4:54:16 baby!

There it is - First century under 5 hours at the MS150 on Saturday! Without much help from faster people, I spent approximately 50% of the day either leading a pack or riding solo. There is actually plenty of room for improvement because I stopped and ate lunch (not part of the 4:54:16) which really bogged me down for the last 32 miles. Eeeexcellent!

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=6119164

Have you heard of the MS150?

To me it meant 170 miles in two days. It was supposed to be 175 miles but in our haste to complete the day we missed a 5 mile loop.

Again I spent some time in Cache valley this weekend and again it is a beautiful place and again the weather cooperated quite nicely.

Sadly this may very well be the last time I participate in this event. I just don't know if I want to partake in an event where so many people are at the same place at the same time; it causes friction and safety issues. I chose to drive my trailer up Wednesday evening to have a chance at a camping spot for the weekend. Of the dozen people with the same idea there were people who felt entitled to more space than others because they have a larger team coming a few days later or they have been doing this event for many past years. I don't care. If you're here you get a spot, if you're not, you don't. Friday evening I show up at my trailer which I had left Thursday morning and I get crap from people in a tent - in front of my trailer - because I parked my truck too close to their tent spot. Uh, I got here Wednesday and there's my trailer, where should I park? Again, too many people in one spot.

And there's the fundraising thing. I DO NOT like asking for money. Yes I can donate it all myself. Yes it is a good cause.

Riding is interesting as well. People taking the whole road while two abreast, and/or weaving all over the place not caring about their own safety. I guess I am that "ricky racer guy" now. I sometimes come up on people so fast I startle them or happen to catch them weaving their bike right into the spot I'm passing. Scary shit. I can only yell "ON YOUR LEFT" from so far away, and they can only hear if they don't have headphones on. So it turns out I am enjoying those large crowds less and less. I didn't miss the Cycle Salt Lake Century this year probably because I had a scare last year due to the number of riders.

PNP right? On to the positive stuff.

I rode well. I spent a lot of Saturday leading or solo and it made me work pretty hard although the statistics don't show anything near a race pace or being pushed by the "freaking nuts" ones of BCC Racing. Sunday was going to be a cruise with my buddies. Sorry that didn't work out too well for them, although I ended up having a great 70 mile ride in 3:36 ish with Todd, which is quickly joining the ranks of the "freaking nuts". He pushed me pretty good today too. No rest for the wicked canadian.

Non-riding time was completely spent at the fairgrounds which I really enjoyed. Fort Team BCC was a blast with the usual camping suspects and the addition of Team AdvancedMD.

Weather was gorgeous. Scenery breathtaking. Company awesome. Route terrific. Let's do it again Friday.

It was a good day tater

Today I rode a bicycle for 100 miles, 6 hours, and climbed over 6600 / 8800 feet (see The Elevation Game), at a temperature reaching 95 degrees. And it turned out to feel just awesome; the last descent down Emigration made me think I could keep going. Yep I've lost my marbles.

I dreaded the north facing climb up Big Mountain until I reached it. I then spun myself in a funk, hated everything, doubted my abilities, stopped, got off my bike, rearranged my thoughts, and kicked its ass. I had been kicking everything's ass all day so why would this 7ish mile climb be any different? It shouldn't have been. Lesson learned (again): Positive thoughts are the way to go. BIG lesson. Again.

BCCUtah.org has a killer group of people to ride with. I keep hearing compliments everytime I ride with these people; it's great. We end up having quite the group of compatible riders that like to push hard, play hard, and at the end of the day are all out to help each other.

It got damn hot. My feet hurt terribly due to my new shoes. It was a good day tater.

Challenge == stress?

Have you seen my calendar? Holy shit. Superseries everywhere, Death Ride, Tour de Park City, lotoja. I'm scared just writing this. This is the year baby, no turning back. I don't even know which emotion to stick with. Scared, excited, challenged, nuts?

What's funny? MS150 - 175 miles in two days - bah, that's child's play, that's just a party on wheels. Maybe the MS150 is going to be my first sub-5 hour century. There's a challenge, just in case I don't have enough.

Stay near the front. Really. Really-really.

Everyone sais it, writes it, recommends it. Me too. The effort it takes to stay near the front of a race pack is quite a bit less than the back of a pack, which is quite a bit less than a solo mission.

I wasn't aware of the amount of spring / yo-yo / accordeon effect there was in a peloton until I started racing. It's significant. Staying near the back of the pack will cause you effort of catching up every few pedal strokes. Staying in the top 10 ish of the pack is much easier, and it helps tremendously when setting up for climbs. Understand easi-ER is still not easy, not one bit.

That is my lesson learned from the Little Mountain road race. I stuck with the lead pack for 1 3/4 laps, through the first violent climb at the end of the first lap, and easily throught the little climb at the beginning of the second lap. I barely missed the pack at the end of the second lap partly because I was too far back when that climb started. I decided to stick to my pace instead of try to stick with that front group. Oops. They got a tiny bit of a break and TOOK O-F-F. Those guys knew they drew blood and went for the kill by dropping a bunch of us, more than half of the group went away. Again I kick myself thinking I could have suffered that little bit more to stick with them. End result - 16th place out of 38. I'll take it.

And what a great day for a race, and what a beautiful venue for a race. I need to own Cache valley someday.

Say I was going to petition for Category 4

I would need a racing resume. Here are the USAC sanctioned race events I entered so far:

2008-04-26 - East canyon road race. Result: 28th, group 1.
2008-04-29 - RMR criterium. Result: I survived.
2008-05-06 - RMR criterium. Result: I am still alive.
2008-05-13 - RMR criterium. Result: DNF - flat tire.
2008-05-17 - Bear lake classic. Result: 33rd.
2008-05-18 - Bear lake team time trial. Result: 5th.
2008-05-24 - Garden creek road race. Result: 20th.
2008-05-27 - RMR criterium. Result: Finished.
2008-06-03 - RMR criterium. Result: Top 15 ish.

Are weekly criteriums really good for me?

I believe this one deserves my favorite answer: Depends.

Are criteriums good? Absolutely. I feel much more confident in a pack. I feel I am improving at sprints - except for that last one, you know, the one that counts. I am definitely improving at recovering quickly after an attack.

Are the weekly RMR criteriums going to help me get to be a Category 4? Donno. Some say it will. Some say no. Unfortunately the people that say no are the same people that handle the money and paperwork.

This stuff should be automated. If there is a rule somewhere that says 10 races including up to 8 criteriums gets you to Category 4, let's automate it. Make these people send in their weekly paperwork and make a computer determine when someone goes to Category 4. Remove the human factor and reduce sandbagging. Ok maybe my professional career is bleeding in here...

The RMR criterium two days ago was possibly my best yet. I donno if I am going to continue thouhgh; I am definitely taking a break to get some climbing in. Can you say Trapper's loop?

may cause unreliable shifting

Lesson learned: don't wait 3+ years to give your road bike some maintenance love.