I was there 6am! Wussed after a lap though. Good call to stay in.

Why ride the drops on descents?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUfdiLXxIb4&feature=player_embedded

Wow, that doesn't surprise me at all, that was the most dangerous part of course. You can see by the dust flying as the cars rolled by there was a nasty cross wind and having a sand trap at the bottom of a 35+ mph descent is ridiculous. If you were going down solo, you could find a path to the left or right which wasn't too bad, but in a pack, forget it. That's too bad because at that point in the race you've already suffered like crazy.. Hope no one was seriously hurt...

That sand pit was so sketchy. The gusty 90-degree crosswinds didn't help either.

I don't understand your question about the drops, though.

Drops would have been better. The woman would have been in a better position, with a lower center of gravity and would have had an easier time steering.

All the same, skill was the issue. I can't tell if she braked or not, but it sure looked like she over-corrected.

Most of the other riders were on the drops. And nobody else crashed.

Looks to me like her front wheel dove into a (probably sand-obscured) hole, steering her front wheel in a wind-aided fashion really far to her left. I don't know if she could have stayed up even if she didn't correct back to her right.

I went through there on my own line on the left side (where they ended up) and barely was in control, since there were holes covered up by that fine sand that I ran over. It's super hard to keep your balance when your front wheel suddenly changes its line without warning!

Posted By: Dan ReinersSo I want to see whether there is an interest in restarting the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday morning training rides next week.

I am getting to the point where I dread the trainer, and I cannot watch Warriors/Married With Children or Smokey & the Bandit any more, so I need to start getting out for some early morning training and I'd like some company.

anyone coming out this week?

If it's not raining, I'll be there. Otherwise, I'll be on the rollers.

I promise fun...
Eric

If its not raining i will be there.
See you at GAP at 6 am

sorry I missed you guys this morning. I'm a little under the weather.

@ rhenning

Not every morning can feel like you just won a bike race...get your arse out here!

Posted By: mperlberg@ rhenning

Not every morning can feel like you just won a bike race...get your arse out here!

hahah perhaps i should grab my purse & htfu.

anyone out tomorrow morning?

we will be there at 6am
Eric

Good to meet you guys this morning - I got dropped after the first lap or so but kept going for a couple more at my version of Tempo so got a decent workout in all the same. Hopefully will manage to keep up for 2 laps next week. Planning on joining you Thursday too!

Cheers

Murray

Murray,
That is the way to do it.everyone goes at their pace.
Tomorrow 6am.
Eric

Good crew this morning.
The feedback on 6x3min,5 was - OUCH!

Good job everyone.

See you Tuesday for the next installment of ...

HURTS...

Eric

Looking forward to another week of early morning hurt.

See you all out at 6AM for the fun.

Weather looks good I'll be there

big ups to ragot for springing hill repeats on us :P

weather looks like it's in danger of sucking tomorrow. what's the workout in case of trainer bailout?

Stay fit 1to 1.5 hours steady.

If its not raining, i'll be there tomorrow.
See you,

SO, I don't know if its raining, too lazy to get up and look out the window.

Tomorrow - Thursday:
warm up for at least 15 minutes, then:
3 x 1 lap of of the park. rest for 1 lap.

got it? you are going to do three one lap time trials of the park and ride a lap in between each. The only caveat - start the interval at the bottom of the hill and end at the top. Just a little extra fun at the end of the effort.

Good luck and enjoy getting fit...

If you can't complete the workout in the time alloted, then just do two efforts.

Enjoy!@

Eric

This is a workout that will be almost impossible to keep together, so everyone should just do their own pace for the intervals and if they end up near someone for the recovery lap, bonus.

See you all at the top of the park at 6AM. this should be fun.

Remember to bring a watch, or some means of recording time (no a sundial is not appropriate). You'll want to A) try to make each effort approximately the same amount of time, so that the effort for each is the same. record the time for comparison with future PP TT efforts, to make sure you are improving.

Weee! Just did 5 of these at PP, since I ran out of time to go over the GWB. I'd add that it's easy to not push yourself as hard on the downhill, as you're naturally wanting to recover after the hill and flats. I noticed myself doing this about the third time through. Don't do this. It's cheating! Cheating is only for the pros.

Coach Ragot gets more bonus points and smiley face gold stars. You can cash these in at the service desk for trinkets (like spider rings) and beer.

I was out there, but showed up a couple minutes late. Did the workout but probably timed it perfectly so that I was a half lap ahead/behind everyone. Could have used a little bit of competition; had a case of the badlegs today.

How did it go everyone?
It would be very useful if after your workout in the AM sessions, you posted your impressions and thoughts. We can use that info to improve the sessions and tailor the workouts.

Also, we can get an idea of how many people are taking advantage of them

Eric

It was a really good session today - a decent helping of hurt and my fastest TT pace yet (not that, that means much). I'm personally finding the workouts really helpful and challenging. The group riding/rotating pace-line was particularly helpful given the limited opportunity to do that sort of stuff so would be great to practice that more too. All the intensive stuff is also great and the mix of experience in the group is a good barometer for strength/fitness (or lack there of) - all i need now is the jersey to make me faster!

Murray

Posted By: eragotHow did it go everyone?

The crew this morning included Lt. Dan, Jim N., Jorge, Murray, Jeff C & me. [anyone missing?]

it hurt -- a lot. The legs felt heavy upon waking, but to put things in a positive light, a few seconds were shaved off each time around.

1st time: Pushed a big gear on the flats and stood on the rises. Cracked on the hill 2nd time around and power started to drop off. Dan caught me going up the hill.

2nd time: Big gear on the flats again but backed off a bit going up the hill the 2nd time, trying to spin but it turned out to be too much let-up. Dan got me near the top of the hill again

3rd time's a charm. Spun one gear down from what felt natural on the flats but upshifted two gears and stood about half way up the hill. That seemed to be the magic formula for today. Finished strong but completely spent. Unfortunately Dan had left by this point so no human carrot, but it turned out to be the best run.

Overall, a really hard (read: good) workout. VO2 is a weakness of mine so this is much needed work.