My current assessment is I failed the test. Early in the day I thought things were good and I was thinking of extending the ride to be 120+ miles. In the end I took a cutoff and rode a mere 76 miles and change. The problems stemmed from the one significant climb of the day, to the park headquarters of Henry Coe, a net gain of 2200′ in about 9 miles. I felt good at the start of the climb, weaving my way around other riders and progressing steadily. But the consistent 10-17% grades took their toll and by the time I hit that 17% section just before the summit there was nothing left in the legs and I had to fight for every inch of elevation gain. I still thought I was alright, took on some food and hydration and stretched out before starting back down, but the small climb out the basin of Anderson reservoir showed how depleted the muscles were. There was no power, and every time I attempted to push them they surrendered and their counterparts cramped in defiance. I stopped, rested a bit, stretched out some more, but there was nothing.

I headed southward to continue, aided by a nice tailwind, but everytime I tried to push it a bit the problems cropped up. A few miles down the road my teammate Derrick caught up with me, suffering his own similar problems related to his knee. We discussed and decided the better part of valor was to cut off the second climbing loop, to Gilroy Hot Springs, and head to the cars. Calling ourselves the ‘gimp patrol’ we passed the turnoff to the Springs and limped back to where we started. Not exactly the result I envisioned, but my body made it clear that it was not ready, yet.

Now it is time to assess my plans for two weeks from now when I will be joining The Wife and a bunch of friends on another similar test. The early discussions have revolved over who is doing the 100 mile, who is doing the ‘official’ metric century, and who will do the ‘unofficial’ sort of metric cut-off version of the 100 miler. I’ve been in the 100 miler camp, alone, all along. Now I have to decide whether to give in to what the body said yesterday, or push for a better result.

A couple of months back I tried to push myself towards working harder on a return towards what I consider ‘normal’, putting a couple of endurance events on the calendar for this spring to force me to get out more. But life has gotten in the way and I have not been able to spend the time necessary to prepare for these events, leaving me wondering what is realistic at this point as the dates for the events draw close.

I did get an unexpected surprise this week which will, at least in the short term, free up some time for me to work on the recovery (as well as some yard and house projects that have been delayed for far too long). My employer reduced the payroll, so I have a bit more time for endeavors beyond earning a paycheck. And the time I have will be allocated differently. More work on the recovery, balanced by working on networking with friends and acquaintances in an effort to find a new challenge (read job) to pay the bills. Lat month I was able to get in a mere 280 miles or so on the bike, and I have almost 70 in the first two days of this month. Perhaps I will be ready for the first of those endurance events in a couple of weeks.

There was a good sized crowd again last night, heavily weighted towards the ‘B’ group. Larry wanted to keep the ‘C’ group for the women and junior, for the most part, so I got asked to take a trip with the ‘B’s; Larry tried to get some of the ‘B’s to go with the ‘A’ group, but he did not have many takers. There was no one with the last name of Jacques-Mayne in the field so not sure why there were not more takers. That meant a ‘B’ field on the large side (25 riders) with a lot of talent.

In the first race of the night, the first ‘C’ race, it was mostly a question of whether newly minted Proman rider Hanan would be content to keep a 100-150m gap off the front or try to lap the field. She seemed content with the former. With her and a rider wearing a Cal kit off the front, the field sprint was for third place points and Sabine seemed hungry to collect a bunch of those. Angela was saddled with a real hamster gear on a rental bike and could not spin fast enough; the rentals are a nice convenience when needed, but definitely not a good option for competitive riding.

I lined up with the ‘B’ field for their first race knowing I would get spanked. Lots of good, fast track riders: Aaron, Justin, and Shelley to name a few. Once the first attack started I was left to try to keep with the pack, and was successful for a while. But I seemed to keep getting behind someone who would be gapped, have to sprint to get back, and then try to recover. After 4 or 5 of those in short succession I did not have enough juice for the next one and ended up OTB in a 4 man paceline fighting to keep alive.

