Racing - CCAP Tuesday Night Crit - Aug 9, 2016, Bs, Bryan and Vassos!

So I had this revelation a couple days ago. I'd revamped my trainer set up a bit and realized that I'd trained myself to ease into my sprints so the tire wouldn't slip on the trainer. Although that's fine for Zwift it's not good for real bike racing. I've felt like in the past few years I rarely got in a solid, solid jump, and I think this is the reason why. I stopped training outside, I stopped doing these massive stomp efforts, and instead I was doing these softer sprints on the trainer. Consider trying to jump into the draft of a passing truck - one chance to get it right and it takes a massive, massive effort.

I hoped that this evening I'd be able to do a proper sprint. Although I couldn't fix the power bit of my SRM (I screwed up something when I soldered in the last battery I think) I figured just doing the massive stomp/sprint would be a good thing to experience.

As usual I started getting ready while still at home, starting with pinning my number.

Pinned number.

My dad had a little crisis which distracted me. I forgot to finish pinning the #2.

Due to an accident on I-291 we decided to head into the heart of Hartford, taking the I-91 HOV lane. We knew we'd need to navigate regular I-84 to the Rent but it seemed worth it. Until we took a wrong exit and had to go past the exit, turn around, and get back. We got to the venue with a few minutes remaining before the start.

Fortunately for me the Juniors had the last race of their summer series and there was a bit of a delay after their finish. This meant that not only could I kit up and all that, I even had time to do a couple laps.

This Tuesday the weather ended up perfect. I think it was about 80 deg F with low humidity. There was some wind but it was opposite the normal wind, giving us basically a tailwind finish. The swirling wind around the stadium meant the right side crosswind was still there.

To my absolute shock two guys rolled up to me as I got on my bike - Vassos and Bryan. Vassos was one of my teammates a long time ago, in the mid-90s. He raced for a rival team until then but their core riders, led by a guy named Gene, moved over to Carpe Diem Racing. He's one of the few guys that I put in a clip commenting on the last of the Bethel Spring Series races (go to 6:19).

Bryan I've known since he was something like 15, we raced against each other for literally decades. For something like 20 years we talked about racing together on the same team, we have the utmost respect for one another, and only in 2011 did we get to race on the same team. It was after 2010 (when I defeated him in a very closely fought Bethel Spring Series finale) that he could move over to Expo. Ironically we pretty much never raced together because the first year I upgraded to 2 (2011) while he remained a 3 (but won the Bethel Spring Series in a dominating fashion), then Junior came along so I really backed off on the racing. We couldn't even do Masters races together that much because he's younger than me. His work cranked up at the same time so he stopped racing. This was the first race in three years for him, and, really, because he did one race here and there, he really hadn't "been a racer" since his successful 2011.

To see both these guys on the same day was an absolute bonus. I spent the extra time before our race chatting like mad with them. They admitted that they weren't sure about how they'd hold up in the race. I wasn't sure myself, seeing as I got shelled a bunch of times. I hoped the Juniors would take it easy on us.

Vassos (Class Cycles) and Bryan (Expo)

I did give them some advice while we rolled around. I pointed out some of the more diesel riders - they're the good wheels to follow when there are gaps everywhere because they just diesel along and gather everyone up. I also cautioned them on how strong the Juniors were, telling them the time a Junior pulled the field around the course for a while and when the group moved left I just stayed right and sat up. I was absolutely cooked just sitting on wheels.

Other than that it was just business as usual. Bryan is one of the rare riders that feels comfortable in a break as well as in a field sprint. Vassos is more a sprinter but he's often given up his chances to help friends or teammates. Both are exemplary team players, willing to cover moves, never taking a pull if a teammate is up the road, etc. Both are very crafty as well, combining good judgment with well honed race instincts. They're ideal teammates for sure.

We also had Esteban, Junior's new favorite teammate thanks to a delivery of a boxload of Thomas the Tank Engine tracks and accessories. He was more a break rider and he has what has got to be the best reading on team work habits I've ever seen. I don't think I've ever talked to him about tactics specifically but he knows exactly how to help me, how hard to pull, when to ease, everything, all to help me. I try to return the favor, basically by marking moves whenever he goes. I think, though, that the favors go more my way than his.

Junior waving over to the right.

As usual Junior was sitting with the Missus and my dad. I try to wave but it's not really good to do that in the middle of an intense part of a race. At first he was crushed when I didn't wave to him every lap but the Missus explained that if I was working hard I wouldn't be able to wave. So when I roll by, nose to my stem, hanging on for dear life, I'll not wave and be okay with it.

