Hi All! Well another race in the books. Yesterday was the infamous Devil's Punchbowl RR. For those of you who've done this race, hats off to you. For those of you who've done this race, and continue to do it year after year, you're as sick as I am! All kiddin' aside, this really is a great event, and a great race course. It's definitely a "hard man's" race. If you're game is weak in any aspect, this race will expose that weakness and shove it down your throat until you puke!
Looking at my results for the last four seasons I've raced Punchbowl, you'd never guess that I like the race. Yesterday was no exception. I finished 34th, that doesn't sound good, but considering there were no field limits in any of the categories except the "5's", and our Cat 4 field may of been the largest of the day at 128 riders, and the usual starting line chaos that always takes place at Punchbowl (yesterday being no exception), which resulted in me starting about 120 riders back, I'LL TAKE 34TH!
I arrived at the race course about 8:30am, plenty of time before my scheduled 10:30am start. My father-in-law Marv came along with me for support, and to work as my "feeder". I began warming up on the trainer about 9:15, because one thing I've learned at Punchbowl, a good warm-up is a must because the climb comes only a mile in to the race. As I was warming up I took a sip of Cytomax I had mixed in my bottle, and within ten seconds I had an overwhelming feeling of nausea come over me. For the next two to three minutes it was all I could do to not vomit right on the side of the road. I kept thinking that would look real nice to all the others standing nearby! Just like a rookie with a case of bad nerves before their first race!
As you probably know, I've been sick for the last two weeks, and I've come to the conclusion that something in the drink mix must of stuck in the back of my throat on my gag reflex. Fortunately the feeling passed, but I was a little worried that it may resurface during the race. Fortunately that didn't happen. Back to the race...
As it turns out I was so far back in the starting line up that I couldn't even hear the race official read the rules of the race. Me and a few other guys standing next to me commented that they really should of split the Cat 4 field in to two groups of 65. Pack dynamics play a huge role in racing, especially road races. And when the pack is 128 riders in size, who knows what's going to unfold once that whistle is blown. Somehow I managed to hear that whistle blow, and off we went.
The race started out fast just as I expected, and I immediately began to focus on getting as close to the front of the pack as I could before we reached the climb. I'm not sure, but I think I managed to get in to the top half of the field by the time we reached the base of the climb. Not good enough!
The strong guys up front were really laying it down. I just kept my focus on putting the power to the pedals and trying not to get caught behind other riders who were already beginning to fall off. One thing about Punchbowl, the field gets blown apart quickly. Near the top of the climb a group of about twenty riders managed to break free from the rest of the pack. Myself and about fifteen other riders became chase group number 1. It stayed this way the entire length of the first lap. At the bottom of the descent on the first lap we were approaching one of the four 90-degree turns on the course. There was a CHP officer working the corner and waving for us to slow. Three riders just ahead of me entered the corner, and the next thing I know, I see them hit the deck! WTF!!! This is a road race, not a crit! I manged to get around them, and sprint up the road to catch the rest of my group.
Back up the climb we went on lap two. The leaders at this point had about a one-minute gap on us. Big, but not out of reach. As we rounded the same turn the accident took place on the last lap, the group I was in had a loud mouth who kept yelling at all of us to work together, keep it smooth! The problem was, our pace kept slowing, we were adjusting to the pace of the weakest rider. I could sense this happening, and decided that we were never going to catch the leaders if that kept up, and no one seemed to want to work to make the catch happen. At this point I made what was either a good or bad decision, I'll never know, but something had to change.
I threw my bike in to the big-ring, and sprinted around the rider who was taking a pull at the front. I immediately settled in to a hard pace, put my head down, got as low as I could, and basically went in to TT mode. The rider who was yelling at us to work together must of latched on to my wheel because the next thing I know I hear him yelling at me to slow down! Rather then waste my breath yelling back at him, I just kept pounding on the pedals.
As we rode over the slight rise in the road, low and behold, there were the leaders! I just kept pedaling hard. After a couple of minutes I found myself latching on to the wheel of the last rider in the lead pack. Finally I could rest! Apparently so could the rest of my group that came along for the ride!
We rounded turn four, and began the climb up to the start/finish, blew through there, and made our way to turn one, then on to the climb for the last time. I counted heads and realized I was sitting about fifteen riders back as the road began to rise. I thought to myself, "Not bad for starting in 120th!". The problem was all that work I did on the back half of the course to get back to the lead group really took its toll on the climb. I was reduced to riding in my 25-tooth on the climb, where earlier I was pulling the 21. I watched as the other riders began to pass me one at a time. That's a horrible feeling, especially when there's nothing left in the legs to react to it.
