Bike Bike Bike Bike Bike

Lot's more riding going on!

Thu, Aug 5th - Over/Under's

Back up to the Ob for my pre-CX prep, the lovely Over/Under intervals. Tonight looked something like:

2mins U (260w) - get's me past the second gate
1min O (350w) - ends a bit before the first little steep bit before the switchback
2min U - gets me about 1/2 way up the first steep bit after the switchback
1min O - gets me to the first level of buildings
1min U - gets me about to the fire hydrant
1min O - top!

4mins rest ride back to the bottom...

293w total average suggests a 'perfect' effort (ie, 5x260w + 3x350w /8), and they looked a little like this:

#1 - 298w
#2 - 292w
#3 - 290w
#4 - 289w

Slacking a bit for the final one, but overall pretty happy with my first set for the season.

Sat, Aug 7 - CCC Dallas Drag!

Another awesome event from Capital City Cycles, it was a wet night (after a couple days of rain) but didn't actually rain. Rode the OBB ride in the morning, logged 1.75hrs there, went moderately hard...solo'd away from the pack, made it to the sprint point with lots of time to spare, so stopped and took pics of the rest of the 'sprint'...no one really very eager in the rain...haha

But the Dallas Drag was a hoot, about 20 peeps out, mostly fixies. Course started at the top of Beacon Hill, and then basically along Dallas and Beach Dr to the Gyro Park in the Caddy Bay village.

I was expecting an ITT, but turned out to be a mass-start event...wooot! I wasn't feeling terribly motivated, so this was prolly helpful for results...hehe..

We all took off, and after a minute a group of us formed along Dallas, strung out..sat in for a few mins, then got to the front and eased up the pace, pulling up by St Charles, and pulling off there. Halldor and Colin were still in contact, i got on the back..

On KGT (King George Terrace) Halldor hammered up (he was riding fixed). I wasn't too worried, i knew he'd lose speed on the descent so i just maintained a strong chase. Unfortunately Colin underestimated how hard we'd hit it, so he fell back..

Came down the other side, and caught Halldor fairly quickly, passed by and maintained a steady pace. Colin had just about bridged up, but we were heading up the hilly by the golf course, which is deceptively tough...not a lot of elevation, but long enough to make people suffer.

Halldor set the pace up the hill and Colin fell further back. We rolled along Beach Drive, exchanging pulls, keeping a nice steady pace. We were approaching the incline by Willow's, and i was contemplating making a move there....we got up the hill and decided to leave it for the final...i was feeling fairly good, but Halldor had lasted this long, so i would really have to hurt myself to get away, and then have to sustain that...hahaha

I figured early on the race would be won on the final, Uplands hill, if there were anyone still together....

Halldor pulled off for me to lead the beginning of the ascent. That made me a little nervous, i wouldn't be able to see him if he attacked... But given that he's riding a fixed, and pretty big gear at that, i eased up...harder to spin up a big gear like that. ;)

He didn't like that tho, and picked up the pace, expressing concern about Colin who was gaining on us.

The thing about the Uplands hill is that the incline isn't what gets you, it's the 250m or so at the top before the ascent...so i sat on Halldor's wheel and planned my move for that. He was really hoofing it at this point, 20 seconds above 500w. He would have to be a monster to be able to sustain that, so i just stayed on him....

At the top he pulled off, and i responded by maintaining that pace. I put it all on, averaging nearly 400w for a minute and a half, and pulling clear of Halldor and making some solid distance as i hit the final descent.

I looked back, and had 50m on him - woot!! Who loves what's essentially a sprint after a hard climb? =P

I eased off and was able to coast pretty much the rest of the way...

Entire effort was 22:21, averaged 276w (321NP), but i coasted the last minute plus. Up to then, i averaged 295w for 20mins, which is a new PB for me! (NP 327w.) Course was about 13.9km (just a hair longer than the OA-TT.) Less elevation on this one tho.

Halldor finished maybe 30 seconds off, and Colin, who worked his ass off all alone, was pretty close just behind him. Lot's of great efforts from the other fixies and riders, great to see peeps putting it out there!!

Looking forward to doing this again some time. =)

Tue, Aug 10 - OA-TT

Speaking of which, back at it! A little bit slower, but i was feeling fairly fatigued...

Anyway, here's the breakdown:

Effort #6, Aug 10rd

Section:  #1    #2    #3    TOT

Time:     7:43  8:36  5:08  21:21

Watts:    290w  266w  279w  278w

HR:       174   182   184   180

RPM:      102   104   105   103

Spd:      38.1  38.4  40.1  38.8

I got really hung up at Corner #1, a truck towing a boat was turning right in front of me, had to slow down quite a bit... Scroll down to the last entry to compare my previous five efforts. HR was a LOT lower than the last few times...another sign of my fatigue. Watts were a bit lower, but again, i think i'm putting out more when needed, and easing off when not....NP was 291w, so where they ought to be.

Good efforts from other riders, nice to see Hugh out! Don set a new course record, down to 18:23... If this heat continues, it may fall again this Tuesday! Details here: http://bit.ly/oavic-tt

Sun, Aug 15th - SIMBS Poker Run

Rode the Russ Hayes ride on Thursday, decided i was a bit too tired to do intervals, and would just try and sit in... It was a slower ride overall, but still went harder than i would have liked...haha Sat planned the same thing, some big efforts around the airport and up Panorama, but managed to hang with the front. Eased off quite a bit after that.

