Today's ride was from Sugarhouse park up Emigration then to the base of Big Mountain due to snow on the road. A nice 2 hour outing with 32+ miles of mostly climbing. Weather was a gorgeous 72 degrees according to my truck, and definitely windy. Funny thing is I was so excited to be on my bike I didn't care so much about the wind.
I felt I should do my own thing to avoid a bunch of climbing today as I am still working on base miles, but I am glad I got out with a group today to be a little more social. There were a few moments where I decided to take off from the groups to avoid political shit but most of the ride was cool and the people friendly.
Since I decided to join this ride I felt it would be good to concentrate on cadence today. My goal was to keep a high cadence of over 85 bpm, which meant I got into my granny gear - 30 x 23 - to climb some of Emigration. Speed wasn't the idea, and unfortunately not everyone understands that. Maybe the race team had planned to make this a race simulation day but I wasn't aware of it. Maybe every outing will be a race simulation day like last year, but I hope not. I hope we learn to be more disciplined.
To be fair, I took off at the base of Emigration. I took off because there was a political discussion going on in the pack and I wasn't interested. This caused a few key people to get their testosterone going to catch me, which evolved into a 3-4 person pack flying up Emigration. After 8 miles or so I decided to back off because I was working way too hard and getting tired without getting much of my desired training in. I backed off and got some lip for it. Oh well. I also realized I didn't have nutrition easily available so I stopped and grabbed stuff out of my Camelbak.
After regrouping at the top of Emigration, more talk started, and after a few minutes of it I took off again. The rest of the ride was great. I feel good about my fitness. What's interesting is I am confident of my abilities to the point I don't feel the need to prove myself at every chance. Hell I don't need to prove myself at all. After the ride there was small discussion about how the ride went. One person based their answer on their "finish" position to the top of Emigration. Heh. How last year.
Oh, and I am REALLY liking my new Williams 38 carbon wheels. Really really. And it's not because they are super sexy as Tom said.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
The first "real" mountain bike race
Red rock desert rampage took place in St George last weekend as the season opener of the Intermountain cup.
My first "real" mountain bike race compared to a 13 mile race on a dirt road. I chose Sport category for a multitude of reasons, knowing I would get spanked. The spanking wasn't so bad. I earned 15th position out of 19 racers which was less than 12 minutes from the winner and 9 minutes from the slowest person in the 35-39 age group. Could have been much worse.
Last year I learned via road racing that there is no value in saving energy for later. Mountain bike racing is no different. The start was a drag race - for me at least - and by the time we hit the single track it looked like most of the group was ahead of me. Let the beatings begin. I settled into my race, started climbing, and a few moments later I found myself slowing down on the single track due to people in front of me. More climbing. Some people pass, but I try to watch for the gray tag to make sure I can know if someone in my age group passes me. Climbing continues. Pace is pretty tough but not crazy; it's doable at least around the people I'm around.
First downhill arrives finally. I love my 11 year old bike, it just floats. Just as I get ready to consider passing someone the downhill is done, let's climb again. This time it feels like a recovery climb. This is a single track - a sweet single track I might add - but it is filled with people going at a relatively easy pace. I decide there is no need to try passing as there are easily 10 people ahead of me and it would be futile.
Climb completed, downhill flight ensues nearly all the way to the start/finish. Huh, one lap done, I feel pretty good. I decide to grab some shot blocks for the next lap while I'm on a flat section. I look down and see a lap time of 37:00. Huh.
Then the climb starts at the beginning of the second lap. Oh oh. I truly left nothing the first lap and it's payback time. The suffering was a treat if I say so myself. I ran out of gears quickly and just settled in the gears I could handle. There was some yelling. There were some explicit comments. I'm certain there were some people chuckling, including the many that passed me. I'm still watching for gray tags but don't see any. None. The whole race.
Downhill again. Flight #3. Now I'm catching up to some people. I ask to pass one person and am successful. Not many pass me downhill but some do. Those guys are flying.
Climb #4. I catch up to a group again and can't pass. I wait it out. It's definitely NOT a recovery climb this time. I finally make it to the top and really enjoy the downhill to the finish. I get to the flats and pass at least one person before the line. I left NOTHING. I did all I could do. It felt great.
I enjoyed this race course tremendously. It is named the Green Valley raceway. Red Rock Bicycle has a map and directions to it. I recommend the area, and it has great primitive camping as well. 10 miles from In-n-Out.
Token pictures:
My first "real" mountain bike race compared to a 13 mile race on a dirt road. I chose Sport category for a multitude of reasons, knowing I would get spanked. The spanking wasn't so bad. I earned 15th position out of 19 racers which was less than 12 minutes from the winner and 9 minutes from the slowest person in the 35-39 age group. Could have been much worse.
