This blog/site is a collection of my thoughts, articles and
other general excitement tied into cycling, training and competing
as a vegan bike racer and athlete.
A Guy (snicker) on the OBB ride today mentioned he saw my name in the Q&A section - i sent this question in a few months ago, and they responded by email, but i didn't expect it to be posted on their website, so for your information:
Knowing full-well the benefits of recovery rides, I'm curious to know if there's any evidence that several shorter rides can be as beneficial as one longer ride?
My daily life has me commuting short distances (about 15-20 minutes) several times most days, and I'm wondering if it's possible these can serve as recovery rides, assuming I keep the pace nice and easy. If I log 45-90 minutes in a day with these short rides, would they equal (or come close) to 45-90 minutes of recovery riding, or should I get out and do a 'regular' recovery ride on top of this (on the days I ought to do a RR, of course)?
Great question. The purposes of a recovery ride include dilating blood vessels so that blood can flow into muscles to provide nutrients and carry away wastes, and also to stretch the muscles through their normal range of motion. Both of those are well accomplished by a 20-minute ride.
A 20-minute ride does not do much to enhance competitive fitness since you are essentially training to warm up repeatedly rather than training the energy systems that are used when you are already warmed up. For instance, by 20 minutes into a ride, your body is just beginning to mobilise fat for use as a fuel so a series of 20 minute rides won't train fat metabolism like a longer ride. For recovery though, little doses of riding will work.
Been getting out on the Niner a lot, loving life on the mountain bike and trails again. I'm typically out riding offroad 1-2 days a week. Sessions have been getting really long, when riding out (which is about 2hrs right there), i'm typically on the trails for another hour or two, plus there are often breaks...today i left at 9:30am, got home at 3:30pm, and had a FANTASTIC day! I jokingly posted this as my Facebook status this morning, and pretty much worked out that way:
"Dave is going to have such a magical day that Mickey Mouse is going to wear Dave's ears!"
hahahaha.. I wouldn't say the day was magical, but it was pretty fun to be out all day, and enjoy riding with friends (Ian, Rita, Roland and Mike.) The Dump is clearly uphill from my place.. Typically takes about 60-65mins to get to the top of the Meadowbrook trail from my house, but the ride back today only took 50mins, and that was in a headwind!
The time offroad has been really helpful i think, giving me what my elite cadre of cycling advisors (ECCA) are calling 'muscle toughness'. Over the years, training for the track has left me strong at 110+rpm, but below that and i start to suffer.. Well, i still suffer, but increasingly less-so. It was really obvious the last couple 'cross seasons (getting beat by people i'd stomp on the track!!), hopefully things will change a bit more this year... Basically, mountain biking is more demanding on the legs, and i've been leaving it in the middle chainring for almost all my riding, so there's a lot more grinding than one would ever do on the track...and that should pay off everywhere, including the track, where in theory i should be more comfortable with bigger gears...
My mission on the road has been pretty swell. As stated in my previous entry, i have two training focuses for 2009: sprinting and time trial power. Got a lot of solid standing start sessions in earlier on, and have been developing sustained threshold efforts, which is something i've sucked at (ie, holding a threshold effort for 25mins, like in a TT or race longer than 25mins!) One goal is to be able to hold 300w for 25mins, which is about the time that kind of wattage should land me in the Sidney TT series. I'm able to hold ~260w for 30-40mins in my CTS Tempo workouts, and have been doing some uphill (Observatory) efforts of 300w - last time i did ~7:20 four times...so that's over 29mins holding 300w, although it's not the same going uphill, and with a larger break between efforts. I hope it suggests this is do-able tho. ;)
Got *most* of my summer bike together - Campy Chorus (10sp) and SRAM Red cranks. Get this, i went with compact (34t/50t) and 165mm. HA!
The compact allows me to spin a bit more on hills, and the 50t is actually very handy, allowing me to (EASILY) know exactly what gear i'm training in, relative to the track (ie, 50x15). The shorter crank arms also allows me to spin in sprints, and an added bonus is that in the TT position (and drops) i can get lower, as my knees aren't coming up so high (take note TT riders...also more efficient as your legs aren't spinning around quite as much, and one of the strongest TT riders *cough*IMMORTAL*cough* on the island swears by 'em. ;)
The frame is a Blue RC6, which is actually just a loaner. It's a pretty swell frame!! Surprisingly comfy, and very race-oriented design, which allows me to get as low as i want in the front.
It's just a temp that OBB is lending me (THANK-YOU!!) until my *real* summer bike arrives: the Ridley Noah Team, and yes, in GREEN. It's totally overkill for me, but hey, you only live once! I was going to get something much less exciting, but when i saw this, i couldn't resist. The real bonus is how well it'll double as a TT machine...but the main attraction is how advance it is as an aerodynamic race bike. I'll be swapping the parts off the Blue, and getting some fancy deep-dish wheels as well. This thing will fly, and i'll be winning all the group rides. =P
Racing has been slow to start, the track is still out of comission, which has been exceedingly frustrating. Haven't gone to any road events so far, although i'm planning to head out to Caleb Pike on Wednesday, assuming it's dry. That should hurt.
I've been in two MTB races tho - the Island Cup series is pretty fantastic! So far i've been racing Intermediate, as they end under 2hrs -- i'm not nearly ready for racing 2hr+ events! I'm still used to races that are under 13 seconds to 15-20minutes. Even 'cross races, which were 40-50mins, were brutal. (Tho hopefully that'll change this fall!)
