that goes. Mainly as long as I don't hurt myself and then eat enough I should be pretty good. https://www.strava.com/activities/7441722388 jamal fucked around with this message at 17:56 on Jul 11, 2022 |
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Jul 10, 2022 04:14
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I piloted this guy in a round of the National Paracycling championships last weekend. An amazing bunch of athletes. 
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Jul 19, 2022 15:11
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mikemelbrooks posted:I piloted this guy in a round of the National Paracycling championships last weekend. An amazing bunch of athletes. Oh rad, I recognize him from masters track nationals a few years ago.
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Jul 19, 2022 17:41
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My wife says he hasn't looked at a bike in his life, but he knows I ride bikes so now I'm watching the tour with my father in law. We're watching it on Danish TV so he translates the commentary for me, and then I explain the terms back to him so he understands what they're saying. It's pretty adorable.
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Jul 21, 2022 14:19
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Join us https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3900029&perpage=40&noseen=1&pagenumber=381
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Jul 21, 2022 14:28
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Did that butte race again, it was really hard the whole time. At one of the friday night races my shock blew up and I finally got that back on Monday after playing shock musical chairs with a few of the lbs owner's bikes for a few weeks. In addition to the repair I had it revalved from linear to digressive valving, with the hopes that it would be more supportive under pedaling forces especially out of the saddle. Turns out yes. Feels great, I don't think I locked it out once yesterday, maybe on a paved road for a bit. So yeah monday I get my bike all prettied up, install the shock, pull the cranks and suspension linkages and clean everything out, new chain and chainring, go to coach nica and loving crash. stick through the spokes at low speed sends me otb, broken shifter, bunch of new scrapes on frame, dent in helmet, torn glove, ripped up grips, wheels out of true. Cool. But generally everything is fine. apparently I can't make it through a July without crashing. I needed new grips anyway but that was a new poc ventral so I got to buy another one of those last week which was pretty annoying. Thankfully I get a good discount. Fitness wise this has been kind of a weird seeming year for me. It feels like my riding and training has been pretty inconsistent but I've been seeing some decent results and some good strava segment times, have good consistent series' of high volume weeks, some intensity although not as much or as structured as I'd like. Went and rode my local trail climb as openers friday and set my fastest time on the hei hei without even really going for it. Also PR'd the xc course climb and a ~4min road climb somewhat recently. So I guess I'm pretty fit. I figured I could improve by a good amount since last year I had a bad crash in early july and then a mini blowup through the middle of the race. I finished 8th in like 10:50, and thought I could be a little closer to 10 hours flat and the podium. This year to be faster at the aid stations I put drink mix in empty bottles at every one, so that I could just get it filled with water and be ready to go. Last year I had little ziplocks with it and that was kind of annoying and time consuming. I was able to just stop and be like, "please fill that bottle and this bottle thanks" cram a gel or something down my face, and keep rolling. I also skipped a few more this time. I went with tailwind so had about 150-200 calories in a bottle so I didn't have to try to eat quite as much and mostly relied on gummies and gels. I think I also took a bite of a skratch rice bar, had a honey waffle, a handful of chips, some coke, some gummy bears, and a pickle along the way. Plus electrolyte tabs and some ibuprofin. 6am starts are not my favorite. I camped at the start area but then didn't really sleep. Lying on the ground for 8ish hours is rest though right?  This race always starts out absurdly fast and once we got to the first climbing part I opted to not chase the fastest guys like last year and watched what seemed like 10 people ride away from me. No Tinker or Josh Tostado this year, and Max raced the 50 instead, but still a few pros lined up. I felt like I was going pretty good and actually got through the first 2 segments in about the same time as last year without pegging my HR (well not as high). So I was kind of surprised at how many people were in front of me, plus there were more breathing down my neck. At this point, at this speed last year I was sitting like 5th. I was going back and forth with this one guy for a bit who was climbing faster but going slower on the descents. I was never really being held up for long and he let me by once or twice but it's race of mostly trying to go your own speed so it's a little annoying to have someone around you and having to pass and get passed constantly. I caught him going into AS2, stopped for a refill and took off my vest, and then was back on his wheel like 2min later because it was downhill for awhile. So I got past, pushed a bit to stay ahead of him on the next climby bit, got on an extended descent, and was clear. Then could see the next guy in front of me and then passed him at aid station 5 by not stopping. First half is so sandy and mostly moto/atv trails so you're just kind of slogging along, have some annoyingly steep things, have to walk parts, and then trying to surf through sand at high speed on the descents. It felt extra sandy this year. Got to start/finish/AS6 and was feeling pretty good, unlike last year, because I'd been a little more reasonable early on and had eaten and drank more. Took a minute to eat and refill and catch my breath then that guy rolled through without stopping as I was leaving and we rode together for a bit. We got to the next climb which is fairly mellow on singletrack, I'm behind him and comfortable, then he just kind of slows up and I feel good and can see the next guy so ok I guess I'll go by. Get by the next guy before the top, hit the descent, skip the next aid station, get to number 8 which is at about mile 67. Think, "huh I got here pretty quick," and trying to calculate how long the rest is going to take. Still feeling good, clean chain, eat a little more, drink a little more, fill bottles, and now it's the lovely part where you climb up to the continental divide trail. I was there for awhile, get on the trail, see guy behind me roll through and not stop. I think, uh, that's not a good idea dude it's like 13mi and 3k feet and 2 hours to the next one. But it encourages me to keep the pace up. Start catching 50mi racers. Pass a guy walking, see a red 100 plate which means, oh, actually he's in my race. Legs start getting unhappy twinges. Get to next aid station, guy had got back on his bike and chased me and rolled in pretty much right after me so I hurry up and get out of there. It would have been nice to stick around for a bit- they had hot dogs and bacon and beers and a fun party vibe going. This is like mile 80, and there's still a big section of climbing to do where you hit the high point of the course at about 8k feet and are on the CDT to the finish. it's fairly rocky and has various shortish climbs and decents along the way back to homestake pass. Legs are unhappy. This is hard. it's hot. I'm yelling gently caress you legs, gently caress you rocks, gently caress you sun, have to walk up some things, but at least on the downhills I can kind