OK, it's a little late but I've been a bit busy cartooning and injuring my knee (the good one) by working in the crawl space in Crested Butte - note to self, ride the bike, stay out of the crawl space. A visit to Dr. Pruitt at BCSM and I'm back in action. Yes, they do magic. Highly-informed, science-based but magic none-the-less.
Oh yes, City Park. Contrary to published reports, we contested the short course with the fun traffic furniture, lots of left turns and a slightly uphill sprint immediately after the final roundabout. 7 AM start. Four Vic's Espresso Peerless Tire 55-ers lined up, Bill Simmons, Mike Newsome, Dean Sandoval and me with most of the usual suspects for opponents plus a fit-looking Glen Winkle. Bill suggested our numbers indicated an attack-often strategy and we all were good with that. True to his word, Bill attacked on the first corner and put a good gap on the field. I had a good start and was able to take the lead and do some effective blocking for a couple of laps. Mike came up to perpetuate this tactic and we both covered Glen's many attacks for numerous circles. Glen found to his disappointment that no one would help him out. Bill rode a magnificent solo to the win with Glen taking the field sprint as Mike and I were a bit smoked by the work. Results: Mike third, Dean ninth and I was fifth. An excellent day indeed - I'm thrilled to be back mixing it up with my mates!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
It was a cold and wet day at Cherry Creek Reservoir
Wednesday May 12th, as I was working away at my computer, one of my coworkers asked me to turn around and look out my window. The snow was coming down mixed with rain and it looked miserable here in Golden. He joked and asked me if I was going to go to the race since the weather looked so terrible. I just said, “Absolutely”.
Now to be honest I wasn’t looking forward to riding in this kind of weather but I remember a few weeks back when Neal, Grant, Curtis, Mike and I did the team TT at haystack. No that was fun on a whole different level.
Now back to the present. I gathered up my stuff and headed to Cherry Creek at about 4:10pm just incase there was a traffic jam due to the weather. I headed down 6th Ave. the snow stopped and then the rain stopped. It actually looked like it was going to be a nice day to race. There was really no traffic, people were being considerate on the road and all seemed right with the world. Sing Kumbaya here and hold up your hands.
I head into the park and find my fellow blues. I park next to Steve and get out and talk to him for a minute then start my pre-race ritual. Dennis was spinning away and looked to be in the middle of an effort so I didn’t want to interrupt him. This time I am a bit more relaxed since I’m about an hour and a half early. As I walk casually towards the restrooms I see Dean’s Red VW bus with Darren B in the passenger seat. When I get back Dean is getting his stuff ready so I decide enough messing around and start to get ready as well. I look through my stuff and notice I forgot my powertap head unit. That made me nervous so I took a quick inventory: race wheels check, shoes check, number and jersey check, helmet check, ok I can at least race. Turns out I only forgot my powertap head unit so I had to do my warm-up by feel. As Dean, Darren and I warm-up the temperature started getting cooler and then Dean said, “I think I saw a snow flake”.
Sure enough the weather was catching me from Golden. The warm-up got my under clothes wet and I got real cold as I put my trainer and items away. I switch my under gear to some dry stuff I had in the car and head to the line with about 10 minutes to spare. I rode a couple times around the boat dock then headed up to the starting line.
Dean started off 40 seconds ahead of me and Darren 20 seconds. The last week I have felt fairly good on the bike and wanted to have that feeling in a race. Well it happened yesterday. I took off and got up to speed quickly and it appeared just in my jump to speed I cut into Darren’s time. As I turned the first corner I settled in to my rhythm and continued to eat up seconds on Darren. I looked ahead and could see Dean about 10 seconds in front of Darren. I didn’t let my eagerness get the best of me and contained my rhythm. I pass Darren in the start of my personal “second quarter” of the race. Here I ratchet it up a bit. I pass Darren and he encourages me on. I see Dean ahead and he looks like the road runner cartoon character. His feet are spinning so fast all you see is a circle. I pass Dean and see another guy ahead of him. I know that if I don’t go a bit faster now I will be blocked in the turn. I crank it up to pass him before the turn and then settle back to my 2nd quarter effort. In the first turn around I encounter 2 more riders. One I pass outside and the other I had to scrub a bit of speed because of the wet road and painted surface and he had the best line in the corner back on to the main road. I stand here and sprint back up to speed and now I start my “3rd quarter” effort. The trip back I pass a few more riders and before I know it I am on the hill heading toward the lollipop. This hill was tough with the wind in my face I stand and fight the entire climb. It was a very tough effort but I knew I had to hold my speed up. In my mind I tell myself, “just suffer really badly for 30 seconds and you can rest on the downhill”. I get to the top and then my mind quickly tells my body, “You like the speed and pain take it to the 4th quarter here and leave it all on the course”. A car pulls out at the bottom of the hill and I am quickly gaining on it. I look for my outs and contemplate what my plan of attack is. As I get about 100 meters from the car and I think to myself, “I am going to catch this car in the lollipop, he has no idea what it is like to be on a bike in a race with a wet surface and a 180 degree corner. This is going to cost me a ton of time.”
I keep my 4th quarter effort going and the car is holding about 100 meters to the corner. Then the car does something I can not believe. He pulls over to the inside completely out of my way and lets me pass without slowing me down one bit. I slowed for the corner and sprinted out to get back up to speed. As hard as I can I pedal towards the finish line. My legs are screaming at me to stop, I have snot and spit all over my face and really don’t care. All am thinking is that there is 30 seconds left. Spin circles, hold the power as long as you can and man I bet that lady standing on the chair radioing in our numbers is cold. Then the finish line and I am done.
