Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Tour de Boulder Prologue Today!
Hi Tour Riders,
The prologue is today. Meet at the wood bridge at noon or the base of NCAR at 12:20. Mark Schwab will go then as he has to get back for a meeting. I was thinking the rest of us would do one warm-up lap up the hill and all learn where the official finish is. Then back down and go off in 1-minute intervals. Should be fun...in a really painful sort of way.
Bring along anyone else who's interested.
Bill
Hi Tour Riders,
The prologue is today. Meet at the wood bridge at noon or the base of NCAR at 12:20. Mark Schwab will go then as he has to get back for a meeting. I was thinking the rest of us would do one warm-up lap up the hill and all learn where the official finish is. Then back down and go off in 1-minute intervals. Should be fun...in a really painful sort of way.
Bring along anyone else who's interested.
Bill
Sunday, June 27, 2004
Coal Miner Classic Criterium
by Jeb Dunnuck
ho hum... miss the break, win the chase group sprint..
Of course, that's the optimistic way to look at it. Ha, another way is "got dropped". Anyway, it's Matson, Andy, Grant and myself. When we pulled up to register, it was 70 degrees and sunny. Of course there were some ominous clouds on the horizon but surely it would hold off or pass. By the start of the race, it's 55 degrees and sprinkling and it only gets worse. Grant decided to hold off on registering and then wisely opted to watch the race from the warmth of the car. Having already ponied up my money, I throw off the rain cape and jump into the spot saved by Matson.
At the gun, Matson goes straight to the front and I'm happy to just sit on his wheel. While I do my normal slide back in the pack, Matson stays right at the front and sets the pace for the next 3 laps or so. Ha, Traci tells me that from now on, I'm not to leave Matson's wheel. After a couple laps, the sky opens up and it is literally pouring on us. We're still going down the hill at 40mph and I would start to put my brakes on a good 400 meters before the turn and continue to pedal with the hope of drying out the rims. By the end of the race, I would literally have the brake levers mashed against the handlebars and just hope I would slow down enough to make the turn.
Not too much to report on the race though. Halfway through, a big gap opens up going up the hill and I barely make it onto the back. Next time up the hill the same thing happens and I'm regulated to the chase group. It's amazing how easy it is to let yourself ease up when there are other people sitting up right next to you. I should have been busting my ass catching back on but it was so easy to think we could chase it down, blah blah blah... Near the top of the hill, Traci, Grant and some stranger holding a kid would cheer us on. I wasn't sure who the other guy was but was immensely grateful since it was like a shot of adrenaline going past them. I later found out Eric had driven down and was there with his son to cheer us on. Thanks Eric!!
Matson had made the lead group but after crashing at the last race, decided he had enough of sliding around the corners and headed home. We almost catch the lead group with two to go and they were probably just 300 meters ahead of us. Going up the hill with one more to go, I'm pulling and two guys jump off the front. Ha, I don't even flinch and unfortunately, neither does anyone else. Further up the hill, Neil from Al's takes off and I grab his wheel. Coming around the last corner before the hill/finish, I'm third wheel. Once we start heading up the hill, it's a decent headwind and still a long way to go so I keep telling myself to be patient. A couple people swarm us and I just leapfrog from wheel to wheel staying at the front. I run out of wheels with about 300 to go and jump. Amazingly, no one comes with me and I catch one of the guys that got away before crossing the line in 16th. Couch came in right behind me and rode great.
Pretty disappointing actually. I worked hard the whole race but damn, I should have made that first group and the miss the break/sprint bs is getting old. Hope everyone had a great weekend and congratz to Jilayne (3rd at finch and 7th at StorageTek) and Bill (6th at finch and 12th at StorageTek) for some awesome racing!
Ciao,
Jeb
by Jeb Dunnuck
ho hum... miss the break, win the chase group sprint..
Of course, that's the optimistic way to look at it. Ha, another way is "got dropped". Anyway, it's Matson, Andy, Grant and myself. When we pulled up to register, it was 70 degrees and sunny. Of course there were some ominous clouds on the horizon but surely it would hold off or pass. By the start of the race, it's 55 degrees and sprinkling and it only gets worse. Grant decided to hold off on registering and then wisely opted to watch the race from the warmth of the car. Having already ponied up my money, I throw off the rain cape and jump into the spot saved by Matson.
At the gun, Matson goes straight to the front and I'm happy to just sit on his wheel. While I do my normal slide back in the pack, Matson stays right at the front and sets the pace for the next 3 laps or so. Ha, Traci tells me that from now on, I'm not to leave Matson's wheel. After a couple laps, the sky opens up and it is literally pouring on us. We're still going down the hill at 40mph and I would start to put my brakes on a good 400 meters before the turn and continue to pedal with the hope of drying out the rims. By the end of the race, I would literally have the brake levers mashed against the handlebars and just hope I would slow down enough to make the turn.
Not too much to report on the race though. Halfway through, a big gap opens up going up the hill and I barely make it onto the back. Next time up the hill the same thing happens and I'm regulated to the chase group. It's amazing how easy it is to let yourself ease up when there are other people sitting up right next to you. I should have been busting my ass catching back on but it was so easy to think we could chase it down, blah blah blah... Near the top of the hill, Traci, Grant and some stranger holding a kid would cheer us on. I wasn't sure who the other guy was but was immensely grateful since it was like a shot of adrenaline going past them. I later found out Eric had driven down and was there with his son to cheer us on. Thanks Eric!!
Matson had made the lead group but after crashing at the last race, decided he had enough of sliding around the corners and headed home. We almost catch the lead group with two to go and they were probably just 300 meters ahead of us. Going up the hill with one more to go, I'm pulling and two guys jump off the front. Ha, I don't even flinch and unfortunately, neither does anyone else. Further up the hill, Neil from Al's takes off and I grab his wheel. Coming around the last corner before the hill/finish, I'm third wheel. Once we start heading up the hill, it's a decent headwind and still a long way to go so I keep telling myself to be patient. A couple people swarm us and I just leapfrog from wheel to wheel staying at the front. I run out of wheels with about 300 to go and jump. Amazingly, no one comes with me and I catch one of the guys that got away before crossing the line in 16th. Couch came in right behind me and rode great.
Pretty disappointing actually. I worked hard the whole race but damn, I should have made that first group and the miss the break/sprint bs is getting old. Hope everyone had a great weekend and congratz to Jilayne (3rd at finch and 7th at StorageTek) and Bill (6th at finch and 12th at StorageTek) for some awesome racing!
Ciao,
Jeb
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Flagstaff and Gross - Tour de Boulder Stage Preview Ride
sign past Flagstaff House: 4:29
Monkey Traverse: 9:22 (4:53)
Amphitheater Road Jct: 16:21 (6:59)
bottom of the steep part: 22:24 (6:03)
top of the steep part: 26:34 (4:10)
Super Flag summit: 32:25 (5:51) (top half in 16:03 - 18 seconds faster than the bottom)
Gross Reservoir 49:30 (17:05)
Super Flag summit: 1:07:32 (18:02)
Back at work at work 23 minutes later. Just under two hours for the entire ride.