The major, unnecessary, excitement of the night came between turns 3 and 4 on the penultimate lap of that first ‘B’ race. On the back straightaway there was a lot of positioning going on, everyone trying to get ready for that last lap sprint. Knowing I could not keep up in a short sprint, I went high to move forward so I could try for a long sprint. And just as we made turn 3 I heard the unmistakable sound of wheels touching just off to my left and maybe a bike length in front. And then the bikes and riders were flying. In the end everyone was up and walking, but definitely something that gets the adrenaline flowing. The reconstructionists view afterward was that one rider in the sprinter’s lane paceline went slightly up track to scrub speed before turn 3, someone behind him saw that as an opening to take, and the crash occurred when the first rider came back down to the lane after the turn. Perhaps someone needs a remedial beginner’s session if that is indeed what happened; just because there is an opening does not imply that you should fill it.

I then jumped into the second race of the ‘C’ group, without a rest and with just one quick hit on the water bottle. The field included Hanan and the rider in Cal kit so I knew that 1st and 2nd place points were likely theirs. Some others in the field can spank me good in short sprints, especially since I had a hamster gear (83″). Again I figured my best strategy was to try long. The first 4 points laps all played out the same: as we crossed the start/finish line and got the bell I would spin up and away for the 333m TT, somewhere near turn 3 Hanan and the Cal guy would come around me, then I would fight for 3rd place points against whomever was left. And I was successful the first 4 times. But predictability can be a liability. Coming to the line for the start of the 5th points lap Donna took off about 50-60m earlier than what I had been doing. I seized the opportunity and grabbed her wheel, came around her at the 200m line, and from there it was a repeat of the first 4 points laps. After that sprint I decided that was enough for me, so on the 6th and final points lap I slid back and let the others contest the finish. It was a blast, even though I was really dehydrated and having a major allergy attack. Thanks Larry and to all the riders out there.

This week it will be track night at the Hellyer Velodrome. Three or so hours of pain and socializing, courtesy of Larry Nolan, all in hopes that just a little tiny bit of the Nolan magic can rub off on little old me. This month it is all points races, next month scratch races, back to points in July, then scratch again in August. I will be making an appearance every other week through the summer, or at least that is what I have scheduled.

On the Tuesdays I am not at Hellyer I will be a couple miles further south doing the SJBC Tuesday twilight crit. Nice course, but getting a bit too much traffic these days. Of course, some folks do not like the course as much as I do, something to do with that nice little 90 ft or so climb on the east leg. Fun and games. And to make sure I get out to this, I have committed to working registration at them every other week from now until the end of the summer. Of course, the need to get so far south on a work night sort of means I will be working from home on Tuesdays; need to cut that 20 miles of commute down the peninsula from the travel task.

If you are in the area and want to have some good training, join me in the “Tuesday night highway 101 sufferfest”!

I refitted the Fuji track bike to my proportions (The Wife has been using it while I was laid up) and loaded it, the popup, an extra wheel, and far too many tools into the Toaster and drove south to the track. There was a good crowd, probably 45 or so racers, show up to race for glory or at least a few upgrade points. I threw down my $20 and signed up for the ‘C’ group; not an easy group by any stretch with Sabine, Soni, Beth, Hanan, Jennie, PenVelo Ray, Justin, Ileana, and a collection of the BEER team signed up in that field.

I left the gearing with what The Wife had been using (about 84″) since the winds were roaring at times and I did not want to get caught pushing a big gear into the wind. But I did opt to put the Nimble tri-spoke wheel on the front. Out onto the track for a warmup and a reminder that a wheel with a lot of surface area facing sideways can be a problem. The winds were shifting around, but for a while there was a good crosswind in turns 3 and 4 and that tri-spoke was catching it well. I almost reverted back to the standard 32-spoke low profile wheel but in the end the winds tamed a bit and I got used to handling it. It might not have made me any faster, but at least I looked a bit more impressive.

Keirin: I drew the third heat in the ‘C’ group, then drew 7th position, out of 7, at the line. That put me at the rail and I mused on what I had heard about strategies while trying to eavesdrop on what Mark A. was telling Jennie, who was lined up to my left. The group rode rather conservatively while on the motor; I got 4th wheel and no one tried to come past until just before Peter pulled off. From that point on it was a blur; all I can remember was that I, rather foolishly, allowed myself to get boxed in on the inside and still there were folks who kept coming down into me. I had fourth coming into the last 25m or so, then someone came down into me, again, and I backed off a bit as we came to the line. I need to work on getting better position, establishing it, then getting aggressive (but not too much) when folks try to take my space. Since I was not in the first 4 in the heat I had plenty of time to play holder during the remaining Keirin heats.

