The March 28, 2009 Beat the Clock Canada Time Trial results are posted at http://www.scaledup.com/beattheclock/results.html.
Another great event with a fantastic turn out for a good cause – registration closed early when the 100 person limit was reached. Thanks to Patt along with the volunteers who make this event a success. And good to see our friends and team mates!
We arrived at 6:30 AM and it was still dark. The registration desk was operating by flashlight. My start time was 7:49:30 so I had enough time for an adequate warm up. Not so for RFA who had a 7:11 start time. There was still a chill in the air (about 49 degrees), slight dampness and light breeze. Not conditions for record setting TT times but a pretty nice morning. My group was starting in 30 second intervals (later groups were starting at one minute intervals). My thirty-second and one-minute rabbits were men; ahead of them were three SugarCRM women. Behind me was a fast Velo Bella woman, so one of my goals was not to get passed. I had a good start (I think my practice at the track camp last week helped me) and just kept focused on pressing hard. I saw the Velo Bella at the turn around and it didn’t appear that she was making too much of a gain. On the way back I passed the three SugarCRM women and the guy that was my 30-second rabbit. I finished in 27:00, good enough for 3rd out of 22 women. The winning woman’s time was 26:18.
Afterwards, RFA and I did a practice team time trial with my Webcor team mate Phyllis on the Canada course. Phyllis and I are part of a 4-women team at Altamont TTT next Saturday and wanted to get some practice in. RFA and I then did a nice tempo ride out to Peet’s in Los Altos Hills and back on our road bikes. What gorgeous weather!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
TT Training - March 26, 2008
Photo of Coach DmitrijRoller workout on TT bike at Five Rings Cycling Center tonight - felt great and Dmitrij pleased with the effort and our power. Vlad is off to Belarus for a couple weeks so will be at the mercy of Dmitrij. I feel ready for Beat the Clock Canada TT on Saturday. Showdown time for the women.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Kenny Williams Track Camp - Day 3, March 22,2008
Day 3 of Kenney Williams spring track camp started early at 8:30 AM. Driving down to San Jose, we encountered rain - it was clear to the west, but threatening storm clouds to the south. Lots of wind with forecasts of gusts up to 40 mph. When we arrived, the track was dry but some settled water in parts of the apron. After a nice warm up, we did more sprint workouts starting out with the "Russian" drill. For this drill, we formed teams of 3, with the #1 person serving as a rabbit doing a flying 200 meter. The #2 person was leadout for the #3 person. The #2 person peeled up bank, and the #3 person was to stick on to wheel #1 and then attempt to sprint pass. We also did this with drill with 4 persons - this time, #1 and #3 persons peeling up bank. We then did some interval pursuit drills where we formed two packs on opposite sides of the track riding the stayer's line. At the whistle, the last person sprinted to pass the first person on the opposite team. The finale was a points race. We had a brief break for rain - and what wind!!! The rain passed and sunshine again. We resumed the points race - for the most part I hung out in the rear - but then again I was racing with some elite and world championship men! We had a lot of fun and made some friends. It was worth it for the structure and the experience.
Kenny Williams Track Camp - Day 2, March 21,2008
Day 2 of Kenny Williams spring track camp started at noon. We had a few new participants including Leo from Webcor/AV and a Proman woman, Traci. The warmup went wild - hit 30 mph at the end! The weather was unsettled and we had to take one brief break due to rain. I was amazed how fast the track dried up! Today we focused on sprinting and worked on 100 meter jumps and timed individual flying 200's. We also did some match sprints. I was paired with my teammate Pam. After the initial cat-and-mouse, I went up high, dove down and started my sprint. Unfortunately, she was able to hold on to wheel and passed me by a few inches at the finish line. I saw her wheel and yelled "I hate you!". Too funny.