He'll turn to the Missus and say in a very serious tone, "Daddy is working hard."

Bryan off the front, to the left.

I think Bryan felt okay after a few laps because he launched a move. I'd done the same, on the second lap of the race. I didn't launch really but a guy was going up the road and no one was reacting. I was in the perfect spot, about 4-5 riders back, so I just put my hands on the hoods and rolled for a lap. I almost blew myself up but fortunately the pace didn't skyrocket after and I could recover. Bryan took my lead and did a little move. One rider bridged to him but then we all regrouped.

After Turn 3, shelter to the right.

The wind played its normal crucial role today. It was a crosswind at the start/finish, much better than the normal headwind we've seen all summer. This meant that the final stretch started out forcing the riders to seek shelter to the right (wind hitting us from the left). As the road curved left we'd sit a bit less to the side and a bit more behind.

Start/finish area, shelter to the right.

I'm sheltered to the right here, by the start/finish area. I remember times where the wind was much stronger from the left and everyone would be scrambling to avoid hitting the right side curb. Nothing like that tonight but I did get close now and then.

After Turn 1, shelter to the left.

Once we took the right at Turn one the wind hit us from the right side. To stay sheltered one had to move from the right side to the left side. This is tricky because you need to drift back off the wheel to your left, allow the wheel to cross a bit to the right, then move up to take shelter, all in the several seconds it takes to take the corner. You can see in the picture above that I'm sitting to the left of the rider in the red/orange helmet.

Note that the rider to my left is not really sheltered well. If he dropped back slightly behind me he'd be better protected, or if he moved up and sat between the two riders in front he'd be sheltered by the white/yellow rider on the red bike.

Backstretch after Turn 2, shelter to the left.

On the backstretch the wind still swirled around the stadium to our right so the wind hit us from the right. I stayed left to stay sheltered. This is the stretch I think I messed up most, I was on the right side most of the time.

Moved over to clear my nose.

I haven't done this in a while but I did so I wanted to point this out. I had clear my nose so I moved over to do so. Common courtesy. If it's in the throes of the bell lap or something I try to do it discretely and politely. But when things are tactically neutral I'll check, move over, clear my nose, check, and move back. Usually riders let you back in because otherwise next time you might just clear your nose in the field.

Sitting between two Juniors, comfortable.

One thing that surprised me was this bit. I was sitting between two Juniors. The thing was that I didn't realize this happened - it was a total non-event for me. That meant I was totally comfortable sitting there, I trusted the riders, yada yada yada. That's a good thing.

Sheltering right while everyone else in front of me is pretty much in the wind.

This shot struck me as well. I was sheltered to the right but everyone in front of me was lined up nicely in single file. Problem is that the wind is from our left a bit so it's better to sit to the right for shelter. I was soft pedaling here but I think others were working.

Esteban attacks (blue jersey, red shorts).

He'll solo to the line.

Esteban attacked at some point in the race. He rolled off (from the sheltered side, mind you) and quickly settled into a slightly-higher rhythm. He later admitted to me that he had a minor mechanical issue with his bike. To stay out of trouble he wanted to sit at the front and pull a bit.

Bryan (Expo) and me marking moves as Esteban gets clear of the last two riders chasing him.

Problem was that Bryan covered moves. I didn't cover per se but I wasn't moving and I was at or near the front. When the last two guys chasing Esteban sat up there was a momentary lull in the pace. That was all Esteban needed. His slightly-above-pack-pace pulled him away from the field and netted him an unexpected win.

My view for a few laps, until 2 to go.

Back in the field one of the super steady and willing to work riders sat the front, dragging all of us around for a few laps. I happened to be on his wheel when he went to the front so I sat there, second wheel, watching him work.

For the first time this year I felt a glimmer of form. My legs dropped quickly. I wasn't overchurning the gear, I could put a little stamp at the end of the pedal stroke.

Unfortunately I have zero data so I can't check cadence or HR or power. Hopefully I'll have things resolved for next week and I can get some data.

3rd person view, courtesy Jeff Cote.

My head is down, which apparently is my tell.

Also I'm not super close to the wheel.

So as not to be a total nimrod, note that my head is down here. Although I'm on the wheel I'm actually working pretty hard for me, my "glimmer of form" notwithstanding. I wasn't sure how this would end up but when I heard some uncharacteristic yelling by the start/finish I figured we had to be approaching the finish.