I wait for Dean and find out that for the second week he had a mechanical. When I passed him he was spun out because he could not get his rear derailleur to go below the 19 cog. He still smashed the course and I believe he would have taken the win if it weren’t for his bad luck.
The Blues results:
I was excited to finish fourth overall on the day and only 9 seconds behind Nico and 44 seconds behind Greg Krause.
Pro1-2
4 Robert Kelly SM Pro-1-2 Vic's Espresso Littleton 0:21:14.14 -0:00:44.13
35+ cat 3
1 Curtis Leschyshyn SM 35+_3 Boulder Masters Cycling Team Littleton 0:21:47.34
55-59
2 Dean Sandoval SM 55-59 Boulder Masters Cycling Team Canon City 0:23:12.49
6 Steven Worley SM 55-59 Boulder Masters Cycling Team Boulder 0:25:27.51
60-64
1 Dennis Hastings SM 60-64 Boulder Masters Cycling Team Evergreen 0:23:48.86
Now to be honest I wasn’t looking forward to riding in this kind of weather but I remember a few weeks back when Neal, Grant, Curtis, Mike and I did the team TT at haystack. No that was fun on a whole different level.
Now back to the present. I gathered up my stuff and headed to Cherry Creek at about 4:10pm just incase there was a traffic jam due to the weather. I headed down 6th Ave. the snow stopped and then the rain stopped. It actually looked like it was going to be a nice day to race. There was really no traffic, people were being considerate on the road and all seemed right with the world. Sing Kumbaya here and hold up your hands.
I head into the park and find my fellow blues. I park next to Steve and get out and talk to him for a minute then start my pre-race ritual. Dennis was spinning away and looked to be in the middle of an effort so I didn’t want to interrupt him. This time I am a bit more relaxed since I’m about an hour and a half early. As I walk casually towards the restrooms I see Dean’s Red VW bus with Darren B in the passenger seat. When I get back Dean is getting his stuff ready so I decide enough messing around and start to get ready as well. I look through my stuff and notice I forgot my powertap head unit. That made me nervous so I took a quick inventory: race wheels check, shoes check, number and jersey check, helmet check, ok I can at least race. Turns out I only forgot my powertap head unit so I had to do my warm-up by feel. As Dean, Darren and I warm-up the temperature started getting cooler and then Dean said, “I think I saw a snow flake”.
Sure enough the weather was catching me from Golden. The warm-up got my under clothes wet and I got real cold as I put my trainer and items away. I switch my under gear to some dry stuff I had in the car and head to the line with about 10 minutes to spare. I rode a couple times around the boat dock then headed up to the starting line.
Dean started off 40 seconds ahead of me and Darren 20 seconds. The last week I have felt fairly good on the bike and wanted to have that feeling in a race. Well it happened yesterday. I took off and got up to speed quickly and it appeared just in my jump to speed I cut into Darren’s time. As I turned the first corner I settled in to my rhythm and continued to eat up seconds on Darren. I looked ahead and could see Dean about 10 seconds in front of Darren. I didn’t let my eagerness get the best of me and contained my rhythm. I pass Darren in the start of my personal “second quarter” of the race. Here I ratchet it up a bit. I pass Darren and he encourages me on. I see Dean ahead and he looks like the road runner cartoon character. His feet are spinning so fast all you see is a circle. I pass Dean and see another guy ahead of him. I know that if I don’t go a bit faster now I will be blocked in the turn. I crank it up to pass him before the turn and then settle back to my 2nd quarter effort. In the first turn around I encounter 2 more riders. One I pass outside and the other I had to scrub a bit of speed because of the wet road and painted surface and he had the best line in the corner back on to the main road. I stand here and sprint back up to speed and now I start my “3rd quarter” effort. The trip back I pass a few more riders and before I know it I am on the hill heading toward the lollipop. This hill was tough with the wind in my face I stand and fight the entire climb. It was a very tough effort but I knew I had to hold my speed up. In my mind I tell myself, “just suffer really badly for 30 seconds and you can rest on the downhill”. I get to the top and then my mind quickly tells my body, “You like the speed and pain take it to the 4th quarter here and leave it all on the course”. A car pulls out at the bottom of the hill and I am quickly gaining on it. I look for my outs and contemplate what my plan of attack is. As I get about 100 meters from the car and I think to myself, “I am going to catch this car in the lollipop, he has no idea what it is like to be on a bike in a race with a wet surface and a 180 degree corner. This is going to cost me a ton of time.”
I keep my 4th quarter effort going and the car is holding about 100 meters to the corner. Then the car does something I can not believe. He pulls over to the inside completely out of my way and lets me pass without slowing me down one bit. I slowed for the corner and sprinted out to get back up to speed. As hard as I can I pedal towards the finish line. My legs are screaming at me to stop, I have snot and spit all over my face and really don’t care. All am thinking is that there is 30 seconds left. Spin circles, hold the power as long as you can and man I bet that lady standing on the chair radioing in our numbers is cold. Then the finish line and I am done.
I wait for Dean and find out that for the second week he had a mechanical. When I passed him he was spun out because he could not get his rear derailleur to go below the 19 cog. He still smashed the course and I believe he would have taken the win if it weren’t for his bad luck.
The Blues results:
I was excited to finish fourth overall on the day and only 9 seconds behind Nico and 44 seconds behind Greg Krause.
