"The Ambler"

So, my family situation changed last minute, leaving Saturday, instead of my Sunday open. I had planned to race in Danbury, a big money crit, but that was cancelled. And yet, my legs and head needed another crit. And so I dared to drive on 95* down to Philly-ish and race a first year crit in Ambler NJ.

City streets, borderline cute town, reminded me of some of the Memorial Day Weekend Jersey Crit venues. About 35 riders at the start of the Pro 1/2 race with long 1+ mile laps for a total of 38.5 miles. Hot and ouchy. And let me jump ahead here a bit. You know this is going to be a hard race when Olympic track racer, world championship medalist Bobby Lea doesn't win. Also there was that guy in the Smart Stop kit. And a bunch of T-Town Aussies and Kiwis. And the usual suspects from the PA area including local favorite Tyler Nothstein. Karl Nelson who used to be on Mengoni was there sporting the kit of some super matchy-matchy bike/kit PA team.

My Joule GPS+ read 95 degrees at the start. I think it was probably closer to just 90. And the riding was hot too. Fast course, 5 mostly wide open turns and some bumpy pavement on a 2% rising grade into a headwind that made things fun.

I'm starting to get to know some of the PA guys, and when the threats go off, I'm there or there abouts for the early laps. 35 laps, over a mile each. The race is active a couple of guys escape, I'm not there. Then I hear it's Bobby Lea. And I'm like, really field? You're going to let that guy go? I need to figure out what he looks like, so at least I can make the effort to go with him next time.

And then for a big chunk of the race things are just sloppy. Some blazing laps, some dawdling ones. I'm bridging up to little moves only to have guys like Tyler Nothstein (yeah, that Nothstein) blow/stop as soon as I come by. A couple of times, I'm off the front without trying too hard. I can't get anyone to come up to me. The course is not technical enough for me to make a go at it alone. Guys are getting off the front, but I can't chase down everything. Other guys escape the field and are gone for good. Drat. How about I let the dudes who didn't pay for their own bikes work a little. Go ahead Mr. Smart Stop pro, your turn please. There's too much wind and I know my limits. Blurg. 10 or so laps to go and I'm nailed back in the field. So this is how it's going to finish, huh? I don't want to be here.

And then one of the Kiwi track stars who goes off the front with another big PA team (Amorosa) and a third guy. Unlike a bunch of junk earlier in the race, this one looks promising. I know that at least a few guys have lapped the field, but beyond that I'm just not sure. Part of me is like, going after this one, this late is like going after crumbs. And yet, the guys are still out there and...

I'M GOING FOR IT.

I charge on the inside up the homestretch getting a gap instantly. And I put my head down and DRILL IT. Dear lord this hurts. 3 guys working together against me. I know I need to get there fast, but I can't blow up either. It's a fine line. Through the corners I'm faster, no question. My face is full ugly mode. Crowds cheering me on. They are right there and yet...not. They are not making this easy. I fully commit. I tell myself, just make the bridge and you will have had a successful race even if you drop dead the second you get there.

Closer. Almost there. A few more corners and one lap later I hook up to the back. Longest lap of my life. Careful, don't breath too loud, don't want them to know I'm here just yet. I need to rest. I get about 1/2 a lap before the jig is up. They see me. But I'm still torched. They start to get messy with their rotation and that's when I made a mistake.

"Guys, keep it smooth, I won't sprint you, I got nothing to give you." 5 laps to go. I just want to stay away from the field. And maybe we're still in the money? Still, I just want to stay away. And so I mostly sit for another lap or so, but then the field seems to be closing. I dig to the front and crank it pretty hard. The Kiwi trackie goes to the front after me and CRUSHES IT. With 2 laps to go, he rides me and the rest of the guys off his wheel. Yikes. 1 lap to go, 3 of us together we're still clear of the field. I think we're going to make it. Coming up the bumpy rising homestretch I pull to the front, the guys get verbal with me thinking I was about to break my promise. I just want to stay clear and these guys weren't going hard enough. I give 'em an earful right back. We later all apologize for being assholes to each other. Once I know we're clear of the field, I sit up and let the other two have at it.

After extended wait due to multiple groups lapping the field once or twice, I learn that I have finished in 15th place. Out of the money, but I'm pretty satisfied with my race. I haven't had a chance to cyber stalk all the finishers, but it felt like a super stacked field.

Next up...Chris Thater NYS Crit Champs. BRING IT ON.



*Worth noting that this is the second weekend in a row, and like my 5th time driving North or South to destinations this year on 95 and it's been fine. No monster traffic jams, no horrors. 65 mph+ and 44mpg. Just stick to the "local" and "truck" lanes when going south and you'll be fine.

