After the flat:
Once you get a wheel change, a friendly wheel support crew (figuring a driver and a changer) will try and help the rider. After all, it's normally not the rider's fault they flatted.
I was lucky enough to be the changer on a wheel SUV not too long ago. We had some "customers" but none wanted too much help, and on the first hill after their service, they dropped back. Drafting, unfortunately, only goes so far. It was a bummer because a lot of these customers appeared within the first 10 miles of a 60 to 100 mile race. To be knocked out of the race that early, well, it didn't seem right.
We finally got a Cat 3 who really wanted to be in the race. He flatted, waited, and we could see his teammates at the back of the field, debating whether to wait or not. I'm not sure if he waved them on but they left the very fit looking racer to his fate.
I jumped out, changed his wheel (he was very polite, no swearing or anything), and gave him a push that would make any Tour mechanic proud. The wheel SUV, piloted by a pro racer taking a day to help the promoter, rolled up to me. I jumped in and we caught the guy. The pro told me we should tow this guy up. He looked strong, he was chasing in a committed fashion, and his team seemed willing to have waited. It would be a pity to knock this guy out of the running due to a flat.
We pulled up next to him.
"Hang on," I told the guy, "We'll bring you up."
The rider looked up at us.
"Hang on, " I said again. "Really."
He reached for the window sill.
"Wait," I told him, "hold the bars by the stem. It's more stable if you're riding one handed."
He obliged and moved his right hand over towards his stem.
"Okay," I said to the driver, "Go."
We went.
We started at about 30 mph and we asked if the guy was okay. He seemed fine. A walk in the park, right?
We upped it to about 40. He looked a little wide-eyed but nodded he was okay. Usually you descend as fast as this. And a fast sprint might beat this by a bit.
We upped it again. Now we were going about 50-52 mph with what appeared to be a scared witless Cat 3 hanging on for dear life. But at least his bike was tracking straight.
"Dude, we're going over 50!"
He didn't look up. I think "abject terror" would be an appropriate description of the look on his face. He gamely held on.
We crested a slight rise and saw the officials car.
"Let go, let go." I told him.
He let go and started pedaling furiously after shifting into his top gear. We slowed to an innocent 23-24 mph and creeped up to the official's car. The racer, though, he absolutely rocketed past the startled officials. I wish I could have heard what they were saying. As it was we were trying hard not to crack up laughing. We got some suspicious looks but we just smiled back at them and took our place in the caravan.
I don't know what happened to that rider but I hope he still talks about his 50 mph tow to the field.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Sick
I'm sick. I seem to get this every now and then - a lethargic exhaustive deep-into-your-bones fatigue, fever, chills, and muscle soreness. Sometimes it's fine after a day or two. Once it lasted about 3 weeks. I'm hoping this isn't one of those times.
So I've stayed home from work and didn't even get up till the phone rang. The kitties are keeping me company but I have to get ready for my trip tomorrow morning. So I'll have to run an errand or two, pack my bike and my clothes, and pray that a lot of heat, liquids, and rest will make things better tomorrow.
So I've stayed home from work and didn't even get up till the phone rang. The kitties are keeping me company but I have to get ready for my trip tomorrow morning. So I'll have to run an errand or two, pack my bike and my clothes, and pray that a lot of heat, liquids, and rest will make things better tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
How To - Signaling a flat tire in a road race
How to signal a flat tire or wheel problem in a road race:
Probably all of you know that you're supposed to raise your hand if you have a flat. There is that bit about which hand to raise for a front (or a rear). So the question is, how do you signal a flat in a race?
When figuring out which arm to raise, use the shifters as a guide - right-rear (remember RR), left-front. This way all you motorcyclists (typically they swap levers for brakes, except for Harleys which are reverse of the reverse...), Italians, lefties, and people from India (as a friend from India pointed out after he crashed into an office chair riding my bike around the office) can signal the same way.
Of course, if it's a front and you're about to crash, worrying about what hand to use to signal is the least of your concerns. I was in a collegiate road race in Cornell, NY when someone flatted on a 45+ mph descent. A hand went up and I thought "Oh good, he knows how to signal a flat". Then it zipped out of view, I heard the scraping of metal and ground, and the next thing I knew about 20-30 racers were sprawled all over the ground including me. Someone actually had the presence of mind to yell "Crash up!" I don't know if he made it.
If you raise *any* hand, hold your line, don't fall, and manage to filter through the pack without taking anyone out, then you've done as well as anyone would expect you to do.
Once you get to the back, raise the correct hand and see if the wheel guys see you.
For what it's worth, no matter what wheel you need, the neutral support guy will probably ask anyway. When my rear wheel ate my derailleur in a race a long time ago I stopped without really signaling but it was apparent it was a rear wheel problem since it wasn't rolling at all.
"6 or 7 speed?", the excited neutral support guy yelled as he ran toward me, holding two wheels.
"8 speed. And I need a dropout. And a derailleur." (*Note - Campy's first gen Ergo was released with too-thick inner pulley cages, resulting in many broken dropouts and derailleurs. I still have replacement thinner cages in my toolbox.)