Pro1-2
4 Robert Kelly SM Pro-1-2 Vic's Espresso Littleton 0:21:14.14 -0:00:44.13
35+ cat 3
1 Curtis Leschyshyn SM 35+_3 Boulder Masters Cycling Team Littleton 0:21:47.34
55-59
2 Dean Sandoval SM 55-59 Boulder Masters Cycling Team Canon City 0:23:12.49
6 Steven Worley SM 55-59 Boulder Masters Cycling Team Boulder 0:25:27.51
60-64
1 Dennis Hastings SM 60-64 Boulder Masters Cycling Team Evergreen 0:23:48.86
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Embrace High Speed
The concrete oval is open and six Vics started the training season 5/8, Saturday. It was windy making the home stretch brutal in the big gears, but we all got the work done and are on the way to high speeds again. The team makes an awesome impression on all onlookers, especially when all six are lined out pacing - great look, tight formation, and perfect track technique. I'm glad the first fixed-gear body shock is over - let the training begin!Sunday, May 2, 2010
45+ Sandstone Ranch Criterium
...But Not Faster Than Bob Dahl...
Representing Vic's Espresso/Peerless Tire in the 45+ open race at the inaugural Sandstone Ranch Criterium east of Longmont were Jerry Greenleaf, Joe Paulson, Bill Simmons, and John Talley. With rain/snow forecast for the afternoon,the Vic's racers were pleased to have partly cloudy and chilly but dry weather for their 12:30 start time. Black clouds loomed over the mountains to the west, but they appeared likely to stay away until after the completion of their 45 minute timed event.
Pre-race strategy discussion centered on being watchful for riders from the Skins team, who had driven successful breakaways from the gun in the last two criteriums they had contested. However, as the blue boys took a couple of warm-up laps on the long rectangular course, it was the sight of Excel Sports rider Bob Dahl who had Joe most concerned, due to his dominating sprinting ability and impressive list of criterium wins in the 35+ ranks he had graduated from last year.
The race was animated from the start, with various riders trying excursions off the front. The blues stayed attentive, but patiently let the larger teams pursue breaks in which their jerseys weren't represented. Great Divide rider Jim Dickerson is legendary for his long breakaways, and when he tried one early on, the Jet quickly hopped on for the ride. JT, Bill, and Joe, moved to the front with the Great Divide riders to discourage an immediate pursuit. Contributing just enough to encourage Jim to keep it rolling, the Jet let Jim power the two of them around the course while remaining within striking distance of the field, which eventually pulled them back.
About half way through the race, three strong riders from different big teams got up the road, setting off alarm bells in Joe's head. Picking his moment when the field hesitated on the front straight, Joe launched from mid-pack to try a solo bridge. Half way across, he glanced back to see that Christopher Stout had jumped on board, and made it across with Joe. After a bit of recovery, Joe started to rotate through with the initial three escapees, but the gap to the field started to come down.
As the field got close, other riders were able to jump across, swelling the break to eight riders. To Joe's dismay, he saw that Bob Dahl was one of the late arrivals to the party. JT almost made it across with another rider, but the break got more organized, and pulled away for good. At four laps to go, the cohesion went back out of the group, and only about half of the riders were continuing to work. Anticipating the inevitable attacks, Joe worked his way onto Bob's wheel in the rotation.
Fed up with the limited contributions from other riders, Jimi Gibson set out on his own, but was reeled back in. At two laps to go, Jim Dickerson jumped out of the group, and the other riders looked at each other to see who would blink first. The duty fell to Jimi, who took up the front again. Jim's gap was getting dangerously large, so Joe pulled through hoping to re-establish a rotation to assist Jimi. No one followed though, so Jimi was soon back on the front, taking it as a personal challenge to try to pull Jim back on the last lap.
With half a lap to go, a rider launched up the side, and the end game was on. Joe fought for Bob's wheel as they approached the second to last corner, where being positioned in the top three was going to be key. Bob jumped as Derek Nichol came to the front, and the two riders fought for supremacy into the turn, with Joe right behind. Coming into the final turn with 200 meters to go, Bob and Derek were bouncing off each other, and Joe backed off in case they went down. Everyone stayed up, but Bob now had a little gap, which opened up as he accelerated out of the turn and down the home straight.
Joe left Derek behind as Bob hunted down Jim (remember Jim?) who was giving everything he had left to hold on for 100 more meters. Bob passed Jim, then Joe passed Jim in the last 50 meters, but no one was going to pass Bob, who crossed the line for the win with Joe now a few bike lengths back in 2nd. Jim held on for a richly deserved 3rd and final podium spot, and JT took the field sprint for 9th, followed in by Bill in 15th and the Jet in 21st.
Representing Vic's Espresso/Peerless Tire in the 45+ open race at the inaugural Sandstone Ranch Criterium east of Longmont were Jerry Greenleaf, Joe Paulson, Bill Simmons, and John Talley. With rain/snow forecast for the afternoon,the Vic's racers were pleased to have partly cloudy and chilly but dry weather for their 12:30 start time. Black clouds loomed over the mountains to the west, but they appeared likely to stay away until after the completion of their 45 minute timed event.
Pre-race strategy discussion centered on being watchful for riders from the Skins team, who had driven successful breakaways from the gun in the last two criteriums they had contested. However, as the blue boys took a couple of warm-up laps on the long rectangular course, it was the sight of Excel Sports rider Bob Dahl who had Joe most concerned, due to his dominating sprinting ability and impressive list of criterium wins in the 35+ ranks he had graduated from last year.
The race was animated from the start, with various riders trying excursions off the front. The blues stayed attentive, but patiently let the larger teams pursue breaks in which their jerseys weren't represented. Great Divide rider Jim Dickerson is legendary for his long breakaways, and when he tried one early on, the Jet quickly hopped on for the ride. JT, Bill, and Joe, moved to the front with the Great Divide riders to discourage an immediate pursuit. Contributing just enough to encourage Jim to keep it rolling, the Jet let Jim power the two of them around the course while remaining within striking distance of the field, which eventually pulled them back.