Sunday rode out to the Dump with Chelsea and Halldor for the SIMBS Poker Run, a fun 'orienteering' type event where you ride to four different points at the Dump, and collect poker cards at each one, and then play at the end. Rode with Chelsea and Emily for this (Halldor wanted to hammer, and took off like a bullet!) We cruised and rode most of my regular route, getting cards along the way.

Got back, and had crappy cards, which worked out fine as i won 'Worst Hand', 9 high! hahaha

Fun day:



Lotsa riding this week, got my TSS a bit too high, so will suffer next week, methinks:

Ending     Duration Distance Weight HR  TSS kJ

15/08/2010 11:36:58 313.48   72.0   152 779 7164

Yerp...better off just edging over 700, not working my way through it...hehe..

So this week, OA-TT on Tue, more O/U intervals on Thu if feeling decent, easier OBB ride on Sat as i'm hoping to jump in on the Pro City Hurricane Ridge ride.....yip! Gotta get up that hill some time this year...

Ride on!

=============

Dave's Latest Twitter Updates

follow me on Twitter

=============

Operation Overkill: Mission Successful!

So this week was 'Operation Overkill'. The goal: go hard, hurt the legs, unleash fury. (The following week will be a recovery week. ;)

Plan: Tue, 2.5hrs w/4x O/U; Thu, 3hrs w/4xO/U; Fri, Street Sprints; Sat, OBB Ride

All were a success! And despite the fact that i came into this pre-stressed, with lots of hard riding the week before... Monday my TSB was -16, which usually isn't a sign of a 'great' workout to come..

Let's begin. You will know it is time to turn the page when you hear Chewbacca howl like this: RRRRrrAAWWWaaaAAAHHH

Tuesday - 4x O/U

Gorgeous day, i finally stripped off the two pairs of booties from my shoes, and put on the toe warmer! Also, rode with knee warmers for the first time on the road this year. Sunny and bright.

Not too much to report, pretty happy with all four efforts. #2 was interrupted by some traffic, but nothing too crazy. Fast day, nice speeds. Still not averaging 300w (which i was doing on the Observatory), but 296w is the 'magic number', if i do it perfectly. These aren't too far off...it's hard to stay perfectly focused, dealing with traffic, debris, other cyclists, and what-not. (Thank you Colwood Mayor Dave Saunders for making sure we can't use the velodrome. You're a real champ. And by 'champ' i mean 'enema sack'.)

Here's the intervals:

Ave Wts: 288

Ave HR: 177

Max HR: 189

Ave Cad: 105

Ave Spd: 37.1

#2

Ave Wts: 288

Ave HR: 178

Max HR: 189

Ave Cad: 106

Ave Spd: 36.8

#3

Ave Wts: 294

Ave HR: 176

Max HR:188

Ave Cad: 106

Ave Spd: 35.9

#4

Ave Wts: 291

Ave HR: 175

Max HR:187

Ave Cad: 107

Ave Spd: 38.8

Fast day...nice to be moving. I really tried hard on #3, and kept my cadence up for all.

Here's the Garmin file: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/27876625

And the full data: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgdbj3nx_338ggjgxhb

Thursday - 4x O/U

Another nice day, Gillian joined me out to Mattick's and then turned back, she had some paper to work on, or so she said. ;)

Today i knew i would be escalating the riding, going at least 3hrs as well. (It's also worth noting that i got in over an hour of 'commuting' riding...it was a pretty easy pace, but something to consider..)

Started the intervals, felt pretty good, here's the numbers:

#1

Ave Wts: 285

Ave HR: 173

Max HR: 187

Ave Cad: 102

Ave Spd: 38

#2

Ave Wts: 290

Ave HR: 177

Max HR: 190

Ave Cad: 105

Ave Spd: 38.5

#3

Ave Wts: 284

Ave HR: 175

Max HR: 188

Ave Cad: 106

Ave Spd: 39.7

#4

Ave Wts: 286

Ave HR: 172

Max HR: 184

Ave Cad: 101

Ave Spd: 33.9

Even faster day! The 350w 'Over' portions felt not too bad, but when dropping down to 265w for the 'Under', i felt like they were harder to maintain.. #3 was tough, and i took an extra minute to recover (usually 4mins rest between efforts.) I didn't feel super-motivated and attack the final one, i think i really just wanted to get it over..haha..

Finished the intervals, and rode back down Lockside Dr to Sidney, stopped in the Lifestyle Markets there for a water refill, and continued through and across the highway, and rode the East side of the airport to Panorama, and back into town. Remember, i wanted to add more miles today.

