Brain Over Brawn - A Race Report 15 June 2013

Well, it's been about a year and a half since I pinned on a number so this morning was met with a bit of trepidation. However, after 25 years of toeing the line, once I parked the team car all the old habits came back but this time, without the pressure.
Instead of having to herd cats (organize my team mates) all I had to do was get myself prepared. Instead of organizing a master plan for every possible contingency I rode the course and came up with a simple plan involving me, myself and I.
The course was a 5km square (sort of) with a head wind along the back straight and a cross wind on the final stretch. It was about 400+ meters from the final corner to the line.
In the old days I would have considered attacking into the corner, driving the outside foot into the ground and carving a ridiculous final corner giving me a gap and momentum and then nailing it to the line for all I was worth.

Not today.

It was too far and I am too olde.

Instead I decided to mostly sit in, position myself about 6~8 going into the final corner and then it would be game on for the money.

Bang! We start and immediately a small group goes off the front. It's a pretty short race so this wasn't as silly as it seemed especially since they had team mates in the bunch willing to slow a chase.

We rolled around for a few laps and I stuck my nose in the wind a few times to blow out the cobwebs and to stir the bunch a bit so that the gap didn't get too crazy. It worked the charm and I managed to get others to keep the move in check.

Sure enough they came back on the bell lap and then it was 5km to go.

The wind had been picking up and I knew that the finish had a decent cross wind so I needed to come up early out of the final corner to get the inside position. This was no problem but it was all about getting into position before that.

I had actually been concerned about my pack skills since it had been more than a year since I'd ridden with more than 3 or 4 people but ten pedal strokes in and I was surfing to the front through the middle of the group, working guys off wheels and keeping myself sheltered.

Since we caught the break as we heard the bell the group had throttled back and was spreading across the road. There were a few surges but without someone taking control we ran the risk of going into the final corner curb to curb.

On the headwind back straight the pace picked up and I needed to work myself out, move to the outside and find a wheel to take me where I wanted to go. And I did. I saw a train forming on the right and I rode it to the front much to the chagrin of the sprinter I took off the wheel.

Going into the final corner I was 6th or 7th wheel. I popped up early and got the inside line. Then the sprint began in earnest. There were only 6 of us out of the 80 or so with a shot.

I stayed seated, hooked my thumb over the Campagnolo paddle and began spinning up the gear, shifting, spinning up and shifting again all the while sliding from wheel to wheel in the cross wind and towards the line.

I never even got out of the saddle.

Cycling Faux Pas and Other Shit I Miss.

Over the last two years a growing family and business has supplanted my time on the bike. I ride less.

I also drink more. There could be a correlation but who can say with any certainty? Really?

Anyway, a Canuk winning the Giro and other recent interwebs events finds me thinking about being in the thick of a racing season and how far away I am from that now. The good news is it finally makes me want to ride.

I think that's the hardest thing about being an older racer (or just Olde) is that it's just so bloody time consuming and it impinges on everything else you do that it's impossible to sustain that into middle age.

That's a long, hard stare.

So here, in no particular order, are some of the Faux Pas I may have experience with. This list will certainly continue to grow.

Glasses inside helmet straps. I done it. Sometimes on purpose. There has been considerable sleep lost over this one.

Equal tire pressures in both front and back tires. Well, there's a red line on the gauge so I pump to there. If I needed two different pressures pumps would come with two adjustable red lines. Think about it.

A saddle bag. I hate packing my jersey pockets full of tubes, levers, patches, tire boot, spoke key and mini allen tools every time I ride to the 7-11for beer - I mean train. I lash that junk on my bike because if I put it in my jersey it's easier to see my spare tire. No-one wants that.

Recording my AVE SPD. I download a bunch of stuff from my PM but I have never made a special spread sheet to record my AVE SPD. Perhaps this is why I never went pro.

Aero bars. I wish I'd left them on my road bike. I only used them for a short while on my road bike until our TT bikes were ready but, since I am older and much slower now, I could be seeing time savings like nothing I've seen before. That stuff could be really paying off now!

Waving. I always wave. I don't care who you are. You're out for a ride and having a good time. I can muster a nod, wave or finger flick in your direction - accept for the tri-geeks. In all the years I've been riding not one has waved back. ****'em. I've had lots of folks who do tri's smile, wave, nod or flick back but not a single tri-geek has deigned to do so.

Carbon. I use it for everything. Frames, forks, bars, stems, rims, seats, posts, cranks and a bunch of component parts. I know it is a ticking time bomb and I must be delusional because I have yet to buy a CAAD 10 to use in the crits I don't do but this **** just keeps showing up at my door so I use it. This must be some sick kind of voodoo risk taking, gambling thing. I don't know. It's just not right because I know this stuff is just a bunch of plastic waiting to asplode and who knows how many I'll take with me.

I suppose it's my cross to bear.

Bents. I should really just own up right here. I'd love to try one but, to me they are like mopeds; They're both fun to ride until your friends find out. For the bents, I am ruined.

Mirrors-helmet or otherwise. I'm just to busy jammin' to my tunes on my iphone to bother with mirrors. They're too much of a distraction.

Bells. I had a metal bell with a solid spring and knocker on my FG/SS yellow Merckx with white full fenders that let out a single, crystal clear sound, that cut through traffic noise and carried for a block. I sold it with the bike. I loved the bike. I miss the bell.

I need a moment.

Why am I a Crazy Foreigner?

I started racing bikes in 1982. I was 3^rd in my first race because I helped a team mate win. I won my next two races. The rest is a blurr.

But, before I could race I had to go to a “Learn to Race Clinic” where they taught me basic rules about riding in a group, how to corner in a group and a lot of other things that ALL riders in MANY countries learn before they are allowed to race.

I continued racing and became an Elite level racer. Then a crash broke my arm in 30 places and I spent a week in the hospital. I missed the rest of the season and lost my spot on the Elite Team I raced for.

The good thing was that I took that time to become a Certified Cycling Coach. This required going to school, tests, and coaching for a few years at each level until I was final given accreditation by the Canadian Cycling Association and the UCI. I did this while I was still racing so the knowledge was very helpful to me.

A few years after my crash (and while studying to be a coach) I had a good team, good sponsorship and was ready to have a great season. Then a crappy old Toyota ran me over and I was done for 18 months. This time it was VERY serious.

I came back to racing, got very fit and won a National Championship in 1998 but, by this time, I knew I was too old. I had been training with guys who would later become World Champions, win Olympic medals and be good professional riders so I understood what real talent was and that that would never be me.

The next year I moved to Taiwan.

When I first came to Taiwan all teams were given money by the government. They were city or county teams. I wanted to make a new team but, as a foreigner, I had to do it a different way. I had to do it the same way it is done in almost EVERY other country. I had to find sponsors and build a team. I was the FIRST person in Taiwan to do this. This was 1998.

Since that time I have made many teams, worked with many riders and sponsors. I have taught MANY riders how to train and race and I have taught many other people how to find sponsors, make a team and run a team. I did it because it is what I love to do.

Many of these people have now gone on to make their own teams and develop their own riders. Even though I now compete with them it makes me very happy to see how cycling in Taiwan has evolved to be like the rest of the world. Even though my role in this was very small I do feel like I had something to do with it and it makes me feel proud.

One of the things I have always tried to make my riders understand is that cycling in the rest of the world has been around for a while and that there are rules, or customs that ALL riders in ALL countries know. I have always hoped that any of our riders could go to any country in the world and ride with any group because they understand THE UNWRITTEN RULES OF CYCLING.

This has proven to be much harder than it seems.

As a foreigner, very often, people will listen to what I am saying and then ignore me because I am just some crazy foreigner who doesn’t understand how we do things in Taiwan. This is very frustrating for me. I may be crazy but I do know what I am talking about.

Something that is missing in Taiwan is MENTORS. These are older riders with many, many years of experience. In most countries these riders will ride with younger riders to teach them all the ‘unwritten rules’ of cycling as well as the basic ideas about riding, training and racing. Because racing in Taiwan is new (in many ways) there really aren’t a lot of MENTORS and new riders aren’t used to listening to the MENTORS that are here.