About half way through the race, three strong riders from different big teams got up the road, setting off alarm bells in Joe's head. Picking his moment when the field hesitated on the front straight, Joe launched from mid-pack to try a solo bridge. Half way across, he glanced back to see that Christopher Stout had jumped on board, and made it across with Joe. After a bit of recovery, Joe started to rotate through with the initial three escapees, but the gap to the field started to come down.
As the field got close, other riders were able to jump across, swelling the break to eight riders. To Joe's dismay, he saw that Bob Dahl was one of the late arrivals to the party. JT almost made it across with another rider, but the break got more organized, and pulled away for good. At four laps to go, the cohesion went back out of the group, and only about half of the riders were continuing to work. Anticipating the inevitable attacks, Joe worked his way onto Bob's wheel in the rotation.
Fed up with the limited contributions from other riders, Jimi Gibson set out on his own, but was reeled back in. At two laps to go, Jim Dickerson jumped out of the group, and the other riders looked at each other to see who would blink first. The duty fell to Jimi, who took up the front again. Jim's gap was getting dangerously large, so Joe pulled through hoping to re-establish a rotation to assist Jimi. No one followed though, so Jimi was soon back on the front, taking it as a personal challenge to try to pull Jim back on the last lap.
With half a lap to go, a rider launched up the side, and the end game was on. Joe fought for Bob's wheel as they approached the second to last corner, where being positioned in the top three was going to be key. Bob jumped as Derek Nichol came to the front, and the two riders fought for supremacy into the turn, with Joe right behind. Coming into the final turn with 200 meters to go, Bob and Derek were bouncing off each other, and Joe backed off in case they went down. Everyone stayed up, but Bob now had a little gap, which opened up as he accelerated out of the turn and down the home straight.
Joe left Derek behind as Bob hunted down Jim (remember Jim?) who was giving everything he had left to hold on for 100 more meters. Bob passed Jim, then Joe passed Jim in the last 50 meters, but no one was going to pass Bob, who crossed the line for the win with Joe now a few bike lengths back in 2nd. Jim held on for a richly deserved 3rd and final podium spot, and JT took the field sprint for 9th, followed in by Bill in 15th and the Jet in 21st.
Faster than a speeding bullet
Yesterday I had the studio set up for a shoot in the morning and afterwards got Joe to stop by for a few set ups. here's one of them.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
45+ Groove Subaru Spring Criterium
Uphill; Downhill
Joe Paulson, Bill Simmons, and John Talley came out on a moderately chilly and breezy spring morning to fly the Vic's Espresso/Peerless Tire colors with approximately 50 other racers on the up and down criterium course just outside of Golden. Feeling rather outnumbered by several other teams, the boys planned to ride conservatively for the first half of the 50 minute race, and then try to lead out JT on the final lap if it came down to a field sprint. However, recalling the immediate four man break that stayed away the entire race the previous weekend in Louisville, they knew they needed to stay attentive to threatening breaks.
Like a re-run of a bad movie, once again a break disappeared up the road almost immediately. The good news: it was a solo rider. Who could stay away against those headwinds for 45 more minutes. The bad news: it turned out to be Todd Robertson, a member of the previous week's winning move, and the individual time trial winner at Haystack in the 35+ category (no, that's not a typo). Several riders made stabs off the front to try to chase him down, including Jimi Gibson and Rod Yoder. The boys covered the serious looking moves, until Joe found himself up the road with Jimi and another rider. They were able to close some of the distance to the solo leader, but could not bring the gap down below 25 seconds. The field started to close back in, but a bridge move brought five additional riders up, including Rod Yoder and Bill Kellagher from Vitamin Cottage. With most of the major teams now represented up front, Bill and JT were able to work with the teammates of Joe's companions to shut the pursuit down.
With eight laps to go, JT hit one of the recessed manhole covers littering the course, breaking a wheel and cranking his handlebars over so his brakes locked up, bringing him to a very abrupt halt. With no free laps remaining, JT's race ended early.
Meanwhile, with eight riders now chasing off the front, the leader should have been in jeopardy, but the cooperation in the group disappeared as single riders kept attacking, and Joe kept chasing back to them with the others in tow. Joe refused to respond to yet another Jimi move, and he rolled away from the group. On the last lap, Joe got on Bob Dahl's wheel, but they caught an elite women's group (racing at the same time) in the final corner, and in the confusion Joe got gapped. Another rider who Joe hadn't seen the entire break came by with fresh legs, and Joe settled for 5th. The field sprint for 10th was getting hairy, so Bill backed off to live another day, but still claimed a top 20 finish.
The Vic's boys then pulled off their 45+ numbers, grabbed some quick food and drink, and lined up with their 35+ teammates for another 60 minutes of fun!
Joe Paulson, Bill Simmons, and John Talley came out on a moderately chilly and breezy spring morning to fly the Vic's Espresso/Peerless Tire colors with approximately 50 other racers on the up and down criterium course just outside of Golden. Feeling rather outnumbered by several other teams, the boys planned to ride conservatively for the first half of the 50 minute race, and then try to lead out JT on the final lap if it came down to a field sprint. However, recalling the immediate four man break that stayed away the entire race the previous weekend in Louisville, they knew they needed to stay attentive to threatening breaks.
