Where Y'at?

it's been a busy busy past few weeks. There's been a lull in racing on my part, but there's tons to highlight. lets-a-go:

-last weekend I went for a (very slow) ride with my dad on the bike we got him for Christmas. It was great- no, he doesn't ride a $6000 De Rosa- we got him a Gary fisher Hybrid (courtesy of the boys at Metro bicycles on 88th). since it was cold and un-fun to ride during the winter, this was his first time out on it since we got it for him.



I admit, it may have been a silly sight seeing a 60-something guy on a clunky hybrid riding with a bike racer decked out in a (snazzy) team kit and a (very hot) Italian racing bike. i did a lap with him to see if the bike fit properly, and we strolled through the park. a nice Sunday stroll.




I haven't ridden through the park that slowly in years. It was fantastic. It made me so happy to see my father on a bike, enjoying the park- enjoying something I do- enjoying life. it was pretty awesome. He's now started riding the bike to work- go dad! he'll be rocking the masters' field in no time!

i also took my second Lactate threshold test last week- i improved a good bit, and there's further room for improvement.

Back in January:
Starting weight: 185
body fat: 16.5
Watt/kilo: 2.68
Watts @ Threshold: 225

Now:
weight: 174
body fat: 15.7
watts/kilo: 2.98
watts @ Threshold: 236

I'm happy with that- I'm looking to lose 5-15 lbs more by the new year. (whether that happens or not, we'll see)



I also had the (painful) pleasure of joining a few of my teammates on a ride with the Adler racing guys. It was only supposed to be a leisurely ride up to Nyack... riiiight- The adler guys rolled up and off we went hammering to the Orchards (about an 80 mile trip both ways). It was the toughest training ride I've been on yet- every time there was an incline, these guys would go for it. those adler guys ride a smart training ride...

i stuck on with them up until the final little climb up the the orchards. once I got there, i noticed half our team had disappeared. A delicious muffin later, we were back on the road, hammering it out. my fat ass got dropped on the climb right before the Toga shop. I tempo'ed back to the bridge, eventually catching up with the "shake" to my "bake", Matt. We both proceeded to bonk at the end of the ride- it was miserable and fantastic.


I was in New Orleans this past weekend for a friend's wedding- it was a great time, although i ate like a pig (as is the tradition in good old n'awlins)- how can you say no to beer, oysters, and po boys?? It's funny how not riding for two days makes you feel like a fatty-bobilatty.
I did get to go on a leisurely 30 miler with my old riding buddy Mikey. it was good to hit up the pancake flat levee path, and even sprint to the Huey P Long bridge on the way back. good times.



I hit up a spin class on Sunday with my buddy Luke. Sure, I may have looked a tad ridiculous doing a spin class in my team kit, but that's all i brought with me! It was a good interval workout. I was amazed at how few people that spin actually ride bikes. it's really too bad, cause I think they'd have a good head start over the average fred on a road bike...

out of the saddle Harlem hill repeats from a standing start was on the menu for today. probably the hardest weekday workout I've had to date. from a trackstand at the base of Harlem hill, you sprint to full speed, and hammer out of the saddle till you crest the hill. I started cramping after about 8 of them. ouch. At least i had some fellow teammates along with me to complain to.



It's pretty hilarious how much we (bike racers) complain. I think half of the time its geniune "i'm-in-pain-so-let's-share-in-the-experience" complaining, and the other half is the old "I'll complain that I'm tired just to make you look and feel bad after i kick your ass up that climb" sort of complaining. we all do it. it's pretty funny.

I might race the Kissena park race on Saturday. it's a short, sweet circuit race that favors sprinters. let's see what we can do with that.

Big race on the calendar is the Harlem Crit on the 17th. Combined 4/5 field. top 10 in that field is a goal- top 3 would make me go wee wee in my bibs. but hey- that's ok, cause bibs are just glorified diapers, right?

Right??

TMI.

later.

The Ultimate recovery drink:

Shake and bake! 2nd place in central park, and a romp up to Bear mtn

I decided to do a club race this past weekend- the CRCA was putting on a Harlem hill points race. The way it worked was as follows: on the 2nd and 4th laps, there would be points for the first three people to get to the top of Harlem hill. There would also be points at the final sprint.

I was interested to see how different a points race would be when compared to a regular points race. in central park, it's a race that seems to favor sprinters. However, you can't just follow the old "sit your fat ass in the peloton and do no work till the end" sort of game plan, cause you'll probably lose that way. you have to pony up for at least one of those hilltop sprints as well.

