Cat's Hill Classic

After a week of training I was back at it this morning for the Cat's Hill Classic in Los Gatos, CA (los gatos is spanish for "cats").  I wasn't really looking forward to this race due to my poor performance in the Wente Road Race last weekend but since I had signed up a few weeks prior I wasn't going to skip it.

A view from the top of Cat's Hill.  At 23% it is very steep and will sap the life out of your legs in no time.  Note the telephone poles in the background to get a reference for the height of the hill.

The Cat's Hill Classic is a staple of the Northern California race circuit and has quite a bit of history as well.  The race has been going since the 1970's and one of the most famous races was in 1978 when a young blond kid from Reno, NV (Greg LeMond, future 3-time winner of the Tour De France) won the race.  The course is about 1 mile long and consists of 5 right-hand turns and 1 left-hand turn.  In the middle of the lap is the "cat's hill" which is about 1 block long and 23% of gradient (for my PA readers, the Manayunk Wall is 17% gradient).  My Cat. 4 race was 16 laps of the course and just as many times over this climb.

On the climb and early in the race.  I am in the middle of the photo.

Kelsey and I woke up early for my race as we had about an hour drive to Los Gatos and my race started at 9:20AM.  We arrived by 8:00AM, picked up my race number, set up my bike on the trainer, and Kelsey walked around the corner to grab a cup of coffee.  My warmup consisted of 30 minutes on the trainer as I was told that you need to be warmed up in order to tackle the climb at race pace right after the start.  In talking with some of my teammates they also mentioned that you need to shift before the hill, use a high cadence to climb whenever possible, and that the hill is the most important part of the course and will almost always determine the winner.

At the start of Cat's Hill, somewhere around half way into the race.

We lined up at the start and I finally got my first glimpse of Cat's hill thru a cross street and it looks quite intimidating.  It looks like a wall of asphalt and I was pretty nervous to get over it for the first time and settle into the race.  We started as a field of about 50 and once we turned left onto the Cat's hill there were a few people who immediately dropped there chain and I had to dodge at least one other rider who just wasn't fast enough to stay with the field.  The next few laps were also pretty nervous as the field is fighting for position before the climb and speeding down the backside on really bad pavement after the climb.  I distinctly remember trying to count the number of laps we had left but it was all too confusing and I realized that it would take forever if I was counting each lap.

The next thing I remember was hearing that we had 7 laps to go and that the field was all of sudden down about 20 riders.  I was doing a good job of conserving as much energy as possible and I just waiting for the pace to pick up as the number of laps dwindled.  With 2 laps to go the fireworks started to happen at the front of the race and everyone was left chasing to hang on.  I put in a huge effort to close the gap with the field on my 15th time over the climb but as we made our way down towards the finish line it had become clear that the gap was just a little too big to close.  I was now in a race with 2 others for what seemed like 30th place but I managed to put in 1 more good effort up the climb to gap my 2 competitors and almost caught the remainder of the field by the end of the lap.

By the end I had finished in 24th place but I was felt good about how I rode and how I had reacted to the repeated hard efforts that this course required.  This race was definitely one that I thoroughly enjoyed and one that I think I could do much better in with just a few tweaks to my game plan.  I was kind of kicking myself after the race as I knew I could have went harder and been right in the mix unlike last week when I was crushed and didn't really have much of a shot to do any better.

Just after the race.  This is about the 5th picture that Kelsey was trying to take and I  wasn't having any of it.

Tomorrow, Kelsey and I head up to Sonoma to watch the motorcycle races and next weekend I have another hilly road race to contend with.

Wente Road Race

So it has been about two weeks since my last post and I apologize for the delay.  I have been riding quite frequently and I can tell that I am getting stronger.  My training is taking on a more serious characteristic as I have 4 races scheduled in a 5 week span and the 1 weekend I won't be racing I will be heading to Memphis to visit my sister, brother-in-law, 2 nephews, and parents.

I won't bore you with the details of my training in this post but there have been some interesting rides that I have been training on (i.e. the House of Pain ride).  Instead, you get the first race report in over a month.

The Wente Road Race is a fairly popular race for the bay area and because it has a decent amount of true climbing, all of the skinniest riders show up.  I was feeling very confident heading into the race and thought that I had a decent chance at finishing well in the race.  Two weeks before the race we had even ridden down and scouted the course so that there wouldn't be any surprises on race day.

I showed up early for my 11:45 race and had plenty of time to get in a 20 minute warm-up on the trainer and drink lots of fluids as the race was going to be pretty warm.  Our race was 50 miles long and we scheduled to ride 3 and a quarter laps of the course.  From the map above you will see that the finish line is after the start line so we end up going up the initial climb (on Carroll Rd.) 4 times by the end of the race.  Other than the initial climb on Carroll Rd. there are about 3 other areas where the road heads uphill although not as steeply.

I got to the race early and warmed up for about 20 minutes on the trainer.  We were the first race of the second wave and the field was rather large at about 70 riders.  We rolled out and once we hit the first time up Carroll Rd. the pace quickened violently.  I stayed in the pack but I was definitely hurting by the top.  The pace settled slightly for the rest of the lap but it was significantly faster than my last race.  I moved up the field prior to our second time up Carroll Rd. to ensure that I had more space to fall back and to stay in contact with the main field.