Scratch race: Or why I owe Sabine a big apology. Our group of 19 had a short race, just 5K, so I knew that the attacks would start early. The first attack started on the back stretch of the first lap, a bit too early in my opinion, so I took charge and pulled the pack up to the attackers. There were not any serious attempts for the next couple or three laps but then a small group got away. Not sure of everyone in the group but I knew that my former TUA (Team Unattached) mate Beth was included. A lot of chasing ensued but we were not really eating into their lead. Then another group got away, and again I was not sure all the riders in that break but could see that Soni was included;  and Soni has a small stuffed bunny peering out from under her saddle.  That stuffed bunny became my rabbit as I gave chase. I was so focused on the target, and the fact that I was closing in, that I failed to look back. Then I heard ‘pull up’, so I did, and Sabine and one other rider shot past; I had apparently been blocking their chase. Sorry. If I had known we could have joined forces. As it was I was a bit spent from the chase so I just soft-pedaled a bit behind the pair until the last 200m and then tried to sprint past them for the line. Too little, too late, and who cares since we were far enough back that the finish was just practice.

Miss-n-Out: We lined up with 20 riders and I wanted to try to be top 6, at least. I got 4th wheel from the whistle and no one was moving up as we approached the line on the first 3 laps and I got complacent. On about the 4th lap there was a mass movement forward as we approached the line and I realized I was boxed in with no place to go if I needed to in order to survive.  Fortunately there were still folks behind me and it was not my number that got called.   So I jumped, took the lead, and pushed the pace up a tad. And no one contested that decision for a few laps. But when they did it was a majority vote as all but one shot rider past me as we approached the line. I had pulled the train for a while, the survivors were voting me off the island, and I could not find the dang immunity idol (extra gas in the legs) to counter the vote. I believe I was 8th, not as good as I wanted, but I did give it the old college try.

Points Race: One last attempt to redeem myself. Another short race, just 5K with points every 5 laps. I made myself content with staying mid-pack through the first 3 laps of each 5 lap set, then would go over the top towards the front on the 4th lap and try to hang through the sprint lap. But my darn puny quads were no match for the more accomplished sprinters. I was about 6th or 7th on each sprint.

No results, but who cares. It was a lot of fun, and a good test of the body and mind in race situations. Funniest moment of the day was when Sabine was offering me as a sacrifice entrant into the ‘A’ group’s points race. Right! I could see the betting line: how many meters before I got lapped?

Larry ran a bit late, so by the time I got the rental bike and did a quick setup there was not much time for a warmup. Then I had to wait through the 30 laps of the first women’s race to get out on the track. Let’s just say that I was out of my league at this time with that group. I could hang most of the time, but when Andreas and a couple of others threw down the gloves the pace went too high for me and I was chasing the tail of dragon. Then there was a LONG time until our next race as the women did a second and ‘A’s their first, and most of us were torn between using the judging stand as a windbreak or breaking it apart to make a fire on the infield. Even riding the warmup circle was not sufficient to generate sufficient heat to keep me warm enough and the lower back started to seize up. Crap, already at a disadvantage then that. I mused on throwing in the towel, but decided to go back out for the second race and see how long I could last. I actually did a bit better the second time. I pulled out after a pull on the front with 5 laps to go; the legs were spent and I knew The Wife was probably becoming a human popsicle while flipping numbers on the lap counter (she was).

Ten days before the next race, the EBC crit. Not sure if the thumb will be where I want it to be. I will give it a tryout this weekend, then a bit better one next Tuesday when I join in the fun of the SJBC Twilight crit in south San Jose. My current plan is to alternate Tuesdays between the track and the Twilight crits for the next 4 months, with every 4th Tuesday being in a recovery week where I will play course marshal rather than race. If you are looking for some Tuesday night fun, come an join in.