Like a re-run of a bad movie, once again a break disappeared up the road almost immediately. The good news: it was a solo rider. Who could stay away against those headwinds for 45 more minutes. The bad news: it turned out to be Todd Robertson, a member of the previous week's winning move, and the individual time trial winner at Haystack in the 35+ category (no, that's not a typo). Several riders made stabs off the front to try to chase him down, including Jimi Gibson and Rod Yoder. The boys covered the serious looking moves, until Joe found himself up the road with Jimi and another rider. They were able to close some of the distance to the solo leader, but could not bring the gap down below 25 seconds. The field started to close back in, but a bridge move brought five additional riders up, including Rod Yoder and Bill Kellagher from Vitamin Cottage. With most of the major teams now represented up front, Bill and JT were able to work with the teammates of Joe's companions to shut the pursuit down.
With eight laps to go, JT hit one of the recessed manhole covers littering the course, breaking a wheel and cranking his handlebars over so his brakes locked up, bringing him to a very abrupt halt. With no free laps remaining, JT's race ended early.
Meanwhile, with eight riders now chasing off the front, the leader should have been in jeopardy, but the cooperation in the group disappeared as single riders kept attacking, and Joe kept chasing back to them with the others in tow. Joe refused to respond to yet another Jimi move, and he rolled away from the group. On the last lap, Joe got on Bob Dahl's wheel, but they caught an elite women's group (racing at the same time) in the final corner, and in the confusion Joe got gapped. Another rider who Joe hadn't seen the entire break came by with fresh legs, and Joe settled for 5th. The field sprint for 10th was getting hairy, so Bill backed off to live another day, but still claimed a top 20 finish.
The Vic's boys then pulled off their 45+ numbers, grabbed some quick food and drink, and lined up with their 35+ teammates for another 60 minutes of fun!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
45+ Haystack TTT
Deluge!
With the weather forecast predicting a 30% chance of light rain in the afternoon, the 45+ Vic's Espresso/Peerless Tire 5-man time trial team of Bill Brant, Mike Newsome, Joe Paulson, John Talley, and Brian Todeschini had their hopes up that the overcast but dry conditions of the morning would hold until their 2:07:20 afternoon start time. It was not to be. By the time Bill and Joe arrived at their rendezvous spot in north Boulder to begin preparations, a light mist was falling, that turned into light rain during their warm-ups. By the time the boys rolled north on US 36 toward the start line, the rain was coming down in earnest, and body core temperatures were plummeting.
The Blues were shivering uncontrollably as they took their place in the start tent, but tried to focus on the task ahead. The starter counted them down, and they were off. Joe lead them out onto the course, followed by Bill, Mike, JT, and Brian. They were under way smoothly, got up to speed, and started their rotation. It was quickly apparent that on this day, the front was actually the most comfortable place to be, because following a wheel meant catching a torrent of silt-laden spray full in the face, making seeing, hearing, and breathing all a challenge.
JT powered them up the long climb, Brian pulled across the top, and Joe took them into the first corner, already on the heels of the team that started 40 seconds before them. They eased around the corner, then wound it up down Nelson Road, which was full of standing water. The water on the road, coating their glasses, and in their eyes made navigating down Nelson Road at 49 mph a matter of instinct, trust, and hope. They all kept it upright down the descents, across the bottom, and up the climb to the second turn.
Another corner safely behind them, the rolled south, the cold and wet conditions starting to really penetrate. Up and down the final hill all five were still together, and they pushed to the final turn, then sprinted the final few hundred meters to the line. As Joe led them home, the water was so blinding that he never saw a line, so he just kept going until there weren't people around any more.
The revised course due to road construction on Niwot Road meant the boys still had a long ride back to their rendezvous point, so they just kept riding in the rain and cold, holding onto their bars with shaking hands. As they headed south on 63rd, a van suddenly swung into a driveway in front of them. As they were wondering what the crazy driver was up to, out popped Neal Henderson and Jerry Greenleaf who were coming to the rescue. They threw the bikes in the back, the boys piled in, and Neal cranked the heat. They delivered Mike and Joe back to their cars in north Boulder, into which they huddled to warm up before loading up their soaked and filthy gear.
Joe headed to the registration area to check results, and found the disappointing news that Mix1 had taken top honors on the day with a time of 23:37. Cody Racing was second at 23:58, and the Vic's boys rounded out the podium just behind at 24:02. Their Haystack TTT reign ended, the boys could take solace in surviving intact the epic conditions they'll long remember.
With the weather forecast predicting a 30% chance of light rain in the afternoon, the 45+ Vic's Espresso/Peerless Tire 5-man time trial team of Bill Brant, Mike Newsome, Joe Paulson, John Talley, and Brian Todeschini had their hopes up that the overcast but dry conditions of the morning would hold until their 2:07:20 afternoon start time. It was not to be. By the time Bill and Joe arrived at their rendezvous spot in north Boulder to begin preparations, a light mist was falling, that turned into light rain during their warm-ups. By the time the boys rolled north on US 36 toward the start line, the rain was coming down in earnest, and body core temperatures were plummeting.
The Blues were shivering uncontrollably as they took their place in the start tent, but tried to focus on the task ahead. The starter counted them down, and they were off. Joe lead them out onto the course, followed by Bill, Mike, JT, and Brian. They were under way smoothly, got up to speed, and started their rotation. It was quickly apparent that on this day, the front was actually the most comfortable place to be, because following a wheel meant catching a torrent of silt-laden spray full in the face, making seeing, hearing, and breathing all a challenge.
JT powered them up the long climb, Brian pulled across the top, and Joe took them into the first corner, already on the heels of the team that started 40 seconds before them. They eased around the corner, then wound it up down Nelson Road, which was full of standing water. The water on the road, coating their glasses, and in their eyes made navigating down Nelson Road at 49 mph a matter of instinct, trust, and hope. They all kept it upright down the descents, across the bottom, and up the climb to the second turn.
