Wednesday, November 28, 2012

OVCX #10 / Promotion Cross - Lexington, KY

Racing cyclocross takes a lot of patience; with the high risk of mechanicals, the chaos of mass starts in tight technical areas, the way that you push your mind and body to it's limits, while navigating a demanding course on a bike that's barely fit to go off-road, means that everything has to be running just right to be competitive in this sport.



Sometimes all of these hazards can happen at once and sometimes everything just seems to fall into place and the chaos that is cyclocross becomes a beautiful thing to experience. This past Sunday was one of those days for me.

 This was to be my last race of the season, and my only chance at a home-town appearance. I have made progress from last year, but in the back of my mind I was still holding out for my first podium to really make the season feel like a success.

We were blessed with perfect weather and fast, dry conditions. Sam Janes, Jim Havey, and the CES Team put together a fun, flowing course with a great mix of power straights and technical turns that utilized the park's off-camber sections really well.

On lining up I felt the pressure of my own expectations on my shoulders. I knew the field, and I felt that a podium was within reach, but it would require me really getting my act together to beat these guys. I thought about how when I let such expectations take over my focus, it becomes a distraction causing me to slip up and not get my head in the game. I did this at Gun Club this year, Master's Worlds, USGP last year, and on numerous occasions as a kid racing BMX.

So I focused on relaxing, taking each part of the day one-step at a time, and focusing on the immediate task at hand and not on my expectations or results. We have practiced starts once weekly with the Lexington Cyclocross group, and everyday that I commute as I use the same shoes and pedals on my commuter. At every traffic light I would imagine myself at a start light, calmly waiting for the whistle.

So when the 30 sec warning came my anxiety was low, my HR was down, and I could feel myself calmly absorbing the moment.

The whistle blew, I went through the motion of pushing off and reaching for my pedal. My shoe found my cleat as soon as it touched the pedal and it clipped right in - pure luck. It happened so quick it caught me off-guard for a second, before I realized that I needed to make the most of this, so I put my head down, hit the throttle, and made the field chase me as much as possible.





So the hole-shot, with a bit of luck, came without having to scrap to be first into the turn. My focus now was on staying calm and settling into a comfortable pace that wouldn't send me into the red zone on the first lap. I've done this so many times this season, so I was trying to play it safe.





I held the lead for the first two laps, balancing between pushing my advantage and not over-extending myself. Inevitably Rob Kendal made his move past me and onto his own pace, then latter Mitchell Kersting blew past to take the lead and never relinquish it. These guys are seasoned performers and I knew better than to try and hold their wheel so early in the race.





Those guys are tough to keep up with and I could feel my red-line encroaching. I focused on riding mistake free, smooth, and fast. I found areas of the course to carry momentum, helping me save matches and accelerate less out of the turns and exit faster.



I could see my team mate Steve Gordon tagging onto the back of the pursuit group, which was at a threatening size. On the one hand having Steve bridge up would have been ideal, but allowing too many riders to come with him was risky. So I kept the pressure on at a steady pace waiting to see who could make the selection.



At one point, my long time rival Ray Smith (32nd CX race with Ray) made an appearance and put in some fast laps before the pace took its toll on him and he fell back. Eventually Chad Tieman and Frederick Rose caught up and the battle for third began.





We worked together well and I figured out where each rider was strong and on which parts of the course they were weakest. Rose was drilling the straights and some of the tight 180's, while Chad was very strong in the long off-camber sections and was railing it through the tight turns.



I could feel an advantage over the double barriers, and over the last single barrier as I was riding it while they ran it. I learned not to take the lead at the double barriers after I dragged them down the straights that followed a few times. The draft effect was strong that day (for a CX race) and it took me a few laps to figure out the best places to use it.



We were setting a fast pace, testing each other through each section. While there was a lot of Cat-and-Mouse, we were still closing in on second place. Someone would get tired and fall off, and then scrabble to catch back up before attacking again. We all shared the load and we all rode aggressively. We knew it would come down to the last lap so we were testing the boundaries and figuring out where to make our moves.



