All season I'd waited for a shot at improving my standing in CBR. Some Sunday when Swami's wouldn't control the outcome. As it happened, there was a conflict on this day and Dale Luedtke had no teammates on hand. This was my chance. Things didn't take long to develop. About ten minutes in a four man break had formed and had a six second lead. An SBW rider was dangling between. The points prime in these things usually comes up prior to halfway. I couldn't let that go, so I jumped. The catch took a whole lap and the SBW rider locked on my wheel as I came up. I pulled up and left the last bit to him as we closed in.
So now there's a six man break. Rich Keegan, a very strong 60+, had been driving the pace before I got there. My goal was to grab the points prime and keep the break going. This was pure gold, no-one else in the break was near the top of the points standings so if we finish out front I leap-frog up in the overall rankings. Besides Rich there were Alex Rodriguez, Rino Barbagiovanni, Brian Carrico and Tom Buescher. Six different teams, who was going to chase?
My concern right then was Fred Hoblit. I knew he wouldn't drag the pack up to us with a teammate in the break, but he's not going to give me the prime points without a fight. The prime would come soon (it's not fixed at a particular lap, but is always in the first half of the race) so I totally stepped on it. Nobody contested with me for the points and after some early scrambling we settled down to working together. Afterward I found out that Fred had jumped out of the pack and came within five seconds of us at one point. He must have temporarily opened a ten second or larger gap on the pack all by himself. Impressive!
Rino and Alex were under pressure, but hung in. Brian was okay and I thought Tom was mostly along for the ride. Everyone took his turn (mostly) at the front, but I'd say with some confidence that Rich and I drove the pace. Rich would take the bulk of the long uphill on the start/finish leg while I pulled us over the hump at the back into turn three. I could tell Brian, Rich and Alex were throwing everything they had into it. Tom was unreadable. I got the feeling he wouldn't be a problem at the finish.
I guess that I didn't actually believe we'd hold out. Then I saw the back of the pack as we rolled into the a long straight. I was kind of shocked. With five to go it almost looked like we could have lapped the pack. I guess I'm too unused to success. At this point I had five points in the bag, I knew that, aside from Rich, the other guys in the break were showing signs of wear. So I made the only mistake of the day. In my mind I counted this as a "win" since I'd get the most points on the day even if I finished somewhere in the middle. Maybe I thought the others owed me for some reason.
I pulled in behind Rich and he led the group into the final straight. When I saw Brian wasn't responding I went around Rich (who was guaranteed a 60+ win as they are scored separately) and headed for home. As it turned out, Tom had saved something for the finish. I think that the others in the break were a bit ticked off afterward at the concept of "saving" anything in these circumstances. Tom went around me with maybe 100 feet to go. Caught me by surprise as I was looking for Brian who had seemed stronger. I finished second.
I was pissed at first. I really think he wouldn't have even been there had I not come by and swung in where he could get to my wheel. But that's bike racing. He doesn't owe me a thing. Let me tell you the other thing about bike racing. There's no way I'm helping him up to a break ever again. The others I'd go out of my way for because I know I can count on them not to sandbag. This isn't malice, it's just common sense. Something I need to work on.
On the plus side I won a little cash and jumped from sixth to fourth in the standings. Not only that I had a fair gap on fifth and was closing in on Rick Shorts and Fred Hoblit. That's some fast company. Dale Luedtke is so far ahead it's not funny. At least I've got the chance to fight for second.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
CBR Dominguez West 55+ (3/13/11)
So CBR has a new course, prevents boredom. Daylight savings meant that the Fives started at the crack of dawn. Foggy too. The new course is across Wilmington from the old one. Four corners, 0.9 miles with a little climb between turns three and four. The finish is a little downhill, but the climb sorts things out pretty well so not everyone is zooming around the final turn at the same time.
It was still somewhat foggy at the start of the 55/60+, with a field of about 50 total. It was sufficiently foggy that a guy was away on a solo break and I didn't know it. Not important except that I ended up sprinting for a prime which was already spoken for. This course is a little more tiring than the other, probably because of the little uphill. Turn three is a little nasty because it comes after a gradual downhill and the course narrows a little to accommodate traffic.
