Cherry Blossom SR-Orchard Run CR

Sleep	6
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast	7:00 AM – oatmeal, yogurt, banana, water 9:00 AM – power bagel 10:30 AM – PowerBar, water 12:20 PM – gel
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	large bottle w/3 scoops Perpetuem, large bottle w/2 scoops HEED, 3 gels
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	12:40 PM
Workout Type	race
Weather	50, partly sunny,light wind turning to overcast, slightly colder and slightly windier by the end
Course	short loop (2x) – up and down on pavement long loop (3x) – bigger hills, steeper hills and the gravel climb finish is up a stout climb 200 m long
Distance	advertise distance was 51 miles but we rode at least 55
Time
Power
Results	Masters 40+ 16th GC – 15th official results
Equipment	Road Bike 39/53, 11-28 I only used the 28 twice on the last big loop and then only because the pace of the guy I was with allowed it, a 25 would have been fine. I also used the 11 but it was not needed as well. Zipp 404 wheels
Clothing	bib shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, cap

Today was a story of two catastrophes barely averted.

As we were pumping up our tires in the parking lot I noticed a bald patch about 1.5" long all the way down to the casing on my rear tubular. Crap! I recall having to lock it up avoiding the crash in stage one and that must have caused it. I'm very grateful it held up for the criterium last night but since Alex T kindly offered to me use his rear Zipp 404 (with an 11-28 instead of my 12-27) I chose safety and left my rear wheel in the van.

As we were spinning up the road Greg shifted into spokes and it was tense for a bit as the chain was really jammed in there. Luckily when we got it out no spokes were damaged. Good save Greg.

The weather report said it would warm up but the opposite happened. Luckily I had on enough to avoid freezing.

The Cat 1-2 pack started 10 minutes ahead of us and I watched with more than a little consternation as some guy lit it up from the gun and freaking sprinted up the road absolutely lining out the pack. This race is ALL hills and I sure did not want to start that way... Thankfully sanity prevailed and our first climb was quite sane. That's not to say it was easy, I was already struggling a bit and this did nothing to boost my confidence.

I survived the two short loops with the bunch. And by 'survived' I mean I had to chase on twice. Rats. As we headed out onto the long loop I got to witness greatness. And yes, it is my tendency to exaggerate but hey, it makes this blogging more fun. Anyway, as we approached the steepest climb of the long loop Dave Z pulled into it – hard – and then proceeded to simply go faster thus ride away from most of the field. He didn't so much attack as he just accelerated until everyone was shelled. Karsten H put in another great ride to hang with and get second on the stage. Damn.

As we hit the first hill and the pace ramped up just a bit Greg K turned to me and said something like, "I'm outa here." Honestly, I felt pretty much the same. When Dave Z made his first probing acceleration Dave H tried to go with but over-extended himself and then self-destructed. I could tell right away it was not anything I could follow so kept it sane and ended up riding away form Greg and then catching and passing Dave H. Based on my climbing so far this year I never thought that would happen so without disparaging either of them I was kinda psyched. As psyched as you can be while getting dropped anyway. Brad K on the other hand was posting another strong showing and hung with this first spurt.

Once I was really and truly off the back the front group seemed to slow just a bit! Argh... nothing like making it appear possible that you can get back on so I took the bait, dug deep and finally hitched back up at the bottom of the big descent prior to the first gravel climb. But of course that took a lot out of me and as soon as the road tipped up I was dangling once again.

At the top of the gravel climb I was only about 100' behind the leaders! Everyone had told me that the descent was sketchy and twisty so I was thinking no problem – I'll catch them for sure. What I did not realize was that there was also a wicked headwind all the way down and so the bunch easily went much faster than I could on my own. Rats. At the bottom of this hill I saw Dave Z's acceleration as he shed most of this lead group.

For the next long loop I was solo!

