Sunday: I felt off today, so I didn't ride. I don't know what's going on lately. I'm going to race at t-town again this week, so we'll see what's happened to my form.
Saturday: No riding. Didn't get much sleep again.
Friday: Rode to work and back. I hope it wasn't too much too soon, as I definitely felt like dying on the way out and just didn't have legs on the way back. I think the heat was the problem on the outward stretch. I did stop to check out the rhododendrons again on the way home. Two were in bloom, but I don't think they were wild.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/320885255
NP/IF/TSS: 198W/0.932/255
Thursday: again, no riding. I made it a point to try to run up the stairs when I could, to try to get some kind of fitness out of myself.
Wednesday: no riding. K-town did not get rained out. Weather is strange here. It went from a 70% chance of thunderstorms to 0% chance of anything within two hours. Regardless, I was still sick, so I opted to stay at the shop and close up.
Tuesday: slept all day. T-town got rained out anyhow. slightly less sick, I think.
Monday: No riding. Still sick.
30.5.13
R13.14: Kissena Twilight Series 5/22 - Cat 3/4
My notes aren't as good for this race night as they were for tuesday, so we'll see how this goes. I remember I was very tired from getting home at 3am the night before. I was able to sleep in and come to work at noon, which was much appreciated. Karl asked if I wanted to car-pool, so I said sure, and met him at the bike shop around 5pm. We loaded up, including a big box of parts for pink rhino, and headed out. Traffic was terrible leading up to the cross-island, so we finally worked our way south and then over to avoid it all. Apparently two lanes were closed due to a stack-up between a car and a semi. We got there a bit after 6, so I changed quick and tried to get a little bit of a warm-up in. I didn't warm up in my race gear, nor did I record the data, nor did I feel good at all. I still felt sapped from that bonk of sorts last night.
In addition to feeling like crud, there was a stacked field. Tony, Karl, Al, Andreas, pretty sure JoshS, Lucas, Sean, Mike, Ariel. Lots of fast. The first race was a 12 lap points race, during which things happened. I don't really remember what those things were, but the results spreadsheet tells me I got second in the first and third sprint, which gave me third. I seem to remember a lot of hanging out in no-man's land, which I think was during this race and the last race.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/316801735
The next race was a 3 lap scratch. Since it was short, and I didn't want to spin at all, I bumped my gear up to 94" at 49x14. I started the race near the back, and basically spent all three laps slowly moving up in position. I ended up in second. hooray big gears!
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/316801727
The final race was a seven lap tempo. Oh goodness. I went hard for the first sprint, getting second, with one point. I then was passed on the back stretch and spent the rest of the race trying to chase one group or another. It mostly was Karl taking all the points, with a short bout of Tony getting one sprint. I remember Sean yelled at me to pick up the pace, which I gladly would have done if I could have. He won the final sprint, I came in third. This gave me a grand total of two points, which put me in fourth place.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/316801721
This concluded the cat 3/4 omnium. Karl dominated in first place, Tony got second, and I came in third by the grace of math alone. Karl and I met up with JoeB and Alan at Arby's, ate some food, discussed some bike racing, and had a good old time. Karl dropped me off at Syosset and I went home and passed out.
True story.
Results here:
http://kissenavelodrome.info/results/2013/Kissena13TwilightSeriesWeek5.pdf
In addition to feeling like crud, there was a stacked field. Tony, Karl, Al, Andreas, pretty sure JoshS, Lucas, Sean, Mike, Ariel. Lots of fast. The first race was a 12 lap points race, during which things happened. I don't really remember what those things were, but the results spreadsheet tells me I got second in the first and third sprint, which gave me third. I seem to remember a lot of hanging out in no-man's land, which I think was during this race and the last race.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/316801735
The next race was a 3 lap scratch. Since it was short, and I didn't want to spin at all, I bumped my gear up to 94" at 49x14. I started the race near the back, and basically spent all three laps slowly moving up in position. I ended up in second. hooray big gears!
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/316801727
The final race was a seven lap tempo. Oh goodness. I went hard for the first sprint, getting second, with one point. I then was passed on the back stretch and spent the rest of the race trying to chase one group or another. It mostly was Karl taking all the points, with a short bout of Tony getting one sprint. I remember Sean yelled at me to pick up the pace, which I gladly would have done if I could have. He won the final sprint, I came in third. This gave me a grand total of two points, which put me in fourth place.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/316801721
This concluded the cat 3/4 omnium. Karl dominated in first place, Tony got second, and I came in third by the grace of math alone. Karl and I met up with JoeB and Alan at Arby's, ate some food, discussed some bike racing, and had a good old time. Karl dropped me off at Syosset and I went home and passed out.
True story.
