Velo Rapture

There have been some nice, sunny days...due to the massive amount of rain, it feels like the Velo Rapture..haha..am i really still alive? Too bad the rain is supposed to return tomorrow...

I've been riding PILES the last few weeks!

Catching up, after my last post:

Tues Apr 3rd - did my Field Test out at the track, results were pretty much what i expected, confirming the level i thought i was at, which is a good thing. =)

Thu Apr 5th - rained out! No bunch races.

Mon Apr 9th - Pursuits were rained out.

Tue Apr 10th - first anaerobic intervals of the year, did 6x3min - holy crap the first one HURT!! It was awful. It just went on and on. I'd look down, it'd say 1min 45seconds in. I'd do a few more laps, and look down, and it'd say 1min 52 seconds in. Time was barely moving. I'd do some more laps, and it'd say 1min 37 seconds!?! The damn thing just wouldn't end!! Finally hit the 3min mark and it was over. I wanted to die. I barely finished it, and simply wanted to die. I didn't think i'd be able to do another...but after my 3min recover, i went back at it...it was gross, but not as bad. By the time i did the 6th one, time had been restored to its normal flow, and it wasn't nearly so bad. So remember: if you're feeling gross during your intervals, don't worry - it will get better as it progresses!! I'm suspicious that the point of these things isn't to improve any level of fitness, but to increase your tolerance to feeling like you just drank a bottle of bike lube.

From 07-04-15 - Bu...

Thu Apr 12th - oh man, i got hit with an awful stomach bug a couple days earlier, and was nauseous for several days...was just starting to get my stride back (and eat food) Thur eve, so came and watched Ryan Hopping and Andrew Kyle spin circles around everyone -- would have been a blast to race with them. =(

Sun Apr 15th - rode offroad with Tanya, Jenn and Janna, much fun! (Jenn and Janna are teaming up for that big 7-Day MTB race..kick ass!)

Mon Apr 16th - first sprint night, it was cold, surprised myself by cracking the 14 second marker in the flying 200m with a 13"87.

Thu Apr 19th - first long track race of the season, a 48 lap Points Race - woohoo!! I had a lot of fun in the race, i sat out the first sprint, and after an attack a couple laps later i counter-attacked and suddenly found myself solo nearly 1/2 lap ahead of the pack! I held a sustainable pace and easily collected 1st place points in the second sprint, and then let up - there was no way i was going to lap the other 5 riders, especially considering i'd re-gotten that stomach bug and had puked the night before and barely eaten anything that day... I tried a few more flyers, tho no one (or everyone) came along... Won another sprint with a long attack, kept the pace up the whole race, but finished second, 2pts down from Mike Cooper in the end, who took 1st place points in all but three sprints (David Mercer flew by me at the last moment in one sprint!) Despite feeling weak, i'm exceptionally happy with how i rode! Full Scoring is now online at the GVVA site.

From 07-04-15 - Bu...

Sat Apr 21st - it was the Earth Day festival here, and so tabled in the morning, so no group ride...went offroad with Tanya again in the afternoon, took out a Specialized full-suspension MTB demobike from Oak Bay Bikes, as i'm not keen to see what this is like for a full ride! It was a Stumpjumper, and rode pretty well. It's amazing how you can just sit and pedal over virtually anything, it really does allow a rider to conserve a lot of energy... Still, i get a kick out of riding my fully-rigid MTB. =) The bike climb decently, tho it felt a bit heavy, and i'd need to play around to get myself lower in the front end. Downhill, this thing shon! I was *flying*!! I was barely concerned with what was ahead, trusting that the bike would be able to handle it...very different feeling! I did some nice long, steep decents (Dirt Falls!) and often took the more dangerous/technical line, which was a hoot! I could get used to riding one of these beasts.

Yesterday rode out to the track and taught the second Learn to Race clinic, it was an awesome day, lots of sun and finally starting to show some warmth... If anyone reading this is interested, click here to get the dates for upcoming LTR clinics at the track - they're fun! (And cheap!)

Tonite is the first Pursuit of the year, got my aero bars (T2+ and T2 Wing base) now it's time to refine my position and get comfy..i gave 'em a quick spin on Sunday and they felt good so far!

Forecast is calling for rain for the rest of the week, so my fingers are crossed...

Back to the Track!

Big up to ya, loyal sports fan!

