May 6, 2008
Opus 4
As I was heading out from work to the race it was raining cats and dogs. I assumed the field for the 4's would be much smaller than normal, but when I got there the registration lot was pretty empty. The rain was coming down hard and I was actually really excited for the race. Cobra was the only Loon-mate to show for the 4's, but the rest of the Loon crew who do all the hard work running the race and the officials were there so race on! As Cobra and I rolled up to the start, there were only 4 other guys on the line. Our race was cut from 12 laps to 9 which was fine with everyone as the field was small and the rain was still coming down. From the gun a Carleton College guy took off of the front. The pack stuck together and as we entered the first sprint lap we caught Mr. College and I was in second position. I went first from the bottom of hill and got out kicked at the line and took my proverbial second in the first sprint. The pace slowed quiet a bit for the next two laps which was good for me so I could recover. As we entered into the second sprint no one in the group wanted to take to the front so we all pretty much came to a stand still at the bottom of the hill. Soooo..... I went first again. This time I got enough of a jump to hold onto first (my first sprint win!). It was a long sprint for me and I was toast after it. A Silver Cycling guy took a flyer off the front and two others went to chase and I tried to go, but really struggled. I hung for a bit, but once the hill came around again I pretty much lost contact. I rolled over the finish totally spent but did take 3rd in the race. Yeah so, there were only 6 guys, but 3rd is 3rd. I did learn that no matter what when I put in a strong sprint effort I need time to recover. if I can recover I can sprint all out again. When I can't recover I die quickly. I think I might switch up my tactics next week and try something new.
Posted by kermisch at 9:56 PM
Marty RR - Windy, Windy, Windy... Hard!
O.K. the Marty RR was windy and hard. The group got off to a slow start as Jens and another guy went up the road from the gun. I was sitting back in the pack, just trying to warm-up and get my legs spinning. The wind was a major factor as the whole group was fighting for wheels. As we turned toward the penultimate climb on the course I was keeping pace with the front group. About 1/2 up the hill I found myself in the gutter and pedaling in grass. I had to wait until just about everyone passed me to safely get back on the road. By that time the front group was off. I hooked up with a few Loons for a while and it looked like we were going to chase back on, but after the decent as we came onto the back of the course, I looked around and I was by myself (not smart). So I put my head down and kept pedaling. I came upon a lone rider, who simply did not have any legs to help. I got within a few hundred yards of the group and was starting to lose steam so I sat up and waited for the broader chase group to catch me. As I was caught, I immediately started working in the front of the group. When we made the right hand turn into the wind, about 4 of us (with 3 Loons) pedaled hard and fast and found ourselves with a small gap. We kept pushing forward, but one by one we dropped off. It was left to Jens and I for a short while, and I simply could not keep pace. I told Jens I was dead and I sat up again and waited for the group to catch me.
The chase group had about 8 riders and in that group where Cobra and Skibby. It was good to see some Loons. i entered into the rotation and was completely on the Rivet. Over the course of the next lap as we fought the wind the group worked well together. I started to recover and felt good going over the hill the second time. It looked like we were within a 1/2 KM to the main group and maybe if we had better organization over the hill we would have caught them, but it was not to be. As we entered the 3rd lap we kept about the same gap to the main group as the prior lap, but as we hit the hill the third time, the main group accelerated away from us. The final lap I was starting to cramp pretty bad. My back and hamstrings were really starting to hurt. I knew that there was one guy who still looked strong who I expected to take the sprint for our group. As we went up the hill the final time that guy and another guy broke off. Cobra helped me chase back on and we were on the final stretch. Cobra and another guy joined up with us. As we neared the finish line, the one guy I thought would take the sprint went, Cobra was next and I chased cross-eyed to grab Cobra's wheel. Cobra sat up just before the finish and nodded me through for 23rd. It was nice that Cobra let me lead across the line, though we all deserved a great finish. Thanks to Cobra and Skibby for keeping me motivated in a hard race. I think Marty was one of the hardest races I have ever done. The wind took its toll hard. Racing in the 35+ 3/4 group was faster than I had experienced in the past and the teams more organized. The Loons have been bantering back and forth on what our strategy was for the race. We definitely have some room for improvement, but it was still a fun race.