I decided early on that if i had a lot of time when i reached the Observatory, i'd do it as well...and i was only about 2hrs in when i reached it, so i also did a 'firm' effort up the Observatory:

Observatory: 7'39

Ave Wts: 299

Ave HR: 179

Max HR: 186

Ave Cad: 79

Ave Spd: 17.4

That's to the fire hydrant at the top. Certainly not my hardest effort or fastest time, but it was another tough effort to throw in. I burned back down the hill, and actually sprinted near the bottom to get myself up to 68kph. =)

Continued back into town, and for some reason i felt really motivated, and just kept powering along and a fairly high pace. My 3hr NP (Normalized Power, sort of like 'average' without zeros) was 235w - that's pretty freaking high for me, esp. for that length of time...!! I was powering along at the 3hr mark, and felt pretty good...that's *really* odd for me. I seem to have suddenly developed this long-distance endurance and depth.. Well, at least for me. It sure ain't going to win the Tour de France, let alone a Cat3 race....but it's pretty cool to somehow develop this...

Anyways, here's the Garmin file: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/28045840

And what WKO spits out: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgdbj3nx_34gpw7pvhc

Wasn't too terribly fatigued after that either, surprisingly...and i think this was one of the harder individual training sessions i've ever done - it was about as hard as an OBB ride for me. =)

Fri - Capital City Cycle Sprints

Part III of Operation Overkill. I jumped into one last year, it's a pretty fun event, and track sprinters should be all over this.

It's over on Harbour Rd (left over the Blue Bridge, Goose runs along there), which is actually a perfect location for this. They start at 7:30pm, and are pretty informal. Most of the participants are fixie and courier peeps, but the spandex is beginning to invade. ;)

The format is pretty simple, it's a 2-up drag race over 300m. You start with a trackstand, and one of you counts down, and then it's go time! It's from the far side towards downtown, so a slight downhill.

I don't know if it'll work the same each time, but last night it was elimination style, so if you lost your sprint, you were out. There were about 18 people to start.

I knew about a quarter of the peeps. Trackies Jimmy Holtz (Holtz! HOLTZ!) came out, as well as Chris Anstey. (Dr. Wayne Walker came out to watch.)

From the MTB scene were Halldor and Mitch. A number of people were excited that Mitch and i would finally square off... Traditionally he's been the guy to win all the sprints...what would happen when he faced his first vegan?

Jeff, owner of Capital City Cycles (who host the event) was out of course to race, and the rest i don't know as well. Fixie Dave made it out, but has been ill, so didn't race.

So things got started, and there were some pretty tight races!!

Quarter-final: Me vs Jim Holtz. Eeep! I know he's got a pretty solid 500m time, so i didn't give him a chance. I decided to ride my 50Tx17T (on my Ridley of course), which is about 80". Pretty light from a track perspective...but it was chill out (maybe 9C), and i wanted to make a quicker start..which i did.

I blasted off the start, and just hammered. My main goal is to get a few good sprint efforts in, so i didn't look back, but just put my head down and drove for the line. (Normally i'd try to keep an eye out, and if i'm ahead, keep it 'close'..i think it's more sporting. But again, my main focus that night was a good workout.)

In Jim's defense, he used a really light gear..i felt bad eliminating him. : \

2nd Quarter-final: the only 3-up of the night, with Mitch and another rider i didn't catch the name of... But this was the show-down... I had a good 20min rest, so was feeling good. (Well, as good as i could after all the riding i've done!)

I'm not a 3-up fan for sprints...but hey.. I was eager to race Mitch tho. We lined up, and i believe Mitch counted down, and we were off!

Well, he was! I felt the last gear was a bit spinny, so dropped down to 50x16, which is about 84". With the bigger gear, and a bit more fatigue, there was a noticeable delay in my start...and i haven't done standing starts in..oh...about a year. My form was shit. But, i got the gear turning over, and started my chase!

I got up to speed, and started to worry... Mitch was still ahead!!! The line isn't terribly clear during most of the approach...! I continued to pump and spin, and began to creep up on him....i edged past and continued to pound the pedals, motivated!! I jammed and jammed and wham - there was the line! I'd made a few bike lengths, but it was closer than i'd prefer...he really spun it out! But that was two more riders down... Vegan power!

Semi-Final: Oh my, now it was Halldor. And looking at my file, there was about 8 minutes that passed since the last sprint, and when i started this one. I was feeling tired now..

We lined up, and Halldor counted down. Wham - we're off. Once again, Halldor was off, but i got my legs spinning seemingly faster, and powered through, leaving him behind at the line. I was pretty fried after that. No mercy from Halldor.

The Finale: There can only be one, and it was between a rider i don't really know, i believe his name is Andrew. (Sorry if i got it wrong!!)

Again, looking at my file, i had a whopping 7mins of rest between the last sprint and this start. Gah. No freaking bike race in the world has you doing three standing starts in the span of 15mins. Owwie!! And Andrew got to recover while Halldor tore my legs off.

Okay, enough whining..haha.. We lined up, he counted down, and ZOOM - he was freaking GONE. I was really feeling it at this point, but i put my head down and jammed the pedals hard as i could. He was still well ahead by the time i got up to speed (if you can call it that at this point) and sat down.... I did all i could: spin my legs. I crept up. It was soooo slow. I clawed my way up to him, and again made it past, and jammed for the line. I knew it was mine before i hit it...VICTORY!!! It was over!!!

There was the awards ceremony, and prizes were handed out. Very cool. If you're interested in coming out, details are here in this awesome poster. If you're on the Facebook, join the event page, and post fun stuff on the wall. =)

Next sprint is April 23rd, mark your calendars!

