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Season Ends On High and Low
THU, 31 AUG 2006
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This past Sunday (08/27) was the Ontario Summer End Grand Prix, the final race of the five-race Pacific Sunset Velo series, and second-to-last race of the season. Or so it should have been.
I planned to do two races at Ontario all week: the 30+ 1/2/3 and then the Pro/1/2/3. Normally I'd just do the Pro/1/2/3, but with just these and one more race to be had for the season, I figured I should put my good legs to good use rather than save myself for nothing but off-season training.
I made the mistake of not taking it easier during the week, especially after the beating I gave myself at CBR Costa Mesa the Sunday before. On Tuesday, I was still sore and didn't do a pre-El Do ride but I did do El Do. I was gapped out by a crash and spent most of the twilight helping chase after the break. I planned to sit in but instead put in a hard effort. I continued to be sore so skipped riding on Wednesday. I kept my usual appointment with Hughes on Thursday and my legs were feeling better but I couldn't seem to get motivated or generate power for anything but a short stretch. And because of traffic, I got there without any time to warm up. It started fast and a group of guys jumped away early. My system was shocked from the effort burst. Frustrated by my inability to sustain a powerful effort and everyone else's lack of chasing assistance, I pulled out after about 40 minutes. On Saturday, I was feeling better and did an easy 65-mile ride down PCH to Newport Coast. The steady pace helped to stretch out the legs and I was feeling confident about being fully recovered for Sunday.
 Masters 30+ 1/2/3 - Ontario "Summer End" Grand Prix - 27 AUG 2006
This race was "1-2 Redux" as Lance and I teamed up to go 1-2 in a race again, this time with me getting the win and Lance right there for 2nd.
Only about 30 riders showed up for this race because Ontario was hot and because it's near the season's end. Teammate Chris DeMarchi was there but decided to save his legs for the Pro/1/2/3 race so it was just Lance and me for our team. It was more than enough.
Lance and I eyed the competition and figured we would be able to handle whatever would be dished out. We planned to take it easy for the first 15 minutes of the 45-minute race. There were attacks early but nothing too threatening. Then around the 12-minute mark, a few guys headed up the road and Lance jumped on. A few seconds later, I realized the opportunity and jumped to get across. When I got on and looked back, I saw a great gap. It was on!
The break started with eight but Lance and I kept the speed way up and quickly built a large lead on the field and dropped two guys. Lance tried to tell me to take it easy as we wore on but I kept pushing the pace, somewhat foolishly, even when we had more than half a lap on the field. The benefit of driving the break was I captured two prime laps, one for a pair of tires and another for 5 series bonus points.
Lance and I sized up our breakmates and began the strategy play when we got word from the officials we had 3 laps to go. At one to go, Lance and I set up great. I dummy attacked, causing the two Vegas Velo riders (Anthony Luna and Chris Hoyt) to react and go to the front. Before the final turn, Lance and I arranged ourselves at the back, waiting to pounce for the sprint. On the final stretch, the guys in front went hard but left us plenty of room in the draft on the left. I sat on Lance's wheel waiting for him to jump, and when he did, barely hung onto his leadout wheel. We flew past everyone and it was clear we were going to win. I started my sprint around Lance's left and had just enough juice to pull alongside him. Coming to the line, Lance eased up a bit and I crept ahead for the win!
So, for the second time in as many 30+ races as we've done, Lance and I managed to go 1-2. Last time, he took the win at the UPS Crit, and this time, he returns the favor. Either way, it's great racing with him because he knows tactics and how to execute and because he's a strong and gracious teammate, as are the rest of the guys on our team.
As if the race win weren't enough, it turns out that the win plus the bonus points and my one point from earlier in the series also made me the 30+ 1/2/3 series winner. There wasn't any prize money but I did get a shiny 1st place gold-tone medal. And wouldn't you know it, Lance earned 2nd overall in the series and got a silver-tone medal. We're 1-2 again
Pro/1/2/3 - Ontario "Summer End" Grand Prix - 27 AUG 2006
I was somewhat tired from the 30+ effort but confident starting the Pro/1/2/3 race. Plenty more guys were there for this one, including Rigo Meza (Coates Cyclery), Rahsaan Bahati (TIAA-CREF), and the newly crowned Amateur National Champion, Kayle Leo Grande (Kahala/La Grange). For our team, it was Chris, Nate, Frank, Steve, Gil, Lance, and me.