Last year I learned via road racing that there is no value in saving energy for later. Mountain bike racing is no different. The start was a drag race - for me at least - and by the time we hit the single track it looked like most of the group was ahead of me. Let the beatings begin. I settled into my race, started climbing, and a few moments later I found myself slowing down on the single track due to people in front of me. More climbing. Some people pass, but I try to watch for the gray tag to make sure I can know if someone in my age group passes me. Climbing continues. Pace is pretty tough but not crazy; it's doable at least around the people I'm around.
First downhill arrives finally. I love my 11 year old bike, it just floats. Just as I get ready to consider passing someone the downhill is done, let's climb again. This time it feels like a recovery climb. This is a single track - a sweet single track I might add - but it is filled with people going at a relatively easy pace. I decide there is no need to try passing as there are easily 10 people ahead of me and it would be futile.
Climb completed, downhill flight ensues nearly all the way to the start/finish. Huh, one lap done, I feel pretty good. I decide to grab some shot blocks for the next lap while I'm on a flat section. I look down and see a lap time of 37:00. Huh.
Then the climb starts at the beginning of the second lap. Oh oh. I truly left nothing the first lap and it's payback time. The suffering was a treat if I say so myself. I ran out of gears quickly and just settled in the gears I could handle. There was some yelling. There were some explicit comments. I'm certain there were some people chuckling, including the many that passed me. I'm still watching for gray tags but don't see any. None. The whole race.
Downhill again. Flight #3. Now I'm catching up to some people. I ask to pass one person and am successful. Not many pass me downhill but some do. Those guys are flying.
Climb #4. I catch up to a group again and can't pass. I wait it out. It's definitely NOT a recovery climb this time. I finally make it to the top and really enjoy the downhill to the finish. I get to the flats and pass at least one person before the line. I left NOTHING. I did all I could do. It felt great.
I enjoyed this race course tremendously. It is named the Green Valley raceway. Red Rock Bicycle has a map and directions to it. I recommend the area, and it has great primitive camping as well. 10 miles from In-n-Out.
Token pictures:
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New toys
Tonight is catch up night. I have a few subjects to catch up on, starting with my new toys attached to my Madone. I mean, these are all investments in my health.
Here is version 2009 of my 2006 Madone.
Check out the new wheels baby! Williams cycling, our race team's new sponsor for 2009, allowed me to get a killer deal on these beautiful 1596g full carbon sweet wheels.
I probably have less than 100 miles on these wheels. So far they are smooth as silk, quick, and full of potential. I truly can't wait for April 11th's Tour of the Depot to truly put them to the test. I am one excited old fart to go racing.
You may also notice the very large hub on the rear wheel, commonly known as a PowerTap Pro+. Yeah this is definitely an investment in my health in a seriously scientific way. I can now immediately see my power output and review heart rate, speed, power, cadence, and more when I get to a PC. Quite interesting data to analyze actually. Works perfectly with my Garmin 705, although interestingly the software can download power data but not display it. I get to download the data using Garmin's Training Center, save the ride data as a tcx file, and import into PowerAgent for power analysis.
During my TT bike testing I realized there was quite a bit of a weight penalty for using mountain bike pedals even though I had some XTR level pedals. Therefore I found a good deal on the new much lighter Look Keo Sprint road pedals weighing in at 328g including cleats and screws. My previous pedals are over 400g without cleats or screws. The XTR pedals are now upgrades on my mountain bike.
It was time for drive train maintenance as well. Time for an upgrade to a 53 from a 52 up front and a 11-23 in the rear to gain some top end.
And lastly the relatively new saddle saving another few hundred grams. I really have two different saddles because the Prologo choice saddle has interchangeable covers. The one displayed is softer for longer distances.
LET'S RACE!!!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Beginner or Sport?
To the one or two people reading this blog:
Should I race Beginner or Sport category for Intermountain cup mountain biking this season?
Beginner is usually - maybe always - 1/2 the distance of Sport. For the upcoming Red rock desert rampage it means 7 vs 14 miles. More value for the money, but twice the effort.
Average speeds are quite similar between the classes. For example, the winner of last year's Red rock desert rampage was at 12.5 mph for the beginner class and 12.6 for sport. The slowest riders were 6.x mph for both beginner and sport.
Once I go to Sport I cannot move back down to Beginner.
A few years ago I was told by a really fast mountain bike racer that his move from Beginner to Sport was a HUGE upgrade. He placed well in Beginner, wasn't even close in Sport.
Should I race Beginner or Sport category for Intermountain cup mountain biking this season?
Beginner is usually - maybe always - 1/2 the distance of Sport. For the upcoming Red rock desert rampage it means 7 vs 14 miles. More value for the money, but twice the effort.
Average speeds are quite similar between the classes. For example, the winner of last year's Red rock desert rampage was at 12.5 mph for the beginner class and 12.6 for sport. The slowest riders were 6.x mph for both beginner and sport.
Once I go to Sport I cannot move back down to Beginner.
A few years ago I was told by a really fast mountain bike racer that his move from Beginner to Sport was a HUGE upgrade. He placed well in Beginner, wasn't even close in Sport.
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