May 06, 2012 at 03:08 PM
@ Stokes: carrying 2 bags, toddler and a car seat through JFK...
Race for the WIne
May 06, 2012 at 06:09 PM
My inaugural race report will be brief. Got there reasonably early and met Daniel at the registration table. Found Harry and caught up with him. Suggested that he didn't need to get to FBF at 6:30a for a 8:45a race and he concurred that reading bikereg.com is a good thing. Jeff showed up and they offered me a recon trip of the course since it was my first time there. Off we went to recon the course and Harry pointed out all the puddles and mud he'd run through to mess with the people behind him.
Harry and I lined up and off we went with a small group of about 15. True to his word, Harry took turn 1 through the mud and shortly thereafter took off. The field went in chase and caught Harry somewhere right around turn 2. Harry decided to play with the field and slowed down to a crawl on the next stretch. Then someone just before turn 3 decided to pick the pace up and I wasn't prepared. I was on the left / windward side of the group and frankly couldn't accelerate with the pack. I wasn't gassed, just didn't have the legs and (cue the excuses) the 32 spoke bomber wheels, wire bead tires and a $20 helmet didn't help any. I kept going and essentially time trialed the rest of the way. If nothing else, I got a good workout. Harry did well and from what I heard continued to attack throughout the race. I'll let him tell his side of the story.
Had a good time riding back with Jeff and Harry.
Harry and I lined up and off we went with a small group of about 15. True to his word, Harry took turn 1 through the mud and shortly thereafter took off. The field went in chase and caught Harry somewhere right around turn 2. Harry decided to play with the field and slowed down to a crawl on the next stretch. Then someone just before turn 3 decided to pick the pace up and I wasn't prepared. I was on the left / windward side of the group and frankly couldn't accelerate with the pack. I wasn't gassed, just didn't have the legs and (cue the excuses) the 32 spoke bomber wheels, wire bead tires and a $20 helmet didn't help any. I kept going and essentially time trialed the rest of the way. If nothing else, I got a good workout. Harry did well and from what I heard continued to attack throughout the race. I'll let him tell his side of the story.
Had a good time riding back with Jeff and Harry.
May 06, 2012 at 07:27 PM
Wait . . .
I thought $20 helmets made you go faster
I thought $20 helmets made you go faster
May 07, 2012 at 07:52 AM
@John, Rene tried to bridge a couple of times, but couldn't get it to go. He was with me when I was doing the work to pull the moves back. I just wanted to do something keep our ever diminishing group as cohesive as possible. 3 or 4 would head up the road a bit and I'd put in a solid effort to bring them a little closer. I got tired of hiding, but I paid the price after a couple of those. I could have been smarter although it was a good learning experience. Lots of quality DNF'ers in the mix - https://www.usacycling.org/results/?year=2012&id=1729&info_id=47691.
Note the Mengoni podium sweep.
Note the Mengoni podium sweep.
May 07, 2012 at 11:42 AM
@ Vlad, I had similar challenges in the masters... in my case: "Once you catch the break you’ll be too shattered to win the race anyway. What was your point in doing this in the first place then?"
It's important to continually ask yourself "what am I doing?" and "where should I be?". I could be wrong, but I think the odds were always stacked against you two with a sea of thirsty Mengoni's in the field... once that break was established and their team mates were blocking, the question then became; who's missing from the break that has the firepower to get there and how do I make sure I hitch a ride with them while conserving the most energy? Perhaps the thing to do when there's such a strong Mengoni presence is to combine; chat with other under-rep'd teams and agree to work together (split any winnings even!)? There's also this to mull over:
3. Attacking as blocking
The time honored method of blocking is to sit on or near the front and refuse to help set the pace. This is fine, but once a chase gets organized, it’s bordering on bad manners to get in the rotation and mess it up. That’s not to say that people don’t do it, or that it’s not effective – they do and it is, but push your luck and you can get all kinds of hate coming your way, some of it physical. Instead of making enemies or getting put in the ditch, try attacking the chase. Experienced riders may ignore you, realizing that you won’t ride away from a paceline on your own. On the other hand, they may respond to your attack. When you’re already working hard in a paceline, making an anaerobic effort hurts, bad. Some of the chasers may start thinking about getting some shelter; those that remain will have some of the wind taken out of their sails; the chase will take some time to get organized again.
Some great nuggets in these articles, especially for Floyd:
http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2009/04/bridging-the-gap/
http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2008/12/throwing-it-in-the-gutter/
http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2011/11/breakaway-strategies/
http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/02/to-attack-or-not-to-attackthat-is-the-question/
via http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/tag/tactics
It's important to continually ask yourself "what am I doing?" and "where should I be?". I could be wrong, but I think the odds were always stacked against you two with a sea of thirsty Mengoni's in the field... once that break was established and their team mates were blocking, the question then became; who's missing from the break that has the firepower to get there and how do I make sure I hitch a ride with them while conserving the most energy? Perhaps the thing to do when there's such a strong Mengoni presence is to combine; chat with other under-rep'd teams and agree to work together (split any winnings even!)? There's also this to mull over:
3. Attacking as blocking
The time honored method of blocking is to sit on or near the front and refuse to help set the pace. This is fine, but once a chase gets organized, it’s bordering on bad manners to get in the rotation and mess it up. That’s not to say that people don’t do it, or that it’s not effective – they do and it is, but push your luck and you can get all kinds of hate coming your way, some of it physical. Instead of making enemies or getting put in the ditch, try attacking the chase. Experienced riders may ignore you, realizing that you won’t ride away from a paceline on your own. On the other hand, they may respond to your attack. When you’re already working hard in a paceline, making an anaerobic effort hurts, bad. Some of the chasers may start thinking about getting some shelter; those that remain will have some of the wind taken out of their sails; the chase will take some time to get organized again.
Some great nuggets in these articles, especially for Floyd:
http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2009/04/bridging-the-gap/
http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2008/12/throwing-it-in-the-gutter/
http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2011/11/breakaway-strategies/
http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/02/to-attack-or-not-to-attackthat-is-the-question/
via http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/tag/tactics
May 07, 2012 at 11:47 AM
Posted By: John Malcolmson
3. Attacking as blocking
The time honored method of blocking is to sit on or near the front and refuse to help set the pace. This is fine, but once a chase gets organized, it’s bordering on bad manners to get in the rotation and mess it up. That’s not to say that people don’t do it, or that it’s not effective – they do and it is, but push your luck and you can get all kinds of hate coming your way, some of it physical. Instead of making enemies or getting put in the ditch, try attacking the chase. Experienced riders may ignore you, realizing that you won’t ride away from a paceline on your own. On the other hand, they may respond to your attack. When you’re already working hard in a paceline, making an anaerobic effort hurts, bad. Some of the chasers may start thinking about getting some shelter; those that remain will have some of the wind taken out of their sails; the chase will take some time to get organized again.
Love this one. Thanks!
May 07, 2012 at 11:54 AM
Good stuff John. Thanks.