|
What Tim saw:
Category: E4
Result: Pack
Teammates: Wendy
Preamble:
My legs were shot going into this race. I did 5 intense group rides
this past week: specialized group ride on Monday, Great America crit
on Tuesday, Davis crit on Wednesday, Great America crit on Thursday,
and the AV noon ride on Friday. And to top it off, I did the beginner
track session this morning. So my goal for this race was to just sit
in until five laps left. Arriving at the race, I saw there was a
hill, and I became very depressed because I wouldn't be able to sip
margaritas at the back of the pack.
Course:
Rectangle shaped course about .5 miles long. The start/finish
straight has a slight incline; second straight is short power climb,
slightly longer than Cat's Hill but less steep; third straight is a
slight decline; fourth straight is a short steep decline.
Race:
I played caboose for the pack for the first 25 minutes and it wasn't
too hard to sit in. I think I was able to get in some good recovery
on the decline sections.
With about 7-8 to go, I told Wendy (also at the back with me) that
with 5 to-go, I was going to the front and that he should follow me.
When we passed the start/finish line with 5 to go, I made my way to
the front but didn't make sure Wendy was on my wheel. Sorry Wendy.
With 4 to-go, I was mid-pack. With 3 to-go, I was top 10. In the last
corner, the 2nd or 3rd wheel blew his tire and went flying into the
barricades. The pace picked up and my legs started to burn. I wussed
out and didn't fight hard enough for position on these last two laps:
probably a combination of tired legs and a desire to preserve my
skin. On the last lap, I was probably 15th-20th. During the last
corner, another dude blew his tire and went into the barriers, taking
one or two people with him. I probably rolled in 25th-30th, happy to
have my skin, but not all tired.
Time for Infineon circuit race tomorrow - maybe I'll have a top ten
in me, if my legs feel like cooperating.
Thanks for reading
Back to top
|
|
What Garry saw:
Category: E3 and 45/55 Open
Result: Various
Teammates: None
Never done this race before, so was happy to sign up for this event. The course is a challenging circuit of 1.8 miles in length, with a climb of 100 vertical feet per lap over a distance of about 4/5th's of a mile, a gradient varying between 4 and 6%. Laps take about 6 minutes. The normal wind direction usually blows the pack up the hill, but today the wind was a steady 10 mph in our faces as we climbed. The road surface is very good. This is also the circuit the SJBC have been using for years fro the series of unofficial twilight crits they do on Tuesday nights.
The masters 45/55 race was a 45 minute event, and VOS racing had a large contingent, 8 of them lined up. Morgan Stanley had 3 or 4 and Webcor were the other other team with 3 in it. On Lap 3 at turn 4 a crash occurred sending 3 to the asphalt, one seriously with a suspected broken hip. Later on the same lap Action Sports sent a man up the road, with a chaser latching on. These two had a couple of laps of freedom and then were reeled in, immediately followed by the other Action Sports guy going off the front. He was joined by one of the VOS team and then it was down to laps of trying to get to the front thru the VOS blockers to keep a chase going. The duo gained 15 seconds maximum. With two and half to go Daryl Smith of ICCC jumped the gap and joined the fun up front. I think the VOS road captain must have had lack of faith in their man in the break, because 1/2 lap later the VOS team started to chase and we caught the break with half a lap to go.
It ended up with a field sprint, with Don Langley cruising off the front to take an easy win and I managed to maintain or improve a few places in the uphill struggle to the line.
Finished 13th out of 25 in my age group and 13th overall from 33 starters.
Ave speed was 23.4 mph
HR ave = 150
Max HR = 171
Z4 = 7:33
Z5 = 2:22
And then I took a 2 hour time out and waited for the E3 race
After a couple of hours rest I signed up for another dose of the Coyote Creek course
This time the race was a scheduled 60 minutes.
Don't really remember much about the race. I stuck my nose in the wind a couple of times and tried to maintain a better position in the field due to the larger field size. My English friend Steve Holmes of Arete was racing as well, so it was good to have someone to talk to. He is a great rider, and I endeavored to follow him as much as possible. There were a few breaks attempted, mostly solo efforts and they all succumbed to the wind blowing down the hill.
Again It ended up with a field sprint, with John Wik of Team Oakland getting a sizeable gap over the field with Steve H finding his way thru the splintering peloton to take a second place. I had been on his wheel with two to go, but I was not willing to bump shoulders to maintain position and hoped I could move up at the finale. Although the field did spread I did not have the legs to take advantage.
Finished 32nd out of 61 starters.
Ave speed was 24.5 mph
HR ave = 154
Max HR = 171
Z4 = 14:43
Z5 = 0:19
Thanks for reading
Back to top
|