Yesterday evening I took a fast 20 mile loop up into the Los Altos Hills to give the thumb a test. Still cannot shift the thumb lever on the right side, so Wente RR is now officially off the table, though unofficially I had been resigned to it being unrealistic for the past 10-12 days. The goal now is to work towards being ready for the EBC crit two weeks from tomorrow (10 May 2008).

Madera Madness

Wow, sometimes by ignoring on-line discussions you miss out on some good cat-fights. There was some real head butting about the Madera Stage race over on the ncncaracing list. Some folks get fairly dogmatic that they have seen the truth and cannot understand when others do not agree. Sheesh. Oh well, hopefully now that the full moon has come and gone that little battle is finished.

Last Saturday I was at a birthday celebration for Mintie Linsey, who finished 3rd in the GC for the Women 4 at Madera, and I was asked when the photos I had taken at Madera would be on-line. Ooops, apologies to Mason and others who have been waiting. I finally retrieved the camera from the bag last night and will now go through them and post some to the gallery RSN (Real Soon Now).

A quick scan of the photos provided some evidence of what I had suspected. Not long after The Wife completed her ITT I noted that the rear wheel was flat. That raised questions about if it was going flat during her event which would have increased rolling resistance. No longer supposition; it is clear that as she crossed the finish the part of the tire beyond the tan sidewall is compressed down and barely visible. The replacement tires will be glued onto those wheels this weekend so The Wife can get accustomed to them before the Women’s Stage Race at Kern in three weeks.

If I felt lucky I could buy some Accelerade and put my name in to win a pair of Zipp 404’s with a wireless PowerTap. But I think I’ve used up my contest luck (a washing machine and a Jeep Cherokee have come my way through drawings). I bought a pair of Williams System 30 wheels just before the Mt San Bruno hill climb, at a time when Williams was saying that they could not make a deal with Saris to do PowerTaps. Times have changed; if I bought today there is a PowerTap option. So if I give in it will be YASW (Yet Another Set of Wheels) on my dime.

Of course, considering The Wife’s experience I might need a spare to use when the one I buy goes south. Just like Scott Martin writes about in the current issue of RoadBikeRider:

8. SCOTT’S SPIN

Power Outage

Help! I’m powerless.

“Tell us something we don’t know,” say my boss, my IRS auditor and my ex-wife’s lawyer. True enough, but that’s not the kind of power I mean. I’m talking watts, kilojoules, calories.

You see, my 2-month-old power meter died the other day. Evidently I am so powerful that the unit just short-circuited. Smoke poured from the strain gauges in the rear hub, the handlebar-mounted computer display flashed “Uncle!” and . . .

So I’m exaggerating. Actually, one of the contacts on the computer loosened and the unit stopped functioning. I called the company and explained the situation.

“No problem,” said the PowerTap rep. “Just send it back and we’ll fix or replace it.”

“Um, okay,” I replied, suddenly panicked by the thought of being without a gizmo that 3 months ago I disdained as overrated and overpriced. “Could you send me a loaner in the meantime — like when your car breaks down or your iron lung rusts?”

“Sorry, sir, we can’t. We’ll return it to you as soon as possible.”

I briefly considered hand-carrying the unit on a plane, then decided overnight delivery might be more cost-effective. Still, I’d probably be without it for at least a week.

How could this happen? Three months ago I was blissfully power-free. Didn’t even own a heart monitor. Had a cyclecomputer, but couldn’t figure out how to set the time of day. Then my power meter-flouting teammates convinced me to join the bandwagon — largely by crushing me in our weekly workouts.

Now I’m addicted to the instant, accurate feedback a power meter delivers. No more guessing, no more slacking. This wonderful, terrible device inspires me on good days and infuriates me on bad days, but always pushes me to improve.

Maybe I should buy another — for back-up.

(Scott Martin wrote feature articles for Bicycling magazine for a dozen years. He lives and rides in Northern California.)

And while we are talking of things coming out of Scandanavia, today’s RoadBikeRider e-zine carries a short bit on the results of some research by a Danish group. Here is the essence of that study:

It was found that exercise and drinking alcohol each had an independent beneficial effect on the heart. Mainly, an increase in good cholesterol (HDL) and the removal of fatty deposits created by bad cholesterol (LDL) in blood vessel walls.