This is a problem.

Here is the point of my post.

Recently, I have had a few bad experiences where I have tried to help people and it has gone badly. This isn’t just about riding but other things as well. It has really bothered me.

Tonight I watched a friend crash his bike during a training race. It happens but it is never good to see.

Later, a rider made a slightly dangerous mistake. It was a mistake I have been trying to tell people about for a while but, as a crazy foreigner, no-one wants to listen. It wasn’t that big a problem (I was expecting it) but it meant I had to use my brakes through a corner when I really wanted to attack instead. It just pissed me off.

I got a little angrier with the rider than I should have (and I feel sorry) but I have been trying to teach people about this corner for more than a year and NO-ONE will listen to me. The thing is I am right.

The UNWRITTEN RULES of CYCLING tell me that I am right.

All of my coaches and PROFESSIONAL RIDERS I have known in my life tell me I am right.

The years I spent learning how to be a COACH and the years I spent coaching other riders tells me I am right.

But I am just some loud, crazy foreigner that doesn’t understand how we do things in Taiwan.

So I got angry. Really angry.

Then, some of the riders on teams I have helped, some of the riders on teams I have sponsored, coached and taught how to make and run their team laughed at me. They made fun of me. They mocked me and talked to me like I was an idiot. They made me even angrier.

And sad.

All the years and all the things I have done for so many riders were pissed on in that moment.

And then they kept laughing at me and mocking me.

And I got even angrier and more upset. I was told I was being rude, that I should calm down.

I know I was rude to the first rider I yelled at (and do feel sorry) but now it was far too late for me to calm down. All of the things like this that had happened in the last few weeks came together and I was far too angry, far too frustrated to calm down.

But now I am calm. Now I can look back and see my mistakes. I can also see the mistakes of others. I can also see the lack of respect for a MENTOR.

Right now I find it hard to imagine that I will ever coach, train or sponsor another team or rider in Taiwan. I have worked hard for 13 years and tonight I was rewarded with laughter and mocking.

Maybe I am a crazy foreigner after all.

30 JULY 2011 Giant Cup

The race popped up on the calender a little late. It's a pretty good race media wise and it's always good to do well here.

This was a new course that is actually on an airbase across the street from the New Giant Taiwan HQ. As soon as I saw the course I knew it was a good one for me.

The course was basically a long thin rectangle with the start/finish coming after 2 hard and short left hand turns. The other end of the course detoured around some construction and has a few short sections in it and all the headwind.

I prerode the course and realized that I needed to be in position about 50m out from the last 2 corners. The long straight heading into the two final corners was on a landing strip divided down the middle by cones but about 100m from the corners the cones ended and you could dive down, into the corners and carry a ton of speed through the first corner turning the final two corners into one.

There were primes every 3 laps so I waited for the second one, when there were 3 guys away going for the prime and I jumped as if I wanted to bridge to them. Really I just wanted to test the line at speed and make sure that I was going at the right spot. Sure enough it worked perfectly and I came onto their wheels just as they crossed the line selling it the whole way.

For the rest of the race I followed wheels while the Continental riders slugged it out. Lots of guys were getting dropped off the back because of the wind and the speed so I had to hide but also I had fight to keep a good position and not to get caught behind any gaps.

As usual us Olde Elite guys were thrown in with the Elite/Continental/National Team riders. I knew I couldn't out sprint the guys who had just come back from some decent stage racing but I was pretty sure I could finish near the front and win the Masters category.

Coming into the last lap I worked myself into position and was able to jump, set my line and come across for a win.

Considering the less than stellar fitness I have I was more than please to take a win.

Master Race, Pintung County 10 July 2011

This was the first time I got to do a Masters race in ages. Very civilized, I must say.

The course was a flat,windy 15km loop around a harbour-recreation area. There was a pretty steep bridge that went over the entrance to the harbour. It was about 150m up and 100m down at about 7~8%. The wind was also right in our faces so I barely got over 60kph on the way back down.

It was a weird course because it seemed like there was only about 2km of tailwind and the rest was crosswinds of some sort or swirling headwinds.

Bang, we're off, a few minor attacks and we're swinging into the headwind for the first time. Still more attacks and a former team mate (Bo Zhuo) jumps away. I sit in about 10 wheels back and watch.

We go up the little bridge for the first time and a former sponsor jumps pretty hard. He crests but doesn't keep on it on the way down the other side. I push over the top, flick my levers on the way by and he slides onto my wheel.

I wind it up and we get about 10 seconds. I slide over for him to pull through and he sits on me. I keep my legs turning over but it's clear he isn't coming through. I know someone will soon, though. Sure enough two guys come across and I jump on them. We bridge up to Bo Zhuo who has been dangling all this time but the group is having none of it and they string it out to bring our silliness to an end.

A few more laps of this kind of stuff but I'd decided that I will go the last time over the bridge so I keep my position near the front but always on a wheel. It seems the quick pitch up and wind is the only place to really attack. It's about 4km from the finish and I like to get things going about that far out so the sprinters have to work long before we get to their sweetspot 150m out. Even if I'm positioned well at that point I don't have that kind of kick anymore.

I move into position about 1km before the bridge (we can see it from about 3km out). I get squeezed a bit but I lean on the squeezer and my space opens up again. We hit the bridge and everyone gets out of the saddle. The wind has been picking up and it gives us all a shove to the right. This closes the door in front of me a bit but I see Bo Zhuo start to nail it and I follow him through the front few guys over the top. I'm about to crank it up when I feel that there are a few other guys coming on my left (protecting me from the wind) so I pause to let them wind it up. I give Bo Zhuo a look and tell him that I will take him to the line. This is a C race for me and I've been a little sick so I just decided to make it as fun as I can.

We drop off the bridge and the road squeezes in. Bo Zhuo gets pushed off my wheel and I hear him say, 'Wait".

When we were team mates I used to be his lead out guy. He's got a helluva kick so it worked out well at the time.

Then I hear him say 3km so I know it's time to wind it up. I drop into the 53x13 and get on top of the gear. I slide to the right in the crosswind to give Bo Zhuo some draft but guttering everyone else behind him. I string it out and the elastic breaks 4 riders back. One guy jumps hard but I don't react. I just stay on top of the gear and focus on his back wheel.

We go up to him and past him and I can start to feel the last 10 days of being sick. The top end is starting to go. We're still 1km out and I give Bo Zhuo the flick that he has to go. Now. Sorry. But he doesn't go. We hesitate.

The two guys behind him jump just as a few more riders who made it across come by. Bo Zhuo slides onto them and I do, too. They get Bo Zhuo back on top of the gear and he jumps away from us all. I am very happy to see them move to the left side of the road. I surf up a few riders as they all fade and come across for 4th.

I was pretty happy with the result until I saw them give Bo Zhuo a new FUJI with Taigra for 1st place. I totally know someone who could have used that.

Oh, well.

Race Report - 26 June 2011

It rained pretty hard yesterday as some typhoon grazed our Island after killing a few people in the Phillippines. Pretty everyday stuff.

The good news is that today was the Tainan Parking Lot Race. I was pumped to ride and conditions were ideal.

I rolled to the start as it was very close to my house. I had an idea of what to expect and it pretty much played out as I thought it might.

We lined up to start on the pace was a bit sporadic. There were several sink holes to thoroughly inspect and many puddles that needed to be ridden through more than once.

In the end I finished 2nd in the sprint to an up an coming rider. Now I know who to watch for...

Big, Big Mountains and What They Gave Me.

A lot of things have happened to me on a bike.

I've found love, I've been crushed by a shit brown Toyota, I've laughed and I've cried.

The last time I cried on my bike was at the top of a mountain in Spain in 1988. The last time I've seen another rider cry was at the top of Yushan in Taiwan in 2002.