Just after the second time up Carroll Rd. we had to have dropped another 20 riders from our field because it was noticeably smaller than the previous lap.  The problem was that after the initial climb the pace picked up for the remainder of this lap.  I was really struggling to stay with the field by the end of the second lap, the consistently high pace was taking its toll on me and we had been going hard for about 80 minutes.  By the beginning of the third time up Carroll Rd. I was well aware that I was cooked and wouldn't be able to hang on much longer.  I watched as the field slowly pulled away and I was unable to react.

The lonesome last lap of the Wente Road Race. 

After feeling so good before the race I was now in the unenviable position of having to race the last 15 miles on my own.  At the beginning of the last lap I made the commitment to finish the race even if I was completely out of the running.  I crossed the finish line without much fanfare (41st place out of 70) and immediately turned around to head to the car.

I was pretty bummed for the rest of the weekend as I was now made aware of how far I have to go before I can be competitive in my field.  On Monday I did head up Mt. Diablo to see if my fitness had improved after such a hard day on Saturday.  I am happy to report that I set a new fastest time to the junction and I did it without the help of any other riders (and my power output went up as well).

Below are a few pictures from earlier this year that I found on photographers website.  I have a race this Saturday and then Kelsey and I will be going to the AMA motorcycle races on Sunday.

On the climb during the Bariani Road Race.

A shot from the Cherry Pie Criterium.

P.S. - Movie of the month: Pirate Radio.  Philip Seymour Hoffman is officially my favorite actor and as I was going thru his movies I ran across this little gem that I definitely would recommend.

Just Training

It has been almost 10 days since my last update and unfortunately I don't have too much to report.  I have been training but I have been traveling for work and haven't had a good chance to be consistent with my riding.  I still get in at least 3 rides a week but I would prefer that number to jump to around 5 for the next few weeks.

The Cobbled Classics have just finished and Tom Boonen (front) crushed the competition.  The Ardennes (hilly) Classics are next. I will be one of the few getting up at 6:00AM tomorrow to watch Brabantse Pijl.

I have finally figured out my race schedule for the next two months.  I signed up for 3 hilly road races and 1 crit with a short but very steep climb (23%).  The hope is that these races will begin to play into my hands as someone who trains quite a bit on his climbing/descending skills.  I still have a few more weeks to build on my fitness before the first race but I am looking forward to getting back in the peloton and racing.

I will be back on the (original) bike soon!

It also looks like I will be returning to the motorcycle race track at the end of May.  It has been almost a year since my last days at the track and I am starting to really get the itch.

The Chase

Not too much to report on in the last week.  I have been training more and more as the weather starts to warm up and the days get longer and longer.  I have previously reported on my increased level of fitness and it seems to be that I am getting stronger with each week.

Over the last week I had the chance to try a new tactic while training with the team; chasing.  At the bottom of every climb I would drop to the back of the pack and soft pedal for about a minute as everyone else started up the road.  The goal was catch as many people as possible by the top of the climb.  Chasing plays mind games with you because you know you can catch certain people and you are always tempted to overextend yourself.  It was good practice to learn your limits and stay within yourself while at the same time riding at your limit.  The video below is a great example of the chase.

Marco Pantani at the 1999 Giro d'Italia.  He gets a flat, has a wheel change and then joins his teammates for an assault on the field and the climb.  Notice his very unique climbing style with his hands in the drops, it almost looks like he is sprinting up the climb.

3 songs for this week:
The Beatles - She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
Mayer Hawthorne - No Strings
Ray LaMontagne - Repo Man

On the Rivet

This last Thursday evening was the second Hammerfest and the weather was much nicer so about a dozen local riders showed up.  I was feeling pretty good as I have had the chance to ride Mt. Diablo more frequently and was looking to test my fitness against the established locals.  The pace started very high as the faster riders began to separate themselves from the rest.  I dropped back and settled into a good pace with another ride, trading turns at the front as we moved up the bottom of the climb.  By the pay gate I was 1 minute ahead of my personal best time and certainly "on the rivet"(see definition below).

1.	on the rivet	36 up, 2 down
	Extreme physical exertion to the point of almost giving up. Derived from bike racing in the olden days when bike seats had rivets, and in an effort not to get dropped one would slide forward on the saddle to exert maximum pressure on the pedals.

The pace was kept very high as we continued to trade turns but the pace was starting to take its toll on me and I was less frequently able to take my turn at the front.  Heading up the last mile to the Junction, I was starting to crack and with about a half mile to go, I had to let my partner go as the gradient was taking its toll on me.  I made one final push and arrived at to the Junction in 26:00 a full 1:30 faster than I have ever made it to the Junction.  I was completely spent from my effort and it took a few minutes to fully recover and catch my breath.