First race was in Port Alberni, a very technical course with LOTS of mud. Had an awful start (had to go to car to get clothes, food, water, etc), passed all the other beginners and intermediate riders (26 total!) to finally catch the top women, and stuck with them for the second lap. Finished 3rd there. Second race in Cucumberland, much bigger field, and much better start, paced myself very well, and finished much closer in time to the top Intermediate rider, but only 6th. Will likely remain in Intermediate for another 2-3 races, then should be strong enough to move up to the Expert field (which are typically 2-2.5hr races). Next race is this Sunday, Hammerfest in Parksville/Nanaimo - woot!!
I've been posting a lot of my training details online in my VeganFitness.net Training Log, including wattage output for many of my intervals (sprint and TT). That's the best place to get detailed info if you're curious.
Also, check out the VeganFitness.net Wattage Table, where those of us with wattage meters post our PBs, from 1sec to 2hrs, including w/kg breakdowns for each number. Pretty neat to see where everyone's strengths are! I've been pretty happy with my own results, i've gotten PB's in most areas in the last few months, so i continue to get stronger. =)
I've also posted photos from the last few months, check out my second Dave Noisy gallery, with mostly MTB shots, but also my new bikes, and other fun odds'n'ends.
The 2009 OrganicAthlete Victoria team has been coming together quite nicely! We've got more sponsors this year (including Eatmore Sprouts - how cool is that?!), and some new faces! Jen from 'cross joined us, as have Victoria new-comers Ian and Rita. Alyssa has also joined the team. Also new is Sarah, rounding out the women's team. Emile and Kevin are returning and looking strong! Hopefully we'll see Evan too, assuming he isn't entirely consumed by work! There are a few others out there as well who have yet to make an appearance (David and Matt!) and some potential people (you know who you are. ;)
If there are any local vegans or like-minded people interested in joining the club, do contact us!! We're welcoming any riders who are looking for a bike club that that cares about the world more than race results. =)
Wow - i can't believe i've neglected my blog this long!!
In general, things have been quite good. The snow has made riding difficult, but i also picked up a Niner RIP9 full suspension 29er mountain bike, which has been a BLAST! It handles well in the snow as well. ;)
My training is starting up for 2009, i've got two basic focuses for the year: sprinting and time trial power. That's it! I plan to improve both...if i'm not training one, i should be training the other. My sprinting is probably one of my biggest strengths, so of course it makes sense to improve on that even more. My biggest weakness appears to be my TT power...i can hold a decent amount of wattage over 5-6mins, but after that, i get diminishing returns...so that needs to change. There's no reason i shouldn't be able to hold that for 30+mins!! (Well, other than not having trained it at all for the last couple years!) So, that's the groundwork for me for 2009 - feel free to comment/discuss this in the comments section. =)
And yes, i'm seriously considering a few cross country mountain bike races for 2009 as well!
I should also include a recap and highlights for the past few months:
TRACK * tied for 2nd overall (with futurestar Jacob Schwingboth) in the Trackfest Madison series, won a snazzy jersey for that * won the overall in the GVVA weekly points league
Overall i was pretty happy with my track riding. Unfortunately, the year ended prematurely due to conflicts with the WSPRS as they closed down the track for specious reasons, as they wanted to build a stadium ON TOP of the velodrome (yes, fill it in.) Luckily, it appears they've changed gears, and no longer wish to do this, and it's looking promising that we'll have a track for 2009.
ROAD * finished 3rd in Cat4 at Bastion Square (didn't trust my legs, waited too long to sprint) * finished 3rd overall in the A's in the Victoria Cycling League (ha!)
I hardly did much on the road this year, the VCL final was a fluke, i had a few opportunistic events, if it wasn't for some TT's, low attendences on the road, and of course my strength on the track, i wouldn't have factored in at all. The roadies definitely fair better on their terrain, in great part due to the hilly courses, which slaughter me. The rare flat crits are much preferred. ;)
CYCLOCROSS * Whirly Whirl World Champion ;) * finished 12th overall Inermediate in the 'Cross on the Rock series after 6 events
It was a fun 'cross season, with the Wed night races, and the excellent series by Norm and Wendy. While my general 'cross skills are pretty solid (cornering, barriers), what kills me in these events is the need for TT power. I can stick with the leaders for the first lap, but of course, i blow up shortly there-after. This will change for 2009, so look out. ;)
Best event for me was the Juan de Fuca 'cross event - unfortunately there were no laps on the velodrome, but there was a nasty-ass run-up that was HUGE, and each lap while i'd catch people on the flats, they'd all pass me on the run-up. Very frustrating....but in the final lap i managed to pace myself just right, and maintained my lead in the run-up, and even made some ground by the finish...i think this is the only event i managed to finish ahead of Roland in!
The final event was also a bit of a success for me, i decided to start off more 'easy', instead of gunning it and trying to stick with the leaders. This worked out well, as i ended up actually racing (instead of on my own) with a small group, and managed to work my way up, passing one fellow (who fought HARD), and got close to another, but couldn't quite close the gap at the end. It was sweet actually duking it out tho. =)
OA VICTORIA Our club had a *fantastic* year, and here's a highlight of all our amazing members:
Story on OrganicAthlete Victoria in the Times Colonist
eya - i've been slow in updates, expect a few over the next few days!
First up, there was an awesome story published in the local paper, that actually got distribution all across Canada, here it is!
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Elite Island athletes who are vegetarians Island group provides information and support for vegetarian, vegan and whole-food jocks
Steve Carey, Times Colonist
Published: Friday, July 04, 2008
A group on Vancouver Island is showing athletes don't need meat to compete.
"Dinner last night was a big yam, about two cups of broccoli, two cups of kale and a little veggie chicken thing," says Dave Shishkoff, 32, a competitive cyclist and a vegan for almost 18 years. "Typically a meal of mine will be just a big plate of vegetables, whatever is in season, preferably."