I kept looking back and saw that there was a group of about five riders behind me and I vacillated between going harder and sitting up. Eventually I opted for putting my head down and riding it in as waiting for others can sometimes spell disaster if they were sandbagging and then drop you before the finish. So I started looking ahead. And picking off dropped riders.

I think I caught and dropped at least three. I thought I was going to catch more but it turns out there were some recreational riders on these roads as well and when I got close it was a bit of a letdown to realize they were not racing... There was one carrot way up the road that kept me going. I think I chased this guy (Dave – a friend of a friend it turns out) for at least 15 miles and when I finally did catch him we were super compatible so lucky me. He was perhaps a tad stronger on the flats but I was just a hair fresher on the climbs (?!) and was faster on the descents. Luckily it did not matter as we quickly resolved to stick it out together.

ASIDE – I was very surprised to pass Todd G on the big loop, he was pulled over putting on clothes. Turns out he bonked hard and simply turned around and quit after getting dropped from the lead group.

On our last lap Dave and I also passed several dropped riders from the Cat 1/2 race; and they had one more lap to go!

On the last hill to the finish I was not going to sprint but then Dave turns to me and said, "Well, I wonder what I have left." Of course I interpreted that as meaning he was going to try and sprint and just wanted to give me fair warning after our miles of collusion so I ramped it up and managed to put a couple of seconds into him. In hindsight it could also have meant that he simply was wondering if he was going to cramp up or not but he was very grateful after the finish so hopefully no political harm was done.

I looped back around and hooked up with Brad and we cheered first Greg and then Dave up the hill. Greg had to drag race some guy and lost and Dave made it look absolutely brutal by practically riding his big ring all the way to the top. Can you say 39x15? Not sure what gear he was in but it looked super uncomfortable and super unnecessary.

The Kauper clan was also on the hill cheering – it was really cool.

By the time we all finished we were quite cold and it was time to head back to the car pronto.

Thanks to Alex for being so generous with his gear and congratulations to Brad for another great ride and to Greg and Dave for sticking it out. If Brad's confidence had been higher he might have gone even better.

This course is hard for sure but not as supremely brutal as people hyped it up to be. Sure, I got dropped but that isn't anything new. :) The 'wall' everyone warned me about was not so terrifying and the gravel was quite deluxe actually – extremely smooth. Of course that means next year will be another story entirely. No worries there.

Technorati Tags: Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic,Orchard Run Circuit Race

Cherry Blossom SR-Cherry City CT

Sleep
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch	12:00 PM – fried Spanish rice w/veggies, egg & salsa, water chips & salsa 2:00 PM – yogurt, banana, bread humus 5:00 PM – PowerBar
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	7:05 PM
Workout Type	race
Weather	upper 40s, dry, overcast, some wind
Course	flat, 4-corner criterium, tailwind back straight, long headwind sprint to the finish
Distance
Time	35 min
Power
Results	Masters 40+ 22nd GC – 10th official results
Equipment	Road Bike 39/53, 12-25 Zipp 404 wheels
Clothing	knee warmers, bib shorts, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, thin gloves, cap

My first criterium of the year! This race is just full of firsts.

Today Safeway schooled everyone and showed them how to ride a short crit. Dan M (1st place in GC) took off like a shot. As soon as he was caught his teammate did likewise. With this constant barrage of attacks Dan managed to win no les than three primes and in the end they had enough left to get one their riders across the line in first place. Nice.

I had a super start. I lined up on the front row and hit turn one in 2nd spot. But I did not stay there... this was a fast race! Usually there are lulls in any crit and there were very few here and the two or so we had did not last more than 100 or so meters. In other words it really behooved you to stay near the front.

I went with a few moves and even initiated one myself but did not have the power to do any damage. Half way in I suddenly found myself at the very back of the pack and cursed myself for not paying attention. It was then that I finally realized it was WAY easier to move up on the outside than the inside. Stupid me for wasting to much energy early on.

