Last TNWC of 2009

Another smallish group tonight but there were enough strong dudes to keep it interesting and fast.  Not much happened for the first half of the race.  A break of around 8 of us got away at around the midpoint and this was probably less of a break than just natural selection.  Pretty much everyone was there so I wasn't too concerned about doing much work to make it stick.

I knew I had to use that one match I had at just the perfect time.  With 3 to go Wingo launched and got a pretty good gap. We sort of took our time chasing him down which was fine with me cuz that meant one less strong guy to worry about for the finish.  Again I did a minimal amount of work...just surfed the back or just rolled through and off the front to conserve as much as possible.

With one to go I planted myself on Marc's wheel and at this point he had a 95% probability of winning so I wasn't too thrilled about sprinting against him.  Plus what made matters worse for me was there was a strong tailwind blowing down the finish (advantage to Marc).  Usually with that wind I like to attack into the wind with about 1k to go and if I can get a decent gap I can sometimes hold it to the line with the tailwind.  I did consider trying this but I didn't think I had the legs to pull it off.  My one match is sortof puny right now.

Coming to turn 3 of the last lap Jay was leading it out...then Toby, Marc and me.  Right after the turn Marc attacked hard and it sort of surprised me...I totally didn't expect it. A split second later I went after him, dug deep and closed the gap just before turn 4.  He bombed the turn and drilled it up towards the finish line. I looked back once and it was just us two by a good ways.  I knew I had a huge advantage at this point but still wasn't convinced that I could come around him.  I just relaxed, stayed an inch from his wheel and waited till the last possible moment... and with 50m to go I jumped hard and pipped him by a wheel for the win. Very fun finish, good instincts and aggressive riding by Marc but just bad luck.

zippage

posting for a teammate...lemme know if you're interested:

Front and Rear Zipp 404. Dimpled. Bought 2 seasons ago used. Very low mileage Continental Tubulars: $1,000

Front and Rear Zipp 808. Dimpled. New in the box, mid season 2008. Light mileage Continental Tubulars: $1,200

Zipp 900 Disc. Dimpled. Bought, used, in 2008. Vittoria Tubular: $900

Front Zipp 1080. Dimpled. New in the box, end of season 2009. 40 miles. Very, very low mileage Continental Tubular: $950

fo sale

New Kuota Kredo Ultra

XL (57cm top tube)

$1000

another TNWC

Good TNWC despite a small field. I think after 15 min there were only about 10 guys actually left racing. I missed the break (grrrrrr...) and ended up chasing with a good small group. We worked it and kept the break in sight but just could not close it. I decided to just pull as hard and as long as I could to get a good workout.

dirt

Today I got out with Jay and Mark D for a mtn bike ride at Harbison...it's been *a while* since I've ridden off road. At least a few years. When I lived in Salt Lake in 1989 I used to spend weeks and weeks riding around Moab and other places in UT and Colorado. I had a nice road bike but just never rode it as I had great trails leaving right from my place up Emigration canyon in SLC and it was too much fun.

This morning we hammered the trails for a couple hours...for the first hour I was pretty gripped, trying to ride fast when my reflexes and technical skills were lagging behind. The last hour I started feeling like a rider again. Good fun and I'm sure I'll do more this winter.

TNWC

I wasn't feeling that super today. Yesterday I did about 90' with 45' of 85% and my lower back was a little tweaked (I think from doing several no-hands laps to mix it up!). I basically just sat in tonight and cruised the back. I wasn't gonna do ANYTHING before 35' in to save my single match.

At 35' I started to get a little active and went with a couple moves but nothing would stick. The last 20' was pretty good racing. With 3-4 laps to go 4 guys got a little gap and the diminished field was left to chase. It seemed that lots of guys were pretty tired and I tried to bridge once at 2 to go but just dragged everyone up a ways till I pulled the plug.

With one to go I tried again, jumped pretty hard and got a gap. Derek managed to get my wheel so I figured I'd just drag him to the break. Right when I made contact he attacked (textbook!) and blew it apart...including me. End of my night and I rode home at a steady pace for some more exercise.

I have no idea who won. I was a little impatient at the end but it was fun none the less and a good workout. I was really comfortable on the bike tonight. I continue to be amazed at how well I'm riding with hardly any training since July.

Saturday

Karl and I did 3 hrs today out and around Eastover. We both felt pretty good so we rode pretty steady with him killing it on the front for 60% of the time. I didn't feel awful despite not having ridden this far in a long time. My batteries died on the PT so I was going by PE. I was gonna do 2 easier rides this weekend to get my TSS but one harder one works out about the same.

TNWC

Cool race tonight...lots happening and it was pretty fast. LL told me he was gonna launch after the first catch at 15' in but with my diminished fitness I figured I needed to burn that one match I had nearer to the end. LL, Karl and Ward were away for a long time and it took a hell of a chase to pull them back. I had to take a couple big pulls even though I didn't really want to but the chance of those guys staying away was pretty huge.

For the last third of the race I just sort of surfed and kept an eye on things...with everyone in the group chasing like mad I figured it would come down to a bunch sprint so I went into chill mode. It all stayed pretty much together and I was sitting 20th wheel with a half lap to go so I inched up towards the front following Marc W. Someone then put in a massive attack at 1k (Ward?) and I just put my head down and stayed glued to the wheel in front of me. That friggin hurt!

Coming into turn 4 I was sitting 3rd on Marc W's wheel...James (?) was leading it out. Coming out of 4 the train was starting to die and MW was again just sitting on and looking around for a wheel. At around 200m to go I saw my opportunity as the leadout was riding on the left gutter. I thought that if I could attack and ride just off the lead guy's shoulder and taking some people with me that I could maybe box MW in and have a shot at winning. I didn't know how many were following me but it was not enough and MW made it through and won pretty easily (but those tactics have a zero % chance of working in a 1-2 race). I got 2nd.

Damn these races can be fun...

400

Ok...my 5 week siesta is over. Time to start keeping the weight in check and maintain some fitness. My goal for the next month is 400TSS a week. Not huge but it will require riding 3-4x per week with 2 good days. I'm gonna keep the volume down and make it all about quality...SST will rule.

Today I did about a 90' ride with 55' at 85-90%. My new FTP is around 275w but is probably a little bit lower than that.

On a side note my shoulder is still pretty jacked from the crash last tuesday...I came soooo close to a major rotator cuff injury and I'm still not completely satisfied that I didn't tear something. I'll give it another week before I think about an MRI.