Posted by kermisch at 9:44 PM
April 30, 2008
Opus Take 3
The 3rd round of Opus played out almost just like the second round of Opus played out. I scored 2nd place in the first sprint, struggled to recover for the 2nd sprint, tried to go on the 3rd sprint, and went for it on the 4th sprint but faded. I tied for 5th with three other racers with my 3 points. I started at the back of the group and tended to sit in a lot more last night than the prior two crits. As we entered the first sprint lap I started to move up on the outside. As we got to the base of the hill I opened up my sprint. One guy had already gone, but I was able to convincingly take second. As usual I was pretty spent. I drifted back into the pack for a rest. As we entered into the second sprint lap I was still recovering, I went at the last minute but faded fast. For the third sprint I lined up behind a SPBRC guy who had one the first sprint and hoped to ride his wheel to some more points. The bummer was he decided not to go so I had a late start to my sprint and could not make up the necessary ground. In the last sprint, I was well positioned and again tried to ride the SPBRC guy's wheel. As he jumped I shifted down to aggressively and found myself in too big of a gear. It was a good race. We had Cobra and a new guy named Eric in the race. Even Rolle was out watching this week. This weekend is the Gluek RR and I am excited about it as it will be my first RR of the year.
Posted by kermisch at 2:29 PM
April 28, 2008
Sunshine, Mountains, Scrapes, Bruises, and lots of Smiles!!!
I just got back from spending four days in the hot, hot, hot sun of Phoenix, AZ with the family. My wife had some business out there, so we headed out a few days early to catch a bit of a vacation. We stayed at this place called the Arizona Grand Resort that just so happened to be at the base of South Mountain Park, a state park in Tempe, AZ that is known for its great mountain biking. The resort also boasted a great wave pool, lazy river, and kids pool that the family and I enjoyed immensely.
I rented a bike from Cactus Bikes and am happy that they provided me a full suspension Giant Reign 2 to for my adventures. My first attempt on the trails was only so, so. I entered the park more on a hiking trail than a mountain bike trail. Within just a few hundred yards I had my first fall. One thing I learned quickly is that even the brush just off the side of the trail was full of small prickly cover that really stuck in my hands (yes, I had no gloves on!). I got back on and 50 yards later, was back on the ground, with more pricks in my hand. A few miles later and I was literally on my back, feeling quiet bruised. Then I smacked my elbow, my knees, my ankle, shin... well you get the picture. After a few more likes, I started to remember how to ride a mountain bike. However, I had never ridden trails like these before.
The trails were full of steep rises and quick descents. They were also full of rocks and sand. Often you would find 2 to 3 foot drops and large rocks in wheel sucker formations that made me scared out of my mind. As you were ascending, you would often find your self putting your bike in near vertical positions to climb over rocks. While I was slow and clumsy, the local riders that I bumped into would traverse these obstacles with grace. They would hop and glide over the trails, catching air here and there. I was quiet amazed.
Day 2 I found the main trail head that lead to well marked trails over varying degrees of difficulty. The hardest trail called National, I stayed away from and headed on a less steep route. Each day I was able to make it a bit further into the park, but with 60 miles of trails, I knew I would never explore it all or even come close. What was fun, is that as you headed up into the park, you would climb and climb say for an hour, and then bomb down the trail and be at the park entrance in 20 minutes. So the workouts were leg burners as well as mentally challenging as you tried to keep your bike up right.
Day 3 I was able to steal away from the family for a bit more time and explore further into the park. The deeper I went the better the trails. For 90 minutes I climbed up and up. The trails were kicking my ass. At several points, I deemed them literally impossible to ride up. I had to essentially throw my bike over my back and haul it up over the rocks. I ran into a few riders who told me just about no one rides up the rocks, but many can ride down them. Well, I did not even do that. As I had to traverse them on they way back down, I still got off my bike and bouldered on down the rocks as well. After the 90 minute climb it took me only about 30 minutes to get down. I was on the National trail for most of my ride. The last 2 miles or so were down extremely steep, narrow trails where you literally could not fall, or you would stumble down the mountain. I felt more like a mountain goat, then a hack mountain biker.
Day 4 I actually headed off the mountains and road the roads around the park. Tempe had good bike lanes on the roads and they were pretty much pancake flat. Even more so, than what I ride here in MN. Riding a full suspension mountain bike on the road was not ideal, but my legs needed a bit of a break. I ended my ride by riding the trail head up to the main mountain bike trails in the park and then bombed back down to my hotel.