of rest and go fast. Probably faster than I should given the level of fatigue but it's free time as long as you stay on your bike. A lighter hardtail would be nice on a lot of this course but on the last 20mi when you're tired and sore and the trail gets rougher the hei hei is perfect. Passing lots of 50mi racers. Looking at distance, time, avg speed, and realizing I'm really close to that 10 hour even pace. Keep it going, fly down to the last aid station, people are getting out of my way. Quick stop, one more climb before you descend to homestake and the finish. Pushing the limits of cramping, backing off, standing to use different muscles, actually breathing hard. Pass my friends Andrew and Mike doing the 50 and get out a "hi". Get to the top and it's like, oh poo poo this is going to be close. Like 25min to go 5mi, but mostly all downhill. Pushing the descent even harder, pedaling out of corners, out of the saddle on the slight rises. Ignoring my HR page, ignoring my legs, just watching the time get closer to 10 and the distance get closer to 100 and wondering what's going to happen first. And trying not to crash. Come out onto the pavement, sprint more, cross the line in what appears to be about 9:59:40. But got a chip time of 9:59:06 somehow. 5th overall.  https://www.strava.com/activities/7517578121/ Compared to last year my riding parts were definitely faster but not by as much as I though, especially the middle when I was feeling like poo poo and thought I was barely moving. Only a few minutes here and there across the board, but I suppose that still adds up over a whole day. Time difference was about half from stopping less, and half from going faster. I only had like 18 minutes compared to 45ish last year. Still felt like I was going way too slow on the climbs in the last 20mi and could barely handle HR over 145ish. So maybe there's more time in it with a few more calories and electrolytes and drink mix. Skipping aid stations meant I did not get a fresh bottle of mix at those, so a fewer calories than planned. Having some of the electrolyte tabs along early would have helped. REI had these saltstick fast chews which are kind of not really great, it's like a salty chewable multivitamin and I think i'd rather just have the pill format. But having two of those at all the last aid stations was definitely helpful. I also kept picking up gels and then not really eating them so I had like 5 of them stuffed back there by the end. It was also annoying that I couldn't get my standard salted watermelon shot blocks. The long sleeve format is a lot easier to eat while moving than the bags like skratch or gu, especially when you cut then in half and have two pre-opened sleeves of 3. Winner was this guy Chis who is some sort of a pro that mostly races gravel and recently got 4th at unbound xl. 2nd was Carter, a pro mtb racer from bozeman, 3rd a guy Matt from Michigan who I don't know anything about but seems to have real sponsors and travels around racing, 4th Adam from bozeman who got 4th last year and apparently used to be a pro roadie and also does a lot of ski racing. Hey a picture of me 
jamal fucked around with this message at 05:11 on Jul 28, 2022 |
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Jul 24, 2022 19:39
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A couple months ago I bought a used Kona Hei Hei as my first mountain bike and rode it some. Four weeks ago I entered my first XC mountain bike race and I've done three of them now. They are short ~1 hour weeknight races on pretty easy courses and with a laidback vibe. I am a technically incompetent mountain biker (I am certain I brake more than anyone else in the race) but I have a decent engine from road/gravel riding and trail running. I've been entering the beginner cat 4 and my results are 10th, 2nd, and 1st, fields are around 12-15 people for that cat (cat 3 has like 50 entrants). There are three more races before the end of the summer series, I think I'll be able to attend two of them. I can cat up whenever I want and I'm not sure whether to do it now or finish the season with the 4s and come back for the 3s next year. I'm glad to see improvement, albeit in a very beginner-friendly environment. They have been good races too - last week when I was in second I beat third place by less than 3 seconds, we had a straight up sprint to the line. He was a better technical rider and I was a better pedaler and I was glad the course ended on terrain for me. This week I thought I'd be second place again, but the guy I was chasing had a problem with clipping back in after putting a foot down with about a quarter of a lap to go, it took him maybe 20-30 seconds to clip in and that was enough for me to pass and hold the gap. It's a fun scene and I'm glad I started doing it. Before these I thought maybe I wasted my money on the MTB and I should resell it, now I am interested in practicing and improving at it. Very cool stuff, even if I am still towards the bottom of the ladder. gohuskies fucked around with this message at 07:03 on Jul 28, 2022 |
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Jul 28, 2022 07:00
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Wednesday Night Worlds is a great vibe. You should cat up if you think it will be fun, or not if you think staying cat 4 will be more fun. But the higher categories do more laps, so you're getting more racing for your buck - so you'll see more improvement long term if you push yourself that way.
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Jul 28, 2022 21:45
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I won the most prestigious crit in NorCal. In the western US maybe.
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Aug 10, 2022 06:12
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TobinHatesYou posted:I won the most prestigious crit in NorCal. In the western US maybe. I hope it’s Alviso, I’d even say it’s the prestigious race period
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Aug 10, 2022 18:12
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Literally Lewis Hamilton posted:I hope it’s Alviso, I’d even say it’s the prestigious race period It was AlVisO.
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Aug 10, 2022 23:41
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When is the youtube play by play getting posted?
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Aug 11, 2022 00:15
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Anachronist posted:When is the youtube play by play getting posted? Jeff wasn't there because he got COVID at Intelligentsia. There might be an Initial D meme edit if Max decides to do one.
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Aug 11, 2022 00:48
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TobinHatesYou posted:Jeff wasn't there because he got COVID at Intelligentsia. There might be an Initial D meme edit if Max decides to do one. Lmao, I just watched that video with him wearing a cloth mask on the plane and taking it off in the airport to talk to the camera and thought to myself that he's probably gonna get covid.
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Aug 11, 2022 01:29
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jetz0r posted:Lmao, I just watched that video with him wearing a cloth mask on the plane and taking it off in the airport to talk to the camera and thought to myself that he's probably gonna get covid. I was gonna say the same thing. Seemed like a bold strategy but what do I know!
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Aug 11, 2022 04:57
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Race report: I finished 6th in a 93 mile P12 road race with Tobin Ortenblad, Miles Hubbard and Chris Riekert in it.
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Aug 23, 2022 06:07
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Oops I did it again.