Another corner safely behind them, the rolled south, the cold and wet conditions starting to really penetrate. Up and down the final hill all five were still together, and they pushed to the final turn, then sprinted the final few hundred meters to the line. As Joe led them home, the water was so blinding that he never saw a line, so he just kept going until there weren't people around any more.
The revised course due to road construction on Niwot Road meant the boys still had a long ride back to their rendezvous point, so they just kept riding in the rain and cold, holding onto their bars with shaking hands. As they headed south on 63rd, a van suddenly swung into a driveway in front of them. As they were wondering what the crazy driver was up to, out popped Neal Henderson and Jerry Greenleaf who were coming to the rescue. They threw the bikes in the back, the boys piled in, and Neal cranked the heat. They delivered Mike and Joe back to their cars in north Boulder, into which they huddled to warm up before loading up their soaked and filthy gear.
Joe headed to the registration area to check results, and found the disappointing news that Mix1 had taken top honors on the day with a time of 23:37. Cody Racing was second at 23:58, and the Vic's boys rounded out the podium just behind at 24:02. Their Haystack TTT reign ended, the boys could take solace in surviving intact the epic conditions they'll long remember.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
KHMTT Week 1 & 2
The annual time trial series is underway. Weeks 1 and 2
have been held and it is time for a brief update. The players,
in no particular order are:
- Curtis
- Christy
- Rob
- Steve
- Dennis
- Dean
- Andy
- Scott Tietzel (Andy's stepson and young-blood)
The roads are the same, but the course layout is new. It seems most people like the new arrangement - it puts all the significant hills in the last 5-6 minutes when your already in the hurt locker, so why not toss a little more on the fire?
So who is doing what? Rob had a disappointing first week, but turned things around on week two by dropping about a minute. He posted a nice 5th place in Pro-1-2 @ 21:12 just behind Scott, the youngster @ 20:25. Curtis had held first place for two weeks in the 35+cat3 group a touch slower in the second week, largely because the wind was moderated to strong for the early-goers. He clocks right around 21:30. Dean has been the most travel challenged. On week one he and travel partner Darren had to take the back roads, off I-25, because of traffic mishaps and on week two they had a puncture on the VW. Pre-race stress is no problem for the deanster - in fact he also handled increasing negative slope aero-bars during the week one. Week two was especially a nice shine for Dean. He posted 21:37 a whopping 45 seconds in front of Fox and merely 25 seconds behind the Great Wayno Watson. Dennis is the class of the 60+ group, taking first slot each week. The second week he posted a 22:43 under the same wind conditions that hampered Curtis. Christy, still recovering from illness, put in a great ride to take 2nd place @ 26:04 - she will definitely improve upon that, if we can keep in town to do the races.
Of course all the soldiers put in equally hard rides - not much way around that in an ITT. The one exception was Andy - he is on a monster week work tour in Europe. The TT is actually much easier than the schedule he is holding at the moment.
Over and out. sJw, 227
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Spring Training
While all of you are contesting the early races, I'm working on getting up to speed 6 months after back surgery. I'm flying the Vic's Peerless colors here in Arizona. Congrats to all for your races this weekend! I feel GREAT and the warm weather is helping! I'll be back in action soon!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
45+ Prairie Center Criterium
It's On!
The 2010 criterium season is officially open: the Prairie Center Criterium was held in Brighton, CO today under nippy but otherwise ideal conditions. Joe Paulson, Bill Simmons, and John Talley came out to represent the Vic's Espresso/Peerless Tire clan, and take a shot at the $260 in cash on offer for the 50 minute 45+ men's race.
The 1 mile loop on good pavement (manhole and valve covers aside) had 6 turns to make things interesting, and every team seemed to have the same thought: get something up the road. Great Divide and Vitamin Cottage had strength in numbers, and Colorado Bike Law and Green Mountain were animating things as well.
JT got up the road early, joined by a Great Divide rider, and Bill and Joe quickly moved to the front to help the GD boys shut the pursuit down. Although there were still 45 minutes to race, it looked like a great move, with the gap steadily increasing. Alas, the GD rider suddenly popped, and JT was all alone up the road. He drove on valiantly for another few laps, but with GD now assisting in the chase, it was inevitable that he would be brought back. Another flurry of attacks (Karl Keister was a madman) were covered by Bill and Joe, and Joe found himself in a small selection triggered by the first prime lap. He hitched a ride on State cyclocross champ Rod Yoder's wheel when he jumped for the prize, and was able to come around to claim it instead.
The pair had gotten a good gap, so they hunkered down and went into serious 2-man TT mode. For awhile, it looked like promising, so Joe went all in, putting what he could into his pulls, and hanging on to Rod's wheel when the tall powerhouse went to work on the front. However, the chasers wouldn't give up, and a small group bridged up at the beginning of the 2nd prime lap. The new arrivals took early stabs off the group, but Rod didn't want to come away empty-handed after all that work, and and launched past them. However, Joe wanted something to show for his efforts as well, and put way too much effort into an 1100 watt surge for the line to snatch that prime as well.
Spent by the efforts, Joe sat up, and latched on to the tail of the peloton as it passed by. The attacks continued, and JT and Bill covered everything, with Bill clinging to Kiester like his shadow. With 5 laps to go, the field got very twitchy, and the corners got very interesting. Another surge brought JT and Joe to the front, and they found themselves in a selection with a few riders representing each of the major teams in the race. JT, realizing the opportunity, said "Let's go!" The group never got organized though, and everything was back together for final 2 laps.