Graph later. This is my second fastest time on Super Flag, but 1:33 off my PR. Not bad for 5 days after a 50-mile run...
sign past Flagstaff House: 4:29
Monkey Traverse: 9:22 (4:53)
Amphitheater Road Jct: 16:21 (6:59)
bottom of the steep part: 22:24 (6:03)
top of the steep part: 26:34 (4:10)
Super Flag summit: 32:25 (5:51) (top half in 16:03 - 18 seconds faster than the bottom)
Gross Reservoir 49:30 (17:05)
Super Flag summit: 1:07:32 (18:02)
Back at work at work 23 minutes later. Just under two hours for the entire ride.
Graph later. This is my second fastest time on Super Flag, but 1:33 off my PR. Not bad for 5 days after a 50-mile run...
Sunday, June 20, 2004
Deer Trail Road Race report
by Jeb Dunnuck
77 miles - 24.4mph average (via my computer which only register 90km so who knows), time was around 3 hours.
Ah, it's Monday .. again... already... ugh, as you can tell my motivation for being at work is slim to none.. oh yea, back to the race report. 77 miles, yup, and rumored to be flat. Couch had kinda thrown out a plan the day before and it involved me sitting in the pack, which I was happy to do for sure. We had Couch, Grant, Scott and myself so we actually had a decent turnout. Of course, when Al's racing went by and looked like the entire pro 1/2 field, our measly 4 dudes didn't look so impressive anymore. Haul'n ass racing also had a huge turnout. The course consisted of 3 different out and back routes with us doing the first one twice (first and last loop). The weather was also dandy at the start but the wind would pick up a little and we were sprinkled on a couple times but nothing drastic for sure.
No warm-up for me.. no sir. We spun up and down the road for 100 meters or so and then I set my butt right down on the top tube and waited for the gun. We putt out to the first loop and the flat course didn't seem too flat to me. I don't know what everyone else's opinion is but that first damn loop didn't have a flat portion to it and the rollers were substantial. Knowing that we had to do this same out and back again right before the finish didn't leave me feeling all warm and cozy. The turn around for the out and backs were cones in the middle of the road. Ha, they were so damn sharp, a lot of people actually unclipped and put a foot down to make the turn. Of course, it was complete mayhem coming out of each of those turnarounds and a full on sprint to get back up to speed.
The pace picks up a little coming back on the first loop but we settle in as we head out on the second of 4 out and backs. This loop actually lived up to the flat rumors. About halfway out, Couch gets into a break. Grant quickly asks me if I know what that means... I'm at a lose and say something about not having to chase. Grant quickly explains that Andy has an uncanny ability to always get in the second to last break.. i.e. the one right before the one that actually succeeds. I laugh but this actually proved to be the case. The pace picks up a little and the break is caught right before the turn around. Everyone's got a clue now about the turn arounds so it's a race to the cone. As I'm coming into the turn, I notice a small gap to a couple guys up front but nothing big (forshadowing). We do the normal sprint out of the cone but the pace stays up this time and we're single file for quite a ways. The pace finally lets up and it looks like were all together (hint hint, we're not). I'm feeling pretty good, think we're all together and I'm fat, dumb and happy. We cruise back and start the third out and back.
About a 3rd of the way out, I ride up and chat with Andy. He quickly informs me that there is indeed, 8 guys off the front with a spirit crushing 3:30 gap. The next round of bad news is that we're the only team besides Swift that missed the break. We hang out for awhile but eventually make our way up to the front. Andy and I trade pulls but I'm pulling at a pathetic 40kph so I'm not to hopeful that we'll be able to bring anything back but it feels good to be on the front. OK, so Andy and I are the only guys in front working at all. Once Andy pulls around on my left, I grab his wheel and am resting up so I can pull through. One of the haul'n ass racers pulls up beside Andy and is very purposely screwing up the pace line by blocking me and not pulling through. I had just chatted with this dude back in the pack and thought he was an OK guy but I'm slightly pissed off at what he's doing. I tell him that we're at least trying to work so to get out of our line. The dude looks at me and says "I'll give you that" like he's doing me a favor and pulls off. Mother F!cker. I hear him later say that he won't screw with us but that he'll do what ever he can to screw up the swift team. I also hear him chatting with another team mate and I hear the other dude telling him how he loves to let gaps open up so other people have to close them! So here's the scenario, Haul'n ass has two teammates in a break of 8. They just so happen to be the strongest guys on their team and Doug from excel (definitely one of the strongest cat 3's out there) is also up there. It's pretty obvious that they're not coming back and I'm at a complete lose as to Hual'n ass's tactics. One of the swift team members asks if I want to jump off the front with him because HnA keeps screwing any attempt to chase. I can't imagine being on a team where everyone loves to screw other people like that. I'm still pissed off about this but I'd love to hear everyone else's opinion. Yes, I'm sure their riding was legal and maybe it makes sense but I'm still against it and I've lost all respect for that team. I will say this, right or wrong, if I'm ever in a situation like that again, I'm not going to politely ask the guy to get out of the line.
Anyway, on the way back the pace is screaming fast and we're cruising along at a 55-60kph. It must have been a false flat going in or a head wind cuz we were just flying back outta there. I still feel really good. My right hamstring is feeling a little odd but I'm pretty happy. Once we start the last loop, I look up and think I'm about in the upper third of the pack. I quickly look back and I'm the last in the line. hahaha... Where the hell did everyone go?? It's almost impossible to move up since the yellow line rule is being strictly enforced but I stick my head into the wind and ride up the gutter to just behind Couch (who rode awesome all day) and hang there for awhile. Couch goes flying off the front just before the last turn around and gets a sizeable gap. Once we make the turn, I stay up in the top 10 riders and stay there. Couch does an awesome effort but the pack catches him near the top of one of the rollers. I yell some encouragement for him and amazingly he catches on but is hurting pretty bad. I stay up near the front and was just praying to see the 200 meter to go sign. One of the Rio Grand riders goes to the front and starts to lead out and I'm right on his wheel. I see a sign coming up and I'm thinking it's the 200 to go but, alas, it's the friggin 1km to go. Eric Liprindi (my arch nemesis) is behind me and yelling encouragement to the leadout. The poor dude is giving it his all and I could just see him start to fade and then Eric would yell at him to keep going and he would dig just a little deeper. Problem is, he's starting to fade at about 400 to go and no screaming by his teammate is going to help. I'm right behind him and there is still a long way to go. Imagine that, me being too far forward. At about *gasp* 350 to go, I can hear guys starting to swarm on my right. The equation running through my head wasn't looking too favorable but what the hell. I would at least see how fast everyone else is and I'd find out what I need to work on. I was spinning the 12, shift into the 11 and pull to the side. A guy was just coming up on the right and is now right beside me. I'm touching the leadout with my left shoulder and now I'm rubbing shoulders with the dude on my right. I pull through trying not to move my bike much and then punch it. I'm in the front and going all out as I pass to 200 meter sign (I almost chuckle to myself). This sprint is quite a bit longer than any staz sprint I've ever done, and I continue to try and breath and be smooth. I'm hurting near the end and I just catch site of a dude near my rear wheel but I hold it to the line with about a bike length on a Al's racing dude. One guy had got off the front before the 1km sign and we almost catch him on the line but no dice. I think there were 8 in the break and then the one guy that went early, so I should be 10th. All in all, a great race. Andy, Grant and Scott were alway right there and rode really strong. We screwed up letting that break go but there was some serious firepower up there and no one else would work so we made the best of the situation.
