San Ardo Road Race: 8/20/11: YdoIdothistome?

Well this is my third time with this race and I seem to get worse every time I try it! In '97 I had a fun looong breakaway and then had enough legs to survive the field sprint. Two years ago I rode too hard and ended up cramping but still was able to spin in the field sprint.

Since this is a race that tends to get a little boring with everyone plodding along for 63.5 miles and then racing the last kilometer, I wanted to try to get a break going from way out. So I gave myself a 20 minute window to try that at the end of the first lap/ beginning of the second lap. I was hoping to get something going on the flat going into San Ardo and then stretch it and get out of sight on the climb and following rollers going out of town. Unfortunately NOBODY wanted to see that happen. I just can't get a grip on negative racing. Do people really enjoy a boring three hour ride followed by a field sprint? (I know I know it's more about racing and results and if you want fun go for a mtb ride...) That's just not fun racing to me. I attacked and counter attacked and counter counter attacked until I was crosseyed but I simply couldn't stretch the elastic. The biggest gap I was ever able to create was only about 20 seconds and I couldn't get anyone else to go. There were a couple people riding hard at the front but no one was attacking.

Sidebar: Attacking: Riding hard at the front is not attacking. Pulling hard and slowly ramping up to speed is not attacking. Generally any kind of riding hard at the front that does not create gaps is not attacking. If there is a rider with two or three bike lengths ahead and you want to make a breakaway you have to JUMP across that gap. If you ride hard across that gap you are only going to pull the pack with you. Now if only the only two or three other animated riders in yesterday's race would read that... Oh and another thing. If you are trying to get a flyer going with two or three other riders you have to share major efforts with those guys for a few pulls. If you let ANY other rider into that rotation you screwed up.

But. whaddiknow?

Anyway. Despite riding myself crosseyed I just couldn't get away. So I settled back into the pack for a 38 mile snooze. Pathetic (both that I couldn't get away and the negative racing in the pack). Oh, and while I'm whining can I just say how flipping frustrating it is to see CAT FOUR racers on deep dish carbon wheels, and $4,000 + bikes? Oh, and the pinnacle of this absurdity is that I finally saw a CAT FOUR racer on Di2. Let me repeat that. I saw a CAT FOUR racer with a $3800 Dura Ace electronic groupo on a $2000 frameset using $1800 wheels. My car isn't worth that much money.

So then we finally sniffed San Ardo in the distance and the pace went up. Surprisingly, I found myself near the front and in good position. I got swarmed a little coming into town but then worked my way back up the side and into decent position on the climb. I was off to the side maybe five wheels back when the rider in front of me (who I had earlier determined to be a strong finisher) jumped hard. I went too but then going under the freeway just before the turn my legs simply quit on me. I sat down and pushed as hard as I could through the turn and to the finish but pretty much the entire pack went by before the finish line came. I don't think I've ever faded that hard in a sprint in my life. It was quite shocking, really. I'm no stranger to going too early but usually I can hold it and scratch something out of it. But this was more like I put the brakes on. I mean EVERYONE had a sprint left in his legs.

Finishes like that really just make you want to hang up the bike. I did everything right in the sprint. Good position. Fought onto a good wheel. But I went too early and didn't have NEAR the legs to get away with it.

Well at least I had a near-four hour drive home by myself to replay it over and over... Luckily it was all vanquished by the time I got home and forgotten after a solid, yet wobbily, afternoon of swimming, hiking and playing with my boy.

Sky Tavern Mountain Bike Race: Aug. 14, 2011

This was fun race with a nice mix of everything. I raced as a Cat 2 (old days we called it "sport") for the first time since, um, 1996? Of course back then I wasn't racing in old man age bracket but, hey.

My alarm went off at 2:30 AM and somehow I dragged my butt out of bed, showered and was in the car by 3. Fast forward many hours and I was ready to race. I met up with (soon to be teammate) Ray and he talked me through the course as we warmed up on the opening climb.

After a racer talk-to from the promoter we all headed to the start and were sent off in waves. Our wave was the Cat. 2 50+ and 40+. And a wopping six of us took the start. One guy was asking everyone what their age was and I found it slightly annoying but didn't think to ask him his age and figure out what age group he was racing. The promoter did ask a show of hands for the age groups but I wasn't really paying attention so I assumed Ray was the only 50 plusser.

Off we go!

We somewhat slowly took off across the paved parking lot, up a short road and then turned onto a two-track dirt climb that was fairly steep and went for about a mile and a half. About halfway up I was liking what my legs and heart rate were telling me and moved up to the front and set the pace. At the top there was a steep section with some loose dirt/gravel that made traction difficult and could force a hike-a-bike. I was happy to clear it and hadn't looked back yet.

After the climb the dual track continued for another three quarters of a mile with some more altitude gain before heading into the single track. I did look on one curve and was very happy to see only two guys maybe half a minute back.

