Teetee, Track and Wheel

...for all your cycling needs. =)

Hey - check this - results in the paper with my name..haha!

From PowerTapFiles

Okay, so did the Sidney TT on Tues night, first of the year!

I was feeling pretty drained (hardest ride of the year on Sat, 4.5hr ride/climb on Sun, Team Sprint and Pursuit on Mon...then this!) - but still, i thought i'd try something out.

My goal was to hold 280w, but my legs would have none of that, so i dropped down to 250w - and did, averaging 256w.

Click on the image and choose 'zoom' or 'download' to see the full size. That's my PowerTap file from the effort. Interesting to note the course is about 17.7km (i thought it was closer to 19km.)

My time was about 26'57, and i was happy to keep it under 27'. (PB is just above 26'.) I had to slow down at one point tho, might have lost 10-20 seconds overall because of a bigrig pulling out onto the street in front of me, then nearly getting squished between it and parked cars on the side of the road... I'm quite confident when i get my aero helmet and get out of the baggy winter garb and ride it fresh, i'll get it under 26' for sure...mebbe as low as 25'30...fingers crossed! My buddy Demian took the cake tho, getting under 24mins - awesome ride!!

The real funny thing is that this was a VCL race, and just a handful of VCL racers came out....i figure i came in 4th or so in the A's, which will likely put me in the Top 10 in the league - HA!! I'll post the results when i see 'em online..hehe (It's especially funny because besides finishing DFL in the first race of the year, i haven't been in any of the other races..and some dufuses were complaining about Track being in the VCL, and screwing with the stats...how ya like me now? ;)

Took a break on Wed, and headed out to the track tonite (Thursday) for some speedy action.. Spent some time on the road bike doing laps below threshold in the aero bars on the road bike - gotta get used to 'em. (Another reason for the slower TT is not being used to being in that position, and the need to tweak it..gotta get myself a bit more upright.)

Then the racing started - first up was a bit of a confusing race...A's, B's and C's together in a Scratch, 10 laps neutral, then two 'open' laps for the B's and C's to finish, A's remain neutral behind, then had 8 laps left (20 total.) Too short for me to try and wear anyone out and get away, so sat in and saved up for the final sprint....got 2nd, behind sprinter Mike Cooper. (Good luck in Burnaby this weekend!!)

Second race was the first Keirin heat - we started at the rail (instead of holders) which kinda screwed that part of the tactics up..i got stuck in the 5th position (out of six), and finished 5th. Still got up to 57kph there somehow..new high for the year i believe so far.

I asked Cooper before the race if he thought i should put on a bigger gear than my 47x15 (84 inches) - he says 'naaah'. Turns out he was racing a 90" gear..the jerk! So i swapped up to a 48 (86") - i tried my 49 tooth ring, but my chain is too short to match with the 15 in the back..oops!

Second race went better, i ended up behind David Mercer, who got on the motobike's wheel. (We were held this heat!) He pulled for half a lap, didn't really gas, so i decided to - had to do SOMETHING!

I attack hard, back into the mid-50kph's, and try to hold it the lap and a half...with about 60m to go, i'm starting to fade and Cooper (of course) and Captain Chris fly past, which gave me 3rd - yippee! My tactic worked, i don't think i could have gotten any better of a result (Chris also got 2nd in the first heat.) I'm curious what would happen if i *did* have the 49t on....my attack might have had a bit more punch, but could i have held it...hmmmm...

Third fun item of this entry is that i've got a new wheel! Dr. Walker sold me his old Mavic trispoke. (Yes, you read it correctly, it's a Mavic! Not HED or Specialized, but Mavic!) It's nearly identical to the HED3/Specialized design, only you need an extender for the valve (no dugout) and the section near the hub is a bit 'wider', sorta flanged out. Otherwise the same.

Sweet tho, i'm not 100% sure if i'll replace the tank of a trispoke i've got on the back (1st gen. Specialized) or perhaps slap it on the front (and sell the Zipp 3000). If i go for the back, it'll only cost me $25, selling my old wheel to Mercer..will have to see.... Would be nice to lose some weight on the bike....and no doubt will find another trispoke for the front.. We shall see! The real clincher is finding a threaded axel for it..right now it's a QR/bolt-on..

That's all the adventures for the last couple days. Recovery ride tomorrow with some of the OA-Victoria people, Saturday is my regular OBB group ride, and Sunday is another Learn to Race clinic. Sprints Monday, which i'll prolly take it easy on, and a TT again Tues..might try to punch it again with fresher legs.

This weekend is also a race weekend at Burnaby, but i decided to opt out...there's already a lot of intensity in my schedule for the summer, might as well keep the build going and try to remain strong after Sept this year (i was *dying* last August...too much intensity...)

Keep on riding! And a shout out to Tanya, who's several days into her ride across Canada! =)