Archive for August 2008
SSWC08 Race Report. August 24, 2008. Napa, CA
Aug 30 2008
Conrad Snover in Race Reports | 2 Comments
By Conrad Snover
The SSWC is approximately 30% serious race, 50% costume party, and 20% beer drinking, and we allocated our efforts appropriately. We dressed up, drank beer, and raced hard and had an amazing time
The NY Times wrote a great article, describing the race pretty well; read about it here: and be sure to view the slideshow.
While half our team was racing in Santa Cruz, the other half - the misfits - gathered in Napa for some serious tomfoolery and shenanigans. The course was super technical, and scared many people into stopping halfway through the first lap and focusing on drinking beer more than riding. Forrest ran farther than he probably ever has in his life (his motto: why walk or run when you can ride?), while wearing a black velour jacket with gold embroidering, to earn an entry. The HUGE effort certainly cost him a few places, but at this race who cares?
As we were all milling about waiting to hear how the LeMans style start would work, Glenn had an epiphany. He was worrying about how technical the course was while I was worrying about my gear and tire selection, and he looked at me and said " who cares!? The beautiful thing about this race, is that nothing matters. Were all there to have fun; were simply not going to contest against guys like Carl Dekker, Barry Wicks and Travis Brown.
Even with this perspective, I still stressed. I was worried that I had too easy of a gear (32x20), and I hadnt ridden the Michelin Dry 2.3 on the rear " it was huge. The gear worked out ok, though I was spinning a little more than Id like. The rear tire was too big and rubbed against my chainstay with every right pedal stroke. I was poopy when I finished the race since I also felt lousy and through the entire race didn't feel like I could get on top of my gear, and it took a while for me to be happy with how well I did and remember how fun it was.
Next year: Durango amyone?
Click here for our Flickr Gallery:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21265854@N02/sets/72157607029043182/Results:
8th: Conrad Snover
12th: Gary Mandy
24th: Rich Blanco
58th: Glenn Rawlinson
63rd: Forrest Huisman
After waking up in Pacific Heights we ventured down the coast, the girls got out and rode Highway 1, and Ramsey and I headed for the University Road Race Course to pre-ride the course. At first glance it appeared like an easy race to me. The next day proved me to be wrong as Ramsey, Devon, Andy, and I (me) all took part in what would eventually become a struggle for survival.
Good positioning in the race proved helpful but nutrition, once again, caught me by surprise. The course was a 3.5 mile loop. You start on a slight climb and then you descend while admiring the coast, then ascend, descend, and repeat 15 times. Ascending the climb took the heart to max love and descending put you into a cold recovery. If you fall out of sync, and the peloton keeps this rhythm, then you miss out on the recovery and get popped on the climb. It sounds easy doesn't it, well it is if you remain focused. On the 12th lap, up the climb I struck up a conversation with a fellow rider wearing a BikeRX kit. BikeRX is a rad Mill Valley, CA bike shop who coined the bike vending machine which apparently Trek put in their distribution catalog for 2009. At least this is what I remember from conversing at heart rate max.
Next, I learned that my fellow conversator and I let a 5 foot gap turn to 10 feet and witnessed a surge. We sessioned up the steep climb and rotated pulls quickly landing us back in the back protected with 3 remaining laps. The next climb was all out and recovery was out of sync. The entire peloton blew and small groups formed everywhere. I was in the chase group rotating through within the top ten at this point.
We chased, chased some more while closing in when my legs began resisting the tremendous variance in heat. It went from a freezing descent to a 90 degree exposed climb every ten minutes or so leading to fierce cramping with just 1-2 remaining laps.
With one lap to go, and my best finish yet, I kept focus and envisioned windmills swooping around naturally which helped me to keep a pedal rhythm.
The embarrassing part about this was that 4-5 people passed me 200 yard before the finish line where my largest ever cheering crew sat hooping and hollering for my finish. I dreamt of attacking and actually surged. My surge looked great, to me, but it only lasted long enough for the other riders to notice and then pick up pace themselves landing me a top 15 finish instead of my top 5 goal.
As I crossed the finish line, I dropped my chain, literally right on the line. As means of survival, I popped my cleats out, jumped from the bike, had an entire body cramp - Allana grabbed my bike shouting "just get me off this thing" (she was reading my mind) and I tip toed very quickly, while crying deep inside, into the shade where I would lay down looking up at the 15 fans staring down at me saying so many positive things like you inspired me, you could have had it, it was a tough one and on and on.
Nonetheless, it was a ton of fun from start to finish. Congratulations to Ramsey for tremendous progress this last week in both UCSC and Boca, to Andy for making dreams reality, and to Devon for getting in where you fit in (a San Ardo victory for DV). Also, thanks to everyone who joined us in Santa Cruz, I hope you attend another event, just wear spandex next time.