"Oh." He turned back to the pickup truck.
"Can I at least get a ride? it's 10 miles back to the parking lot."
"Um.. ok, but you have to sit with the wheels."
It certainly beat walking back.
I sat on top of the wheels and tried not to bend the skinny ones.
Probably all of you know that you're supposed to raise your hand if you have a flat. There is that bit about which hand to raise for a front (or a rear). So the question is, how do you signal a flat in a race?
When figuring out which arm to raise, use the shifters as a guide - right-rear (remember RR), left-front. This way all you motorcyclists (typically they swap levers for brakes, except for Harleys which are reverse of the reverse...), Italians, lefties, and people from India (as a friend from India pointed out after he crashed into an office chair riding my bike around the office) can signal the same way.
Of course, if it's a front and you're about to crash, worrying about what hand to use to signal is the least of your concerns. I was in a collegiate road race in Cornell, NY when someone flatted on a 45+ mph descent. A hand went up and I thought "Oh good, he knows how to signal a flat". Then it zipped out of view, I heard the scraping of metal and ground, and the next thing I knew about 20-30 racers were sprawled all over the ground including me. Someone actually had the presence of mind to yell "Crash up!" I don't know if he made it.
If you raise *any* hand, hold your line, don't fall, and manage to filter through the pack without taking anyone out, then you've done as well as anyone would expect you to do.
Once you get to the back, raise the correct hand and see if the wheel guys see you.
For what it's worth, no matter what wheel you need, the neutral support guy will probably ask anyway. When my rear wheel ate my derailleur in a race a long time ago I stopped without really signaling but it was apparent it was a rear wheel problem since it wasn't rolling at all.
"6 or 7 speed?", the excited neutral support guy yelled as he ran toward me, holding two wheels.
"8 speed. And I need a dropout. And a derailleur." (*Note - Campy's first gen Ergo was released with too-thick inner pulley cages, resulting in many broken dropouts and derailleurs. I still have replacement thinner cages in my toolbox.)
"Oh." He turned back to the pickup truck.
"Can I at least get a ride? it's 10 miles back to the parking lot."
"Um.. ok, but you have to sit with the wheels."
It certainly beat walking back.
I sat on top of the wheels and tried not to bend the skinny ones.
Cycle Ops - fixed again
Wanted to let people know that the Cycle Ops fix really does work, but it needed fine tuning. It seems that the axle spacer I put on the Cycle-Ops was a bit too thick. I need to get a thinner spacer (it was a 2 mm spacer, I need a 1 mm). Also some Loctite on the nut holding the flywheel down. And it should be fine.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Wanted: crit bend bars (40-41 cm)
I've been slowly using up my stock of crit bend bars - I'm down to a couple Mavics and some "use last" 3ttt. Like many riders I started out on Cinelli 65's but their insistence on a 26.4 clamp diameter dropped them from favor a long time ago.The Mavics were discontinued about 10 years ago and I got as many as I could when that happened (a grand total of.... two), and I have both mounted on current bikes. I saw a used one on eBay go for $75 or so. The 3ttt is, I think, the Felice Gimondi model. I also have two of those, but both are sketchy after crashes, being the superlight aluminum. They both creak (indicating a probably internal crack) so they are not mounted. In the off season I've been switching to a square bend bar just to "save" my crit bars.
I also have some Cinellis but I cut them all for my bar end (in those pre-STI/Ergo days) and they are somewhat unusable - the right side of the bar is about an inch shorter than the left. Plus they're that 26.4mm clamp diameter.
My body geometry and riding style are such that even with crit bend bars I will bruise my forearms in sprints. With "square" bars, I bruise them whenever I use the drops aggressively. So I really want the crit bars.
I have been unable to find any source of new crit bars. With the bars being unavailable for something like 10 years, I think there is a HUGE pent up market. Just check out eBay and the like - they sell for a boatload of money. But there must be some out there. There are pictures of pros, esp those who sprint, and they have sets - they must be getting them from somewhere.
When something that works is discontinued, it seems that the users of the product have to find these things and hang onto them. I remember reading about Alexi Grewal and how he hoarded the Dura Ace AX cranks and pedals (they had sort of a negative axle to foot height since the ball of the foot was next to the axle). I'm sure the pros that use crit bars are doing the same.
Anyone listening? Deda? ITM? 3ttt? Ritchey?
Oh, and if you are listening, make them in aluminum please.
I also have some Cinellis but I cut them all for my bar end (in those pre-STI/Ergo days) and they are somewhat unusable - the right side of the bar is about an inch shorter than the left. Plus they're that 26.4mm clamp diameter.
My body geometry and riding style are such that even with crit bend bars I will bruise my forearms in sprints. With "square" bars, I bruise them whenever I use the drops aggressively. So I really want the crit bars.
I have been unable to find any source of new crit bars. With the bars being unavailable for something like 10 years, I think there is a HUGE pent up market. Just check out eBay and the like - they sell for a boatload of money. But there must be some out there. There are pictures of pros, esp those who sprint, and they have sets - they must be getting them from somewhere.