Long story short, I managed seventh in spite of some timidity on the final uphill. Advice here is that an uphill run prior to a field sprint calls for an attack. Don't wait - go.
It was still somewhat foggy at the start of the 55/60+, with a field of about 50 total. It was sufficiently foggy that a guy was away on a solo break and I didn't know it. Not important except that I ended up sprinting for a prime which was already spoken for. This course is a little more tiring than the other, probably because of the little uphill. Turn three is a little nasty because it comes after a gradual downhill and the course narrows a little to accommodate traffic.
Long story short, I managed seventh in spite of some timidity on the final uphill. Advice here is that an uphill run prior to a field sprint calls for an attack. Don't wait - go.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Neuvation FC100 SRAM Force Review
The short answer is: yes, it's worth the money and more. With bike gear it's always been "cheap, light, quality, pick two" and this frame is a bit porky for carbon. At over a kilogram and without the gigantic head tube and BB shell it looks somewhat dated. Maybe it is, but when you can get the package below $2000 with SRAM force and fairly light wheels it's definitely the bike for me. I found I had cash left over for a Giro ProLight, Shimano S240 shoes, a 225 gram saddle and a carbon bottle cage. Whatever I gave up in frame weight, I got back elsewhere. At a little over 16lbs for the 51cm (when I put on the Neuvation C50s I already owned) this bike is about the same weight and exactly the same color as my cat!
The only caveat is that I should have gone with the heavier version of the wheels (ie "M" rather than "R"). At peak fitness I weigh in at about 162 lbs, but found I'd beat the wheels up in the off-season when I floated up above 170. On the front I broke two spokes and pulled one out and the rear has required occasional truing. I will say that when I broke a spoke up front I'd just loosen the brakes and keep riding. The rims are incredibly strong and the hubs about the slickest non-ceramics I've seen. A local wheelbuilder owed me a favor and re-strung the front with somewhat thicker spokes and no problems since. Looking at online reviews, these issues are by no means universal. Some variability is inevitable at this price point. Also, I'm somewhat brutal on wheels, I don't know anyone else who has needed to have Ksyrium Elites trued up.
From the above you can conclude I've been on this bike a while and raced all of last season. Also rode a century as well as several other long rides. I've raced mostly criteriums, but a few road races as well. The frame is astounding in that it works flawlessly in all of these. The 73 degree parallel geometry might seem a bit slack, but there's none of that. Twisty mountain roads, elbow-to-elbow crits or all-day comfort - you've got it here. I race 40-45 events a year and frankly don't want to worry about a frame with a replacement cost north of two grand. Last I looked, John sells replacement frames at about eight bills (can't find this link on the site anymore, you'd have to contact him).
Regarding SRAM Force, it's hard to say anything new about the group-set which hasn't already been articulated by people with more experience than I. The only comment is I'd say SRAM is better to use and worse to maintain. I frankly didn't like the chain (1070) which wore out quickly I thought. The Double Tap system is just plain better, but many people prefer the Shimano ergonomics, up to you I guess. Replacing the derailleur cable is much more fiddly than on Shimano (haven't used Campy in 20+ years, so no comment there). After a year and a half things seem plenty tight and work fine.
Unfortunately I see there's been a price increase since I got my FC100 and C50s, but it's still hundreds less than competitors. You could say the frame is "generic", but when you go with Neuvation you get their expertise along with the bike. All my questions were answered promptly via email and the bike came out perfectly according to the measurements I sent. Good luck with discount competitors where you don't even get to choose stem or crank length! Another plus is the fact that he'll put in an Enduro ceramic BB for a slight upcharge so you can avoid another ding in the pocketbook there.