JT drilled it at the front to get the pace high and the pack stable, and Bob Pinkerton charged past with 1 to go trying to set something up for the Vitamin boys. It looked like a great wheel to Joe, so he jumped on it, and followed Bob until the approach to the final corner, 200 meters from the finish. Suddenly, a big rider blew by on the inside, and Joe lit up after him. The rider (later identified by Bill as a former track world champ named Butch), had a good gap into the corner, but his move from the inside carried him wide, and he teetered momentarily in the gutter, helping Joe close in. Joe got behind him, then beside him, then finally inched in front before the line and sewed up the W with a bike throw.
Rod Yoder came across next, with JT right behind him in 4th. After covering countless attacks, Bill still came in 7th. Between the finish prizes and primes, the Blue boys picked up $155 in coffee money, so they were happy campers!
Video highlights now available courtesy of Rod Yoder: http://vimeo.com/10836844. You can see Joe's bridge up to Rod's solo attack to start their ill-fated break, and the last-lap launch by Butch off of Rod's wheel prior to the final corner, but Joe is out of view just in front of Rod. Enjoy!
The 2010 criterium season is officially open: the Prairie Center Criterium was held in Brighton, CO today under nippy but otherwise ideal conditions. Joe Paulson, Bill Simmons, and John Talley came out to represent the Vic's Espresso/Peerless Tire clan, and take a shot at the $260 in cash on offer for the 50 minute 45+ men's race.
The 1 mile loop on good pavement (manhole and valve covers aside) had 6 turns to make things interesting, and every team seemed to have the same thought: get something up the road. Great Divide and Vitamin Cottage had strength in numbers, and Colorado Bike Law and Green Mountain were animating things as well.
JT got up the road early, joined by a Great Divide rider, and Bill and Joe quickly moved to the front to help the GD boys shut the pursuit down. Although there were still 45 minutes to race, it looked like a great move, with the gap steadily increasing. Alas, the GD rider suddenly popped, and JT was all alone up the road. He drove on valiantly for another few laps, but with GD now assisting in the chase, it was inevitable that he would be brought back. Another flurry of attacks (Karl Keister was a madman) were covered by Bill and Joe, and Joe found himself in a small selection triggered by the first prime lap. He hitched a ride on State cyclocross champ Rod Yoder's wheel when he jumped for the prize, and was able to come around to claim it instead.
The pair had gotten a good gap, so they hunkered down and went into serious 2-man TT mode. For awhile, it looked like promising, so Joe went all in, putting what he could into his pulls, and hanging on to Rod's wheel when the tall powerhouse went to work on the front. However, the chasers wouldn't give up, and a small group bridged up at the beginning of the 2nd prime lap. The new arrivals took early stabs off the group, but Rod didn't want to come away empty-handed after all that work, and and launched past them. However, Joe wanted something to show for his efforts as well, and put way too much effort into an 1100 watt surge for the line to snatch that prime as well.
Spent by the efforts, Joe sat up, and latched on to the tail of the peloton as it passed by. The attacks continued, and JT and Bill covered everything, with Bill clinging to Kiester like his shadow. With 5 laps to go, the field got very twitchy, and the corners got very interesting. Another surge brought JT and Joe to the front, and they found themselves in a selection with a few riders representing each of the major teams in the race. JT, realizing the opportunity, said "Let's go!" The group never got organized though, and everything was back together for final 2 laps.
JT drilled it at the front to get the pace high and the pack stable, and Bob Pinkerton charged past with 1 to go trying to set something up for the Vitamin boys. It looked like a great wheel to Joe, so he jumped on it, and followed Bob until the approach to the final corner, 200 meters from the finish. Suddenly, a big rider blew by on the inside, and Joe lit up after him. The rider (later identified by Bill as a former track world champ named Butch), had a good gap into the corner, but his move from the inside carried him wide, and he teetered momentarily in the gutter, helping Joe close in. Joe got behind him, then beside him, then finally inched in front before the line and sewed up the W with a bike throw.
Rod Yoder came across next, with JT right behind him in 4th. After covering countless attacks, Bill still came in 7th. Between the finish prizes and primes, the Blue boys picked up $155 in coffee money, so they were happy campers!
Video highlights now available courtesy of Rod Yoder: http://vimeo.com/10836844. You can see Joe's bridge up to Rod's solo attack to start their ill-fated break, and the last-lap launch by Butch off of Rod's wheel prior to the final corner, but Joe is out of view just in front of Rod. Enjoy!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Let KHMTT 2010 Begin
Vic's ITT'ers as you know 2010 marks a new KHMTT course on the same old roads at Cherry Creek Reservoir. For you social beasts, seek out your teammates in the southwest corner of the Smoky Hill parking lot. This appears to one of the better zones (possibly shielded a bit from the wind) for the team trainer warm up camp. See you there with many layers on. It could be in the 30 degrees at race time.
sJw
Friday, April 2, 2010
Suss it out, from Kerikeri
For those who have stacked it and are in a spot of bother.Crikey!
You really dropped in it, eh.
You must be slutted! Throw a wobbly if you want. Did you have a flattie? I reckon ya were ridin' like a hoon, goin' flat tack. Bugger! All that hard yakka and down the gurgler.
Did you prang your bike? Is it at the panel beaters? Well, slip on the jandals. Ditch the lolly water, grab a Steinie and heaps of chippies and go bush for awhile.
Don't pack a sad, Mate.
You'll be tin arse and hangin' with the hard cases in no time.