Here's a summary of my four efforts:

#1 - Jimmy

Duration: 25.2

Ave Spd: 43.1

Max Spd: 51.6

Ave Cad: 117

Max Cad: 128

Ave Wts: 802

Max Wts: 1168

#2 - 3-up Mitch & ?

Duration: 26.46

Ave Spd: 43.7

Max Spd: 51.6

Ave Cad: 111

Max Cad: 122

Ave Wts: 828

Max Wts: 1177

#3 - Halldor

Duration: 27.72

Ave Spd: 41.6

Max Spd: 50.6

Ave Cad: 107

Max Cad: 118

Ave Wts: 765

Max Wts: 1096

#4 - Andrew (?)

Duration: 26.46

Ave Spd: 40.1

Max Spd: 49.1

Ave Cad: 104

Max Cad: 116

Ave Wts: 676

Max Wts: 1054

You can see i was getting TIRED. Reminder the 1st was in the 50x17, and rest were 50x16 (if memory serves..makes sense based on the cadence and speed.)

The times don't line up really, as the PowerTap recorder ever 1.3 seconds or so...not the *best* for sprint efforts.. I eased off before the line on #4, so it was actually a bit longer (obviously, since it was slower. ;)

Halldor posted a bunch of pics here. Here's a few highlights:



Jimmy and me!



Gunning for the line! This is the first side photo of me on the Ridley - i'd say my position is pretty good!! Nice flat back in the drops.



The racers and cheerers!



It's not a smile. It's a grimace.



My opponent for the finale, give him a bigger gear and we all better look out!!

Here's the Garmin data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/28207128

Note i rode a bit before, and if you click the Splits page, Lap #2 is the full drag. ~300m, and a bit of a drop in elevation. (It's not a full meter i don't think.)

And, as always, here's my full WKO+ Power Data: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgdbj3nx_35fxc6vzff

Fun fact: each sprint burned about 20 calories. Also, my TSS for ~20mins of EM, 4 30sec sprints, and a bunch of light riding was 96 for one hour. NP 247w. Insane. Sprinting counts for a lot in the TSS world!

No PBs, as expected..too tired. My 30sec peak was 727w, not *too* far off my PB. The course was too short, i would have topped that if i could go a full 30sec.

Finally, here's two graphs from WKO that are kinda neat - the first is my first sprint - notice the steady speed and cadence.. The second is my last (4th) sprint...starting to fade!

Sat - OBB Ride

Part IV: Operation Overkill. Overkill Overdrive.

heh - maybe that's a bit dramatic. =)

Keeping this short, but a pretty firm ride. Lotsa headwind on the way back. Smaller group of us took off from Sidney, missing many of the big hitters..and Craig was going for a longer ride, so wasn't really putting too much effort into the pace.

The pace was firm the whole time. We got onto Interurban and there was a small break off the front with (San Fran)Kevin, Lawrence and Jeff (a newer person on the ride). I knew they didn't have the gas to stay away, but Ryan decided to bridge it up.. We went down the hill just before Camosun and Barbara sprinted away..again, not a threat... Funnily, her husband Dave bridged us back up..haha..

Kevin took off after that, i got on his wheel, but it was short lived. We approached the hill, Barb had gone off again. Over the hill, Kevin went again, i was hoping he was planning some kind of lead-out, so i got on...but he eased up well before the bottom of the hill.....this put me in a shitty place at the front of the pack in the wind going uphill....with Ryan and Mike Elkink right on my wheel.

I didn't have much choice, and hoped for a wee bit of surprise so i got out of the saddle and started jamming it a bit early... No luck, Ryan shot by, and Mike was right beside me. I kicked like Carman having a tantrum over getting a new Ultra-Mega-Mega-Man, but Mike kept me at bay and beat me by a couple centimeters....arrrgh!! Ryan, of course, had it by a landslide.

I don't know if Mike was giving it 100%, but i would like to think that. =)

The group was virtually nil by then...no one challenged me for the Overpass (yay me!), and by the Trestle i was riding solo. I planned to do my 'full loop' (105km, around the water to Haultain), and so carried on. Legs still felt good!

Ran into Charles Durrant as i got onto Dallas. We chatted until St. Charles where he turned off. Hope i talked him into coming out to the next sprint!

I carried on, the winner of the OBB ride. Even as i hit Haultain, i felt really good, and dare i say it: i wanted to keep on riding. I think that's the first time in my life where i've ridden more than 3hrs and actually WANTED to keep it going.

But alas, i had a schedule to stick to, and had fried myself sufficiently. I turned off, and dropped down to a recovery pace for the final 10min home. Finally, a tailwind. =P

Here's the Garmin data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/28207104

And, WKO: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgdbj3nx_36pdx4gsdt

Nothing spectacular, peak hour was just under Threshold power, normalized. Sprint wasn't terribly impressive of course, but solid.