Results here:
http://kissenavelodrome.info/results/2013/Kissena13TwilightSeriesWeek5.pdf
R13.13: Fuji Super Tuesdays 5/21 - Stagiares
With the coming of the first Fuji Super Tuesday out at t-town, I feel like we're finally getting into the real heart of the season. I offered a ride to former team-mate Jen, so I left the house around noon to pick her up in brooklyn. This was the first real hot day of the summer, being above 80F, and one thing i noticed immediately upon leaving the house was that my air conditioning didn't seem to work anymore. That made for a very painful and sweaty drive, stuck in stop and go traffic on the LIE going around an accident and some construction, but it offered enough time for Jen to bring her bike to ride brooklyn to have her old track cog removed. I picked her up around atlantic terminal, drove to her place so she could pack, and headed out. The drive out was pretty uneventful, stopping around the NJ/PA border to get some iced coffee and snacks. We arrived in T-town around 4:30, I would say, which gave us time to relax and try to cool down temperature-wise and warm up muscle-wise.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/316801775
There was a real big pro/am field, but only 12 or so riders in the stagiares, including tyler nothstein.
The first race was a 2km - or 6 lap - scratch. I made it a point to not attack too early and just sit in and watch tyler. Finally, I saw my moment and attacked hard in turn 4 just before coming through to the bell lap. I held it until the back stretch, where I was passed by Tyler and then one other rider, at which point I put in another hard dig, and watched him fade back. In the end I was able to cross in second, but my legs felt shot. The second dig came with an immediate feeling of hitting the wall. My legs just went numb. I knew this was a combination of overheating and not eating enough, which was also due to a lack of appetite from the heat.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/316801760
I spent the time between the scratch and the next race trying to recover, by spinning around slow, drinking water, eating gels, and laying on the ground mostly lifeless.
The next race was a 20 lap points race with 4 sprints. I was able to gather the strength to get second in the first sprint, I think behind tyler. I then really started to feel like I had nothing left. I spent the time trying to maintain contact with a group of 4 riders, but couldn't get it together to get any points in the next two sprints. This theme basically carried through to the end of the race, but my notes here say that i might have gotten fourth in the final sprint. Whatever happened, it was enough to get me 4th.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/316801755
Between this race and the next, I was able to gather the strength to get over the flyover and pick up a gatorade and a cup of ice from the concession stand. I rubbed the ice on my head, ate ice, put ice down my skinsuit. Finally, I started feeling human again.
The final race was a super sprint elimination. The original plan was to go down to ten riders, then a five lap scratch, if I remember correct-like. Since there were only 12 riders, they changed it to go down to five riders, then a three lap scratch. Since I felt a little bit like lazarus coming back from the dead, I basically just sat near the middle to back playing the devil, making sure there was always at least one more set of wheels behind me. This strategy was enough to keep me in, though I do seem to remember thinking we were down to five riders when we were only at 6. The scratch part of the race was mostly slow and tactical, staying uptrack for the majority, just marking the other riders. I was able to jump at Tyler's attack, and held it for third place.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/316801742
This concluded the Stagiare omnium. I spent some time taking photos of Jen for her instagram addiction, though I got bit horribly by who knows what while laying in the grass on the back stretch trying to get some fancy photo work going. After that, I tried to get a beer from the concession stand, but they closed up. I didn't do the feature race, as I was still decently dead, so I just started to pack up. I head over the PA system that I got second in the omnium, which was awesome, so I picked up my money and then took a shower. Fortunately, the other guy in the locker room let me know there was only cold water before I got a horrible shock, but I still showered anyhow. Jen was feeling hungry, so we ate at Applebees, gassed up at Wawa, and headed off into the night. Besides construction in PA and some crazy driver in staten island who was splitting lanes and speeding up and slowing down, it was decently uneventful. I toyed with the idea of hitting the velvet lounge when I got home, but I had work in the morning and k-town races in the evening, so I just went to bed.
Results here:
http://www.thevelodrome.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/2013-Fuji-Bicycles-Pro.pdf
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/316801775
There was a real big pro/am field, but only 12 or so riders in the stagiares, including tyler nothstein.
The first race was a 2km - or 6 lap - scratch. I made it a point to not attack too early and just sit in and watch tyler. Finally, I saw my moment and attacked hard in turn 4 just before coming through to the bell lap. I held it until the back stretch, where I was passed by Tyler and then one other rider, at which point I put in another hard dig, and watched him fade back. In the end I was able to cross in second, but my legs felt shot. The second dig came with an immediate feeling of hitting the wall. My legs just went numb. I knew this was a combination of overheating and not eating enough, which was also due to a lack of appetite from the heat.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/316801760
I spent the time between the scratch and the next race trying to recover, by spinning around slow, drinking water, eating gels, and laying on the ground mostly lifeless.
The next race was a 20 lap points race with 4 sprints. I was able to gather the strength to get second in the first sprint, I think behind tyler. I then really started to feel like I had nothing left. I spent the time trying to maintain contact with a group of 4 riders, but couldn't get it together to get any points in the next two sprints. This theme basically carried through to the end of the race, but my notes here say that i might have gotten fourth in the final sprint. Whatever happened, it was enough to get me 4th.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/316801755
Between this race and the next, I was able to gather the strength to get over the flyover and pick up a gatorade and a cup of ice from the concession stand. I rubbed the ice on my head, ate ice, put ice down my skinsuit. Finally, I started feeling human again.
