03/01/2009First race of the New Year, bitterly cold again, and a less than glorious result. I should not have expected so much, I’ve hardly ridden at all over the last two weeks, and I’ve eaten too much, and drunk too much (still, it was Christmas afterall). I finished in the E123 bunch again, but way back in 45th place outright, 28th in my Cat3 category. Compared to last week, the data says: - less power output (225w vs. 245w) - less effort (80% vs 87%) - much faster! (41.4kmh vs 38.5kmh) (if this trend of less power, less effort, but more speed continues, soon I’ll be able coast through the whole race!) Again my pre-race brain had planned to rest for the first hour, and save some energy for the final sprint, but my oxygen-starved–in-race brain chased down a break, with the inevitable result that my legs gave out in the final straight (again). Aggh, when will I learn, and when will I be stronger? My bike however is absolutely flawless, rolling like a slick thing, and gear changing with perfection, thanks must go out to my most excellent mechanic (me). I intend to train hard Mon/Tues/Wed next week, and then see what happens next week. I rode to and from the race circuit today, which is a neat way of adding 2.5 hours of riding to my week, although I’ll admit the ride home after the race is tough (think of it as running on empty at around zero degrees). We had a Plowman Craven professional racing (or perhaps just out for laugh I think) today – it might have been Tony Gibb – although his name doesn’t appear in the results. I managed to stay out of the photographer’s eye all day, so no pics :( R. 3Jan2008 (204 watts):
Duration: 1:12:53
Work: 890 kJ
TSS: 78.7 (intensity factor 0.805)
Norm Power: 225
VI: 1.11
Pw:HR: 5.26%
Pa:HR: 4.32%
Distance: 50.331 km
Elevation Gain: 234 m
Elevation Loss: 235 m
Grade: -0.0 % (-1 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 776 204 watts
Heart Rate: 110 189 169 bpm
Cadence: 29 124 92 rpm
Speed: 0 53.2 41.4 kph
Pace 1:08 0:00 1:27 min/km
Altitude: 42 51 47 m
Crank Torque: 0 101.8 20.9 N-m I didn’t plan to race this race, I thought I’d be happily curled up in front of some post-Christmas telly. But, given the chance to race again, I couldn’t really say no (seeing as how it’s the one I do for ‘me’). I finished in the E123 bunch, a small victory I know, but this is a herculean improvement over the first E123 I attempted in Feb2008 – the one where my family watched me get lapped several times, and then pull out before the finish :( -- NOTE: I now know never to ever ever pull out before the finish, because those are the laps you need to complete in order to get stronger. I was 27th outright, 13th out of the Cat3’s. I think there are points for me in the not-too-far-distant future. I spent the opening hour (the race format is one hour plus 5 laps) trying the shelter out of the wind as much as possible, and conserve some energy for the finish. Somewhat inevitably things didn’t quite go to plan, and I ended up bridging gaps myself when I should really have let others do the work for me. This meant when I stood up to sprint home on the final straight, the muscles in my legs didn’t feel strong, actually they turned into something I can only describe as “jelly mash”. Although I didn’t make up some places, I didn’t make up enough for glory. I included some summary data from today, and from the first E123 race I attempted. I thought there some interesting data points here: - today I push a lot less power (245 normalised watts vs 289 normalised watts). I’m not sure why this is, either my legs are less powerful than before (which would be very bad), or my carbon wheels and other speedy bits are working like a dream, or I much better at sheltering in teh bunch than I used to be. Or maybe all three? - today I was riding well within my limits 87.4% vs 103%!), so I guess that means I’m fitter than before. - today I rode faster (38.5kmh vs 36.2kmh), so despite less power output, I’m riding faster. Weird huh? R. 27Dec2008 (217 watts):
Duration: 1:17:35
Work: 1009 kJ
TSS: 98.8 (intensity factor 0.874)
Norm Power: 245
VI: 1.13
Pw:HR: 10.77%
Pa:HR: 2.85%
Distance: 49.755 km
Elevation Gain: 302 m
Elevation Loss: 296 m
Grade: 0.0 % (6 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 823 217 watts
Heart Rate: 118 189 169 bpm
Cadence: 29 116 89 rpm
Speed: 0 55.1 38.5 kph
Pace 1:05 0:00 1:34 min/km
Altitude: 34 51 43 m
Crank Torque: 0 100.7 23.2 N-m 16Feb2008 (268 watts):
Duration: 1:12:31
Work: 1166 kJ
TSS: 128.4 (intensity factor 1.031)
Norm Power: 289
VI: 1.08
Pw:HR: 3.61%
Pa:HR: 4.62%
Distance: 43.769 km
Elevation Gain: 311 m
Elevation Loss: 299 m
Grade: 0.0 % (12 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 664 268 watts
Heart Rate: 136 193 167 bpm
Cadence: 31 129 92 rpm
Speed: 0 51.4 36.2 kph
Pace 1:10 0:00 1:39 min/km
Altitude: 16 28 21 m
Crank Torque: 0 80.5 28.2 N-m Finish line video: 
22/12/2008Hillingdon Winter Races #3, #4, #5, #6 are off my calendar over the Christmas break – there just too much Christmas to get through.