Great race and I hope everyone had a great weekend! Congratz to Kevin for his 5th place at Hugo on Sat!!!
Ciao,
Jeb
by Jeb Dunnuck
77 miles - 24.4mph average (via my computer which only register 90km so who knows), time was around 3 hours.
Ah, it's Monday .. again... already... ugh, as you can tell my motivation for being at work is slim to none.. oh yea, back to the race report. 77 miles, yup, and rumored to be flat. Couch had kinda thrown out a plan the day before and it involved me sitting in the pack, which I was happy to do for sure. We had Couch, Grant, Scott and myself so we actually had a decent turnout. Of course, when Al's racing went by and looked like the entire pro 1/2 field, our measly 4 dudes didn't look so impressive anymore. Haul'n ass racing also had a huge turnout. The course consisted of 3 different out and back routes with us doing the first one twice (first and last loop). The weather was also dandy at the start but the wind would pick up a little and we were sprinkled on a couple times but nothing drastic for sure.
No warm-up for me.. no sir. We spun up and down the road for 100 meters or so and then I set my butt right down on the top tube and waited for the gun. We putt out to the first loop and the flat course didn't seem too flat to me. I don't know what everyone else's opinion is but that first damn loop didn't have a flat portion to it and the rollers were substantial. Knowing that we had to do this same out and back again right before the finish didn't leave me feeling all warm and cozy. The turn around for the out and backs were cones in the middle of the road. Ha, they were so damn sharp, a lot of people actually unclipped and put a foot down to make the turn. Of course, it was complete mayhem coming out of each of those turnarounds and a full on sprint to get back up to speed.
The pace picks up a little coming back on the first loop but we settle in as we head out on the second of 4 out and backs. This loop actually lived up to the flat rumors. About halfway out, Couch gets into a break. Grant quickly asks me if I know what that means... I'm at a lose and say something about not having to chase. Grant quickly explains that Andy has an uncanny ability to always get in the second to last break.. i.e. the one right before the one that actually succeeds. I laugh but this actually proved to be the case. The pace picks up a little and the break is caught right before the turn around. Everyone's got a clue now about the turn arounds so it's a race to the cone. As I'm coming into the turn, I notice a small gap to a couple guys up front but nothing big (forshadowing). We do the normal sprint out of the cone but the pace stays up this time and we're single file for quite a ways. The pace finally lets up and it looks like were all together (hint hint, we're not). I'm feeling pretty good, think we're all together and I'm fat, dumb and happy. We cruise back and start the third out and back.
About a 3rd of the way out, I ride up and chat with Andy. He quickly informs me that there is indeed, 8 guys off the front with a spirit crushing 3:30 gap. The next round of bad news is that we're the only team besides Swift that missed the break. We hang out for awhile but eventually make our way up to the front. Andy and I trade pulls but I'm pulling at a pathetic 40kph so I'm not to hopeful that we'll be able to bring anything back but it feels good to be on the front. OK, so Andy and I are the only guys in front working at all. Once Andy pulls around on my left, I grab his wheel and am resting up so I can pull through. One of the haul'n ass racers pulls up beside Andy and is very purposely screwing up the pace line by blocking me and not pulling through. I had just chatted with this dude back in the pack and thought he was an OK guy but I'm slightly pissed off at what he's doing. I tell him that we're at least trying to work so to get out of our line. The dude looks at me and says "I'll give you that" like he's doing me a favor and pulls off. Mother F!cker. I hear him later say that he won't screw with us but that he'll do what ever he can to screw up the swift team. I also hear him chatting with another team mate and I hear the other dude telling him how he loves to let gaps open up so other people have to close them! So here's the scenario, Haul'n ass has two teammates in a break of 8. They just so happen to be the strongest guys on their team and Doug from excel (definitely one of the strongest cat 3's out there) is also up there. It's pretty obvious that they're not coming back and I'm at a complete lose as to Hual'n ass's tactics. One of the swift team members asks if I want to jump off the front with him because HnA keeps screwing any attempt to chase. I can't imagine being on a team where everyone loves to screw other people like that. I'm still pissed off about this but I'd love to hear everyone else's opinion. Yes, I'm sure their riding was legal and maybe it makes sense but I'm still against it and I've lost all respect for that team. I will say this, right or wrong, if I'm ever in a situation like that again, I'm not going to politely ask the guy to get out of the line.
Anyway, on the way back the pace is screaming fast and we're cruising along at a 55-60kph. It must have been a false flat going in or a head wind cuz we were just flying back outta there. I still feel really good. My right hamstring is feeling a little odd but I'm pretty happy. Once we start the last loop, I look up and think I'm about in the upper third of the pack. I quickly look back and I'm the last in the line. hahaha... Where the hell did everyone go?? It's almost impossible to move up since the yellow line rule is being strictly enforced but I stick my head into the wind and ride up the gutter to just behind Couch (who rode awesome all day) and hang there for awhile. Couch goes flying off the front just before the last turn around and gets a sizeable gap. Once we make the turn, I stay up in the top 10 riders and stay there. Couch does an awesome effort but the pack catches him near the top of one of the rollers. I yell some encouragement for him and amazingly he catches on but is hurting pretty bad. I stay up near the front and was just praying to see the 200 meter to go sign. One of the Rio Grand riders goes to the front and starts to lead out and I'm right on his wheel. I see a sign coming up and I'm thinking it's the 200 to go but, alas, it's the friggin 1km to go. Eric Liprindi (my arch nemesis) is behind me and yelling encouragement to the leadout. The poor dude is giving it his all and I could just see him start to fade and then Eric would yell at him to keep going and he would dig just a little deeper. Problem is, he's starting to fade at about 400 to go and no screaming by his teammate is going to help. I'm right behind him and there is still a long way to go. Imagine that, me being too far forward. At about *gasp* 350 to go, I can hear guys starting to swarm on my right. The equation running through my head wasn't looking too favorable but what the hell. I would at least see how fast everyone else is and I'd find out what I need to work on. I was spinning the 12, shift into the 11 and pull to the side. A guy was just coming up on the right and is now right beside me. I'm touching the leadout with my left shoulder and now I'm rubbing shoulders with the dude on my right. I pull through trying not to move my bike much and then punch it. I'm in the front and going all out as I pass to 200 meter sign (I almost chuckle to myself). This sprint is quite a bit longer than any staz sprint I've ever done, and I continue to try and breath and be smooth. I'm hurting near the end and I just catch site of a dude near my rear wheel but I hold it to the line with about a bike length on a Al's racing dude. One guy had got off the front before the 1km sign and we almost catch him on the line but no dice. I think there were 8 in the break and then the one guy that went early, so I should be 10th. All in all, a great race. Andy, Grant and Scott were alway right there and rode really strong. We screwed up letting that break go but there was some serious firepower up there and no one else would work so we made the best of the situation.