We came through on the last lap in a tight formation, Rose leading, me in 4th and Chad right behind. My team mates were yelling at me to ride smart, and although I had tried several times to shake these guys, I knew it was going to take a deep effort to make something stick - but, I was already on the red-line.

 

I could feel my stomach starting to lurch, and some doubt starting to creep into my mind. I started thinking about how much these guys were fighting for this, how Rose was a seasoned rider and deserved the honor of the podium, but also how much Tieman has improved this year and how aggressively he was going after this.

I caught myself and changed the way I was thinking. I told myself how much I wanted this podium and how I deserve to stand on that step. I told myself that I knew how to suffer right along with these guys, and if I blew up it would be more satisfying than giving into the burning in my legs. 

Tieman made his move after the barriers, accelerating down the straight. We stood up and reeled him in. I kept them close, trying to put pressure on them in and out of the turns to force a mistake, while also waiting for their attacks.

Rose attacked coming into a difficult, off-camber 180. He took a chance and paid the price, bobbling just a little bit and allowing me to take the lead and put in a dig to cement his mistake. Chad was right there, all over my wheel. We still had half a lap to go, my anticipation was high and I no-longer felt the burn in my legs. I centered in my focus, making sure I hit the right lines through each turn, holding my speed just right so I flowed through the turns and hit the straights with momentum to keep the pressure on Chad, who was biting at the bit behind me. Most of all, I kept the anticipation of a possible podium as far back in my mind as possible - I wasn't going to let it distract me and let Chad slip through. 



I had an ace up my sleeve with the last, single barrier. Chad tried to muscle his way past rubbing shoulders with me. I made sure I held the inside line so he couldn't under cut me and block my way out of the turn. I held the lead out of the turn, rode the barrier and hit the gas as soon as I touched the pavement to seal the deal.



It felt like a win, and the battle will be one I will remember for a long time. Close racing with Chad Tieman, Team Upland p/b Sustainable Cycling,  and Frederick Rose, Bob's Redmill, was a lot of fun and I've got a lot of respect for these guys. They know how to race hard, keep it clean and come out smiling at the end.

 


1st Place; Mitchell Kersting, Bob's Redmill celebrating a solid ride, with no-one threatening him the whole race.

 

2nd Place; Rob Kendall, Papa John's. Rob won here last year, putting in a huge final lap effort to close the gap to first place. He worked so hard his lunch came up afterwards.

I savored the moment - it felt good that I won the mental battle with myself on the last lap. I had to back myself and believe that I could do it. It sounds cliche, but moments like these make you realize your own potential and that sometimes it just takes some faith in yourself to make something happen. Of course, a little luck always helps and either of these guys could have been the one to snatch third place.



Other cool stuff that went on that day;



Kellie Anderson (an employee I supervise at the Y) taking on the barriers in her first CX race ever.



Team Mate - Doug Burton keeping his race rival honest after completing his second race of the day.

David Rose taking 2nd place KY State Championships Cat 3

Photo
Running the Sprout Sprint (Kid's race) on behalf of the Y. 
Photo

Watch the video here...

Special thanks to Shera Clark and Kent Baumgardt for letting me us their pics.


Monday, October 8, 2012

Making Progress




I'm very happy with the way the CX season is unfolding for me. I'm making steady progress and chipping away at my goals each race.

Elite Men Race Results so far...
- Kings CX (Non-OVCX): 7th
- Hubers Apple Cross, OVCX #1: 26th
- St. Mary's, OVCX #2: 13th
- Caesar's Ford, OVCX #3: 5th (taking the size and quality of the field into account, this is my best CX result to date).

Goals:
- Learn to pace myself early in the race to avoid late race leg detonation.
- Look for perennial performers and hang with them through out the race.
- Be prepared and on time for everything I need to do on race day.

Ideals:
- Consistent Top 10's (getting there)
- A few top 5's (one in the bag so far)
- A podium or two (working on it - also depends on who turns up).
- Finish a UCI race without getting pulled (5 chances to do so at UCI 3, and Derby Cup USGP)

Races:

Hubers:



So I thought I had learned my lesson at Kings - don't go out too hard or you'll blow up and be ineffective late in the race. I got a great start and settled in comfortably behind the BRM train. I was the first non-BRM rider in the mix and I honestly thought the pace was pretty reasonable. Man was I wrong.