Once everyone made it to the Junction we started the descent and I was happy to see that the pace was high even on the descent.  I have always thought that I was a good descender and I had the chance to really test out my skills in this group.  On the bottom half of the descent I had moved to the front and kept the pace very high and after a couple of minutes I looked back to find that I had ridden all but one rider off of my wheel.  Upon returning home I checked my data for the ride and found that I had improved my threshold power yet again to 280 watts (from 272 watts).  I still have a bit to go until I get to my goal of 300 watts but the improvements are starting to come.

The weather looks cruddy this weekend but a couple of rain rides will be a good recovery.

Rain, Hail, and Olive Oil

So I have been slacking a bit and haven't updated everyone on my race on Sunday.  I was lucky enough to have an 11:00AM start time on Sunday so I didn't have to worry about getting up early.  The race is called Bariani Road Race after the olive oil company that plays host to the start/finish line.  This was my first Cat. 4 race and we were scheduled for 50 miles of racing.

I didn't get to the race early enough to get a proper warm-up but as luck would have it, the pace wasn't really that high so I was able to warm up during the opening laps.  The course was a 10 mile lap of rolling hills with 1 short climb of about 800 meters in length.  Due to the local rules, we were only allowed to race on 1 side of the road and with a field of about 50 starting, that meant that the road was pretty cramped.  The first few laps were a pretty easy pace and it was obvious that nobody was interested in creating a breakaway and that the field would come down to a bunch sprint.

I spent the better part of the first four laps at the back of the field with the plan of moving up towards the front as the final climb approached with about 2 miles until the finish line.  At the back side of the course on lap 4 it started to rain on us and that only lasted for about 5 minutes but it was enough time to get everyone soaked.  On lap 5 we got to the back side of the course and this time it didn't just rain but it started to hail.  We were moving at around 25 miles per hour and at that speed the hail becomes very painful as it hits you.

No, this isn't me but it definitely felt like this for the last 15 minutes of the race.   This is actually Bernard Hinault in the 1980 Liege-Bastogne-Liege race.  By the end of the race only 21 finished out of 174 starters and Hinault was nearly frostbitten from the experience.

After the hail we only had about 5 miles to go and I proceeded to move up in the pack to be positioned to attack on the climb.  I almost crashed as I was pushed into some deep gravel and had both wheels start to dig in and slide but I saved it and kept moving up in the tight single lane that we were forced to ride in.  At the bottom of the climb I was towards the front of the pack but there were still about 20 riders in front of me.  I did my best to attack on the climb but was essentially boxed in as there just isn't enough space to moved up at times.

At the top of the climb I had passed about 5 riders and was about 15th wheel and this is about the time where I realized why Cat. 4 races will be harder.  From the top the speed only increased as everyone was starting to line up for the sprint finish.  From this point on the speed stayed around 30 miles per hour and it became increasingly difficult to move up in the field due to the speed.  I tried following another rider who was attempting to move forward but his efforts were short-lived and we were eventually passed by another 5 riders.  This spelled the end of my race as I was now too far back in the pack with only a few hundred yards to go.

I officially finished in 26th place and afterwards rode straight to my car as I needed to get my rain soaked kit off as soon as possible.  It took me about 3 minutes to get my gloves off as my hands weren't working properly due to the cold.  After loading up the truck I turned the heat on and thawed out on the ride home.  No races for a couple of weeks so it will just be training in the meantime.

Winter in NorCal/ First Hammerfest of the Year

Some would call this a disappointing week but I am trying to look on the bright side.  I travelled to Washington on Sunday to visit family and due to a busy schedule I didn't get the chance to ride until Thursday evening, the first Hammerfest of the year.

One of the great things about living in a bike friendly area is that we have local "races" every week once daylight savings extends the sunset past 7PM.  Our local race is lovingly known as "Hammerfest" and it happens every Thursday evening on Mt. Diablo.  This Thursday was the first of the year and I was very much looking forward to it as I thought I was starting to get fast enough to hang with the bunch.  The weather has been pretty poor all week in NorCal and the rain seemed to have scared away the majority of the locals as only 6 showed up for the first Hammerfest of the year.  I thought this would be a good opportunity to show my increased level of fitness but as fate would have it I was definitely the slowest of the group to show up.  The main group moved quickly up Diablo and they were definitely waiting for me to catch up at most points.

Pulled this little wonder out of my rear tire today.  Surprisingly, I don't think it actually punctured the tire. 

I spent the earlier part of today warming up for my race tomorrow (50 miles).  My warmup was on Diablo and I felt pretty good about my fitness level.  I pulled the above staple out of my tire at the end of my ride, I don't think it actually caused a puncture.  I am expecting tomorrow to be a pretty brutal day.  My first Cat. 4 race, rain, wind, and hills await me.  I have concluded that I will finish the race even if I get dropped by the field but the goal is really to hang around for as long as I can.  Wish me luck, a race report will follow tomorrow.

P.S. The pros just finished the longest race of the year (Milan - San Remo) just shy of 300 km's.  The race was finished in just short of 7 hours.  Also, the Daytona 200 was today and 2 NorCal kids finished 1st and 3rd.  I have been on the racetrack with both of them and can affirm that they are both very fast on a motorcycle.