Thanks for reading and go see Radiohead if you get the chance.
Matt Chappell
Conrad Snover: Cat 3: 75 miles
Nate Freed: P/1/2, 100 miles
Results:
Conrad Snover, 1st place Cat 3
Nate Freed, TBD P/1/2
Andy Scott, 1st place Masters Cat 5
Sky Tavern XC - Nevada State Championships
Aug 19 2008
Matt Chappell in Race Reports | No Comments Yet
Riding a single speed bike is fun, to a degree. Going up hill makes you feel like your towing a train in a strong man competition but there is something fun about pedaling a hard tail bike once again and doing so with only one gear. It's a familiar practice in that it has similarities to running which many of us have experience with. You stand a lot, and coast a lot. This race was my 3rd ride total on a single speed so I set out with little expectation and a lot of unanswered questions about descending and maintaining momentum. Immediately I thought to jump on teammate Justin Thomas' wheel but, as the pictures exemplifies, this man is like a freight train and leaves most riders in his small but wicked wake.
JT (Justin Thomas) and I raced the Mt. Rose Hill Climb today. JT was one of the late starters and spent the race passing tons of dudes, (including me) and tackling the 13.7 mile, 3700' climb in a few ticks under an hour. The average gradient over the course is 5.1%. For anyone math challenged, that means JT averaged nearly 14 mph up the huge climb.
I spent the day being passed by all the fast guys, and I personally didn't see anyone going any faster than JT. He may have won the event, no results yet, but if not he was for sure one of the top guys!
I did the ride as a tempo training ride, holding my HR at about 160 bpm average. I finished something like 15 minutes slower than JT!
I was really stoked to see JT riding so well, and his Downieville win is not as much of a surprise to me after seeing him ride today.
Results
- Max Polin, 55:44
- Christopher Jones, 58:38
- Chad Timmerman, 59:01
- Justin Thomas, 59:06
- Paul Mckenzie, 1:16:25
Sunday, 10 Aug 2008
Well the stars aligned for this race, the pro and expert single speeds had separate categories (Maile took it easily), and most of the real racers were tapped from Patterson the day prior. I decided on Saturday night to join the three time National Mountain Bike Champion (Henry Kramer) for a good hard effort. With his primary season objective met, he was just starting to prep for cyclocross and check out the Angwin trails.
The course included three 8.5mi laps with a section to/from the lap circuit. Many of the sections were included in the early season Napa Valley Dirt Classic, but run in the reverse direction. Most notably, the singletrack forest sections were super twisty, rolling, and perfect for railing on a single.
My start was good and I went into the singletrack with a 29er up front and right behind. The switchback laden singletrack presented a clear advantage for me versus the big rollers and I pulled away, but not by much. Luckily my running form is coming around, and I was recovering well from the back section steep fireroads climbs. After finishing two and half laps, I was caught on the fireroad descents ... those 29ers are really smooth over those and speedy. But I kept it close, and knew I was going to be tough on the climbs back to the finish. On the first steep pitch, I ran by the leader and never looked back. It was really cool coming onto the track in the lead and enjoying the solo finish. Gold baby!
After I finished the Cascade Classic Stage Race (a major goal of the year) a few weeks ago, I suddenly lost all desire to ride my bike. I was hoping to hold my form through July and finish strong at the State Road Championships before taking a break. Instead my bike has sat almost dormant in my garage, still riddled with dead bugs from Bend, Oregon.
What happened, where did I go wrong? Am I over-trained, over-reached or just a big pussy? This is the first season that I kept a detailed daily record of all my training data, including stress and recovery systems. In theory, analyzing this data will reveal the answer to my lack-of motivation.
Mantra to Form & Fitness Enlightenment
It took me years to grasp this concept. And as simple as it is, I still haven't mastered it. Whether it's the lure of a fast group ride, a doubt in my form that provokes an extra training session or simply too many junk miles; upsetting the recovery balance is frighteningly easy. Even with the foresight of my over training temptations, I often still find myself grinding along on tired legs, digging my own recovery grave. For optimal growth to occur, that recovery grave-hole needs to be filled back up again before I dare go near it. And not only does that dirt need to packed down, but there should be a layer of grass growing on top as well. If I come back too soon, shovel in-hand, I'll be working with loose soil - which makes it even easier to dig a deeper hole.
During my eight year journey in bike racing, I don't think I've stood on green grass very often, and I sure as hell haven't stayed fresh enough to let any flowers grow. But this season was going to be different. By using daily stress monitoring methods, I planed on turning into the "Johnny Appleseed" of balanced training.