When something that works is discontinued, it seems that the users of the product have to find these things and hang onto them. I remember reading about Alexi Grewal and how he hoarded the Dura Ace AX cranks and pedals (they had sort of a negative axle to foot height since the ball of the foot was next to the axle). I'm sure the pros that use crit bars are doing the same.
Anyone listening? Deda? ITM? 3ttt? Ritchey?
Oh, and if you are listening, make them in aluminum please.
Florida trip coming up
So my friend at work asked me if I'm excited about the upcoming FL trip. Told him that was an affirmative. I even made a list of electronics I want to bring for apres ride entertainment:
- laptop (and power cord)
- network cable for same
- Playstation 2
- TOCA 2 driving game for PS2 since I can't play it well with my Logitech steering wheel (GT4 is reserved for steering wheel use).
- Portable DVD player I won at my fiancee's company party
- TV adapter thing I got at Radio Shack last time I went to Florida
- My Treo (for listening to music while I ride)
- Sprint phone (I hate sprint but haven't changed yet)
- Chargers for the phones
I should probably bring a surge protector too.
I thought about buying one of those aluminum briefcases for my electronic stuff, you know the ones. People transporting huge amounts of money carry them in the movies, with the briefcases handcuffed to their wrist.
But then I realized it wasn't a good idea. A post-Florida trip might go along the following lines:
"So, how was Florida?"
"Well, I got mistaken for a Mafia mule and someone cut off my hand to get my briefcase)."
"So it wasn't good then?"
On an aside - they're having some gas problems in Manhattan. Apparently you can smell gas. It seems that they're starting to evacuate buildings like the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center, shut down the PATH (train from NJ to NYC), and basically stopped all productivity in the financial center of the world. Sort of.
You know, you can't smell natural gas. It's the additive you can smell. So someone might have planted a half dozen tanks of the smelly stuff and just released it into the air. No danger but everyone's been conditioned to report the smell.
Anyway, tonight I need to start prepping my bikes and gear for Florida. Clean up the Florida bike (carbon Giant) and prep for packing. Get the home bike (aluminum Giant) set up on the trainer. Find my fricken cassette tool and swap the cassette onto my FIR rear wheel.
Oh, and video tape me installing a tire so I can post how to do it. It's amazing how many people don't know how to mount a tire onto a rim. That's for a different post.
Hope you're not in NYC.
- laptop (and power cord)
- network cable for same
- Playstation 2
- TOCA 2 driving game for PS2 since I can't play it well with my Logitech steering wheel (GT4 is reserved for steering wheel use).
- Portable DVD player I won at my fiancee's company party
- TV adapter thing I got at Radio Shack last time I went to Florida
- My Treo (for listening to music while I ride)
- Sprint phone (I hate sprint but haven't changed yet)
- Chargers for the phones
I should probably bring a surge protector too.
I thought about buying one of those aluminum briefcases for my electronic stuff, you know the ones. People transporting huge amounts of money carry them in the movies, with the briefcases handcuffed to their wrist.
But then I realized it wasn't a good idea. A post-Florida trip might go along the following lines:
"So, how was Florida?"
"Well, I got mistaken for a Mafia mule and someone cut off my hand to get my briefcase)."
"So it wasn't good then?"
On an aside - they're having some gas problems in Manhattan. Apparently you can smell gas. It seems that they're starting to evacuate buildings like the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center, shut down the PATH (train from NJ to NYC), and basically stopped all productivity in the financial center of the world. Sort of.
You know, you can't smell natural gas. It's the additive you can smell. So someone might have planted a half dozen tanks of the smelly stuff and just released it into the air. No danger but everyone's been conditioned to report the smell.
Anyway, tonight I need to start prepping my bikes and gear for Florida. Clean up the Florida bike (carbon Giant) and prep for packing. Get the home bike (aluminum Giant) set up on the trainer. Find my fricken cassette tool and swap the cassette onto my FIR rear wheel.
Oh, and video tape me installing a tire so I can post how to do it. It's amazing how many people don't know how to mount a tire onto a rim. That's for a different post.
Hope you're not in NYC.
Why you shouldn't buy a Saturn
A bit off topic but for those of you considering buying a Saturn, you should probably stop considering it right now.
Saturn (the car company, not the planet) , and not a pretty story either. The conclusion is the link, but if you follow the archives, it's pretty sobering.
At least they didn't drop it off the lift. Or drive it into an oil change well. Or did they.
Saturn (the car company, not the planet) , and not a pretty story either. The conclusion is the link, but if you follow the archives, it's pretty sobering.
At least they didn't drop it off the lift. Or drive it into an oil change well. Or did they.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
cooler weather and a long ride
After the slightly-sub-two hour tandem ride yesterday, I said to my fiancee that I need to do a long ride today as I felt pretty terrible once we hit 1.5 hours. With my Florida trip looming, with its 4-5+ hour rides, being in difficulty at 1.5 hours would simply mean disaster at 5 hours. She gave me her blessings as this would let her spend some of her gift cards at Ann Taylor Loft.