Time for rest now I think, from work, from training and from racing.
Time for winter bike tuning though:
Tyres: I've replaced my aging, sliced up spare race tyres with a nice shiny new pair of Vittoria Open Evo CX's. This means my spare race wheels will now pretty much match my carbon tubular race wheels. Something feels right about that.
Cables: I'm also replacing all my cables again (after only four weeks). The raining race the other week has shown that the rotten eBay person had substituted plain old galvanised cables for should have been premium Jagwire Slick Telflon cables. Never mind, inner cables (even swanky ones) don't cost more than £10, so it's a new set of four for me.
Shoes. My aging Sidi Hi-Tech Carbon shoes are finally retiring. Years of commuting and start/stopping has worn away the toes, and the whole blue/red colour scheme looks decidedly 'disco'. Not sure what 'disco' means – but I'm sure it's not good. All professional cycling shoes this year are white, so that's what I'll have too. Let's hope that there's a nice new pair of white Sidi Ergo 2's sitting under the Christmas tree ;)
The shoe – all that whiteness will match my socks, saddle and bar tape so nicely
The sole – all that lovely carbon will match my race wheels so nicely.
And that's it, that's the absolute last faster parts I can buy –from now on it's all about training, strength, endurance, technique, tactics, and nutrition. The mechanical dimension is completely sorted. There is something comforting, but strangely unsettling about that. Perhaps it will bring even more focus to my racing. It feels funny though, knowing that if I do stray into a bike store, I'll have no (zero, zilch) 'reason' to buy anything, and that's just a weird feeling for me.
As I say this, I'm reminded of a new service on offer over the interweb, print your own 3D titanium parts, maybe I should start designing something I always never needed?
Best wishes,
Richard. 
Image Credit: happyhomemaker88. Not actually from race day, but you get the idea. | It rained, hard, and it didn't let up. The circuit was flooded in places, which made for interesting racing. Sometimes the fastest way through corners was literally to follow in someone else's wake.
Good result for me: 15th outright, finishing in the bunch with the Elite, Cat1, Cat2 and Cat3 riders. My best E123 result so far.
I elected to ride my spare wheels (Campag Eurus, Mich. ProRaceLights), figured my carbon wheels might not brake in the wet.
The conditions forced a rolling start, and for once people seemed to actually roll for a lap without racing.
I'd decided just to hang around in the bunch for the first hour, anywhere near the top 20 riders would do me.
But it didn't work out that way. A few riders broke away, nobody chased – except me. This is always a bad idea, burning up energy before I actually needed it. It's so hard to remember that the only point in the race where I need to be in front is on the finish line, just as the last lap finishes. Anytime before that is a waste.
So I worked pretty hard, not at all like the week before when I didn't work at all.
The five more laps to go board came out after the hour, and BANG.
| BANG. The explosive sound of a major tyre blowout, about a third of the way round the circuit in the still pouring rain. I knew right away what to do, run (don't walk) run back to my carbon wheels and put one on, and get back into the race.
I ran, in the rain, across the field in the mud. I arrived at my carbon wheels in a state of panic, screaming at the officials "How do I get back into the race?". They said calm down, they'll work it out for me. I grabbed a rear wheel from my bag, realised I hadn't fitted a skewer (mistake #34: always fit your skewers to your spare wheels). After lots of fumbling with winter gloves full of water, I'd re-fitted a good wheel, and I was ready to re-join. The officials sent me out just before the main bunch came round, and I 'let' them catch me, before tucking in for the final four laps. I'd only been out for few minutes.
A the bell rang for the final lap, I crossed the line in the top three. This maed the last lap a complete mind game: who's strong, who's going early, who's looking to tail and jump someone for the finish? I stayed in the top three all the way round, and jumped for the line early – and sprinted with every water-filling ounce of energy I had left. Only to see rider after rider cruise past me before the line.
Not all the riders went through. A couple of Cat1's were behind me, and I'd still finished respectably.
