GV Crit -- 8/26/2004

Rode over and back again. Starting to get too dark too early to keep that up. Good work again tonight. A Bean's group went off the front and stayed away most of the race. I couldn't seem to get anyone interested in chasing them down. I never said as much, but just always tried to pick things up on my pulls. A couple of times got too excited and accelerated too fast. Again, still learning.

dst: 46.47 miles
av: 21.5 mph
time: 2.09.02

Victory Ride -- 8/24/2004

Victory Ride -- First up hill to NBO. First up peak on 162. Couldn't hang with Bean Machine up Lieds. But wasn't riding smart. Should have seen it coming. Still learning. And...Worked outside all day in the hot sun.

dst: 37.78 miles
av: 21.8 mph
time: 1.43.32

CTS Climb Video

Its actually Lieds where I end up blowing up. It will succumb. CTS Climbing vid again.

time: ~1 hour

GV Crit -- 8/19/2004

Ride over to GV Crit and back, with 30 miles racing in between. 50 miles on a Thursday night ain't too bad. It was getting dark on the way home. Legs and stomach started cramping. Not enough to eat or drink. And sleep was almost non-existent last night. However, still was able to go off the front, chase, and generally work hard without losing any laps. I am glad to see progress. Have to be careful though, as I have a tendency to become obsessive with cycling and other athletic endeavors. Family still needs to come first. That said, I am looking very much forward to attempting the full psychlo-cross season and doing as many of the MAC Series races as possible.

dst: 50.56 miles
av: 21.8 mph
time: 2.18.39

Victory Ride again -- 8/17/2004

Didn't ride over this past weekend. Travelled to Ohio for family reunion. 11 hours driving Friday. 12 hours driving Sunday.

Tonight's ride was fast from the start. No need to worry about picking a fight on the way up the big hill. The Bean machine had a couple or more escape and well-organized but unmotivated group of 12 or so provided chase. I was in that chase, and just couldn't seem to get folks motivated to chase them down. They slowed down and 'let' us capture them down at the Brandywine. My new nemesis in Stargazer's. I can be right on Dr. Smooth's wheel at the relatively shallow climb leading up to it, and then we turn that corner, the road goes up, and I go backwards -- well, relative to RR and others. I have to remind myself that a few weeks ago I couldn't hang with the weakest riders in the group and now I'm able to hang with the top 5 or so. Stargazer's will eventually be defeated.

SG and RR and other Bob like to take it very easy back to WC from Dtown. It's almost too slow. We were at 20+ mph down into Dtown, and then by the time I get home we're down to ~17. I feel with my other obligations, I need to work a bit harder when I do get out. Maybe I'll start riding back solo.

dst: 37.4 miles
av: ~17 mph
time: 2.12.26

8/13/2004 -- CTS Climbing Video

Rained pretty well last night, so skipped 'worlds' -- plus we were trying to pack to get out of here for trip to Ohio for reunion. Did the CTS workout at 5:30 am. Wore new HRM, but w/o having done field test -- just ballparked it.

time: ~1 hour

Victory Ride -- Validation

Victory ride again. Just as last Tues, no one seemed very interested in mixing it up just before Northbrook and the hill leading up to it. So again, I found myself going off the front. Found myself asking "what am I doing?" again -- b/c although I didn't mention it last week since the pace seemed high enough and one of the bean's guys was there, I wasn't sure that my form was improving b/c several of the heavy hitters from bean's (including Reuther) weren't there, and that, perhaps, my ability to attack and finish with the lead group last week was a bit of fluke. But back to tonight, I managed to stay away until about 90% up the hill to Northbrook, at which point, the well-oiled bean machine pulled me in and kept going. Digging deep, I was able to jump on and stay with the group along with two others who'd joined them to create a six-man paceline (with one 'anchor'). Stayed together until Stargazers at which point the bean machine and one other dropped me and break-away partner from last week. We hung tough, and were able to keep them in sight, finished maybe 30 seconds back. Easy ride back to WC with Reuther, other Bob, and Scott.

dst: 37.31 miles
av: 17.2 mph (19.5 into D-town)
time: 2.09.41

Greg Loop Solo

Felt really good today. Like I was putting in a special effort. Were it not for the head wind on the longest most exposed section of the ride, it might have turned into a special result. but not bad:

dst: 37.81 miles
av: 20.2 mph
time: 1.51.55

oh yeah, raised saddle about 1/2 centimeter just prior to ride.

CTS -- Climbing

Did a CTS Climbing workout video on a borrowed trainer last night. It was kind of interesting. There's Chris Carmichael telling me to work out in a pre-determined heart rate zone and in certain, yet varying, cadence zones adjusting my gear selection on the bike to stay within these criteria. Having neither cadence nor HR info, it was difficult to make sure that I was doing what I supposed to. I tried to watch the small army of cyclists that were working out under CC's direction in order to match their cadence. Accuracy issues notwithstanding, it was a decent workout. One which left me, my bike, and the floor beneath me drenched in sweat. My friend who'd loaned me the trainer and video had warned me about the sweating. I figured he was exaggerating. He wasn't.

time: ~1.00.00

Where'd That Come From?

Victory ride tonight. Missus got home from work late, so I was rushing just to meet the group at the usual spot, as soon as I crested the hill at the usual spot, there they were. Close one. Got in and worked up to the front. Felt antsy tonight. Also felt really good. But noone else seemed interested in getting things going. At each pull, I'd try to notch it up a bit. Finally, I said enough and went off the front. One other guy came with. Halfway up to Northbrook, I found myself wondering why I do this. Start out too hard on a ride where I have trouble finishing with the group. I reminded myself to ride within myself, but that was still fast enough to stay away. Kind of. About 3/4 of the way up to Northbrook, two guys caught and attacked me and my fellow escapee. We didn't respond. At Northbrook, two more bridged up and the four of us worked to pull in the new leaders. Caught them right before 82. Another chase group came up with another five or so, and we worked together for the rest of the ride, with only two falling off the pace. It felt awesome to finish with the lead group. Maybe all the riding is paying off. Or maybe it was actually getting a decent night's sleep.

dst: 32.89 miles
time: 1.42.14
av: 19.2 mph (21.1 to Downingtown -- moderate solo work back to WC)