And that concludes Operation Overkill! I really pushed it, and totally flayed myself. I'm pretty happy. Here's the week's summary so far:

Ending           Duration    Distance    Weight       HR           TSS           kJ
28/03/2010    10:05:40      301.44        72.0          154           804           6818

I generally try to keep my TSS under 800 for a full week...and it'll cap 900 as i've still got a couple hours to ride tomorrow, although admittedly it'll be a pretty tame pace. I'm thinking i'll head out to Newton to watch and cheer. I'm also eager to do a lap and collect the elevation data. ;)

That's it for now, bye everybody bye!!

=============

Dave's Latest Twitter Updates

follow me on Twitter

=============

This Week is Like a Pixies Song

Soft...HARD...Soft...HARD..

Tuesday went offroad with friend Lysanne, taking her on the trails for her first MTB experience, and Thursday was out to Sidney with Gillian (who has totally neglected her blog!) for some more Over/Under efforts. Saturday will be an easy-ish spin on a OBB Ride (redux), and Sunday will be a race. Not sure which yet, if it's sunny, out to Caleb Pike on the road. If it's rainy, i'm hoping to get out to Port Alberni for the Island Cup XC #2 race.

The PA terrain is....interesting. I heard two years ago the mud was INSANE. Last year i raced, first race of the year, and it was a hilarious exercise..unfortunately i didn't blog about it, but it was pretty muddy too. We went for a pre-lap ride. Had well over an hour, someone told us laps would be ~40mins.. 55ins into the pre-ride and i was getting very nervous...no idea how close to the end we were, and the race would start soon! We made it back to the startline just in time to start!! I pulled into my section, the race started, and i pulled off to the right where the cars were parked - put on my racing gear, grabbed some food, and bolted!! Somewhat luckily, the race bottlenecked right away, so 2mins in i was already passing the people at the tail-end... Unfortunately that meant waiting a lot to get around others.. Finally got into an open spot and powered away...somehow finished 3rd in Intermediate, i think the lap times were nearly 50min and did 2x...owwie.

So we'll see what happens this year.. Apparently on the course, you have to literally cross a section of the trail, and downhillers are expected to give way to climbers...that'll be interesting..haha..

Tuesday - MTB

It was a pretty relaxed ride, i decided that i could go easy today with the race on Sunday. Don't want to elevate my TSS too much and burn out again.l

Lysanne took to the trails well, was quite intuitive, and able to both climb and descend technical terrain very quickly! If someone were to take her out 2-3 more times, she'd be pretty much ready to race! *hint hint* *nudge nudge*

We first spent some time in the TTA at Hartland, then did the XC race course, then went up Switchbacks (she broke a chain!), and back down WYDaddy, Nightshift and Skull. Pretty impressive for a first time effort.

Garmin map data here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/27214582

And WKO+ 3.0 data here: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgdbj3nx_29gmcw3q9s

I imported my Garmin Edge500 power data into WKO for the first time, and for some reason each lap was 'cut off' at the end, excluding a lot of data per lap - anyone have any idea why it would do this? Not a big deal as i can create my own ranges if it really mattered...but it kind of eliminates some of the usefulness of the lap feature!

Thursday - 4x O/U in Sidney

Headed out to Sidney with Gillan and Emile. Emile ended up taking off to maintain his own pace, and we headed out to Sidney. As always, nice to have company, and also to catch up, chat about music, etc..

Intervals weren't quite up to spec, especially the latter two...but in my defense it's always harder to do these efforts on 'flats', not to mention the terrain is constantly shifting..and there were several distractions such as corners, etc.. I'm happy with them overall, but need to try and keep more pressure on the pedals.

Legs felt pretty good tho, and i did manage to keep the cadence up, here's a brief summary, each is 8mins (2min Under (265w), 1min Over(350w), 2min U, 1min O, 1min U, 1min 0):

#1

Ave Wts: 292

Ave HR: 176

Max HR: 187

Ave Cad: 100

Ave Spd: 34.6

#2

Ave Wts: 290

Ave HR: 177

Max HR: 188

Ave Cad: 100

Ave Spd: 36.2

#3

Ave Wts: 276 (YUCK!)

Ave HR: 175

Max HR: 185

Ave Cad: 100

Ave Spd: 36.7

#4

Ave Wts: 284

Ave HR: 175

Max HR: 187

Ave Cad: 100

Ave Spd: 37.4

I'm wondering if the speed is throwing me off a bit.. I've done these almost exclusively uphill, so used to much slower speeds..i wonder if i'm easing off mentally because i'm sustaining a good speed..hmm..

Another difference is that i'm maintaining 75-100w during my 'rest' periods (4mins), where-as on the Observatory it was virtually zero, since i was coasting downhill..my HR is getting down to the 120's, so decent recovery. Ahh well, prolly just gotta HTFU. =)

Here's the Garmin map details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/27372409

And here's what WKO spit out: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgdbj3nx_30c87r65cv

Climbing

Haven't really mentioned my climbing, took off Mon & Wed this week, hand has been sore, did something to it on the MTB ride, planning to go tonight tho.

I accomplished a couple major goals tho! Last week i finally cleaned the 'big rock' 11a overhang that i've been working on - very happy with that. Also, there's a 10c/d that i cleaned that night as well that had been giving me some grief (tricky section in the middle).