Shishkoff is president of the Victoria chapter of Organic Athlete, an organization dedicated to providing information and support to vegetarian, vegan and whole-food athletes. With more than 500 members worldwide, the group is made up of body-builders, power-lifters, cyclists and triathletes. The 20 members of the Victoria chapter come from all sports and rankings, including a national-level rower.
Because of his high-carb, low-protein, plant-based diet, Shishkoff's on-track nickname is "Shishkabob." The joke
doesn't affect his performance, though -- Shishkoff places in the top five in most events and took second place overall at the Track B.C. Cup last November.
There are vegetarian and vegan athletes worldwide, and not just in endurance sports. Mac Danzig, 28, is the current Ultimate Fighting champion. He has been a vegetarian since he was 16 and a vegan since he was 19.
Some of the most successful vegan and vegetarian athletes have been ultramarathon runners. American Scott Jurek is the seven-time winner of the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, while Vancouver's Brendan Brazier, a two-time Canadian 50-kilometre race winner, wrote the bestseller The Thrive Diet, and also markets a line of popular vegan athletic supplements, called Vega.
Shishkoff trains four to five days a week for three hours a day, burning more than 1,800 calories per workout. He tries to take in about 3,000 calories per day and less than 30 grams of protein. But he is a cyclist, not a body-builder or football player, athletes who need large amounts of protein to bulk up.
Dietitian Visanto Melina, 66, says that ample amounts of protein, fats and carbohydrates as well as a 3,000-to-6,000-calorie-a-day plant-based diet is possible, provided it's well planned.
Melina, co-author of Becoming Vegetarian and Becoming Vegan, says new vegetarians or vegans might avoid necessary foods for flavour reasons, like tofu.
She says seasoned and packaged alternatives, such as veggie chicken- or beef-flavoured soy jerky, are good for athletes who can't cook.
Susan Boegman, a dietitian at Canadian Sport Centre Pacific, says vegetarians and vegans need to supplement with vitamin B12, must watch their iron, iodine, zinc and vitamin D levels, and ensure they are getting enough oils and fats in their diet.
"It's a lot easier to get adequate iron from eating a steak, or eating fish, or eating dark meat chicken than it is to get it from plant sources," Boegman says. "It's totally doable, but it takes some dedication."
Essential fats can be gleaned from eating avocados, walnuts, and flax and pumpkin seeds, but it's harder for the body to absorb the fat, so the athlete will have to eat more, Boegman says. She says some athletes might do well on a vegetarian or vegan diet, while others might suffer performance loss or iron deficiency.
Organic Athlete member Émile de Rosnay, 34, is working from a whole-food to a full vegetarian diet. The cyclist started a plant-based diet because he was more than 20 pounds over his 180-pound race weight. He says he hasn't been this light since high school.
"My energy levels are the same -- I didn't go through a system crash or anything like that," de Rosnay says. "I eat what I want of the things that I can eat, and the portions I can eat. I used to eat too much before, too much dairy, too much meat."
At the B.C. Track Provincial Championships in June, de Rosnay won gold in the senior men's category. His race performance has improved since he started the diet, but de Rosnay attributes it to training and experience, not just diet.
Kamran Rad, a fitness programmer at Saanich Commonwealth Place, worked with vegetarian, vegan and meat-eating athletes while completing his master's degree in exercise science. Rad says vegan and vegetarian athletes on the right diet and the right supplements will have a level playing field with their omnivore counterparts, but in the end, performance comes down to training, natural ability and psychology.
Shishkoff says people are starting to think about how food affects their performance, and he's seeing more people join Organic Athlete for that reason.
"People sometimes think they can't become a member of Organic Athlete because they aren't vegetarian or vegan, but that's not the case. You just have to be supportive and interested."
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DAVE'S DIET
Here's what Dave Shishkoff, 32 and president of Organic Athlete Victoria, eats during a typical day:
Breakfast: Bowl of cereal (Nature's Path Panda Puffs, Puffed Millet, Puffed Rice)
Lunch: Eats toast, then eats a Nature's Path energy bar while he's training
After training snack: Recovery smoothy: Cup of soy milk, 2 bananas, a cup of frozen blueberries, pineapple, maple syrup for carbs.
Dinner: Steamed vegetables, pasta
Junk food: Soy ice cream or organic chocolate
Benefits: "It's the single best decision I've ever made in my life. It's led me towards what I think is a very important and serious position when it comes to ethics and social justice."
Note: should mention the 'toast' is Silver Hills no-flour sprouted-grain bread with Earth Balance margarine and organic fruit jam, and pasta is typically whole wheat. =)
It's the first TrackFest event of the year. Once more, i'm wearing the hats of both the organizer and a competitor!
OrganicAthlete Victoria sponsored one of the three events, the OrganicAthlete Omnium. We contributed over $700 in prizes (thanks to Vega and Oak Bay Bikes!) and in our raffle we raised over $120 for the Save the Velodrome legal fund. I also ensured the food was vegan, with all vegan pizzas from The Joint!
Unfortunately, being the organizer compromised my performance, and for both the 200m and 500m i ended up in too light of a gear, so didn't ride as fast as i could have. Happier with my Pursuit, and pretty close to most of the other racers. Rode better in the Bunch races, and finished 11th over all (out of 12) but the gaps weren't that significant after Don and Scott, so a solid performance. =)
The Madisons fared better, i was teamed with Glenn and we were 'Team Organizers', and won the first event (3km Madison Pursuit), and finished 2nd overall. My madison racing has improved, and i took advantage of a few situations playing a pretty smart game. Looking forward to more of these!
In the Bunch Races i made some bigger moves as well, off the front a few times in the Points race, and a similar effort in the SuperSprint (25 laps, 10 go by, then a sprint every 3 laps to the end), got first place points on the first sprint riding solo off the front for several laps, but that was all i saw...i was a tire or two away from scoring in a few more sprints, but got nipped..it was a good, strong field. Still, that was my best non-Madison finish of the weekend in 7th.