Sitting on wheels with team mate Steven Gordon setting a demanding pace.


My first lap was blistering, then I began to feel it. I fell back and regrouped, rode a few laps suffering on wheels, and fell back to the next group, and repeated. With two laps to go I was dreaming of sugar, I had no fight left and I probably dropped over 10 places back to 26th. Now I really learned my lesson.

A few things I took from the race; the disc braking was really helping, I'd loose a wheel on a fast straight and gain the gap back going into a hairpin turn by braking late. I also had more modulation through the tight  sections. Know your opponents and their strengths and weaknesses - just because I can start fast doesn't mean I can hold it, racing at this level usually gets faster or stays at the same pace as the race goes on.

St. Mary's:

I had to line up at 30th place. My prep was terrible, I got carried away cheering on team mates in the Cat 3 race and totally lost track of time. I barely got a warm-up in before staging.

I got a good start, but nothing opened up in front of me so I was forced to fall in line. It helped me stay calm and ease into the race. A big line formed and I was relaxed because I was in the top 15 - 20 but connected to 3rd place in the line. The group was flowing well and I knew that I could move up if I kept my HR from getting crazy too early.

Riders started dropping off and I was still feeling good. Some of the casualties were strong riders, so it was encouraging. I focused on the wheels in front, trying to figure out where I needed to be careful and where I could rest.



Things were going well when the wind blew the tape into my bars and caught on the shifter. I kept going, hoping to break it, but it took me down and I hit the ground hard. It took me a minute to get my head straight and straighten my bike out. I lost about 10 spots in the process and was rattle for the next lap.

Photo

I got my head back into gear and found my rhythm and I started to go faster and faster, picking off riders in front of me as I went. I made sure to pass with speed so I didn't take them with me and it seemed to take the fight out of them as I would look back and seem them with their heads down.



I clawed my way back and regained most of what I lost by the finish to salvage a 13th. I was pretty happy with my performance in that I could get my rhythm rolling again and that I finished strong and didn't blow up.


Coasting across the finish, content with my performance.

Catch the video here:

St. Mary's Video courtesy of Cyclingdirt.org

Caesar's Ford: OVCX #3

Feeling relaxed with a strong list of Masters on the front line; (left to right) me, Mike McShane, John Gatch, Chad Tieman, Nolan McQueen, Andy Messer, Keith Lucas, Frederick Rose, Ray Smith, Rob Kendal, and Shawn Adams - all riders I feel honored to race with.

 
I had a second row call-up this time. The course was fast and flowed well so I knew this was no place to be caught in no-man's land. I got a great start, clipping in cleanly and a hole opened up right in front of me. I moved right into 3rd through the first few turns and tried to calm down and ride smooth.

OVCX #3 Caesars Ford Men's elite start - photo c Velocity Image


















People were fighting me for position but I let them through as I didn't want to waste energy. I was more worried about my overall pace and energy use.



I fell back to 10th through the first lap but things were still connected, until the run-up. This was where the groups started to form. I made sure I was in the right mix; the Mitchell Kersting, Bob's Red Mill turned up the heat and I knew that staying with him was unrealistic, so I stuck with the riders I knew and marked them well.



We had a great group of seven setting a solid pace. I think we were starting to reel in the front group which was breaking up early. I found myself getting stuck behind riders who were overly cautious through the turns. I figured out the lines I liked best and where I felt comfortable and planned my move.



I went to the front and told Rob Kendal, Papa John's (last year's OVCX series winner) to sit on my wheel and work with me. I put on a steady pressure and really railed through the turns. Half a lap later I looked back and we had exploded the group behind, and Rob took over.

 Photo

We traded off back and forth for several laps, the extra effort started to take its toll with two laps to go. We had chasers coming fast and Rob needed to up the pace. I couldn't hold on so I decided to let him go and hold my position. I knew I was sitting in a good place so I went on the defensive, tried to keep it smooth and rest when ever I could, and go fast through the sections I was better at.

 Photo
Maintaining position over the last few laps - sucking wind and stretching my back.