Last note: I was chugging up Bear Divide from Santa Clarita and passed a couple of kids taking their BMX bikes up to play on the trails. One of them looked over and summed up the aesthetics succinctly: "Sick bike!" I'll post a pic later, I've been putting this review off too long already, so I'm going to publish it now. See you on the road. -pat
The only caveat is that I should have gone with the heavier version of the wheels (ie "M" rather than "R"). At peak fitness I weigh in at about 162 lbs, but found I'd beat the wheels up in the off-season when I floated up above 170. On the front I broke two spokes and pulled one out and the rear has required occasional truing. I will say that when I broke a spoke up front I'd just loosen the brakes and keep riding. The rims are incredibly strong and the hubs about the slickest non-ceramics I've seen. A local wheelbuilder owed me a favor and re-strung the front with somewhat thicker spokes and no problems since. Looking at online reviews, these issues are by no means universal. Some variability is inevitable at this price point. Also, I'm somewhat brutal on wheels, I don't know anyone else who has needed to have Ksyrium Elites trued up.
From the above you can conclude I've been on this bike a while and raced all of last season. Also rode a century as well as several other long rides. I've raced mostly criteriums, but a few road races as well. The frame is astounding in that it works flawlessly in all of these. The 73 degree parallel geometry might seem a bit slack, but there's none of that. Twisty mountain roads, elbow-to-elbow crits or all-day comfort - you've got it here. I race 40-45 events a year and frankly don't want to worry about a frame with a replacement cost north of two grand. Last I looked, John sells replacement frames at about eight bills (can't find this link on the site anymore, you'd have to contact him).
Regarding SRAM Force, it's hard to say anything new about the group-set which hasn't already been articulated by people with more experience than I. The only comment is I'd say SRAM is better to use and worse to maintain. I frankly didn't like the chain (1070) which wore out quickly I thought. The Double Tap system is just plain better, but many people prefer the Shimano ergonomics, up to you I guess. Replacing the derailleur cable is much more fiddly than on Shimano (haven't used Campy in 20+ years, so no comment there). After a year and a half things seem plenty tight and work fine.
Unfortunately I see there's been a price increase since I got my FC100 and C50s, but it's still hundreds less than competitors. You could say the frame is "generic", but when you go with Neuvation you get their expertise along with the bike. All my questions were answered promptly via email and the bike came out perfectly according to the measurements I sent. Good luck with discount competitors where you don't even get to choose stem or crank length! Another plus is the fact that he'll put in an Enduro ceramic BB for a slight upcharge so you can avoid another ding in the pocketbook there.
Last note: I was chugging up Bear Divide from Santa Clarita and passed a couple of kids taking their BMX bikes up to play on the trails. One of them looked over and summed up the aesthetics succinctly: "Sick bike!" I'll post a pic later, I've been putting this review off too long already, so I'm going to publish it now. See you on the road. -pat
Monday, March 7, 2011
Velo Allegro/CBR Criterium (3/6/11)
It used to be that CBR held roughly half of their Sunday crits on this course, the dead-flat Hughes Park one. It is natural to think of it as "easy" since there's zero elevation gain, but the speeds are pretty insane. The 55/60+ event was well attended, I'd estimate about the same sixty or so as the first race. Not much to say, I attempted one attack, somewhat later this time. It falls into a pattern. A three-man formed with riders from Swami's, Santa Clarita and Velo Allegro. Since all these teams had solid representation in the pack I couldn't let it go and jumped the gap quick enough that I brought nobody with me. When I got there the news was bad, the Swami's guy was a strong TT rider, but I think he was mainly just pushing the pace for his team so no other break could form. The VA rider is a ruthless sprinter who is notorious for ducking pulls in a break (you know who you are!) and the Santa Clarita rider wasn't Fred Hoblit so his teammates would most likely be defending third or fourth, which may not cut it.
Sure enough, after two laps Fred jumped the gap without bringing anyone up. Unfortunately, he's got kind of a target on his back and the pack wasn't going to let that stand. We got reeled in. It's too bad, I had high hopes for forming breakaways in some sort of coalition with other teams, but Swami's isn't gonna play and they seem to have come prepped to kill breaks if need be. The pace stayed very crisp with a few let-ups. I don't know, does 25.7MPH seem fast. given riders over 55 and four corners every .8 miles? It wasn't a killer, but it's faster than I expected when I moved up. Anyway, I found a path to the front after turn three on the last lap. I was close to the front going into turn four but had to maneuver around some guy I didn't recognize who was doing well up to that point and somehow decided it wasn't worth it. I finished seventh, which is good enough to hold seventh overall (I think, standings not yet posted) and maybe move up to sixth.