There's a new route that was built, a very long, windy one (actually *loses* altitude in one spot!), very slight handholds..i can climb it, but not in one go..that'll be a fun project. It's currently unranked, but i'd say at least 11a, while others were saying 10d. We'll see tonight. ;)

Should be a fun weekend - i'm hoping to do the road race, i feel like i'm stronger on hills now, so this will be a good test. In the past, i've been able to hang in with the A pack for about half the race, and then end up getting dropped..we'll see how it goes today. It's actually been nearly two years since i've raced this course (i didn't make it out last year.) Fingers crossed to finish with the bunch!

Oh, if you're reading this, lemme know if you're checking out the mapping and power data, etc.. Is it at all interesting??

=============

Dave's Latest Twitter Updates

follow me on Twitter

=============

Ride, Ride, Ride, RACE!

Spent four days on the bike, good times!

Thursday - EM w/3x O/U

Yucky, chilly and blustery day... Headed out to Sidney with the goal of doing 4x O/U intervals, but only pulled off three..blaming the cold!

Did alright on them, efforts were in the 295w range, so a success overall.

Data from WKO+ 3.0: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgdbj3nx_25g462fhfv

And the Garmin data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/26749125

First time doing these on flat ground (usually climbing up the Observatory), felt about the same..maybe the Under sections felt a bit easier as i could maintain a higher cadence...still need to work on getting it even higher tho. Doing the loops out around Sidney should be fine tho.

Friday - MTB w/Jenny Skinner

Jenny recently picked up an MTB, and i offered to take her out to the Dump and help her get going... We practiced some skills in the TTA, and then did a recon loop of the race course, it was pretty fun! It was actually snowy when we got there, and the first part of our ride was in slush...the sun was out en force tho, and it was quite nice overall.

Jenny rode really well, trying out stuff and taking a few tumbles, but no major injuries! Really great considering the adverse conditions - she'll be tearing up the trails in no time. =)

Wahoo! ;)

Here's the Garmin file, fun to watch the 'play' option, and all the little loops in the TTA..haha: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/26807510

And here's the WKO+ 3.0 data:

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgdbj3nx_26gs3hfpdm

As mentioned, an easy ride..not bad for a day off.

Saturday - OBB Ride Redux

Nothing fancy here, just rode out to Matticks, put in a few hard efforts, and then back into town with Scotty, kept it short as racing the next day.

Garmin data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/26891587

And whatever WKO+ 3.0 spits out, broke down the Out and Back for shits'n'giggles:

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgdbj3nx_27ckwdhqdq

Sunday - Island Cup XC #1

Alright, first 'big' race of the year!! Got there early, thanks for the ride from Halldor! Met Alyssa, and we went and pre-rode the course (again for me) with Raphael. Conditions were MUCH improved from Sunday! Rocks mostly dry, everything totally ridable.

I felt pretty good...haven't ridden four days in a row for a while, so was a bit nervous, but legs felt about as good as usual! Which is a good thing. =)

The loop went well, and i felt confident with the course. I must have made a wrong turn on Friday tho, the rocky double-up climb that i was concerned about wasn't on the course...good news, one less thing to worry about! It took 36mins, and that was a pretty casual pace. I was thinking i'd have to re-evaluate my guess of 30min lap-times. Definitely sub-30mins.

Pro City did an AWESOME job organizing this, the trails were exceptionally well marked - not for a moment did i wonder if i was off-course. And great selection of trails too, with a great compliment of technical terrain.

On final reflection, i think it was a pretty tough and demanding course. Typical 'Dump' riding. Lots of short, steep climbing efforts. While the overall altitude change was less than 100m, each lap ended up around 160m of climbing with all the ups and downs...and several sections were quite technical, with steep rock or protruding roots in the way much of the time. As i said, typical Hartland! I didn't really feel like there was anywhere i could really recover. My HR was pretty much around 180bpm the entire time, peaking at 192bpm a few times. It got as low as 172 for a few seconds on Shock Treatment i believe. There were no extended descents.

Anyway, so we lined up for the race:

Halldor and i bumped elbows a bit. ;)

I was in the 2nd row. Roland had gotten a prime spot at the front.. Raphael and Regan were the main people i wanted to keep an eye on. Oh, and Geoff Pendrel of course! There were nearly 40 of us lined up in Intermediate - big field! I think i was the only one in a skinsuit tho. ;)

So we were give then start, and i jumped ahead of most of the people in my line, rolled up the first rocky climb no prob, got around the first corner on the way to Pooh Corner and i was up with five riders motoring along. Felt great, we were clear of the pack.

Hit Pooh Hill, and worked our way up. I saw Raph tear away off the front, and that was the last any of us would see of him!! He ended up winning the race by a huge margin, and would have finished around 6th (behind Drew Mac) in the Expert race based on his insane lap times!

Our group chased, up and up. I had a dab on that section up to Crazy Horse, stupid root! I never ride this section either.. Finished riding up, and a sharp left turn into a tricky rocky section...had to dab again, and Geoff came TEARING by! Hello good-bye! I carried on and tried to edge back up...that was the top however, and i was about 7th overall at that point - sweet! How did i ever manage to climb so fast?!!

So the chase began, and worked my way down the trails..started to close the gap, a bit, but then got caught by Regan and another..damn.. They got away and Guy Gensey and another caught me. Funny, as we would often end up duking it out in the Cross on the Rocks races!

