Tied for 607th

My TOTV time trial results shot me to 607th place in the USAC Category 4 men's rankings!

Crossing Over

Cue the montage music. Something cheesy, like We Are the Champions, or since this is a no budget bike blog, the unlicensed version Are We the Champions? Cue the slow motion shots of the snowy rides on the MTB back in december, the Tackle the Tower stair climb in February, and club rides through the spring, the Covered Bridge Races and the Tour of the Valley in July.

I'm going to do one more Westlake, the rest of the Leroy TTs, and that's it for my road racing season.

I can sum up this season in one word--transition. The main event this year was jumping into the "A" field at Westlake after a few seasons in the "B" field. My fitness definitely improved compared to prior seasons, but not enough. Now I know what's required to ride consistently with riders that have such a high level of fitness, and can work toward that.

My approach to training this year sort of worked, and I learned from its failings. I gained fitness through the early season and June. I spent the vast bulk of my training time riding hard tempo and time trial type efforts, but never managed to get much anaerobic work into my schedule. I completely fell apart in mid July. Too much racing, not enough riding in that month.

'cross season is going to fire up full steam in a month. In the mean time, I'm just going to be doing long rides around northeast Ohio and enjoying what's left of the summer.

Pure Misery

I was planning a trip to Orrville for the Milk Race today, but woke up this morning at 5:30 to heavy thunderstorms and the temperature was already at 72 and climbing. I decided to just go back to bed and go for a ride in the afternoon.

This was probably the toughest workout of the season for me so far; the weather gizmo was reading 88F/96% humidity when I rolled out the door, plus the wind was blowing hot about 10 mph out of the south.

I rolled out Bass Lake road into the wind at an easy pace. I was halfway through a big bottle after only five miles. In the direct sun, it was tough going and I could feel my skin heat up, but since it was later in the afternoon, there was plenty of shade from trees along the road, so it was tolerable.

I ended up doing a loop through Auburn Township, then cruised back up Auburn Road. With the tailwind, I was moving along easily over 20 mph and did the climbs easily at a pretty good pace.

Out of 100 minutes of ride time, I felt good for about 10 minutes. Of all the conditions I've been training in this year, today was the worst. That includes the 4 degree ski sessions in the winter, riding in the snow on the mountain bike, and racing at the Frosty Toes RR in February. You can fight the cold, but there is no escape from the heat.

Low Rider

In the never ending quest for more speed, yesterday I swapped my 120 mm stem for a 140 mm stem to get a more comfortable flat-back aero position. I went out on a quick test ride to check out the position change.

With the 120 mm stem, riding with forearms on the tops was pretty shaky. With the 140, it was stable as a table, but I can't crank very hard in that position anyway. With the 120, I felt a little cramped on the drops, and my biceps would get tired after only a few minutes. The 140 was definitely an improvement when on the drops, but maybe a little too much of a stretch with my hands forward by the brake levers. I'll give it another couple of weeks before trying a 130.

Position changes always feel like magic on the first ride, so I put it to the test at the Leroy TT.

A record group turned up for the ride--17 total, including special guest stars Gwenn and Chris who made the trip up from Stow.

I drew the 8th starting slot just ahead of some very fast people, including Brian B, who was starting 1 minute after me.

In spite of that, I resisted the temptation to go out too fast and followed my normal routine. The power numbers were good 350-400W, and I managed to accelerate all the way to the corner, so I swung through at 26 mph. I felt much better than last week.

Brian passed me about half way up the first leg of the hill and was moving fast. I lifted my pace a fraction, and had my typical power drop off on the false flat part of the climb. (Next week, I'll finally pop the 12-25 cassette on the rear wheel instead of the 27.) I did a pretty good sprint up the steep section of the hill, though, and kept the pedals turning to the turn around.

The return leg wasn't as much of a struggle as last week. When I hit the 2 miles to go mark, I started pushing hard. I am not getting as much power out as I did earlier in the season, but felt better than last week.

I was hoping to get a sub 20 minute time, and finished strong, but should have switched the afterburners on a little sooner. I ended up 20:12. I'm still hoping for a sub 19 minute time this season. I'm leaving plenty of seconds out there on the course.

Leroy Cyclocross 2009!

It's official.

Leroy Township Cyclocross is scheduled for October 4, 2009.

Here is the first draft of the race flyer. http://www.crcycling.org/index.php/Leroy_Township_Cyclocross_2009

Changes from last year:

• Fewer ditch crossings;
• Results will count toward the BACX series;
• 50% of the proceeds will be donated to charity (TBD).

More details soon!

Unsafe at any Speed

A dude hit a woman and didn't notice because he was busy texting:

Geauga Maple Leaf Article Link

A Bainbridge Township man police say was responding to a text message when the car he was operating struck a Kenston school teacher who was out walking her dog has been indicted.

Cell phone manufacturers and carriers are going to get blasted with lawsuits one of these days and some lawyer is going to make a few million on some family's tragedy.

It's hard to believe the manufacturers get away with making a device that is practically designed to distract drivers; it's inherently defective.

Willoughby Ride

Good ride today out to Willoughby via Kirtland Hills, Waite Hill, then back on Kirtland Chardon Road. The weather was perfect and there wasn't much traffic most of the time.

The climb up Waite Hill is short and steep. The grade on Markell Road maxes out at 16%, then it's a nice, sunny ride through the estates to Riverside Road. I'm pretty sure the Man lives somewhere in that community, but I didn't see him. No Madras pants. Nobody on their fourth Brandy Alexander at 11AM. Just a nice lady out for a bike ride, and a bunch of Amish Guys repairing a wall.

Willoughby was hopping. The cafe tables along the street were full, and there was lots of traffic through town; all of it angry. I planned to ride down to the Lake, but Erie Street was too busy, and I wanted no part of that mess, so I headed back for home, taking Kirtland Chardon Road from route 306.

I haven't done the whole climb for several years. At the Kirtland Chardon Road bridge near 306, the elevation is 640 feet, at Route 6 it's 1297. The total elevation climbed along the 6 miles is about 1000 feet, though, since it drops back to the River at Wisner Road.

It was a great route, but only about 35 miles round trip.