The final race was a super sprint elimination. The original plan was to go down to ten riders, then a five lap scratch, if I remember correct-like. Since there were only 12 riders, they changed it to go down to five riders, then a three lap scratch. Since I felt a little bit like lazarus coming back from the dead, I basically just sat near the middle to back playing the devil, making sure there was always at least one more set of wheels behind me. This strategy was enough to keep me in, though I do seem to remember thinking we were down to five riders when we were only at 6. The scratch part of the race was mostly slow and tactical, staying uptrack for the majority, just marking the other riders. I was able to jump at Tyler's attack, and held it for third place.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/316801742
This concluded the Stagiare omnium. I spent some time taking photos of Jen for her instagram addiction, though I got bit horribly by who knows what while laying in the grass on the back stretch trying to get some fancy photo work going. After that, I tried to get a beer from the concession stand, but they closed up. I didn't do the feature race, as I was still decently dead, so I just started to pack up. I head over the PA system that I got second in the omnium, which was awesome, so I picked up my money and then took a shower. Fortunately, the other guy in the locker room let me know there was only cold water before I got a horrible shock, but I still showered anyhow. Jen was feeling hungry, so we ate at Applebees, gassed up at Wawa, and headed off into the night. Besides construction in PA and some crazy driver in staten island who was splitting lanes and speeding up and slowing down, it was decently uneventful. I toyed with the idea of hitting the velvet lounge when I got home, but I had work in the morning and k-town races in the evening, so I just went to bed.
Results here:
http://www.thevelodrome.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/2013-Fuji-Bicycles-Pro.pdf
22.5.13
2013.26: T-town Begins - 5/20 - 5/26
Sunday: It was my day off, so I should have done a long endurance ride, since I haven't done one of those for as long as I can remember, but since I was sick I just laid around the house all day. Eventually, I got up the motivation to ride the fixed gear down to stony brook harbor to check the status of the rhododendrons on the way back. It felt good to be on the bike again.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/320885277
NP/IF/TSS: N/A
Saturday: more not riding. rainy day, I think. Also, I'm getting sick again. I think I overdid it with the three long days in a row. This season sucks as far as illness goes. I need to figure out how to get my immune system working right again.
Friday: no riding again.
Thursday: no riding. work.
Wednesday: Kissena Twilight Series. See the race report. Also, my cranks came in for the Swan.
Tuesday: Fuji Super Tuesdays at t-town. See the race report. I also rode to the bank. It hardly counts, but it felt nice to be on a bike again.
Monday: I'd like to call it a rest day, but there wasn't much that i needed to rest from. Regardless, no riding.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/320885277
NP/IF/TSS: N/A
Saturday: more not riding. rainy day, I think. Also, I'm getting sick again. I think I overdid it with the three long days in a row. This season sucks as far as illness goes. I need to figure out how to get my immune system working right again.
Friday: no riding again.
Thursday: no riding. work.
Wednesday: Kissena Twilight Series. See the race report. Also, my cranks came in for the Swan.
Tuesday: Fuji Super Tuesdays at t-town. See the race report. I also rode to the bank. It hardly counts, but it felt nice to be on a bike again.
Monday: I'd like to call it a rest day, but there wasn't much that i needed to rest from. Regardless, no riding.
19.5.13
R13.12: Kissena Twilight Series 5/15 - Cat 3/4
I was supremely tired heading to the track today. I was really thinking about not even racing, and almost fell asleep on the drive in. For some reason, even though this has been the shortest wait to write my race report, I can't think of how the weather was at all. I think it was chilly during the day, but warmed up at the track. Or the opposite. One of those two. I thought about taking a nap, but instead just sat around instead of warming up. I don't think I got any laps in on my race gear. Geeze, I'm really having trouble remembering now. These races are starting to all blend together. Hopefully this'll be the motivation I need to write these sooner. One thing to note was a good turn out of pink rhinos this week. I was starting to worry some of them weren't racing anymore.
The first race was a win and out. I jumped typically early and got a gap, which I held to the line. Won and outed. Tony Hall was racing with us, and he got caught in the same situation as I did in that w&o a few weeks ago. Andy caught up and beat him for second place, but he was able to hold on for third. I know how that goes.
Next was a five lap snowball. Lucas attacked early, I tried to catch him. He was able to get the first two sprints, then tony caught up and took the third sprint. For some reason, I don't remember this happening. I was able to beat him for the fourth sprint, but he got me on the fifth. Forgetting about that third sprint, I thought I had enough points to win, but not so much. Whoops. Also, having to keep my garmin upside-down has finally cost me some data. I can't even begin to say how stupid this new rule is. Here's some data of me riding around after the race instead of anything useful.
The final race was a 9 lap scratch. I don't particularly remember the details of most of the race, but Tony attacked around two laps to go, I would say. I caught him coming into the home stretch before the bell lap, and decided to come around him right away because I was worried about the rest of the field catching up. I felt him closing in around turn 3, but far up track. I had to dig deep for this sprint, ending with a photo finish that I probably wouldn't have won without a well timed bike throw.