Kenny Williams Track Camp - Day 1, March 20,2008
RFA and I signed up for a 3-day spring track camp at Hellyer Velodrome in San Jose, CA led by Kenny Williams of KW Racing out of Seattle, WA assisted by Phil "Bilko" Stephens. The camp started Friday morning at 9:30. There were about 18 participants including 5 Webcor/Alto Velo racers (RFA, MEA, Pam D., Mark R. and Larry W.). I was happy to see a good turn out for the women (MEA, Pam, Cathy M., Annabel H., and Trish). Several folks came down from Seattle along with a young guy from Portland (Gentle Lovers Racing Team). Our friend Mark McC. was also there as well as John, one of the Hellyer supervisors. People with a range of track experience and abilities. If nothing else we were sure to have a good time. I must comment on the Gentle Lovers pink and red team kit sported by the Portland racer. The team's byline is "If you can't race with the best, you may as well race with the best looking." Not sure what that was all about - but he was a very strong cyclist. Today we focused on endurance events. We did some practice standing starts - an area I need to work on. We did some 2 lap efforts - Kenny said that if I could keep that pace for a 2K I would set a world record. That made me feel good! I challenged my team mate Pam to a 2K and beat her by at a good 15 seconds. The weather was fantastic - sunny and 70 degrees.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
RFA Madera Stage Race Report March 14-15, 2009
Madera Stage Race Report, March 14-15, 2009
Category: Cat 5
GC Place: 28
Field: 45
This was my first stage race and first criterium. I rode in the male Cat 5s. The crit was okay but at times seemed a little dicey. There was a bad crash about two bikes to my right that took a few riders down on the home stretch right before the final lap. One guy was unconscious but revived and was taken away in an ambulance.In the TT, I finished mid pack with a 27:14. After all the talk about missing turns on the course, I memorized the map. However, I still slowed down at the first road 26. Something happens in a race where your racing IQ goes down as the power goes up. Otherwise, it was uneventful but very windy.I was not sure how I would feel for the road race on Sunday. As it turned out, I felt great and the road race was the most fun of the three events. I had heard about the rough section of road. And it lived up to the hype. Lots of water bottles falling off the bikes as well as mechanicals and flats. My Cervelo R3 got to live up to it reputation and provided a good ride on that section of road.It was a great experience and I would do it again.
MEA Madera Stage Race Report March 14-15, 2009
Madera Stage Race, March 14-15, 2009
Cat: W4
Overall General Classification (GC): 7
Field: 43
This was my first stage race. It consisted of a 40 minute criterium Saturday morning, a 10 mile time trial (TT) on Saturday afternoon and a 51 mile road race on Sunday. At a minimum, it would serve as a benchmark at this early point (for me) in the racing season. Last month I was off the bike completely for two weeks due to vacation and surgery, and then had to scale back my training efforts a notch during post-op recovery. I was really looking forward to the race, but also realistically acknowledging that I am not in peak form. I felt surprisingly great during the crit and the road race – my “sweet spot” is typically the time trial, but that turned out to be where I lost time. I am looking forward to the next Beat the Clock TT for some good TT training. I missed 6th GC place by less than a half a second, and would have placed 5th but for my penalty (see TT report below). All in all, a great first stage race. We had perfect weather the entire weekend (high temps around 70 and mostly sunny) which made for an enjoyable weekend of racing. Hermes also completed the stage race with the Cat 5 men and had a stellar time trial stage. I’ll allow him to write his own race report. Fortunately our race schedules meshed very well because there was a lot of driving around to get to the various race venues. Note: Stage 1 was a hill climb on Friday for only the Pro/1/2 male category.
Stage 2, Criterium
Sat. 9:50 AM
Time: 39:43 – finished with the pack
Course: Flat, a little more than 1 mi, four corner, industrial park, very good pavement, wide streets, one perpendicular RR crossing.
The criterium has is not usually the deciding factor for the general classification. There are 20/10/5 second bonuses for 1-3 and two 5 second bonuses for the primes. This was my first crit – my goal was to finish with the pack and move on to the next stage – mission accomplished. I actually enjoyed the crit and took part in a couple breakaways and led out on the last lap. A crash on corner 3 took down one cyclist and a woman next to me hit a traffic cone that came my way. Otherwise, uneventful and fun.