I held the chasers off and kept Rob within sight. I finished 5th, giving me the best USA Cycling points I've ever earned.

I'm super excited with this result and I can feel the endurance and rhythm coming back into my racing - it usually takes me a few races to get things going. I'm hoping i can continue to have good luck with my bikes and starts and maybe I can build on these results in the races to come.

Podium Insight write up here:

http://www.podiuminsight.com/2012/10/08/ovcx-3-waffle-dollar-hand-ups-tempt-kersting-arnold/


Gun Club is up next - a technical and demanding course that should suite me if I can put it together.

Gun Club Video

Monday, September 10, 2012

Foundry Auger - CX Disc brakes

Last weekend was the CX season opener at Kings CX in Mason OH. The course was tacky, with a muddy off-camber and a water feature. Otherwise it was a pretty fast course and my first chance to test out my new Foundry Auger.

I lined up at the start of the Elite Men race on a Canti-levered Ridley X-Ride; a race savey bike with carbon tubulars. I was running Challenge Limus on it, which have served me well in the past.

I used the Foundry Auger, with disc brakes and Michelin Mud 2 clinchers as my "B" bike. The only reason I didn't start on it is because I don't have race wheels for it yet and it was only the second time I had ridden it. It outweighs the Ridley, mostly because of the wheels. The wheels are Fulcrum Reds, which are actually 29er MTB wheels with CX tires. They're also wider than most rims giving the tire a nice spread and contact with the ground.

I won't go into the details of the race, except to say that my team mate; Steven Gordon was on fire that day and totally dominated the field, while we had it one - two for a few laps, I blew up and fell way off the pace.

Comparing bikes:
- Ridley X-Ride with Carbon tubbies: much lighter, developed a shifting problem throughout the race, but should have been the faster bike. It has a very squat head-tube and an almost negative slope on the top tube. It rides high, as the Euros apparently like it, which gives it an advantage when trying to pedal through technical sections.

- Foundry Auger, carbon fiber with heavy training wheels and tubed, clincher, Michelin Mud 2 tires. This was by far the faster bike. I instantly gained confidence and was able to get into a rhythm. Sections that I was gingerly creeping through on the Ridely, I found myself pedaling through and attacking on the Foundry Auger. It's geometry is very similar to the Ridley, it rides high and has close to identical steer and seat tube angle, but the main difference is the taller head tube.

The guys and girls at Foundry put a lot of time into designing their bikes and it shows. It has many nice features including internal cabling, and full-length cable housing for the rear derailleur. It also does not have that cumbersome, mud-catching wheel for the front derailleur on the seat tube.There was a distinct difference in power transfer as I churned over the steep hills, which may be a product of the bigger down tube and large PF30 bottom bracker. It has an overall stable, predictability about the way the bike handled. I can't wait to try it out on our well worn Veterans Park trail loop. I'll see if I can set a new KOM / PR on it.

Another nice design is the way the chain stay slopes down first before making a straight line for bottom bracket. I've seen this on Scott TT bikes for Aero purposes, but for CX it moves the chain stay away from the bouncing chain, making it less likely to chip away at paint.

It uses a 135mm rear spacing, allowing for more wheel options with discs, and has a very clean, spacey look where the frame wraps around the wheels. I see this as one of those bikes I will likely enjoy more the more I ride and race it.


The discs were more of an advantage than I expected. I've ridden disc on MTBs before, but the difference between wet cantilevered brakes on carbon rims and discs is phenomenal. The most poignant example was on a section of the course where we rode through a water feature and then down a hill and into a tight 180 degree turn. With the Ridley I was forced to ride my brakes all the way down the hill to keep from over shooting it, on the Auger I charged down it, braking late and hard with plenty of control to exit the tight turn on the gas and in total control - loved it!

Tom at www.bikesonmain.com built this Auger up using Avid on the back and Hayes on the front. Both are 160mm and mechanical. The Avid is more adjustable with a tool-less wheel to adjust brake spacing.  I spent some time adjusting them to find the fine line between disc rub and too much of a spongy feel from the brake lever. The back is spongier than the front, but modulation is very good, and stopping power far exceeds the cantilevered alternative. Once set up properly, the discs were less spongy than the brakes on the Ridley (these are TRP Euro X and are pretty good by the cantilever standard).

