13 posts tagged “garage racing”

After a little summer vacation from blogging, I'm back. Hello World! as they say in C Sharp, Powershell, and every other beginner programming class. After you say "hello world" what happens next?

Well, that's for us to make happen I guess.

A few things stand out over the last month.

Cycling: The kid is back!

Well, at least in my own mind:) Still, I recovered from being blown out at the state crit championship in Olympia and went on to finish well in my next 3 crit races. Crits tend to be the fastest of all cycling races and usually feature courses around several city blocks. They are intense, a little dangerous, but thrilling nonetheless. They're spectator friendly, which is good for Amy and the kids. They are over quickly and usually close, which is also good for Amy and the kids. 

There's no one better to give honest feedback than a four year old. I asked my daughter Lucy if I looked okay at the state crit in Olympia, hoping she might say "Sure, Daddy you looked great."

Instead, she simply hit back with a simple "No." And she was right. It was one tough race, eventually won by a 16 year old up and comer. I lasted a few laps before calling it a day. It was a good chance to explain to Lucy the value of participating rather than winning.

Still, I felt extra motivated after that race. I knew I needed to get back into the sport and prove, I guess, to my daughter that I could still ride with the best of them.

And since then I have done that, finishing decently in the lead group of guys in each of the crits since then. No blowouts, no getting dropped.

Reading: relaxation and reflection

In this day of lightening fast information delivery, I realized I have missed the simple pleasures of reading a full length book from cover to cover. Reading is a refuge from kids, interuptions, and the noise that has become commonplace in everyday life.

Since returning from a management IT conference in Vegas last April, I have been on a tear, reading up on business management topics and getting through a few novels. I have been able to reflect on some important issues at work and in life overall.

Plus I finally got some reading glasses and that has made a difference too. I didn't realize I was straining my eyes so much. 

Cycling to Work

I rode into work today thanks to some nice weather and a little inspiration from my friend Mike Doherty, who has started riding 25 miles each way to work and back. Mike and I chatted down at the Seward Park bicycle race Sunday, where I showed up with my daughter Lucy for the kid's race. Mike, who is about my same age and has 4 kids, has been commuting now for a month. We joked about both making cycling comebacks next year. There's always next year!

Anyhow, I'm hoping to get back into more consistent bike commuting. I rode through a stretch of about 5 years, riding both ways -- until the birth of my second daughter and subsequent purchase of a second car, a high performance Ford Focus. Don't laugh. The car rips around corners. It also gets somewhat less mileage than advertised. Costs look destined to go higher -- in what can only be a motivator to ride to work more.

Plus, I reach the office energized -- "fired up and ready to go!"

In a race against man, machine, and the clock, my high watermark came in the late night drive over to the southeastern part of the state Friday. For once, I was able to open up the throttle and push my car a little closer to its limits. But the opening stage of the Tour of Walla Walla bike race Saturday morning -- a 9-mile time trial -- wasn't as agreeable. I can at least say I looked the part as I rode to the start with skin suit, shaved legs, shoe covers, disc wheel and even a fresh buzz cut. Unfortunately, the officials measure my performance in a time trial based solely on time, not fashion. The body felt tired.

I felt slightly better for stage 2 on Saturday afternoon at least for the first half of the 75-mile road race. But certain laws of physics still apply for small obstacles like 2,200 feet of climbing. (If there is a miracle cure for losing 15 pounds I'd like to try it.) I ended the day in 62nd place out of an original field of 100. Still, when not much goes my way in cycling, I have my family to support me no matter what. To my surprise though, 4 year-old Lucy seemed especially clued in to the perils of the sport and as blunt spoken as any coach might be.

"Did you get dropped Daddy?" were Lucy's first words when I called home today. "Did you stay with the pack?"

When I answered truthfully, she followed up with another key question: "Why?"

I can point to the weight factor, fatigue from racing, maybe a little overtraining, or simply not being quite as fit as much of the field, which ranged in age from high schoolers (juniors), to college age speedsters (the overall winner) and up to guys my age or older.

When I got back to my motel, I was about as exhausted as I could be. By the time I awoke late morning Sunday, I simply couldn't breath properly as if I were fighting off a cold. So I opted not to roll my bike to the line for the 50-minute race through downtown streets. Oh well, I was so far back in the standings (16 minutes) and I felt I needed to rest after a hard day of racing Saturday. It meant I didn't finish the stage race though and I am a little disappointed about that.