This concluded the night's racing. I won the omnium, Tony second, Andy third. honorable mention to lucas in 4th. Results here:
I really need to start taking more notes when I race....
2013.25: shrug - 5/13 - 5/19
Sunday: hoping for a long road ride, but instead got rain all day. I was able to get more wire for tying and soldering wheels, though, so at least there's something bicycle related.
Saturday: same deal. not enough sleep, which means no bikes. fortunately, the entire drive home was in a light rain, so that would have been less than fun for riding. Man, this week isn't too good.
Friday: I wanted to ride to work today, which apparently is bike to work day, but I didn't get much sleep last night, so I just drove instead. boooo. I'm really kicking myself for not riding now.
Thursday: no riding.
Wednesday: twilight series. see the race report.
Tuesday: no riding.
Monday: Rest day. rested.
Saturday: same deal. not enough sleep, which means no bikes. fortunately, the entire drive home was in a light rain, so that would have been less than fun for riding. Man, this week isn't too good.
Friday: I wanted to ride to work today, which apparently is bike to work day, but I didn't get much sleep last night, so I just drove instead. boooo. I'm really kicking myself for not riding now.
Thursday: no riding.
Wednesday: twilight series. see the race report.
Tuesday: no riding.
Monday: Rest day. rested.
R13.11: Kissena Spring Classic 5/12 - Cat 1/2/3
The Kissena Spring Classic - formerly known as opening weekend - was my first A race of the season. Fellow Broken Robot Jeremy and I spent the night before stalking the competition to see just how badly I would be beaten. The rider list looked manageable, with a few big names to look out for. I was worried about Andy, Keiran and John, and didn't really know much about Eugene and Kurt, but they looked fast.
I can't for the life of me remember what I ate for breakfast. I'm pretty sure it was the usual cheerios with mini chocolate chips. Possibly also a banana. I do seem to remember being tired. I also seem to remember getting there kind of late to warm up. I think I only got one lap in on my race gear.
The weather was warm, but windy. 10-15kt from the west gusting to 30+, I would say.
The first event was a 10 lap scratch. It started out simple enough, just half lap rotating pulls. If I remember correctly, there was an attack about halfway through, then a counter by andy with around 3 to go. I knew I was feeling antsy, so I tried to tell myself to just play it cool and sit in for most of the race. Andy's move got me, though. I jumped to bridge, so did Lucas. I passed Andy, hoping he would catch on, but a gap formed there somewhere. Without teamwork among the three of us, I just tried to keep my head down to finish. I was caught and passed around the back stretch or turn 3 of the final lap, but was able to keep going to roll in 6th place, which sadly meant no omnium points. Apparently there was talk about Keiran blocking in the field for andy. Kurt said it was illegal. I told him as far as I know it's not, but it's frowned upon. Andy agreed with me. Apparently there's some past history between the two of them. Shrug.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972903
Next was the miss and out. I knew I very likely completely screwed myself over in the omnium with that move in the scratch, so I had to ride a smart race here. I just stayed near the front without being right at it, trying to box in riders to stay ahead. The pace stayed pretty consistent until the last rider to get pulled. I know I thought we had pulled everybody, so I slowed up a little bit, and I think the others did, too. The final three riders were Kurt, John, and me. Kurt led the neutral lap, popping out of the sprinter's lane slightly in turn 4, so I took it as an opportunity to cut underneath to catch him and John off guard. I was able to stay away for the full lap to win, with John and Kurt second and third. I don't think Kurt appreciated my move. So much for endearing myself to the visitors to k-town.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972885
After this was the Kilos. I was originally going to gear up to a 90" gear, but the wind was psyching me out, so I stayed at 88". I changed to the zipp disc, though, with my gold medal pro cog that I've been saving for the Swan. I started on the home stretch, got a decent start and really felt on top of my gear, standing until the end of turn 2. I probably could have geared up without trouble. I really didn't notice the wind much at all, with the exception of coming into turns 3 and 4 on the last lap. I just powered through it and finished strong. The official result was a 1:15.42, which is officially my fastest kilo yet. At the end of the day, Kurt and John expressed their disbelief in my time. It's hard to say. I've definitely been training for the kilo, but that wind was strong, though like I say, I hardly noticed it. I talked to Alan about it the following wednesday, and he said they were short handed for officials, so only one time was taken per rider. Kurt said he had timed me at 1:25, which seems way off. Based on my gearing and the garmin data, a 1:15 is believable. It felt like a 1:17 or better. Regardless, officially, I had the best kilo time, so another win to me.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972871
The fourth race was a 20 lap points race. Just prior to this it was told to me that I was actually in the lead for the omnium at this point, with John only one point behind. Third place was keiran. Since Andy, Keiran, and I all agreed to do the team sprint together, I figured I just had to try to keep my lead over John. The first sprint saw me beating Keiran for points, then we drifted back into the pack. The rest of the race I tried to mark John, but he always had the upper hand. I tried to outsprint him in each sprint, but I think I went too early, and he was able to beat me in sprints two and three. Kurt was right up with us, too, and tried to get a break going, but I didn't want to spend more energy than I had to, same with John. We basically watched each other slide back through the pack. I put in a little effort for the final sprint, with John beating me again, but didn't think much of it since we were both out of the points. As it turns out, that sprint decided who won the race, since we were both tied for points. Whoops. John won, I came in second. This put him one point ahead of me now.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972858