The other thing I love is the fact that wheel swaps will now be much easier between brakes; my trainning wheels and race wheels do not line up the same on the Ridley, and if I don't adjust for this, one set up would rub the edge of the tire and pull away at the glue seem. Another thing I won't have to worry about will be training wheel brake pads and race day brake pads. All little things, but it's amazing to me how eliminating a few of these little tedious task to prep for races makes life a whole lot easier.

Foundry has done a great job with the Auger; the bike is purpose built and very nicely finished. Other CX bikes I've gotten to know well include a Raleigh, Fuji CX 1.0, carbon Fuji Altamira 2.0, Ridley X-Ride, and a Ridley X-Fire. I can tell right away that this Auger is going to be my favorite so far.

Pics and trail ride reviews to come... and hopefully some better CX race performances too.

Check out Foundry's Auger here:
 http://foundrycycles.com/bikes/auger

You can order one from here:
www.bikesonmain.com 


Sunday, April 1, 2012

First Team WHAYNE Road Race

OSRS #3 - Harrison's Tomb Road Race


https://www.bikereg.com/Net/15657


52 miles, Cat 3/4, 80+ field. Off and on rain. This course did 5 laps of a loop that included a nice climb that had potential to split up the group. Only thing was that the hill was at the start of the loop and left too much time for chase groups to catch back up.

The road was tight with so many riders and one lane. There was a lot of attacking going on that proved to be inconsequential because of our numbers, and because the instigator, Andrew Beckman wasn't getting support. There were also a lot of people who were riding to mark others rather than go on the attack themselves.

So I was content to sit in the pack and prolong my fatigue as much as possible. 52 mi on the road is slightly out of my range, and although I can climb well, I knew I'd have to be conservative to stay with it.

So I'd sit in the top 10 - 20 and watch and wait for the climb. Each time up this hill I'd crest with a small group, but no-one really took the initiative and I knew I had sprinters in the field to work for if it came to a group finish. So I was guilty of this as well.

The rain was making the roads really greasy and a rider's front wheel slid out right next to me taking out a large chunk of the field. We were going around 35+ at the time on a down hill turn so I'm sure he got hurt - that's why you take turns on the inside so that when someone slides out, they don't take you with them.

On the last lap, the group over the top was the smallest yet, I worked to keep the pace up but things still came back together. I rolled to the back of about a 15 rider group looking for team mates and found that I was alone. I looked back, and although I could see a long way on the straight road, I couldn't make out any chase groups, so I pretty much gave up on my team mates and starting thinking about what to do for my own chances with the group.

We had about 3 - 4 miles to go, there was a lot of cat and mouse, but no-one seemed to have a plan or wanted to take the initiative. We would slow right down to 15mph at times inviting someone to jump, but no-one did. I would move up each time this happened and watch, ready to latch onto anyone's attempts but nothing really happened. We waited it out, and then I see Team WHAYNE colors out of the corner of my eye. I turned to see that three team mates had caught back on! So now I knew exactly what to do. Two of these guys can sprint really well; Doug and Steve Haulsman, and I had Joe there to help me set the pace.

We were getting close at this point, but it was hard to tell how far from the finish we were. One of the more dangerous riders on the DRT team who I would crest the climb with each time made a move, so we chased it. Joe was leading, and now the pace was high, 30mph +. This was lead out train pace, but Joe was tired from chasing and needed to rotate, I tried to let him back in but he got shuffled to the back so it was just me. I had Steve and Doug on my wheel so I tried to set a fast tempo. Fast enough that I could hold it for a while, while still discouraging anyone from making a move.

I stayed up there for what seemed like forever, and the finish line seemed like a long way away still. I was tiring and teams were lining up behind ready to pounce. A few made some moves and I dug deep to try and stay close to the front without getting completely swamped.

I still had them on my wheel as we approached the 1 km mark, guys were launching early and I was giving everything I had to keep the pace up and give them some position. Just before the 500m mark they all blew by me and I got to sit up and stroll in while trying to see what happened in the sprint.