TRIMPS
Starting this year, I began tracking my training loads using a method know as TRIMPS (Training Impulse Score). The basic calculation for TRIMPS is duration times average HR (heart rate). I add weight to the equation by incorporating perceived exertion (scale of 1-10) and heart rate zones (zones 1-5).(Zone A Minutes x Zone A Average HR) x A
+
(Zone B Minutes x Zone B Average HR) x B
x
Perceived Exertion = TRIMPS
This formula gives me a numerical representation of total training load for any given workout. The differences in TRIMPS scores from day-to-day and week-to-week are usually confirmed by my waking HR and perceived level of fatigue. So by comparing the following three values;
- TRIMPS Score
- Percieved Level of Fatigue
- Waking HR
I have graphed out a portion of the 2008 season using TRIMPS, noting the major events of each week. My training loads are planned around the A priority events (in red), gradually building intensity and duration. Before an A level event, I typically take a rest week to achieve total adaptation.
Breaking Down the Data
Upon analyzing the chart, it appears that I was able to keep my fatigue levels under control through the 4th week in May. From January through May, I had the appropriate amount of rest versus work load as indicated by my waking HR and fatigue levels returning to baseline.During the 3rd week in March I had my highest recorded TRIMPS levels of the season. Copperopolis Road Race coupled with a very high training volume in the same week led to the high numbers. Obviously my performance at Copperopolis suffered because of the energy expended that week. Fortunately I took it very easy the following seven days, and was probably lucky that I flatted in the first six miles of Wards Ferry as it gave me another full week of rest.
Farther down the year, my results during the 5 week period of Sea Otter, Gila and Mt Hood reflect an almost perfectly timed peak of form. It was the workout hard, rest harder and adapt mantra executed to a T. But then I flew a little close to the sun.
Ciclismo Italia
After my flight landed I went for a quick spin. From my very first pedal stroke, I could tell that the super-compensation had funneled some tremendous power into my legs. Yet I was hesitant to go hard. The idea behind my vacation in Italy was to get some true rest and effectively split my season in half. I was still going to ride, just not very hard. Recovery > Workout, remember?
The next day I mapped out what appeared to be a fairly easy ride, but instead it turn out to be an epic mountain pass filled jaunt into Switzerland. Once again, I was feeling amazing on the pedals, strong than I have felt all season. Without trying, I was ascending 2-3mph faster than normal, and I had the power to climb like that all day. I tried to throttle my efforts, but it felt so good to be able to charge so hard. It was a no-chain day, where riding seemed effortless. It was the culmination of fitness built from back-to-back stage races and 6 months of solid training. But...
And It Was a Trap
The rest of the trip was spent doing long, epic, body draining rides as I savored this penultimate form. I threw all plans to rest peacefully out the window. I had lost all sense of logic and Workout > Recovery. As a result, my fatigue levels following Italy were at a record high (and they were already high). I had sore legs for a week when I returned to stateside. I should have been resting in Italy, instead I was doing the hardest rides of my life, and digging myself a huge recovery hole. My TRIMPS scores for these two week reflect how good I felt, as my perceived exertion was minimal and resulted in very low stress numbers. While I had the legs to ride hard, I didn't have the reserves or cortisol buffers to tolerate so much volume and intensity.My next mi
stake was to jump right back into my training plan post Europe. Since Italy was logged as rest weeks in my diary, and the TRIMPS scores were reasonably low, I assumed I had it in me to continue with Goal #2 of the season, the Cascade Classic. All the while I was blatantly ignoring my fatigue levels. I stacked three huge training/racing weeks before Cascade. These three weeks combined equaled about six weeks of normal training load. No wonder I blew up.
It finally all came crashing down post Cascade. Not only was I physically worn down, but the day-to-day minutiae of training right, eating right and sleeping right cracked my morale. I started getting dropped on group rides. My muscles felt like crackling dry dog-crap through every pedal stroke. My placing in races had become mediocre. My mind started to wander from the dedicated life of an athlete. Cycling is 90% mental and I'm already mentally unstable. So tossing a wrench of failed expectations into my psyche is a surefire way to derail all training plans.
Conclusion
And that's where I stand today. The desire to compete still hasn't returned. I'm trying my best to keep riding, as I don't want to lose my hard earned fitness. I'm sorta watching my weight, sorta monitoring my diet and sorta exercising with a modicum of enthusiasm.
Was I over trained? Yes, as indicated by abnormal fatigue and motivation levels. Am I a big pussy? Possibly. Is bike racing the most selfish sport in existence, leading to douche bags spewing endless online tales lamenting over their own fitness? That's a question for a real man to answer, not a giant weeping vagina on wheels.