When it was time to start, most guys didn't pull up to the line. Instead, they stayed in the shade of some trees about 20 feet back. It was hot and no one wanted to put any more time in the sun than they had to. The officials realized what was going on and didn't wait to get everyone assembled at the line. Ralph Elliot did his usual fine work of announcing the primes and general rules, and then we were off for 90 minutes of racing.
We quickly got up to speed. There's a tail wind after the first corner, so once we made the left-turn, we were probably at 32 MPH. The next turn put us back into the wind, which was blowing strong, but it didn't put much of a dent into our speed. Our team patrolled the pack; we weren't looking to be aggressive until later. In the early laps, groups of three or four would roll off but nothing we considered overall threatening.
Somewhere around 20 or 30 minutes in, several hard attacks and super-fast laps created a gap that became an eleven-man break. Chris and Nate were there and I managed to grab onto the back end. Everyone realized this was the chance and everyone put in good efforts to build the break lead early on.
I started to feel bad after just a few laps in the break. My earlier race effort and not being fully recovered throughout the week was showing through. I began to skip pulls and wave guys into the rotation at the back. A few others were also skipping pulls, but the strong guys like Kayle, his teammate, Dan Vinson, Christian Valenzuela (SC Velo), and our guys, Chris and Nate, kept the break alive and pulling away. My sitting in at the back wasn't making guys happy but I tried to tell them I wasn't being sneaky, just trying to survive.
I was cramping, much like at CBR's Costa Mesa Crit, only this time earlier into the race. I pedaled through the pain knowing I was in the winning break. I merely needed to hang on but it wasn't that easy. With 25 minutes left to race, our break now had the field in sight ahead of us. I figured we would soon lap them and I could take it even easier by finding a nice hiding spot in the field. However, my breakmates had other ideas because they began attacking to get across. I tried to match the jumps but nearly had my legs lock up when I got out of the saddle. I sat back down and put my head down, pedaled as hard as possible, but found myself on the back, gapped out with two other riders, Daniel Rojas (SC Velo) and Peter Anderson (Hi-Tech Bikes/5 Star Fish).
For the next 60-90 seconds, it looked like we might be able to get back on, but Peter blew up, then Daniel, and I was useless for any chase. I tried to keep Daniel and Peter motivated, saying we still had a chance to bridge up to the field, or at the very least, stay ahead of it for the 9-11 spots. We kept going, albeit slower, and I sucked it up as best I could to rotate through. We weren't going to catch the field but we could stay ahead of it.
On our third or fourth lap coming to the start/finish line, my legs got revenge for all the efforts of the day and of last week, and maybe for the entire year, too. First, my left hamstring locked up and I let out a scream just in time to pass the line and for Ralph to say something like, "Uh oh, looks like someone's cramping." It got worse. The hamstring wasn't letting up, my right quad started to lock up, too, and I knew then my race was over. I had to figure out an exit strategy because the corner was coming. I went straight between the barriers, hit the brakes, and fell over a few feet past where some spectators were watching, unable to completely move my legs to click out of the pedals.
In spite of all my hydrating, the heat and the strenuous efforts succeeded in turning my leg muscles into knots. Both of my quads, my left hamstring, and my right calf were locked and causing me terrible pain. My upper body writhed on the ground while my legs held tight and straight. Gil's wife was parked nearby with their two kids in the car. She later told me my pain-filled shouting was responsible for teaching them words they shouldn't know.
The nearby spectators were kind enough to get my bike out of the way, give me water, and put a soft towel under my head as I agonized on the hot asphalt. One of them tried to massage my quad loose but it only hurt more. The only thing I could do was drink water and wait for the muscles to release. They did, some five minutes later.
Still very sore, I kept lying down at first but eventually sat up and then stood up. I turned my attention back to the race and saw Chris and Nate were with the rest of the break mixed in with the lapped field. Daniel and Peter kept going for a few laps, but then Daniel fell off and Peter was riding solo, trying to hang on for 9th.