Results bro:

https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2015-2053&bypass=1

Changed my "like" to "awesome" because holy hell, I had a chance to look up the guys who finished ahead of you.  Also 3rd for cat.2 riders is no damn joke.

Jeff, what was the Dunnigan Hills RR in CA like? Did you see Nagub out there?

DAMN MARC!

I'm just getting to these now but holy hell you are back, baby.

Nice work!

Marc Bertucco said:

Jeff, what was the Dunnigan Hills RR in CA like? Did you see Nagub out there?

Adam and I did race that one! He in the 3s, me in the 4s. Our races were remarkably similar. We both noted that each of our fields would be dominated by the presence of two local teams. Each of these teams had around 10 riders in my field. 80 miles, two laps on a mostly flat circuit with one moderate rolly climb.

I sat top ten wheels for the first 10 miles or so when a couple little pairs got out in front. I figured, "80 miles in the flat ... FOOLS!!". Then we came down a descent that curved around a hill, and suddenly ... 90 degree crosswind. Probably like 25 mph. That instant, the bigger local team (from Davis, CA) flew up the double yellow and were on the front in an echelon all the way from the double yellow to the gutter. From then on, it was basically the Normandy scene from Saving Private Ryan. I held on for about 20 minutes of this caca, in the gutter, snotting all over myself, unable to feed or drink, watching with increasing despair as a rider after rider in the gutter ahead of me would suddenly pop out of line (often with a yelp, shriek, or scream) and everyone between me and his open space would get up and sprint. It was fucking hell. Two guys ahead of me blew and I finally just roared out a "fuuuuuuuck youuuuuuuu" to nobody in particular and pulled my chute.

Adam had the same race, except he had the luxury of claiming a "mercy flat."

tl;dr - good idea to follow the local team's lead when racing in a strange place.

What Jeff said-  was getting hammered in the gutter until my rear wheel went flat.  I was hanging on the end of the lead group barely and my tyre went all flat and bouncy.  TBH- I was glad about it at the time.

For the most part, the races here in NorCal are so fucking hard.  Really they are.  I can't explain it to you.  This one last weekend was a short one.  I ended up 13/36 in the 3 field as shit didn't go my way in the end.  Not sure how I averaged  over 250 watts for the race but didn't even pedal for half of it (seriously, check the cadence).  Also, the max power of 1050 watts was in the race.  Not in a sprint.  Going up some stupid hill.  Which, as you may have noticed, was the theme of the race.  Race was funny, was 15 loops around the University of Santa Cruz campus.  Up a hill, down to the bottom, then up again.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/875600020

Will probably need a Garmin account to see the deets.

Adam said:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/875600020

Will probably need a Garmin account to see the deets.

I have a Garmin account.  I'm signed in.  Still can't see it.

BTW, heard you met my friend Basil on the road.  

^Ah yes, I did meet Basil on one lonely morning ride.  He declined my offer to head up Old La Honda but said that he knew you and Kissena.  He spoke fondly of you.

Might be a privacy settings thing- seeing as Garmin Connect, unlike Strava, does not have a safety zone around my house blinding people to the location of my home (and bikes that I ride with a Garmin on) I show only to my connections I think.  Look me up ("Lebelweg") and we can be friends xxooxx  Tried to find you but surprisingly there are multiple Mugwumps (WTF?) and apparently you don't go by your name.

Adam said:

^Ah yes, I did meet Basil on one lonely morning ride.  He declined my offer to head up Old La Honda but said that he knew you and Kissena.  He spoke fondly of you.

Might be a privacy settings thing- seeing as Garmin Connect, unlike Strava, does not have a safety zone around my house blinding people to the location of my home (and bikes that I ride with a Garmin on) I show only to my connections I think.  Look me up ("Lebelweg") and we can be friends xxooxx  Tried to find you but surprisingly there are multiple Mugwumps (WTF?) and apparently you don't go by your name.

Sent  request. I'm hreems on Garminconnect.  Somehow, Craig and Yacks are connections as well.

Should work now.  Yacks!  I will connect with you to make sure you aren't fucking up my Triangle Ride and going too slow.

Adam said:

For the most part, the races here in NorCal are so fucking hard.  Really they are.  I can't explain it to you.  This one last weekend was a short one.  I ended up 13/36 in the 3 field as shit didn't go my way in the end.  Not sure how I averaged  over 250 watts for the race but didn't even pedal for half of it (seriously, check the cadence).  Also, the max power of 1050 watts was in the race.  Not in a sprint.  Going up some stupid hill.  Which, as you may have noticed, was the theme of the race.  Race was funny, was 15 loops around the University of Santa Cruz campus.  Up a hill, down to the bottom, then up again.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/875600020

Will probably need a Garmin account to see the deets.