Of course, to do my ride, I wanted to test my newly built front wheel. I put a tire and tube on it the other day but didn't do the rear. I mounted the tire and tube there too (there will be a tutorial on this later). But then I couldn't find my cassette tools. After more than an hour of looking around my very messy bike room, I gave up. So I moved the tire over to my current Eurus (dismounting that tire/tube) and put that on the bike. The tires looked great - Michelin things of some sort. The rest of the bike - well, I haven't washed it since I don't know when, and the tape should have been replaced last April.
I also spent an hour putting music on my SD card. I listen to it on the Treo in one ear - I figure that's not too bad, I can hear cars and stuff out the other one.
So a few hours late, I set off.
It was a LOT colder than yesterday's 70 degrees - more like 40 or so. I started off dressed in my new fleece knickers, fleece LS jersey, a SS jersey under that, cap + helmet, booties + shoes, and my Specialized warm gloves. I got about 2 blocks away and stopped - it was too cold. I pulled on my Jamoca and my wind vest.
Better.
I should have turned around and picked up my jacket. But the phone rang. A teammate Sean called. He couldn't do his planned ride due to car trouble so wanted to know if I wanted to ride. We decided to meet along a main road between our two places and I set off, forgetting about the jacket.
We met up about a mile from his place (which means I rode about 10).
"Wow your bike looks nice."
"It's the new tires that make it look good. Oh and the new front wheel."
"Hm."
He looked at it closer. No more comments on how nice my bike looked.
We headed north and did a loop and started coming back. After about an hour and a half I started faltering. A PowerGel bought me about half an hour but that also started running out. It didn't help that we had to do some hard climbs and Sean was floating up them. I was struggling. I felt like one of those ice climbers, chipping out one step at a time.
The saving grace - on the way back I got to pull for about 2-3 minutes on a flat, slight downhill, windless section. I got on top of a big gear and rolled pretty hard. When the road started up a short rise, I pulled off. Sean drew up next to me. I looked at Sean and commented, "It's those sections of road that make me feel like a bike racer - I can roll a big gear and it doesn't seem that hard."
He agreed.
The rest of the ride was anti-climactic. We got back towards my place and I really started to falter. Sean did a lot of pulling and dragged me back home. About 2:45 for the ride. Not bad but I hope I am better down south.
I got a block away from the house and my fiancee pulled up behind me in her car. Perfect timing. We shared a lunch, watched some of her CSI DVD's, I changed her oil, we fixed her friend's computer for a few hours, and had a nice dinner.
Three more days and then it's Florida.
Of course, to do my ride, I wanted to test my newly built front wheel. I put a tire and tube on it the other day but didn't do the rear. I mounted the tire and tube there too (there will be a tutorial on this later). But then I couldn't find my cassette tools. After more than an hour of looking around my very messy bike room, I gave up. So I moved the tire over to my current Eurus (dismounting that tire/tube) and put that on the bike. The tires looked great - Michelin things of some sort. The rest of the bike - well, I haven't washed it since I don't know when, and the tape should have been replaced last April.
I also spent an hour putting music on my SD card. I listen to it on the Treo in one ear - I figure that's not too bad, I can hear cars and stuff out the other one.
So a few hours late, I set off.
It was a LOT colder than yesterday's 70 degrees - more like 40 or so. I started off dressed in my new fleece knickers, fleece LS jersey, a SS jersey under that, cap + helmet, booties + shoes, and my Specialized warm gloves. I got about 2 blocks away and stopped - it was too cold. I pulled on my Jamoca and my wind vest.
Better.
I should have turned around and picked up my jacket. But the phone rang. A teammate Sean called. He couldn't do his planned ride due to car trouble so wanted to know if I wanted to ride. We decided to meet along a main road between our two places and I set off, forgetting about the jacket.
We met up about a mile from his place (which means I rode about 10).
"Wow your bike looks nice."
"It's the new tires that make it look good. Oh and the new front wheel."
"Hm."
He looked at it closer. No more comments on how nice my bike looked.
We headed north and did a loop and started coming back. After about an hour and a half I started faltering. A PowerGel bought me about half an hour but that also started running out. It didn't help that we had to do some hard climbs and Sean was floating up them. I was struggling. I felt like one of those ice climbers, chipping out one step at a time.
The saving grace - on the way back I got to pull for about 2-3 minutes on a flat, slight downhill, windless section. I got on top of a big gear and rolled pretty hard. When the road started up a short rise, I pulled off. Sean drew up next to me. I looked at Sean and commented, "It's those sections of road that make me feel like a bike racer - I can roll a big gear and it doesn't seem that hard."
He agreed.
The rest of the ride was anti-climactic. We got back towards my place and I really started to falter. Sean did a lot of pulling and dragged me back home. About 2:45 for the ride. Not bad but I hope I am better down south.
I got a block away from the house and my fiancee pulled up behind me in her car. Perfect timing. We shared a lunch, watched some of her CSI DVD's, I changed her oil, we fixed her friend's computer for a few hours, and had a nice dinner.