OA did well, Gill once more put in a solid performance in the Omnium, edging our Laura Brown. Evan and Kevin had solid races, as did Emile -- great racing team!! =)
Sorry for the lack of communication, i've been uber-busy both organizing and racing at events!!
First up is the BC Track Provincial Championships! It was a small group of riders, my main threats being Julian Base from Whistler, and locals Bob Cameron and teammate Emile DeRosnay, racing over three days with the regular assortment of championship events.
Main highlights were medaling in four events: Madison, Kilo, Keirin and Omnium (which is a combination of five events: the 200m, kilo, pursuit, scratch and points races).
The Madison was especially cool, with Rachel Canning as my partner, we both rode our butts off, and she towed me along to earn a medal!
There we are in the midst of an exchange. Note that as she drops in, she'd be going about 30kph, and i'd be coming in below at about 50kph, and in the exchange i transfer my speed to her, and then slow up, and wait for her to pass again, and reverse the exchange, and then i'm back in for some action. =)
The Kilo was pretty straight-forward, rode a 1'17"86, which is a PB, behind Julian and Emile by about a second and a half, Emile took the gold, yay for getting OA on two Podium spots!
The Keirin was a hoot, i got into 2nd position, with a lap to go Julian sprinted off, i charged after, and was looking at Silver until Glenn edged up beside me, and snubbed me at the line!! Ahh well, i couldn't be beat by a better guy. =)
The Points race was a brutal affair, Julian, Emile and Mike Laxdal managed to break off the front and i got caught behind, and spent about 30 laps chasing with Glenn and Bob Cameron..Bob had cracked, and Glenn was doing very strong pulls, i was not too much of a hindrance, but we couldn't seem to close the gap...always about a 1/4 lap behind..they must have been trucking too..so frustrating!!
The Omnium worked out well for me, i got the 2nd fastest 200m time (12.818, another PB, not bad after two days of racing my butt off!), and finished 3rd in all the other events, for my final Bronze.
OA did well, Emile got a couple golds, Gillian put on some strong performances, winning several of the Women's events (tho her only competitor was Rachel, but she still rode well in the bunches in which she was placed). Jan Tize, a new OA Vic member, also put on a lot of strong performances, but crashed out with a broken collarbone. Kevin won the Citizen Omnium racing quite well at his first major track event!
A collection of photos from the event can be found here. Also, a funny random video i made based on an Oak Bay Bikes group ride:
So it was a couple weeks ago, a few of us trackies are cruising home after a night of speed (Don Gill, aka The Immortal, was out) on the Goose, and suddenly our little pack is overtaken by a couple dozen MTB riders - flyin' by!!
Unwilling to let the knobbies rule the trail, i jump in, and there's a bunch of familiar faces (hi Jon and Scotty!) As we're approaching the trestle bridge, Plaxton is up near the front with me, and he says 'hey vegan, how about a lead-out' pointing to the dude who had broken off the front.
I'm like 'sure', and i cruise over and start to build up the speed. I bridge to the dude, look back, and everyone's gone! Ha! I dropped Max Plaxton!! Booya!!
Actually, i don't know what happened, i've heard some excuses (Max was sick, Max is allergic to vegans, Max can't see the color green), but regardless i spun out his wheels! WOOT!
(Just kidding, i know i wouldn't have a snowballs chance in the suns corona in competing with that monster, still, an entertaining blog entry. =)
In other news, my sprint training is coming along nicely (i've mainly been working on my sprinting power the last few weeks, and for the next month), getting a bit more speed in the legs.. I'm also taking creatine now, to see if it can make any difference. It's apparently one of the few things the body doesn't really produce a lot of, and most people get it from eating flesh, so i've been deprived the last 17+yrs, so i've been adding 5g per day the last few days and will give it a month or two to see if i can get an extra kick.
In the Gear Report, i'm still love love LOVING my Argon18 track bike. Damn it's fine. I've got the Specialized Tritip saddle for it, and it is SUPER COMFY. It's got a nice padded nose, so sitting up there is totally fine (unlike the Toupe saddle, which is HARSH near the tip.)
I've also picked up a Specialized/HED3 trispoke front wheel that's a clincher, and using a (Immortal recommended) Veloflex Record tire, as it's got some of the lowest rolling resistance of any tire out there, and it feels quite fine.
On the road bike i'm using Maxxis Courcheval tires that have a cool strip of orange. They're quite comfy and feel very racy, and i'm pretty happy with 'em:
The OA Victoria racing team is doing very well. On the track, Emile and i are sitting in the top two positions overall, and are consistently the top finishers in races. In the Victoria Cycling League, we're also sitting comfortably near the top, tho my results are due mainly to track performances. ;)
Riders Kevin and Casey are riding well and finishing constantly in the Top 10 in the B races, as these guys learn to mix it up in their first seasons of road racing. Gillian is exceptionally strong, taking the 3/4 Women's events at Race the Ridge, winning all three stages (and as a Cat4 rider, now Cat3 of course!) Emile also finished well in this, with a highlight 6th in the TT, and 9th overall in the Men's Cat3 field. Sam Smith, triathlete, also took 80th (17th in his age group) at the Wildflower Ironman, fantastic effort there. =)
That's aboot it for now, this coming week is Omnium Week at the track, and i'll be going for the gold there. Monday is a Flying 200m, 500m ITT and 5k Scratch Race. Thursday will have the Pursuits and Points race - wish me luck!