The race ended with Kayle winning, Valenzuela 2nd, Meza 3rd, Vinson 4th, Jorge Alvarado (ie Bikes) 5th, and Nate and Chris 6th and 7th. Ruben Meza (Coates Cyclery) was the last of the break to lap the field at 8th, and Peter's solo effort kept just ahead of being caught for 9th. Chris' finish also earned him a Pro/1/2/3 Point Series medal for second overall.
Season Ends on High and Low
At the time, there was still one more race to be had for the season, the North Park Classic out in San Diego on September 10. However, it was rumored then and confirmed now the North Park race has been cancelled, making Ontario the season finale. This makes the day's racing bittersweet and ironic, too. Sweet because today was my first win all season. I've had some good, probably better overall races, but I notched my first and only 1st of 2006 today, keeping my string alive of getting at least one win a season since 2004. Bitter because I was in the winning break and couldn't hang on and now there's no more racing the rest of the year to seek redemption. And ironic because this season will end as my last two have ended: in 2004 and in 2005, I did not finish (DNF) my last races of the season. For some reason, my legs like to clock out early to get a start on the off-season.
-adm
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CBR State Crit Champ's
SUN, 27 AUG 2006
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Once again I am writing about last week's race just before I set out to get to today's race, the Ontario Summer End Grand Prix. It kind of helps me get in the mood and it's good to review what went right and wrong so I hopefully don't repeat the same mistakes later today.
CBR State Crit Champ's
Last Sunday (08/20) was the CBR State Championship Criterium in Costa Mesa. It was also the last race in the nine-race Best All-Around Racer (BAR) series. Coming into it, I had two goals: 1) Improve or maintain my third place in the BAR series, and 2) try to win the whole thing! I figured doing #1 well would give me a great shot at #2, and it ended up turning out that way.
Well ahead of me and leading the BAR series was Rudy Napolitano (Helen's). His 128 points doubled-up my 64. With a win worth 21 points, 1st was well out of reach, for me or anyone else. Second place was Karl Bordine with 88 points, 24 ahead of me but mathematically a target. The race would include one five-point BAR series bonus prime, so if I could get the bonus points and finish 1st or 2nd (19 points) and without Karl finishing top 20 to earn any points, I would move up. It was very unlikely, but it was possible.
Moving down was a greater possibility, as there were seven guys within range. I had all of them written out and taped to my stem so I could remember who to watch for. Most threatening was Tommy Nelson (CBR), just 12 points back. Dan Ramsey (SuccessfulLiving.com) was 20 points back but a serious breakaway and win threat. Luckily for me, it ended up that the other five guys weren't at the race: Aaron Quesnell (SDBC/Karl Strauss) crashed out at Manhattan Beach Grand Prix last week, his teammate Randall Coxworth was at Nationals, and I don't know where Paul Che (Helen's), Gordon McCauley (SuccessfullLiving.com), or Mike Booth (CBR) were. My team (Chris, Nate, Gil, Frank, Steve, Lance), knew the situation and we planned to race accordingly.
The Pro/1/2 race was the CBR-usual 100 km. This didn't stop the action from starting early. I raced at the front and kept close to Nelson and Ramsey. Nelson was aggressive and so was Ramsey and his team. I was forced to race more aggressively than usual to avoid having either of them roll off the front in a break without me. The action was intense and caused some early casualties when an SDBC rider and Ryan Yee (SuccessfulLiving.com) bumped, putting Ryan into our guy, Lance Coburn, and sending them both to the pavement and permanently out of the race (we'd later find out Lance was briefly knocked unconscious by the crash, but he's okay now).
The race continued with speed and attacks. Chris got away in a promising group of five that didn't include Nelson or Ramsey, so our team was content to let them roll away. Chris' break steadily built a nice gap, almost getting out of sight on the start/finish stretch. But, with only five guys, lots of time, and a hungry field with teams not represented, the break was caught about half-way through the race.
The winning break was formed when Nate went to the front and laid down a screaming pace to try and catch two guys up the road and lead me out for the five point prime lap. Coming out of turn four, it appeared we had only a small chance to catch the two riders. It would take a fast sprint, but when I noticed Nelson was on my wheel, I made the decision not to go since catching the two wasn't guaranteed, and I didn't want to risk leading Nelson out for him to get the points. Still, Nate's effort wasn't wasted because there was now a good gap on the field. Within two laps, it was a break of 11 with all of the important teams represented, and me and Nate the only team with more than one. Nelson was with us, Ramsey was not.