But then I got clumsy! Unfortunately, the lack of mtb racing and a steady diet of relatively untechnical riding at Del Valle caught up with me and I was struggling to clear easy stuff in the woods. Simple ditch crossings, one or two log hops and very minor rock challenges seemed to cause me to stumble left and right (literally!) and overshoot turns. Pretty shortly a guy in a blue and yellow jersey asked for trail and I gave it to him. I paused to let Ray by but he wasn't there so I jumped and vainly tried to keep up with blue/yellow-dude.

On a rocky dropoff I finally turned from clumsy to crashing and went down pretty gently (though it was enough to pop the bottom of my jersey zipper giving me a distracting wardrobe malfunction that I couldn't correct in the heat of battle). Ray very quickly appeared and I was glad to have him by me so I didn't have to worry about holding him up. The rest of the lap went about the same with lots of clumsy dismounting as I stalled out in mud and sandy sections. I was pretty frustrated and only started to feel like I wasn't a roadie pretender on a very steep decline section over some rocks. "That's more like it" I thought as I cleared it.

The descent back to the finish was a mix of single track and rough fire road and I was doing better.

Past the finish line onto the paved parking lot with a tailwind and a nice smooth time trial back to the start of the climb for laps two and three! Lap two I was feeling more comfortable but never saw a single rider to catch or to have catch me. And lap three was pretty much the same. That last lap was when I finally rode most of the stuff that had been tripping me up earlier. That said, with about five minutes to go I passed a lapped rider just before going from a dirt road to single track section and stacked it pretty good coming down heavily onto a rock and a bush that gave me a couple nice puncture wounds in the leg. On the third lap I was starting to fade and lose motivation. In my head it was just alot of work for second place.

As I finally crossed the finish line, muddy and bloody, shorts torn, and jersey zipper failing Ray (looking altogether too fresh) said, "Hey! I think you won!" Turns out blue/yellow, the guy asking the annoying age questions, was a 50 plus rider. So, yeah, I guess I won since everyone who beat me was in a different age group. I shouldn't qualify a win that way but if that's how it feels, that's how it feels.

The important thing is it was a very fun race, an absolutely GORGEOUS day in the Sierras, a great hangout with friends and mountain bikers and I got to bring home a cute little medal and some shwag. Nice.

Not exactly displaying "look like you've been here before" presence on the podium

Catching up 3/3: Hellyer 7/19/2011

Started to feel the load of training and probably should have stayed out of this night since it was a rest week but...

Omnium: 4th of 22

Points: DNP: Just couldn't get the legs going and there was some scary riding going on that held me back from getting in the mix. NOT liking racing with new 5's and juniors. That's what's driving me to upgrade.

Scratch: 2nd! I had my rider picked out and was sitting in nice but he went down track behind ten or so riders with two to go and I was losing confidence in him when Super Ted came uptrack and said "let's go." He drilled us around the pack and up to the bell lap and I took over with very fresh legs from that great leadout. I sprinted and thought I had the win but got pipped at the line by the guy I had been marking earlier!

Points: 8th. Not good enough for omnium points and I really had to dig HARD for the crumbs I did get. Definitely stuffed.

Well thanks solely to Ted's great leadout the night wasn't completely lost and I scratched out a couple more upgrade points. I left the track feeling very empty and fatigued, however. Racing four weeks in a row is probably not a good idea.

Then the following Thursday night I went out and played softball and ended up pulling the sartorius muscles (self diagnosed via the interweb...) in both legs and have been hobbling around and unable to push hard ever since. REALLY frustrated by this right now since I've had to skip one big race I was planning for since many months back and am looking at having my fitness peak completely screwed up by this silly injury.

Catching up 2/3: Hellyer 7/12/2011

Omnium: 5th of 12
Scratch: 6th. Wasted too much energy riding off the front trying to get the pace hot enough to drop the scary riders. Was right behind the sprint for omnium points but couldn't dig enough to move up.

Miss-n-out: 3rd! My best miss-n-out since becoming a four on the track! I had only one goal and that was to get to the front and die trying. Well I went a little too hard to the front and ended up soloing off the front for the first three or four outs. When the pack came I worked the front with Marino and counted laps. With 6 to go I was starting to feel like it could happen and dug in to stay alive for the next two laps. With four of us left I got lucky and was able to box the fourth guy in and eliminate him. But that was it and I was too cooked to sprint with the other two guys for the win. But I was dang happy to not be one of the first three or four out in this, my LEAST favorite, event.

Points: 2nd. I remember winning one sprint and doing well in another and that was good enough for 2nd. Take it.

Another fun night of racing and had a record of TWO teammates on the track with Pres Ted coming out and Jonathan coming out again. Bummer to mess up the scratch race and fall down the omnium but I'll take the single upgrade point and run with it.

Catching up 1/3: Hellyer July 5, 2011

Ug. I gotta write stuff down more quickly after the races or I forget it. So why bother? I dunno. Compulsion.

Scratch: 2nd of 12
Tempo: 3rd
Points: 4th
Omnium: 3rd?

I remember surprising myself by passing four riders in the last 200 meters of the scratch to take 2nd.

The Tempo was nowheresville for me in the first three quarters then my legs woke up and I scored on the last laps.

I don't remember a dang thing about the points race. But I do remember having good sprint legs all night and being quite satisfied with finally rising above pack fodder and notching some upgrade points.