Great race and I hope everyone had a great weekend! Congratz to Kevin for his 5th place at Hugo on Sat!!!
Ciao,
Jeb
Monday, June 14, 2004
Flagstaff and the Monkey
Mark Schwab, local hotshot biker, was the only one to join in today. We met at the bridge and he told me about his races this past weekend. He flatted in a criterium the day before with 3.5 laps to go. Inside of five laps, you don't get a free lap for a flat and you can't jump back in. The race had only five minutes to go and Mark was riding strong and probably would have had a top ten finish. This sucks about bike racing. It hasn't happened to me yet, but I've heard countless stories of good races going bad because of a flat. It sucks when a random mechanical problem can blow your whole race.
We rode tempo over to the base of Flagstaff and kept it tempo up to the Flagstaff House, which we hit in a pedestrian five minutes. We were chatting the whole way up to here and riding two-up most of the way. Mark was taking things easy today, recovering from his races, so I went to the front to up the pace a bit. I'm putting the hammer down and Mark hardly even notices that the pace has changed and he's chatting away behind me. I pull until the next switchback and Mark takes the inside route and gets in front here. I latch on and stay there for 30 seconds before popping off. Mark doesn't fly away though. He keeps himself just 50-100 feet ahead of me as a bit of motivation.
Mark eases up and I catch back up to Mark at the final hairpin. He pulls me along for 30 more seconds, before I pop off again. He now stretches things out pretty good to the finish. I hit the Amphitheater Road junction in 16:21 - my best this year is 16:19 and my last time up this baby I did a horrific 18+ minutes, so this was nice to see, especially given the casual start. Mark kept going up the Amphitheater Road and I followed after a few circles in the parking lot to get things under control.
We descended down to the Monkey Traverse, passing Michelle coming up on the way. Mark gets on the Monkey first and onsights to the first rest. Then he climbs with a couple moves of the kneelock rest! On his first try he did more than I did on the Monkey in my first two years on it! He'll get this baby in a few weeks. I got on it and climbed past the first rest (standard these days) to the kneelock rest. Mark gave me an attentive spot and after a good rest, I sent the exit. Mark worked the middle section once more and then we headed to the Pratt Mantle with Michelle. Everyone got spanked here and we headed down.
We cruised down Flagstaff with Mark nearly getting hit by a driver two feet over the yellow line! At the stoplight at Broadway and Baseline Mark says to me, "I like to sprint from here to 30th so that I can make the light." When the light turns, he is off like a shot! Before I know it, I'm a hundred meters back and fading. He flies under the overpass and just barely makes the lefthand turn at 30th. I don't make it and nor does Michelle, but Mark waits on 30th. Now I know why he hit it so hard. This is pretty cool. I'll have to try this again. It is probably half a mile from Broadway to 30th and you go through two lights enroute. You have hustle to make all these lights.
Bill
Mark Schwab, local hotshot biker, was the only one to join in today. We met at the bridge and he told me about his races this past weekend. He flatted in a criterium the day before with 3.5 laps to go. Inside of five laps, you don't get a free lap for a flat and you can't jump back in. The race had only five minutes to go and Mark was riding strong and probably would have had a top ten finish. This sucks about bike racing. It hasn't happened to me yet, but I've heard countless stories of good races going bad because of a flat. It sucks when a random mechanical problem can blow your whole race.
We rode tempo over to the base of Flagstaff and kept it tempo up to the Flagstaff House, which we hit in a pedestrian five minutes. We were chatting the whole way up to here and riding two-up most of the way. Mark was taking things easy today, recovering from his races, so I went to the front to up the pace a bit. I'm putting the hammer down and Mark hardly even notices that the pace has changed and he's chatting away behind me. I pull until the next switchback and Mark takes the inside route and gets in front here. I latch on and stay there for 30 seconds before popping off. Mark doesn't fly away though. He keeps himself just 50-100 feet ahead of me as a bit of motivation.
Mark eases up and I catch back up to Mark at the final hairpin. He pulls me along for 30 more seconds, before I pop off again. He now stretches things out pretty good to the finish. I hit the Amphitheater Road junction in 16:21 - my best this year is 16:19 and my last time up this baby I did a horrific 18+ minutes, so this was nice to see, especially given the casual start. Mark kept going up the Amphitheater Road and I followed after a few circles in the parking lot to get things under control.
We descended down to the Monkey Traverse, passing Michelle coming up on the way. Mark gets on the Monkey first and onsights to the first rest. Then he climbs with a couple moves of the kneelock rest! On his first try he did more than I did on the Monkey in my first two years on it! He'll get this baby in a few weeks. I got on it and climbed past the first rest (standard these days) to the kneelock rest. Mark gave me an attentive spot and after a good rest, I sent the exit. Mark worked the middle section once more and then we headed to the Pratt Mantle with Michelle. Everyone got spanked here and we headed down.
We cruised down Flagstaff with Mark nearly getting hit by a driver two feet over the yellow line! At the stoplight at Broadway and Baseline Mark says to me, "I like to sprint from here to 30th so that I can make the light." When the light turns, he is off like a shot! Before I know it, I'm a hundred meters back and fading. He flies under the overpass and just barely makes the lefthand turn at 30th. I don't make it and nor does Michelle, but Mark waits on 30th. Now I know why he hit it so hard. This is pretty cool. I'll have to try this again. It is probably half a mile from Broadway to 30th and you go through two lights enroute. You have hustle to make all these lights.
Bill
Sugarloaf Again
After my PR ride on Saturday up Sugarloaf and my five-hour run on Sunday, I was content to sleep in this morning, but the Magic Bike (tm) wasn't satisfied with a time slower than Jilayne's... So, I gave the Magic Bike (tm) a bath, ordered up a favorable tailwind, and got up at 5:30 a.m. On Friday, riding down from Flagstaff, I told Eric Coppock that I always seem to climb better when he paces me up the lower section. This led to a discussion of the Horgan Hill Climb and Eric said, "If I entered that race it would only be to pull you up the bottom part of that climb." Now he didn't say he was entering, but it still was a nice thought, considering it is very debatable if I'm a stronger climber than him or not. This provided some further motivation to give Sugarloaf another look. I mean, if someone is going to work for you, you have to prove yourself worthy of it.