Everyone worked and our lead grew and grew and nearing the end of the race, we lapped the field. By that time, my legs had started to seriously cramp up but I fought through the pain and they never locked up. It hurt bad but I stayed motivated knowing all I had to do was finish to keep my BAR series 3rd place, and all I had to beat was one guy to be in the money for the race.
At five to go, Chris, Gil, Frank, and Steve began to organize and prepared to lead me and Nate out. Nate was cramping, too, so he took the sweeper position and I sat in behind Frank and the rest. By two to go, my legs had given up cramping, probably aided by the last gush of adrenaline I was getting preparing for the sprint. Our leadout train was looking good and I was feeling like a win was within reach, licking my chops heading into the last lap. Then, our train derailed.
 Our team's tired legs weren't able to push through on the outside and guys who had nothing to sprint for were going mad fighting for spots. On the back stretch, it became obvious the leadout was dead. I tried to following Chris as he surged toward the front and Nate followed. Coming into turn four, it was a scramble to make up spots and stay upright. We managed to get through most of the mess but came out of the last corner about ten back where a rider lost it and crashed to my left. He slid out of the way and I got up on my sore legs for the sprint. I crossed the line about 7th or 8th place, and it would turn out that's where I would be overall: ADM 7th, Nate 8th. The winner was Christian Valenzuela (Monex), followed by Alexi Martinez, (SuccessfulLiving.com) and Jorge Alvarado (Kahala/LaGrange).
Aside from our train losing its wheels at the end, the race went well for us. We were aggressive and always had one, and often two, in any threatening moves. And yes, I held onto my 3rd spot in the BAR series: Ramsey wasn't in the break and Nelson finished 11th.
-adm
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Left-Handed, Right Earnings
WED, 23 AUG 2006
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From article titled, " Higher paychecks: a left-handed compliment?" - Yahoo News, Friday, August 11:
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Left-handed men, often seen as having an advantage over right-handed counterparts in sports like tennis, also enjoy much better paydays, a new study says.
Left-handed men with at least some college education earned 15 percent more than similarly educated right-handers, while those who finished college earned about 26 percent more, wrote Christopher S. Ruebeck of Lafayette College, and Joseph Harrington and Robert Moffitt of Johns Hopkins University in a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.There are "several suggestive and economically and statistically significant results that suggest further support for the notion that handedness matters," they wrote. "We do not have a theory that reconciles all of these findings."
The researchers did not find a similar effect among women.
The data used for the study were hourly earnings taken from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, a set of surveys including individuals aged 14-21 in 1979 who were interviewed every year until 1994 and every other year thereafter.
A copy of the working paper can be found at http://papers.nber.org/papers/w12387.pdf
I say:
1. What, no left-handed advantages in cycling? Now you tell me!
2. 15% more, eh? I wonder if I'm getting the "right" amount or have been "left" out.
-adm
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Manhattan Beach Grand Prix
SUN, 20 AUG 2006
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I have the CBR State Criterium Championship race coming up this afternoon, but before I head over to the 100 kilometers of fun, I figured I'd knock out my Chevron Manhattan Beach Grand Prix recap. If there was something great to say, I probably would have gotten to it sooner, so you can kind of guess this story doesn't have a very happy ending... for me, anyway.
As previously stated, this would be my first NRC race as a Cat. 1. This year's MBGP was different from the last two years in that instead of being a Pro/1/2 event, it was a Pro/1 only and there was a separate race for 2s. As much as I felt confident I could repeat as the Cat. 2 champion, I really wanted to play with the big boys (and get my name in the race program - #44 - see images below), so I put in for my upgrade and it was granted just in time.