I then rode the 50+ and then 40+ 1-3. All that needs to be said is that the average speeds were 27.1 and 27.5 respectively. Couldn't even break the top 20 (out of maybe 65) in the 50s and was only just holding on for the workout in the 40s. I generally get better as the season goes on so I'm still hopeful for top five overall in the 55+ division, but that's not guaranteed by any means. At least I have a goal.
Sure enough, after two laps Fred jumped the gap without bringing anyone up. Unfortunately, he's got kind of a target on his back and the pack wasn't going to let that stand. We got reeled in. It's too bad, I had high hopes for forming breakaways in some sort of coalition with other teams, but Swami's isn't gonna play and they seem to have come prepped to kill breaks if need be. The pace stayed very crisp with a few let-ups. I don't know, does 25.7MPH seem fast. given riders over 55 and four corners every .8 miles? It wasn't a killer, but it's faster than I expected when I moved up. Anyway, I found a path to the front after turn three on the last lap. I was close to the front going into turn four but had to maneuver around some guy I didn't recognize who was doing well up to that point and somehow decided it wasn't worth it. I finished seventh, which is good enough to hold seventh overall (I think, standings not yet posted) and maybe move up to sixth.
I then rode the 50+ and then 40+ 1-3. All that needs to be said is that the average speeds were 27.1 and 27.5 respectively. Couldn't even break the top 20 (out of maybe 65) in the 50s and was only just holding on for the workout in the 40s. I generally get better as the season goes on so I'm still hopeful for top five overall in the 55+ division, but that's not guaranteed by any means. At least I have a goal.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
CBR Now Energy Bar Criterium 2011 (2/20/11)
After several days of rain it dawned clear and cold here in southern California. This was yet another crit at the Dominguez Hills site run counter-clockwise, which I like. Going this way consolidates the uphill run almost totally into the straight from the third to the final turn. This rewards fitness, no sucking wheel to the bitter end and breakaway opportunities abound. It had rained the night before making the surface wet and clean. Warmers, knickers and fingered gloves comprised the uniform for a 7:45 AM start in the forties. The 55+ pack was small, but the contenders were mostly present.
In the rain I think it's a particularly good idea to stay at or near the front. A few riders jumped immediately, but were swept up on the backstraight. Everyone slowed down and I led through turn three and hammered hard up the little rise to the last turn. Just then a black cat ran across my path. I must digress. In 2005 I crashed badly in a Tuesday night CBR race. When I finally came back to racing I joined CBR's "Insider's Club" which entitled me to a permanent number. I chose 13. I wear it right-side-up and have raced around 130 times on the road without crashing. Anyway, I took this as a good omen and took off in hopes of getting a group together and taking off. I stayed off alone for three more laps. When caught, dropped into third, caught my breath and hit it again. This had the desired affect and I went off with three guys.
CBR has a 10-race points series and there's a points prime in each race. When the bell rang for that Fred Hoblit jumped the gap, but didn't have enough left and I got it. Going over the line the prime bell rang again and here's where I went wrong. I sprinted for that one too. I was momentarily confused (read: tired) and thought maybe the second one was the points prime. A note to promoters: when announcing a prime to a 55+ pack do so loudly. Some of us used to go to 70s rock concerts and are a might deaf. I should have let the box of NOW bars go and focussed on the breakaway, we had a chance. After two sprints in a row a couple of the guys began to fade a little.