This is the first event organized by our group, and i thought it was tremendous success! The only low point was that there were very few participants, but otherwise it went smashingly. You can read my event report here. (No, i didn't race it, since it was a duathlon! Dave don't run. Or dance.) I did MC the event, which was pretty fun. There are also photos of the event from the first link.
Sunday had a race on my favorite crit course, OBB organized another Windsor Park crit. Can it be more perfect? It's just a few blocks from my house, has wonderful corners which you can generally pedal through, and is PANCAKE FLAT! Love it!!!
I hadn't ridden at all Saturday, so i wasn't feeling particularly spicy, but i got in with the A's, and rode a strong race. Sat in most of the time, about 20mins to go, there were some big attacks, and at the time i was a bit further back in the pack, so had to do some work to keep it together, and i stayed in. Felt good and strong, tho after that bigger efforts reminded me my breakfast was still in my stomach (why was the race so early!!)
I felt quite confident in the bunch, had no problems keeping whatever wheel i wanted, or taking a wheel. I guess those Keirins have helped in this respect. ;)
I was near the front almost the entire race - it's where i'd go if i were feeling tired, since there's very little yo-yoing there. I positioned myself well with 4 laps to go. With 2 to go, Emile shot off, and i smiled. I turned to Bob Cameron and said 'hey, he rode a 5'06 4km Pursuit yesterday', Bob cursed and picked up the pace. ;)
Emile thought he'd won the race, but we both missed that two riders (Hugh and Alistar) had snuck away when we were further back, and they were goooone. Still, a valiant effort on his part to get away and stay away. I finished 9th in the charging pack, sitting in and not sprinting, and 12th in the end. I believe there were close to 20 starters.
In the B race, Kevin and Gillian (OA Vic's newest racer!) rode very well! Last year Kevin had a very hard time with this course, but was totally in the pack this year. Same with Gill. They both finished strong, 5th for Gill and 7th for Kevin. (Technically 1st for Gill in the Women's field, and 6th for Kevin.) Nice riding!!
Hugh has a nice account of the race from the front. I should mention Don Gillmore started the race, but about halfway though had a technical with his chain. Needless to say, after this warm-up, he destroyed the competition in the BC Masters race in the afternoon.
Three days and four sessions, with about 12 races total, and almost all were Madisons. I paired up with Victoria OA teammate Emile, who was pretty new to Madisons, let alone racing in Burnaby. Needless to say, the first night was pretty rough, and tho both of us were as fit as anyone else there, a series of missed exchanges and other mishaps resulted in us being about 9 laps down the first night.
However, as the weekend progressed, we improved our team skills, and finished 14 laps down from the leaders (2nd was 4 laps, 3rd was 5 laps, and the next two teams 6 laps down) so had we the practice we have now, we would have been competitive.
As a testament of our strengths, there were two 'individual' events, a Madison Flying 200m where we got 3rd or 4th, and a Handicap Scratch race, where Emile nipped me at the line, but we finished 3rd and 4th.
There were two individual bunch races, a Scratch where i finished 11th (i forget where Emile was, but in the Top 5 i believe), and a Miss'n'Out where i dropped out first, E finished around 7th i believe. I chose to slack in the M'nO thinking there was a Points race, but it got dropped from the schedule. =(
I was pretty choked by the lack of individual events, in hindsight i would have chosen to race as a 'B' instead -- they had mostly bunch races, and they were very exciting, and a fast field with the top Juniors and Women in Canada. Not to mention they got to race twice as much, since they had qualifiers for each event due to huge numbers.
It was cool to see all my Burnaby pals, and meet some of the Ontario folks - it looks like track new-comer Lisa Perlmutter is going to be a very strong track racer, some suggested a la Gina Grain. (No pressure!)
Also have more RideCam shots (up to 16!) - click here for local action.
A quick note on my Argon18 track bike: LOVE IT!!! It fits me SO WELL, and feels solid and fast, i'm totally stoked to be riding it, i couldn't be happier.
Hey there sports fans, been busy in weekly racing and training, but my season is progressing quite nicely, you can read some of my race reports here on the OA blog. Locally, finishing consistently at the top, a couple weeks ago Emile and i played the field, finishing 1st & 2nd respectively. Last night at the VCL Points Race, we couldn't keep the speedy Bob Cameron down, but at least finished 2nd & 3rd. In the league scoring, this puts us in 3rd & 5th overall in the Victoria Cycling League, and 1st & 3rd on the track - woot!
Today i'm off to Burnaby for a huge suffer-fest. I'm still a month away from being in full race mode, so this'll be a good kick in the pants. Emile and i will be racing in the Madisons, and there are 14 races in four sessions over three days...this is gonna be intense.
I'll try and get some race reports up while i'm there, more soon!
The race season begun on the island on Sunday, with a jaunt along Caleb Pike, a hilly 2km circuit RR. My specialty..haha
My course description: It starts on a relative flat, with a bit of a false ascent, then a short little glide uphill, into a right corner which begins to go downhill, then full-on downhill, and then full-on uphill, where you can coast/soft-pedal about 2/3rds of the way up, and then generally get out of the saddle to get to the top of. Then it flattens a little bit, and another short ascent, then downhill directly into the other right turn, which brings you back to where this started.
I decided to race A, to try and capture some Victoria Cycling League points (they'll be including track races each month again this year, yay!) despite having done no intensity, and sucking at climbing. ;)
It started out pretty reasonable, with nine of us. I hung in for the first few laps, but the resistance from my fenders (the weather was pretty crappy when we left home, and i still wasn't even sure i wanted to race, but got decent by the time the race started) and the lack of going anywhere near my 'red line' in my training this year so far made keeping up on the climbs a challenge for me, so around lap five i started to fall off the back of the pack.