I think we had three guys inside the top ten. Not the perfect lead out like we had last weekend, but there were a lot of positives given it was such a tough course. I'm really happy that we had four guys in the final group, considering Andrew Boyd crashed out and Greg flatted.

Big props to Andrew Boyd for crashing and getting back on his bike to finish the race. He actually came in not too far from the lead group. He also lost the ability to use his small chain ring for the climb! What a beast!

Also, nice work from the Doug and Steve H. to deal with those climbs and still sprint it out at the end, and also big props to Joe who did a lot of work to bring them back up to the lead group on the last lap. Great Team, this year is going to be a lot of fun.

Time for a break from racing for a while. Next on the calendar is Mt. Victory on May 5th. This will be a very similar course to today's race and hopefully we'll get another chance to sprint it out at the end or get Joe in a break.

Video of the race. Skip ahead to around 6mins to see the crash and Andrew Boyd's quick reflexes as he slides, regains his feet, and pulls his bike out of the way of his team mate, Doug Burton.
http://racehungry.com/2012/04/02/osrs-3-lap-2-climb-and-crash-2012-harrisons-tomb/

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Crashes

When I'm not racing or riding with Team WHAYNE, I often ride with the Bluegrass Cycling Club. It's a great club with a lot of benefits and cheap to join. They do a lot of good around here for the cycling community and we're lucky to have them in Fayette Co.

For the most part, riding with a group like this is safer - much safer than riding by yourself. There is the element of caution you have to take when riding closely with multiple people, but learning how to do this safely is a big part of cycling, and I think you're missing out if you never learn to ride in a group.

Unfortunately crashes will happen, which is what happened last Thursday, and there are several things to be aware of when they do happen. This particular ride was a perfect example of how to handle the situation, and also showed why riding in a club or group is important and safer.

So here's a few things I've been thinking about sharing since Thursday on crashes.

1. Resist the urge to stop and turn immediately to help. When you hear a crash behind you, avoid the temptation to look back, slow down suddenly, or veer off your line. Come to a stop slowly like you would at an intersection, use your hand signals and tell the people around you calmly that you are stopping (at the side of the road). It's really easy to create a chain reaction and cause another crash.

2. If it happens in front of you try and hold your line as much as possible and roll through the area to keep it clear. You don't want to block the road if there are multiple riders behind you who all need to slow down safely and stop in a safe distance.

3. Once everyone has pulled over safely, if the road can't be cleared immediately, then have two people go in either direction up the road to warn traffic about the rider on the road.

4. Find out who is trained in First Aid - sometimes the person with the biggest ego wants to take over, that's fine if they're trained, but if someone is trained in First Aid, that person should be deciding how best to care for the injured person. Sometimes letting one person take charge is better than arguing over it - put the injured person first.

5. If the person has a head, neck, or back injury, it may be necessary remove their helmet to help them breathe (or at least undo the chin strap). You must then stabilize their head by placing your hands on either side of their ears to act like a splint.

6. A severely injured person is likely to go into shock, you can help prevent this by continuously talking to them, reassuring them, and by keeping them warm - a space blanket is a great thing to pack for this reason. They fold up into a very small space and this is what they used at the club ride.

7. It's best not to move someone unless they are in immediate danger / completely blocking the road. If you have to do this maintain head stability with your hand splint, move them to the nearest edge of the road, and in the direction that their head is already pointing.

8. Don't give a person anything to drink unless they can hold the container and drink themselves.

9. Group rides have a map, so it's easy to give directions to EMS. Get the person's car keys, ID, call an emergency contact or ICE from their phone. Have someone go back to the ride parking lot to drive back and pick up their bike.

The Bluegrass Cycling Club did all of these things to help care for person who was injured on Thursday and it just reminded me of how great this club is.

The other great thing is that they have a secondary insurance provided through the League of American Bicyclists, which helped me out last year in my crash. It saved me over $2000 in medical fees and is a big reason to join and ride with a local club.