In 1988 I was touring and then racing in Europe. I started a beautiful day riding fully loaded and climbed a series of mountains, the last of which had a road that eventually turned into a hand patted goat path with grades that bikes were never meant to ride. I spent hours convinced that the next bend or the next rubble strewn pitch was the last and that the top was just beyond.

When I finally did reach the top there was a small bench with small man sitting on it. I got off my bike, sat down and cried. I don't mean I sniffled while a tear rolled down my salt stained cheek, I mean I cried like a baby. It was all I could do.

The last time I saw another rider cry like this was at the top of YuShan Mountain in Taiwan. This is one of the top 10 highest paved roads in the world with the road reaching 3200m + . I suspect that the paved roads in the Andes or what ever other roads are higher than this have never been raced up by idiots on bicycles. And it's not just the elevation. I've ridden or raced the Pyrenees, The Alps and the Rockies but the mountains in Taiwan are different.

First off, there is never a section longer than 200m. It is constant switchbacks and winding roads with changing pitches including crazy 12% plus pitches even above 2500m. There's just no way to find a rhythm. It is not only physically demanding but mentally exhausting as well.

I was sitting in my team car, having just finished the stage that ended atop this behemoth, the motor was running and the heater blaring against the 4*C wind and rain when the door swung open and the last rider on our team to finish was thrust in beside me. He sat there for a moment and then it came; Heavy, billowing sobs of a man who has expended everything he had and doesn't even have the strength left to control his emotions.

This isn't to say that this happens to anyone who rides these kinds of mountains but racing them is a different story.


So here we were at zero dark:30 ready to start and I was hella glad that I was driving the team car instead of racing.
I was doing a standing feed at 2300m. I'd hurt my back a week earlier and was starting to feel better but a race like this would have done me in. Besides, years ago, when at my peak in terms of pure climbing I would have still been fodder for a race like this.

So I set the guys up and drove off at 4:30am to get to the feed station we all agree was the most critical. Here I fed solid food and specific stuff like BCAA8000 to our riders while there was another neutral feed further up that had water and bananas run by the organizer.

I drove, sat and waited.

Then the first riders came by. Two pure climbers on their own. Beautiful.

A minute back was a small group of four. The another four. Then time.
Then Gavin. Struggling but tucked into another small group. I gave him 2 bottles and had a good look at his face. All I thought was how glad I was that it wasn't me.

My other team mates came by over the next few minutes and then I hung around to pass out a few bottles to friends and other riders I knew from our area of the country I knew wouldn't have dedicated feeds and were relying on the organizer for water. I had BCAA8000 which was like being a Crack King on Junkie Mountain.

I passed out what I had and then drove towards the finish.

Gavin finished top 20 which is pretty good for a guy who isn't a pure climber. There was a 20% time delay in effect which DSQ'd all but the top 25 riders out of a few hundred.

I didn't see anyone cry but on the long drive back down the mountain I saw many, many riders struggling, more than an hour back, or sitting by the side of the road, their bike leaned up, with a stunned look on their face.

I could relate.
The End.

2011 Hau-Dong Race Report

DAY 1 - 143KM

I can honestly say I hate this stage. About 20km there is a series of climbs that are a few km long and steep enough in places to shatter the group. My goal is always to make it over this section in the main group.

This year was no different.

It was a beautiful day: sunny with a slight headwind but not too hot and no humidity. That would change.

The race started as usual with a long neutral, then we hit the first little rise and it was game on! Right away the race cranks up to 50~60kph and pretty much stays there until we hit the first section of the climbs which is through tunnels.

As much as I hate this stage I really do like climbing through the tunnels. It's fast but interesting at the same time. I came out of the tunnels in good position and then proceeded to get trailed off as we progressed through the rest of the climbing.

Based on my fitness it was pretty much what I expected.

I nailed it on the descent and gathered up a pretty good posse. Last year I managed to bridge from the chase group into the main field after about a 15km chase. This year we got close but the main field was also chasing a break and the wind had picked up considerably. We got within 30 seconds but then they were gone.

I told my team mates before the race that if you were not in the main group by this point your job was to sit in and do NOTHING. Suck wheel until the finish and stay fresh for day 2. I did just that.

The wind got stronger and stronger and by the time we finished, more than 3 hours later, it was hella strong. It really cooked the guys in my group and several just disappeared off the back.

The only way I could contribute to the team on this day was to finish as high as I could in the Elite Masters 40+. (Pro Elite/Espoir/ Elite Masters 30+ and Elite Master 40+ all race together). Even if I could snag a few points for the team this was an 'A' category race so points went pretty deep and it could help in the season overall.

With this in mind there is a climb with a tunnel in the middle and a second grind after that that is about 15km from the finish. I went off the front here hoping that the few remaining guys in my cat would be dropped here. The group just let me ride away. The wind was so strong that I just sat up. It wasn't worth it to kill myself to the finish for a few points and waste myself for Day 2.

Bunch sprint (of our little bunch) and I finished 4 or 5 .

The bad news? There was a 10% time delay in effect and we were just outside of it. DSQ'd every darn one of us.

Now the funny thing is I didn't know about this time delay AND there were riders who realized they were outside the delay so they got off their bikes and got in the team cars. They would be fresh for day 2.

Now how is this possible you say? Aren't time delays for STAGE RACES?!? And if so, if you are cut you can NOT RACE THE NEXT DAY!?!

Yes, this is true. A time delay that lets you race the next do is just DUMB. Obviously no-one at the organization who made this race understands what the heck a time delay is for or how it is used.

I am not surprised...

The Good new is our designated guy finished 2nd in Elite Master 30+. Sweet.

DAY 2 - 178km

Rain. It was going to rain for day 2. I really didn't care as long as we started in dry conditions.

I got my wish and we were off in another painfully slow neutral start. Once we finally got going the pace jumped, there was a string of attacks and the first real break went away. It ended up being the right mix as two of the Continental teams went to the front and for the rest of the day chased EVERYTHING that moved.

It ended up being a 4 hour interval session.

This stage has a single climb after 110km that shells some but doesn't break up the race like on Day 1. At the pre race meeting we were told the roads were all in excellent condition with the exception of one area of construction just over 30km from the finish.

Perfect. We would attack there.

Up and over the climb (I ran over one of those meter tall orange pylons, gave everyone a good laugh but didn't go down). I got pushed into the rough by a Nervous Nelly on the decent but got back on the line and moved to where I wanted to be.

Shortly after the group came together I launched an attack hoping to set Gavin up with the counter. Nothing doing. We were back to the same attack, chase and sit up we'd been doing for the last 100km.

When we got to the point we'd hoped for nasty roads the conditions were actually pretty good. There were pylons and the road narrowed and did some weird gymnastics around the work that was going on but the surface was smooth. We also weren't the only ones with this idea so the pace was fast and the group strung out a bit so it was pretty smooth; Not at all what we wanted.

Eventually I dropped to the back and signaled for our team car so I could get some water. I sat there for a while as other team cars came past me and fed their guys. Finally I waved my arms in frustration and the race director rolled up beside me and gave me a bottle of water from his car. He said our driver probably just didn't hear the race radio.

I have no idea what happened to our car but soon after I took a slug of water there was a big crash in front of me and at least 30 guys went down. I rolled past the group yelling for Gavin but he wasn't there. Alex was extracting himself from the pile but I had no idea how long he would be so I jumped around the mess and started to chase.

I dropped the half empty bottle of water and buried myself trying to catch the back of one of the few teams cars that had made it around the crash. I couldn't quite get on the back of the last one but eventually I caught the back and made my way through to the race directors car. I took a moment and then jumped across to the group.

A little while later Alex, Steve (a former team mate) and one other rider caught back onto the group. The rest who went down never made it back.

I checked Steven's ass for him (let him know how bad it was or wasn't) and we continued in the rain until the finish.

On the finish climb we kept above 40kph but I was able to hold a good position. The last 3km are slightly downhill and a 2% final km to the finish. I picked my wheel and hung on to the end. All I was looking for was a good a placement as possible for team overall (season).