Entire workout (196 watts):
Duration: 1:05:41 (1:19:28)
Work: 774 kJ
TSS: 74.6 (intensity factor 0.825) (0.825 suggest I still have something in the tank)
Norm Power: 231
VI: 1.18
Pw:HR: 15.15% (I'm racing too far within my limits, must push harder, this number should be -5)
Pa:HR: 7.87%
Distance: 39.518 km
Elevation Gain: 304 m
Elevation Loss: 310 m
Grade: -0.0 % (-6 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 584 196 watts (only 60% of max watts today, perhaps because of the wet)
Heart Rate: 109 183 166 bpm
Cadence: 30 118 90 rpm
Speed: 0 50.2 36.1 kph
Pace 1:12 0:00 1:40 min/km
Altitude: 27 52 35 m
Crank Torque: 0 82.4 20.7 N-m
DATA ANALYSIS:
- I really wasn't riding at my limit today, and I should be if I'm really racing. Maybe the rain did something, or perhaps I'm more fatigued from training than I thought.
|
08/12/2008Saturday saw the first winter race at Hillingdon. This year I’m racing in the afternoons with the Elites, Cat1s, Cat2s and Cat3s. I finished in the main bunch, just behind a breakaway group of around 8 riders. I was: - 15th out of the Cat3 riders - 22nd out of the Cat2 and Cat3 (points are afforded the Top 10 racers in this Cat2/3 group) - 34th out of the entire peloton of Elites, Cat1, Cat2 and Cat3 racers. I’m pleased, last year in one of these races I Did Not Finish after being lapped several times. Some of my long autumn and winter training seems to have paid off so far. In the race itself, I was wary of launching any kind of attack (actually, after last time, I wasn’t even sure I could finish the race), so I just sat in the middle of the bunch, comfortably pedalling in around 20th place. At some stage, breaks went off the front – I just let them go. Later, a more serious set of people broke away, and I chased them down – only to the see the rest of field following me. Break-away over. After an hour of racing, with five laps to go, my left calf muscle cramped badly. I didn’t panic, simply backed off, grabbed my bottle and drank every last drop of carbohydrate juice. After a lap or two, my muscle stopped cramping, but still felt like it would let go again if pushed. Never-mind, I concentrated on finishing. In the final sprint, I push late and hard for the line, and for a moment felt like I’d make up a good dozen places, right until I found my front wheel grinding away against the the side of someone else’s rear wheel. I stayed upright, but false dreams of a better finishing place were gone. I can’t wait for next week, I’ve a great week’s training and resting lined up this week, and if next week’s feels anything like Saturday, I’ve a mind to try something (like finish closer to the front). R. Here’s a pic of me chasing… 
The graph (with a warm lap or two at the start) looks like this… 
TrainingPeaks telemetry says:
Duration: 1:11:55
Work: 959 kJ
TSS: 90.1 (intensity factor 0.867)
Norm Power: 243
VI: 1.09
Pw:HR: 2.54%
Pa:HR: 2.31%
Distance: 49.816 km
Elevation Gain: 249 m
Elevation Loss: 259 m
Grade: -0.0 % (-10 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 653 222 watts
Heart Rate: 114 182 165 bpm
Cadence: 31 124 91 rpm
Speed: 20.4 54.8 41.6 kph
Pace 1:06 2:56 1:27 min/km
Altitude: 32 48 40 m 07/11/2008We arrived in Portugal at our ever-so-cure windmill, and decided to get everything unpacked before settling down for dinner. It had been a long day - journeying to Heathrow, flying to Lisbon, driving up to Assafora. I was tidying up the top story of the windmill, the one with the conical revolving roof, where the giant wooden windmill shaft itself connects up to the large downwards shaft that turns the mill stone that grinds the corn to make the flour. As I finished, I stood up. Bad idea, the sharp cracking sound in my ears, and the snap in my skull told me I should now be lying on teh carpet - so I did. I gingerly felt the top of my head - my hand came away like I'd just dipped it into a can of tomato sauce. I called out for Jayne. Jayne told one look and calmly told her my brains were poking out my head. I believed her. 