Three more days and then it's Florida.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Tandem Ride
So my fiancee and I rode for just under two hours on our Cannondale tandem today. She'll readily admit she's a fair weather rider so when it was SEVENTY DEGREES outside we decided we had to go for a ride. Normally it's about 20 degrees and a cold day might be 10 or 15 degrees. Fahrenheit. So when it's about 50 degrees warmer than that and dry, well, you gotta take it when you can get it.
The tandem, except for some Ergo levers, is bone stock. And as a tinkerer, it is only in my nature to want to improve things. The Ergo levers was the first move - I just can not get used to the STI levers and there's a great hack to install 10s Ergo levers on a 9s Shimano drivetrain. So we did that and it's fantastic.
Next I'd like to get 175s up front. It's the same size crank on my other bikes and I find myself spinning way too high for my stoker's tastes. 175's would drop my cadence and also allow me to "cross-train" more effectively.
I need to fiddle with my seat position since it's in a setback position. Forward for more speed and a little more "oomph" would work better.
I'd like to get a close ratio cassette with an 11T. We have a 12T and run out of gear, even when we're not going that fast. An 11-28 or even 11-26 would be nice. Three and four tooth jumps between cogs just destroys our rhythm. It would be better to do a full crossover type gearing - you use a bunch of cogs on the big ring, then move to the middle and use most of the cogs there, then for bailing out of trouble the small ring is in reserve.
Depending on how aggressive I want to go with gearing, we could stay with say a 28T cog and get bigger rings. A 53T is just a bit small. Probably a 55T or 56T would be good (and look hot), and the corresponding low gear (34T or so) would be plenty. Right now we rarely drop into the small ring, and when we do, we're in the middle of the cassette.
We need a much better rear shock post since it seems to be set up for a 40 pound rider. It compresses immediately and offers no shock absorbing value. I hear it every time I miss a bump warning.
Finally, with a few wet spots on the road today, we really need a decent set of fenders. Plastic, light, with cool bendable wire fender-holders which can be bent to clear, say, some big disc brakes. I was thinking of the completely unstandard frame setup (downhill disc brakes, no cantilevers yet). I think a spoke wrapped into three loops and bent into a triangle would work to hold the fender up between the canti mounts - a loop for one canti mount, a straight section up above the (700c road) tire, a loop there for the fender, a straight section down to the other canti mount, and a loop for a bolt there. Clean, simple, light.
The chain squeaked a bit today so I also want to rig up a self-lubing system - a small spray can of White Lightning attached to the rear seat tube with nozzles extending to the chains on either side. The stoker (who hears more of the squeaking), if annoyed at some chain noise, could simply press the spray nozzle to lube the chain.
Today we put a second saddle bag on as well, under the stoker stem. The rear bag carries things unusable on the move - tools, a tube, etc. The front has more immediate things like gels plus another tube. As my seat is low we can't fit a handlebar bag back there like some other tandemers we know, but I'd like to try and maintain the image that we're a "fast" tandem, and handlebar bags just destroy that look.
We saw a lot of people out today. In the town next to us there were a lot of people meandering on the sidewalks, sitting on the benches, and just generally hanging out. With the sun, the stillness of the weekend, it was kind of like a Lazy Sunday except it's Saturday. Warm, breezy, etc.
We coasted down a hill, taking it a bit easy, and then punched it to get up a short hill - we accelerated from a brake-induced 37 mph to 44 mph as we rolled over the hill. It was a lot of fun but we ran out of gas and slowed back down. We held off the SUV's behind us for a quarter mile though so that was cool (speed limit was 35).
And the topper - on the way back home, we were passed by a most regal looking Cadillac. My fiancee and I have been on the prowl for a nice limo but not a "regular" one. I was thinking a Maybach, Bentley, a new Rolls, or something like that. Now this guy had a beautiful 1939 Cadillac 4 Door with a red silk interior (outside looks kind of like this one). Owned by some actress and complete with roses in vases on the inside. Anyway, we were presumptuous enough to ask him if he did weddings. He gave us a card so we'll see if he'll do it. If not, I'll resume my search for a Rolls (my current favorite new limo type car).
So we got in a bunch of miles, spent about two hours on the tandem, talked and stuff (instead of a single bike ride where one is always waiting and the other is always trying to catch up), looked at houses, people watched, and found a potential limo for the wedding. What a great ride!
The tandem, except for some Ergo levers, is bone stock. And as a tinkerer, it is only in my nature to want to improve things. The Ergo levers was the first move - I just can not get used to the STI levers and there's a great hack to install 10s Ergo levers on a 9s Shimano drivetrain. So we did that and it's fantastic.
Next I'd like to get 175s up front. It's the same size crank on my other bikes and I find myself spinning way too high for my stoker's tastes. 175's would drop my cadence and also allow me to "cross-train" more effectively.
I need to fiddle with my seat position since it's in a setback position. Forward for more speed and a little more "oomph" would work better.
