Sunday, August 12, 2007

Tilting at Windmills - Patterson Pass Road Race

Using the theory that what does not kill you makes you stronger, I once again stepped into the deep end of the pool and rode the pro/1/2 race at Patterson Pass. With worlds just eleven days away (who's counting...) this seemed like a sensible thing to do. Nothing like a good hard road race to finish off my overload and then taper. I came prepared, with a 36x26 low gear and a 50x11 top end. I would use both. A lot.

At the start line there were many Giant Strawberries including pro triathlete Chris Lieto. Also on the line was one of my old Sacramento team mates Mike Sayers and two of his BMC guys. And the usual crowd of mutants bent on making me suffer.

The first time of the climb was actually pretty easy due to the hefty headwind coming from Livermore. Those windmills really are there for a reason I guess... With the twists and turns in the road though there was some joking about the need to form echelons at 10mph on the climb. Down towards Livermore, up over Flynn road and then to the fun section on Altamont Pass. Top speed on Altamont this lap was 50.6, max cadence 142. Just so you know, this is not some steep descent, this is a shallow pedaling descent with a serious tail wind.

Lap two, same story. The wind was my friend as it kept the climbers from causing as much pain as they might otherwise. Still, there were some digs and going over the top kind of hurt. Over Flynn, back on Altamont and things got interesting. Lieto made the unfortunate choice of bringing a 11x23 freewheel which left him over geared on the climb. Since he knew his days were numbered he thought that he'd have a little fun over Altamont Pass. Max speed 52.9!!!, max cadence 147. That was actually worse than the climb up Patterson.

Lap three, and life in general was harder. Again, the wind was my friend on Patterson Pass. But this one wasn't too pretty. "Tourette's Kevin" was lurking just underneath the happy go lucky Kevin veneer. Not quite getting close to the edge yet, but I know it is out there lurking. And of course now things are starting to happen. Sayers was out on a grand aventure with one of the Straberries I think and the natives were restless. Flynn was also getting to be much less fun but at least Altamont Pass was a bit more civilized. Max speed 48.7, max cadence 137.

One thing I haven't mentioned is the cross and head wind section leading back to the start finish. Because Patterson Pass, Flynn Road, and Altamont Pass aren't hard enough I guess? Of course it was always just a bit of a cross wind and we were always riding in the gutter looking for protection. After one particularly ugly stretch I found myself at the back as we turned into a cross wind and somebody attacked. Bad time to lose situational awareness! I got gapped and didn't have the gas to chase back on.

Now came the dilemma. Do I really want to go another lap? Can we catch back on? Is this really helping me? I've got a TT tomorrow... What would Kent Bostick Do? (WWKD) We'll he'd probably ride at 30mph until he got back on so I guess I better think of something else. A few of us grouped up and chased through the start finish where one of my friends who had just finished the 45+ race yelled some encouragement. Tourette's Kevin had a choice reply, but luckily he wasn't in control yet.

And again, the wind was my friend as the lead group rode at a civilized pace and we caught up just after the feed zone. John Hunt saved my life by giving me a bottle when the neutral guys had run out. Thanks John! Of course my joy was short lived as things were really starting to happen on this lap. I was spending more time with my new BFF, the 36x26, but the natives were restless and the attacks started. A couple of guys got away over the top and I was in the second half of the main group. We caught back on the descent, but on Flynn Ted Huang decided he wanted to go at a speed that most of us couldn't and he rode away with another guy.

Over Altamont another rider got away on the descent which I guess makes sense as we were "only" going 49 mph, max cadence 137. Tourette's Kevin made a grand appearance. Something to do with morons and riding in the "F'ing gutter" I think. But I digress. On the head and cross wind leading to the finish Dominic from AV attacked and Chris Dilusio countered with Kevin Klein. That was the end for me and I rolled in alone, pretty much wrecked, for 14th.

88 miles
4:19:00
8600' of climbing says my Garmin
4189 Kilojoules burned. Time for a "crack bar".

Fun

5 comments:

Ippoc Amic said...

How do you get your garmin to do joules? Or do you just convert the calories to joules. I think the calories/joule thing on the garmin calculates high.

Kevin said...

I get kilojoules from my SRM. I've got the Garmin Forerunner 205 which doesn't have heart rate.

I am a firm believer in the adage that if a ride isn't properly recorded it didn't happen. :-)

WarrenG said...

What, no screen shots of the race's power file to share? Probably too ashamed to let us see what your 5s power looks like. Are there at least 4 digits?

Maybe you can get them to postpone worlds until your CTL says you're at your peak.

(please don't hook me in the sprint.)

And good luck next week!

norcalcyclingnews.com said...

i sometimes race with a watch.

and, once ... i blogged about a training ride - but i can't remember when it was, so i don't know if that counts as a training day.

Boots said...

For the record, my official calorie count after the race was around 5 burritos, but I only ate 4 so I ended up 4184 joule deficit.

I distinctly remember Chris Horner telling me that the 11-23 "was for women", in reference to his use of the 11-21. feh.