I drove over to Eben G. Fine Park and parked the car. I was riding by 6:40 a.m. and this time it only took me 20m11s to get to the base of Sugarloaf. I worked hard up the lower section, hoping to get a good advantage over my last time. I hit the Betasso Road in 4m35s - only 15 seconds up on last time. "Dang, this is going to be hard," I thought. I kept the pressure on and hit Sugar Stick (?) Road at around 16m20s. This was about 30 seconds ahead of last time and enough to improve my 34m33s time to best Jilayne's 34m10s, if I could keep up the effort.
I really started to suffer now and figured I had gone too fast on the bottom. I had to be losing time now. I had good conditions, but maybe my legs were shot from the day before. I watched the clock fanatically, knowing that it would all be over, one way or the other, after 34 minutes. I started to count it down. Twelve minutes of hell to go. Ten minutes to go. Sweat was streaming down my face as I labored to turn the pedals. Standing up in my 27, I concluded that I must be losing time because you can't go any slower than standing in the 27. But the summit was in sight. My spirits lifted and I shifted up a gear. I set my sights on a new goal and worked hard the last minute to finish in 32m19s - over two minutes faster than Saturday. The fastest time I have on my site (www.speedlimbing.org) for Kraig Koski is 32m25s. This can't be his PR, but it was still a good ride for me. I gained most of this time against my Saturday ride in the last half of the climb, when I thought I was losing time. Strange, but I was very pleased to be rewarded with a good result after all that suffering.
I took a moment to clean off my sunglasses, as I could barely see through them with all the sweat stains. It was only 60 degrees out, but I was generating a lot of heat. I cruised back down the newly paved road, thinking, "Hey, this is just like Mt. Ventoux. They just paved that road and Iban Mayo just broke the ascent record and here I am breaking my ascent record on Boulder's Ventoux." By the way, the Mt. Ventoux records are on my site as well. Check out the new page.
Bill
After my PR ride on Saturday up Sugarloaf and my five-hour run on Sunday, I was content to sleep in this morning, but the Magic Bike (tm) wasn't satisfied with a time slower than Jilayne's... So, I gave the Magic Bike (tm) a bath, ordered up a favorable tailwind, and got up at 5:30 a.m. On Friday, riding down from Flagstaff, I told Eric Coppock that I always seem to climb better when he paces me up the lower section. This led to a discussion of the Horgan Hill Climb and Eric said, "If I entered that race it would only be to pull you up the bottom part of that climb." Now he didn't say he was entering, but it still was a nice thought, considering it is very debatable if I'm a stronger climber than him or not. This provided some further motivation to give Sugarloaf another look. I mean, if someone is going to work for you, you have to prove yourself worthy of it.
I drove over to Eben G. Fine Park and parked the car. I was riding by 6:40 a.m. and this time it only took me 20m11s to get to the base of Sugarloaf. I worked hard up the lower section, hoping to get a good advantage over my last time. I hit the Betasso Road in 4m35s - only 15 seconds up on last time. "Dang, this is going to be hard," I thought. I kept the pressure on and hit Sugar Stick (?) Road at around 16m20s. This was about 30 seconds ahead of last time and enough to improve my 34m33s time to best Jilayne's 34m10s, if I could keep up the effort.
I really started to suffer now and figured I had gone too fast on the bottom. I had to be losing time now. I had good conditions, but maybe my legs were shot from the day before. I watched the clock fanatically, knowing that it would all be over, one way or the other, after 34 minutes. I started to count it down. Twelve minutes of hell to go. Ten minutes to go. Sweat was streaming down my face as I labored to turn the pedals. Standing up in my 27, I concluded that I must be losing time because you can't go any slower than standing in the 27. But the summit was in sight. My spirits lifted and I shifted up a gear. I set my sights on a new goal and worked hard the last minute to finish in 32m19s - over two minutes faster than Saturday. The fastest time I have on my site (www.speedlimbing.org) for Kraig Koski is 32m25s. This can't be his PR, but it was still a good ride for me. I gained most of this time against my Saturday ride in the last half of the climb, when I thought I was losing time. Strange, but I was very pleased to be rewarded with a good result after all that suffering.
I took a moment to clean off my sunglasses, as I could barely see through them with all the sweat stains. It was only 60 degrees out, but I was generating a lot of heat. I cruised back down the newly paved road, thinking, "Hey, this is just like Mt. Ventoux. They just paved that road and Iban Mayo just broke the ascent record and here I am breaking my ascent record on Boulder's Ventoux." By the way, the Mt. Ventoux records are on my site as well. Check out the new page.
Bill
Saturday, June 12, 2004
Sara K Memorial Circut Race - Cat. 3
by Jeb Dunnuck
Well, there were a couple things that worried me about this race. First, it was 75 minutes instead of the usual 60 and the race flyer mentioned something about 60 feet of climbing per lap. 60 feet doesn't sound like much until I started to think about how tall a 60 foot rock climbing pitch is. Oh well, I didn't want to drive all the way up to Fort Collins for the race on Sunday so I was committed to doing the race.
Traci and I meet Kevin at 72 and 93 so we could car pool and Steve and Jen we're also tagging along to keep Traci company and to cheer me on. Kevin is busy on the phone putting out a fire alarm for his work but as soon as he gets off the phone, he quickly asks if we can do him a favor. I'm thinking he wants to stop for Gatorade or something. Nope, he has to piss so bad he can hardly talk and just wants us to pull over anywhere. Hilarious.
Anyway, we get to the course and register. We watch the 4's go around a couple times and I see enough of the hill to be scared. I also see a couple dudes off the back all by themselves and pray I don't end up like them. Kevin thinks the hill looks just great though and is all geed up for the race, mentioning something about going hard right from the start to drop everyone. I nod along telling him it's a great idea, secretly hoping he's just BSing so I don't get dropped right away.
We're running a little late and my plans for a thorough warmup (I even brought the trainer) were shot and we end up just doing one lap of the course. Couch shows up on the line (after having already done the 35+ open race) but while Kev and I are bitching about having a shitty starting spot (at the back), couch walks back another 10 feet?!?! I'm at a lose as to what he's doing and keep eyeing for a gap in the starting group so I can get off the back row. So we start and within 10 seconds, Couch goes flying by. Apparently, if you step back you can see which side is going faster, have more time to clip in and can pick your line. Ha, nice to know and I yell something at him about filling me in next time (he tried to but I was too busy trying to get even closer to the guy in front of me). :)
The majority of the race is just a blur of right hand turns. I spun a 53x21 or 53x19 up the hill almost every time but I think I cross chained the 23 more than once at the bottom for sure. The back stretch was screaming fast and a total blast. We routinely hit 40+mph back there and I think that was what really doomed any break. After about 20 minutes of racing, Couch goes flying off the front and things picked up from there. At about 40 minutes or so to go, Kevin gets in a break with 5 other guys and they get a decent gap. Most of the teams had guys in the break too so I seriously didn't think it was coming back. I spent most of this time trying to stay near the front and ended up riding pretty close to Couch most of the time. Lee's cycle and one other team chased hard though and brought everything back together with probably 5 laps to go. Traci later told me that Kevin seemed to be the only one working in the whole group and they still stayed away for 20+ minutes.