Stage 3, Sharon ITTSat. 2:22 PM start time Time: 27:14 (official time w/30 second penalty 27:44)
Place: 7/43
Course: Flat, rectangular, 10-mile loop, breezy, moderate temperature. Cross-tailwind on first two legs, cross-headwind on third leg, headwind on short final leg.
I was the first W Cat 4 out – I am used to it with the last name beginning with “A”. There was a lag of 2 minutes between the two groups, so it was unlikely that I would catch anyone – and no one passed me. There was so much hype, talk, and warnings about people going off-course that I wrote the road names on my hand. All that I think led to distraction. I had an ambitious goal of 26:30 but that was not to be realized. I think that I was so wound up about the crit and relieved that it was over that lacked that TT inner drive. The cross-headwind/headwind on the last two legs of the course took its toll. I love to TT and this was a good early season test. Don’t ask about the penalty – that hurt! Before the race (before anyone was on the course), I was warming up on Santa Fe Road mentally gauging the wind effect and was on the TT course for 200 meters – yes, I know better – I swear something happens to your brain during a race. I deserve the penalty for being stupid. Live and learn. It cost me 2 places in the GC.
Stage 4, Daulton RRSun. 11:25 AMPlace: 11/43
51 miles (3 laps)
Course: 3 laps of 17-mile loop. Slightly downhill windy section, 2.5 miles of “Paris Roubaix” cobblestones followed by the roller coaster through the finish/feed zone.
I was happy to start in the second wave, have a relatively relaxing morning, and more recovery time. The temps were perfect for a road race. That said, I was still a little bummed out about the TT/penalty and not psyched for a 51 mile road race. As it turned out, the road race was a lot of fun and I was able to easily respond to any attacks or breakaways. We dropped almost half of the peloton on the rollers on the first lap and my sole team mate and I were in the lead pack. I loved the series of short roller coasters – this was a fun course. There was an unsuccessful breakaway attempt on the rough section that really rattled everyone up. We passed the Women’s 3 peloton (who started 10 minutes ahead if us) at the beginning of lap 3, so were maintaining a fast pace. Just after the bumpy section when the course was open to two lanes, the official on motorcycle directed us to the right side of the road so the men’s peloton could pass. This bunched us up so I wasn’t positioned up front when the attack on the hills occurred. I felt strong but finished 11th in 2:19:52 (27 seconds behind first place finisher).
Cat: W4
Overall General Classification (GC): 7
Field: 43
This was my first stage race. It consisted of a 40 minute criterium Saturday morning, a 10 mile time trial (TT) on Saturday afternoon and a 51 mile road race on Sunday. At a minimum, it would serve as a benchmark at this early point (for me) in the racing season. Last month I was off the bike completely for two weeks due to vacation and surgery, and then had to scale back my training efforts a notch during post-op recovery. I was really looking forward to the race, but also realistically acknowledging that I am not in peak form. I felt surprisingly great during the crit and the road race – my “sweet spot” is typically the time trial, but that turned out to be where I lost time. I am looking forward to the next Beat the Clock TT for some good TT training. I missed 6th GC place by less than a half a second, and would have placed 5th but for my penalty (see TT report below). All in all, a great first stage race. We had perfect weather the entire weekend (high temps around 70 and mostly sunny) which made for an enjoyable weekend of racing. Hermes also completed the stage race with the Cat 5 men and had a stellar time trial stage. I’ll allow him to write his own race report. Fortunately our race schedules meshed very well because there was a lot of driving around to get to the various race venues. Note: Stage 1 was a hill climb on Friday for only the Pro/1/2 male category.
Stage 2, Criterium
Sat. 9:50 AM
Time: 39:43 – finished with the pack
Course: Flat, a little more than 1 mi, four corner, industrial park, very good pavement, wide streets, one perpendicular RR crossing.
The criterium has is not usually the deciding factor for the general classification. There are 20/10/5 second bonuses for 1-3 and two 5 second bonuses for the primes. This was my first crit – my goal was to finish with the pack and move on to the next stage – mission accomplished. I actually enjoyed the crit and took part in a couple breakaways and led out on the last lap. A crash on corner 3 took down one cyclist and a woman next to me hit a traffic cone that came my way. Otherwise, uneventful and fun.