Our team had closest to ten people in the field of 40 or so C-riders. we paired each other off so that we could attack in pairs, and we decided who was going to attack and when. I was going to sit and wait till the end, and hopefully get the final sprint, with the help of a friendly lead-out.

Well, what you plan and what unfolds can and do usually differ. Our guys were attacking, but you can't control how the peloton will react. Our early attacks/counter attacks worked on the first hill, and one of out guys picked off the hill for points.

on the 4th lap, we started approaching Harlem hill. I was near the front of the pack, but only saw my teammate Matt in front of me. i looked around expecting another of our guys to follow suite for sprint points, but didn't see any. I decided to go along with Matt, and nabbed 3rd place for 2 pts.

photo courtesy of Andy Shen @ nyvelocity.com

Matt, by the way, was the all star of the race.

By the time the last lap came around, it started to speed up. I jockeyed for position, and found a decent spot behind my homeboy Ryan (who works at Metro), and then Matt. We got a good jump on the sprint, and took first and second at the line.

photo courtesy of Andy Shen @ nyvelocity.com

end result? Matt took 1st with 19 pts, and I nabbed 2nd with 8 pts.




Shake and Bake!


Some other of our teammates nabbed 5th, 6th, and 7th, respectively.

Big ups to the following people: Matt for dominating the C field, Greg Faber for riding super strong during the whole race, Ryan for being a monster, Cassie for sticking with the women's pack (which is a combined 1,2,3 and 4 field) and Bandit bad boy Jeff king for taking the win in the A field


The race went really smoothly and I thought the C field held up really well- the laps were going in the 15 and 16 minute range, which is a pretty good pace. I don't believe there were any accidents, either. There's been alot of talk on the local listserves and racing sites about cat 5's and their abilities as beginning racers. I don't know where I stand on it, because i don't think there's a clear judgment to be made. Not all cat 5's are sketchy, but there definitely are some (I won't mention names of people or the bikes they ride- just to keep the anon haters at bay... and besides, I don't want a frame pump to magically appear jammed in my spokes during a race...). I think the CRCA has done alot to help cat 5's improve and move on up vis-a-vis coaching. That being said, I do get the feeling that some people consider the cat 5's as a bunch of drooling special 'eds with fresh loads in their bibs. Well, you know what I say to those people? That only happened once!

After the race we headed on up to Piermont for a celebratory Muffin. Matt and I were buying- he won $25 and I won $20!. Ah, the spoils of victory... At least its good for a few pastries.

On Sunday we drove up to Bear mountain to do a couple of laps of the course for the Bear Mountain race. a big ole' team ride ensued, and the weather was fantastic (and HOT)



The funniest part of the day came around when one of our coaches, Alex, realized that he forgot his shoes. I instantly remembered the scene in "breaking away," and quickly asked,

"does anyone have any duct tape?"



electrical tape? no problem! I taped both of hug gigantic clogs to his speedplays, and off we went. i think he got about 30 miles in before the tape tore apart. Hardcore points for Ostroy...



I'd like to equate it to Central park X3 with 'roid rage. It looks like the course makes for a tough and interesting race. What I do know is that it's definitely not a race that I'm suited for. the long climb at the beginning of the lap would be brutal under race conditions. I'll give it a try come the Fall race, but I'm going to sit out and marshal the spring race just so i can get a better sense of how the race normally unfolds. That might also give my chubby ass more time to unload some more junk in my trunk...


I've been meaning to look into more sprint-specific workouts. my coach gives me a bunch, but I've heard (and read) that stuff like Plyometrics are great for sprinters. Anyone out in internetland know anything about that? One of these days I'd like to get some sprint drills done with some of the cat 1's or 2's just to get my ass handed to me and learn. I need to ask around...

This weekend burnt me out in every sense of the word. The weather was fantastic- high 70's/ low 80's and sunny. I've got my retarded tan lines back, and they're only going to get worse... it's funny how that brings a smile to my face.

I went for a recovery ride this morning. Ran into Josh from TNT as well as a teammate. I forgot how much I love riding just for the sake of it- i didn't bring my HRM and i did not glance at my computer at any point during the ride. it was great. The weather made it even better- no arm or leg warmers. hoo-rah.

Anyway, my legs are killing me, and I've got an itchy throat. this week is mostly a rest week, except for tomorrow, which is another time trial lap of the park. I'm looking to beat 17:04- hopefully I'll be able to ride the park a little smarter.

asta!