I was surprised when the 4 laps to go sign came out but I guess time flies when you're having fun (joke). Coming down the hill, still with one more lap to go, Haul-n-ass racing puts 4 guys on the front. Those guys are the most organized team out there if you ask me. Also helps that they've also probably got one of the strongest riders too (Derek Strong). I see the big leadout train but I'm 25 deep and bummin. Kevin's up front looking strong and I start to try and move up. This is always a dicey time for me. I can stick my head out into the wind and get my sorry ass up there but then I'll have nothing for the sprint. I also had to climb that hill again so I was trying to decide what to do. I opt to wait, save some energy and see if I can snake my way up without killing myself. We get the one to go when we crest the hill and it's pretty fast. By the time we're heading down the hill and make the second to last right turn, I've moved up a little. As we're coming into the last corner, I'm probably in 12-15 place but I'm kinda boxed in on the inside. I'm almost up to Kevin's wheel and just about holler for him drift over in front of me and punch it but everything is happening too quick. We go around the last corner and start to climb the hill for the last time. I had pretty much decided that the hill was short enough for me to hold a full on sprint for the entire thing. I stand up and weave my way through some people and almost run smack into the back of some vitamin cottage dude. I dive into the right hand gutter, telling the dude that I'm coming through. He commences to scream, bitch and moan but I never touched the guy and I was just beside him for a second. Ha, I almost lose it coming back out of the little drain deal but it's finally clear road in front of me. The haul n ass guy and one other dude are freaking gone. Amazingly, it seems like I've got the perfect gear and I put my head down and go as hard as I can. The two ahead of me are starting to fade and I'm flying up to them. Derek looks back, sees that he's got the win and starts to sit up. the guy in second is really hurting and I go zipping by him about 5 feet from the line. I even get to do the sprinter bike throw! Derek had probably a bike length on me and I had about half a bike length on the guy in third. Great race and an awesome course! Nice riding Andy and Kevin!
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Ciao,
Jeb
by Jeb Dunnuck
Well, there were a couple things that worried me about this race. First, it was 75 minutes instead of the usual 60 and the race flyer mentioned something about 60 feet of climbing per lap. 60 feet doesn't sound like much until I started to think about how tall a 60 foot rock climbing pitch is. Oh well, I didn't want to drive all the way up to Fort Collins for the race on Sunday so I was committed to doing the race.
Traci and I meet Kevin at 72 and 93 so we could car pool and Steve and Jen we're also tagging along to keep Traci company and to cheer me on. Kevin is busy on the phone putting out a fire alarm for his work but as soon as he gets off the phone, he quickly asks if we can do him a favor. I'm thinking he wants to stop for Gatorade or something. Nope, he has to piss so bad he can hardly talk and just wants us to pull over anywhere. Hilarious.
Anyway, we get to the course and register. We watch the 4's go around a couple times and I see enough of the hill to be scared. I also see a couple dudes off the back all by themselves and pray I don't end up like them. Kevin thinks the hill looks just great though and is all geed up for the race, mentioning something about going hard right from the start to drop everyone. I nod along telling him it's a great idea, secretly hoping he's just BSing so I don't get dropped right away.
We're running a little late and my plans for a thorough warmup (I even brought the trainer) were shot and we end up just doing one lap of the course. Couch shows up on the line (after having already done the 35+ open race) but while Kev and I are bitching about having a shitty starting spot (at the back), couch walks back another 10 feet?!?! I'm at a lose as to what he's doing and keep eyeing for a gap in the starting group so I can get off the back row. So we start and within 10 seconds, Couch goes flying by. Apparently, if you step back you can see which side is going faster, have more time to clip in and can pick your line. Ha, nice to know and I yell something at him about filling me in next time (he tried to but I was too busy trying to get even closer to the guy in front of me). :)
The majority of the race is just a blur of right hand turns. I spun a 53x21 or 53x19 up the hill almost every time but I think I cross chained the 23 more than once at the bottom for sure. The back stretch was screaming fast and a total blast. We routinely hit 40+mph back there and I think that was what really doomed any break. After about 20 minutes of racing, Couch goes flying off the front and things picked up from there. At about 40 minutes or so to go, Kevin gets in a break with 5 other guys and they get a decent gap. Most of the teams had guys in the break too so I seriously didn't think it was coming back. I spent most of this time trying to stay near the front and ended up riding pretty close to Couch most of the time. Lee's cycle and one other team chased hard though and brought everything back together with probably 5 laps to go. Traci later told me that Kevin seemed to be the only one working in the whole group and they still stayed away for 20+ minutes.
I was surprised when the 4 laps to go sign came out but I guess time flies when you're having fun (joke). Coming down the hill, still with one more lap to go, Haul-n-ass racing puts 4 guys on the front. Those guys are the most organized team out there if you ask me. Also helps that they've also probably got one of the strongest riders too (Derek Strong). I see the big leadout train but I'm 25 deep and bummin. Kevin's up front looking strong and I start to try and move up. This is always a dicey time for me. I can stick my head out into the wind and get my sorry ass up there but then I'll have nothing for the sprint. I also had to climb that hill again so I was trying to decide what to do. I opt to wait, save some energy and see if I can snake my way up without killing myself. We get the one to go when we crest the hill and it's pretty fast. By the time we're heading down the hill and make the second to last right turn, I've moved up a little. As we're coming into the last corner, I'm probably in 12-15 place but I'm kinda boxed in on the inside. I'm almost up to Kevin's wheel and just about holler for him drift over in front of me and punch it but everything is happening too quick. We go around the last corner and start to climb the hill for the last time. I had pretty much decided that the hill was short enough for me to hold a full on sprint for the entire thing. I stand up and weave my way through some people and almost run smack into the back of some vitamin cottage dude. I dive into the right hand gutter, telling the dude that I'm coming through. He commences to scream, bitch and moan but I never touched the guy and I was just beside him for a second. Ha, I almost lose it coming back out of the little drain deal but it's finally clear road in front of me. The haul n ass guy and one other dude are freaking gone. Amazingly, it seems like I've got the perfect gear and I put my head down and go as hard as I can. The two ahead of me are starting to fade and I'm flying up to them. Derek looks back, sees that he's got the win and starts to sit up. the guy in second is really hurting and I go zipping by him about 5 feet from the line. I even get to do the sprinter bike throw! Derek had probably a bike length on me and I had about half a bike length on the guy in third. Great race and an awesome course! Nice riding Andy and Kevin!