I'd like to get a close ratio cassette with an 11T. We have a 12T and run out of gear, even when we're not going that fast. An 11-28 or even 11-26 would be nice. Three and four tooth jumps between cogs just destroys our rhythm. It would be better to do a full crossover type gearing - you use a bunch of cogs on the big ring, then move to the middle and use most of the cogs there, then for bailing out of trouble the small ring is in reserve.
Depending on how aggressive I want to go with gearing, we could stay with say a 28T cog and get bigger rings. A 53T is just a bit small. Probably a 55T or 56T would be good (and look hot), and the corresponding low gear (34T or so) would be plenty. Right now we rarely drop into the small ring, and when we do, we're in the middle of the cassette.
We need a much better rear shock post since it seems to be set up for a 40 pound rider. It compresses immediately and offers no shock absorbing value. I hear it every time I miss a bump warning.
Finally, with a few wet spots on the road today, we really need a decent set of fenders. Plastic, light, with cool bendable wire fender-holders which can be bent to clear, say, some big disc brakes. I was thinking of the completely unstandard frame setup (downhill disc brakes, no cantilevers yet). I think a spoke wrapped into three loops and bent into a triangle would work to hold the fender up between the canti mounts - a loop for one canti mount, a straight section up above the (700c road) tire, a loop there for the fender, a straight section down to the other canti mount, and a loop for a bolt there. Clean, simple, light.
The chain squeaked a bit today so I also want to rig up a self-lubing system - a small spray can of White Lightning attached to the rear seat tube with nozzles extending to the chains on either side. The stoker (who hears more of the squeaking), if annoyed at some chain noise, could simply press the spray nozzle to lube the chain.
Today we put a second saddle bag on as well, under the stoker stem. The rear bag carries things unusable on the move - tools, a tube, etc. The front has more immediate things like gels plus another tube. As my seat is low we can't fit a handlebar bag back there like some other tandemers we know, but I'd like to try and maintain the image that we're a "fast" tandem, and handlebar bags just destroy that look.
We saw a lot of people out today. In the town next to us there were a lot of people meandering on the sidewalks, sitting on the benches, and just generally hanging out. With the sun, the stillness of the weekend, it was kind of like a Lazy Sunday except it's Saturday. Warm, breezy, etc.
We coasted down a hill, taking it a bit easy, and then punched it to get up a short hill - we accelerated from a brake-induced 37 mph to 44 mph as we rolled over the hill. It was a lot of fun but we ran out of gas and slowed back down. We held off the SUV's behind us for a quarter mile though so that was cool (speed limit was 35).
And the topper - on the way back home, we were passed by a most regal looking Cadillac. My fiancee and I have been on the prowl for a nice limo but not a "regular" one. I was thinking a Maybach, Bentley, a new Rolls, or something like that. Now this guy had a beautiful 1939 Cadillac 4 Door with a red silk interior (outside looks kind of like this one). Owned by some actress and complete with roses in vases on the inside. Anyway, we were presumptuous enough to ask him if he did weddings. He gave us a card so we'll see if he'll do it. If not, I'll resume my search for a Rolls (my current favorite new limo type car).
So we got in a bunch of miles, spent about two hours on the tandem, talked and stuff (instead of a single bike ride where one is always waiting and the other is always trying to catch up), looked at houses, people watched, and found a potential limo for the wedding. What a great ride!
Thursday, January 04, 2007
2007 Bethel Spring Series - Season fast approaching
Phew. It's official, the Bethel Spring Series is going to be held again. As an FYI it's not "official" till the permits are filed and the flyer approved. That much is done. Now we can start to post flyers, receive race entries, etc. For now, till the paperwork is filed and the insurance and stuff all done, we're "permit pending". Once we're issued permit numbers, each week will be held under that particular permit number.
The link for bikereg and racelistings.
Always an incredible stress for yours truly. I guess this is only the beginning of a 4 month stress raiser, peaking, coincidentally, on tax day, April 15th. It's not as bad as it used to be. We have a pretty well established routine as we've been doing this for a while. I tried to pin down the first year of the Series but couldn't find anything before 1994 (it was already pretty established), so the "history" will have to be updated some other time. Our favorite officials, Mike and Meg, are signed up to watch over the racers once again. The town has given us their blessing (I think that's the appropriate phrase since "Bethel" means the "house of God"). And a couple teams have volunteered their help.
Now to make sure we have marshals, no weird crashes, no snow or ice, and not too much sand or snow on the course, especially during the Series. It really sucks spending 4-5 hours the Saturday before one of the races sweeping and shoveling heavy wet sand only to watch it snow the next week and knowing there's sand all over the course again.
At a personal bike racing level this is by far the most ideal course for me, at least in the Cat 3's. First it's early enough in the season that my inherent aerobic shortcomings are well muffled by temperature, tactics, and untrained legs. It rewards a combination of speed-power (i.e. jump) and tactics, things I rely on throughout the season. It's not quite so killer as to reward the lightweight mountain goats. And too windy to reward the super power time trialers. So things stay together, especially later in the Series when racers are a bit fitter. It would be no fun if the 5 or 10 guys who have a lot of miles simply rode away every week, although that sometimes happens in the first week or two.