Sure enough we went by and I saw 3 to go. Second wheel, 3 to go, that's a bit forward. I knew there'd be a surge and I could get back into the field, sit 10 or 15 riders back, and see how things played out.

I waited for the surge.

Coming up on 2 to go the field went around.

Finally, just before 2 to go, the diesel pulled off, fortunately on the sheltered/right side. The field rolled by offering a massive amount of shelter (and they were on the correct side to offer me shelter). I checked to make sure I was clear and moved a bit to the left, into the field's protective embrace.

2 to go!

So at 2 to go I was sitting sort of on the side of the field. Riders naturally sat up or blew up in front, reducing the numbers between me and the air in front of the field.

I should point out that my philosophy for these B races has been the following:

1. Make it to the finish.
2. If I finish and there is no break, lead out the sprint for the field or for someone in particular.
3. If I finish and there is a break, try to do well in the field sprint.

Although Esteban was up the road, I was thinking selfish thoughts.

I really wanted to do a big sprint, to try and break that habit of easing into sprints. I also knew that this was the second-last week of the Tuesday Night races and, realistically, I wouldn't be racing anymore this season. If next week's race got rained out this would be the last race of the season for me.

Therefore selfish thoughts: I wanted to sprint for myself tonight.

Bell lap, just before Turn 1.

At the bell there were maybe 8 or 9 riders in front of me, other than Esteban of course. A couple small gaps opened up but I was more concerned with how far up the very front was relative to me. If there was a gap to close I'd deal with it later. If the front got too far away... that would make things challenging. Which wasn't a bad thing, it would just be challenging.

Bell lap, Turn 2.

Through Turn 2 and the front of the field stretched and contracted. A gap still existed between me (really the wheel I was following) and the front of the group. I still had confidence in my sprint though, and I figured that things would come together by Turn 3.

Bell lap, back stretch.

On the back stretch I knew the gaps in front of me were significant but I still felt things were closeable. The rider in front of me rallied and closed the gap just before we hit Turn 3. I think that if he didn't do it I'd have gone. Since he went the point was moot.

On a side note, if I was in the front group and noticed no one directly on my wheel (by looking down briefly to check shadows), I'd have turned around, checked for a gap behind me. If there was a gap I'd have jumped early. This is basically how I won that race in 2015, basically by accident, because I had a very small gap, just like the one above, with one turn to go before the finish.

Bell lap, just before Turn 3.

Bryan moved up hard here.

Fortunately for me no one went early up front (I think they even eased?) and the rider in front of me closed the gap in front of him. As we approached Turn 3, though, another twist in the plot appeared - Bryan rolled past me on the right.

Shelter will be to the right of green kit, behind Bryan in the red Expo kit.

I decided I wanted to get on Bryan's wheel after the turn. Since I wanted to be to the right exiting the final turn anyway, and since Bryan was there, I decided to move over a bit and follow him. If nothing else I could sit when he jumped, or I could jump around him, or something. It would work out.

Sheltered on the right going into the sprint.

We hit the final straight without any massive acceleration. The sprint opened up pretty late so we weren't going very fast at first. For some reason everyone was waiting for the jump, which, to be honest, is better for me.

I didn't consider jumping out of the last turn because I was too far back - if I was just a couple spots up I'd have jumped first, before the turn, especially with the relatively kind wind direction at the finish line. It'd be a fast sprint for sure and those usually work in my favor.

Early jumps seem to favor me as well, possibly a side effect of the long sprints on Zwift. One week I jumped halfway down the backstretch, sprinted for a total of 20 seconds, and had such a gap that I could soft pedal for 20 seconds to the line. This week I was focused on doing a big jump and a real sprint so I wanted to make my efforts in the last 200m to the line.

As the riders in white drift apart Bryan goes up the middle.

I hesitate to give him a chance to get clear.

As much as I wanted to do a big jump, I couldn't hurt Bryan's chances in the process. When the leadout guy started to fizzle the two riders just behind him hesitated, drifting left and right. This opened up a hole between them, one that just screamed to be jumped through.

Bryan responded.

For a moment I hesitated, getting a read on what the two riders would do. If they closed in to get on Bryan's wheel I'd have room to maneuver. Also I didn't want to go with Bryan because if a good sprinter was on my wheel I'd just drag them up to Bryan. I banked on using my jump to gap off whoever was on my wheel and then I could wind out the sprint to the line.