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Aug 23, 2022 23:50
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https://twitter.com/JoeLavo/status/1563993818499715072 Thought this was an interesting thread about the British 10m TT national champs and what it takes to win it. Its also interesting because nationally the scene is dying on its arse. We've had nearly 5 years of less and less riders taking part and the arms race described in the twitter thread is one of the direct causes. The other most notables are the number of deaths (racing on fast, busy open roads) that have put midpack' people from turning up and the frankly ridiculous cost to just enter events now. The TT scene over here is going through a painful change right now and I'm not sure where its going to end up. For me to race my closest 'fast' course its a 100 mile round trip and a £25 entry fee for 25 minutes of riding. Unless you're at the top end people just aren't bothering now, which means events are barely half full and don't cover the organisers costs. A lot of the race track events that people were switching to due to safety fears are stopping because they need 100+ fields just to pay for the circuit and were barely scratching 80 riders over the summer so theres a double impact to losing those events.
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Aug 29, 2022 09:09
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TobinHatesYou posted:Oops I did it again. And back to Blaine it goes.  I also finished 8th in a P12 road race over the weekend. Not great, not terrible. Basically DFL of the people who still had a 40-second sprint effort left in their legs. https://i.imgur.com/ovVbfYa.mp4 TobinHatesYou fucked around with this message at 07:28 on Aug 31, 2022 |
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Aug 31, 2022 07:25
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TobinHatesYou posted:And back to Blaine it goes. Sick
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Sep 5, 2022 02:02
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serious gaylord posted:https://twitter.com/JoeLavo/status/1563993818499715072 I'm really keen to give a TT a go but in London my only option is the Hillingdon circuit where it's a pain to find out how to enter or pack up the car and drive miles outside to get nearly hit by increasingly hostile drivers.
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Sep 5, 2022 18:28
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Loving Africa Chaps posted:I'm really keen to give a TT a go but in London my only option is the Hillingdon circuit where it's a pain to find out how to enter or pack up the car and drive miles outside to get nearly hit by increasingly hostile drivers. They’re invariably publicised on Facebook these days. It’s unavoidable sadly for UK cycling clubs and groups and used bikes / parts. The UK time trialling Facebook group is amazing though.
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Sep 5, 2022 23:20
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Part 2 of garden city gravel yesterday. I spent the week out on the course putting up signs and such. The course made a big loop over a pass called holloman saddle, which is a fairly fun and cool ride. Then connected to another dirt road and the finished at the old ski hill that now mostly is mountain bike trails and where we have xc races and nica practice and such. Which meant one big climb and then another fairly solid one to finish. Sorry my course pictures are vertical format because I was taking them for the event instagram     The wildfire smoke lately has been really annoying and I feel like I've barely ridden the last few weeks and am getting fat and slow when I need to be getting ready for cx season. On the plus side I guess it meant I'm pretty fresh.Tuesday night after our jr dev team cx practice I did some hill repeats since the smoke had cleared out a bit and felt pretty good and put down some decent times. Then the day before the race I did my usual openers mtb ride up my local trail and went the fastest I've gone on my hei hei. With slightly heavier and slower "trail" tires. So optimism for the big ~30min climb. To get over to the road that goes over the saddle you have to go all the way through and across town. We had a neutral roll with a fire truck escort which was pretty cool. It was cold as gently caress and we mostly all had jackets so the worry was how am I going to get this thing off when things start going. The first aid station was still on the flattish part of the road early so I figured a number of people were planning to drop stuff there but then people were taking their stuff off on the neutral section and I was getting a little worried. Then right after the "start" Caleb and Carter threw their jackets into the bed of Shaun's truck and I'm thinking "oh no how am I going to do this?" It was still in the 40s so wearing a jacket was fine at least. At the first aid station I just had to make a quick stop and pull it off, I didn't feel comfortable trying to do it while riding in a pack on a gravel road. I didn't lose the group but was now at the back of it and the pace started picking up and the road is slightly uphill so people were getting dropped and splits were happening and my HR was getting up there just going around gaps and dealing with the yo-yo effect and I was thinking "this is not a good place to be." Then the road kicked up for the steeper climb to the top and I was not on the front group. Well, gently caress. Rode a solid threshold, could see Matt from Kalispell and like two other guys ahead of me. Mike was behind me for awhile and then disappeared. Got to the top, took a bottle handup, thinking "well poo poo I might be alone all the way to the finish." But then Micheal caught me on the descent, and I could see Matt in front of me for awhile. Then Micheal passed me, then got a flat. It's very rough, steep, and narrow and I'm taking it easy to get to the bottom with my tires intact. Pass another guy with a flat. Pass Caleb with a flat. Brendan and his nephew Landon come up behind me so it's three of us rolling together on the pavement back toward town. Ignacio gets up to us, then Kevin, the guy with a flat, and Stella just before we make a turn to cross the highway and train tracks and get to the last dirt road section. The 7 of us are going pretty good and I know Matt and someone else are not too far ahead, maybe we'll catch some people. I'm not sure how many are out there (it was 6 - Carter, Jake, Myke, Rob in a lead group, then Matt and Elliot). Then the railroad crossing gates come down right in front of us so we're waiting for a few minutes. Guess not.  Still no Caleb. We get to the next, and last dirt section and oh there he is. Kevin and guy who got the flat jump to go with and I'm thinking "do we really want to do that? we had a nice thing going." But Brendan and I start pedaling a little harder and keep them generally in sight and are stringing out the group. This part of the road gets pretty rough but is mostly flat/rolling along the river. We lose Stella, who is pretty much home free for the women's win and doesn't really need to bother pushing it to try to hang on. Get to the end of that section and Jake has his bike upside down with a tire off and on the ground and I'm like well poo poo sorry dude. There's a short climb out of there on smooth dirt and I can see Kevin and Caleb and the other guy and am like I need to try to catch Kevin because I think I can beat him up the last climb. Give it some effort to get closer and get over the top alone with Landon and Brendan not too far back. Get on the pavement, only a few miles to go. Look back and see Jake pulling everyone else up to me. "How did he get going so fast?" (Shaun had given him a whole new tire so it was the old one on the ground). The 5 of us hit the climb, Ignacio is like "ok have fun guys I'm about done." Landon pulls ahead, Jake and I follow. I think