Hey look, they get their chance at other races.
This race, it's mi casa.
Heh.
Doesn't always work out that way though. I've lost a pedal with 500 meters to go (one of the aforementioned Aerolite things), watched really strong racers ride away from the field, or been so out of shape I measured how long I raced in minutes because 4 minutes sounds better than 2 laps. I've learned though and I manage each year.
It'll be a little more apparent in the next two months that I try to be one of those "with a lot of miles on my legs". I've alluded to my Florida training camp (next week) but I also hit the West Coast for a longer and hillier training camp. San Diego, baby! I won't have three weeks like I did last year but I'll take the 10 or so days I do have. Inevitably, my training takes a nosedive after Bethel so I typically peak in late March. Racers joke about being "Spring Champions" or "peaking for Bethel". I actually do.
Nevertheless, no matter how I think I'm doing, when I am racing at Bethel, I suffer and die every lap to get over the stupid hill. To put things in perspective to those fit racers out there (you know who you are), the hill is about 6 or 7% and 150 meters long. And I grovel on the hill. There are those beautiful laps where suddenly I float up the thing. But those are few and far between.
You can laugh now.
When it comes to the finish though there is nothing, and I mean nothing, like Bethel for me. Maybe the 120 sprint on the Gimbles ride. Or the defunct SUNY Purchase sprints. Those are fun too and suit my strengths. But Bethel...
I think it was in 2004 a 7 man break went up the road. They were willing to work, had strong teammates chasing anything that moved back in the group, and they simply rode away. They took with them all the points places (six of them) so there was nothing to sprint for in the field. Perhaps some money, but nothing more significant than your entry fee back. Just the sprint for the sprint's sake. Having three friendly rivals back there meant that it would be a good sprint regardless.
After it was obvious that nothing was going away (I did try to go but it was a pathetic simulation of a bridge attempt), I sat at the back and fantasized about being able to go in a break like that. The bell pulled me out of la-la land and back to reality. After the first turn I turned to find Bethel Cycle rider Brian Wolf next to me. I said to him "It's miracle time". I meant it mainly as a joke as we were dead last, probably 100 meters behind the front of the rapidly stringing-out field. But he looked over, grinned, and said "Go for it".
So I did.
I rode pretty hard on the first stretch to get past the guys done for the day - they were sitting up and gapping themselves off the field. I cleared them coming into the right bend where things typically bunch up. I did some "inside the pack" maneuvering to move up - my favorite part of racing, the moving up within the field. On the backstretch I had to seek shelter and hid from the wind so that was just a bookmark move, nothing happened. Then, with about 300 meters to go, I aggressively moved up at the last (flat, bearing right) bend.
As we started around the bend before the left-curving finish hill, I found myself out in the wind again. I was rapidly running out of gas, couldn't afford to sit out there and cook, so I dropped back a few hard earned rows to seek shelter. Then, as the chaos of sprinting up a 150 meters S-curve started to show itself, I jumped hard on the right, which at this point is the outside of the curve. The prior week there was a huge stack-up on the crowded left so I wanted to avoid that if at all possible.
You know how finish lines seem impossibly far away when you're sprinting? And they only seem to get further as you turn your pedals in slooooow mooootion?
Well, it happens. And as I crawled up to the line I used everything I had. I was blowing big time and was cashing in every inch I earned jumping out of the field. At the line I desperately threw my bike as two guys rocketed passed me.
I didn't know if I won the sprint. But that's a... how do you say it when something is inherently contradictory? Because as a sprinter in the Tour, perhaps Robbie McEwen, recently pointed out, "You always know when you lost a sprint, but you can't tell when you've won."
I wasn't sure who won the field sprint. Which means, based on the comment above, I might have won it. Checking the finishline camera settled it and it was apparent that I managed to do it. A couple more feet and it would have been "nice try, dude". But this time it was "nice sprint dude". All due to a well-practiced bike throw.
Anyway...
So this is another year. It's another year where you think "This time I'll jump earlier (or later or to the other side or whatever it is)". Or "I'll definitely do my hard days even if it's raining outside." Or "I have to remember how hard it is racing the May races compared to the April races and keep that in mind when I train." "I promise myself not to sit up in the sprint." You know, all the things you thought last year.
And I'm getting ready for it.
The link for bikereg and racelistings.
Always an incredible stress for yours truly. I guess this is only the beginning of a 4 month stress raiser, peaking, coincidentally, on tax day, April 15th. It's not as bad as it used to be. We have a pretty well established routine as we've been doing this for a while. I tried to pin down the first year of the Series but couldn't find anything before 1994 (it was already pretty established), so the "history" will have to be updated some other time. Our favorite officials, Mike and Meg, are signed up to watch over the racers once again. The town has given us their blessing (I think that's the appropriate phrase since "Bethel" means the "house of God"). And a couple teams have volunteered their help.