As I approached the feed zone, my father-in-law Marv was waiting with a fresh bottle in hand. I threw one of my bottles to the ground and took the new bottle from him. He informed me the leaders were exactly one minute up the road. Upon hearing that I grabbed a few gears, stood and attempted to increase my speed in hopes of catching them before the long descent. I knew if I didn't, I never would. Unfortunately I didn't.
The rest of the race was fairly uneventful. I just soloed most of the way in, keeping an eye out over my shoulder in case other riders were approaching. I wasn't sure where I stood overall at that point, but I never like giving up any spots. As I approached the finish line, another rider did manage to catch and pass me to pick up a spot. I saw him coming, I stood and tried to out sprint him up the hill, but I quickly had to sit back down. I had nothing left!
Well, one more week until the next race...San Luis Rey. That will cap off four straight weeks of road racing. I'm hoping I can shed the last of this cold and have a great showing on my home turf. I entered a category I've never raced at San Luis, Masters 30+ 4/5. I'm not sure they've ever offered this category, but what a good one it should be. Unfortunately the start time is 7:30am! Thank God it's close to home! After San Luis, I get a break from racing, but not training. The State Championship RR in Bakersfield is June 6th, so I'll need that time to get in top shape. Hope all is well, and a BIG congratulations to Eric Landman on his solo victory in yesterday's Cat 3 race!!! Until next time...
Why is it so hard to get psyched up to do trainer intervals, or any intervals for that matter??? I suppose because they're so damn painful!!! Give me a good hard ride up Palomar any day!!!
Hi All! "De Vlees Huis Ronde"!!! What a great race! That's what my weekend was about. Left Saturday morning for Bakersfield with my friend Mark Palmer to get checked in to our hotel and go pre-ride the Vlees course. From the flyer, "We have found the course….come receive the challenge….
A classic European style 30 mile loop. Easy flats, steady climb, and lots of puncher climbs in between the flats back to the finish. Finish is after a steady uphill kick." Flats! Where? Puncher climbs! Where? I'm not complaining. The course was one of the finest I've ever raced. Saturday we arrived at the start/finish line and ran in to two riders from San Diego's Moment Cycles team that were also about to begin their pre-ride. The four of us took off not expecting to find anything that resembled a great course judging by the start/finish area. That all changed soon.
After a sharp, short descent almost immediately after the start line we hit a section a flat road that made its way passed an old vacant slaughterhouse. Almost vacant that is if you don't count the apparent squatters that seemed to have made a home there with an RV. Not long after that the road began to point upwards, and upwards, and upwards. The first climb was also the longest. Not steep, probably averaging 4-5%, but long. I'd say it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-5 miles. Eventually we reached the summit and as soon as we hit the top we hit another sharp, short descent. Right at the bottom of the descent there was the first of three turn-arounds. So of course right after the turn-around it was straight back up the hill which touched on 7%. Once at the top again, we were treated to another descent of about 2-miles. At that point we hung a sharp right-hand turn and kept descending from there. This section of course was either up or down, nothing in between. There was a second turn-around on this road, then you began climbing or descending your way back up this road. At the top another right-hand turn was made, (back on to the road we originally started on), then the big descent of 4-5 miles back to the flats (slaughterhouse), then the final uphill kick (touched on 8%), back to the start/finish line, which was also the third turn-around. Two times around the course for a total of 60-miles.
I finished 24th in the Cat 4 race. I rode it almost prefectly to my plan. The deciding point in the race was at the first turn-around at the bottom of the descent. I was a little too far back when we reached the turn-around, and of course traffic almost came to a stand still if you were that far back, and a group of about 12-15 guys hammered it as soon as they made their way around the turn-around. This split the group, and I found myself in a chase group of about 10 guys. That's how the rest of the day played out, right up until the last kilometer, when we reached the uphill kicker to the finish line. Someone attacked as expected, and when I stood to respond, both of my inner thighs cramped bad! Without that happening, I would of wrapped up a top twenty for sure. Not bad considering I've been sick (and still am) for the last week. Mark finished 15th in the Masters 45+ 1-4 race! An excellent finish in that group of fast guys.
Next up, the Devil's Punchbowl, April 24th. If I can kick this cough and phlegm before then, I hope for a high finish. Hope all is well! Until next time...
Hi All! Well, yesterday wrapped up my first "A" race of the season, the Cyclo-Vets Omnium. It's a 3-day stage race, beginning with a TT down on Fiesta Island Friday, followed by a RR at the Boulevard course on Saturday, then concluding with a crit in Mira Mesa on Sunday. I raced the first two events this year, as I'm still holding strong on not racing crits anymore.