That being said, crashes are rare, the more experienced you get, the more likely you are to avoid them. Yes, they happen a lot in Pro races, but these guys are both tired and taking a lot of risks. Just like driving, you can learn to ride defensively. In my opinion, the best thing is to be relaxed and aware of what can happen.

I hope you don't have to deal with this, but hopefully this will help if you do.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Spring Road Racing with Team WHAYNE

So we're two races into the road season and I am having a ton of fun already. The group is very cool and we're already starting to work together.

Our first race was at Long Run Park in Louisville. Being the first race of the season we were understandably over anxious. Several of us made the mistake of being way too active on the front and tried to control everything that moved. We cooked ourselves in the process and by the time we hit the last lap we couldn't organize enough people for the lead-out, plus the train was a little slow since our legs weren't too fresh.


I still managed to take over on the last lap and led for 2/3 of a mile, I was fading fast over the hill when Joe shot out from the rear of the pack and took over. Andrew jumped out from behind me and took Joe's wheel, and since we were headed downhill I dug deep and got on Andrew's wheel. 


Andrew was telling Joe to"Go!"  but he misunderstood and pulled off. Andrew was left with an 800 yard sprint, so he jumped and I faded off his wheel; completely spent. I watched as he opened up a 10 bike-length lead, which he held until about 10 yards from the finish line where four guys edged him out and off the podium.

So Andrew narrowly missed a win, but still held on for 5th. Not bad for our first race, but there were many things for us to work on.

Next up was another circuit race in Lexington. This course, at Coldstream, was like a Nascar race - wide open, fast, and only one easy corner. Our plan was to be less active early in this race and save ourselves for the sprint. Only problem was the other teams had the opposite in mind and went for the early break. I didn't chase it down this time and sat in while others did the work.

A break did form with Greg in it, but he did a lot of work to get in it and didn't last long before he fell back to the pack. The break included some strong riders so I decided to try and bridge up to them before it got too far away. I brought them to within a few seconds, but it was windy and they didn't want me in the mix. So every time I'd get close they'd hit the gas and I'd lose the ground I had gained. I tried for about 10 mins before conceding and I fell back to the pack to recover for while. Three laps in the wind had hurt, so it forced me to regroup and loose track of what was happening at the front.

Joe made a good attempt and got away with a few others for a lap before they were also brought back. At this point there was a lot of confusion, one break had been brought back, but everyone lost track of the original group that was still slogging it out off the front. So the pack stopped chasing and we focused on grouping up for the final laps.

Sean made a great flier in the final laps putting in a strong effort and taking the pressure off us as a team to set the pace. We moved to the front with three to go, turned up the pace with two to go and by one to go we had a nice train organized with six riders setting the pace.

With half a lap to go Greg rolled off, having done a lot of the work to hold our position. I pulled us through about 400 out, Andrew took over with Steve H., Doug, and David Rose on his wheel and they were flying at this point. He dropped them off giving Doug the field sprint and had enough steam left to cross the line right behind him. It was beautiful, the field was strung out and there wasn't much the other teams could do about it. We took first, second, and fourth in the field sprint.

Doug thought he'd won, but we really got 5th - not a good feeling. It's funny how long it takes to sink in when you're on a high like that. We didn't win, but we were really excited about how the lead-out worked, and about our progress from last week. The process was great, the product will come.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Tire choices

This is something most riders don't think about too much, until they run into a series of flat tires in one day, or they start racing. I once set out to do a 110 mile ride and had to repair / replace the tube 7 times!

This was due to many factors:
1) my haste in wanting to keep moving meant I pinched the tube while putting it in twice.
2) the tire was old and kept picking up schrapnel.
3) it was a hot day and the rim tape blew through creating a sharp edge for the tube to cut against.
4) the rim / tire was a tight fit and made it difficult to get the tire on without pinching the tube - especially whilst in a hurry.

It was amusing (not so much at the time) how so many of the possible things that can go wrong with clincher tires were all happening to me at once. At least I had enough spare tubes and patch kits to keep going and finish the ride.

It's not uncommon for a clincher tire to go though a series of flats after being flat-free for a seaons or two - they just get old and pick up sharp materials. Once this starts happening it's best to throw it away and buy a new tire.