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Ciao,
Jeb
Horgan Recon Ride
Saturday morning I rode the Horgan Hill Climb course. It was quite windy and I fought a headwind the the entire way. It took me 24 minutes to get from Eben G. Fine to the base of Sugarloaf Road. Last year, in the race, we covered this distance (5 miles?) in less than 17 minutes. I turned up Sugarloaf and tried to work pretty hard. It was just under 5 minutes to the Betasso Rd. junction and then another 12.5 minutes to the junction with Sugar-something road. The remaining 17 minutes were painful and relentless.
I climbed Sugarloaf in 34m33s - nearly a 2-minute PR for me, but this was the Magic Bike's (tm) first time all the way up Sugarloaf. I found out later that this was still slower than Jilayne's best time of 34m10s. I'm going to have to change that!
A quick 5-minutes on rolling and descending roads led me to the dirt section of Sugarloaf. The dirt here is quite a bit shorter and easier than the dirt section on Magnolia and I was at the Peak-to-Peak highway in about 20 minutes. I turned south and climbed mostly for ten minutes to the Nederland town limits sign. This was 1h35m from Eben G. Fine. A couple minutes of descending put me in the heart of Nederland. The race is supposed to end at the high school or something, but it doesn't climb up the road to the Lake Eldora ski area. This course is considerably easier than the Magnolia course and my race should be at least fifteen minutes faster on this course.
I came down Boulder Canyon and now enjoyed a great tailwind. This canyon is a blast to ride under these conditions. When I got down to Magnolia, I decided to head up it for just five more minutes of climbing (all I really had time for since I needed to get home). About 4 minutes up, I spotted another biker and couldn't resist the urge to chase him down, which I did in about 9.5 minutes. I chatted for a bit and then headed down after ten minutes of climbing.
I got back to Eben G. Fine after 2h20m of riding, 4260 feet of climbing, and about 35 miles of riding. I like this ride a lot and look forward to doing it a couple more times.
Bill
Saturday morning I rode the Horgan Hill Climb course. It was quite windy and I fought a headwind the the entire way. It took me 24 minutes to get from Eben G. Fine to the base of Sugarloaf Road. Last year, in the race, we covered this distance (5 miles?) in less than 17 minutes. I turned up Sugarloaf and tried to work pretty hard. It was just under 5 minutes to the Betasso Rd. junction and then another 12.5 minutes to the junction with Sugar-something road. The remaining 17 minutes were painful and relentless.
I climbed Sugarloaf in 34m33s - nearly a 2-minute PR for me, but this was the Magic Bike's (tm) first time all the way up Sugarloaf. I found out later that this was still slower than Jilayne's best time of 34m10s. I'm going to have to change that!
A quick 5-minutes on rolling and descending roads led me to the dirt section of Sugarloaf. The dirt here is quite a bit shorter and easier than the dirt section on Magnolia and I was at the Peak-to-Peak highway in about 20 minutes. I turned south and climbed mostly for ten minutes to the Nederland town limits sign. This was 1h35m from Eben G. Fine. A couple minutes of descending put me in the heart of Nederland. The race is supposed to end at the high school or something, but it doesn't climb up the road to the Lake Eldora ski area. This course is considerably easier than the Magnolia course and my race should be at least fifteen minutes faster on this course.
I came down Boulder Canyon and now enjoyed a great tailwind. This canyon is a blast to ride under these conditions. When I got down to Magnolia, I decided to head up it for just five more minutes of climbing (all I really had time for since I needed to get home). About 4 minutes up, I spotted another biker and couldn't resist the urge to chase him down, which I did in about 9.5 minutes. I chatted for a bit and then headed down after ten minutes of climbing.
I got back to Eben G. Fine after 2h20m of riding, 4260 feet of climbing, and about 35 miles of riding. I like this ride a lot and look forward to doing it a couple more times.
Bill
Friday, June 11, 2004
Flagstaff Intervals
by Eric Coppock
Y'know, it was a real nice temp for going hard today. Strange swirling winds, but not too strong, so a pretty good day for a flogging on Flag. The plan was 4 reps of the climb up to Monkey Traverse, with Bernardo "Carbone" Vachon in attendance. Fabio Dunnuck joined for the first lap, and WWWright arrived for the last two.
I was nothing if not fresh, not having done a hard effort since the last time we visited Dellwood. It was all systems go as I rumbled up the lower climb in my 19, hard but not too hard. I backed off to the 21 past panorama and the Flagstaff House, and checked the split at ... 4:00 flat ... hoo, boy, that would explain why Jeb (wisely) let me go. Gotta do somethin' with this! Back in the 19 and throttle wide open, I kept it rolling. Got all cross-eyed between the switchback and Capstan Rock, which cost me some time as I wasn't able to grab that extra gear or two and take it up where it flattens out at Capstan. So I just gritted my teeth, stayed buried, and punched the clock at the Monkey crosswalk in ... 8:56. Oh yeah, I like that '8.' Some confusion on the "official" time as Jeb, Bill, and I all apparently start the timing in different places. For a Bill-compatible time, subtract 3 seconds, for a Jeb-compatible time, subtract 8 or 9. Yep, you're right, that would make for a 3:52-ish Flagstaff House split... :)
Lap 2 Superman had left the building, so I used some more reasonable gears and took 4:26 to get to the House split. Decided to keep a little in the tank through the middle part, and then went totally ballistic from Capstan Rock on up. 9:19, nice second effort and a good bit less pain than the first time.
Lap 3 Bill had air in his tires and joined the fray. An unknown rabbit came out of the Gregory Canyon driveway just a few seconds before we started up, and gave us a nice target for the lower climb. I made the pace and we passed him just after panorama point. *Some* inconsiderate person on a Magic Bike (TM) attacked me just as we were passing the House timing post, so I have no split for this one, but right around the benchmark 4:30 is probably right. I tried to match the jump but couldn't quite latch on, so it was chaseville all the way up. The gap grew slightly ... I crossed in 9:33, Bill at 9:01.
Lap 4. Yeah, lap 4. Ouch. My legs are pretty good about telling me when we're done for the day. I started out just fine, turning my 23 on the lower slopes and not having too much trouble. Just below panorama I went to the 21 and stood up for a bit. Bill seemed to be working pretty hard and I decided it was time to push his buttons, so I took another gear and stayed up. I was determined not to leave him with enough spark to jump me again when it flattened out. Imagine my satisfaction to open up a little gap... :) !!! I knew it wouldn't hold, but at least I had him hurtin' enough that I would be able to ride to the next switchback without getting jumped. He got back on my wheel about halfway to the turn, but I could tell from the breathing noise that he'd had to make a special trip to the pain ATM. Oh I'm so happy! ;) But my tank was empty now and I knew it ... the inevitable attack came right at the switchback and I had no answer. I slunk down into my 25 to rest and watched Bill ride smartly up the road. Eventually crossed in a sitting-up 10:52.