I recovered pretty well after getting caught. There were attacks after that which I joined in. At one point a group of us sprinted for what we thought was a prime, but turned out not to be. It was odd. I think that we heard the bell for the Women's pack which was on the course at the same time. My wife said that one lap later the pack just rolled over the line and they picked some guy who probably doesn't know he won it. Stuff happens. At that point there were four laps to go and I tried to recover best I could. I faded to ninth in the print which was disappointing, but the points prime helped and energy bars you win taste better than the ones you buy. Currently I believe I'm standing seventh overall in points, the official results aren't on the website but I think that's right. All in all, not as good as I'd hoped starting out but I was somewhat under the weather for the first race back in January.
Swami's Blue Mafia holds the top two spots. Not surprising with the sprinting duo of Luedtke and Birditt. They usually have two or three teammates to chase breaks so moving up will be hard. Next time is the table-flat Long Beach course, which bodes well for the pure sprinters. Craig was not one hundred percent fitness and Greg had the flu, so maybe next time I'll have more help. Maybe Velo Allegro will take a bite out of Swami's since the next race is being run by their club, although CBR sanctioned. CBR is moving the Dominguez Hills course to the other side of Wilmington. The obvious rectangle will not be all that different, but may be slightly safer. All the uphill should happen in 200m before the finish line, which is good for me. Looks to be about 3 percent grade so if the big boys can still beat me, so be it.
In the rain I think it's a particularly good idea to stay at or near the front. A few riders jumped immediately, but were swept up on the backstraight. Everyone slowed down and I led through turn three and hammered hard up the little rise to the last turn. Just then a black cat ran across my path. I must digress. In 2005 I crashed badly in a Tuesday night CBR race. When I finally came back to racing I joined CBR's "Insider's Club" which entitled me to a permanent number. I chose 13. I wear it right-side-up and have raced around 130 times on the road without crashing. Anyway, I took this as a good omen and took off in hopes of getting a group together and taking off. I stayed off alone for three more laps. When caught, dropped into third, caught my breath and hit it again. This had the desired affect and I went off with three guys.
CBR has a 10-race points series and there's a points prime in each race. When the bell rang for that Fred Hoblit jumped the gap, but didn't have enough left and I got it. Going over the line the prime bell rang again and here's where I went wrong. I sprinted for that one too. I was momentarily confused (read: tired) and thought maybe the second one was the points prime. A note to promoters: when announcing a prime to a 55+ pack do so loudly. Some of us used to go to 70s rock concerts and are a might deaf. I should have let the box of NOW bars go and focussed on the breakaway, we had a chance. After two sprints in a row a couple of the guys began to fade a little.
I recovered pretty well after getting caught. There were attacks after that which I joined in. At one point a group of us sprinted for what we thought was a prime, but turned out not to be. It was odd. I think that we heard the bell for the Women's pack which was on the course at the same time. My wife said that one lap later the pack just rolled over the line and they picked some guy who probably doesn't know he won it. Stuff happens. At that point there were four laps to go and I tried to recover best I could. I faded to ninth in the print which was disappointing, but the points prime helped and energy bars you win taste better than the ones you buy. Currently I believe I'm standing seventh overall in points, the official results aren't on the website but I think that's right. All in all, not as good as I'd hoped starting out but I was somewhat under the weather for the first race back in January.
Swami's Blue Mafia holds the top two spots. Not surprising with the sprinting duo of Luedtke and Birditt. They usually have two or three teammates to chase breaks so moving up will be hard. Next time is the table-flat Long Beach course, which bodes well for the pure sprinters. Craig was not one hundred percent fitness and Greg had the flu, so maybe next time I'll have more help. Maybe Velo Allegro will take a bite out of Swami's since the next race is being run by their club, although CBR sanctioned. CBR is moving the Dominguez Hills course to the other side of Wilmington. The obvious rectangle will not be all that different, but may be slightly safer. All the uphill should happen in 200m before the finish line, which is good for me. Looks to be about 3 percent grade so if the big boys can still beat me, so be it.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Roger Millikan Memorial Criterium, 2011
Okay, I'm biased since this is my club's race, but it's always a good one. I don't know about other parts of the country, but in here in SoCal attendance is way up for the second consecutive year. The 4s and 5s both filled up in pre-registration. That's one hundred in each (two Cat5 races of 50). The P12 race had 83 pre-entries, and more were signing up all morning. The 35s and 45s were over a hundred each. Since 50+ included Cat5 racers it was limited to 75 and that filled in pre-reg. I think we may have made some money, credit to Greg Mathes and Ed Keck who steered the event.