it's Brendan doing an attack to set up Landon (they're wearing the same kit) but actually Brendan is dropped too so it's the three of us. Climb takes about 12 minutes. I pull for a bit, Jake does, we pass Rob who is blown up and cramping, we're getting near the finish and there's a steeper pitch on the road a little before the parking lot. Landon accelerates up the first bit, Jake follows, I'm still there, then Jake goes by on the left and I decide to follow the wheel I know. Then I guess it's my turn. Put in a dig up the end of the steep section and am by myself going into the parking lot. Finish is all the way through the lot and up and around the grass to the lodge. Landon is chasing me, Kevin is up there but a little too far away to catch. Think I got 8th overall, 3rd in age group. Without the train I wonder if we could have stayed away from Caleb or caught anyone else. But oh well, that can happen when your course has to cross tracks and we weren't the only ones who had to wait for it. Old man podium  Anyway, fun time. good turnout, no one got hurt or lost. The G-one R tires with vittoria inserts have held up great on the rougher gravel rides and races. It's not the fastest or most supple thing out there but overall has been a pretty good tire and I'd consider buying another set. But now it's time to put on some cross tires. I rebuilt my tubulars to dt350 hubs and the tires are glued and ready to go. Just re-using the baby limuses from last year on those. I'm also going to do tubeless challenge chicanes for these "gravel wheels," which are nox skylines to 240 hubs. Uh, I mean gravel grinders, because I got the 36mm version. And will also run my inserts.. We have a clinic and practice race Saturday and then the first wed race the week after. Also I'm not sure what to do with all this leftover beer 
jamal fucked around with this message at 04:08 on Sep 12, 2022 |
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Sep 11, 2022 17:39
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So it begins. Schwalbe G-one R gravel tires got replaced with, uhh challenge gravel grinders. Which are basically chicanes but in wider sizes bcause why would I run 33s when I don't have to (I got 36mm, handmade pro version, and the wheels are 23mm internal width. Comes out 37-38). The vittoria air liners went back in, to hopefully protect the rims and keep me from burping air at low pressure. The baby limuses are tubular and I'll use those later on and in looser and wetter conditions. Saturday morning we had a cross clinic and practice race. I did some coaching but then missed the race because I had to go to work. Our weekly series is wednesday nights starting yesterday, I think there are 9 races plus our race at the brewery plus we're hosting the state championship and then I want to try to get to some other regional races. So it's going to be a busy season. In addition to the clinic we've been doing practice for the jr dev team. I'm coaching more than practicing but do still ride around a bit and get on and off my bike at them so it's been a little bit of a reminder of how to race cross. Elsa just won the uci jr c1 race at go cross which is pretty cool and a couple other kids are on their way out for rochester this weekend. Ellen, who got 5th at nationals in 15-16 last year is now a uci jr too. Anyway wednesday was fun. Usual deal where I show up at like noon and spend all day setting up the course and then change and line up and race and then go clean everything up.  Good start. 2nd wheel behind Dan after the 1st corner and then "ok no I can't ride at this pace people please pass me." Robert and Toby go by. Then Jason comes around and ok that I'll stick with. Elliot goes by at some point on lap one and catches up to Robert. They don't seem to get too far away. We have a group with Jason, Myke, Shaun, Ian. Lose Shaun then it's the 4 of us. Then I get dropped. I guess I should have pedaled harder. Andrew is coming up behind me leading the masters field and I let him get away a bit and decide no I can pick it up and chase back on. We ride together the last couple laps and then catch some traffic and it works out in my favor and I beat him to the line. We're teammates and not in the same category so it doesn't really matter. The motivation to go harder riding with someone else was nice though. Anyway, yeah you forget about how hard it is the whole time and how high your HR gets. In the middle part I got into a little of an "oh poo poo I don't think I can sustain this I should try to recover." And then I get dropped so maybe a bad move. Beer and hot dog handups  Fun grass off cambers back and forth over a hill  I had a reasonable amount of fatigue going into it after a week of workouts but managed a fairly high average HR so I wasn't too bad even after walking around all day. Next two weeks at the golf course I'll be able to use a cart to setup which will mean less walking so that's nice. Pretty sure I can stick with that group I was with. I wound up 8th so those guys were 5-7th and then Elliot wasn't that much farther ahead. Ran the gravel grinders at 30/33 and that felt about right. Didn't roll them off the rim, didn't bottom them out, felt fast enough and grippy enough. I thought maybe I'd build a 2nd set of tubulars and have file treads on those then the baby limus set as well but the new hardtail build has gotten a little out of hand so maybe it's for the best and I can consider that next year. jamal fucked around with this message at 05:56 on Sep 23, 2022 |
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Sep 23, 2022 03:16
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I went the two-sets-of-tubulars route and kinda regret it because I'd rather have wider tires for my filetreads, like you. Neither of our local series give a drat, even in the 1/2s (which is where I'm stuck this year, because they moved up the age cutoff for masters).
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Sep 23, 2022 09:04
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Week 2. loving ouch. We're back at the fancy golf course for two weeks. It's a fun place, but also a lot of thick grass that is very slow and demoralizing. You basically never get a break. I got there at about 1130 and started setting up with the manager out there. The sandwich I had for lunch was pretty good.  Good start again. That jr dev team practice where we do starts at the beginning every week definitely helps. Also Caleb came out. As usual, the leaders kind of rode away and then I was trying to be with the next group. Jason and Myke and then Landon from that gravel race earlier this month. We had a nice group of four going and it was pretty hard but I was up in there where I wanted to be and we were right behind Elliot and could see Dan also after he slid out on the off camber on lap two. Then I died  This pinpoints it pretty well. There's the group I was with, and me in the background there no longer able to hang on after the long uphill drag on the driving range and runup. This was about 2.5 to go. Then a few people caught and passed me, then we were done and I had to lay on the grass for awhile. Runup   Tim is one of the sponsors of the series and was wandering around with a handle of whisky  Next week I think I'm going to have the course go the other direction, so the uphill out is more on cart path, then the driving range will be generally downhill and have more turns in the grass. Anyway it was going pretty well there for most of the race. I have a pretty good amount of training load going right now and have been in the intervals.icu green zone for a few weeks so I was a little fatigued plus there's all that setup work during the day. Today off riding and tomorrow I'll take it easy and then try to get some work done saturday and sunday, get a little more recovery before next week, and then after that race get back into it again. Our big local race is oct 23rd so I want to be as fit as possible for that one.
