2011 has come to an end, and with it my 3rd year of serious cycling.

By far my biggest year of riding, here are the stats for 2011:

• 8349 miles (that’s an average of 23 miles a day)
• 551 hours in the saddle (ave of 90 min a day)
• 331,000 kj burned (equal to… god, kj to calorie conversion is hard. let’s just call it, lots of ice cream)
• Way over 400,000 ft climbed

The more I focus on improving my performance, the more I realize that the key is “life balance”. My head is my greatest impediment to growth, both mental, spiritual, and physical. If I’m not balanced, my head is going to be in the crazy camp… and my riding will go to shit, along with the rest of my life.

So, while these numbers are great, I have to stick to my priorities and stay balanced… in a totally obsessive, compulsive way, of course.

Happy new year. Now get out and ride!

Just upgraded my TT rig to a new 2012 Trek SpeedConcept 9.9.

I’m amazed by how light it is compared to my previous bike. Plus, it just looks freaking cool with the integrated cables and brakes.

I hope it is as fast as it looks. Now, I gotta continue working on the engine!

Time: 57.13 min over close to 11 miles up more than 3200 feet to the top of Mt. Diablo.

I was able to shave more than a minute off my 2010 time. Not bad considering I had not been on my bike for over 10 days.

I set a new PR for 20min and 1 hour efforts: 351w (4.2 w/kg) and 339w (3.9 w/kg) respectively.

Looks like I’ve been overtraining myself from the rest I took and the result I got. I decided to get a coach, so I’m hoping 2012 is going to be a season of ripping people’s legs off. I know how to train hard, I need to be taught how to train smart.

Time to enter the pain cave for winter and do whatever my coach says. See you all around Snelling.

South Canal TT

I took 5th out of +30 racers in the E3. Not thrilled with my result, but my effort was solid.

Challenge Criterium

21st out of +60. I gave it a few attempts to get into a promising break, but it wasn’t happening. This course has no selection – it’s for the sprinters with basically 2 corners. I was well positioned in the last 2 laps when Bicycle Planet put down a huge leadout from the outside that caught me off guard. A great move by them. I was unable to move up much to get into the top 10. I finished strong and ended up in 7th in the Omnium after 2 races.

Omnium

13th out of 7oish. I didn’t race the circuit race. I’m toast for the season. Time for vacation.

 

Place: 23rd out of 74

Not much to report on this one. I didn’t feel like racing right up until the whistle, but I was here to work for my teammate, Rick. Good pace throughout with little slowing down. About 26 mph average.

I stayed near the front to mark any attacks and did some hard work to try an reel back in the the eventual solo winner, but I wasn’t getting much help from the field, so I settled back into the top 10 or so.

Come the last lap, I chose the inside line going into turn 4. Bad choice. We bunched up and came to a slow on the turn. I lost momentum and could not muster the power to gain back spots on the backside. I went inside to try and move Rick up, but it wasn’t happening. My high end isn’t there anymore. My heart rate was at 184 bmp and it felt like 190+.

I came out of the last turn about 25th wheel, and that’s how it ended.

On a side note, I ended up 11th in the Cal Cup competition for E3, and would have been top 6 and in the money if I hadn’t taken that wrong turn back at the Warnerville TT. Oh well, next year.

I’m going to do the Folsom TT and that’s probably it for my 2011 season.

Place: 2/9

Time: 41.56.6
Distance: 18.427 miles
Elev. Gain: 241 ft

My Weight: 184 (83.5 Kg)

Normalized Power:  329w (3.94 w/kg)
Average Power:  325w (3.89 w/kg)
HR: 173 bpm ave, 176 bpm max
Speed: 26.4 mph ave, 36.5 mph max

After some less than stellar TT results lately, I was looking for some redemption to put a positive note on the last month of the season.

My form is fading along with my motivation to race, but after a light week before going up to Bend and having my ass handed to me at the Masters National TT, I for some reason felt refreshed and ready to have a strong September.

I trained some 5min intervals in the week at over 350w and didn’t completely feel like dying. So my form hasn’t vanished either.