When he jumped I jumped also.

As Bryan hit out for the line (he's never raced here before so he hasn't done this sprint dozens of times like I have) I jumped as well, and as we got toward the straight part I absolutely drilled it.

Sweeping around Bryan on the sheltered right side.

At the course straightened out I stayed to Bryan's right. Friend or not, teammate or not, I wanted to be on the sheltered side. I shifted up a gear, did another jump, and looked back.

Bryan in full cry.

There was no one close, Bryan was sprinting to the line, his son was there, and I wanted Bryan to win the sprint.

3rd person shot, courtesy Jeff Cote.

I'm trying to calculate where I need to be to lose a tight sprint to Bryan.

As we approached the line I wanted to see how close I could get to Bryan without passing him. Junior doesn't care at this point if I win or not, but Bryan's son is older and I wanted him to see his dad win the sprint. I took a celebration away from his son six years ago when I knocked Bryan off the top step of the podium at Bethel. Even though this wasn't some Series finale I could at least pay my respects to a good friend and person.

No need to sprint harder so finagled it so Bryan pipped me at the line.

Half a wheel. I wanted to be 2-3 inches behind, not 13-14 inches behind.

I did a bike throw that I'd crucify myself for if I did it for real, just horrible form, really didn't throw the bike, yada yada yada. I'd have fired myself if I was my team director.

Problem was that I was a bit too cautious, I lost by about half a wheel. Note that his hub is on the crack (the finish line) and my tire is just there. I wanted it to be that the front part of his rim was just past the crack and my tire was there, just a few inches.

I know, I should have thrown my bike for real.

I looked over at Bryan, he looked back, and we grinned like fools.

Heh.

Junior back pedaling the cranks.

Pops is back there, Missus is barely visible to the left.

Note long finger gloves which I always wear in races.

I headed back to our base camp. Junior wanted to turn the cranks, backwards because that's the only way they turn when the bike's stationary. I grabbed another bottle of ice water. I was a bit more tired than I realized and really need to pedal a bit. My stomp sprint took a lot of gas out of me and for the first time in a while I felt the need to spin a bit.

I liked this shot, it's an unusual angle.

I rolled along with Jeff, another teammate as Bryan and Vassos had to get going for a long drive home. Jeff and Bryan moved to Expo together back in 2011. In that oh-so-difficult race in 2010 Jeff was one of Bryan's teammates trying to isolate me, trying to help Bryan hold the Leader's Jersey. Their team rode strongly and fairly and I had the utmost respect for their efforts. Jeff, after he joined Expo, laughed about how their (opposing) team had gotten all amped up about beating me and how it just fell apart in the last lap of the last race. I veered off when we got back to the start/finish and let Junior walk my bike to the car (with my hand on the saddle).

Vassos and Bryan both said bye as I was putting the bike away (with Junior's "help"). I headed back to base camp to get my dad and walk him to the car, Junior holding my free hand; the Missus carried the chairs and cooler. With everything put away we headed home, the Missus driving as I was a bit lightheaded. I don't think I could stop talking about Bryan and Vassos, how surprised I was to see them at the race.

I know that my limited race schedule is a temporary thing and that eventually I'll be able to race more again. It's a sad thing though. I'm not itching to race all the time because I know what it will take before I can do that. Yes I would have raced at New Britain this year if I could because that's within the same range as the Rent. But, no, it's okay that I can't race any other races right now.

With things the way they are it's days like these that make it super fun. Friends from 20+ years back, good riders, good racers, having fun racing our bikes, and, at some level, taking my mind off of other things.

Next week will be the last CCAP Tuesday Night Race for 2016. Race and barbecue. Then for me it'll be a long pause until the 2017 season.

Racing - CCAP Tuesday Night Crit - July 5, 2016, Shelled Hard, Tried to Lead Out a 24" Wheel Junior

Ah, the Tuesday Night Worlds. For me it's been a tough couple weeks so I didn't ride much. I did get a half hour in on Monday to loosen the legs, but before that I think I last rode Thursday.

In the meantime my Facebook feed has been full of reports of a number of the local Juniors that do the B Race placing at Nationals.

To top it off the ideal summer weather - 50s at night, 70s during the day - came to a crashing halt today. It was over 90 degrees and sort of humid after a morning shower.

Finally, I got my A1C follow up blood test done and it told me I need to be a bit more diligent about cutting carbs.