Overall, I saw tons of mountain bikers, triathletes, and even a few roadies out there. The sun rises at 5:30 AM and I was usually on my bike by 7:00 AM. I think I was one of the later riders out there. With the heat I think most athletes are out early and done before the heat kicks in. The sun also sets about 7:30 PM, so the length of the day is just about opposite of MN.
I had a great time exploring South Mountain Park and a blast with my family. It was great to ride in fabulous weather and take a break from the general day to day life with the family. I applaud all my fellow Loon State riders who raced Kenwoods and Excelsior in the cold, rain and snow. While I missed riding with them, I am not too upset about missing the crappy weather.
Posted by kermisch at 10:08 PM
April 23, 2008
Opus Take 2
Opus was last night and I was feeling a lot better. I backed off my intensity in training quiet a bit between last Tuesday and yesterday, as I felt so spent last week. Coming into this week I was excited, as my legs felt fresh and I was not dealing with any cold/allergies, etc. My goal was to go for at least 2 sprints with a hope of scoring points in both. I also decided to race without the Power Meter and just go by feel, which also meant I got to ride my race wheels, which always make me feel faster.
We had one more addition to our Cat 4 Loon State team as Jens showed up this week. So it was myself, Chris, and Jens representing and we all felt pretty good. As the whistle blew, I drifted back to about the middle of the pack and kept myself protected from the wind (which was really a non-factor) and from doing any serious work. As we crested the hill going into the first sprint lap a rider took off the front and opened a gap. Another rider (I think from either Flanders or Grumpy's) started to pull away. He made a jump and then swerved over as if he expected me to pull through. I remained patient and he ended up leading me pretty much all the way around. As we turned the corner to the final hill, I jumped hard and was able to gap the distance to one rider, but did not catch the another guy, so I ended up second. After the sprint, the group typically slows a bit and in order to catch their breath. However, Jens comes flying through and goes right off the front. Not sure what was going on and being slightly cross-eyed from the sprint, I dug in and went to catch up the Jens and the handful of riders following him.
We all regrouped and before I knew it Chris was off the front with a couple of other guys, so Jens and I sat up and let others do the work. Chris and his group ended up getting caught before the sprint, but I chose to sit it out as I was still catching my breadth. After that sprint, Jens pushed off the front for a bit but again was caught coming into the 3rd sprint (which felt like it was a lot slower -- I assume most guys were trying to save it for the last sprint). The lap after the 3rd sprint I was run off into the grass and had to let the group pass me by so I could safely chase back on. I wanted to get a good position for the last sprint and made my way up to the first 1/3 of the group again. Coming into that final lap, Chris put himself on the front and strung out the field. I was sitting fourth as we came into the hill. As the sprint geared up two Flanders guys started to go. I was able to latch on and it looked good, but I knew there were guys on my wheel. Well they came around my left side shutting down my lane, but to be honest I was on the rivet and probably could not have come around. I ended up fifth in that sprint and fifth overall. I was stoked and felt like I got some retribution over how bad I felt last week. At least this race gave me some confirmation of my form. Thanks to Jens and Chris for keeping the race aggressive.
I stuck around for the Women's and the Cat 1/2/3 race and really enjoyed seeing everyone else go after it. It is amazing how much support our riders get in this race and it was great to see so many Loons out.
Posted by kermisch at 11:11 AM
April 15, 2008
No Spark
I think this picture says it all (I am the guy with my head down).
The first Opus Crit was tonight. We had 65 degrees and 38 MPH winds. The field size was about 30+ for the Cat 4's. I was nervous for the race as I did not feel that great all day. I felt o.k. in my short warm-up and o.k. as we started the race. I wanted to be near the front or at the front which I was coming into the 1st sprint. Though when the group started to go, I had no gas. I made it back onto to the group and recouped for the second sprint. Once again, I was on the front and in good position going into the sprint. I made a bad shift and found myself in way to big a gear. I rolled towards the back of the group and had to sprint to get back on. I made it in and worked my way back towards the front. I tried to find a few wheels, but just did not pick the right ones. As we geared up for the final sprint, I had o.k. position and I put in my all, but ended up short. I probably finished in the top 20. After the sprint, I struggled a ton to just turn the pedals over. I hit my max HR at 185 on that last sprint, but my power was only maxed at 744 watts, 1/2 of what I normally could produce on a hill sprint. This past week I had two really hard, long rides and I am wondering if that led to some over training. Even my easy ride yesterday was probably harder than it should have been.