We stuck together up cross-over, down N-Trail, and then at the tricky rocky section at the bottom Guy biffed in the spot where all the water collects.. I tried to navigate around, and i guess i caught my rear wheel on a rock because FFFFFFFFFF! I lost a bunch of air! GAH!

I tried to roll through, but the rear end was REALLY squishy. Frack!

I stopped and worked my pump free. I had taped it to my fender..haha.. (Didn't want sticky gunk on my new frame!) Took me a minute just to get it off!! It's my mini Lezyne pump, which has the hose...i didn't really expect to have a flat! I've never burped a tire before either! (With tubeless tires, sometimes you 'burp' a tire, causing the rim and tire to separate for a second, letting out air..)

I assembled the pump, and pumped away... Disassembled the pump, and jumped back on the bike. Started to pedal...and the rear was too squishy. DAMN. Got off. Rebuilt the pump, started pumping.. By then over a dozen riders had passed, including Halldor and Roland.

I jumped back on, and got moving again. Tire was good. I had a lot of time to make-up for tho...i was off the bike for 5mins.

Caught a couple riders fairly early, rode Shock Treatment, passed another rider or two...got to the lap-point, hit the button on the Garmin - under 27mins first lap - nice! Too bad there was the 5mins stop...

I powered along, caught a couple more riders before Pooh Hill. Passed Adam Lawrence on the way up! Rode hard up to the top, nearly exploded myself! Of course, no real recovery, and carried on along Crazy Horse and Rollie Ridge..didn't see too many more people for a while.. Passed a rider just before i crossed the bridge on the beginning of Crossover, saw Alyssa there:

Checking the time stamps, i was 3mins behind Roland.. I rode and rode some more, and eventually crossed the line. Finished 16th out of 34 starters:

http://www.islandcupseries.com/index.php/2010/2010-results/

Checking the times, if i hadn't been delayed, my time would have been in the 55min range, and so i would have finished near Guy in 7th...oh well! I did manage to shave another minute off my time from Roland at the bridge. ;)

Raph for sure will have to move up to Expert.. I think Scott and Regan (and a few others) ought to move up as well, they would easily be in the Top 20 in Expert, possibly Top 10.

So, first big race out of the way! I'm really happy with my effort...not really sure what i could have done differently. Will bring a different pump..haha..

I rode about as strong as i could, Normalized Power was at my threshold - 264w. AP was 230w. There were LOTS of peaks, and i hit near my max wattage a few times, surprisingly (peak of 1156w). As mentioned, my HR was pinned. Second lap was a bit weaker than the first..but i held it surprisingly high! So a big improvement there (where i'd normally fade.) Lap times were about 26:30 and 29.

Here's the WKO+ 3.0 data, broke down each lap, and also the full race:

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgdbj3nx_24dxd9trdf

Here's the Garmin file, note that laps #3 & 4 were the actual race: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/27029692

Also, here's the pics Alyssa took, and me, mostly of the Expert event:

http://picasaweb.google.com/davenoisy1/20100314IslandCup1Victoria

Okay, enough race talk! Got some other news!

First, i upgraded WKO+ - so now have the current version of 3.0. The Quadrant Analysis is kind of neat. Will be interesting to import directly from the Garmin as well...maybe drop down to one computer on the MTB..heh..

Also, i'd been looking into new pedals for the MTB and CX. I've been riding Crank Bros Egg Beaters on the MTB, and Candy SL's on the 'cross bike. I was burned by my Candy's at the Blubberburn event, when my pedal died (and so apparently did the photos i took!) It literally blew off the end, and the pedal body came off the shaft/spindle.. (It actually happened prior to the race as i was riding around.)

I decided that was the last straw. I've had some complaints about Crank Bros pedal designs for some time.. Mainly:

* difficult step-through for CX - pedal/cleat doesn't allow for a smooth step-through, unless you're really careful..so i'd just do the 'step-back', but that's slower, and i think it's what fucked-up my ankle and foot early on in the 'cross season...landing on a stopping/sliding foot at 40kph+ can't be good for it.

* difficult to unclip at some angles: such as the very top of the pedal stroke while on a steep ride-up. There've been several times where i've stalled out, and tried to unclip, and it wouldn't, and i'd take a tumble. Not fun. Happened on the day of Blubberburn actually.

* crappy bearing/friction: the pedals never seemed to 'spin' on the axle, and there's always some friction there. Oddly, they seemed to spin more with less lube. It's a poor design, imo. Easy to rebuild, but they make them so it's rather necessary.

They're great in mud and snow - doubtless there..but these factors just don't make it worthwhile, not to mention the pedal itself doesn't have a very solid engagement, and feels like you're standing on ice.

I was hoping to adopt something else, but ended up getting some Shimano XT pedals today for the MTB. I know they work well. Solid engagement. You know you're clipped in. You can feel where you clip out.

They spin SO NICELY off the top, and stay that way. Pedals are an AWFUL place to have friction, as there's so much movement/rotation there...not a place you want resistance.

It'll be nice to do step-throughs in CX as well. Not as great in the mud...but that's a fair trade-off and minimal experience compared to everything else.