And it ended up with me riding solo for pretty much the rest of the race...by the time the pack caught me again, i tagged in for a lap, but was a bit drained from having ridden solo for so long. The next time they'd all busted into a few pairs.. I was lapped by the two leaders three times, and the rest two times...better than last year! Though in some ways last year was better, having Wendy Simms to ride and work with for several laps...ahh well.
Another mistake was not bringing any food. I'd assumed this was the 'regular' distance, which took about 45mins to complete, but this was the 'Sunday' edition, and i was out for 1hr 50mins..!! Without any food or energy drink, with about 20mins to go, i was on the verge of bonking... Thanks to Nick from AviaWest for handing me my energy drink, and to Kevin for the gel near the end. =)
So i finished 6th of 6, three A's had DNF'd. A good start to the season..heh.. Here's my PowerTap output, you can see i held a pretty steady effort until the last six or so laps...bleh...
Click on the image to view a larger version.. I did manage to tie or break my wattage PB's by a few points in the 120min, 60min and 30min ranges, so i'm in good form overall, once i start picking up the intensity, i should be looking good!
This was also the first race of the year for Marty and Kevin, and it's great to have a team out representing! In the B's, Kevin finished 8th, and Marty was about 11th - great work guys!! It was really encouraging to see more green on the roads. =)
Sorry for the long delay, below is my account of my adventures in CA with the OA crew!
Start: Victoria to Portland
It's Sunday, Feb 17th, bright and early we (being Tasha, Kevin, Marty and myself) load up Marty's cool Mitsubishi Delica, and head down to the Port Angeles ferry. Having friends and a place to crash in Portland, we decided we'd make that our half-way point.
While there was a fair bit of waiting, getting to the ferry early, and of course riding on the ferry, we found ourselves in a fairly warm and sunny Portland by late afternoon. Thanks to Robert Cheeke for letting us crash at his place!
We met up with our friend Jessi and went to the Blossoming Lotus for dinner.
That's Jessi, Marty, Tasha, me and Kevin. The food was very good, tho the chili i had was a bit too spicey!
Portland to Sebastapol, CA
Unfortunately we found that we had a flat, a long spike had gotten into our tire! So the next day before heading for CA we had to go to a tire shop.
Here we are outside the tire place, which ironically...
..was called Jim Bacon's...hehe..
There were some amazing views on the way as well.
After a long (13hr) drive, we finally made it, and were welcomed by Mark who put us up for the night, thanks Mark!!
Sebastapol to Windsor
Today the plan was to ride out and check out some of the Tour of California, Kevin and i were keen, but Tasha and Marty didn't seem to want to head out. Did i mention it was cold and rainy? Nooo!
We met at Bradley's shop at 8am (yes, we got about 5hrs sleep), and rode out to Trinity Rd, which is a pretty nasty hill, to catch part of the ToC:
There they go! It was amazing to see, tho it took all of about 20 seconds. Much longer for the procession of cars and motor bikes both before and after..holy cow...!
We rode back into town, and that evening packed up and went to the 'resort' where we'd be staying, and settled in. It was pretty deluxe, and we shared a bit 3bdrm suite with Sami Fornier and John from Bend, OR. That evening we also met the Portland crew, who are a cool bunch of people.
OA Training Camp Day 1
We woke up to...sun!! This was the best weather we experienced the whole trip..!
We met for the day's ride, and it was incredible to have over 20 other OA kits standing around, waiting to go.
It was a pretty nice ride and route, out in the country around Windsor, and mostly flat! There were a few sprints, and i maintained my King of the Overpass title. ;)
Yay! Sun! (I included more pics originally, but as i was editing the code, some got munched, and i'm too tired now to re-enter them...but there's lots more here!)
OA Training Camp Day 2
Back to the cold and rain...
This day was miserable...and to top it off, we had to stop for 45 mins for a flat from hell....! During that time, Marty tells me he rode an additional 15km, trying to stay warm...nuts!
So we rode out to a point and that was where some of the nutters wanted to go and ride longer, including hills...but the rest of us joined team 'Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home' and headed back.
Molly Cameron and i pulled our crew back into town. (And another flat or two. There's SO MUCH crap on the roads in CA!!)
A funny account: Molly and i are puttering along, and Molly pulls ahead a few inches and looks back at me, water flying off helmet splashing me... I look at Molly, and flick my head splashing water back...Molly stays ahead...and after a few more moments says 'that was quite the sprint, 270 watts!'
Turns out there was a city limits sign there...hahahaha.. Yep, some sprint! =P
Team 'Screw You Guys I'm Going Home' pulls into the resort, very wet. I volunteered our room to do the dinner that night, and we made an assortment of raw and cooked foods under the guidance of Kevin and Sami, it was well-received!
Oh yeah, and i mentioned Marty went on the longer climb, it was quite a while after before they returned:
OA Training Camp Day 3
This was the best ride of the trip!
When we started, we got a sprinkled on a bit:
..but it let off.
We rode for a couple hours, then hit the split-off point. There was Team A, and Team A Minus. Team A would do LOTS of climbing, and Team A Minus would do about 2000', which is quite a bit for us Victoria folk. Marty and Kevin stuck with me in Team A Minus. ;)
It was a pretty cool climb, lots of steep sections, and i felt solid. Getting to the first summit, i was 2nd in our group, behind Casey, who's a climbing machine. Second summit had Casey and Manny finishing ahead of me, Manny was also very stong on the hills. Both are from Portland.
Here we are at the 2nd summit:
The ride back into town was spectacular, along the water.. We came down the road on the hill:
Wonderful day of riding, best day there for sure.
That evening, after dinner, i gave a little presentation on veganism to the group, discussing how it began with Donald Watson in 1944, and how veganism isn't really a diet or lifestyle, but a philosophy, or perspective on life, advocating peace and respect.