All the 600 plus miles of driving left me with plenty of time to think about what I might do differently in approaching other races this  season: rest up before big races, know the course (at least from a map), prep all my gear in advance to minimize the last minute stresses, get to the races extra early so I have time to warm up, hope I can lose a little weight each week.

One thing that helps a ton is having supportive teammates on the Garage team. And that perhaps is the best part of racing.

Speeding around the crit course Saturday between 25 and 30 mph, there was a moment when I could have vaulted myself into the mix. It would have been a risk. A redlining risk. Instead, I felt a little spooked  by the pace and dropped to the back, the danger zone in crit racing. As riders peeled off the race around me, I too lost contact and had to call it a day with 2/3 of the race over. Should have the taken that risk. 

It was the best weather of the year yesterday, great for the first crit of the season. The whole family was out. Today, there is another cirt at Boat Street near the Univ. of Washington. Debating rolling my bike back to the line. Round 2 anyone? 

Getting close to winning is almost worth more than winning when it comes to being motivated. For a brief moment racing Cat 3 at Sequim last week, I had a real gap on the field -- breaking free with about 2 miles to go, crossing the 200 meter mark in first place, only to see about 10 guys pass me by in the final 100 meters of the 60 mile race. It was as close as I've come to winning and I probably altered the outcome of the race.

One of my teammates -- Alex -- earned 5th place and later said something like that was "the only way to beat that guy" -- Venable from the Carter team, seen by many as the strongest man in the race. It was Venable, who 600 meters out, started his sprint to catch me and also pulled much of the pack with him. It was a do or die effort for him and by the time he caught me he was too tired to fend off the handful of guys around him including my teammate.

After the race my teammates all come up to congratulate me. It was probably the first time I made a recognizable impact on a race. Getting close to winning is relative of course. Many riders lament over losing a race by half a bike length. I wasn't nearly that close but it felt like it to me.

So even getting close has led me to ask what else I can do to narrow the gap on guys like Venable. There's always the option of throwing more money at the challenge. Yesterday, I turned to none other than Lance Armstrong's coach Chris Carmichael. Chris was incredibly personable and motivating -- for a $20 DVD:) Still, the video workouts are right on the money and I need that kind of structure to do the interval workouts. There's some pain and hopefully a sliver of gain.

Then there's the issue of diet. Not exactly my strong suit being an ice cream lover and all that. But this was what I needed to get more serious. At least for now, no ice cream, very limited alcohol, no bread, no egg mcmuffins, etc. I do have a diet that's worked before -- one full of grains like Quinoa, steamed vegetables, tofu products, lentil soup -- all that good stuff.

But I have limits on the amount of money I can throw at this. I started talking to a nutritionist who told me if I really want to lose weight fast in a month, I should sign on to a full meal delivery plan customized to my requirements. But at a cost of $40 a day, I need to reserve this as a last resort:)

One of the mental challenges here is being able to amp up the effort and keep expectations in check. I have to be able to throw everything at this but still be content if it amounts to little or nothing at all. At least I'm having a go. And if I can help get my teammates over the line to win or place then that would be victory. 

I should have known from TV that this rarely works. About 3 or 4 miles from the finish of the Market Street Road Race Sunday, I broke off the front and led the race. At one time it seemed like the gap between me and the field was huge. But just like the races on TV, the chasers caught me in the last 1,000 meters and I finished with the mass of riders instead. Still, I was heartened that I felt strong enough to try it and that I stayed away for a good while (well, maybe it wasn't that long but longer than I've been able to do before). Plus it was a rush. This is what cycling dreams are made of, after all. And as a team tactic it's good to have someone who is not as strong a sprinter (like me) put a little pressure on the other teams. In the meantime, it's time to study the cycling footage of the guys who make the breakaway stick;). Oh, and I guess do a few more situps.

This year I found a novel way to adjust to daylight savings time: try to catch the first ferry from Edmond to Kingston. I didn't quite make the 6.25 and had to settle for the 7,10. The reason for the madness was to get out to Sequim on the Olympic Peniinsual where our Garage Racing team hosted a road race.

Now I'm too tired to write much of a blog entry tonight. So just the facts: for the second week in a row I felt strong in a 60 mile race in the Cat 3 division of 50 plus riders. And in the last lap I took a few pulls on the front. I'm still a little hesitant for the argybargy of mosh pit finishes so I ended up in the main pack of riders. But what means the most are teammates congratulating me after the race and saying I looked "much stronger than last year." At this level, I'm basically riding for my teammates -- trying to help them if it comes down to a sprint finish. If I can get in a break with some of them in future races, I'll be helping even more.