Bob's your uncle,
Randy
Friday, March 26, 2010
New Zealand Northland
265 km north of Auckland, just outside of Kerikeri. Yesterday morning I drove 30k out to the Topshop on Million Dollar View Road. I began with a descent to the beach at Matauri Bay, hairpin on top of hairpin. Ocean views, too much speed, and the wow factor was off the charts. I did the turnaround at the sand's edge and soft pedaled a km back to... the climb out. The 1.1 mile climb took 11 minutes 34 seconds at LT+. Thanks to Andy and Wendi, my knee or hip didn't explode on the 20% pitches.I rolled along the ridge, then down to Te Ngaere Bay, next a couple of short climbs away from the ocean and through Wainui Valley and up Radar Hill. Had a few 12-15 minute climbs at Tempo and another 9 minute climb at LT. In over 2 hours, maybe a dozen cars, most of them at the speed limit of 35 kph. I think Mario Andretti might have been driving that ute though.
Then I got back to Kerikeri for the 2 hour evening ride with Mike.
Hope y'all feel fast. Cheers!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
under Crux
Hey Blue Team, It's been 4 weeks. I've been in one of Auckland's many beach towns, Mission Bay, about 10 km east of City Centre along the coast. I'm staying a block from the beach, though I've spent very little time there. The first week I rode in the rain a little or a lot every ride. One day in particular the rain was horizontal for more than a half-hour and it was all I could do just to stay upright. Still, even the rain was warm that first week. It does get kind of dark when the clouds roll in 6 feet off the ground.
Warm days and lots of sun followed the rainy days and I spent a lot of time crawling up hills in my 27T, then "ripping" the twisting descents. Well, you can believe the "crawling" part, but the "ripping" part, maybe not. Suffice to say, it's hilly enough that pedaling downhill is a waste of time, if not impossible.
On the road? Motorists are pretty well-behaved. I've had the usual challenges just getting to the Auckland city edge sometimes. Though I'm familiar with a many of the roads from earlier visits, riding in the Auckland area is more like orienteering. Except no compass. And to make it harder, they gave me a map. I think the roads up and down and around these hills follow 200-year-old sheep paths. And the street names change every couple hundred meters, whether they need to or not. It's all pedaling and it's a real kick.
Road surfaces? Rough. New Zealand is the Daddy of chip seal. U.S. states are studying New Zealand technical data to try to improve chip seal stateside. The roads deliver a beating but my Specialized Armadillo tires are riding great, no flats in months now and still hugging the descents.
Since those first few days, I've had a 3 week block of 47 hours. The 27T cog is not the auto-selection anymore and the 24T and 21T and 19T cogs see a lot more action. I've been on a Neal Plan, with some sub- and supra-LT work. I had my best 5 minute power recorded, even compared to other sea level efforts several years ago. Good enough for this cowboy. After all, I'm not trying to get fast. I'm trying to get Less Slow.
Earlier this week I finally rode out to Clevedon and Kawakawa Bay and got to the big hills, wide open roads and spectacular views. I avoided the hill landslide (see Kawakawa Bay photos of "slip") and had a terrific ride and good climbs. And chip seal.
Then I hit a spot of bother a few of days ago. I got blindsided by a bunch of life's stressors (involving family, doctors, hospitals, pets, work, all within 12 hours). I had been sleeping 8 hours every night like clockwork, which enabled me to handled the huge workload. Just one night of very little sleep and absolutely no recovery has slowed me a bit, and now I'm waiting it out before I get back on the bike. All stressors came out fine.
Autumn is sneaking in. Mornings are chilly, the rain a bit cooler.
Warm days and lots of sun followed the rainy days and I spent a lot of time crawling up hills in my 27T, then "ripping" the twisting descents. Well, you can believe the "crawling" part, but the "ripping" part, maybe not. Suffice to say, it's hilly enough that pedaling downhill is a waste of time, if not impossible.
On the road? Motorists are pretty well-behaved. I've had the usual challenges just getting to the Auckland city edge sometimes. Though I'm familiar with a many of the roads from earlier visits, riding in the Auckland area is more like orienteering. Except no compass. And to make it harder, they gave me a map. I think the roads up and down and around these hills follow 200-year-old sheep paths. And the street names change every couple hundred meters, whether they need to or not. It's all pedaling and it's a real kick.
Road surfaces? Rough. New Zealand is the Daddy of chip seal. U.S. states are studying New Zealand technical data to try to improve chip seal stateside. The roads deliver a beating but my Specialized Armadillo tires are riding great, no flats in months now and still hugging the descents.
Since those first few days, I've had a 3 week block of 47 hours. The 27T cog is not the auto-selection anymore and the 24T and 21T and 19T cogs see a lot more action. I've been on a Neal Plan, with some sub- and supra-LT work. I had my best 5 minute power recorded, even compared to other sea level efforts several years ago. Good enough for this cowboy. After all, I'm not trying to get fast. I'm trying to get Less Slow.
Earlier this week I finally rode out to Clevedon and Kawakawa Bay and got to the big hills, wide open roads and spectacular views. I avoided the hill landslide (see Kawakawa Bay photos of "slip") and had a terrific ride and good climbs. And chip seal.
Then I hit a spot of bother a few of days ago. I got blindsided by a bunch of life's stressors (involving family, doctors, hospitals, pets, work, all within 12 hours). I had been sleeping 8 hours every night like clockwork, which enabled me to handled the huge workload. Just one night of very little sleep and absolutely no recovery has slowed me a bit, and now I'm waiting it out before I get back on the bike. All stressors came out fine.
Autumn is sneaking in. Mornings are chilly, the rain a bit cooler.
Now, so far, so good. The salt air and rain have been rusting my chain and cogset and stem bolts since Day 2, but no worries. Oxygen at sea level is a marvelous thing.
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