Elapsed time = 1.5 hrs - I had to do a fitting. as well.
Not bad for having raced in two race today either.
I told you....I'm Batman.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
I told you...I'm Batman
Before:
Elapsed time = 1.5 hrs - I had to do a fitting. as well.
Not bad for having raced in two race today either.
I told you....I'm Batman.
Elapsed time = 1.5 hrs - I had to do a fitting. as well.
Not bad for having raced in two race today either.
I told you....I'm Batman.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Antsy
I'm starting to get antsy about the Elgin crit. I'm not getting much riding in. Ok none.
The forecast is for a killer heatwave combined with occassional summer thunderstorms. This combined with the fact that the course is a bit technical (I think - haven't ridden it, just driven it) and the fact that the Open Cat Masters race starts at 1pm.....
...ugh....
I'm feeling like I want to throw up.
My interpretation of the course:
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Lots of racing
Elgin crit is on Sunday. There's a 2-man TT I'm doing with aham on the following Sunday. In between the two I have the following:
- Train all operators and managers in a new Lean visual board system
- Set up a Kaizen event for the following week
- Travel to DC for SPC software training from Tuesday-Friday
- Set up my road bike to a full TT setup...for the first time including new brakes, shifters, bars, etc.
- Validate the setup will work
- Be a father and husband on Saturday before the TT while my wife is at work (no ride on the TT setup)
- Lace 2 wheels, tension, true, validate 4 of them.
Traveling the week before a race will suck. I hate business travel. It's extremely painful mentally anymore and it is a assured way to gain weight and lose fitness. To top it off my flight back is at 5:30 out of DC Dulles to Chicago O'Hare on a Friday afternoon..... = No frigging chance of being even remotely on-time.
I'm starting to wonder when I am going to get any of this stuff done. I was trying to commute, but even that has become hard to do with timing.
Perfect storm - family, work, riding. I am virtually a ghost on BF and basically have resorted to using this blog as my main outlet for now basically because I don't feel the need to check for updates every 5 minutes.
If I have time later today I'll update with a picture of some new toys for the TT, impressions of the Elgin Crit course, and thoughts about the fact that Sunday looks to be the hottest day of the year. Boo.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Music
I love music, but I just don't approach it like most people. I really can't explain it, but I appreciate it at face value. I don't listen to, or even sometimes understand, the lyrics as words. I don't really listen to what the song has to "say". I simply hear the vocals as another instrument. Mix of horn and percussion.
That is to say I most likely don't know the words to a song I love, or even what they are saying, but I still love the song. The conviction in the lyric and the delivery are what I enjoy.
I have to think a lot of that is simply due to poor hearing. I seriously can't hear 99% of what any artist says.
Exceptions to this are forms of heavy political artists. Hip-hop or rap in particular. For the most part I can hear every word and understand what they are attempting to say. I tend to like this type of work not for the message, but for the raw energy it taps into.
Rage Against the Machine is a prime example for me. They had the ability to tap into the primal energy of aggression, hate, conviction, dedication, hard-work, passion, etc. within me. I call that pool of emotion "Young Man's Energy" mainly because that pool isn't as deep as you get older.
Everyone has that kind of music. It's the stuff that you put in and crank on the Friday night in a car on your way out to a great party, or get together.
For me it's the heavy stuff. In that collection would be Rage, Eminem, Metallica, The Who, Green Day, Van Halen (old not 'new'), No Doubt, Led Zeppelin, White Stripes, etc. Kind of a strange mix, but remember....I don't really listen to what they are trying to say, or the image, coolness, etc....just the actual music notes....
Recently aham turned me on to the flobots. Rather he made me aware of their single "handlebars". I'd like the youtube video, but meh. You have the internet....you do it. I loved the single instantly. I rarely fall for music like that.
....so based on a further conversation with aham I decided to get the album/cd/whatever it is these kids call the collection of music that is released at one time anymore.
First reaction....meh. I hate the idea of buying an album for 1 song. Just never really works out well although I have had great experience doing it before. I started realizing what was ind of turning me off about this one though....it's the lyrics. They're just too Young Guy moody, political, social, protesty, hip wannabe, blah for me. The message is OK for that kind of group, but they just do it so much more poorly than say a Rage Against the Machine.