The omnium now came down to the final race, the team sprint. I knew John was riding with Kurt, but I didn't catch who his third rider was. I won't lie, I was a little worried about my team. It looked like Keiran was fading in the points race, which didn't bode well for him being the second rider in the TS. Andy had told me that he was going to be the first rider because he couldn't start fast enough to stay on Keiran's wheel. Oh well. I debated gearing for a bit, and ended up deciding on the disc with a 14t. Again, due to the shortage of volunteers, we were started from the rail. Fortunately for the women and masters, lucas and I offered to help with held starts on the back stretch. I would have thought they could find other riders to hold the rest of us, but whatever. We started on the back stretch, and had what I would consider a pretty flawless run. The first lap got up to speed quick, and Andy maintained it. Keiran kept on the gas, only fading slightly right at the line. I tried to just power my way through, ending with an official 1:28.02, which beats my previous best TS time with Alan and Colin of 1:28.28. There's an unofficial goal beaten there.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972840
John's team came in with a 1:28.27, which put them in second place, and gave me the points i needed to claw my way back into first overall. I won $90, which is always great, and had a fun day. This also completes one of my season goals of winning either Opening weekend or States.
Thanks to Alan, and all the riders, officials, and volunteers. I also got to see Charlie for the first time this season, which is always fun. I gave Shane that bike rack that I was building and headed home tired, happy, and pretty sunburnt.
Results here:
http://kissenavelodrome.info/results/2013/Kissena13SpringClassic.pdf
I can't for the life of me remember what I ate for breakfast. I'm pretty sure it was the usual cheerios with mini chocolate chips. Possibly also a banana. I do seem to remember being tired. I also seem to remember getting there kind of late to warm up. I think I only got one lap in on my race gear.
The weather was warm, but windy. 10-15kt from the west gusting to 30+, I would say.
The first event was a 10 lap scratch. It started out simple enough, just half lap rotating pulls. If I remember correctly, there was an attack about halfway through, then a counter by andy with around 3 to go. I knew I was feeling antsy, so I tried to tell myself to just play it cool and sit in for most of the race. Andy's move got me, though. I jumped to bridge, so did Lucas. I passed Andy, hoping he would catch on, but a gap formed there somewhere. Without teamwork among the three of us, I just tried to keep my head down to finish. I was caught and passed around the back stretch or turn 3 of the final lap, but was able to keep going to roll in 6th place, which sadly meant no omnium points. Apparently there was talk about Keiran blocking in the field for andy. Kurt said it was illegal. I told him as far as I know it's not, but it's frowned upon. Andy agreed with me. Apparently there's some past history between the two of them. Shrug.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972903
Next was the miss and out. I knew I very likely completely screwed myself over in the omnium with that move in the scratch, so I had to ride a smart race here. I just stayed near the front without being right at it, trying to box in riders to stay ahead. The pace stayed pretty consistent until the last rider to get pulled. I know I thought we had pulled everybody, so I slowed up a little bit, and I think the others did, too. The final three riders were Kurt, John, and me. Kurt led the neutral lap, popping out of the sprinter's lane slightly in turn 4, so I took it as an opportunity to cut underneath to catch him and John off guard. I was able to stay away for the full lap to win, with John and Kurt second and third. I don't think Kurt appreciated my move. So much for endearing myself to the visitors to k-town.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972885
After this was the Kilos. I was originally going to gear up to a 90" gear, but the wind was psyching me out, so I stayed at 88". I changed to the zipp disc, though, with my gold medal pro cog that I've been saving for the Swan. I started on the home stretch, got a decent start and really felt on top of my gear, standing until the end of turn 2. I probably could have geared up without trouble. I really didn't notice the wind much at all, with the exception of coming into turns 3 and 4 on the last lap. I just powered through it and finished strong. The official result was a 1:15.42, which is officially my fastest kilo yet. At the end of the day, Kurt and John expressed their disbelief in my time. It's hard to say. I've definitely been training for the kilo, but that wind was strong, though like I say, I hardly noticed it. I talked to Alan about it the following wednesday, and he said they were short handed for officials, so only one time was taken per rider. Kurt said he had timed me at 1:25, which seems way off. Based on my gearing and the garmin data, a 1:15 is believable. It felt like a 1:17 or better. Regardless, officially, I had the best kilo time, so another win to me.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972871
The fourth race was a 20 lap points race. Just prior to this it was told to me that I was actually in the lead for the omnium at this point, with John only one point behind. Third place was keiran. Since Andy, Keiran, and I all agreed to do the team sprint together, I figured I just had to try to keep my lead over John. The first sprint saw me beating Keiran for points, then we drifted back into the pack. The rest of the race I tried to mark John, but he always had the upper hand. I tried to outsprint him in each sprint, but I think I went too early, and he was able to beat me in sprints two and three. Kurt was right up with us, too, and tried to get a break going, but I didn't want to spend more energy than I had to, same with John. We basically watched each other slide back through the pack. I put in a little effort for the final sprint, with John beating me again, but didn't think much of it since we were both out of the points. As it turns out, that sprint decided who won the race, since we were both tied for points. Whoops. John won, I came in second. This put him one point ahead of me now.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972858