So, the night before I decided that for Esparto, I’d race angry, but controlled. Gone were the doubts I’ve been having about my form or even my ability as a cyclist. TT’s, even more than other races, are a mental game you have to play with yourself. Lose confidence and you lose speed.

I got a great night sleep, got a great warm up, and started off measured and controlled, but pissed. I settled into my 20 min LT effort with the hopes of keeping it there for the whole time. Bingo. My LT is 330w, my overall was 329w normalized.

Esparto is a course with slight rollers near the turn around and usually wind in your face on the way back. The back portion is the same road that leads out to the 505 that is used in the Dunnigan Hills RR.

Not much else to say, I kept my pace consistent, my cadence on the high side, and then kicked the last 20 minutes at 339w ave to take it home. I almost puked up a bit when I finished, so I knew I left it all out there.

Kirk Evans bested me by 1:28, but that was expected. He’s a machine.

Giro di SF is next.

Place: 26^th out of 31 (4^th place of all Cat 3, 4, 5)

Distance: 25K
Time: 38:33.280
Ave Speed: 24.2 mph
Power: 301w ave (3.6 w/kg), 323w normalized (3.9 w/kg)
HR: 167 bmp ave
Elevation Gain: 1028ft
Weight: 186lbs

Course Profile: https://www.trainingpeaks.com/sr/RDCACK52BPOIOJSYX7DS4UOYVE

My Strava file: http://app.strava.com/rides/1454044#23004291

Full results: https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?year=2011&id=177&info_id=41024

Going in, I knew I wasn’t on great form. It’s been a long season and I’m in need of a break. In my training leading up to this event I’ve struggled to maintain my 20 min threshold for 15 min, and have been experiencing hip pain while in my aero tuck.

Add to this the fact that the 25k course has over 1000ft of climbing and sharp technical sections that favor the punchy riders over diesel engines like me, and you’ve got the making of some pretty damn good excuses for a crap result. Well, I won’t disappoint on the result, but I have no excuses. Okay, no good excuses.

Barring a bear getting on course (note: a coyote did run right in front of me on the descent) and taking out half the field, I have zero shot of winning, much less sneaking onto the podium this year. For example, we had the defending 40-44 World Masters Champion TT in his rainbow skinsuit and former national champion Chris Lyman… along with tons of other Cat 1 racers from across the nation.

So why drive 9 hours there to just suffer for 25k? Well, I am going to shoot for 2012 as my year to try and reach a top 5, so knowing the course is critical. And, why not? How many times will you compete in a National Championship event?

I’m not going to go into the details of the effort – I was off my average power output by 32w. In prime form I could have been upwards of 2 minutes faster. This year, I did what I could do.

Looking back, I left too much in my tank on the first 5 miles where you climb up close to 700 feet. By the time I reached the 5k to go sign, I felt WAY too fresh. With 5k to go in all the other time trials I’ve done, I’m suffering like a stuck pig. I recovered really well on the descent as I was close to spinning out. But, I was keeping my power in the 300 range whenever my pedal digs could gain purchase.

I had a fun time taking in the “nationals” atmosphere and will be back next year to kill it.

Congrats to everyone who raced and to Jason and Dan for podium efforts in their categories.

What I learned:

The way to ride this course is to attack it, not settle into a steady threshold effort like you would for most TTs.  The climb out isn’t super steep and the return leg you get moments of some recovery as it’s very difficult to stay at full out threshold without spinning out slightly – even with a 54t or 55t setup. So, you should kill yourself in the first climb to keep you time fast, once you make the turn and head back down you will settle back in and have some moments to recover and prepare for the technical section where it’s all about keep momentum into short punchy climbs and sharp turns.

Unable to hold on to the winning move.

Place: 9th out of 49 starters
Teammates: None
Duration: 2:57:16
Distance: 69.226 miles
Elev. Gain: 1750 ft
HR: 191 bpm max, 144 bpm avg
Speed: 39.6 mph max, 23.4 mph avg

My last road race of the season. I won this race in the M35 4 category last year, so I was looking for a repeat. Same course, same distance, same power climb finish.