Basically I hadn't progressed any on the bike, there were a lot of strong riders out there, I felt a bit under fueled due to low carbs, and therefore tonight would be an exercise in damage control.

Close up during the neutral laps.

I like to do "best practice" stuff when I ride. So during the two warm up laps I tried to avoid the hoods. I'd ride the tops if I felt it safe enough to not have to brake suddenly. I rode the drops otherwise, because the drops offer the best control, best braking, most secure grip. This is if you can brake from the drops. I know that smaller handed riders may not be able to brake as well from the drops so there are exceptions, but for me the drops are my hand position of choice.

In the third turn, if things looked okay, I tried to ride close to whoever was on my inside. I didn't want to spook them so I'd ride a bit behind, but basically it was practicing cornering in a tight field.

Neutral laps over and we got under way.

A big field.

There was a decent size group taking to the start. However some of the aforementioned strong Juniors started punching away at the pedals and the group started to split apart.

First gap that I closed.

One big gap opened up right away. I debated sitting and sort of keeping an eye out for struggling riders in the field. Then I realized that I was one of the struggling riders. So I made a somewhat impromptu decision to first make the first group, then worry about helping others.

I went to bridge the gap.

Not very hard, just sort of rolled across it.

I couldn't recover well though and when the others started upping the pace a bit, not even really attacking, I couldn't stay hooked on.

Getting shelled hard.

I looked back and realized that the field had really split apart. I didn't have a group to fall back into, there were two or three groups already with a bunch of individual riders scattered around the course. I decided to soft pedal for a while until I felt a bit better, then I'd look around and see what I could do.

A nice benefit to my "solo training ride at about 15 mph" was that I could wave to Junior virtually every lap. It crushes him when he waves or yells and I don't acknowledge him so to be able to see his face light up as he realizes I'm waving to him... it's worth not being in the field.

Junior waving (he's in the little chair)

At some point I jumped in one group but couldn't really do much. I pulled off and pulled myself out of that group.

This 24" Wheel Junior caught my eye.

A slightly more relaxed group rolled by, a Junior on a 24" wheel bike pedaling furiously at the back of the line. I accelerated to see if he needed a hand but he closed the first gap pretty quickly. Entering the next turn a gap opened again.

He closed that gap on his own.

Note the very low position.

And again he closed it.

I don't fault him for cornering poorly. It appeared that even without braking, even with him getting low on the bike, he simply didn't coast as fast. Whether it was the 24" wheels (and their inherently reduced inertia), the different rolling resistance (24" tires have higher rolling resistance), his light weight (less inertia/momentum), I don't know. Whatever, a gap would open at each corner and he'd close it after a brief struggle. This happened in every corner.

Drafting closely and on the correct side (left side at this part of the course).

What impressed me even more is that he seemed to have an instinct for Wind Management. He stayed to the right coming out of Turn Three but then ended up more to the left as we hit the start/finish. During the race I watched a lot of adult riders not get this at all. Here was a kid, if you will, who seemed to get it automatically.

Because of those two factors I left him alone. No helpful pushes, just a little protection from the wind once, but otherwise I let him do his thing. At some point when I rolled by him he seemed to drop off. I figured he'd exhausted himself closing all those gaps.

I initially thought I'd sprint at 2 to go, so I'd "cross the line" at the bell, but then I thought that's a bit selfish. I'd rather contribute to the group. I was at least a lap or two down on some of these riders so I decided to do a somewhat laid back leadout. I could act as the moto, everyone could follow, and there'd be a fun sprint.

I rolled to the front just before the bell. When I checked back I was pleasantly surprised to see the 24" wheeled Junior sitting right behind me.

I put my hands on the hoods and tried to make myself wider. From my own experience I know that drafting a tall person changes the drafting dynamics compared to drafting a shorter person. When I draft a tall person I'm behind their knees - it's not much of a draft. I understood that sitting up really high doesn't help. What I needed to do was to make my torso as un-aero as possible. Hoods were high enough, I spread my elbows, and pedaled a steady  pace.

Looking back to make sure the Junior is on my wheel.

I had to look between my legs as I couldn't see him if I looked over a shoulder.

My HR is 166 bpm - I'm pretty much blown.

Even with this "mellow" leadout I was starting to suffer. I tried not to push too hard and I eased as I came out of Turn One, knowing the Junior would lose a few feet. I looked down just in time to see his wheels veer to the side - he'd pulled out of line.

I looked back because the Junior sat up and moved over.