The omnium now came down to the final race, the team sprint. I knew John was riding with Kurt, but I didn't catch who his third rider was. I won't lie, I was a little worried about my team. It looked like Keiran was fading in the points race, which didn't bode well for him being the second rider in the TS. Andy had told me that he was going to be the first rider because he couldn't start fast enough to stay on Keiran's wheel. Oh well. I debated gearing for a bit, and ended up deciding on the disc with a 14t. Again, due to the shortage of volunteers, we were started from the rail. Fortunately for the women and masters, lucas and I offered to help with held starts on the back stretch. I would have thought they could find other riders to hold the rest of us, but whatever. We started on the back stretch, and had what I would consider a pretty flawless run. The first lap got up to speed quick, and Andy maintained it. Keiran kept on the gas, only fading slightly right at the line. I tried to just power my way through, ending with an official 1:28.02, which beats my previous best TS time with Alan and Colin of 1:28.28. There's an unofficial goal beaten there.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972840
John's team came in with a 1:28.27, which put them in second place, and gave me the points i needed to claw my way back into first overall. I won $90, which is always great, and had a fun day. This also completes one of my season goals of winning either Opening weekend or States.
Thanks to Alan, and all the riders, officials, and volunteers. I also got to see Charlie for the first time this season, which is always fun. I gave Shane that bike rack that I was building and headed home tired, happy, and pretty sunburnt.
Results here:
http://kissenavelodrome.info/results/2013/Kissena13SpringClassic.pdf
16.5.13
R13.10: Kissena Twilight Series 5/8 - Cat 3/4
This is another late race report, so don't expect much detail. If I remember correctly, it was warm, but windy. Or maybe it wasn't. I really don't remember. There was another decent turn out, with Al showing up again, josh, andy, sean, mike, and some others. Here's the warm-up:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309920107
The first race was a miss and out. I tried to stay near the front and box people out if I could. Al had raced FBF the night before, and was complaining about some leg issues, so he came out. Riders kept on getting knocked out until it was just Andy, Andreas, and me. I attacked before the bell lap, and was able to keep a gap through to the finish. why I decided on such a long attack, I have not one clue.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309920085
Next was a 9 lap points race. Again, I don't really remember details, but I was able to win the first sprint. I got second on the next, then a group of 3 got away. I tried to close the gap, but I didn't have it. Andreas was with me, but he refused to work, but he did outsprint me on the final sprint. In my mind, this was narrow-sighted of him, as had we bridged up, he could have easily scored more points. As it stood, andy won, I still managed second, but he was way down in 6th. Sometimes the big picture is hard to see.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309920060
The final race was an unknown distance scratch. I figured it would be about 7 laps or so. I spent the beginning of the race just sitting in. A few attacks went out. Eventually, the stars aligned enough that I jumped in turn 4 of some such lap. I was able to keep a gap going and heard the bell before turn 3 the next time around. I tried to keep on the gas, but I got caught around turn 3 on the final lap. I dug deep, but only rolled across the line in fifth. Oh well, solo suicide attacks are kind of my thing in unknown distance races.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309920043
That concluded racing. Andy won the overall, I got second, Al in third. On a side note, he wore his NY state champion jersey this time. Results are here:
http://kissenavelodrome.info/results/2013/Kissena13TwilightSeriesWeek3.pdf
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309920107
The first race was a miss and out. I tried to stay near the front and box people out if I could. Al had raced FBF the night before, and was complaining about some leg issues, so he came out. Riders kept on getting knocked out until it was just Andy, Andreas, and me. I attacked before the bell lap, and was able to keep a gap through to the finish. why I decided on such a long attack, I have not one clue.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309920085
Next was a 9 lap points race. Again, I don't really remember details, but I was able to win the first sprint. I got second on the next, then a group of 3 got away. I tried to close the gap, but I didn't have it. Andreas was with me, but he refused to work, but he did outsprint me on the final sprint. In my mind, this was narrow-sighted of him, as had we bridged up, he could have easily scored more points. As it stood, andy won, I still managed second, but he was way down in 6th. Sometimes the big picture is hard to see.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309920060
The final race was an unknown distance scratch. I figured it would be about 7 laps or so. I spent the beginning of the race just sitting in. A few attacks went out. Eventually, the stars aligned enough that I jumped in turn 4 of some such lap. I was able to keep a gap going and heard the bell before turn 3 the next time around. I tried to keep on the gas, but I got caught around turn 3 on the final lap. I dug deep, but only rolled across the line in fifth. Oh well, solo suicide attacks are kind of my thing in unknown distance races.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309920043
That concluded racing. Andy won the overall, I got second, Al in third. On a side note, he wore his NY state champion jersey this time. Results are here:
http://kissenavelodrome.info/results/2013/Kissena13TwilightSeriesWeek3.pdf
13.5.13
2013.24: Race - 5/6 - 5/12
Sunday: Kissena Spring Classic. See the race report. Also, hello Genisis!