I can explain it.  346 feet of climbing every 2.7 mile lap.  Your average speed was 20.7mph for 40 miles and you still averaged 250w.

Adam / Jeff - do they use Bikereg.com in the SF area or some other system for advertising and registering for races?

It's odd- they use ncnca.org for all the races, but in many, but not all, instances it is powered by Bikereg.

Here is where you find all the race events: http://www.ncnca.org/

Most of the events on the calendar have a race flyer and on that it has a bikereg link.  However, some races out here are just not on Bikereg as there are a few independent promoter companies.  So, if you want to know what is coming up, use that site and don't rely on Bikereg in NorCal/Nevada.

Brompton owners: You must do this and report back.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/brompton-world-championship-usa-2015-tickets-17618100212

The Brompton World Championship is coming to North America!

The uniquely competitive and singularly sartorial event will be held during this year's UCI Road World Championships in Richmond, Virginia.

The race will begin at 6:45 pm sharp. Competitors, donning their finest formalwear, will have a crack at the Road Worlds course. The Le Mans style start, running, unfolding and mounting their Bromptons, will be followed by racing one lap of the 10 mile circuit.

David Yang said:

Brompton owners: You must do this and report back.

I believe Kasia and Ilya, or at least one of them, will be racing this.

"Okay, no more road racing this year, this time I mean it!"

Connecticut Cycling Festival Crit Report.

So as the last stop on the NCC racing calendar, Hartford CT's capitol district hosted pretty entertaining races for all categories today. Fun to watch, United Healthcare, AltoVelo Seasucker, Astellas et al one more time this season.

But it was also hard to watch. I've been feeling strong lately, and I wanted to be in there with them, but alas. No Cat 2s allowed in NCC races. So I lined up with about 58 other Cat 2/3s on a course that was quite interesting. Short rising home stretch, 90 degree left, descending longer stretch, 90 degree left, short straight, 90 degree left onto some seriously "under construction" pavement (fortunately I had pre-ridden this course at speed and knew what was rideable and what was to be avoided), then another straight, gentle right handed sweeper leading into a large round-about, come back the other way, sweeps right, then left, then hard narrow right into the homestretch.

Our race was this 31 times. Got a good start and was near the front early while folks worked out their nerves. Van Dessel's Zeb Nelesson took an early flyer that was brought back post haste. Assorted other moves attempted and failed.

About 1/2 through, the field is getting kind of ragged. A big chunk of riders, maybe 8 get off the front. I'm about to go to bridge when another rider beats me to the punch. No matter, I'll park it near the front, and see if he gets across or drags the field up. Through the big round balloon shaped round-about section, I look across the median and see that's he's going to make contact and the field is not.

So it seems like it's my turn to build a bridge. I launch on the sweeper that leads into tight left hard right combo turn. I know the pack has to slow here, it's my best chance to get a gap. I've got the gap and I motor, less than a lap later, I'm on the group. I sit on as we take the round-about. I need to recover. I look back and we're clear of the field. I see we've got a couple of teammates from other teams. I try to encourage them to work. Nothing. So decision time. I've got about 2 seconds.

Hell yeah, I'm going! ATTACK!!! Off the front, now this is hurting. I didn't really notice all the headwind before. I get a couple of "Kissena Cycling off the Front!" shout outs from the announcer. So after my bridge, I put in 1 lap solo at 5.5 watts/kg. A lone rider bridges up and we work together, although he's pulling stronger than I am. Our gap grows from about 7 seconds to more than 15. Or at least that's what guys were hollering from the sidelines. We're going okay, but I look behind and I see a long strung out single file line of guys chasing us now. We stay clear for about 4 laps before I sit up to recover and reboot for the end of the race.

10 laps to go. Gruppo Compatto. And it stays that way. I'm significantly more aggressive about my positioning in those final laps. I want to win this race. The final time around the round-about, my positioning is fair. I still have a shot. Don't want to go to early and get killed by the wind. But too late and...

Crap too late. Fuck me. Field swarms, then jumps. On this course it's really a race to the last corner. I don't even get to uncork a proper sprint. Too crowded, too far back, too late and they only payed 5 deep. I sit up for safety and roll across in 16th.

Along the way, set new 20, 30, 40 and 60-minute power records. Normally I'd say this would not be a good thing, but honestly, other than the 5 laps I spent bridging, attacking and breakaway-ing, this race felt like a 4/10 on the PRE scale.