He's behind the older Junior who is telling me to go, go, go.

I looked back but he seemed to be done. The Junior in front of him told me to go, to jump, to sprint. I think everyone was trying to be helpful to one another no one was actually trying to win.

I looked at the gap to the next rider, the speed that they were going, and decided to do a jump on the backstretch. I'd sit up at Turn Three and see what happened after. The group had disintegrated - I think my pull wasn't really constructive so next time I'll do it a bit slower - and the riders went by one by one.

Junior (our Junior) after I rolled up.

I rolled up to Junior who is an absolute chatterbox right now. He started asking me about this and that, started talking about that and this, and generally jabbered for a minute or two. The crazy thing is that I understand it all, all the subject changes, all the random idea injections.

He's telling me about everything - he's in the Narrative Phase.

Squeezing the brake lever, sort of. It's not just adults that do it instinctively.

He wanted to help me walk the bike back to the car, or, rather, I'd help him walk the bike back to the car. He pointed out all sorts of things as I packed the bike away, didn't run into the street, and basically was a good kid.

On the way to the car I'd spotted the 24" wheeled Junior. He was there with his dad at the very least and I wanted to let the Junior know something important. My Junior and I walked over to the car.

I asked the adult racer (he was in the B race also) if the Junior was his son. He nodded affirmatively. I addressed the Junior, because I wanted to make see if he'd blown up or if he pulled off because he didn't want to get in the way.

"I tried to lead you out on the last lap. I was really surprised that you were on my wheel but you were riding really strongly before. I wanted to ask you - when you pulled off on the last lap were you done? Or did you pull off because you didn't want to get in the way?"

The Junior was nodding before I finished.

"You were done?"

Nod.

"Okay. Because I wanted to make sure you understand that if you're on a wheel you earned your spot. You have every right to be on the wheel. You don't need to give it to anyone. It's your wheel. You understand?"

Nod.

"Okay. Well if I'm at the front at the bell it means I'm not sprinting. It means that if you want a leadout you should get on my wheel. Right?"

Grin. Nod.

The dad and I talked briefly and then (my) Junior and I left to get my Pops.

(As a side note - I said something that wasn't quite accurate to the dad. When I started racing I was a featherweight. Even so I couldn't climb, I couldn't time trial, and I could sprint. My cycling physiology tendencies were already very clear. However I said that "even so" I could hit 42 mph from a standing start in one gear. I realized after the fact that I didn't even know I could sprint until I'd been racing maybe three years. By then I was closer to 100 lbs rather than 90 lbs. At 103 lbs, 17 years old, I could do a standing start, one gear (53x12), and hit 42 mph consistently. It was a Steve Bauer training thing so I did it because Steve Bauer. But when I started at 15, at probably 90 lbs, I didn't have much data in terms of top speeds in sprints and such. I hit 30 mph sprinting up a short hill a few driveways down from the house - I knew that because my mom was just behind me and noting my speed. But other than that I didn't have a lot of data for the first few years I raced. I wanted to clarify that.)

*edit update: the 24" Wheel Junior got the bronze at Nationals just a short time ago. Apparently he is quite strong, I had no idea.

Racing - CCAP Tuesday Night Race - June 14, 2016 B Race (Some good work and a sprint)

Ah, Tuesday Night Worlds. This season in particular this will be my only regular racing because of its close proximity. The only other venue this close to home is New Britain, so my racing this year will realistically be confined to those two spots.

This week Tuesday ended up being a beautiful day. Dry, sunny, mid-70s. Someone on the radio said it was a "Top 10" day of the year, it was that nice.

So of course we packed up and headed out.

I pack the car beforehand, doing as much as possible. For example for the Tuesday races I pin my number on at home, in a leisurely, calm, spacious, and non-windy environment. Unfortunately this Tuesday I couldn't find my number. I normally leave it in the car after I unpin it, but with a couple days of driving with the windows wide open ("Daddy can you open my window all the way down?") I suspect that there's a #185 floating around somewhere outside.

Speaking of #185...

As a last resort in looking for my number I asked Junior, after his nap, if he'd seen my race number. I wasn't even sure he knew what one was so I asked him a few questions at once.

"Have you seen Daddy's race number? The number when he races? Do you know what a race number is?"

"Fifty eight one!"

"It's 185... waitaminute. You know the race number?"

He looked at me with those big, round eyes and nodded.

4 year old kids are super observant and remember everything, just to let you know.