Saturday: nada. laced up the rear wheel for the swan. it looks sweeeet.
Friday: Despite my first A race being only two days away, I decided to ride too much today. I rode to work, then afterward I headed to visit Rick Jones at Roadrunners in Glen Cove to pick up some simichrome polish. After that, I went back to Syosset to pick up my bag, and almost made it back home before it got too dark. I ended up calling for a ride as I went past BAE systems and we rendezvoused perfectly at the king's park train station. On a side note, there are a lot of proper nouns in this ride report. Also, the roads between syosset and glen cove are really nice. I'll definitely have to ride that way more often.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/310793307
NP/IF/TSS: 207W/0.970/299(oof!)
Thursday: long work day. no riding.
Wednesday: Twilight at k-town. See the race report.
Tuesday: I spent a good amount of today working on polishing up the spokes and hubs for the swan. Thinking on it now, I really haven't mentioned my Jamie Swan much, have I? That's just not right. It's still at the painter's, so I've been trying to fancy up the wheels that I'll put on it. Anyhow, I also rode today. I figured I would do a short ride up to old field, nice and easy like, but with a few short hard intervals as openers. I picked a few strava KOMs to try for and set out. I was able to get two of them, but that damn old field sprint still eluded me. Coming down from old field I also checked out the private beach. It warrants further bike exploration, but it is way too rocky to walk around on barefoot.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309431004
NP/IF/TSS: 218W/1.023/147
At some point Dan called me, so I met up with him at the fire house. My garmin's battery was mostly dead for some reason, so I decided to split everything into two rides in case it shut off. Surprisingly, it lasted for around 2 hours on roughly 30 minutes' charge. Not bad, garmin. Not bad at all. As for the ride, it was great. Perfect weather, nice easy ride, beautiful beaches. What more could you ask for on your day off?
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309430962
NP/IF/TSS: 163W/0.765/52
Monday: Rest day. Rested.
Saturday: nada. laced up the rear wheel for the swan. it looks sweeeet.
Friday: Despite my first A race being only two days away, I decided to ride too much today. I rode to work, then afterward I headed to visit Rick Jones at Roadrunners in Glen Cove to pick up some simichrome polish. After that, I went back to Syosset to pick up my bag, and almost made it back home before it got too dark. I ended up calling for a ride as I went past BAE systems and we rendezvoused perfectly at the king's park train station. On a side note, there are a lot of proper nouns in this ride report. Also, the roads between syosset and glen cove are really nice. I'll definitely have to ride that way more often.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/310793307
NP/IF/TSS: 207W/0.970/299(oof!)
Thursday: long work day. no riding.
Wednesday: Twilight at k-town. See the race report.
Tuesday: I spent a good amount of today working on polishing up the spokes and hubs for the swan. Thinking on it now, I really haven't mentioned my Jamie Swan much, have I? That's just not right. It's still at the painter's, so I've been trying to fancy up the wheels that I'll put on it. Anyhow, I also rode today. I figured I would do a short ride up to old field, nice and easy like, but with a few short hard intervals as openers. I picked a few strava KOMs to try for and set out. I was able to get two of them, but that damn old field sprint still eluded me. Coming down from old field I also checked out the private beach. It warrants further bike exploration, but it is way too rocky to walk around on barefoot.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309431004
NP/IF/TSS: 218W/1.023/147
At some point Dan called me, so I met up with him at the fire house. My garmin's battery was mostly dead for some reason, so I decided to split everything into two rides in case it shut off. Surprisingly, it lasted for around 2 hours on roughly 30 minutes' charge. Not bad, garmin. Not bad at all. As for the ride, it was great. Perfect weather, nice easy ride, beautiful beaches. What more could you ask for on your day off?
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309430962
NP/IF/TSS: 163W/0.765/52
Monday: Rest day. Rested.
R13.09: Kissena Twilight Series 5/1 - Cat 3/4
Place holder.