San Ardo is all about timing the attack on the hill. You can’t go too early or risk not having anything left for the turn and the last 200m false flat sprint. My plan was too cover any promising breaks with the right riders and then to attack after the feedzone on the finish.

The Metromint team had 3 riders most likely working for the winner of last week’s Dunnigan race, Joseph Ison. SJBC had 6 racers, and by my assessment, they were working for Chad Rosser and looking to setup the final climb. Third Pillar had 3 or 4 riders and was playing the same plan for their chosen rider.

We pushed off into overcast, misty, cold weather. The pace was slow for my liking most of the time, but as a solo rider I had to take what the group dictated for the most part. Many breaks were attempted; a few solo or two rider attacks were given some rope, but quickly reeled back in. A break just wasn’t going to happen today unless it had SJBC and Third Pillar in it.

That was how it went for 2.75 laps.

We were on lap 3, about 3 miles from the finish. Everyone was getting jumpy and ready for the coming finish.

I was sitting about 12^th wheel or so, when suddenly the 3 riders in front of me collided and went down hard. I could do nothing but keep going straight. Miraculously, when the riders bounced off the pavement, one went left and one went right, leaving me a gap to pedal through. I heard screams and the sound of cracking carbon… the stuff of nightmares.

I was with about 10 riders that made it through the carnage immediately. Half of us started to paceline and continue the race, while the others just sat on the back. Those of us working didn’t feel like dragging the other 5 up to the finish, so we sat up and kept a decent pace. I looked back and saw 20 or so riders killing themselves to close down the gap. In hindsight, I should have attacked with whatever riders wanted to go with me, but I was playing for a last minute power attack at the feed zone. I feared that if I went this early I’d die. I guess I wasn’t willing to risk losing, so I didn’t win. But, attacking after a crash isn’t exactly a pro move either.

Two riders attacked before the town and Metromint sent a guy to the front to pull them back. I sucked onto his wheel. As we reached the bridge, we caught the two attackers and I almost launched as a lull set into the group. Too early, though. I waited. A Great Basin rider came forward and I took his wheel. I was biding my time waiting to pounce no sooner than the end of the feed zone, but the race dictated otherwise. SJBC sent a hard attack on the right with a single rider leading out Chad. They jumped way harder than the power acceleration I was expecting to come. Joseph from Metromint jumped on Chad’s wheel and I did my best to hold on. I came out of my saddle in a full sprint – as did about 6 other riders. It was on.

Coming up on the freeway underpass and SJBC was still 1-2 hitting it hard with Metromint being pulled along. I was still in 4th, but starting to fade.  At this point I was starting to see that I wasn’t going to win, but I kept it going as hard as I could. It’s hard to keep up a shattering effort when you realize you aren’t going to win… but, you never know what will happen in a race. Bears could come out of the woods and attack the riders ahead of you… then, then you’d be smokin’ all the way to the finish! Anyway… A CSC rider blew by me on my left and I rallied to hold his wheel. I could feel pressure from riders to my right.

We made the turn and I came left and pushed out as hard of a sprint as I could, but was caught by 2 other riders. I finished 9th. Not bad, but definitely not first. Oh well. My HR was at 191 and I still don’t really remember any sharp details from the last 400m, I was cooked. SJBC went too early as Joseph was able to check the attack, and then pop Chad for the win. Chad dropped to 5th, but got his final upgrade point and now is a 2. Congrats!

Here’s a video of the last mile or so of my race. Go to 2:15 to watch the attack: http://contour.com/stories/san-ardo-8202011

Looking at my data, I did the climb 3mph faster than my winning attack of last year. Good to know that the me of now would have kicked my ass last year. Or something like that. And, I really need some teammates. Riding alone I waste much more energy having to cover promising attacks.

Master’s National TT Championships is next for me.