Stage 3, Sharon ITTSat. 2:22 PM start time Time: 27:14 (official time w/30 second penalty 27:44)
Place: 7/43
Course: Flat, rectangular, 10-mile loop, breezy, moderate temperature. Cross-tailwind on first two legs, cross-headwind on third leg, headwind on short final leg.
I was the first W Cat 4 out – I am used to it with the last name beginning with “A”. There was a lag of 2 minutes between the two groups, so it was unlikely that I would catch anyone – and no one passed me. There was so much hype, talk, and warnings about people going off-course that I wrote the road names on my hand. All that I think led to distraction. I had an ambitious goal of 26:30 but that was not to be realized. I think that I was so wound up about the crit and relieved that it was over that lacked that TT inner drive. The cross-headwind/headwind on the last two legs of the course took its toll. I love to TT and this was a good early season test. Don’t ask about the penalty – that hurt! Before the race (before anyone was on the course), I was warming up on Santa Fe Road mentally gauging the wind effect and was on the TT course for 200 meters – yes, I know better – I swear something happens to your brain during a race. I deserve the penalty for being stupid. Live and learn. It cost me 2 places in the GC.
Stage 4, Daulton RRSun. 11:25 AMPlace: 11/43
51 miles (3 laps)
Course: 3 laps of 17-mile loop. Slightly downhill windy section, 2.5 miles of “Paris Roubaix” cobblestones followed by the roller coaster through the finish/feed zone.
I was happy to start in the second wave, have a relatively relaxing morning, and more recovery time. The temps were perfect for a road race. That said, I was still a little bummed out about the TT/penalty and not psyched for a 51 mile road race. As it turned out, the road race was a lot of fun and I was able to easily respond to any attacks or breakaways. We dropped almost half of the peloton on the rollers on the first lap and my sole team mate and I were in the lead pack. I loved the series of short roller coasters – this was a fun course. There was an unsuccessful breakaway attempt on the rough section that really rattled everyone up. We passed the Women’s 3 peloton (who started 10 minutes ahead if us) at the beginning of lap 3, so were maintaining a fast pace. Just after the bumpy section when the course was open to two lanes, the official on motorcycle directed us to the right side of the road so the men’s peloton could pass. This bunched us up so I wasn’t positioned up front when the attack on the hills occurred. I felt strong but finished 11th in 2:19:52 (27 seconds behind first place finisher).
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Coastal Training Ride - March 8, 2009
Today was a ride to the coast with my friend and Webcor teammate Pam. We lost an hour of sleep (daylight savings time - spring forward) and were still feeling the effects of yesterday's Berkeley Team Time Trial - at least it was a level playing field. We met at 9 AM at Canada/Edgewood. Chilly, partly cloudy but the forecast called for sunny and low 60s. After climbing up Old La Honda, we hammered out to San Gregorio in a fast pace line - lots of fun. Before starting the climb up Tunitas Creek, we stopped at the Biek Hut. My first visit - what an awesome concept. Read about it at http://www.hmbreview.com/articles/2009/02/25/news/doc49a5c172d49c9700404162.txt
I only hope that the vagrants don't trash it. I felt low on energy climbing Tunitas and lagged a few feet behind Pam and RFA - then I found my "happy thought' - captured "Queen of the Mountain" and pushed hard the remainder of the climb. Great ride!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Berkeley Hills Team Time Trial, March 7, 2009
Category: Tandem (open)
RFA (captain) & MEA (stoker)
Place: 3rd out of a field of 8
Time: 49:49.5
After all the recent rain, it was refreshing to have sunny skies and 50 degree temps on race day. The light fog lifted well before our 10:09:30 (second to last team!) start time. This is the 16 mile "Three Bears Course" with two major climbs and our 3rd annual TTT on the tandem at this event.We did the pre-race analysis and determined that 3rd place was a possibility for us. We determined first and second place would be secured by a significant margin. We projected that four tandem teams would be within one minute of each other competing for 3rd place. So going into the event, we knew that every second would count. Also, we knew that time would be gained or lost on the climbs. We had a good start and settled in to a below threshold pace. When we got to the start of the downhill section, a time check showed that we were approximately at the same time as the previous year. We took the downhill with moderate power and got a little recovery setting up for the right turn and commencing the climbs. Right before the right turn, the tandem team that started 30 seconds behind us passed. I thought "we will see if they can maintain the pace." As we approached the first short climb it became apparent that that team was unable to maintain the pace, and we passed them with ease, not seeing them again until the finish – as it turned out, their time was 59 seconds behind us.We continued along but did not see any other tandems for a while. Right before Mama Bear, we passed the tandem team that started 1 ½ minutes ahead of us – great. As we started our climb up Papa Bear, we passed our "two-minute rabbit" with our one-minute rabbit (male-male tandem team) in sight. After cresting Papa Bear, we put on full power to the finish with a personal best. We were thrilled to capture 3rd place, and as predicted, only 59 seconds separated 3rd and 6th place. And it doesn't get much better than winning a pound of Peet's coffee.