OA Training Camp Day 4
This was quite a day. I woke up feeling like CRAP! I'd gotten some of whatever illness had been floating around (thanks Oregon riders!! ;) and the weather had turned to crap again. It was even more cold and rainy than a couple days ago, and could compete with some of the gross days we experience in Victoria. This is supposed to be California!! Oh, and it was my 32nd birthday as well. =)
The plan today was to ride to the shop, those who were keen would ride off to do more gnarly climbing, and the rest would head back to the resort. Of course, about 30mins in, there was a flat:
Not much else to report that day, besides another flat or two..we made it home, i chilled out, feeling progressively worse. That evening after dinner they had a delicious chocolate cake for Cat and me (hi Cat!!) That was really awesome. =)
I went to bed with chills and sweats...gross......
OA Training Camp Day 5, Drive to Ashland
The original plan was to ride to the shop, and then get photos, but the weather was so crappy we mostly drove, and then had the photo shoot.
I was feeling pretty awful, but tried to hold it in. My nose had gone ballistic, running like a faucet. Yum.
After the photos, we went for a final group dinner at a local vegetarian joint, and said our goodbyes..it was sad to leave, it was so inspiring to be around so many awesome vegan people...maybe the OA chapter here in Victoria will get this big some day!!
We had originally planned to spend the night in Sebastapol, and then drive to Portland, but figured it was better to break all the driving into three days (instead of two), and so decided to drive until late, and stop at a motel. It was something like Ashland that we stopped, and crashed at a motel. My memory is pretty hazy, and i was drifting out of consciousness the entire time.
I haven't had an illness like this in a while, here were my symptoms:
* nausea * head cold * runny nose * sore throat * cough * very weak, barely walk * very achy joints * chills/sweats * eyeballs were sore! Could barely look anywhere but straight! * zero appetite
There were prolly a few more too, but i had these ALL AT ONCE. Simply awful. I'm guessing i had a fully on flu/influenza. It took well over a week to get back to semi-normal, and even as i'm writing this several weeks later, i can still feel a few remnants of this beast..bleh..
Ashland to Portland
We got up, hopped in the Delica, and were off! (I was still feeling like crap, and was the rest of the trip, but i won't bother bringing it up any more!)
It was another pretty drive, and was greeted by Robert in Portland, he was away when we came through earlier, but was there this time, nice to see him!
We settled in for a bit, and then went out for dinner...memory fails *where*...but i had a smoothie and it went down well. Jessi also joined us, as well as some of the other Portland locals, some of whom i know from message boards.
Portland to Victoria
The next day we went out to the Vegan Plaza, where there are a few vegan shops all lined up, including Herbivore and Food Fight - here i am with one of the legendary BIG containers of Earth Balance:
I picked up a few treats, tho i should have gotten more, i wasn't thinking very straight. =(
Liz Lovely cookies are my favorite...mmmmmm....
Here's a shot of the new OA kit:
Pretty sharp!!! And now there are nine of us sporting these around town, how cool is that? Woohoo!
So, that's the trip, no doubt i missed a million details, but it was really fun hanging out with the Victoria crew this much, and so great to finally meet so many other OAers whom i've been in email contact for years in some cases, but to finally meet in person. And finally, thanks to Bradley for organizing this, and bringing us all together under an amazing organization. Hurray for OrganicAthlete. =)
(And if interested, my full photo album of the trip can be found here.)
I'll be leaving tomorrow (Sunday) first for a stopover in Portland, and then off on Monday to California, near Santa Cruz for the week-long OrganicAthlete training camp - woohoo! About 30 vegan bike racers (including Marty, Tasha and Kevin from here) will be converging on a lovely resort (yes, resort! We've got connections apparently!) to make Dave Noisy suffer on all the hills. Yes, i'm looking forward to riding in 5-10C warmer weather, but i'm scared of all the hills. And the distance...the 'A' group will be doing 100 miles many days... 100km is 'easy' for me, i do it a few times a week, but 100 miles is about 160km...eeep! I'll likely swing down for a few B rides. ;)
A few topics worth updating:
Training
Still have been out 4x a week, finished my MT (MuscleTension) intervals on the Observatory a few weeks ago, the final week with two efforts of 8 x 8:45 was *brutal* but i did it!!! I took a week of just straight-up riding, and then moved onto Tempo intervals, which in the CTS system is an intensity slightly higher than EM (regular 'miles'), but at 70rpm, so for me, i'm holding ~240w. And the intervals started at 30min for me, and last Thursday i did a 55min effort...ouch. That's two solid weeks of Tempo intervals, toughening up my legs, woot! Now i'm off to CA, will get thoroughly trashed, and then chill for a week when i get back, and do another 3 weeks of Tempo's, and then head to the track and begin my sprint training, and getting back my anaerobic strength. =)
Speaking of which, while i'm very comfortable with anything under 300w, anything over 500w spells nearly instant death for me...haha.. I've been joking that my fast-twitch muscles are still on holiday, my sprint is about 10 seconds long, and then i FADE. My lead-out is really solid tho! =P
I've gotten a bunch of new PB's in the wattage department, on both ends of the spectrum, at 5sec and 120min. That's pretty satisfying.
Winter Bike
I've been riding my winter bike exclusively, tho it's been decent enough to break out the summer bike. I'm really comfy on my Salsa! I'm actually taking it to CA as well, since i haven't been on the road bike, and it fits a bit differently...would likely be kinda dumb to just jump on it for massive efforts after such a long break.
Speaking of brakes, finally got the disk brake wheel built up, got a nice Mavic Open Pro built to a WTB Laser hub with Revolution DT aluminium spokes - perfect training wheel. I'll get something a bit more fancy for cross-racing come the fall.
