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The line closest to the tree was the fastest… Video Clip, for those of you with High Speed or lots of patience. Today was the first in a series of three cyclocross races here in Tucson. This one was in Himmel Park, just about 6 blocks from my place so it was a quick ride there. A couple laps around the flat course and I had a good clue that this was going to a fast, full on affair. There were no run-ups and two double-barrier sections along with no real natural obstacles. Taking off full steam from the start I never really had to look back much as it was instantly a two man break. We had a substantial gap after three or four laps (we did nearly twenty) and we both took our turns at the front. Midway into the hour long race I could tell that I was feeling more comfy than my break partner so I kept the pace high and only sat in for short breaks. With about four laps to go I was free to ride my own pace and my now ‘chaser’ flatted with two laps to go. I kept riding hard as there were lapped riders to chase down. Too bad for Glick, he lost his chain multiple times otherwise I’m certain that we could have battled hard out there. Still he managed third after numerous stops to remount the chain.
Of course Chloe also won, lapping all of the women twice in the 30 minute race. Luckily they also started the solo Junior male with the women’s field so she got to beat the state champ.
I’ve been training all week and it really feels good to be going at it once again. Six weeks of riding at will was a good break, but I seem to work well with some objectives at hand. NORBA ’07, here I come… Keep it real, -TJ
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Archive for November, 2006
You can now have a road bike that’s cooler than mine. The Dura Ace SRM is officially up for sale. After a season of racing expenses I could use the money much more than the SRM for now. And I’ve got the backup PowerTap wheel that will continue to feed my number hungry mind. It’s posted on RoadBikeReview if you might be interested. The SRM is absolutely incredible and still in great condition since a bulk of my year has been spent on my mountain bike. Drop me a line if you might be interested.
On Saturday I got beat in the local race held at McDowell Mountain Park. After leading on the start I took a wrong turn at an unmarked intersection and had to turn around after coming to a complete stop. This let two guys by and I had a hard time pulling them back. It wasn’t until halfway through the race that I passed one of the guys, and at that point I assumed the other was still off the front so I kept charging hard. Going out for the final Sport loop the eventual winner finally pulled around me after following for nearly all of the Long loop. At this point of the game I had absolutely nothing left to up the pace so he soloed to win in the last ten minutes of the race. Apparently I was leading when I thought I was chasing since there were no finishers ahead of us. Who knows where the other early leader went. If just the mention of a Sport loop or a Long loop sounds confusing, try remembering this sequence: Sport/Tech loops, Sport/Tech/Long loops, Sport/Tech loops, Sport/Tech/Long loops, and then Sport/Tech loops to finish the race. I had to make myself a cheat sheet to stay on top of this one…
That’s the Tucson report. Of course it still feels just like summertime here with daily temps in the upper 70’s to lower 80’s. All for now,
TJ
So I’ve recently added the Powertap wheel to my SRM equipped Litespeed Siena. Why ride with dual powermeters you ask? Well, to learn of any possible discrepancies between the two of course… Perhaps, if nothing more, I’ll learn how efficient my drivetrain is with this project. Such a setup definitely classifies me as ‘Bike Dork’ or as ‘The Bike Geek’ as said in some formerly published article. No I don’t intend to use this setup for the long term, but I’m curious to see how they compare with each other for at least a week of training.
I know that the elections have come and past, but I figure it’s better to post this shot late rather than never. I rode by this lawn nearly every day as it’s on the Third St bikeway here in town. It’s the greenest lawn in the city and it has an ‘Educators for Conservation’ political banner curbside. I was lucky enough to have my camera along one of the days when the sprinklers were spraying all over the the lawn and the sign. You might not be able to see the water beads on the sign, but notice the wet sidewalk. I guess conservation can some how exclude water conservation. We are in a desert here, aren’t we? Perhaps these were the folks needing an education on conservation!
And the random picture of this post; my tostada snack. It was simply too beautiful to eat before taking a picture. So I’ll leave you that to chew on. The off-season is drawing near its end as the training will soon resume. Stay tuned, -TJ I forgot how tough bike racing was until today. The day after sensations always have me feeling a bit off cue while time seems to take its own unique rate as I try to accomplish at least a couple of productive tasks without much succes. Updating the site is something at least. Yesterday Chloe and I made to the Dust Devil race held at White Tanks Park just to the west of Phoenix. There was a small turnout for this first in series of three events, but everyone was having a good time and enjoying the low-key event. It was a long race, doing five laps of the seven mile circuit had me out there for over two and half hours and most everyone else was three plus. Perhaps four laps would have been plenty, but it was a good time regardless. I haven’t gone very hard for any length of time so at least I know that my legs still work a bit. Of course Chloe was the fastest women, unfortunately she was also the only women in the field which meant that she got to ride with the guys.
We put our winning gift certificates together so that I could get a much needed SRAM chain and a highly sought after 19mm cone wrench – something that I’ve been in search of all season long. While driving to Swiss American we got to eat at In-and-Out Burger. My stomach is now two for three with this restaurant and it tastes oh-so-good so I’m offically calling my first experience a fluke. This time the potato slicer guy cut his finger while going crazy with the machine. If you’ve been to In-and-Out, you’ve probably seen the potato cutter, but chances are you haven’t seen a guy get his finger cut in it! It wasn’t a bad injury and after a quick clean up and a band-aid he was back at it. He got off easy and it could have been way worse- exciting to see none the less.
Mid week I dissected my Fox Forx to do some maintenance and replace the wiper seals. This was my first Fox surgery, but all went successfully and it’s working smoother than ever now. The best part was using the kitchen as my shop. Of course the worst part of the job was cleaning the kitchen once I finished things up…
And for the weather report…. Yesterday’s race was contested in 90 degree heat while today it’s a comfy 75 with full sunshine. The coming winter and its fall-likeness can’t come soon enough. 50’s will be perfect, if and when it ever cools off that much here. Thanks for reading, TJ |
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