So what are your other options, and what's the trade-off with performance, convenience, cost etc.

Clincher: this is the most common form of tire. It uses a tube and a rim bead to hook into the edge of the rim.
   -Pros: cheap, usually easy to fix, although $5-$10 a tube can add up quickly.
   -Cons: easier to puncture (especially in off-road situations), heavier, doesn't handle as well in races, less shock absorption means less comfort on long rides.

Tubeless:  more common in Mountain Bike set-ups and Cyclocross bikes, this system uses a self-sealing liquid with no tube. It requires special tires and tape to seal off the rim. Many rims can be converted to be Tubeless ready, or you can buy rims http://bikesonmain.com/index.php?sid=60 that are designed to work with either tubeless of clinchers.
   -Pros: lighter (which means faster) tires, more supple over bumps means better contact with the road and less vibrations for comfort on long rides. More puncture resistant - the self sealing liquid runs to air leaks and seals up the hole. All you have to do is add air and you're set to go, if you're planning on a long ride, this is the ideal set up. This is exactly the same system that your car uses. If you get a big hole in your tire you can plug it with a piece of rubber from a kit, or just add a tube to it to get you home.
   -Cons: this system can take some getting used to, and if you don't have a good tire / rim combo then getting the tire to seal initially can be a pain. It helps to have a burst of air from a CO2 cartridge or air compressor.

Tubular: this system uses a different kind of rim all together, so you can't just buy these tires and hope they work on your current clincher wheels. Most people just use these for race wheels.

The tire is a closed system, or a complete tube with tire tread on one side and canvas on the other. It sticks to the wheel with glue - this is kind of an art and takes time to do properly, so paying to have it done might be the best way to go. Tom at Mainstreet bikes does a very solid job at www.bikesonmain.com

   -Pros: by far the lightest / fastest system. Tough tires - very puncture resistant, I've seen people finish the last few miles of a race on a flat tubular tire (I wouldn't recommend trying it though). Lance Armstrong at the Leadville 100 was a good example of this. Most supple and therefore best handling tire type available (there's a reason race teams don't use anything else). You can run them at low pressure without the concern for a pinch flat which gives you a huge advantage in Cyclocross or Mountain Biking. This is money well spent for any cyclocross racer.

   - Cons: expensive, they require new wheels, time consuming to change tires but then you don't get flats or other issues as often either.

My tires of choice:

- Challenge Limus:
      - Great in muddy and slick conditions.
      - Roles very well for an aggressive tire.
      - Not so good in hard packed or frozen conditions.
      - Reasonably priced compared to Dughast Rhinos.
      - http://www.challengetech.it/products/cyclocross/limus-024/en

- Challenge Fango:
      - Great in hard packed / solidly frozen conditions.
      - handles trees roots and other hard surfaces well.
      - Very fast in dry conditions.
      - http://www.challengetech.it/products/cyclocross/fango-011/en

These two tires cover most conditions you'll see in a cyclocross season very well. If I had to choose just one though, I'd go with the Limus as it has given me an advantage on several occasions; they have allowed me to take slick turns and climb muddy run-ups better than the most of the other riders I see around me in Elite races.

New systems come with new pros and cons. I've seen people try a new system and quickly go back to their old set up (usually a clincher). I've ridden all three extensively and I feel like people are quick to see the cons of a new system and forget about the old headaches that they're used to dealing with.

I've heard of people riding tubulars 100% of the time, if they get a leak, you add tire sealant through the valve, let it seal and pump it up. That means you don't even have to take the wheel off - easy. If you get a significant gash that won't seal then you'd be in the same situation if you were riding clinchers - your tire would be ruined. Seasoned tubular riders sometimes carry a spare tire for this reason.

Have an open mind with if you try a new system, and give it time so you get used to knowing how to deal with any issues you might run into. It's amazing how many creative situations people start thinking about when trying something new and most of them are worth concern they put themselves through. Remember, clinchers have many short-falls, and can be more of a pain to deal with compared to other systems at times.

My opinion:
- Road: club riding / century riding / training - Tubless system.
- Road Racing: Tubless or Tubular.
- Cyclocross: Tubular