The study also determined that drinking and exercise combine to have a greater health benefit than either alone. The Danish researchers defined four categories and found that . . .

• people who never drink and don’t exercise had the highest riskof heart disease.
• people who never drink but do exercise had a 30% lower risk.
• people who drink moderately but never exercise had a 30% lower risk.
• people who drink moderately and exercise had a 50% lower risk.

Now, before you swap your Endurox for a 6-pack of Pabst, here are the caveats:

A research team spokesman, Dr. Morten Gronbaek of Denmark’s National Institute of Public Health, says the benefits of alcohol don’t kick in until you’re at the age — 45 to 50 — where heart disease becomes an appreciable risk.

Since I am above the age at which this benefit kicks in I suppose I should start keeping a couple of cold ones in the refrigerator at work for recovery after these commute/training sessions.

I never was a good boy scout; when the parents forced me to participate I used it as a vehicle for creating mischief rather than advancing rank. But I did learn that one should be prepared for most exigencies that have a high finite probability of occurrence. About a half hour into my tempo ride I came across a cyclist walking his bike along the road, far from any facilities. He had a flat tire, the result he said of taking a trip through the brush to avoid a driver who tried to left hook him. And he had nothing with him except a sorry excuse for a pump. I had one spare tube, a patch kit, tire levers, and some CO₂ and hate to see someone relegated to walking miles in bike shoes. So I switched in my good tube for his bad and patched up his to carry as a spare. Once I got him on his way I was able to return to a slightly abbreviated and interrupted version of the tempo ride I had planned. But that was OK; the legs were still a bit trashed from weight work on Thursday and intervals on Friday, and being out in dry weather with temps in the high 60’s was reason to enjoy whatever time I could get outdoors.

The Wife’s coaching plan had her doing 3 hours on Sunday with a 20 minute ‘effort’ each hour. I decided to tag along. The weather was a bit cooler than Saturday, but sunny skies prevailed. I led The Wife out on the warmup, a nice long suburban slog. I was enjoying the fields of mustard and all the Magnolias in full bloom and was hoping The Wife could marvel in them, too, but she complained that she was too concentrated on staying on my wheel to look. Personally, I would have sat up and enjoyed the sights first, then worked at getting back on the wheel, but that is my preference and not hers. Her first effort took us to the top of Mt. Eden, where the roadside jonquils near the entrance to Cooper-Garrod winery were all in bloom. The signs that spring will come are bursting forth, and I took at least a few seconds to marvel in that. I was not concentrating on my speed or the time, or rather I could not concentrate on my speed or time. My cycle-computer had stopped providing data, and I assumed that the battery in the skewer/sensor had died. While I believe in being prepared that does not extend to carrying CR-2032 batteries with me so I opted to ignore the device and just ride.

We pedaled southward to Los Gatos and up over Kennedy, then turned around to retrace much of our path back on the homeward trip. When we passed CheFlandria and her hunny heading the other way on Los Gatos Blvd The Wife decided to flip a U-turn to catch up with them and thank CheFlandria for the sample box of goodies she delivered on Thursday. A few pleasantries later and we were forming  a nice paceline for the northbound trip. At first the two ladies were doing most of the work, then the guys took over. The Wife says I am the reason it all fell apart.  She claims it was my continuation of the pace as we rode on Prospect just west of Saratoga-Sunnyvale, the part where the grade slants up just a tad, that caused her and CheFlandria to throw in the towel and opt for a more moderate paced ride. Sorry ladies! It was a great ‘train’ while it lasted.

At home I was thrust back into maintenance mode. Clean the drive-trains of the bikes, trim some trees, clean up some stuff in the garage. All necessary, all too long postponed due to the weather. No excuses now. I did find that the cycle-computer going out was not due to a dead battery, it was due to a missing battery. Somehow the battery cover came off the sensor and both the cover and the battery are now somewhere on the road in Stevens Canyon or on the road up Mt. Eden. I had to order a replacement cover, which I hope will be here by mid-week.  And for dinner I tried something new. I made a baked version of the sweet potatoes fries that The Wife fell in love with last summer in Canada. What a great weekend!