Ft. Yargo is a nice place to ride any time of year and I really like racing there as well. It is mostly single-track with some nice climbs and now a section dubbed "The Monster Mile". The gas line decent/climb was taken out and the Monster Mile added. This section was a thrill to race with many bmx style whoops and some gnarly steep climbs.
I was upgraded to the expert/cat 1 for this season and have been racing them on the single-speed. The competition is fierce and most of the guys have been around long enough to get reputations. Mix in a few just-turned-40 racers and it is pretty intense. Lately Shane Schreihart (sic) and Jason Childre have been 1 and 2. Shane hurt his back and did not race much this race while Jason went on to win.
The start of the race was fast and I think I got the hole shot but was passed by about 4 guys after the road got flat. I spun out for awhile and then was in around 5th going into the woods. On a set of whoops my bike bag came off and went into the read wheel causing me to slow down to fix it, losing about 4 places. Once I had it fixed I managed to pass Jeff Clayton and tow around Steve Rideway for about a lap. Steve decided to leave me behind and Jeff Caught me at the feed on lap 2.
I wanted to make top 10 but I was passed on lap 2 by Joe Dunlop and now I had no idea where I stood. The Monster Mile was tough on me and I took it easy through there not wanting to break a collarbone. I made up ground each lap on the climbs and tight stuff. But not enough since Childre beat me by 11 minutes! Shit!
Lap 3 hurt me and I was struggling for awhile but rallied a bit when I caught Joe near the end and held it to the finish. I was 8th which sounds good but 11 minutes behind is not that great. Especially with the SS state champs coming up. But...I was the only single-speed racer in this class and with that said, it was one course where the single-speed choice was not a good one. there was no where to go on the flats since I could not kick it into a big ring and I was already spinning over 100 rpm in a 34x17. I don't think I could have gotten up the hills in a 34x16 but for the flats it owuld have been helpful.
Still, 32 miles in each race is getting easier and I feel good in the races but just don't have the firepower to get into the top 3.
Next up will be SSUSA/GA SS Champs in May.
I have had some fast women pass me in races and Sunday it was Jamie Dinkins who was absolutely blazing by me. She is pretty good looking too if that matters.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Things have been hectic around here with 2 trials in 2 months which leaves me with the munchkin for 2 weeks alone. The accumulation of work, her and life is pretty stressful and i am not sure how my mom did it all those years with 2 kids.
Anyway, I raced the East Macon MTB race in the Cat 1/Expert division and placed 4th which I was happy with. I gave it full throttle for 3 hours and I was pretty tired for a week after. After Jay's training camp I did a MTB TT the next weekend and my TSB was -38 when I did it. I posted the second fastest time overall and won the single-speed class.
Shey announced about 3 weeks ago that the 2009 singles speed state champs would be May 16-17 so I am very excited about it but I will not be on form like last year. Although I want to win it again, I think Shane has the best shot because he is really rolling right now having won two expert level MTB races.
I have been working in lots of threshold and sweet-spot intervals and I am pretty happy with my new FTP level. It increased about 10 watts but I need to slim down a bit for the benefit. I did a couple of sprints in a ride last weekend and my 12 second power was around 850 watts so I was happy with that although I lost the sprints.
My goal is to slowly raise my CTL and FTP through August. I would like to get it around 100tss/d by the weekend of Starcrossed in Seattle. But that is a long way off.
Anyway, I raced the East Macon MTB race in the Cat 1/Expert division and placed 4th which I was happy with. I gave it full throttle for 3 hours and I was pretty tired for a week after. After Jay's training camp I did a MTB TT the next weekend and my TSB was -38 when I did it. I posted the second fastest time overall and won the single-speed class.
Shey announced about 3 weeks ago that the 2009 singles speed state champs would be May 16-17 so I am very excited about it but I will not be on form like last year. Although I want to win it again, I think Shane has the best shot because he is really rolling right now having won two expert level MTB races.
I have been working in lots of threshold and sweet-spot intervals and I am pretty happy with my new FTP level. It increased about 10 watts but I need to slim down a bit for the benefit. I did a couple of sprints in a ride last weekend and my 12 second power was around 850 watts so I was happy with that although I lost the sprints.
My goal is to slowly raise my CTL and FTP through August. I would like to get it around 100tss/d by the weekend of Starcrossed in Seattle. But that is a long way off.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Spring Break
Jay Halgat put together a nice 4 day ride "camp" and I was able to make 3 of the 4. We started with the GTC Classic Ronde van Appalachee where we rode for around 60 miles, climbed a number of bergs and had a few gravel roads as well. We had 3 sprints and two of them were at the top of climbs. The group was around 20 I think and it was a,lot of fun on a nice sunny spring day. I got the ride start wrong and had to drive ahead and meet everyone which made me inelligible for the sprints but I did them anyway. On the first one we hit the gravel/dirt road leading up to the small hill climb and I punched it but my legs had no memory of last December when I sprinted last so by the time we got to the hill I was toast.
On Monday we did a longer ride which went from Monroe to the Oconee National Forest in Greene County and back. It was around 87 miles and it was very windy (20 mph) and colder than the day before. We took it slow and rolled in at 5 hours exactly.
Tuesday we did the Bethlehem-Madison route but it was so windy in places that at the store stop we decided to cut it short to Rutledge and tack through the wind. We ended up with 4 hours and around 70 miles.
On Wednesday after grading for awhile, I tried to go out and spin easy. My legs were pretty tired and needed a rest.
It is Friday and I have not ridden for 2 days but should go MTB tomorrow for a couple of hours.
It was fun doing those miles and hanging out with friends but I would not want to be a pro and have to do it everyday.
I am gearing up for May 16-17 which is single-speed USA and the GA State Single-speed championships. If I can keep the training stress up until then, this may be a peak event.
On Monday we did a longer ride which went from Monroe to the Oconee National Forest in Greene County and back. It was around 87 miles and it was very windy (20 mph) and colder than the day before. We took it slow and rolled in at 5 hours exactly.
Tuesday we did the Bethlehem-Madison route but it was so windy in places that at the store stop we decided to cut it short to Rutledge and tack through the wind. We ended up with 4 hours and around 70 miles.
On Wednesday after grading for awhile, I tried to go out and spin easy. My legs were pretty tired and needed a rest.
It is Friday and I have not ridden for 2 days but should go MTB tomorrow for a couple of hours.
It was fun doing those miles and hanging out with friends but I would not want to be a pro and have to do it everyday.
I am gearing up for May 16-17 which is single-speed USA and the GA State Single-speed championships. If I can keep the training stress up until then, this may be a peak event.
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