Possibly forever.
yeah, yeah. alright, let's get this done with. Week two of the twilight series. The weather was much nicer. Some might say perfect. I knew Karl wasn't racing, so I thought I would have a chance to win the omnium. Then Al showed up. And so did Jamie Swan, to watch with Taliah. No pressure. Here's my warm-up data:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/306440992
The first race was a win and out. Josh, Al, and I all tried to sprint for first place. Al beat us pretty handily, and Josh dropped back. I swung up right afterward, but I saw I had a good gap, and so I decided to try to just keep on. Andy was able to bridge up to me, at which point I thought "huh. andy wouldn't try to bridge and outsprint me, would he?" and that's exactly what he did at the second place sprint. I cursed under my breath a little and kept going to try to stay away for the final sprint, which I was able to do just barely. The rest of the pack had a real close sprint mere bike lengths behind.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/306440969
Next was a 3 lap scratch. I can't for the life of me remember any details, but apparently it was Al, then me, then Andy.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/306440950
The last race of the day was a 6 lap tempo. I can't really fill in the details, but looking at the results, i was second behind josh on the first lap, beat him on the second lap, and then al and andy attacked the field. I tried to respond, but I was always tailing behind them neither bridging or getting any points. I finished with one more point on the final 3 deep sprint.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/306440941
I felt pretty dumb after the night's racing, and was pretty bummed out. That's basically why I didn't write this report for so long. results are posted here:
http://kissenavelodrome.info/results/2013/Kissena13TwilightSeriesWeek2.pdf
Possibly forever.
yeah, yeah. alright, let's get this done with. Week two of the twilight series. The weather was much nicer. Some might say perfect. I knew Karl wasn't racing, so I thought I would have a chance to win the omnium. Then Al showed up. And so did Jamie Swan, to watch with Taliah. No pressure. Here's my warm-up data:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/306440992
The first race was a win and out. Josh, Al, and I all tried to sprint for first place. Al beat us pretty handily, and Josh dropped back. I swung up right afterward, but I saw I had a good gap, and so I decided to try to just keep on. Andy was able to bridge up to me, at which point I thought "huh. andy wouldn't try to bridge and outsprint me, would he?" and that's exactly what he did at the second place sprint. I cursed under my breath a little and kept going to try to stay away for the final sprint, which I was able to do just barely. The rest of the pack had a real close sprint mere bike lengths behind.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/306440969
Next was a 3 lap scratch. I can't for the life of me remember any details, but apparently it was Al, then me, then Andy.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/306440950
The last race of the day was a 6 lap tempo. I can't really fill in the details, but looking at the results, i was second behind josh on the first lap, beat him on the second lap, and then al and andy attacked the field. I tried to respond, but I was always tailing behind them neither bridging or getting any points. I finished with one more point on the final 3 deep sprint.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/306440941
I felt pretty dumb after the night's racing, and was pretty bummed out. That's basically why I didn't write this report for so long. results are posted here:
http://kissenavelodrome.info/results/2013/Kissena13TwilightSeriesWeek2.pdf
2013.23: Peak.3? - 4/29 - 5/5
Sunday: work. I wanted to ride post-wise, but I passed out instead.
Saturday: Dan borrowed my other road bike and we went out for a longer ride. The nice thing about riding with Dan is he's much more lax about waiting for red lights to turn green, which means that based on the timing, we actually can get through the 97 intersection of 347 on a green light. We tried for that KOM and got it. We then dropped down south, and came back up and over by way of whiskey road. Along whiskey road, I saw a few credit cards laying on the ground. Turning around, we found the majority share of a wallet, so plugging the owner's address into my garmin, we stopped by to hand it over. Turns out the wallet was lost a few months ago in one of the big snow storms. Oh well, it was well intended. We then stopped at crazy beans for some bears and hard cider fruit smoothies, then shuffled on home. All in all, I would say it was a great day on a bike.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/307716921
NP/IF/TSS: 176W/0.827/206
Friday: nothing.
Thursday: Nada. Worky.
Wednesday: Track racing. see the race report.
Tuesday: I was a little back logged with repairs at work since I didn't work much yesterday, so I rode in and knocked a few out. I popped over to cordwood beach after I got home.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/305821050
NP/IF/TSS: 203W/0.954/251
Monday: Rest day. Helped get the Christeen back into the water. This involved agitating some muscles in my legs and back while helping to move what I would guess is a 300+lb main boom with only three guys and a cart with flat tires.
Saturday: Dan borrowed my other road bike and we went out for a longer ride. The nice thing about riding with Dan is he's much more lax about waiting for red lights to turn green, which means that based on the timing, we actually can get through the 97 intersection of 347 on a green light. We tried for that KOM and got it. We then dropped down south, and came back up and over by way of whiskey road. Along whiskey road, I saw a few credit cards laying on the ground. Turning around, we found the majority share of a wallet, so plugging the owner's address into my garmin, we stopped by to hand it over. Turns out the wallet was lost a few months ago in one of the big snow storms. Oh well, it was well intended. We then stopped at crazy beans for some bears and hard cider fruit smoothies, then shuffled on home. All in all, I would say it was a great day on a bike.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/307716921
NP/IF/TSS: 176W/0.827/206
Friday: nothing.
Thursday: Nada. Worky.
Wednesday: Track racing. see the race report.
Tuesday: I was a little back logged with repairs at work since I didn't work much yesterday, so I rode in and knocked a few out. I popped over to cordwood beach after I got home.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/305821050
NP/IF/TSS: 203W/0.954/251
Monday: Rest day. Helped get the Christeen back into the water. This involved agitating some muscles in my legs and back while helping to move what I would guess is a 300+lb main boom with only three guys and a cart with flat tires.
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