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Sep 30, 2022 02:00
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Another wednesday, another cross race. This week I wanted the golf course to be a little different than usual with more slow turny parts and some hard to ride sections where maybe you had to get off the bike. This time I had the course go in the opposite direction as usual so instead of a long uphill slog through the grass of the driving range you were generally coming back, and to get out there you got to ride a little bit of cart path along the 18th hole. One part we always use is the practice sand trap at the far end of the driving range. It's pretty common to go straight through across it, down an embankment on the other side, make an off camber downhill turn, then climb back up, back into the trap and then make a turn and go out of it. we did that but in the opposite direction as usual so you came straight up the hill, had to make a 180 in the sand, go down the bank, and then make a sharp uphill turn on lumpy rough ground to get back up. Then straight through the sand but there was kind of a high lip and ruts that formed so it wasn't easy to get out clean. Then a steep grass off camber, some hot dog turns, and to the runup over logs. Then around the back of the hill you run up, over to the next one, and all the way around the steep side hill. To get around it I was staying as high as possible, unclipping, and kind of kicking myself along, then trying to clip in and make the downhill left. Usually I wasn't clipped in. Oh also this guy made an appearance. Saw him around last week too.  Our shop was the sponsor for this week which means kick in some prizes or whatever and help with cleanup. One of the jr parents came out and helped me setup and that all took from about 11-3:30 or so. It was hot and I felt pretty tired but at least got to sit in a chair for like half an hour and eat some snacks. After blowing up last week I was a little worried and not really confident about this one. I felt fairly lovely all weekend- rode mtb after work friday and saturday and it wasn't great. Sunday I just sat on the couch. Monday was long gravel ride but pretty chill, tuesday cx practice with a lot of running up a giant hill. Up to then I had like 3 weeks of pretty solid riding and training so it was about time for a little rest. No Caleb or Dan or Robert, but Toby was there, Elliot, Jason, Myke, and Kory came out for his first cx race plus all the other usuals. Last week we had 21 in men's A, this week 19. Toby led out the start and Jason got on his wheel, Elliot and Landon and Kory came through chasing them. Myke and Shaun and Mike and I were all riding together the first couple laps. Landon dropped his chain and was back there. Jason blew up. Mike slid out in a grass corner, so it was mainly Myke and I. Landon caught back up, 3 of us. Then we caught Elliot. Lost Elliot and Landon got a bit of a gap, so Myke and I again. Uh, hey I haven't blown up yet and am fairly far up in this race and still feel ok, not bad. Myke is on like, gravel king SSes or something and this is a course where having cornering knobs and taking good lines is important. I'm leading, bending the tape, ripping the grass, and eventually Myke can't make up for it anymore and I have pretty good space going into the last lap. Can see Landon up there and even Kory and think poo poo I should have chased Landon when he got away. Come in for 4th. So pretty happy with that one. Turns out that rest is important. Going to try to get some more good work in over the next week or so, have a hill climb Sunday, then our big weekend race is the 23-24th. jamal fucked around with this message at 17:38 on Oct 6, 2022 |
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Oct 6, 2022 17:26
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Hey yesterday was wednesday so I raced bikes again. Also we had a hill climb sunday. It's on a paved climb and does 940ft in 3.9mi according to the segment. Back in the day when the missoula bicycle club put it on it was hand timed and early in the morning when it was cold. You had to bring a prize and then there was a gift exchange type thing so everyone got something. It cost a dollar and you taped a little number to your bike which was your start minute. I think my best time in the official hill climb was pretty slow for me, like a 15:40 or so but sometimes wind is blowing pretty hard down the canyon. Now it's just on strava, sometimes there are prizes if the organizer decides to get any. Last year my ride didn't record the strava segment, and the year before I did a 14:01 which was I think a PR or within a few seconds. I also got a gift card for winning the style award that i've never used. Dan, who has won the hill climb numerous times and his also fast brother Robert have been back in Chicago for the last week or so and missed the last two CX races. It was a nice cool fall day with no wind and I had a pretty good run- PR by a little with a 13:44 and won so that was cool. And there was an aid station with beers and snacks at the top. https://www.strava.com/segments/8291691?filter=overall Jack Haig still has the KOM on the other segment that I usually go by, not sure why it's not recorded on this one. Anyway then we had cross last night. I got out there and poked around a bit on monday and then spent a few hours putting stakes in the ground Tuesday which was good because I had to do a lot more work yesterday and almost ran out of time before the kids and party race started. It's also still really warm out and I felt pretty wrecked from walking around in the sun all day setting up. But that's normal so whatever I guess. At the start I got kind of cut off a few times and was farther back than I wanted, and we all watched Toby ride away. You had to climb up the hill across the street all the way to the top, then do a series of corners back down, up a bit more, more turns, and then up again a bit. So being fast up the hill was important, and being fast through the corners was also important. Jason gets on the front of the chase group I think on lap 2 and then gets a nice gap through the turns and I'm feeling held up. Elliot, Landon, and I go through the barriers together and Elliot bunny hops them and gets away from us. Then Landon gets a bit of space on me but I'm keeping in touch and eventually wind up passing him and I think he kind of blew up. Rolled in for 4th again, Elliot was only like 2 turns in front of me most of the time, so another pretty good one. Last week I had a lot of TSS but at the same time I've been feeling like I'm not doing enough or gaining fitness. But also intervals.icu underestimates fatigue when you only have HR and no power so maybe it's fine, and I did dip into the green for a couple of days. Not much I can do at this point since Rolling Thunder is next weekend so I guess we'll see how it goes. Think I'm still fitter than usual so can't complain. Raced on the tubulars last night which was a good choice. needed the grip and needed the low pressure going around the lumpy field. I was planning to run like 27/29 and then Elsa shamed me into going lower so I raced at 25/27. Rear I think could have used a bit more support in a few really grippy turns ad I felt like I had to be a little gentle with them. But a lot of turns got chewed up and loose and dusty by the end so every bit of grip helped there and it was fine. Andy has been bringing a deep fryer to the races. Last week was onion rings. week before egg rolls, this week pickles and oreos.  Whisky was gone when I went up there after the race, keg of beer also gone after I had one. So pretty good time. 
jamal fucked around with this message at 05:49 on Oct 14, 2022 |
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Oct 13, 2022 17:45
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I know this thread doesn't always get the greatest traffic, but I always enjoy these race reports. Andy sounds like a good un.