Anyway he hadn't seen the number either. Writing the number off as a loss I went on and checked and double checked everything else, and then the Missus did also.

"Did you get your phone? Helmet? Shoes? You want to charge your phone? I see your gloves here."

"Can you check my bike?"

"I already did, strap and everything."

"You have wheels, the chairs? Bottles. Your sandwich is in the cooler."

Etc etc. Time to go.

We got to the Rent in reasonable time. The Missus drove this time so I got to sit in the back and hang out with Junior. He sang along with a couple songs like "Cake By The Ocean" and some other song that I don't know at all. Apparently Junior is in his "narrative phase". This means he talks about everything. He points out stuff outside the window, then relates them to stories like Thomas the train or to friends at school. He'll randomly tell us about stuff, like what happened a year ago, or about a clip that I showed him (like of me tickling him when he was 8 or 9 months old). Sometimes it's hard to understand because there's no context when he switches topics from one word to another, but you can figure these things out after a while.

The Missus set up base camp for Pops, I got my bike ready, got another number (#472), and even got to roll around the course for a lap. Okay, I did it to get to the portapotty and I didn't want to go against the direction of the race to get to it.

My pin job. Outside, in the light wind.

At least Junior held the pins, feeding them to me one at a time.

I lost my SRM cadence/power, meaning the computer head just displayed zeros for them. That means the pick up under the BB is not right or the wire is busted. Since it's a new wire and since I had just checked the battery I'm pretty sure the pick up needs to be aligned better. That's on my to-do list now.

Start of the B race, neutral laps.

I'm doing the B races this year for a couple/few reasons. The primary one is schedule. With Junior's bed time around 7 PM, even the B race ends sort of late. We don't get home until 8-ish so it's a late night for him. Another is Pops - he can't stay out very long without needing some care so I want to minimize his time at races. And usually he eats dinner after the race. His dinner and bed prep might take 3 hours so I don't want to start it at 9 for example. For the record I finally got him to be around 10 PM and missed out on reading Junior a story.

Anyway tonight a lot of riders started the B race. Two laps neutral and we were off.

Moving up to close a gap.

Yes, that's the field way up there.

Early on I tried to help a rider at the back of the field but realized that I was going to be distanced if I hung out there too much longer. I moved up and saw a pretty big gap to close. Fortunately it wasn't all out so I could close it but it took a close-to-30 mph effort and cost me a huge effort.

Wind from left-front just after Turn Three.

I'm sheltering on #457's right side.

Wind from right-front about 200 meters later.

I've switched to sheltering on #457's left side.

Early on I realized that the wind was a left side cross-headwind exiting the third turn. This meant I wanted to be to the right side after we took the turn. As the road curved left though the wind direction changed accordingly, until it was clearly a right side cross-headwind. This meant sitting to the left of the wheel in front.

I had a difficult time making this move from one side to another while wind was hitting my front wheel sort of hard. I definitely bobbled a few times so my apologies to whoever was on my wheel when I got a bit sketchy.

Spinergys!

A very rare sighting - Spinergy Rev-Xs in the wild! A pair of them no less.

Getting ridden off the wheel...

As the race progressed there were some sharper and sharper attacks. Or I was getting more and more tired. I did pull here and there but I got ridden off the wheel twice. Here I simply couldn't follow the wheel. Tailwind section so it makes sense - drafting is less effective in a tailwind. My heart rate hit 166 bpm here before I came off.

This move never came back.

Getting ridden off the wheel again...

Here again I'm losing the wheel. I had less of an excuse here - it's a cross headwind and I was sheltered. I simply couldn't follow. Here my heart rate was about 165 bpm before I had to ease.

This move came back, but only after about ten other riders noodled off the front in various combinations, blew each other up, and got rolled up en masse after a few laps of chaos.

A huge pull for me, almost a whole lap.

You can't see the two guys I'm chasing.

After the fragmented field came together I wanted to see if I could cut into the gap of the two riders off the front. I did a pretty big pull. The gap was huge, about 25 seconds, so I couldn't just jump across; I can do that for a 10 second gap, maybe 15 seconds if I'm super fit. 25 seconds? No way. A gap like that meant doing some pretty hard steady stuff.

Two others with me but I was too cooked to work.

When I pulled off I was surprised to see just two riders on my wheel. I struggled to work with them but I think we were all struggling. We got caught after a lap or two.

The two man chase I was chasing? I think I cut about 30-50 meters out of their lead, so maybe a few seconds. Nothing substantial, that's for sure.