Other Gear
I've got some more lofty goal purchases for the spring.. First up is a PowerTap for the track bike, looking to get one built to something like a HED Stinger90, 90mm deep carbon rim...getting wattage will be really helpful on the track.
After that i'll be getting a new track frame (sorry Kona!) The most promising is the Argon18 Electron track frame...it's got just about everything i'm looking for: aero tubing and cutout seatpost, similar geometry to my Kona, stiff, and a neutral paint job! Would be more cool if it were green or orange, but hey..
In there somewhere i'll also be nabbing an HED3 tri-spoke for the front. Interesting note: i'm going to go with clinchers instead of tubulars. You can get several tires with better rolling resistance, which means more speed for less watts. I'll take it! The downside is a bit more risky if i get a flat, then again, it's an easy fix if i do flat. =P
I'm also considering a new road frame, we'll see how finances deal with this so far. ;)
Climbing
I mentioned in my last personal update that i've been rock climbing at the climbing gym Crag X - i've been going 3x a week, and still am LOVING IT!! My vegan climbing buds Kelly and Ian are inspiring to climb with, and i've been progressing nicely. All the 5.9's are a cinch, as are several of the 10a's. There's one that i say *isn't* a 10a...nasty bugger, none of us can get more than 1/3rd of the way up.
We've been plugging away at 10b's, and a few 10c's now. There's a new 10b route that we all completed...we're thinking it's a bit too easy.. Surprised with the strength and endurance of my hand and arms now..the callouses are insane. The week off ought to be good tho, i've been getting pretty fatigued with all the climbing and riding...!!
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A'ight, that's prolly enough for now, gotta finish getting ready, and get some sleep too!
I'll try and update my blog as much as possible, and include photos! Below is my RideCam #12 album, with shots of various rides and climbs over the last month!
I usually don't discuss cycling politics too much, but today CyclingNews released their 2007 Male Pro Road rider of the year results (as voted by readers), and it's a stark difference from 2006.
It's pretty dismal. The top ten of 2006 is basically a who's-who of dopers. Surreal to see all those famous names gone.
Of the carry-overs into 2007, Fabian Cancellara placed highest in 2006 at 9th, and finished 2nd this year. Only Leipheimer and O'Grady carried over to 2007 (from the bottom of the 2006 list), the rest are 'new' on the list (congrats to Cadel Evans for making the #1 spot.)
It's interesting that cycling is where the doping focus is, in professional sports. I'm not sure why that is, i can only imagine how much worse it is in football, baseball and hockey.
In a way, i'm glad that 'my' sport is getting cleaned up at least. There'll still be problems, of course, but it's becoming clear that riding clean is the way to go in cycling now. That's a lot more than we can say about other sports.
Hey there sports fans, it's been a bit slow on the posting front, but i'm alive and well!
After the last BC Cup, i took a few weeks off the bike (pretty much completely, and a nightmare 'adventure' to Oakland, CA), then started to get back into training mode. Come December, i'm back to doing my Muscle Tension intervals (50rpm, uphill, started with 5x5min, work up every session.) Marty's been joining me, as did Kevin until he grew up and got a job. ;)
We got in a couple weeks before xmas, then took a week and a half off, and are back at it for another three weeks, Thursday we'll be doing 6x8mins repeats. Really starting to feel it in my legs, which appear to be putting on some mass again...!
The long-term forecast will be to switch over to CTS Tempo intervals (30+ mins riding 70rpm) to further build muscle strength and endurance. Then, in late Feb is the OrganicAthlete training camp in California, and a bunch of us will be heading down -- ROAD TRIP!
I've also been back to the gym, mainly working out my upper-body to balance things out a wee bit. Mainly focusing on core, chest and back. I'm surprised at how quickly strength returns, i'm practically back where i left off last year.. Also throwing in the occasion high-rep squat session. That does something awful to the legs..tho the next day, when i'm on the bike, it seemed like it really only 'hits' muscles i use while out of the saddle sprinting, so i have to question how useful squats are for me, at the moment...they don't seem specific enough...but i don't know, i'm certainly no expert!
I've also been doing weekly climbing sessions at the local gym, Crag X. We've got a little OA crew that's turning up (Ian, Tashie and Marty), more photos here.
Last week did a marathon 2.5hr session with my main climbing mate Ian, tried the 5.9 overhang, but only made it 2/3rds of the way up, my grip just isn't up to the job yet.... Still, did a bunch of straight-up 5.9's and 5.8's with relative ease. I'm liking the climbing. Ian did a great job battling up a 10a overhang..holy crap it looked tough!
Other than that, not too much exciting going on. I've been experimenting with a 'low protein diet', literally trying to cut out bigger sources of protein, and sticking to my whole foods diet, and it's been going remarkably well! I've been reading up on the issue, and i'm pretty confident that we need very little protein. Certainly not more than 1g/kg, and likely half that. I'm writing an article on it, and will post it in detail when published.
On the supplements front, i've switched things up a bit. I'm totally off Vega now -- i just don't need the protein!! I'm using two of the main ingredients independently however: maca and chlorella. I'm also still taking cordyceps and have added in Siberian ginseng. I'm feeling this to be a good mix, i've been on these for perhaps three months now.
Got some more pics to post, one set from a hike, and another Ride Cam. I've also picked up a new camera, an Olympus Stylus 790SW. It's a small unit, 7.1 mega-pixels, and is shock and waterproof, which is perfect for toting in my jersey pocket. Don't have to worry about all the sweat ruining it. (YUM!) I've also been quite happy with the photographs it's been taking, and remarkably long battery life. Oh, and it comes in orange..haha!
I don't think it's been quite as rainy as last year, thank goodness, but most days have to bring along the rain jacket.. This is out on an OBB group ride.
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