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Oct 14, 2022 04:17
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Thanks This week he had mini corn dogs and jager bombs at the top of the runup. Cory spent pretty much an entire day mowing the hillside  It's pretty similar to last year. You come into it and go across the side, make two downhill steep 180s to get to the bottom, and then back up. With a little down and up afterward. But it is bigger, and the run seems farther. And is terrible and those drat kids run too fast. Being the week of rolling thunder setup is a little more involved since we're doing a big two day race this weekend on the same course, so a little nicer setup with a lot more stakes and tape. Close the street for the start finish for two full days and everything. If you're near missoula you should probably come and race, or even just watch. Anyway, Monday I was back out there. The hillside is pretty much staying the same as last week so not too much extra work, just closing off the gaps in the tape and little tweaks to a few corners. The infield though had to be completely different because there's a flyover some local carpenters and bike racers built and also the course needs to be a little longer. So lots of squares and hot dog turns and things back there and also consideration for spectator viewing and walking paths and all that poo poo. It's been a busy week and tomorrow we have to get all the lights and set them up and aim them and line the street with fencing. Spent a few more hours out there tuesday and then was out working a little after 11 yesterday as well. Another race with a whole bunch of time on my feet doing physical labor but I am taking a rest/taper week so at least I don't have to go and try to ride bikes a whole bunch too. Better turnout this week, with Caleb, Dan and Robert in our A field. First turn is a little sketchy coming off the street at high speed into the gravel parking lot but there isn't really a better way we can do this and it's mostly fine especially if you do most of your turning before you hit the dirt. And then it is pretty smooth hardpack dirt before it fully transitions to gravel so you mostly only go straight on the worst part. Still, there were a few crashes there including Shaun who had to go get stitches. I might try leaf blowing or sweeping or shoveling the entrance a bit to get a little more exposed hardpack dirt if I have time or feel like putting in that effort.  View from the flyover looking at the hill. Street where we start, turn into the driveway, then go under the flyover right away. Bunch of turns, a little back and forth, some barriers, then over the flyover, around to the back and then up the hill. I was about 5th-6th wheel going into that turn and felt pretty good about it and then Cory cut me off into the sharp right to go under the flyover and the lead 4 of Caleb, Toby, Dan, and Robert got a gap right away. Elliot and I get around and have some decent breathing room already going into the runup. Eventually Landon gets up to us and we have a group of 3 with Myke a few seconds back. The three of us had a pretty good race, mostly sticking together. Elliot got away a bit for awhile, Landon got away, at one point I was leading them, Elliot slid out once in a grass corner and I almost ran into him but didn't. Elliot was jumping the barriers and both of them were running up the hill faster than me but I was generally gaining ground the whole rest of the lap so it went kind of - get on the wheel, hit the barriers, chase, get on the wheel, hit the runup, lose contact, chase again, get on the wheels, back over the barriers. We pass Dan at some point who just had covid and are getting closer to Rob. You try to be polite but some of the passes get a little hectic especially when three people are trying to get by a lapped rider who decides they're going to "race you." At one point I have a big slide sneaking by someone into a downhill-uphill u-turn. Last lap across the gravel to go up the hill I get off the smooth line and into the deep stuff accidentally just as one of the two attacks and they get a little bit of a gap. Then we have to run up the hill, then I get almost there before the start straight again but not quite and watch them sprint it out for 4th. Elliot got it. Here he is running faster than me  Baby limus tubulars at 25/27 were definitely the right choice with all the twisty turns and the hillside getting increasingly loose and slippery as the race went on. They give you really good feedback when you're at the limit and will slide a bit amount without fully washing out. That low in dry conditions I was folding them both over if I loaded them up too hard into the paved chicane onto the start straight but I could rip the turns down the hill and catch back up to the juniors after the runup. HR didn't seem to want to go up as high as normal but also my strap came loose so who actually knows. Felt pretty wrecked today. Made it out to the course at a leisurely 2:30-3 to do a little more work. Adjusted a few turns where people were taking out the tape consistently and then widened the first couple sections and flattened out some of the huge gopher holes in the back stretch around the field. Forecast for the weekend is cold and rain so that should be fun. jamal fucked around with this message at 16:54 on Oct 21, 2022 |
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Oct 21, 2022 04:46
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Rolling thunder cyclocross. I'm tired and still have poo poo to do out there. Friday was a full day of getting the race course ready. Move road closed signs and barriers into place. Put up the start/finish straight fencing, fill in missing bits of tape, oh and get all the lights out there. I borrowed my dad's pickup, which was good since I had to get most of the lights. Last year they were delivered so I just had to move them into place with the mule. Now I have to go return them. So we did that then went into the brewery and got some food delivered and had a beer and waited for it to get dark and then went out there and turned on and aimed all the lights. Saturday morning I needed to be out there to tape up the street crossing and such and move things for the kids race which didn't go up the hillside and then I hung around a bit and then went home and tried to take a nap. Got back in time for the mtb race but didn't participate. Then it was women at 6 and us at 7:40. Kind of cold, intermittent rain all day. Women's race the course went from fairly tacky to slick in a lot of spots especially the descent to the runup. Our downhill/off-camber/runip/pit of despair   The whole side-hill at the bottom is steep and was slippery as gently caress after it rained during the women's race. Pre-riding earlier in the day it was nice and grippy but then I got up there later and slid a bit and chickened out and walked down and was like "oh poo poo the race starts in like 20min how am I going to ride this?" I don't know how they did the callups but I was on the 2nd row behind some people I've been finishing ahead of but at least lined up right behind Caleb and Toby which is probably the best place to be. First turn I'm in the top 10 which is nice because getting in that big crowd back there at the start sucks and some people got tangled up off the line too. I think there are 35ish which is not a huge field for this race and a number of familiar faces weren't there. We go straight into the infield which is a little twisty but I made things pretty wide open except for a few 180s and then there's the flyover. Caleb, Toby, Andrew, Dan, Rob are up there, then Elliot, and I'm behind old Landon and Cory really needing to get around. Do that, come into the descent to