Three Expo riders in front of me, although we didn't have a plan per se.

At about 5 to go I looked up and saw three or four Expo riders in front of me. If it was planned it would have been super impressive but since it wasn't, well, maybe someone got a picture of it. It looked good, that's for sure.

Two Expos go. I never saw this as I was focused on the riders around me.

Along those lines two of the Expo guys took off. I never saw this as I was busy doing some closer riding in the group. The riders around me rode well, one guy kept looking so I knew he wasn't super comfortable but generally he was very good. He did back off unnecessarily in the turns; I'll have to say something next time I see him.

Approaching the bell!

Coming up on the bell I knew that at least two were gone, and I thought at least two more had gone also. Therefore we wouldn't be sprinting for the win. For me I decided I'd sprint. I wouldn't have power numbers due to the zero power/cadence readings, but at least I'd be able to do a maximal jump in a real world race situation.

However, because I only train on the trainer, doing a real out of the saddle sprint is a precious opportunity for me. My goal was to see how I sprinted on the 175s, do a real out of the saddle jump, and see how I fared after the initial acceleration.

First turn surge where the first two riders basically went clear of the field.

A couple guys in the field really went hard just after the bell, gapping the field off and riding clear of everyone else out of Turn One. I knew that my sprint would close a decent gap so that was okay. I was also happy to have a real race surge before the sprint - it would make my sprint test a bit more honest because I wasn't comfortable following wheels after the surge.

Backstretch - my left is clear so I jumped hard left.

I was thinking about the sprint for a few laps. I knew I could always just go out of Turn Three, but I didn't want to do the same thing as usual. Plus it was a headwind and it would be a demoralizing sprint for me. I wanted a bit more speed so at least I'd feel fast. This meant going, at latest, on the backstretch, which is really far away from the line.

In the back of my mind I was also thinking that if I went early and blew, the others would beat me. I didn't have a problem with that - my goal was to do a full on sprint, not necessarily to win the sprint.

Therefore I decided to go on the backstretch, in the tailwind section. It'd be 100-150 meters too early. I wasn't planning on making it easy for anyone but I felt that the field had a good chance of swamping me in the headwind finish.

I went to the left curb, got a gap.

Two riders in front, from that surge in Turn One.

My initial jump got me clear of the riders just behind me, allowing me to move to the left side. I shifted up as usual while out of the saddle and going 100%, two hard shifts. My bike felt nice and stable, I felt like I could get the bike going okay, and I didn't feel like I was holding my breath like I did with the 170s.

On the other hand the red bike felt a bit heavier up front. The black bike feels a bit more nimble out of the saddle - I can lift my front wheel easily in a sprint, which I like because I can make minor trajectory adjustments without steering much. I can also keep it planted, if it's wet for example, so the black bike has great balance. On the red bike I can't lift the front, even if I wanted to do so.

I spent about 10-11 seconds on the gas on the backstretch.

Turn Three, I was flying.

I went as hard as I could into Turn Three. I went a bit wide in the turn, rolling over the manhole cover. It looks like I hit the turn at about 33 mph after peaking at 37 mph on the backstretch. I coasted for about 4 seconds here.

Turn Three exit. I almost hit the curb.

I had to slow a bit as I got a bit preoccupied with the curb exiting the turn. I forced myself to look away from the curb and it ended up okay. Exiting the turn I did a minor jump to hit about 34 mph, passing the two riders just in front of me.

Looking back for any threats.

I started to blow up here, a long way away from the line. I managed about 8 seconds of pedaling before I sat up. This meant I sprinted for just under 20 seconds (with 4 more seconds in there where I was coasting), which is about my normal limit. I'd expect to be able to go 19 seconds in a tough sprint.

After I sat up it took me 20 seconds to get to the line. I think the group behind all tried to individually match me instead of letting one or two guys chase and waiting for 15-20 seconds (like after the turn). If I were back there I'd have waited until after Turn Three and launched an all or nothing effort from there.

I rolled around for a lap and headed to our base camp. Junior greeted me with glee. Or my bike anyway.

Junior greeting me. Pops looking on from his chair.

Junior likes turning the cranks and the wheels.

We got packed up and headed out. No messes, no fusses, and I didn't get totally shelled in the race. A good day.

Edited to add a picture of the Golden Cheetah display of the last lap efforts in speed and HR. Dips are 22 mph, HR maxed out at 172 bpm, about my max.