First night back on the track tonite! Felt awesome to be back... I'm back at 'home'. =)

Tonite we kept it fairly easy, starting with easier stick-together-for-most-of-the-race type - 30 lap scratch, everyone started, basically neutralized 25 laps..tho after 10 or so the pace picked up and we shelled most of the C's and B's..hehe.. Thanks Jim and David Mercer! I wanted to keep it more tame. ;)

The first 25 laps went by, cruising at 40kph and over, i felt fantastic, so nice to be back on the track....2 laps left, no one's making any moves so as we're approaching the bell lap -- i gun it!!!

I'm off the front, no idea what's going on behind me.. Matt Barlee, nationally ranked sprinter rides up besides me and asks 'so what does 'veganism is direct action mean?' as we're approaching the line. (I have this sticker on my seat tube.)



I'm DYING holding 50kph for a lap and a half (over 500m) at the front (i've done ZERO anaerobic work this season so far!) and he's asking me this casually as i'm in my death throes trying to get myself to that white finish line...hilarious!! Of course he was ahead of me, and i dragged another guy (Chad) behind who came around for 1st..hilarious. =)

Second race was a Keirin, Matty McMuscles was our Derny, so didn't have to worry about him at least.. I played it smart, got 2nd position behind Mike Cooper, who's a large guy who's also a sprinter... a nice big draft for me...

After five laps, Matt the derny pulls off after getting us up around 50kph, and Cooper picks up the speed...good...i'm just sitting in his draft...2 laps left... He's starting to fade, but Chad (who won the last race) comes around and i pick up a little speed and sit on his wheel....1 lap to go, i see he's fading, and launch!!

As i'm nearing the finish line, still at the front, i see a glint of yellow from the corner of my eye off to my right - David Mercer, 60+yr old cycling phenomenon here in Victoria, is chasing madly!! I keep the pressure on, and hold him off at the line.

VICTORY!!! Score one for the vegan!! No doubt this will be my first, and last Keirin victory of the season. ;)





A couple shots, thanks to Tanya who's back for another month-long vegan biking trip! I'll be getting her out to the track to race on a regular basis. =)

Tell us what you thought of your first viewing of a track event in person!

In first shot that's me near the end of the paceline, and in the second you can see my rear wheel and PowerTap..hehe.. I wish i had it for the track - i put out some serious watts tonite!

This reminds me of how different track racing is to the road... On the road, typically, as the speed picks up, so does your torque (ie, how hard you have to push the pedals). And, of course, there are hills, which require a lot of torque.

Thanks to my PT, i've discovered i'm really a low-torque guy... I can pump out a decent number of watts, but if it's at 50-90rpm, it'll suck the life outta me..

On the track, however, as the speed picks up, i believe the torque actually decreases, since your cadence increases....so as my cadence increases, *overall* torque decreases, but wattage continues to increase of course with resistance.

And, of course, i've seen this on my PowerTap as well...i'm much more likely to get over 1000 watts spinning above 100rpm than at anything down below 80rpm.

Pretty neat, huh? I'm wired for the track. ;)

Of course, that limits what i'm capable of, on the bike... Hilly crits, and even crits in general are not my cup of tea...tho i'm going to try and change that a bit, and try to keep my cadence up in the 'grind' sections, and see what happens.

Wed i might head out for the weekly road race/crit and try this out, tho i also have a very different focus if i do go.

Thursday am back on the track - yay!!!

Tues i'm going to the track in the afternoon to do my Field Test - first time since i got the PT...time to confirm that i'm training in the right zone...tho i'm pretty sure i am based on HR and my PT peak efforts by time.

Last Sat did the OB group ride as usual, it was quite a bit faster, which was great (Karl keeps the whip on, which is great!) It's such a great ride. Instead of constant attacks and trying to blow people off, as might occur in other rides, we all work together, maintaining a nice, fast paceline. For the riders who aren't as strong, or just want to chill a bit more, they can hang out in a single paceline behind us and draft. How cool is that? Trying to make it work for everyone. What a great group. =)

If anyone reading this wishes to join us, it's 9am behind the Oak Bay Bikes shop - we basically do the 'reverse' Wheelers loop, starting at the water, and coming in off Interurban, plus the water.. Maybe 90km with the current loop...it'll get mixed up a bit more in the summer, extending it, and having a specific 'fast/race' section, along with the rest of the steady stuff.

Hopefully see ya out there!