Now to make sure we have marshals, no weird crashes, no snow or ice, and not too much sand or snow on the course, especially during the Series. It really sucks spending 4-5 hours the Saturday before one of the races sweeping and shoveling heavy wet sand only to watch it snow the next week and knowing there's sand all over the course again.
At a personal bike racing level this is by far the most ideal course for me, at least in the Cat 3's. First it's early enough in the season that my inherent aerobic shortcomings are well muffled by temperature, tactics, and untrained legs. It rewards a combination of speed-power (i.e. jump) and tactics, things I rely on throughout the season. It's not quite so killer as to reward the lightweight mountain goats. And too windy to reward the super power time trialers. So things stay together, especially later in the Series when racers are a bit fitter. It would be no fun if the 5 or 10 guys who have a lot of miles simply rode away every week, although that sometimes happens in the first week or two.
Hey look, they get their chance at other races.
This race, it's mi casa.
Heh.
Doesn't always work out that way though. I've lost a pedal with 500 meters to go (one of the aforementioned Aerolite things), watched really strong racers ride away from the field, or been so out of shape I measured how long I raced in minutes because 4 minutes sounds better than 2 laps. I've learned though and I manage each year.
It'll be a little more apparent in the next two months that I try to be one of those "with a lot of miles on my legs". I've alluded to my Florida training camp (next week) but I also hit the West Coast for a longer and hillier training camp. San Diego, baby! I won't have three weeks like I did last year but I'll take the 10 or so days I do have. Inevitably, my training takes a nosedive after Bethel so I typically peak in late March. Racers joke about being "Spring Champions" or "peaking for Bethel". I actually do.
Nevertheless, no matter how I think I'm doing, when I am racing at Bethel, I suffer and die every lap to get over the stupid hill. To put things in perspective to those fit racers out there (you know who you are), the hill is about 6 or 7% and 150 meters long. And I grovel on the hill. There are those beautiful laps where suddenly I float up the thing. But those are few and far between.
You can laugh now.
When it comes to the finish though there is nothing, and I mean nothing, like Bethel for me. Maybe the 120 sprint on the Gimbles ride. Or the defunct SUNY Purchase sprints. Those are fun too and suit my strengths. But Bethel...
I think it was in 2004 a 7 man break went up the road. They were willing to work, had strong teammates chasing anything that moved back in the group, and they simply rode away. They took with them all the points places (six of them) so there was nothing to sprint for in the field. Perhaps some money, but nothing more significant than your entry fee back. Just the sprint for the sprint's sake. Having three friendly rivals back there meant that it would be a good sprint regardless.
After it was obvious that nothing was going away (I did try to go but it was a pathetic simulation of a bridge attempt), I sat at the back and fantasized about being able to go in a break like that. The bell pulled me out of la-la land and back to reality. After the first turn I turned to find Bethel Cycle rider Brian Wolf next to me. I said to him "It's miracle time". I meant it mainly as a joke as we were dead last, probably 100 meters behind the front of the rapidly stringing-out field. But he looked over, grinned, and said "Go for it".
So I did.
I rode pretty hard on the first stretch to get past the guys done for the day - they were sitting up and gapping themselves off the field. I cleared them coming into the right bend where things typically bunch up. I did some "inside the pack" maneuvering to move up - my favorite part of racing, the moving up within the field. On the backstretch I had to seek shelter and hid from the wind so that was just a bookmark move, nothing happened. Then, with about 300 meters to go, I aggressively moved up at the last (flat, bearing right) bend.
As we started around the bend before the left-curving finish hill, I found myself out in the wind again. I was rapidly running out of gas, couldn't afford to sit out there and cook, so I dropped back a few hard earned rows to seek shelter. Then, as the chaos of sprinting up a 150 meters S-curve started to show itself, I jumped hard on the right, which at this point is the outside of the curve. The prior week there was a huge stack-up on the crowded left so I wanted to avoid that if at all possible.
You know how finish lines seem impossibly far away when you're sprinting? And they only seem to get further as you turn your pedals in slooooow mooootion?
Well, it happens. And as I crawled up to the line I used everything I had. I was blowing big time and was cashing in every inch I earned jumping out of the field. At the line I desperately threw my bike as two guys rocketed passed me.
I didn't know if I won the sprint. But that's a... how do you say it when something is inherently contradictory? Because as a sprinter in the Tour, perhaps Robbie McEwen, recently pointed out, "You always know when you lost a sprint, but you can't tell when you've won."
I wasn't sure who won the field sprint. Which means, based on the comment above, I might have won it. Checking the finishline camera settled it and it was apparent that I managed to do it. A couple more feet and it would have been "nice try, dude". But this time it was "nice sprint dude". All due to a well-practiced bike throw.
Anyway...
So this is another year. It's another year where you think "This time I'll jump earlier (or later or to the other side or whatever it is)". Or "I'll definitely do my hard days even if it's raining outside." Or "I have to remember how hard it is racing the May races compared to the April races and keep that in mind when I train." "I promise myself not to sit up in the sprint." You know, all the things you thought last year.
And I'm getting ready for it.
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