At least Bill had to ride hard enough that he didn't cruise the Monkey Traverse ... he came off halfway across, took a little breather, and then finished it strong and clean.
EC
by Eric Coppock
Y'know, it was a real nice temp for going hard today. Strange swirling winds, but not too strong, so a pretty good day for a flogging on Flag. The plan was 4 reps of the climb up to Monkey Traverse, with Bernardo "Carbone" Vachon in attendance. Fabio Dunnuck joined for the first lap, and WWWright arrived for the last two.
I was nothing if not fresh, not having done a hard effort since the last time we visited Dellwood. It was all systems go as I rumbled up the lower climb in my 19, hard but not too hard. I backed off to the 21 past panorama and the Flagstaff House, and checked the split at ... 4:00 flat ... hoo, boy, that would explain why Jeb (wisely) let me go. Gotta do somethin' with this! Back in the 19 and throttle wide open, I kept it rolling. Got all cross-eyed between the switchback and Capstan Rock, which cost me some time as I wasn't able to grab that extra gear or two and take it up where it flattens out at Capstan. So I just gritted my teeth, stayed buried, and punched the clock at the Monkey crosswalk in ... 8:56. Oh yeah, I like that '8.' Some confusion on the "official" time as Jeb, Bill, and I all apparently start the timing in different places. For a Bill-compatible time, subtract 3 seconds, for a Jeb-compatible time, subtract 8 or 9. Yep, you're right, that would make for a 3:52-ish Flagstaff House split... :)
Lap 2 Superman had left the building, so I used some more reasonable gears and took 4:26 to get to the House split. Decided to keep a little in the tank through the middle part, and then went totally ballistic from Capstan Rock on up. 9:19, nice second effort and a good bit less pain than the first time.
Lap 3 Bill had air in his tires and joined the fray. An unknown rabbit came out of the Gregory Canyon driveway just a few seconds before we started up, and gave us a nice target for the lower climb. I made the pace and we passed him just after panorama point. *Some* inconsiderate person on a Magic Bike (TM) attacked me just as we were passing the House timing post, so I have no split for this one, but right around the benchmark 4:30 is probably right. I tried to match the jump but couldn't quite latch on, so it was chaseville all the way up. The gap grew slightly ... I crossed in 9:33, Bill at 9:01.
Lap 4. Yeah, lap 4. Ouch. My legs are pretty good about telling me when we're done for the day. I started out just fine, turning my 23 on the lower slopes and not having too much trouble. Just below panorama I went to the 21 and stood up for a bit. Bill seemed to be working pretty hard and I decided it was time to push his buttons, so I took another gear and stayed up. I was determined not to leave him with enough spark to jump me again when it flattened out. Imagine my satisfaction to open up a little gap... :) !!! I knew it wouldn't hold, but at least I had him hurtin' enough that I would be able to ride to the next switchback without getting jumped. He got back on my wheel about halfway to the turn, but I could tell from the breathing noise that he'd had to make a special trip to the pain ATM. Oh I'm so happy! ;) But my tank was empty now and I knew it ... the inevitable attack came right at the switchback and I had no answer. I slunk down into my 25 to rest and watched Bill ride smartly up the road. Eventually crossed in a sitting-up 10:52.
At least Bill had to ride hard enough that he didn't cruise the Monkey Traverse ... he came off halfway across, took a little breather, and then finished it strong and clean.
EC
Monday, June 07, 2004
Flag and the Monkey
I did Flagstaff and the Monkey - my usual Monday workout. I was SUPER slow on Flag - 18:30! That's embarrassing. I wasn't going all out, but I was working pretty good. It was super hot (record 98 degrees!) and windy and it was the day after my hard 4.5 hour effort in the adventure race, so hopefully that explains things. The good news was that I sent the Monkey Traverse, first try, no warm-up, no spot. Man, that's still a pretty focusing exit move despite all the times I've done it...
No one joined me for the ride or the climbing.
Bill
I did Flagstaff and the Monkey - my usual Monday workout. I was SUPER slow on Flag - 18:30! That's embarrassing. I wasn't going all out, but I was working pretty good. It was super hot (record 98 degrees!) and windy and it was the day after my hard 4.5 hour effort in the adventure race, so hopefully that explains things. The good news was that I sent the Monkey Traverse, first try, no warm-up, no spot. Man, that's still a pretty focusing exit move despite all the times I've done it...
No one joined me for the ride or the climbing.
Bill
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Green Mountain Duathlon
This involves riding SuperFlag to the summit and then running out and tagging the summit of Green Mountain and back. This was around 95 minutes of decent work, though my mountain biking teammates made for a very casual bike up. BTO almost got himself killed on the descent, when he went super fast into the hard right on the upper part. He has disc brakes and over-estimated them. I was right beside him as he caught up to me. He had to go straight at the turn because a car was coming up right there and he'd have used both lanes. He went into the guard rail, but had stopped by then. Then further down, after a school bus pulled over for us (thank you), I pull up behind another car. I'm close, but not that close, standard procedure, looking for a good place to pass or for him to pull over a bit. The driver then slams on his brakes and comes to stop in the middle of the road! I'm sure he was trying to make me crash into him. Thankfully I wasn't that close and was able to zip by on the right (barely enough room). I don't think I could have stopped before hitting him. Now if you're pissed, you're pissed and maybe I was too close, but would you risk seriously injuring someone over that? Seems a bit harsh. Stefan passed the car a bit further down and the driver flipped Stefan off, rather emphatically. Nutty descent!!!
This involves riding SuperFlag to the summit and then running out and tagging the summit of Green Mountain and back. This was around 95 minutes of decent work, though my mountain biking teammates made for a very casual bike up. BTO almost got himself killed on the descent, when he went super fast into the hard right on the upper part. He has disc brakes and over-estimated them. I was right beside him as he caught up to me. He had to go straight at the turn because a car was coming up right there and he'd have used both lanes. He went into the guard rail, but had stopped by then. Then further down, after a school bus pulled over for us (thank you), I pull up behind another car. I'm close, but not that close, standard procedure, looking for a good place to pass or for him to pull over a bit. The driver then slams on his brakes and comes to stop in the middle of the road! I'm sure he was trying to make me crash into him. Thankfully I wasn't that close and was able to zip by on the right (barely enough room). I don't think I could have stopped before hitting him. Now if you're pissed, you're pissed and maybe I was too close, but would you risk seriously injuring someone over that? Seems a bit harsh. Stefan passed the car a bit further down and the driver flipped Stefan off, rather emphatically. Nutty descent!!!