Kind of in a rut music wise and feel like I am disconnected with a lot of the great stuff going on with the kids.
That is to say I most likely don't know the words to a song I love, or even what they are saying, but I still love the song. The conviction in the lyric and the delivery are what I enjoy.
I have to think a lot of that is simply due to poor hearing. I seriously can't hear 99% of what any artist says.
Exceptions to this are forms of heavy political artists. Hip-hop or rap in particular. For the most part I can hear every word and understand what they are attempting to say. I tend to like this type of work not for the message, but for the raw energy it taps into.
Rage Against the Machine is a prime example for me. They had the ability to tap into the primal energy of aggression, hate, conviction, dedication, hard-work, passion, etc. within me. I call that pool of emotion "Young Man's Energy" mainly because that pool isn't as deep as you get older.
Everyone has that kind of music. It's the stuff that you put in and crank on the Friday night in a car on your way out to a great party, or get together.
For me it's the heavy stuff. In that collection would be Rage, Eminem, Metallica, The Who, Green Day, Van Halen (old not 'new'), No Doubt, Led Zeppelin, White Stripes, etc. Kind of a strange mix, but remember....I don't really listen to what they are trying to say, or the image, coolness, etc....just the actual music notes....
Recently aham turned me on to the flobots. Rather he made me aware of their single "handlebars". I'd like the youtube video, but meh. You have the internet....you do it. I loved the single instantly. I rarely fall for music like that.
....so based on a further conversation with aham I decided to get the album/cd/whatever it is these kids call the collection of music that is released at one time anymore.
First reaction....meh. I hate the idea of buying an album for 1 song. Just never really works out well although I have had great experience doing it before. I started realizing what was ind of turning me off about this one though....it's the lyrics. They're just too Young Guy moody, political, social, protesty, hip wannabe, blah for me. The message is OK for that kind of group, but they just do it so much more poorly than say a Rage Against the Machine.
Kind of in a rut music wise and feel like I am disconnected with a lot of the great stuff going on with the kids.
Monday, July 28, 2008
How fast is a race?
I get asked frequently how fast races are. It's a tough question to answer. It depends a lot on the terrain, weather/conditions, what's at stake for the riders, etc. One of my favorite quotes regarding bicycle racing is from one of the old masters of the sport - Jacque Anquetil.
I can't find the quote online so I apologize for butchering it but it was something to the effect of:
"Funny people these bicycle racers. They believe that a racing bicycle is built to go fast. It is not. It is only built to finish first."
The essence of that statement is the essence of bicycle racing - the race is not always about who is fastest, rather it is about who crosses the line first. There is a difference. It speaks to the core of tactics in a bicycle race.
I often find this is the hardest part of cycling for armchair football watching couch jockeys to understand. As Americans we believe it is all about who is the fastest - most in shape. We tend to not understand or appreciate the nuances of the racing itself.
...Actually I also think, as a fan, that a lot of those tactics have disappeared due to over specialization, extensive use of race radios, the Lance era, etc....but I digress.
So how fast are entry level Cat 5 Crits? My usual response is, "Faster than you have ever gone before. Faster than you could ever go until you do it once." I still stand by that.
I never had data to back that up until recently. I ran some numbers last night to see. I remembered that in the bensenville 4/5 race I was dropped about 6 laps in. Then I was lapped around lap 15. I could see the exact moments on my Garmin file because of things I remembered doing at that time.
I was basically thinking, "how far off was I?" I was turning in a tremendous effort solo and still got lapped in like 6 laps on a roughly 3/4 mile course. The math just didn't add up....
So like any engineer I fired up the datafile and excel to see what happened. Turns out it works out perfectly. I'll post the exacts later but basically the group was riding at a 26-28mph average. I maintained that average until I fell off the back. I then went to a 21-23 mph average alone. The differential in speeds accounts for the quick lapping. The pack actually maintained that 26-28 average.
Other data I have seen from recent events shows about the same kinds of speeds. These are short 3-4 turn flat crits with courses under 1 mile with wind. Can you say, "ouch".