Good to see Jonathan Quist back out on the track!

Central Coast Circuit Race (#6 ?): July 2, 2011

Not much to say about this one. I raced in the 35+ Cat 3/4 making this my first "Cat 3" race since 1998. It was a good confidence builder to be able to hang in without ever really getting into any distress. There were a few moments of "asses and legs" but it wasn't the kind where guys are coming around you and you're thinking, "uh oh." The course is fun and looks hilly on the profile but I found the climbs to not be much of a factor. That said, team tactics (and another team's complete LACK of tactics) allowed four or five guys to use the bigger hill to slip off the front leaving the pack sprinting for crumbs.

Jeff Miller's report told me exactly what to do. He sprinted for the last corner, held on and managed second. I saw the way clear to do that but the small pack was spread across the road and I hadn't been bold enough to move up on the descent. One guy did sprint forward to take the last turn (and won the field sprint) but then there was a compression through the corner and I didn't risk it. I cruised up the left side of the road and had PLENTY of spurt in the legs but was boxed in and had to be content with watching four or five guys duke it out while I tried to bulldoze the fading rider in front of me out of the way (mentally, of course). I ended up 10th overall and was the 2nd Cat 4. So a good time, a fast-ish race and a great confidence builder. And, as it turns out, that's my second best result in a Cat 3 race in California.

One big take away from this race is that I've become used to riders on the track riding straight. I must have had to brake to keep from getting my front wheel swept 100 times. I suppose that's my own fault for being such a gutter rider and for not being a little more aggressive, perhaps.

Somehow I always end up showing up to races when Steve Anderson is snapping away. I found him afterwards and said "hey" He hadn't seen me in the race and wondered if he'd caught me. I guess he did!

Hellyer Get Ready for Summer #5: June 11, 2011

In a fit of ambition to upgrade I decided to enter the cat 4/5 field instead of the cat 3/4 field. At GRFS #4 there were 19 4/5's but on MY race day there ended up being only seven of us. Since that field is less than ten, no upgrade points were up for grabs. But once racing had started and I knew the numbers, it was too late. Fizzle.

Kieren: Racers line up beside each other based on a random number draw, the motorcycle goes by and everyone sprints to get on the motor. After three laps of pacing the motor pulls off and it's a two lap free for all. Or something like that. Maybe it's a 1K free for all? Each heat only has six or seven riders (I know Ted is going to read this and pound himself on the head that I could have such a vague handle on the technicalities of this race but, whatever, go with the flow dude.). Since there were only seven of us there was a heat of 4 and a heat of 3. I ended up in the second heat of 3. The first two riders advance to the final. I gave a 87% effort on my sprint and got pipped for the heat win on the line but securing second was all I wanted. I turned lap cards for other races for awhile until my Kieren final. I was second wheel until the motor pulled off then a couple passed uptrack. In the sprint I could see my way over the top and past to take the sprint and, yay, my legs followed my eyes. Win!

Snowball: The winner on each lap gets points. On the first lap, 1 point, second lap, 2 points, etc. so the last lap 15 is worth 15 points. I took laps 3 and 4 but then Dexter snuck off the front. No one wanted to reel him in and, in all honesty, I think some beginners (I refuse to call them n00bs) got a little confused about the part where there was a race going on. We finally got him back with four or five to go. I took at least three of the last four sprints but it wasn't enough and I was 2nd.

Miss-n-out. I'd like to have this race back. The last place person on each lap gets pulled then the last three sprint it out for 1,2 and 3rd. With four to go I TWICE had my front wheel swept WHILE I WAS IN THE SPRINTER'S LANE. I went into bitchy whiny mode and started yelling at the two rule breakers. The officials pulled me and I proceded to let them know exactly how I felt that they weren't enforcing any delegations for dangerous riders (all calmly and sweetly of course). I'm pretty mellow except when it comes to dangerous riding and then I get a little stupid and self important (I like to think of it as self preservation). I calmed down a bit and had a good talk with the official. I completely disagree with him but he said if I wasn't getting physically pushed into the apron it's my fault for "being intimidated." (Again, he says intimidated, I say safe).

Points (15 lap points every 5 laps): Knowing that my miss and out failure probably lost me the omnium I took out my frustration on the first two sprints, winning them both. I sealed the win with a 3rd on the last sprint. Maybe the officials were mad at me since they somehow scored a three way tie on the first sprint. No matter, it didn't really change the overall results.

So a mixture of emotions to take home from this one. Losing the omnium by one point (out of 22) kind of sucked. And turning into a whining baby in the miss and out wasn't anything to be proud of (though I did make it up to the two guys I yelled at: that's the nice thing about the track is that the shit that happens in the race usually doesn't make it into the pits; at the cat 3/4 level anyway...). I was happy to be able to win track events in each year I've been on the track now. And bringing home a red ribbon always makes the homefront take notice. But in hindsight, I really wish I'd done the 3/4 race. I think I had good enough legs to have been competitive and forth place in that race would have netted more upgrade points than the zero I got in my race. Oh well. More positives than negatives overall.