RFA (captain) & MEA (stoker)
Place: 3rd out of a field of 8
Time: 49:49.5
After all the recent rain, it was refreshing to have sunny skies and 50 degree temps on race day. The light fog lifted well before our 10:09:30 (second to last team!) start time. This is the 16 mile "Three Bears Course" with two major climbs and our 3rd annual TTT on the tandem at this event.We did the pre-race analysis and determined that 3rd place was a possibility for us. We determined first and second place would be secured by a significant margin. We projected that four tandem teams would be within one minute of each other competing for 3rd place. So going into the event, we knew that every second would count. Also, we knew that time would be gained or lost on the climbs. We had a good start and settled in to a below threshold pace. When we got to the start of the downhill section, a time check showed that we were approximately at the same time as the previous year. We took the downhill with moderate power and got a little recovery setting up for the right turn and commencing the climbs. Right before the right turn, the tandem team that started 30 seconds behind us passed. I thought "we will see if they can maintain the pace." As we approached the first short climb it became apparent that that team was unable to maintain the pace, and we passed them with ease, not seeing them again until the finish – as it turned out, their time was 59 seconds behind us.We continued along but did not see any other tandems for a while. Right before Mama Bear, we passed the tandem team that started 1 ½ minutes ahead of us – great. As we started our climb up Papa Bear, we passed our "two-minute rabbit" with our one-minute rabbit (male-male tandem team) in sight. After cresting Papa Bear, we put on full power to the finish with a personal best. We were thrilled to capture 3rd place, and as predicted, only 59 seconds separated 3rd and 6th place. And it doesn't get much better than winning a pound of Peet's coffee.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Beat the Clock Time Trial Report - Sat. Feb. 28, 2009
RFA did the first Beat the Clock Time Trial of the year. The weather cooperated – chilly and dry. RFA had a 7:44 AM start time so we were up at 5:30 and at the start area by around 6:30 AM. This TT was preparation for the Berkeley Team Time Trial next Saturday which we will do on the tandem. This event is always a lot of fun and the proceeds going to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. There were over 100 riders (filled the limit!) raising more than $2,500 for the Foundation. In the individual aero time trial men’s category (all ages), RFA placed 40 out of 48 with a 27:44 (a personal best). The winning time was 23:10. The fastest 2 man team was 22:02. Overall taking into account men, women, teams and the Merckx category, RFA was 65 out of 103 or the top 2/3 of the entire field. There were two men who came in ahead of me at 27:43 – seconds count.We have been training on TT bikes at our cycling gym but this was RFA’s first full out effort this year on my TT bike. Our training has focused on power building / hill climbing and now we are working on speed as well as the track. It was interesting to see what effect, if any, the track workouts would have on road racing. At the track, we have been practicing standing starts plus doing a lot more sprinting and shorter intense efforts. RFA thinks that the track work really helped his start and turnaround.MEA was still recovering from a medical procedure, so she did not race but volunteered at registration. After the TT, we went out for a 40 mile ride.
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