I finished off the podium by a tire width.

No hardware for me this year but Gavin was 2nd and we did manage points for the season overall.

The Pain Cave - Feb Training Camp 2011

DAY 1 - 20 min Power Test

We had a short training camp this year because the Chinese New Year Holidays were so short. We started off with a 20 minute Power test to establish early season FTP.

We decided to invite a few other racers to suffer along with us. We had a nutritional lecture and some coaching about training with a Power Meter as well. As the above picture indicates a splendid time was had by all...

DAY 2 - 160km 1600m elevation gain.

For day 2 we went for a nice ride in the nearby mountains. I was shooting for 2500m elevation gain on the day but logistics prevented this. The ride was just under 5 hours on a beautiful, sunny day. Temps were in the low 20's C and the wind wasn't kicking us in the teeth for a change.

I think the best part of the day was finally getting the guys all together for the first time. This has only happened at races so far this season. We should be able to organize this a little better in the near future so I'm not too concerned about this.
This was a pretty enjoyable ride. I took the guys on some of the smaller, nastier back roads that I like before we hit the main climb for the day. The ride back was rolling and pretty fast.

DAY 3 - TTT Practice.

I've done more TTs than any of the guys on the team and certainly more TTTs. The first race we have for the season long Giant Cup Race Series is a TTT. We skipped it last year and, I believe, missed out on some points that hurt us for the overall at the end of the season.

I got a chance to blather on a bit about the technical aspects of a TTT. We did one last year (there were 2 last season) and we lost considerable time because of a series of technical errors we made repeatedly.

A good warm up and we basically did a TTT. The pace was in the 45~50kph range for most of it, which was good. Also the course we chose to use was pretty windy and the wind switched direction in several places so it really simulated the conditions we expect for the TTT in March.

At the end of the camp we hung out for a bit and jaw wobbled about various nonsense. The atmosphere is pretty relaxed and I have a good feeling about the personalities and the intelligence of the team this year.

Our next training camp is set for 23/24 April and is ALL about elevation. We should easily be over 4000m elevation gain for those 2 days.

O' joy. O' bliss...

RACE REPORT: Nantou County 22 Jan 2011

I just couldn't sleep.

I tossed and turned all night and just couldn't slip away into blissful slumber. I don't think there was any real reason other than I kept thinking about my 4am alarm.

I think I finally dozed for about 90 minutes when my iphone iwoke me up. I dressed, downed a lovely cup of coffee, stuffed some bread and fruit down my gullet and headed down to meet the guys.

We met at my house so it was easy for me this time. We packed up the team car, headed off for one more coffee and then drove 2 hours to the start.

It was a bit crisp during the 5km neutral but once we got going things cranked up to 60kph and I warmed up pretty quickly.

It was basically an out and back course that then turned onto a 5km climb to the finish. Not exactly the best for me. The plan was to get Gavin into a move after the turn around and if that got caught then Shou Ciao would nail it on the finish climb.

My job was to keep things together and lead Gavin out when it was time. This meant I needed to be active at the front. Early on there was a rider away who was just up the road but slowly rolling away. He had team mates massed at the front so I decided not to let them set up their rabbit.

I rolled to the front and picked up the pace with the idea of bringing this guy back. As I got pretty close to him I glanced back and realized that I was alone - they'd let me go off the front. This was the same team I was in a long break with in November. Maybe they thought it would help out their whole rabbit thing.

I closed on the rider and we rode together for a few more km when the bunch decided that it was time to end this silliness. Thank GOD. I had no desire to be there in the first place.

Lots of attacks and chases and I had to go to the front several times to bring the pace back up when it came time to get Gavin off the front. I was at the front pushing the pace when I glanced back and saw Gavin on my wheel. I figured he was ready to go. I notched it up and we strung out the group and pulled away. Then we jumped.

We got a gap and a decent rider from a team with numbers was with us. Gavin went around me and he went with him. I drifted back to the bunch to set up shop minding the bunch. When I got there 2 of my team mates had seen us go and were also in place.

Gavin and the other rider rode away. The plan was in motion.

A few km from the bottom of the climb Gavin started to not feel so great. The other rider sensed this and backed off a little. As we started onto the finish climb Gavin was reeled in and it was time for Shou Ciao to set to work.

Shou Ciao has been doing mostly base work (as all of us have) and didn't quite have the snap he needed at the end. He managed 9th overall. Gavin held on for 16th and I rolled across at 21st with our other rider at 23rd, just behind me.

This was only our second race together and the first race I'd done with the new riders. We were also down 2 riders to the flu. I was pretty happy that we executed both our plans and that riders were reading each others' moves and intentions. This bodes well for the season.

We have a 3 day training camp Feb 5~8 with a 20min power test on the 5th. This should be interesting...

The Limit

Recently I thought about the how many times I'd pushed myself beyond the limit of what I could do while on a bike. I've been in other situations in my life where this has happened but cycling is different.

Cycling isn't about survival. It isn't about having to overcome some life threatening or life altering challenge or event. it isn't about life or death choices.

The difference is that it is willful. Pushing yourself beyond what your body is prepared for using only your will is a different thing. At any point I could have just stopped without loss of life or limb yet I chose to keep going despite my body's clear signals that perhaps this wasn't such a good idea.

A few examples:

1988. Some goat path over a mountain in Spain. It's my third day in big mountains. I am WAY over geared and grind my way up this thing for an hour. I sit on a bench by the side of the road at the top and cry. Really.

1989. Some road race in NY State. I make the mistake of jumping into a break with the big boys. I am so nervous I don't eat or drink. An hour later I get head spins and have to sit by the side of the road until the ambulance scoops me up.

1992. Somewhere in Quebec. I flat after about an hour. I get a wheel change and then the neutral car drives away leaving me utterly alone with no food, 1 bottle and 100km of windy rollers. When I crawl across the finish line there is no finish line. They've torn it up, taken down the stage and most everyone is long gone including the jitbags on my new team who were supposed to be doing support for ALL of us. I find my rental car and sleep in the front seat until morning - still in my kit.

1997. A World Cup track event in Trexlertown is canceled. The riders are already on this side of the pond so the event is quickly relocated to Victoria where I lived at the time. After the WC many stick around for BC Superweek.

80 lap crit. All I remember is the silver rear hub of the wheel directly in front of me for the first 40 laps. Once the break goes the pace drops off slightly. My memory of the race starts there.

1998. A RR in Vancouver. Brian Walton leans on me in a tight corner and then jumps on the way out. I think "Well, there's a good wheel to follow." I jump. There's nothing. I slip into the group. I slip out the back of the group. The race rides away from and I can barely hold 20kph.

The next day I go for a blood test. I have a hemoglobin count of 19 with virtually no stored iron. All a result of the last few years of big training trying to be a bike racer.

2004. I black out for a second at 2500m trying to chase down the main bunch so I can hide from the wind. I barely avoid riding into a huge ditch on the side of the mountain. I blackout again while driving on my way home. I almost drive into the median.

2010. I nearly burst a blood vessel in my head after a relentless series of "why", "because" with my 3 year old son.

The worst part is that I know that this list will continue to grow.

O' what a fool am I?

The Long Way Home

Motivation.

It's cold, windy as hell and I'm 2 hours into a ride that could either take 3 1/2 or 4 1/2 hours depending on what I decide at the next intersection. What I need is the 4 1/2 hours. I need it today and I need it tomorrow and I need it each time I ride for the next few months.

It used to be that I could drop to race weight in a month. But now I'm older and the process is slower and the volume needed is much greater. But slogging out this distance seems harder and harder to do.

What I need is some motivation.

It used to be pride. I would put in the extra time because I didn't want to get dropped at a crucial point in a race because I didn't have the depth or because I was lugging around an extra kilo or two. Vanity was also a good one. Who wants to look fat in their kit? Looking tanned, lean and ripply always made me fell kinda sexy. Who doesn't want to feel sexy?

Money. Money is always a good motivator. Producing results to keep sponsors happy could push me to put in the extra time. Happy sponsors means more cash and more stuff. Pretty good motivation.

I guess the real struggle is the difference between how much time I can ride purely for the love of riding and the extra time I really need to be fast. It's the struggle between watching a good movie and throwing a leg over on cold, windy days where the drizzle feels like icicles tearing at your face.

And then there is today. Today was the same ride with the same choices. But today I was in a slightly bigger gear over the climb. Today I chased a truck and caught him on a set of rollers that I'd slogged over a few weeks before. Today I got up out of the saddle and big ringed my way over a 3 km long climb.Today the choice was easy.

Tomorrow is another day.

'That Guy'.

Every now and then, as we gather up for the regular weekend hammerfest ride, there will be some new guy all full of piss and vinegar strutting around, talking too loud, and jumping into the middle of conversations about gear or training or some recent race with comments that just don't fit.

Somewhere around 5k in, as the group rolls out for the 5 hour ride- settling in, chatting a bit - this guy will go to the front and push the pace. It's never enough to stop the conversations but it's enough for guys to close up the gaps and get a bit annoyed because they haven't switched on their iPods or finished the apple they were eating.

As the ride progresses the first little rise approaches and this same guy goes to the front then shuts it off at the top. The ride jams up and spreads across the road.

The riders sort themselves out again as the pace picks up on the way back down.

Each small rise, overpass, or grade of any kind the same thing happens.

Finally the pace picks up and as riders rotate through this guy hits the front. He accelerates; Not hard enough to worry anyone, just hard enough to be an annoyance. Once again the rhythm of the ride is disrupted for no purpose what so ever.

The group settles back into a groove. Finally, attacks come but they are real attacks. Jumps that force people to dig. Jumps that drive snot out of your nose and blur your vision as you fixate on the rear hub in front of you. Attacks on climbs that carry speed up and OVER the climbs and force guys to chase on the descents.

Breaks form. Chases form. The ride regroups.

Hours later we all cool down together minus a few guys who know their way home.

We stop, chat, throw back a coke, finish a power bar and the group fragments into many smaller groups who spin their way home.

No one asks about 'that guy' or even remembers when he came off the back.

We usually never see him again.

RACE REPORT: Pintung County, Southern Taiwan 28 Nov 2010

I got a call from a former team mate Friday afternoon about a race on Sunday. We hadn't entered but his team had and 1 rider had to back out at the last minute. If I wanted I could go and use his race number.

"Sure." I said, "Why not."

Small scheduling conflict. My wife's co-worker was getting married Saturday night. As the hubby I had to attend and, as this was business, celebratory drinks were in play.

Needless to say I can lay claim to at least 1 bottle of red wine...

4 hours sleep and I'm off in search of a start line.

I drive through the backwaters or rural Taiwan and viola, a start line. I prep, meet up with the guys from the team who give me a bib number and we're good to go.

Then one of my team mates shows up. Huh? This race is 15 minutes from his home and it seems I missed to email about it weeks ago. Fine.

We warm up, stage and we're off.

The course is basically 80km of flat road with 180 deg turn-arounds at either end. 10 laps.

There are 3 major teams present and 1 team has 15 guys in our 85 rider field. I had to deal with these jokers a few weeks ago at another race and I was not going to be manhandled by sheer numbers. My plan was to attack and attack until I could get in a move with riders from at least 2 of the 3 strong teams present.

Even if I failed I was looking at this as training anyway so what the heck.

Lap 1 I attack and there are plenty of takers. I attack again and I have just as many friends. The field is aggressive but there are plenty willing to chase and nothing gets even a few seconds.

Lap 2 rinse and repeat. There is a crash behind me. It doesn't seem to thin the field at all. Just after the turn around I see my team mate standing on a barricade shouting that I am now on my own. He was fine. He went down but not hard, but he got tangled up and ripped some spokes from the PT wheel I built for him 2 weeks ago.

I guess I know what is next in my truing stand.

Then there are a series of attacks and a rider unclips in front of me and goes down. He takes another rider with him. I see this kid hit the ground in front of me and I NARROWLY avoid running over his head. His neck was stretched out in front of my wheel like a holiday turkey. This required some minor acrobatics and I had to lean on a buddy to make it around.

This scared me a little.

Adrenaline is my friend. I go to the front and put it down into the wind in the hopes that several of the riders from the larger teams were caught behind the crash. A few were.

We go through the 180 and just after the inevitable jump out of the corner and regroup I attack hard.

I taste a little vino.

When I finally look to see who is on my wheel there is 1 rider from each of the two bigger teams. A good mix. We put it down at 50+ to open a gap.

As we go through the start/finish and hit the turn around, we have about 20 seconds and I see a group of 3 or 4 trying to make their way across. We keep it going and I decide that we really need those other legs to stay away. I communicate this, we agree and take the edge off slightly.

Three riders join us with 1 more rider from the strongest team there. There is also a former team mate who rode some UCI races with me about 8 years ago. He's a steady wheel and I'm glad he's there.

We settle in quickly and I move to the front and give the signal to echelon. We get the rotation going ( a bit choppy at first) but by a lap later we are working together and opening up the gap.

It seems as if the teams represented are working for this move. We are committed to the end now.

At the next turn around I see that the guys from the team that invited me have moved to the front and are leading the chase. I wonder if it occurred to them that I wouldn't even be there if they hadn't called me on Friday.

Each lap the gap grows and I throw up in my mouth a little. Twice. With about 3 to go I start having that internal battle about sitting up because I just can't manage 1 more pull. I rotate through and the internal dialogue continues.

Two to go and I tell myself to STFU and keep going. Then we catch the Masters race that started after us. This means that we put about 6km into them.

One joker tries to slide into our echelon as we roll past but I put my hand on his hip and gently put him back where he belongs.

He curses at me in Taiwanese.

Idjit.

We get the bell and it's clear that we are not getting caught. We have minutes on the group.

I know the attacks will come as we turn around for the last time with 4km to go and sure enough, a rider from the stronger team jumps. I sit. He was easily the strongest rider in the break and I don't want to blow what little jam I have chasing this move only to be countered out the back of the break.

With a 20m gap he glances back and then buries himself. Another rider goes and we all react. We're together and then another attack and together and finally the second rider from the same team goes.

I hesitate. I calculate that the rider from the other big team has to chase this. They are the local team and it is his responsibility. He hesitates and I roll the dice and wait. He finally accepts and goes but we've given them too much and now we're within 2km.

Crap.

I'm pretty spent and now fighting for third. Then there is a strong jump from behind me and I am up. He gets a good gap. I close on him with the other two on my wheel but I can't get him before the line.

I hold off the other two and finish fourth.

Not a bad outing all things considered.

On the podium they make fun of the white guy (all in good fun), which is always a good photo op, I take my medal, my money and hop in the team car for a thankfully short drive home.

I think I'll avoid the Shiraz for a while...

YUENLING SR 19-20 JUNE

I had a very bad start to the season. I injured my neck in the fall of 2009 and couldn't ride for almost 3 months. I lost fitness and gained weight. I started training again in January but it was much too late to have any real fitness or to get back to racing weight by Hau-Dong in April which was our first "A" race.

Because of this my best placing at Hau-Dong was 8th on DAY 1 which put me very far down on the points competition for the season. I was looking to these races to get back in the hunt for the season long points competition. I was lingering in the lowly teens and needed good results both days to move up significantly.Although I am starting to feel better and lose some weight (It gets much harder as you get older!) I still don't have the kind of power I would like for a course like this.

I could tell this after I tried to bridge to the first attack.

My first strategy was to get into an early move that had riders from at least 2 other strong teams. This was a technical course where riders would be out of sight after about a minute gap so I thought it was a good course for a break. The only problem with Plan ‘A' was that Bo Zhuo was fighting for top spot in his category and if I was riding in a break it would only help him if CKT had to work to try and bring us back. This was a gamble.

I tried to bridge across to a move I saw in the very beginning of the race but my legs were not as willing as my heart or head was and the group was too interested in not letting an early break go.

This course had 5 corners with the 3rd corner being a 180 turn. After riding the course I realized that after the 180 turn there was a sprint point into the wind, a bit more of a straight and then a right turn, a few pedal strokes, a left turn and sprint to the finish. I decided that the key place on the course was the headwind straight after the 180 and before the right-left onto the finish straight. I knew that if you weren't in position by then you would be sprinting for 20th place.



This was Plan B.

Keeping the group together and then getting Bo Zhuo into position here became the best plan for us and it would also allow me to help, if I could, at the end. By virtue of simply being in the mix at the end I was pretty sure I'd get a podium spot for myself as well.

There were lots of attacks over the rest of the race and Gavin and Steven worked well together to chase down dangerous moves. I rolled to the front a few times to lend a hand but mostly I kept in the group and watched key riders.

In the last laps a break had formed off the front. I had done some work to bring the gap down and I figured we would catch them just before the finish.

Coming into the last lap I prepared to place myself and Bo Zhuo. Coming out of the 180 corner a rider crashed in front of me and I just avoided him but I lost momentum and several places. I was now out of position to help anyone but I still had time to move up.

I positioned my self as best to sprint at the finish.

We caught the break just before the line and I ended up 3rd in my category. Bo Zhuo finished 4th in his cat but it wasn't enough and he slipped into second place for the season.

We had 1 more shot for him the next day.

DAY 2

This was a flat and windy road race. I spent most of the day hiding and keeping a good position in the group.

Today we were really riding to get a good result for Bo Zhuo to move him back into 1st place for the points competition. We didn't want to have him go head-to-head with the CKT rider in a sprint. This would be playing to his strength.

We decided that we needed either Bo Zhuo in a break or another rider in a break and to force other teams to chase. For me this meant I was chasing moves or leading out Gavin. Again Gavin and Bo Zhuo were busy at the front and we placed them in moves that looked promising but nothing was sticking for long.

As sometimes happens an innocent move rolled off the front and suddenly a few more joined them and there was a break and we were not in it. Crap.

We chased for a while and brought them back to withing a 10 seconds and then the bunch just stopped chasing because they though that the break was finished. WRONG! This was a serious mistake.

The break rolled away again and stayed away until the end.

When we had looked at the course profile we decided that I would lead Gavin out after a sprint point that was about 20km from the finish. We set up and jumped as planned but it was pretty windy and too far for 1 or 2 riders to go it alone. we needed others to come along.

After digging for a few minutes we realized we were just dangling and no-one was interested in our idea. We sat up and the bunch swallowed us up.

This meant my next task was to lead Bo Zhuo out in the final sprint.

With just over 3 km to go I got into position and got Bo Zhuo on my wheel. I flashed him 3km and started to move up. I flashed him 2km and rolled up next to the rider he needed to beat. I flashed him 1km and boxed the rider and started to jump.

The same bone head that had crashed in front of me on DAY 1 now pulled off the front and sat up. He was right in my line and the barrier was on my left. I wasn't sure what he was going to do and, instead of being aggressive and stuffing us in the small gap that remained I hesitated.

I had talked with Bo Zhuo about my lead out before the race. I told him that I would position him as best as I could but if he felt he needed to move to a different wheel, at any time, then he should do just that.

I'm sure Bo Zhuo felt my hesitation and he jumped around me into the tiny gap that was left. As he jumped in and through the gap it closed and he was gone.

I was still near the front and very much in the sprint so I kept it going. I was moving up and was looking at a good result.

There was a meeting the night before this race and at that meeting the organizer disclosed some changes to the course and other information. I was about to discover what the last change was.

The finish was down the main street of same small town on a double lane road with a divider. There was a long, straight run in: A perfect finishing straight. Now, mid sprint with about 150m to go, the course veered off of this road onto a single lane road with scrub brush and ditches on either side. I had no idea this was coming and barely kept my self out of the ditch.

As I straightened up my bike and tried to shift into a gear I could continue to sprint in riders shot past me and I lost several places. I got it going again and caught 2 riders but watched a rider in my category finish half a bike length ahead of me.

I was 5th in my cat and just out of the top 20 overall. Crap and double crap.

Bo Zhuo finished ahead of his rival but didn't finish on the podium or earn enough points to move back into 1st place. Not good either.

The positive from this is that we now know that Bo Zhuo and I can work together for his finishes. We've talked a bit and have a better strategy for next time. Long term I think this could work out well for us.

Team Time Trail or Smoke 'em If Ya Got 'em.

You know you've done a time trail right if you're worried about choking on your own vomit in the last 200m.

I think I got it right today.

We (Team AminoSTRONG-BDOP-CKT) did our first TTT today and got spanked by those who should have spanked us but walked away feeling good about the effort none the less.
The course was a dog-leg course that was 3.5km long and we did 3 1/2 laps which came out to just over 30km. That means there were 7 180 degree turns in wet conditions that were unnerving at best. Because the course was so short it was really hard to settle into a rhythm. You would get one or two pulls before setting up for the 180 and trying to group back up again.
We had never practiced a TTT as a 6 man team before and we had about a hour to work on it before our start. This did give us a good chance to warm up but the lessons just learned we not so easy to remember when the vision blurred.
The technical nature of the course favoured the 2 Continental teams and the National team that beat us by 1 to 2 minutes over 30km. I'm sure we lost 5 seconds at each turn and that adds up pretty quick.

The teams started out at 1 minute intervals and we caught our minute team after less than 10km. Since we started second that put us in first position on the course. Personally, I find it much easier to dig when I am focused on reeling in the rider(s) just up the road. It's much harder for me when we are being chased.

We were caught after about 15km or so and managed to hold them within 10 seconds for the remainder of the lap. By the next lap the eventual winners (on TT bikes with full gear) passed us. Were were on regular road bikes but, even with TT bikes, discs and aero bars these guys should have caught us or given up their Continental licenses.
The last 3km was a 3% grind into the wind that lead to the last wet 180 turn around and then 1.5km to the finish. The rider in front me lead through the turn and then I moved to the front to lay down whatever was left. I nailed it as best as I could and then the other guys came around me a few hundred meters out from the finish. Since I was the fourth guy (of the 4 of us left) the time was on me.
The guys pulled around me and headed for the line. I got gaped and dig as I might I had to growl or yelp or making some kind of horrible sound for the 3rd guy to back off enough that I could get on his wheel for the finish. This was about the time I started to worry about the chunks.

He only had to tap his brakes once or twice but I'm sure we lost a few seconds there, too. We would have lost much more if they had ridden away from me and left me there to spit out chunks 200m from the line so it may have worked out for the better in the long run.
The lesson learned today is that we need better technical prep for next year. By this I mean we need to work on the technical aspects of out TTT: smoother transitions, better turns and we need to understand better when it is time to jettison a rider as opposed to letting a cooked rider continue in the rotation.

Also, I hope out cockpit sponsor (KORE) will have TT equipment available to us for 2011. Not that this would have changed the outcome this time but it will help us when we are better prepared for next time.

All said and done it was an immense amount of work in a short period of time and I'm glad it's over and we managed a podium spot.
We also managed to snag a post race interview that should be up on the web soon. It was a great chance to plug our sponsor's products and certainly a bonus.

10th TOUR of EAST TAIWAN

I learned this weekend that I have ridden this race since the inaugural year. I have also raced this course under other names so the long 6 hour drive there and the same 6+ back are all too familiar.

We left Tainan, in the South, at zero-dark:thirty and drove for 2 hours through some mountains and and then headed North up along the East Coast next to the Ocean. We arrived 4 hours later to cool temps and light rain in the start city of Haulien. We checked into the hotel and did the usual pre-race prep, crap, managers/teams meeting and had a quick chat with the organizer to discuss the fact that we were not allowed to use rider radios.

Yup, no radios while we are feeding from cars on some narrow, twisty roads that are strewn with bridges. Car to race radios were a must but no car to rider radio. We were told that they wanted to make the racing more...aggressive. My point was that rider radios would make feeding a little less...hazardous.

The decision had already been made for this race and I asked that they review the decision again after the race, if they could, with regards to next year. Ok.

STAGE 1 : 138km with some double digit climbing after 30km. Then 9okm of wind and rollers until a short right onto a popper for the finish.

I am pretty behind in my training but starting to see some results. I decided to just sit in all day and get some race hours in my legs. I crested with the second group and we chased for a bit. An attack had gone and the main bunch backed off and we closed on the race caravan.

I knew that we were about to pass through a small town with a small bridge, narrow roads and a couple of tight bends. The caravan would pretty much come to a crawl. The question had actually been raised the night before at the managers meeting and the race referee clearly stated that the caravan is part of the race. If you were in the caravan for any reason you could leapfrog from vehicle to vehicle until you got to the officials car and then you had to cross from there to the back of the race on your own.

Clear enough for me.

I had been sitting on watching the chase but then I moved up. As we got within 50 meters of the back of the caravan I jumped. They were snaked through the small town (JiCi) so I closed quickly and was in the middle of the team cars when they started to accelerate again to catch the bunch. I was joined by a few more riders who had had the same idea and we passed through the caravan and crossed to the bunch.

Things were pretty aggressive and I spent the rest of the race following wheels and looking for free rides towards the front. I enjoyed doing the little things like sliding into gaps just as they were opening and working my way into the top 10 through the middle of the group.

The finish was a small riser that turned right and then popped up and snaked around a meridian. This race ended with a small break and then a group of 50+ riders all trying to pretzel their way through this finish. There was a crash in front of me. It was great to watch and the guy was fine but it was a full ass-over-tea kettle kind of crash.

A fine end to the ride.

All of the Elite cats (basically Riders from Continental/Pro Continental teams, Nation team riders, Espoir, Senior and Elite Masters) race together. As a team we had a primary goal for this even which was a podium spot.

Stage 1: Bo Zhuo was 2nd in Elite Master 30+. Mission accomplished. 4 of 6 finished in the bunch. If dropped, riders were told to spin in with a group and save their jam for Stage 2. Steven and Hansom did just that.

STAGE 2: 178km with a 3~4 km climb 100km in and a 2~3km finish climb.

Our riders have had success on this stage and so we were focused on it. We wanted another podium spot for our Elite 30+ rider.

The racing was fast and aggressive. My 12T got a good going over and there were a couple of times when I was wondering about an 11T.

We tried to work a rider into an early break but nothing from anyone was sticking. There were pretty consistent attacks in the first 100km and there was still the days main obstacle. Then we sat and we waited. We would let the climb help with the selection if it could and then we would look for a move with our designated rider.

Up and over the climb and it produced a break of 3 riders and culled the herd a bit. We bunched back up after the descent and I came out of hiding. We tried a few lead outs trying to get the right mix 10 seconds off the front. Too many chasers or no takers. Still 60km to go.

I went back to get my BCAA8000 from the team car when our designated guy followed the right wheel and was away. I worked towards the front and the group seemed to have let them go for the most part so I sat and waited and watched.

Eventually it was clear they were gone and I started to think about getting either Gavin or An Long in another move. So far it looked like we would have 1 guy in the top 6 over-all, (and a Masters Podium) and I was hoping for another rider in the top 10. This would result in a solid point haul for our team.

As the pace picked up I rolled to the front and caught An Long's eye. As I saw him get up to move across to me I jumped to where he would be and he was stuck to me and we were nailing it. I put my head down and saw that there were wheels behind him.

I kept it going for a bit longer and then backed off hoping that someone would jump and An Long could go with it. I watched...the pace eased...chasers but no takers.

I drifted back for a bit and finished off my BCAA8000. I hitched a ride back to the front and flicked my lever as I rode even with Gavin. He saw me and we jumped together. We caught people and we had 100m+ before I sat back down. Ok, I thought, now it's either dangle out here with Gavin and hope we don't die or dangle just long enough to see if there are any takers.

I wanted to attack here because it was on the outskirts of a small town were the road narrows and twists a bit and the group would naturally hesitate. It did and we continued to dangle. I told Gavin that I would use what I had left but that I hoped someone would work across soon because I was starting to see spots. At least I think I told him that or maybe I just thought it in my head and I was so cross-eyed that I only think I told him that.

Regardless, a few riders from strong teams came across and the move took hold. My mission complete I drifted back to the group to contemplate the finish of the race.

Just before the final climb (a 2~3km big-ring climb) I came to the conclusion that I was cashed and really hadn't eaten enough food. I got a wee bit dizzy and suddenly cold. As we rolled onto the climb I let the group roll away and I set a tempo to the finish. Gavin, who was in the 2nd move that I had spent myself on, was caught with 1km to go. It was a good move and worth a shot.

I finished, had a coke, some fruit, some protein, a hot shower and we drove back to the start hotel. During the awards presentation we learned that Steven (the rider who had been dropped the day before and who had wisely spun back in with 20 other riders) also won 5th place in Elite Men 20+ (Senior riders) and that aminoSTRONG-BDOP-CKT was TEAM 6th OVERALL.

After this I felt a little better.

Then the 7 hour drive home thinking about the next race.

Congrats to the aminoSTRONG-BDOP-CKT Cycling Team for 3 good days.

Training Camp Feb 2010

I had designed a 4 day Training Camp to run over the Chinese New Year holidays that was about 160km each day with thousands of meters of climbing. In short, I had planned routes that would have destroyed me.

But it's a training camp. That's what I wanted to do. Also, we have one rider who will ride the Tour de Taiwan in a few weeks so he needed some more big climbing.

The weather had other plans.

Those included temps that were 10 degrees below normal, big winds and heavy rain. If it were summer time it would have been no problem and we would have ridden through it. And honestly, it wasn't that cold...at sea level. I wanted to take the guys above 2000m as many times as I could in 4 days. This was a whole different kettle of fish.

Then I heard that there were problems with some of the roads. OK. Plan B.

We canceled the first 2 days and then piled in the team cars and headed south where there was less rain.Day 1 was a flat windy, rainy ride at race pace for 4 1/2 hour where we headed south and then turned around and rode home. Luckily it was dry for the way back.

I could sure feel how poor my fitness is. I had a neck injury that kept me off the bike for more than 2 months and now I am over weight and well behind where I need to be for my first "A" race in May. But enough of this.

The second day we did some climbing and the weather was finally on our side. It was beautiful. We had a good 45 mins of flat roads to warm up and then we hit the first of 5 climbs on the day. This one only went up about 1000m but there were several long pitches in double digits.

We had a few former team members (locals) join us for the ride so we were 8 riders in all. I just didn't want to be the 8th guy over the top. I managed to keep a couple guys in sight (with 2 more behind me) until the last km. Then I just had to spin it up and over.We waited at the top and then rode back down and onto the 2nd and 3rd climbs. We encountered some road closures due to rock slides and I think we were all pretty happy that we had changed to plan B as we would have most likely be caught out somewhere at altitude, in the rain.

This was our first camp together and we managed to eek out almost 10 hours of training under nasty conditions. The guys seem to be gelling as a group and there are certainly no personality conflicts.

I few races together and this could turn into a pretty good team. I'm certainly looking forward to the season and I hope I can drop the weight and find some bloody fitness soon.

Race Report 19 October 2009

If the truth be told I've been a little pissed at some of my team mates of late for their lack of organization and the dysfunctional nature of their communication.

This race just reinforced that feeling with some.

I got up a Zero Dark:30 to go meet with the guys and drive to the race. Luckily the start was only an hour away. It was a point to point RR so the finish was 2 1/2 hours away. Fine and dandy and off we go.

We get there on time, get pinned, warmed up, a few runs to the bathroom, chat chat here, chat chat there and it's time to stage. It was warm and sunny and windy as all get out. As the course ran along the coast and then climbed over to the other coast and wound back around to the finish it promised to be a long day of headwind.

It didn't disappoint.

The plan for me was to sit in for the first 1 1/2 hours and then hang on over the first climb crossing to the other coast. If I was still in the main bunch I was then going to drive the pace to help our designated guy get placed in the 5 km between the bottom of the descent and the base of the finishing climb.

That was our plan.

The problem is our frame sponsor, CKT, is also the former National Team coach. I've raced against his teams for a decade so we're pretty familiar with one and other. Since we had numbers and horsepower at this race he decided that we should try to get 3 or 4 guys into an early break and ride away from the race.

Not such a bad idea since our real climber isn't racing as he is headed for some racing in Korea with the National Team.

As I roll to the start I see the CKT coach/sponsor standing there inserting us at the front of the bunch on the line. Fine. All the cats are racing together and there are 440guys so it's safer to be there at the start of the neutral anyway.

Speaches, pictures, horns, bang and we roll away. We have 6km of neutral and we're racing. Immediately the National Team kids are active. There's a flurry of attacks, counters and just a mess on the front.

Nothing gets more than 10 seconds and everyone wants to chase.

This goes on for the better part of an hour with pauses scattered here and there. The wind is getting stronger and we still have all the climbing to do.

We tried probably 10 or more different moves with a different mix of riders and we were getting nowhere.

Finally that moment arrives.

I am sitting about 20 spots back and I see 4 of our guys slotting in at the front. The pace winds up and they gutter the bunch. This looks good. I jump to the front and put my head down. I hold it above 50kph for as long as I can but the wind is brutal. I glance back as I pull off and I can see it is strung out pretty far back.

My team mate pulls through and he takes a dig. The elastic is stretching and gaps are forming. Guys are jumping across but you can almost see the tension and that it's about to snap.

There is a 20m gap 7 riders down which puts 5 of us plus 2 other guys in the right spot. I slide out of the draft and glance back. I sense that one more good hard pull will be enough to cause a few people to sit up and for the gaps to suddenly explode open. Once that happens it takes a few minutes for the chase to get organized at the front and, by that time, we are away.

I slide to the front and give it one more dig. As I pull off I think that must have done it. It wasn't everything I had but it was enough.

Then I glance back.

At the front of the group about 50m back is one of our young team mates. He has buried himself trying to hang on and has given a dozen guys behind him just enough of a break that they come around him and start to work towards us.

Our puppy eliminated the chaos. He took the hesitation away and let the strong, determined riders move to the front. There is a chase and we only have 50m. This is going nowhere. This was our move, it was the right moment and now it has passed.

I sit up.

As the kid rolls past my team mate, he collars him and gives him an earful. The kid has no idea why.

So now we are all back together, I've used a lot of jam and we still have to climb.

I drink. I eat and I hide for about 20km. Then we hit the rollers before the first 3 step climb. Luckily the wind is in our faces so it takes the edge off of the skinny kids. They are at the front driving it but I manage to claw my way up and over with the front group and move up during the descent.

At this point our designated guy has been near the front too long. I also don't remember seeing him eat. We finally hit the finish climb. The first section I use my 39x26, I'm out of the saddle and going left, right, left, right and I'm not the only one.

The climbers ride away from me on the front and the race falls away from me behind. I have contact and I'm in the top 10 or 15 or so but I'm not catching anyone. There is no one to be seen behind me either.

I climb to our designated guy and he is toast. I pace him to the finish.

Overall we placed riders on the podium and I won my age category. I think I was between 10 and 15th spot overall which I'm pretty happy with considering it was a climbing finish.

Next up is a flat circuit that is all about power.

Then a 190km RR two weeks after that.

The season just never ends.

Initiating Tactics - "The Plan"

19 August 2009

I have a race on Saturday that is a selection race for a National Championship race. It is a mass start RR but limited (the selection) to riders from the city I live in and the county (like a state).

Basically each major city and county can take 6 riders to the National Championship. Ok, simple enough. Here comes the interesting part.

My team has riders from both the city and the county. I am unable to qualify, because I'm a white guy, even if I won the race outright. No big deal, I've been in this position before.

So my goal is to help as many guys from my team qualify for the Nationals (or National Team Selection race I really have no idea).

So today we hashed out some tactics.

It involves 4 guys going to the front on the first lap, hammering their brains out and then a rabbit goes (into the headwind section) just after we start lap 2 of 7. The idea is we are supposed to see who marks him or, if he is joined by another strong rider, to give him a shot at the long break. This involves blocking.

At some point (around 5~6 of 7) were are supposed to attack and form a break with our 4 riders who already have points and myself. My job then becomes to a) drive the break and/or b) shed the unwanted cargo.

Pretty ambitious, non?

Here's how it played out:

22 August 2009

Went to the front at the gun to string things out. All the newbs, who were supposed to be there, were nowhere to be seen. Some of the other team mates contributed and then our team "captain' (yup, you heard me right, 'captain' - this guy was offered the role as a joke during a team meeting and he took the job) goes on a flyer.

Not quite the plan (the one he helped create) but we adapt. He's joined by another guy and we watch. Then two of our puppies go to the front and pick up the pace. I yell at them and they skulk to the back again.

Second lap and our guy goes as originally planned. He's joined by another and we watch again. Attacks start as it becomes clear that everyone wants a piece of this action. I also figure out who is marking me - everyone! Any move I make draws an immediate response from the entire group. Sucks to be me.

So there are a series of attacks, bridges, counters etc and it becomes clear that it's going to be tough to get a break to stick. The good thing is we are shedding riders and now we are down to about 25 guys. The bad news is we all know each other far too well.

Finally, there are 3 team mates and another guy up the road and I surprise the group and get a gap. I work across to the break and then we are joined by two other riders. We are 7 being chased by 15 or 16 guys. We get an echelon going and I think this move should stick...but 1/2 lap later it doesn't.

Counter, counter and the pace is way up again.

Then I flat.

Crap.

I look behind and there is no neutral bike. Nothing. I turn around, ride 2 km back to the start, borrow a wheel and chase.

And chase and chase and chase, throw up a little in my mouth, and chase some more until the bell lap. I've clawed back a little time but the gap is way too large. I was hoping to catch the back markers but all I caught were a couple of lone riders who were spit out at some point. Neither one can work with me or even hold on for more than a km or two. They are cooked and I'm on my way to joining them in CookedVille.

Coming into the bell lap I do something I almost never do. I stop. I DNF.

Even when I get shelled, no matter how bad, I finish up. Here I just decide that it is too hot (It was REALLY HOT) and that there is absolutely no reason for me to keep going. If I stop I can at least see the finish of the race.

So I stop. I hand over my number. I prop my bike against the van, I rinse my face and try to smile for whoever this guy with the camera is. I also make sure I am still wearing the new glasses I got that morning from our new eyewear sponsor - XForce.

Here's the kicker.

In found myself in the weird position recently of defending the UCI. My point was that they set regulations for races and, good or bad, you know how everything works, where to go and what to do.

As I am sitting there waiting for the finish I see a neutral wheel bike pull up. WTF!!! Where the hell was this guy when I flatted? I seems that he thought it was too hot (here I can empathize - it was HOT) so he decided to just sit under a tree with the wheels and if we had a problem we could just go there. Of course he didn't tell anybody - he just decided this on his own.

Did I mention that this was a circuit race - not a crit? The funny thing is he was sitting under a tree only a few hundred yards up the road from where I flatted. I never saw him and, if I had, I never would have guessed that he was the 'official' neutral wheel guy and I could get a wheel from him. I doubled back at least 2 km to the start, explained that I needed a wheel, changed it myself and then chased my brains out.

So, my team mate won the sprint from a break, we qualified at least 6 of our riders and I got a pretty decent workout.

The plan worked pretty much as we wanted with the some adaptations on the way. We knew we wanted to shell riders early and win from a break and we did. We qualified most of the guys we wanted to so, as a team effort, it was successful.

I've decided to take tomorrow off as I am going to drink many wobbly pops tonight.

I think this was one of those times when the bear ate me.