By the time I got close to the front we were about to collide with a bunch of riders! Imagine racing along at 30 mph, looking up and seeing an official official frantically waving a group of riders to the side of the road so we don't plow into them. Turns out it was the 15 or so folks that got dropped and we were lapping them.

With two to go I was in the top 10 and next to Greg with Brad nearby but another lapse in concentration (that's going to be my excuse whenever I'm not fit enough to maintain the pace) meant I got squeezed back to about 20th. When the surge went on the back straight I saw Dave in second place so was excited but he bogged down at the finish. On the bright side Greg took 3rd by beating Todd G with a bike throw. Fantastic stuff. Podium pictures were taken.

I felt okay but not so sharp at the very end when it counted. Congratulations to Dave for being in the right spot at the right time (at least half the battle!) and to Greg for an outstanding finish.

And this is what happens when you forget to turn your GPS off after the race...

Technorati Tags: Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic,Cherry City Criterium

Cherry Blossom SR-Dufur Valley TT

Sleep	7
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast	6:00 AM – oatmeal, plain non-fat yogurt, banana 9:00 AM – HEED  9:30 AM – gel
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	I took along a bottle of water but I never drank any
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	9:54 AM
Workout Type	race
Weather	50 (maybe), dry, mostly sunny, pretty windy
Course	uphill start, gently rolling course, one descent just prior to the uphill finish
Distance	11 miles
Time	26:34
Power
Results	Masters 40+ 8th GC – 10th official results
Equipment	TT – Time Trial Bike 42/55, 12-23 I could have used an 11-tooth cog today! Zipp disc and Trispoke wheels
Clothing	TT – Lycra shoe covers, knee warmers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, long sleeve skinsuit, thin gloves

Since the Frostbite TT got rescheduled this year today was my first TT. Yep, I was a little apprehensive.

I needn't have been. My bike felt really solid – even in the strong wind. I never had to come out of the aero bars except to stand at the start, the turn around and the last corner just before the finish. I love my front wheel, the tri-spoke handles much better than a deep rim in my opinion. And my position felt really good! A huge plus since I have changed it up a tad and have only ridden it on the trainer so far this year. I keep lusting after some new/fancy (read: very expensive) TT bike but obviously this thing is getting the job done just fine.

We showed up at the start plenty early and it was BLOWING. It also was not as warm as any of us wanted so the clothing debate began.

"What are you going to wear, long sleeve undershirt or short sleeve with arm warmers...? Gloves? No gloves?"

Sometimes I think bike racers sound like junior high girls on date night. Or is that the other way round?

We set up the trainers and I was having the hardest time warming up. I just could not get myself to put in anything even resembling a hard effort. This is a big problem for me and it's chronic; I spin easy for a bit, try to shift up and go for 60 seconds or so but then bail after about 15 as my chain flies back up the cassette to a larger cog. Sheesh...! I did this about three or four times and finally it was 20 minutes to go so I just climbed off and hoped I would be okay.

We started with one foot clipped in and one foot on the ground. The poor official at the start was so cold his hand that he used to count me down from 5 seconds to go was shaking like crazy and his pen was bouncing off of his clipboard as he tried to write. I took off in the small chainring as we were going uphill; I think I stood to get the gear rolling and then shifted up once and kept it there in the saddle to the first corner.

ASIDE – I had heard horror stories from everyone that finished this course. Everything from "I could only go 20 mph on the way out!" to "I never even shifted into the big chainring!" so I had no idea was in store. Turns out it was not that bad. Assuming you have a bit of experience on the TT bike of course. Less than one km from the start I was in the big ring.

The wind was strong but it was manageable. AS long as I kept weight on the aero bars it really was not an issue. Some stretches were worse than others but from what I recall I kept it in the big ring all the way to the turn around. Here I had my only bobble as the wind was not directly in my face and as I transitioned from the aero bars to the wings where the brake levers are I almost bit it.