The afternoon took on a slightly different pace as I took my official duties as driver of the follow car for the Womens Cat 1,2,3 race. Kinda funny to ride 5 laps of a course and then drive 4 laps. The best part of this job was being able to say on the race radio "10-4" and "Copy that." It was like an episode of 24 out there without the action sequences and ridiculous timelines. Still, I stopped short of saying "affirmative" when answering a direct yes/no question.

This is turning out to be a busy time of year as work heats up, the race season begins, and I'm hoping to do more in the community. I promise to blog on topics other than cycling;). Racing is enormously challenging and there's nothing quite like it to get the mind off work and other pursuits. I'm ready to race every weekend!

For the first time in several years, I made it to the opening race of the Washington state bike racing season Saturday March 1. Pledging to my Garage Racing teammates that my goal was just to show up, I rolled my bike to the line with minutes to spare. It helped a little that I had done some winter riding out at Mason Lake across the Puget Sound from Seattle. But this time I would be riding with "Cat 3" riders, freshly uncaged from a winter without racing. Would it be a hammerfest from the start? Would I survive maybe a lap or two and have to pull out of the race, as I have done on several occasions in the past?

Turns out I felt pretty good and was able to accelerate through the field at times. Nor did I feel in danger that I would get dropped during the five-lap, 60-mile race. One of our teammates was in a break during the last third of the race, which put the onus on other riders to chase them down (which we did in the last 200 meters).

After the event, several teammates noted I look strong, seeming maybe a little surprised. After all, I didn't show up on any team rides over the winter, which is usually interpreted as a sign of disinterest in racing. But this year, I needed to try a different strategy than simply riding with the team every weekend. I can get pretty competitive out there. Or maybe it's simply a point of pride -- I'll want to go toe to toe with riders from the rest of the team, which consists of some state champions in the Cat 1 and 2 divisions, the top echelon of amateur cycling. This group consists of any young rider trying to be the next Lance Armstrong as well top notch racers in their 20s or 30s who might otherwise rie for a semi-pro team. So as you imagine going on training rides throughout the winter with these guys might hurt more than it helps. At least that's my excuse for missing all those team rides:) 

Instead, I've ridden solo -- on the indoor trainer, some commuting to work, and the occasional long ride. Hopefully, this turns out to be a recipe to actually do some decent racing for a change -- to at least match the uncaged animals! 

Then there is the issue of my wife Amy who doesn't exactly want me gone on long rides every weekend. Now that the season has started, my solution for this problem is refreshingly simple: throw money at it. We now have a team of professional nannies lined up to work various Saturdays. Cost? I'll just have to order fewer lattes;)

I guess that's the news from the 3-day weekend. Two early morning rides -- 7.20 a.m. on Sunday and 8 a.m. on Monday. Today, I rode with Keven, a Garage teammate, and we talked about organizing our team to do a communitiy service project with Childhaven, a home for foster kids. We would also like to lend our expertise with bicycles. That could be as simple as fixing some flat tires or minor repairs on bikes. If kids need bikes, I'm sure we could scrounge some up from the larger Seattle racing community.

Well its time again to dig up excuses or just keep quiet. This weekend I was supposed to be at the Enumclaw stage race, site of my best showing last year when I "blew the field apart" on the last hill. Well, I at least led the pace going up the final hill to the finish, ending up with a group of me and five other riders. Okay it was only the Masters C category then but in cycling you eke out whatever glory you can get!

This year I was wanting to race at Enunclaw even though it would have been against doctor's orders. I was lucky to walk away from that little collision when a car cut in front of me in the middle of an intersection. I totaled my red Univega bike and ended up with some bruising in the bone of the knee. I can still ride but intense efforts will likely prolong the recovery, my doctor said. I am from De Nial School of cycling pain but I must face down the most basic lessons now.

Power to weight ratio is another factor that matters. A lot. Is there still time to diet my way to glory? Looking at "old" cycling films from the 1970s, I notice that most of the pro racers actually looked like regular people. Even Eddy Merckx looked like just a pretty normal looking guy in good shape. Now, the riders look so gaunt. Especially for big races like the Tour de France,  it's clear some serious dieting has happened through the dictates of team chefs, coaches, doctors, etc.

In any case, I've learned just a few beers tends to dilute the effects of dieting. There should be a pill where you get to drink beer and lose weight at the same time. Big Pharma, are you reading?