In addition to the poor form, I don't think I read the race tactics well today. I should have sat more in the middle of the pack, trying to protect myself from the winds. Instead I was near the front, but constantly battling the winds. That just wastes energy.
We had only 1 other Loon in the race today - Chris. It was good to have a teammate. Hopefully we can increase the Cat 4 team size at the next race. Looking at the 1/2/3 race, there were about 8 Loons or so. I saw at least three of them who upgraded from last year. Their race was fast and looked like fun. Even though I hurt today and am pissed at my performance, I still had fun. Next race is Opus, next week as I can't make Durand.
Photo courtesy of SkinnySki (note: if you are going to publish their images, please become a member and make your annual contribution to them ~ as I have. They work hard at providing us lots of great photos and news write-ups)
Posted by kermisch at 10:33 PM
April 13, 2008
Cold Feet
Today was a beautiful day here in Minnesota. It was about 39F when I headed out the door and I was feeling quiet warm, I did not think that I needed my heavy riding boots. The air temps were supposed to get up to the mid 40's so off I went. As I rode a cross-wind for the first 10 miles or so, I realized that I would regret not wearing something over my cycling shoes. I felt quiet stupid, especially when I thought about my toe covers that were sitting in my garage. I spent the next 2 1/2 hours thinking about those damn toe covers.
I combined a few loops that I normally do and ended up with 50 miles in the legs. The course is pretty much small rollers that can tax the legs. With the added wind, it made for a great work out. I probably rode just a tad harder than I had planned, but I will do an easy ride tomorrow with the hope of recovering by Tuesday for the first race of the season.
Overall, I am happy with my fitness thus far. I have 1100 miles in the legs this year and am riding much more consistently. Doing trainer miles during the week makes things a lot easier to stay on top of my program.
Posted by kermisch at 9:42 PM
April 10, 2008
Threshold...
Yesterday I got up at my usual time and hit the trainer for 30 minutes. My goals was an easy tempo ride as my legs were still tired from the Loon State camp. I accomplished that goal, but as I was getting ready for work my wife informed me that she arranged for our daughter to go to my mother-in-law's house after school and that I was free to do what I wanted. With the day projected to hit 50, I scooted out of work early and hooked up with Kris and the Gear West Wednesday night ride. I put in 50 miles with an average power of just under 200 watts, giving me a 2 1/2 hour threshold workout. I felt really good on the ride and totally spend by the time I got home. I was focusing on producing speed with a high cadence and found that I could tacked rollers very effectively without expending too much energy if I kept my cadence around 115. I found myself shifting down into gears instead of up as well, which left me with some power to put in a good kick. I could tell the fitness gains I am making based off of the miles from camp. It makes me excited, now I just have to temper myself so I don't over train.
Posted by kermisch at 8:49 AM
April 7, 2008
Loon State Camp Recap
245 Miles, 7,587 Calories, 16.5 hours in the saddle, 1,225 Max Watts, and 52 MPH max speed. That pretty much sums up the camp from a cycling perspective. In addition, awesome meals were consumed, lots of laughs were had, and the weather was great for April in Minnesota.
On Friday, I got in 93 miles and was feeling great. We tackled some tough climbs and battled some decent head wind. On the way home, we took the Root River Trail for about 26 miles directly into the wind. There were six of us heading home and we kept the pace moderate to keep the work effort in check. After going out too hard on Thursday I worked hard to conserve my energy to get in more miles.
Saturday I had intended to use the same plan, conserve energy pull in lots of miles. The weather was great, we had 26 Loons at camp, but the wind was pretty nasty. I kept things relatively conservative on the climbs, but expended a lot of energy on the rolling, windy sections and for a few sprints. The best spring we lined up 5 guys to lead out a train to surprise Cullen who had been taking all the sprints all week long. I led out with Cleary, Frye, Bryan, and Chris in tow. We jumped with probably a mile to go. My goal was to get us to a corner, leaving the remaining guys about 500 yards to go. As I pulled off, I could see that a few of the other Loons had been able to jump into the sprint. At the end it was a draw between Frye and Dave. I felt good on my effort and learned I had probably gone out too fast, too hard leaving a few of the guys in the original train struggling to keep up. I felt like I was controlling my ramp up, but obviously made some errors. If we practiced this, we could be unstoppable in races.
Sunday morning I headed out for an easy ride for recovery on my own and then started the trek home. I had a great time and completely loved every minute on the bike and all the time getting to know my team mates better.
Posted by kermisch at 10:30 PM