So again, there are definitely some positive takeaways here, but ultimately, still no result.

Testing, testing...

Anybody follow this thread?

I'd like to belatedly share my report on the 2017 Cat 4/5 Joe Martin Stage Race. 

This was a special trip for me to my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas. to compete in the first bicycle race I'd ever watched. The JMSR celebrated its 40th anniversary a little early this year. Traditionally held in late May, the race is now the first weekend in April, after the USA Pro Road Tour reorganized the calendar for 2017. 

Stage 1, Saturday: Uphill TT
Spring in the Ozarks can change quickly (as the pros would find out when a storm blew in just in time for their criterium) but Saturday was shaping up to be the temperate spring weather cyclists love. Inspired by a recent VeloNews article, I warmed up with fifteen minutes of easy spinning. Not like I had a trainer to use for sophisticated warm-up protocol anyway: my bike was enough luggage on its own, and my inquiries into renting or borrowing a trainer turned up nothing.

As I descended to the start line from the parking area at the top of the course, I thought "This course feels longer than when I recon'd it in December..." Actual figures: 3.3km, 190m elevation gain, pitches up to about 15%, according to Strava.

Roll into the starting tent. 3-2-1-beep and I'm off, making sure not to go out too hard. I mugged for a camera at one of the early switchbacks. Near the top, I thought I had one more to go. Nope. I see the finish line flags and sprint the rest of the way, but that hesitation would end up costing me. 11th place, @ 44 sec. Check it out on Strava. 

Stage 2, Saturday: Hogeye Road Race
About two hours after I crossed the line at the TT, I'm back on the start line for the 46-mile road race. The main feature is known locally as "The Wall." The weather has warmed up to 75F and I actually use sunscreen for the first time since Green Mountain Stage Race. We roll out easy. I want to get in a breakaway, so when we hit the first ramp (about 8%) after about five minutes of racing, I hit the front and push the pace out of curiosity about my competition. One guy who's sitting 13th overall responds. Before I know it we're trading pulls and pushing the gap out to about 45 seconds. I didn't mean to go this early--too early? A rider bridges up to us. He's from the hometown squad and has a teammate back in the bunch sitting in 4th place overall. A valuable addition, but too late. The field soon closes the gap, perhaps with help from the second-place GC rider and his teammate in 7th. They're 18- and 17 year-old Cat 4s on a local development team, Breakaway Cycling. 

So we're all back together until we reach The Wall. I head to the front and crest the two climbs somewhere in the first five. At this point we're 28km into a 70km race. The rest of the course is rolling hills. We've whittled down the field to less than twenty riders, and now would be a good time to push hard. I take my opportunities throughout the next 50km, but we can't shake anybody. People chase down attacks and then sit up. One of the Breakaway riders proposes that he and I go on the attack together, promising that his teammates will do their best to slow the chase. Though I mistake him for the rider  in 7th overall, he's actually the rider in 2nd. Doh! I pass in favor of taking my chances later. Now I regret that. I finish 20th out of 22 riders in the final bunch sprint. Strava link. Still 11th overall. 

Stage 3, Sunday: Downtown Criterium
The race comes down to a 25-minute criterium. Cruelly short! The course is very cool though: eight corners with a couple long downhills and the start/finish line at the top of a leg-burning hill with gradients up to nearly 10%. Here's the Strava file. I race with the front group until three laps to go, when a few non-contenders sprint for a prime. The top guys hitch a ride and go over the top in a group of ten. I miss the move. I'm in the second group on the road and finish in 15th, 28 seconds behind the winner--that same guy who wanted me to attack with him in the road race. With his win in the crit he takes the overall victory. I'm still 11th.

Conclusion
I missed my goal of the Top 10 by a mere seven seconds. Could I have done seven seconds better in the TT? I think so. Lesson: Do everything you can to know your course. I should have numbered the switchbacks and ticked them off in my head as I climbed.

Would I have taken the Breakaway rider's invitation to attack again at the end of the road race if I'd known he was 2nd overall instead of 7th? Yes, of course--that's a much better wager. Lesson: Know your competition. This is much easier in local races with recognizable kits, names and faces. 

What if I'd gotten out of the saddle sooner on the crit climb during the prime lap? I could have stuck with the front group and recovered on the long downhill. Coulda, woulda, shoulda... Lesson: pedal harder. 

Also a lesson: Competition in the 4s is much stiffer at NYC-area races than at this edition of the JMSR.

Great lessons learned Max. I've seen a lot of guys write the bib numbers of the top 5 guys on their arms in stage races. I've done it myself. If you don't know the faces/bikes it's just too hard to learn them on the spot.