the runup like 7th wheel which is cool. I'm chasing Elliot and we get through a lap or two and then Landon and Porter come by and get up to him. I'm kind of in a "this seems too hard for an hour race" zone and expect I'll come back to them like I have been. Jordan, I guy I know from zwift racing but have never met is back there behind me as is Luuk. Then I crash in one of the grass turns and all the juniors are getting farther away and I decide to take a shot on the runup. Every time I come into the descent a chant with my name starts and gets louder by the time I'm going through the crowd at the top. Jordan gets by me and now I'm racing Luuk. Take another shot maybe next lap. Pick up some bills. They're trying to hand me a cupcake but it seems like way too much to try to stuff in my mouth with a pegged HR after running up a giant hill plus it's a huge hassle getting back in the pedals because everything is packed with mud. It seems like I'm about 4 corners down the hill before I get both them in usually. The grass is slippery, the turns are a little greasy, the off camber descent is mud and one time I crash on the way down and have to run a really really long way down and across and then up. I'm riding a different line every time and none of them seem right. There's a cupcake on the ground with $10 under it so I pick that up and take a bite and there's also a lot of dirt in that mouthful so I spit it out about a turn later. We're like 3-4 laps to go and I'm feeling not so bad and start to pick up the pace a little bit and stop drinking on the runup and concentrate on riding the right lines and carrying speed. I catch back up to Luuk and pass him and start to build a gap. Getting closer to Jordan. Catch Porter on the runup on the last lap. He's not having a good time anymore but still had a really impressive race for a 14 year old. Come in 9th which is definitely my best finish at this race. Got $12, think I took 3 shots of margarita that Ivy had in a bag stuffed in a pumpkin. Ran the baby limus tubs at 23/25 and that was pretty good. Hit the front rim real hard crossing the sidewalk on lap one but it seems fine. HR averaged 165 for an hour which is below lthr but a fairly high average for me for that long and I think I did break 175 a few times. Reasonable for how long a week it was setting up and how much walking I did. Does make me wish I could come into one of these things actually fresh and rested but oh well I guess. This week of work does pay pretty well. There is some opportunity for recovery on that lap and a speed limit on some of the grass corners which did make it a little easier to push hard up the hill every time. Not seeing a lot of pictures of the night race so far. Caleb did make an IG post https://www.instagram.com/p/CkGuRpDpCv-/ and video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQFLUIh2JEU&t Did try racing sunday but felt so terrible I dropped out after 4 laps. Then cleanup, then back out there today to return all the lights to the rental place. Looong week and I'm tired. 4 more wed races plus another 2 day weekend for the state championship in a few more weeks. jamal fucked around with this message at 18:20 on Oct 25, 2022 |
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Oct 24, 2022 21:58
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I just want to add my 2 cents also, to let you know that your race posting is appreciated (Jamal and others) and I like reading it even if I don't contribute. You're not just posting into the void, people are reading it!
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Oct 27, 2022 03:44
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I owned Jeff so hard he didn't even know I won. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rQNGLa0j8Q
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Oct 27, 2022 03:57
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Bonus content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz6tXjGy-uY
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Oct 27, 2022 03:58
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Yesterday was wednesday, so, cyclocross. Our season is split into two series, the regular one leading up to last weekend's race, and starting last year a new one that keeps going. "tundra cross," which gives us a total of 9 wed nights and then we're doing state champs, another two day race, nov 11-12. After returning most of the rental lights monday, tuesday Shaun asked if I could do some mowing on the course, which is the university golf course in town. There's a little hill along the edge of one of the fairways we like to use for an off camber so I spent a couple hours out there with a brush mower. Also cut some lines on the back hill but I'm not sure if that's going to work. I need to go out there at some point to poke around more and figure out some more options as i basically just did the same thing we raced last season. After that I went home, changed, rode across town, and coached jr dev cx practice where we rode up into the trail system and then did intervals until dark. 30s of riding, 30s of running is a fun one. I was kind of on my own for setup as well and was basically still working on it when the kids started pre-riding. Their race is at 4:45 and we're at 5:45. It's a counterclockwise loop around the course that goes into the off camber bit pretty early, then meanders over to the hill that you ride up, descent, and then some tight box turns before the finish. Not as big of a field- like 12-13 of us in A. Dan, Robert, Elliot, Landon, no Toby. On the first lap Mike veers way over to the right in front of me on the steep ride up the off camber and that puts me basically at the back of the field. Mike and Porter and I have a little group for awhile just off the back of the lead 4 and then I ride away from them and am by myself just dangling like 20-30s back. I stayed there for the rest of the race, never getting closer. Dan had a pretty good gap by the end but the next three guys were still pretty close. Still pretty tired from the last week and a half but didn't feel terrible. HR showed the fatigue though with an average of only 163, max of 170 over like 35min. It's kind of annoying that according to intervals I'm very fresh and rested from a riding standpoint but in reality I'm pretty wrecked still. On the plus side I got myself into a pretty good spot going into it and there are only 3 weeks of cross left so it's not like I need to do a whole lot more training. Rode the tubeless file treads instead of tubs because it was all pretty dry and mostly grass out there which I think was the right choice. Will prob stick with that for next week unless we get snow and rain. Start  first part of off camber- you go down then back up. I mowed a lot of options for the next races there so it will always be different  Second part. You can also see me in the back there. so close but so far.  jamal fucked around with this message at 20:01 on Oct 27, 2022 |
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Oct 27, 2022 18:57