My lackluster performance continues with a tenth place finish in 55+ and no primes. Just didn't feel as good as at Mothballs and my efforts came up short. This weeks' screw up was going on a 50 mile easy spin the day before. Not my routine before a race, but I've been trying to get my weight down and thought I could burn some calories and "rest" at the same time. Nothing is free. My warm-up was a little sub-par as well. There's this idea that I can warm up during the first few laps and then catch my breath and that way have relatively more energy at the finish. The fact is that this year's 55+ had the same average speed as the 2008 event's 50+ category. There are a few teams that keep the pace crisp in order to make the opposition really earn their success.
I will now digress into old-fogey musing about the fact that we used to have something called "off-season". I have some nostalgia for that. Casual rides, no set schedule, gain some weight. I'm going to blame Lance Armstrong and Chris Carmichael for killing that in the late 90s. Armstrong rolled over Jan Ullrich, who was favored by many experts to dominate the TdF, precisely because of good time management. Ullrich would gain 10 kilos and hit the clubs while Lance was measuring the mass of carbs in every meal, weight training and prepping perfectly for the following year. In the old days we were indoctrinated that if you got fit too early (back then, that meant "March") you'd be burned out by the time the important races were on. Oh well.
My thanks to Greg Mathes, my teammate who not only put in a lot of work running the race, but chased and helped catch a break with two to go. God only knows how far down the finish I'd have been with the first five places spoken for at the sprint. Just a word to those older guys who are new to racing: Just because Cat5s are allowed to race with all masters over 50, doesn't make it a good idea. You may even have the fitness to hang in, but the near-crash on the corner at the bottom on the final lap illustrates why we have Cat5-only races. The guys who led the pack into that corner have hundreds of races under their belts, some over a thousand. Maybe a technical course like RM ain't the place for newbies to mix it up with them. Try some flat-and-four-corner action first.
My lackluster performance continues with a tenth place finish in 55+ and no primes. Just didn't feel as good as at Mothballs and my efforts came up short. This weeks' screw up was going on a 50 mile easy spin the day before. Not my routine before a race, but I've been trying to get my weight down and thought I could burn some calories and "rest" at the same time. Nothing is free. My warm-up was a little sub-par as well. There's this idea that I can warm up during the first few laps and then catch my breath and that way have relatively more energy at the finish. The fact is that this year's 55+ had the same average speed as the 2008 event's 50+ category. There are a few teams that keep the pace crisp in order to make the opposition really earn their success.
I will now digress into old-fogey musing about the fact that we used to have something called "off-season". I have some nostalgia for that. Casual rides, no set schedule, gain some weight. I'm going to blame Lance Armstrong and Chris Carmichael for killing that in the late 90s. Armstrong rolled over Jan Ullrich, who was favored by many experts to dominate the TdF, precisely because of good time management. Ullrich would gain 10 kilos and hit the clubs while Lance was measuring the mass of carbs in every meal, weight training and prepping perfectly for the following year. In the old days we were indoctrinated that if you got fit too early (back then, that meant "March") you'd be burned out by the time the important races were on. Oh well.
My thanks to Greg Mathes, my teammate who not only put in a lot of work running the race, but chased and helped catch a break with two to go. God only knows how far down the finish I'd have been with the first five places spoken for at the sprint. Just a word to those older guys who are new to racing: Just because Cat5s are allowed to race with all masters over 50, doesn't make it a good idea. You may even have the fitness to hang in, but the near-crash on the corner at the bottom on the final lap illustrates why we have Cat5-only races. The guys who led the pack into that corner have hundreds of races under their belts, some over a thousand. Maybe a technical course like RM ain't the place for newbies to mix it up with them. Try some flat-and-four-corner action first.
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