She telephoned 112 (Portuguese for 911 or 999), and after a long periods of mis-understanding, and repeatedly frantic calls on the phone trying to find an emergency English speaker (as my life ebbed away upstairs), an ambulance arrived. The medics took one look and calmly explained that I'd need to be transported back to Lisbon to the main hospital. I needed to know how bad it was, and when I asked they explained calmly that I'd need two stitches. Evidently, I had a short, deep cut, lots of blood, and no skull fracture. I'd been prepared for much worse, this sounded like great news to me. The hospital adventure is worth a separate story (imagine scenes for Mr Gilliam's movie 'Brazil'), but the medics (volunteers from Sintra - Mr Paulinho Serano and friends) was amazing, the two of them escorted me throughout the hospital as if I their favourite cycling superstar. A couple of hours later, and I was back in the windmill (now permanently stooping to avoid a repeat performance), slightly sore, and hoping tomorrow would be better. All of which goes to prove that cycle racing is one of the safest things I do. R. 11/10/2008Just like the obscure world of British business suits, cycling too has a largely un-written collection of style rules. Josh @ Pez broke the code of silence recently and published a few of the Euro cycling style rules, presumably ‘euro’ because the American rules of style are yet to be established. Some style rules come and go (and then come back again – like heritage wrap-around glasses). Some rules have passed me by, only to shock me with their near universal application just outside my consciousness. Actually, some rules I just made up – like never mixing American mountain-bike-brand componentry with real Italian components. This means (for me at least) no Specialized shoes with Campagnolo gears, or no San Marco saddles on Trek frames. I’m the only person I know who obsesses about such things. So, it was with some surprise that I slowly realised this month “the colour of your saddle must match the colour of your white-only handlebar tape”. This is the second new rule I learned this year – the other new rule is “the colour of your cycling shoes must match the colour of your white-only cycling socks”. Santa will have to fix my shoes, but today I fixed my saddle colour. The old saddle (Selle Italia Signo Gel Flow) looked like this after a year and a couple of crashes: 
My new saddle (Selle Italia Thoork Team Edition) looks like this: 
The new saddle is 140g vs 225g, thanks to it’s full carbon rails, and it’s no doubt reduced layers of gel and padding. For the financially minded, it cost slightly more £1/g to make this weight saving. Time will tell how well my bones will evolve to fit this saddle. R. 06/10/2008Second in a series of ‘lucky’ bike part posts. I didn’t like my other new skewers, sure they were titanium, and yes they were supposed to match my bike, but somehow their levers always looked, well, ungainly. The aerodynamicist in me was always saying the front lever in particular was sticking out into the wind, and slowing the whole bike in some immeasurable way. Here’s pic of the old new ones on my bike: 
So, what to do? Research and then buy a brand new new pair. I settled on the latest KCNC skewers. 42g each, hollow aluminium levers, and Ti rods. A chap in Taiwan was kind enough to post them out to me, all very straight forward – the KCNC’s seem unobtainable in the UK. The factory brochure says they look like this: 
On my bike, the new new skewers look like this: 
I wondering whether I should have bought silver ones now, but hey ho, there’s always next year. Now, I’ve realised much too late that my handlebar tape is supposed to match my saddle (this is one of cycling laws like “Always wear white socks on the bike, but never wear them off the bike”). So, in teh next luck part instalment I’ll be revealing my brand new saddle. R. 29/09/2008I like things on my bike to be just so – no rattles or squeaks, nothing loose, nothing ugly. So, you can imagine the levels of despair that descended last month when I realised one of the alloys bolts on my bike had started to corrode (or whatever it is that alloy bolts do) – it had turned a whiter shade of pale, and looked ugly. There was nothing else for it but to replace completely with a nice strong, and most importantly shiny, titanium bolt replacement. A couple of quick measurements (13mm long for Campagnolo Chorus rear brake mounting bolt), some clicks on the interwebs, and a few days later it arrived. That’s enough excitement for one night, sleep safely my gentle reader. R. Here’s the old bolt (yuk!): 
Here’s the nice shiny new bolt (yum): 
26/08/2008Race Preparation: Very Poor. Excuses: 1. Went jogging during race day (5 miles), first jogging in five years. 2. Slept badly all week 3. Lower back sore all week 4. Missed out on my long ride on Sunday 5. Ate badly today (too much pasta too late) 6. Made beginners mistake in the race, went off the front for the first two or three laps, burning off extra energy early, while everyone else was resting behind me. Result: Fell off the back of the bunch sometime in the middle of the race. A couple of hundred meters behind them at the finish. The Race: shortened to 20 laps Data Analysis: - Heart rate elevated, power down (I guess that mean one thing: fatigue) - Power to HR drift: under 8% (that means I raced within my limits, probably too much so) - Intensity: 79% (that means I was practically coasting around the circuit, a good race performance should really be closer to 100%) - Speed 38kmh average (good, but over a much shorter distance than a fortnight ago) The Data:
Duration: 34:06
Work: 412 kJ
TSS: 35.5 (intensity factor 0.791)
Norm Power: 221
VI: 1.1
Pw:HR: 7.9%
Pa:HR: 1.64%
Distance: 21.595 km
Elevation Gain: 232 m
Elevation Loss: 235 m
Grade: -0.0 % (-3 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 619 201 watts
Heart Rate: 128 181 174 bpm
Cadence: 29 118 89 rpm
Speed: 12.8 54 38.0 kph
Pace 1:07 4:41 1:35 min/km
Altitude: 40 55 48 m R. |
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