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Tundra cross week two- we almost had snow. It kinda snowed last night but things were pretty dry in town. Few flurries blew through when I was setting up but it was actually pretty sunny and clear when the race started. I had a light on my bars but didn't wind up needing to turn it on. After watching koppenburg cross yesterday I made a big straight climb and had no barriers and a generally fast course. Few twisty tight sections and I probably should have put in more of that. There's always next week. Off camber made you take two sharp turns going down it which was fun. And we went backward so it was at the end of the lap.  come in from the top left, make that downhill 180 to the bottom then have to get back up and around the last corner. The full outside line wasn't that great so you just kind of had to do your turning from up high across the hill and go all the way to the tape at the bottom and then come up. Pretty slow and awkward every time. Last week I brought both wheelsets and raced on the tubeless file treads, this week I started warming up on those and thought I was probably going to stick with them until I slid out in a grass 180 on leaves and decided to err with a little more grip and swapped on the baby limus tubs at the last minute. uh 26/28 I guess without riding to stabilize and re-check pressures and after taking off my pants and shoe covers and swapping to a dry jersey and lighter gloves I got to the line about one minute before the start. Lot of roots and lumps out there and I was hitting the poo poo out of my rims on stuff but was happy with the extra grip. At the start I hit my pedal and was 3rd wheel behind dan and toby. then toby went down on a slippery grass turn pretty early on in the lap and then we hit the climb and Michael and Elliot went by me and I was like uh that seems too hard? We're all pretty close and I'm sitting there 4th with toby chasing back and then he gets by me at the end of the lap and we're all still there. Things spread out a bit, toby goes down again on lap 2 in the same corner where I crashed in warm up. Dan is riding away but the four of us are all pretty close. But no one caught anyone. I was chasing Micheal pretty hard on the last two laps but didn't quite get there. 5th again with 15 seconds between Elliot, Micheal and I with Toby another 30s ahead. Theme of the week was soup. Bring your own and have a pot luck type deal. I didn't bring any. But mbw crew did bring both soup and whisky for handups  is it soup or is it whisky?  This is probably the last lap  Avg HR low again, only 163 for 37min. I should be able to do like 170-172 for that. I think I'm still in a hole of fatigue from the week of rolling thunder then riding a lot last weekend plus doing a workout. Plus a lot of steps doing setup. So I'll actually try to give myself a bit of a break for next week and next weekend because we have state champs cx coming up. I do also have to set up that course but it won't be as elaborate as thunder so hopefully I'll be able to go into the next uh, 4 races in 8 days fairly fresh. jamal fucked around with this message at 06:49 on Nov 3, 2022 |
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Nov 3, 2022 06:15
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Tundra cross week 3 - actually tundra cross. I've been a little annoyed all week because Shaun decided we were all going to do the nordic course setup at the same time as cx course setup and all get there at 9am and sent it out sunday night and also the forecast for tues-wed was "cold as gently caress." I'm thinking, uh, how about we cancel it all and stay at home instead? Usually for cx setup I show up at about noon and have things ready to go before 4 and then the kids race happens at 4:45 and then we go at 6. but with the time change everything is moved up but also I was planning a shorter and easier to setup course. Anyway I got there before 10 and it was cold and there was snow on the ground and it was snowing. I grabbed a golf cart which at that point was mostly making it around in the snow, which at least was really light and dry and fluffy. Jim took some pictures of me setting up and made sure to get my giant soda cup. Diet coke might be my worst habit.  Dead blow hammer is the way to go with the plastic stakes. The 2lb one is less likely to break them but the 3lb hammer is better in stubborn ground. Also I'm glad I bought some winter boots last week.  Eventually the snow got deeper and the golf cart wasn't working so good anymore on anything that resembled a slight incline. The golf course generally slants uphill from the clubhouse and you notice it when pedaling. It was a struggle to get out that way but then it would cruise back pretty well. Meanwhile Shaun was on an actual snowmobile setting up the XC ski track but there was only one. I got the layout and the stakes and tape in place though and all I had left were plastic soccer cones to mark the rest but had to actually, like, walk to put them out instead of my usual drive a golf cart and drop them on the ground. So that took longer and then the section where the race course went next to/on/across the ski course was a little bit of an issue and needed some more tape and cones and anyway it was getting close to race time and I hadn't eaten enough and spent all day slogging through the snow and was generally unhappy. Shaun took like one lap on the snowmobile to pack down the snow and a student volunteer put out some cones and I was taking a test lap at like 4:20ish with a race start of 5 to see if the course was even possible to ride. Turned out the packed down snow was actually worse than the fresh stuff. In the deep snow the skinny cross wheels just cut down to the ground basically but on the snowmobile track things got a little squirrely. But, on the plus side you could ride the course for the most part. The hardest parts were a slight uphill drag on a mostly groomed track for a bit and the start straight. The edges were pretty good though and I moved cones over to make more of the open fresh snow available to ride. Anyway I took two laps, swapped on a dry jersey (and kept a jacket on), and there were actually people lined up at the start. Not that many but I think over 30 started and we had Toby and Dan and Robert and Mike and many of the other usuals. Plenty of mountain bikes and there were even a few fat bikes out. I rode the cx bike with baby limus tubs at 25/27psi. Toby gets the hole shot at the start and I'm 2nd behind him. He's on a mtb and in the first 100 yards is all over the place and puts a foot out and veers toward me and I just go around and keep pedaling. get through the first part of the course and uh, what, where is everyone? I'm like, way ahead, by myself. I get around the tee box at the farthest and highest part of the course and then you're going downhill and can actually shift out of your easiest gear and pick up some speed and I see people running on the other side going up. how am I so far ahead already what is going on? Then it's into the off camber hill where you can ride some of it and have to run some parts across and up slippery snow. The turns on the way back are kind of fun because you actually have some momentum with the slight downhill and you're sliding around a bit. The start straight might have been the hardest part to ride because it's packed down more and has a bunch of ruts going all over the place but I'm managing to stay on my bike and keep moving in a generally straight line. 2nd lap and I'm already lapping people, some who are just pushing their bikes. I can't see anyone else behind me from the A race. 3rd and last lap isn't much different. Just keep pedaling, sticking to the fresh deep snow on the edges where I can. The extra tracks and ruts going all over make things a little harder as things go on but then I'm done. . What the gently caress just happened? Dan rolls in like 3 full minutes later in a 25min race. Mike is a close 3rd, Shaun beats Toby for 4th. I guess skinny tires are the way to go. Anyway, I got a fancy baguette and a shitload of maple syrup. 
jamal fucked around with this message at 08:50 on Nov 10, 2022 |
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Nov 10, 2022 08:46
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Hahaha that's rad. Congrats.
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Nov 10, 2022 17:06
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