Alright, those are the main details! I updated my RideCam album as well, here's the latest:

http://picasaweb.google.com/davenoisy1/20100315RideCam28

Will post more on that later. =)

=============

Dave's Latest Twitter Updates

follow me on Twitter

=============

Let's Go To The Ob (Oh Baby..)

haha - hope you get that awful song stuck in your head!!

It was a pretty nice, sunny day. Temp ~11C, although a bit of a cold breeze. Kev came out to join me in the suffering! It's been really awesome having people out to train with this spring. =)

So, same general idea as Tuesday:

2min U, 1min O, 2 - U, 1 - O, 1 - U, 1 - O (8min total)


U/Under = 260w (will bump that up to 265w next time.)


O/Over = 350w - well above my anaerobic capacity. FYI, i can hold 350w for ~5mins, and i am DONE at that point..totally esploded.

So this is a pretty challenging workout. I'm either at my 1hr threshold (265w) or well above. The point is to develop recovery, despite intensity. Clear the legs out of the nasty stuff, etc.. In the 8min effort, i'm holding 350w for 3mins, so i think this is maxing me out pretty well.

Did 4x, here's the quick #'s:

#1

Ave Wts: 298

Ave HR: 174

Ave Cad: 92

Ave Spd: 17.5

#2

Ave Wts: 296

Ave HR: 175

Ave Cad: 91

Ave Spd: 17.2

#3

Ave Wts: 301

Ave HR: 176

Ave Cad: 90

Ave Spd: 17.3

#4

Ave Wts: 294

Ave HR: 176

Ave Cad: 91

Ave Spd: 17.1

Was fading a bit on the final one... I'm holding my 260w portions very well, many were in the 270w range. Some of the 350w portions were down around 345w. The entire effort average, according to my math (5x265 + 3x350 /8) should be in the 297w range, so i'm getting what i need out of it. (32mins averaging ~300w is great!)

Note there's a 4mins rest between each effort, just enough time to get to the bottom. Max HR was 189 for the final two, and 186 for #1. Also, kept my cadence as high as possible, it was in the 80-90's for the Under portion, but i was often around 110rpm for the Over, for some addition aerobic stimulation... I must say, feels REALLY weird going uphill at 110rpm!! Much more used to grinding a bit more..heh..

All the power data here, including detailed cuts of each interval:

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgdbj3nx_20dc2kzjfg

Note i also broke down the ride out and ride back. Total ride is a bit longer, includes the four descents from the top of the Ob, plus my short warm-up and warm-down (which i excluded from the ride out and back portions.)

Also got a Garmin file:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/26102972

Again, the peaks in the Elevation view make me laugh!!! ~830m of total elevation today...starting to sound like a climber. ;)

Climbed Wed night, had another good session, made it up the overhang 11a with only one stop...figured out some smoother manoeuvres, hopefully will clean it soon! Maybe tomorrow night.. Sat is OBB, and prolly another short MTB ride on Sunday.

Rock and roll!

=============

Dave's Latest Twitter Updates

follow me on Twitter

=============

Splish Splash

It's been mainly dry...but just enough moisture to muck things up!

Sunday - MTB

Went out for a short MTB ride with Laura W and Alex, fun times! Just what i needed. Neat to see the Garmin data:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/25791527

Basically rode in, went up the Regional Trail to the 'entrance' to Shock Treatment on the far end, back in along that, up Skull, Inventive, down Little Face, up Emergency 2 to Rolly Ridge, then Crazy Horse to See-Section/Centerfold/Switchbacks, then across to T.Run, curious to see what it's about. Cruised down slowly and carefully, looks like it'll be pretty fun! Back up See-Section and across to Nightshift, Skull and out.

Here's the power data, nothing too exciting:

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgdbj3nx_18ghqk2jg6

Monday - Climb

Still climbing 2-3 times a week, had a good session with Kelly. The new 10c/d is all figured out, i might clean it in the next few tries.. Been working on the 11a overhang with big, round holds...might be able to clean that one soon as well. Getting a little stronger overall...

Tuesday - EM w/3x Over/Under Intervals

Headed up to the Observatory with Chad to do some 'easy' ones, only going up to 330w on the Over efforts (260w on the Under). Power was solid, i marked the wattage for each interval:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgdbj3nx_19hbt4kmgq

Still got cold #2, didn't feel nearly as good as i should have, but rode them out. Thursday will head back out, and do 4x, and bump it back up to 350w.

Garmin file looks kinda funny:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/25963465

On the Elevation view, the peaks crack me up..haha.. Nearly got 700m of elevation in 2hrs tho.

As for the splish splash, it was actually rather sunny when we left, and on the 2nd effort the rain came down!! It lasted just as we finished the 3rd effort, then stopped...but soaked the roads. I'd taken the Ridley out since it was supposed to stay dry...grr.. Stopped in at Oak Bay Bikes to give it a bath on the way home...nice and clean now. Don't like getting it wet tho!!

So i will do these for a few more weeks, making them tougher as i progress (ie, replacing an Under minute with another Over minute), and then in April start throwing down efforts well above VO2, like the 4min on, 4min off nasties...

Until then, will be getting more comfy with life at 350 watts. =)

=============

Dave's Latest Twitter Updates

follow me on Twitter

=============