Allo! -- Log

Oh, hi! I didn't realize you were looking!

Looks like it's been a month or so since i updated, yikes!

So, last word, i was experiencing 'crap week', and then i had my best week yet!

First in the string was a fantastic Thursday Points race, i played it really well and smart, and tried a slightly different strategy -- attacking well before the bell... Seems that noone like to chase, and so i get a good 20-40m, and by then they hear the bell, and have to work extra-hard to catch me...i scored some great points this way and finished well. I'd say that was my 'smartest' race of the year.

Oh yes, i also bought the front tri-spoke as well..so i at least look fast. =)

Second was TrackFest #2 the following Saturday. Didn't do so hot in the Scratch, tried out a 48x14, but i raced *terribly*, kept getting on the 'wrong' wheel and got shoved back as others attacked....and then i was riding solo, and that gear was just too much to push alone. (I pursue in a 47x16...must spin...) I managed to hold off getting caught until the final lap as Chater made a big attack.

Chariot was also gross with that big gear, just couldn't get it rolling... No more 48x14 for me until i can spin it! (Idea was to be able to respond to attacks better...which i'm sure it can with someone else..heh..i'll just keep spinnin' for now -- gotta play my strengths.)

Next up was the Points, which was a lot of fun. I attacked early in a couple of sprints again, and that landed me some solid point early on. Eventually the pack was wittled down to Don Gillmore, Bob Cameron, Glenn Barr and myself. With about 2/3rds to go, Don attacked hard and blew us off (he's damn fast!) A few laps later Bob attacked and managed to catch Don. Apparently that pretty much killed Bob, and Don was doing full lap pulls to keep him on. Glenn and i pursued, and eventually were working to simply keep him from lapping us, which we managed. I couldn't compete with Glenn for the extra points, but my 3rd place had been solidified for me early on. =)

Final race was the Keirin, and sadly most riders had taken off, leaving Don, Matt Barlee, Glenn and myself. I ended up on the back of the train, and Glenn was on the durney. When it pulled off, he punched it, and we picked up speed pretty quick! Don and Matt battled it out, and i snuck by the drained Glenn by the line. Turns out Don was DQ'd, which left me in the unlikely position of 2nd for the Keirin behind Matt..ha - gotta like that!

More pics in my new Google Gallery here!

After all that excitement, i still had some kick in me! The following Monday was Pursuit night, and after gunning it in the first lap, i managed to finally get a new 4km Pursuit PB of 5:37 - taking 3 seconds off my previous PB - yay!!! I felt like i could have taken a bit more off that as well...so 5:30 may be do-able this year...yip!

Main thing i did different was bolt off the start...usually i start off with relative ease, but i decided to try and catapult myself up to my top speed much more quickly...here's my lap splits, for those of you who enjoy #'s as much as me:

29'53, 27'04, 26'88, 27'12, 27'47, 28'22, 28'59, 28'41, 29'00, 28'83, 28'44 and 27'71.

Looks like i should be aiming for about 27'75 laps or so....my third lap was much too hard...apparently i was still accelerating!! (Or maybe the timer was off..heh..)

It was then Tuesday, TT night....i had no idea if my luck would change, but i decided to head out anyway... Once again, i gunned it off the start.....and this time i really dug deep, keeping the pace quite intense throughout the event...didn't ease off at all...and once again got another PB getting a 25'57 - yes!! Finally cracked the 26 minute mark, and dropped 6 seconds off my previous PB. Woot!!

This has been my lesson of the month, thanks to Kevin! I need to know that i can always 'dig deeper'. I need to learn to 'push harder'....sometimes it's easy to forget this, and tho i'm racing hard, i'm not giving it my all....so this is my second 'big' lesson. A reminder:

DAVE'S BIG LESSONS FOR RACING:

#1 - believe in yourself, and believe you can accomplish your goals (thanks Scott Lala!)
#2 - dig deeper, and then dig some more - it's all about learning to dig even more.

I wonder what #3 might be...

Unfortunately, a few days later i got hit with a really nasty bug, and spent 5 days off the bike! (More time off than any other stretch in the last 2yrs i believe..!!) This coincided with me moving as well (now living alone, got a nice bach. suite in the lower level of a house, it kicks ass!)

A couple weeks later, i'm starting to feel human again!! Last Wed went out to the track with the goal of doing flying Kilo's....felt rather gross so after a few did standing starts instead.

Thurday went and raced, with the goal of just hanging off the back. First scratch was really fast, and a lot of attacks, but i held in alright, and cut at the end. Just rode a few laps in the miss'n'out as well....felt like i had good power, but when getting close to the 'red line' i felt really gross.

Saturday (yesterday) rode with the Oak Bay group again, and joined the 'fast group'. Antoine, 'All' Clare and myself busted away from the pack on the climb, and managed to feed everyone else our dust all the way to the meet-up point. I still felt like there was a bunch of gunk in my lungs, but otherwise i was feeling pretty strong. I don't think i've lost too much fitness, thankfully! Maybe even the time off was good for the legs..!

I've come across some neat stuff the last few weeks, here are some bits and pieces:

From the Onion:



There's a neat story on my vegan racing email buddy Chrisine Vardaros, and her adventures racing for a pro team in Belgium. Hopefully will meet her (along with a bunch of other Organic Athletes!) in San Francisco at the end of September for their massive Vegetarian Festival!

Too bad i didn't find this Flash Keirin Game when i was sick, good way to kill some time..haha..

Final item isn't really 'new', but i've never seen this demonstrated: tubeless tires. There are a few films on there - the most interesting is where he demonstrates how they work, as he repeatedly inserts a spike into a tire..holy crap! Can't wait to see this become popular with road tires!!

That's all the excitement for now, hopefully Track Provincials are still happening at the end of the month, still not certain they're happening or not....

Keep on rolling, and eat your veggies. =)