Once around the cone it was off to the races. As I was waiting to start Alex T rolled up having completed his ride and told me it was a race to the turn around. He was right. In very short order I was in the 55x12 bombing the return. It was then that I tried to shift again and realized I was already in my smallest cog. :( This is the first time I have even needed a larger gear so chalk that up to course knowledge and next year I will be that much better prepared.

Passing people/getting passed can be a mental game in any TT. Luckily I passed three people (all on the way out) and on one passed me. At times on the way back I was positively grinning as flying down this road at top speed was a BLAST. Kind of like being on a roller coaster.

I had been warned to slow down to sub 35 mph for the final turn before the climb to the finish but not having a cyclometer on my TT bike I had to guestimate. In retrospect I slowed too much and then was able to storm up the final rise so perhaps I had too much left in the tank. Honestly, it was hard to empty the tank spinning on the way back... Brad and Greg were waiting there to cheer me on as I crested the rise.

My 8th place in the TT was good enough to move me from 20th up to 10th in GC. I was starting to like this race.

Brad had a great ride and placed 5th. Karsten H gave us a preview of things to come by blowing second place away.

Technorati Tags: Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic,Dufur Valley TT

Cherry Blossom SR-Columbia Hills RR

Sleep	6
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast	6:15 AM – oatmeal, plain non-fat yogurt, banana, water 8:30 AM – PowerBar, water
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	large bottle w/3 scoops Perpetuem, large bottle w/2 scoops HEED, gel
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	9:10 AM
Workout Type	race
Weather	50-60, mostly sunny, some wind, dry
Course	19 mile loop containing one longer, milder hill and one shorter steeper hill
Distance	55.8 miles
Time
Power
Results	Masters 40+ 20th official results
Equipment	Road Bike 39/53, 12-25 this gearing was perfect Zipp 404 wheels (first race of the year with light wheels!)
Clothing	bib shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, cap

Our goals was just to get one of us in the break and we blew it. Twice.

In the first lap Dan M (Safeway) goes off the front but Brad K covers it. Then Todd G counters the bunch and Dave H goes with him. Nice! Greg and I are simply patrolling now.

But then Brad flats out of the winning move. When Dave catches him (both groups were not very far up the road at this point) he stops to give Brad his wheel. Unfortunately this takes so long that we catch them both and now the two groups that are up the road don’t contain anyone from our team.

There are a few attempts to counter and bridge but Westend had two riders away so weren’t contributing (and are a strong team) and Dan is one of the strongest riders period so we quickly realized it was fruitless. by the finish two riders were dropped from the second break but Dan simply soloed in for the win always increasing his gap. Impressive for sure.

The first time up the hill I felt like dirt. My breathing was not right and I could not spin my low gears. The second time up I felt a little better. The third time up we were pushing 400 watts most of the way according to Brad but it felt the best of all three. The shorter, steeper hill felt okay to me every time interestingly enough. I followed an attack on the first lap and a huge surge by Karsten H on the third lap and it was okay.

I did go with a couple of moves and even instigated one myself on the second descent and the flats of the second lap but both efforts were short lived and the pack closed me down quickly.

Rolling into the finish I was in about 6th spot and next to the center line so thought it was perfect. No one was going to be able to come around me on the left and I was near the front. With about 1.5 km to go Dave Z goes to the front and speeds up the pace and then with about 1 km to go he swings ALL the way over to the left and quits. We were not supposed to have the whole road until about 300 m to go but of course now everyone is encroaching on the yellow line and my position is no longer so strategic. As we get near to the corner some guy rides into another and two people go down pretty much in front of me. I am able to avoid it but have to slow way down and go super wide around the corner and up the hill. I give it my best sprint and do pass some people but I get pack time.

At least I felt much better on the hills than in the other races I have done so far this year. I hope I can suck it up on Sunday.

Props to Brad for getting into the early move and to Dave for getting into the chase group.

Technorati Tags: Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic