How about that Bobby V!!!??? Doing a standup job. Keeping things quiet.
My Hovercraft is Full of Podcasts
- Thread starter Norm
- Start date
How about that Bobby V!!!??? Doing a standup job. Keeping things quiet.
Steve Vai
Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Just so you don't try to slay yourself trying to beat my Swamp time...I was on the TT bike. Actually I'd say the top guys on that Segment were all on TT bikes, that's a popular spot for the TT folk to practice. But do make a better run at my RoundTop Segment, I need to go back and hit that again without throwing up 🙂
-Jim.
-Jim.
yeah, no kidding. and of all people to go after. dummy.
Nice having you over Robin!
Yesterday was devoid of any bike activity. I did load the SS into the minivan at some point between getting home and Robin coming over. We (LRob, Utah, Fred) seem to think there's a missing spacer. I noticed it the first 2 times I rode it but was hoping it was some mysterious, unharmful thing. Eventually we figured out it might not be so harmless after all.
Jim asked me how I'm suddenly realizing this, and I reminded him that I'm a roadie prick, and it was only the 3rd time I ever rode the bike - the first 2 were the ST races. So you sort of ignore the funny noises and sounds during a race. Anyway, I'm sure it's nothing major but I should take care of it if I plan to race it this weekend. Assuming I do, and I race SSaP, I will have ridden it 5 times, 4 of them in races. That's some funny math.
On Jim's Swamp Thing Time, looks like you were taken down already:
http://app.strava.com/segments/657785
Doug Clark? I'm not even the fastest girl on the section (but I am a big girl). Jon's wife's time is faster than mine. I think I could do 25+ on a good day. But 29 is off the hook.
I'll be back for Roundtop. But like Clapper said, that whole week was wind-aided. The 2 top times were during that week. Clapper thinks that's how he did the 4:38. I'm not going to take anything away from anyone. It was also suggested that Utah's King of Liberty Corner was also that week, which might make it hard to knock out.
I think both of those times can go down. Roundtop has some room to whittle down. But Liberty is going to go by seconds, if at all. I think it needs to be the perfect storm. There's a bit of measuring going on when we approach that hill. So the base is often a bit squeamish. We'd need someone to sacrifice themselves to get it to fall. I'm going to hide as much as I can tonight.
It also doesn't help that it comes right after the Lamington fireworks. Legs hurt by that point. I don't even know where some of these sections start/end.
But on the Swamp - yeah, those are TT times. I stand no chance at all.
Anyway, Robin came by to get some team stuff and GU, and hung out for some dinner & cupcakes & one of the awesome cake-pops & the Hedbandz game. Julia was in a happy mood because all of her presents were finally given to her. And she loves cupcakes. But by the end of the night she totally flared out, crying on/off a few times for no good reason. That's pretty rare. Kid was exhausted.
A ride tonight. Being it's a rest week I'm going to hide as much as I can but try not to get dropped. It's almost a homework assignment. See if you can stay in the pack and not rack up too much TSS. Utah & I both. I told him we're not allowed to drag the group to start the ride. And we can't go for sprint points. The idea is to hide & react, and see how low you can keep the ride effort. This is a crucial concept. Probably 1 that neither of us practice enough. I told him Liberty Corner is ok though. OPening up once is not going to break the bank.
I'm liking that Mount Joy road race option on 6/2. It is the day before Bearscat but BS was just a ride anyway. I may double up, but just do 1 loop of BS. I'm sort of targeting that Giro 2-day race as a stopping point for the first part of the season 2 weeks after that. I'm not sure a 5+ hour MTB race is ideal for that. But I paid, so I may do the Dave Lyons method of 1 lap & quit.
Anyway, I was in the office again before 7:00. It's almost lunch time.
Steve Vai
Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Doug is the guy that beat me both times during those TTs. He's a Pro IronMan, we're never gonna beat his time. Although to average 29+ MPH over that section is a major goal of mine. Jon's wife was also on a TT bike. Just look at the date, everything on Aug 4th was during the TT.
Goal #2 is to break 20mph on RoundTop. I may make a run at it on Thursday morning. All 3 of us should meet and race up it so the effort will be super legit :getsome:
My legs are shot right now. I plan on getting dropped before the Dairy Farm.
-Jim.
Goal #2 is to break 20mph on RoundTop. I may make a run at it on Thursday morning. All 3 of us should meet and race up it so the effort will be super legit :getsome:
My legs are shot right now. I plan on getting dropped before the Dairy Farm.
-Jim.
Wind my ass...that was horsepower baby!!! 😀
No idea, cant remember if there was wind or not, but the set up that night was perfect. Sellers really gave a great leadout for half way and after that I just got out of the saddle and hit it as hard as possible. Im sure it can/will be beaten.
Im going for an average power of 190 tonight 🙂
Word on the street is that the SS has been dropped off. Hoping for it to be a non-issue.
Everyone else had a wind helper that day/week. So it works in everyone's favor, if it exists at all. I think Liberty Corner is at a cross to the wind, but it's possible. Who knows. I know it didn't do shit for me that ride. I barely broke 4:00 - maybe not even.
I think last week I ended up with 30 minutes in L5/6. This week I'm hoping half that? Dunno how that will play out. Maybe I'll block when it's my turn to pull 🙂
I'm excited to see the road race bug spreading on the team. Jeremy & Pearl got sucked in today. Ben, Fred, Eric, and I must have made a good sales pitch. This a mere weeks after Utah sent me a blistering text about how he's done with road racing. Peer pressure is a bitch though.
But I'm not driving down to frigging Medford this year.
I have come up with a Grand Theory for how to train more effectively. It's actually just this simple piece of your training that I have deemed more important than other aspects. I floated it by Fred and he agrees. So we've declared it The Nail. Still working out a better stage name to present it as. I suggested MAGIC JOHNSON, Fred says we need a BIG in there. I'll be writing a book about it this fall. Magic BIG Johnson, driving The Nail into your opponent's coffin. Pre orders can be made this week.
Lunch is long gone. Going to need a second before I get out of here.
Everyone else had a wind helper that day/week. So it works in everyone's favor, if it exists at all. I think Liberty Corner is at a cross to the wind, but it's possible. Who knows. I know it didn't do shit for me that ride. I barely broke 4:00 - maybe not even.
I think last week I ended up with 30 minutes in L5/6. This week I'm hoping half that? Dunno how that will play out. Maybe I'll block when it's my turn to pull 🙂
I'm excited to see the road race bug spreading on the team. Jeremy & Pearl got sucked in today. Ben, Fred, Eric, and I must have made a good sales pitch. This a mere weeks after Utah sent me a blistering text about how he's done with road racing. Peer pressure is a bitch though.
But I'm not driving down to frigging Medford this year.
I have come up with a Grand Theory for how to train more effectively. It's actually just this simple piece of your training that I have deemed more important than other aspects. I floated it by Fred and he agrees. So we've declared it The Nail. Still working out a better stage name to present it as. I suggested MAGIC JOHNSON, Fred says we need a BIG in there. I'll be writing a book about it this fall. Magic BIG Johnson, driving The Nail into your opponent's coffin. Pre orders can be made this week.
Lunch is long gone. Going to need a second before I get out of here.
dhsean
Member
Steve Vai
Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Not sure if anyone caught the ride time change so I'll post it here just to be safe. Wheels down at 5:45pm. I'm riding on your team tonight. Let me know who you want me to take out. And by take out I mean fall over into at the first stop light.
-Jim.
-Jim.
What's the matter, you didn't do your laundry?
Yeah I got a line in with Sir Sprints a Lot. I text him incessantly until he tells me what time we're supposed to start. Figure either next week or the week after and we'll be on summer time for good. Too bad I don't get summers off work.
It looks nice out. But the a/c finally kicked on in here so it feels a little chilly where I'm sitting.
move closer to road races.
Ok, my turn.
The Afternoon & The Plan
I've been talking about how I've been hitting these rides low on fuel because I probably don't eat enough. Yesterday I had lunch at like 10:00, then another lunch around 1:30. It was just some instant noodles we get from the Asian food store. Pure carbs and salt. This is what I need to get the fire a little warmer before the ride. When I get home, the allergies slam me. This time it's in my head, with a headache. I sit on the couch, drink a coffee, and consider taking a nap. Eric pulls up out front around 5:00 and I figure that's not a great idea.
I told Utah the plan for today. No sprints, no extended pull out of the shop, hide as much as possible. Learn to react, allow yourself to stay in the pack, don't get dropped, but don't burn yourself being the hero. The rides are for training, but it's a recovery week.
The one exception - we're allowed to gun for Liberty Corner.
The Start
I'll defer to Jeremy's recap for the start, as I have nothing to add. With 4 of us doing recaps for this, figure there's no need to repeat anything. At the golf course Jim is clearly struggling up the hill. But with the Burger King regroup, this means nothing now. I sit near the back with Jim and the RV (that's Ray, who provides a draft similar to an RV) and Utah. Eventually Jim catches back up and I draft him through most of the next 1-2 miles to the Burger King. We string out a bit but regroup. Utah, Jeremy, and 1 other guy are momentarily caught at the light but the group waits.
Burnt Mills is nothing. I pull twice maybe, and do nothing at the sprint but sit in. Rattlesnake is the same.
As Jeremy described, I explained the area near the Dairy Farm and why it's dangerous. Look a few posts back to see my explanation on it. After the actual dairy, the road goes into an extended false flat, which then pitches up. If you're ready for it, it hurts as expected. If not, it hurts more than it should. As an aside, my dad used to own a house on that road, on the right side. Presumably I grew up there for part of my childhood but I can't figure out which house. It was across the street from a horse farm is all I remember. My dad used to service the trucks for the dairy farm I think.
I continue to just sit in through this, past the sprint #2, into Lamington. Lamington is typical, but the group is so strong it seems tame. On the hills a few people out of their league pull up on each hill, and it feels like we are going 12 mph. Still, we end up doing 25.6 or something on Lamington, which is my PR according to Strava. I do not contest the sprint, as is the plan. We hit 206 then the next light and catch a breather. The typical calm before the storm.
Liberty Corner
Coming out of the light I park my ass behind the RV, who seems content. He pulls the whole way to the right turn onto Liberty Corner, and then a bit more. This is where I'll let it go, if I have it today. At what I consider the wrong time, he begs off and waves up up front. I reluctantly take it, but with the road pitching down slightly before the climb, I don't need to put much effort in to keep it at 21/22 or whatever. This doesn't last long.
Jim jumps me and Utah is on his wheel. Apparently they smoked some sort of peace pipe and Jim agreed to scorch himself for the team. He was in his MTBNJ jersey last night, and played the part well. Eric told me to hop on Utah's wheel, and Eric jumped on me. Jim pressed and we kept it going.
Then Utah jumped and he hit it hard. I mean HARD. Clearly too hard.
We're about halfway up, Utah, me, and I assumed Eric. I look over my shoulder and see nobody behind us. It's just 3 of us. Utah is starting to huff & puff like a locomotive going over the Rockies, I'm seeing astronomical numbers on my power display and thinking this can't possibly last. I hear the guy behind me breathing hard too. Around the turn I can't keep this up, and wave Eric by. Thing is, it's not Eric. It's Jeff, the old cagey HG guy who yells at everyone. I look back again, we are moon lengths ahead of everyone.
I need to settle in. HG jumps me and picks up Utah's wheel. I settle in at a better pace, and shortly am about 20 feet back. But this doesn't last long, as they are both cooking badly. I catch my breath, then the second effort comes. I eradicate that gap, jump past both of them, and launch past to the top of the Strava segment, the golden standard of Strava climbs in our small corner of the Interwebs. At least this week. It's sort of our local Zion TT section.
This result is a real bitch:
http://app.strava.com/segments/657465
Utah still owns it by 1 second, and I lead Jon by 1 second. No doubt this bitch is going down sooner or later.
Bob Beamon Time
In 1968, Bob Beamon took the world long jump record which would stand until broken by Mike Powell in 1991. The tailwind for this jump was 2 m/s, which is the maximum allowable tailwind at a competition. Many say that the win aided his jump, with some estimated claiming it gave him a full additional foot over what he would otherwise been able to do.
Point: There was an asterisk next to that record for many people.
After the Strava segment the road flattens out, then pitches up again at the end. As I approached the next pitch someone was on my wheel, which I assumed was Jeff. As I hit the pitch, it turns out that it's the Northeastern guy, and he jumps over me. This of course is motivation, and I instantly find a little more power to be able to grab his wheel. We crest the hill and I let him drag me down the other side.
At the bottom, I jump in front and pull him along. I win the sprint by default but we're just hammering along, trying to keep the pack away now. I pull from the bottom of the hill up to the 4 way stop. Here, we get the benefit of the first asterisk. The B ride is at the 4 way, and at exactly the time we get there, traffic is letting them go. We blow by them with no need to stop, as they are being let through. Wind assistance #1.
I drag us both up to the top of the hill past the fire house, and my legs are about to fall off and walk into the field and die. I beg off and ask Northeastern to pull, but he's got nothing. I just press as best I can down the hill and keep speed, and he stays there, content to be. After a little bit, I start to push more to the bottom of the hill, and Northeastern pops. I round the corner and it's just me. I press to the traffic light.
I know the light is the big gamble. I round the corner and the SOB is red. But wait, green arrow left! As I roll up, I get the green! Mark is there with 2 other guys. "Hey Norm," he says. No time for love, Dr. Jones. I keep pressing. Wind Assistance #2.
I do not look back, instead of looking the gift horse in the mouth, I take the gift and just drill it through the condos as best I can. I look down at various points and see anywhere from 24.1 to 26.7. I feel that's reasonable enough. If they can group and do 28, nothing I can do about that. As I approach the stop sign I look back, and see nothing. If I had seen them I would know the jig is up, because of that little annoying hill after the stop sign. But nobody is there, and I roll it out and keep everyone away.
Through the light then I split off the loop and cool down back to my house. Technically I soloed out ahead of the group but I was the beneficiary of 2 lucky breaks. Also, the stop sign in the condos is much easier to deal with solo, and the traffic light after that as well. By then, the game was over though, and it was a matter of just keeping enough on the gas pedal to make sure I didn't get snagged when I wasn't paying attention.
Regardless, I'll take it.
In the end, I failed to hide as much but much of that was in the last 1/4 of the ride. I managed over 30 minutes of L5/6, which was double what I was hoping for. I did hide up until Liberty, and the ride felt relatively easy in comparison. It was a good lesson on how hiding as much as possible allows you to have more for later, when you might need it.
Anyway, that's the last recap. I see Utah has put his up. The reason you get these recaps every week is that these rides are like races, sometimes more exciting. You should try it. You might pop, but so what. You never know until you try.
The Afternoon & The Plan
I've been talking about how I've been hitting these rides low on fuel because I probably don't eat enough. Yesterday I had lunch at like 10:00, then another lunch around 1:30. It was just some instant noodles we get from the Asian food store. Pure carbs and salt. This is what I need to get the fire a little warmer before the ride. When I get home, the allergies slam me. This time it's in my head, with a headache. I sit on the couch, drink a coffee, and consider taking a nap. Eric pulls up out front around 5:00 and I figure that's not a great idea.
I told Utah the plan for today. No sprints, no extended pull out of the shop, hide as much as possible. Learn to react, allow yourself to stay in the pack, don't get dropped, but don't burn yourself being the hero. The rides are for training, but it's a recovery week.
The one exception - we're allowed to gun for Liberty Corner.
The Start
I'll defer to Jeremy's recap for the start, as I have nothing to add. With 4 of us doing recaps for this, figure there's no need to repeat anything. At the golf course Jim is clearly struggling up the hill. But with the Burger King regroup, this means nothing now. I sit near the back with Jim and the RV (that's Ray, who provides a draft similar to an RV) and Utah. Eventually Jim catches back up and I draft him through most of the next 1-2 miles to the Burger King. We string out a bit but regroup. Utah, Jeremy, and 1 other guy are momentarily caught at the light but the group waits.
Burnt Mills is nothing. I pull twice maybe, and do nothing at the sprint but sit in. Rattlesnake is the same.
As Jeremy described, I explained the area near the Dairy Farm and why it's dangerous. Look a few posts back to see my explanation on it. After the actual dairy, the road goes into an extended false flat, which then pitches up. If you're ready for it, it hurts as expected. If not, it hurts more than it should. As an aside, my dad used to own a house on that road, on the right side. Presumably I grew up there for part of my childhood but I can't figure out which house. It was across the street from a horse farm is all I remember. My dad used to service the trucks for the dairy farm I think.
I continue to just sit in through this, past the sprint #2, into Lamington. Lamington is typical, but the group is so strong it seems tame. On the hills a few people out of their league pull up on each hill, and it feels like we are going 12 mph. Still, we end up doing 25.6 or something on Lamington, which is my PR according to Strava. I do not contest the sprint, as is the plan. We hit 206 then the next light and catch a breather. The typical calm before the storm.
Liberty Corner
Coming out of the light I park my ass behind the RV, who seems content. He pulls the whole way to the right turn onto Liberty Corner, and then a bit more. This is where I'll let it go, if I have it today. At what I consider the wrong time, he begs off and waves up up front. I reluctantly take it, but with the road pitching down slightly before the climb, I don't need to put much effort in to keep it at 21/22 or whatever. This doesn't last long.
Jim jumps me and Utah is on his wheel. Apparently they smoked some sort of peace pipe and Jim agreed to scorch himself for the team. He was in his MTBNJ jersey last night, and played the part well. Eric told me to hop on Utah's wheel, and Eric jumped on me. Jim pressed and we kept it going.
Then Utah jumped and he hit it hard. I mean HARD. Clearly too hard.
We're about halfway up, Utah, me, and I assumed Eric. I look over my shoulder and see nobody behind us. It's just 3 of us. Utah is starting to huff & puff like a locomotive going over the Rockies, I'm seeing astronomical numbers on my power display and thinking this can't possibly last. I hear the guy behind me breathing hard too. Around the turn I can't keep this up, and wave Eric by. Thing is, it's not Eric. It's Jeff, the old cagey HG guy who yells at everyone. I look back again, we are moon lengths ahead of everyone.
I need to settle in. HG jumps me and picks up Utah's wheel. I settle in at a better pace, and shortly am about 20 feet back. But this doesn't last long, as they are both cooking badly. I catch my breath, then the second effort comes. I eradicate that gap, jump past both of them, and launch past to the top of the Strava segment, the golden standard of Strava climbs in our small corner of the Interwebs. At least this week. It's sort of our local Zion TT section.
This result is a real bitch:
http://app.strava.com/segments/657465
Utah still owns it by 1 second, and I lead Jon by 1 second. No doubt this bitch is going down sooner or later.
Bob Beamon Time
In 1968, Bob Beamon took the world long jump record which would stand until broken by Mike Powell in 1991. The tailwind for this jump was 2 m/s, which is the maximum allowable tailwind at a competition. Many say that the win aided his jump, with some estimated claiming it gave him a full additional foot over what he would otherwise been able to do.
Point: There was an asterisk next to that record for many people.
After the Strava segment the road flattens out, then pitches up again at the end. As I approached the next pitch someone was on my wheel, which I assumed was Jeff. As I hit the pitch, it turns out that it's the Northeastern guy, and he jumps over me. This of course is motivation, and I instantly find a little more power to be able to grab his wheel. We crest the hill and I let him drag me down the other side.
At the bottom, I jump in front and pull him along. I win the sprint by default but we're just hammering along, trying to keep the pack away now. I pull from the bottom of the hill up to the 4 way stop. Here, we get the benefit of the first asterisk. The B ride is at the 4 way, and at exactly the time we get there, traffic is letting them go. We blow by them with no need to stop, as they are being let through. Wind assistance #1.
I drag us both up to the top of the hill past the fire house, and my legs are about to fall off and walk into the field and die. I beg off and ask Northeastern to pull, but he's got nothing. I just press as best I can down the hill and keep speed, and he stays there, content to be. After a little bit, I start to push more to the bottom of the hill, and Northeastern pops. I round the corner and it's just me. I press to the traffic light.
I know the light is the big gamble. I round the corner and the SOB is red. But wait, green arrow left! As I roll up, I get the green! Mark is there with 2 other guys. "Hey Norm," he says. No time for love, Dr. Jones. I keep pressing. Wind Assistance #2.
I do not look back, instead of looking the gift horse in the mouth, I take the gift and just drill it through the condos as best I can. I look down at various points and see anywhere from 24.1 to 26.7. I feel that's reasonable enough. If they can group and do 28, nothing I can do about that. As I approach the stop sign I look back, and see nothing. If I had seen them I would know the jig is up, because of that little annoying hill after the stop sign. But nobody is there, and I roll it out and keep everyone away.
Through the light then I split off the loop and cool down back to my house. Technically I soloed out ahead of the group but I was the beneficiary of 2 lucky breaks. Also, the stop sign in the condos is much easier to deal with solo, and the traffic light after that as well. By then, the game was over though, and it was a matter of just keeping enough on the gas pedal to make sure I didn't get snagged when I wasn't paying attention.
Regardless, I'll take it.
In the end, I failed to hide as much but much of that was in the last 1/4 of the ride. I managed over 30 minutes of L5/6, which was double what I was hoping for. I did hide up until Liberty, and the ride felt relatively easy in comparison. It was a good lesson on how hiding as much as possible allows you to have more for later, when you might need it.
Anyway, that's the last recap. I see Utah has put his up. The reason you get these recaps every week is that these rides are like races, sometimes more exciting. You should try it. You might pop, but so what. You never know until you try.
Totally....pretty sure that was one of my hardest 2min efforts....when you passed me im pretty sure there were flames shooting out of my skull.
Funny how despite the gentle start, by the end, the ride number match just about every other A ride. Not pulling for the first section I think made it feel worse though. I felt pretty sluggish all night and every effort felt more painful.
Great work on the climb, I think its awesome that we are basicly tied on this KOM...the matching power numbers are pretty funny.