I had two PR's so to speak for the event, running a 19:05:20 in the TT for an 11th place finish, beating my previous best time by 12 seconds. Yesterday's road race went extremely well, although I didn't get the win I was hoping for, I raced it as planned, there were just a few other guys out there who happened to have better legs then me that day. I stayed up front through the backside of the course, the descent, not giving up my spot, telling myself that I need to be in the top ten riders when the group reached the beginning of the climb. I was sitting in ninth spot when we did! To make a long story short, the race ended up with a break away of five guys up the road, followed by eight of us chasing, and the peloton somewhere behind us. We worked well together, trying to close the gap between us and the leaders, but two minutes proved to be too much. I had to out sprint another rider at the end to grab 9th place for the day.
Next up, the De Vlees Huis Ronde Road Race in Bakersfield on the 18th. A 30-mile course we'll be going around twice, the longest race on the calendar this season. That should be good for me, as I tend to ride stronger the longer a race goes.
Back to the Omnium...my friend and training partner Mark Palmer, finished in 2nd place in the 50+ category in the TT Friday, then went on to WIN yesterday's RR!!! Excellent job Mark!!! Hope he throws it down in today's crit and wraps up 1st place in the GC. It's good to know I'm training with the right people! Hope ya'll are good out there. Until next time...
Hi All! I'm a day late posting, (not my usual Sunday post!), but I was a little tired and pressed for time yesterday. I just finished a two-day training block that left me feeling completely whipped! I was originally scheduled to race the Santiago Canyon TT Saturday, but I had some trouble dialing in the TT bike Friday night, and rather then go to the race not sure how the bike would perform, I set a goal for myself to get ten hours on the bike over the weekend, which is my usual weekly total. Without any real routes planned, somehow I managed to get the ten hours right on the mark.
5'15" in the saddle Saturday. I left my house around 8:30am, and decided to head out to Palomar Mountain. I knew this ride would guarantee me at least five hours in the saddle, and also give me a solid, hard workout that only Palomar can give. I rode at a fairly moderate tempo on the way out. Up Lake Wohlford Road at a decent pace, then pushed on to the market at the base of Palomar. I stopped at the market to take in some calories, and decided I had enough fluids to reach the top. BIG mistake!
At that point, I already had two hours in the saddle, and still hadn't consumed both my bottles. The climb up Palomar is approximetely 12-miles, and takes quite a bit of work. After downing a Clif Bar, I hopped back on the bike and started up the mountain. I decided that I would time myself to the split at South Grade Road. Typically this takes about thirty minutes to reach riding at a moderate pace. That's the pace I decided to keep, nothing too hard, but not too easy either.
When I reached the split I looked down at the Garmin and noticed I reached the turn in 27-minutes! At that point, I decided that I might as well keep track of my time to the summit. South Grade typically takes me 45-minutes or so to climb, and again I decided to ride this portion at a moderate pace.
As I climbed, there was a lack of high-speed motorcycle traffic due to a couple of Highway Patrol present on the mountain. What a treat! Nice and quiet. About half way up the 7-mile climb, I noticed a small group of cyclists ahead of me. This is always a welcome sight when climbing. It gives you that added boost to push a little harder. I made it a game to catch each rider and basically try and beat them to the top. Good and bad!
That extra motivation allowed me to go a little faster then I probably would of without them, but it also caused me to go a little too hard for the state of dehydration my leg muscles were experience from lack of proper hydration. About two miles from the summit my left thigh began cramping up pretty bad. There was no way I could continue to pedal. I pulled off the side of the road, hoping the cramps would work themselves out. A lot of the riders I passed on the way up, were now passing me back! After about a minute and a half, the cramps finally let up enough to continue on. I manged to pass back all the riders who passed me, and reached the summit in 42-minutes, 44 if I count the 2-minute stop I made for the cramps.
69 or 71 minutes to the top! A new PR for me either way. I won't get in to the details of the rest of the ride other then to say the descent was miserable due to more cramping in both legs all the way down!
Sunday was a good, hard 4'45" in the saddle spent with John Bailey of Bailey Bikes all the way down to Fiesta Island and back. Wouldn't of made it back home if not for a stop at a Bruegger's Bagel in La Costa. 78 and 81-miles respectively for Saturday and Sunday, 10-hours total, hours and miles in the bank! Hoping to cash them in for the Omnium TT and RR this weekend! I'm looking forward to a well deserved rest week! Hope all is well, ntil next time...