So if you're thinking of racing the next time you are out on a ride just try to accelerate up to 26-28mph and hold it. Sure it's different in a pack, but if you can't even do it momentarily then how will you ever bridge that gap back to the pack if they gap you on a corner.
Then when you're comfortable find a stretch of road that is open and try to do 10-17 miles at an average of 23-25 slowing to about 13-15 every 0.10-0.2 miles and then re-acelerating. When your heart gives out and your legs start to tremble as you stand to accelerate then you might have an idea what your first crit may be like.
hmmmmm.....maybe I should stick with distance riding.....
I can't find the quote online so I apologize for butchering it but it was something to the effect of:
"Funny people these bicycle racers. They believe that a racing bicycle is built to go fast. It is not. It is only built to finish first."
The essence of that statement is the essence of bicycle racing - the race is not always about who is fastest, rather it is about who crosses the line first. There is a difference. It speaks to the core of tactics in a bicycle race.
I often find this is the hardest part of cycling for armchair football watching couch jockeys to understand. As Americans we believe it is all about who is the fastest - most in shape. We tend to not understand or appreciate the nuances of the racing itself.
...Actually I also think, as a fan, that a lot of those tactics have disappeared due to over specialization, extensive use of race radios, the Lance era, etc....but I digress.
So how fast are entry level Cat 5 Crits? My usual response is, "Faster than you have ever gone before. Faster than you could ever go until you do it once." I still stand by that.
I never had data to back that up until recently. I ran some numbers last night to see. I remembered that in the bensenville 4/5 race I was dropped about 6 laps in. Then I was lapped around lap 15. I could see the exact moments on my Garmin file because of things I remembered doing at that time.
I was basically thinking, "how far off was I?" I was turning in a tremendous effort solo and still got lapped in like 6 laps on a roughly 3/4 mile course. The math just didn't add up....
So like any engineer I fired up the datafile and excel to see what happened. Turns out it works out perfectly. I'll post the exacts later but basically the group was riding at a 26-28mph average. I maintained that average until I fell off the back. I then went to a 21-23 mph average alone. The differential in speeds accounts for the quick lapping. The pack actually maintained that 26-28 average.
Other data I have seen from recent events shows about the same kinds of speeds. These are short 3-4 turn flat crits with courses under 1 mile with wind. Can you say, "ouch".
So if you're thinking of racing the next time you are out on a ride just try to accelerate up to 26-28mph and hold it. Sure it's different in a pack, but if you can't even do it momentarily then how will you ever bridge that gap back to the pack if they gap you on a corner.
Then when you're comfortable find a stretch of road that is open and try to do 10-17 miles at an average of 23-25 slowing to about 13-15 every 0.10-0.2 miles and then re-acelerating. When your heart gives out and your legs start to tremble as you stand to accelerate then you might have an idea what your first crit may be like.
hmmmmm.....maybe I should stick with distance riding.....
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Coma
I'm coming down from a wedding induced coma of sugar and alcohol. Driving long distances, family, and celebrations although tons of fun don't make for a healthy self.
Got back in town and found the time to hook up a ride. Hot and heavy. I had raised the saddle a bit and again...I make more power there, but I pay a "price"....physically....
I hammered out about 10 miles then turned around. Ran across CyLowe almost right at the turn around point. We talked for a bit and then he decided to ride the return leg back with me before continuing on his ride.
He's been in a leg burning mood lately so it was nice to make some good time back. For only being out an hour I got some good time in. Still slow, and a tad bit apprehensive about Elgin Crit this week.
Sent e-mails to the organizers so it looks like I will be in the Cat 5 race even though my ABR license says 4. Hopefully the day will be a safe one.
Got back in town and found the time to hook up a ride. Hot and heavy. I had raised the saddle a bit and again...I make more power there, but I pay a "price"....physically....
I hammered out about 10 miles then turned around. Ran across CyLowe almost right at the turn around point. We talked for a bit and then he decided to ride the return leg back with me before continuing on his ride.
He's been in a leg burning mood lately so it was nice to make some good time back. For only being out an hour I got some good time in. Still slow, and a tad bit apprehensive about Elgin Crit this week.
Sent e-mails to the organizers so it looks like I will be in the Cat 5 race even though my ABR license says 4. Hopefully the day will be a safe one.
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