Place: 8th out of 64 starters
Teammates: None

Duration: 3:37:51
Distance: 86.5 miles
Elev. Gain: 1145 ft

HR: 191 bpm max, 151 bpm avg
Speed: 39.1 mph max, 23.8 mph avg

Full field today in the E3, and almost all the top names still competing in the category were signed up, save for the pure climbers. Davis had 10 riders, followed by Red Peloton (RP) with 6. RP is more of a sprinter’s team, and they were most likely playing for no breaks and a group sprint. Davis was more of a mystery, but with 10 riders, they had to have a plan… which they did as was shared with me. Attack at the 505 on lap 2.

I marked the dangerous riders going in, and knew that for any break to stick, we most likely had to have Davis and RP represented. Roger Martin of Wells and I spoke before hand and we agreed to communicate and see what we could do together.

There were attacks from the start, but nothing got more than 10-15 seconds off the front. The race had its serious surges around the first time through hills before the drop down towards I5, and I was able to suck wheels and follow any promising break. Being alone, I had to rely on the larger teams to bring back any break that I didn’t mark.

On lap 2 near the 505 turn, the attacks got more vicious as Davis tried to play their plan, but it didn’t work. I was in every move, usually sucking Roger’s wheel, and we almost gained a gap with a group of 6 that could stick near the feed zone. When we were nailed back, I gave up trying to make a break stick and decided that I’d save myself for the sprint finish that was coming.

Then, Roger attacked once more, this time with only one other rider with him, and one lone wasted attack 10 seconds up ahead. It stuck. Damn it. They had 40 seconds at the last set of hills and a full minute at the I5 over crossing. I felt great, but there was little I could to nail it back without teammates.

Then RP sensed the race was slipping away. I had put in a few pulls with the stronger riders left (we were about 30 riders now). RP put 5 guys at the front and drilled it. In less than 2 miles, we (they) nailed back the break. It was a new race with about 7 miles to go.

I marked two sprinters I knew had a knack for finding the front. The pace surged and relaxed. We hit the last overpass and my left leg went into quad cramps. I was able to push through them, but they did not go away. Earlier in the season, this would have meant the end of my day, now I can survive them. Progress?

RP kept their guys drilling it. I looked up and saw the last left turn coming. I was able to accelerate and put myself into RP’s train as the third rider. Perfect. We hit the turn fast and I went a little wide and hit gravel. I dropped maybe 5-6 places by the time I was able to get back up to speed.

The last kilometer was narrow, so where you were coming through the turn is pretty much where you stayed. Roger was next to me and we both had to go around a dying Webcor rider. He accelerated, but my leg kept me from going all out. I felt good cardio-wise, but just couldn’t crank out the watts with knifes in my quad.

At 200m the road widened, and all hell broke loose. 4 riders cracked a small gap in the last 100m, this would be the race. I came out of my saddle and pass a few, and was caught by one. 8th place. My best road race placing as a 3.

I’m happy with the result. If I wasn’t cramping I think I had a shot.

Both Davis and Red Peloton did some great team work in the race, kudos to them. Especially Red Peloton organizing a whole team to shut down the late break and then start a lead out train that may have worked on a different course. I’ve barely been able to put together a 1 man lead out, much less ever put 6 guys together at the end of a 3.5 hour race. Great work.

What I learned:

• This is a team sport. I knew this, but it was made clear again today. Without teammates, I had to be very careful with my matches.
• Position, position, position. Crashes happened at the back, as they usually do. I missed them by plan.
• I’ve been using massage therapy (in addition to every known dietary trick) to work out my cramping problem. It’s working, I just need to stay on it.

San Ardo RR, the only RR I’ve ever won, is next. Bring it.

Place: 11th out of 12

Well, there’s a first for everything. For me, this means taking a wrong turn on a TT course.

I was 1.25 miles into my mistake when the road ended. Not what I expected. Needless to say, my time sucked. Lesson learned. Onwards to Dunnigan Hills RR.

Here’s the ride on Strava, note the little arm on the left….

http://app.strava.com/rides/1132324/embed/fb9755fcfaa8b72ad18a21cc6f2c5cee07fc662a