 
Several factors conspired to thin the Pro/1 race ranks this year. The separate 2s race, the fact there was a fat money race going off on the east coast (the $100K Tour of Elk Grove), and the fact that National Championships would be the following week, meant that instead of a full field of 175 racers as in years past, we started with something like 75. Our team was nearly 7% of the field: Chris, Rob, Frank, Nate, and me. The HealthNet presented by Maxxis team was equally numbered with five guys that included Kyle Gritters, Karl Menzies, and Greg Henderson. SuccessfulLiving.com also came to the line with five, including Adam Livingston and Curtis Gunn. Making up the largest percentage (11%) and even more intimidating was the eight-strong Toyota-United team, including their two very fast sprinters, Juan Jose "J.J." Haedo and Ivan Dominguez.
The lower number of racers made for a somewhat smoother race but no less faster than the past two years. Less guys meant less people fighting for position overall, but it also meant less room for error since there were fewer guys to hide and recover behind. Breakaways hardly ever succeed at MBGP and I figured this race would be no exception. My goal was to stay near the front and be selective about going with any move, if at all.
There were lots of attacks and counter-attacks in the first quarter of the 90 minute race. I managed to keep near the front without doing too much to stay there. Then, about 25 minutes into the race, a break formed and Chris was up there for us. Chris wasn't able to stay in with what shook out to be a group of eight. It became 11 when three bridged across.
The break was well represented with at least two HealthNet, two Toyota-United, and one or two SuccessfulLiving.com guys. They quickly built a convincing lead. It seemed the race was entirely up the road at this point but it didn't stop us from trying to chase and please the sponsors. Frank took a field prime and led the chase through for a lap. A few laps later, I led the chase and got a nice shoutout from the announcing stand, and then did it again a few more laps later for good measure. Still, without the aid of the big teams, it was going to be impossible to bring the break back.
With 25 minutes left to race, the break started to look a little ragged up the road. At the same time, Toyota-United riders headed to the front and the team started to reel back in the break. My guess was they weren't happy with the liklihood of success with their two guys in the break and would rather set up J.J. and Ivan for a field sprint.
And so, we were all passengers on the Toyota-United train as they closed the gap on the break. It was at about five laps to go when it all came back together. Toyota-United kept organized at the front and kept the pace fast. Everyone else fought to sit behind. At one to go, I was sitting about 20th and could see Chris and Nate just ahead of me.
The last lap was fast and a battle. Everyone wanted a good wheel and to stay out of the stiff wind along the back stretch. Unlike in years past, I failed to move up along the inside enough to be top ten into the final turn, a must in order to have any chance of finishing well. For some reason I just didn't make the move I know I should have. I ended up coming around the u-turn about 25 deep and sprinted for the line. I still had legs and passed a few riders but not enough, as I ended up being 22nd overall in a race that paid top 20.
The race winner was Haedo, beating out Henderson and Gritters. Chris was our best finisher at 13th and Nate was 18th. I was disappointed with 22nd, not only because I was out of the money, but also because it was worse than I finished last year (16th). The worst part was knowing I still had legs left at the end. I felt better at the end than I did last year, so it was entirely an error of tactics on my part.
-adm
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P.S. June Blog stuff is now ARCHIVED.
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Category 1
THU, 17 AUG 2006
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 It only took thirteen years, but I finally upgraded to a USA Cycling USCF Road Category 1. The upgrade was processed last week and I got it just in time to do my first Pro/1 NRC race, the Chevron Manhattan Beach Grand Prix. I'll write more about that later.
Of course, now I expect all the real lucrative racing and endorsement offers to come pouring in. Any minute now. Please! :)
-adm
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DSL Down
TUE, 15 AUG 2006
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What a pain! My home-office DSL has been down since late Sunday night. I'm filing this report from my laptop at the Cerritos library. I have to hand-code the HTML because I normally do all my stuff on my desktop Mac. Until I get my service back up, I'm back in the early 1990s.
-adm
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1/2/3 No, 1-2 Yes - Velo Allegro UPS Criterium
MON, 07 AUG 2006
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1/2/3 No
I can't figure out why it's been this way, but the last three weeks of racing have each been decided by field sprints and for the last three weeks, our team hasn't been able to put much of a dent into the Pro/1/2 top ten results. We're a far better breakaway team than sprint team, but it's getting kind of ridiculous.
At Velo Allegro's UPS Criterium on Sunday, we tried hard and often to get a break going but the right mix of guys and teams never materialized. Even though this race specifically excluded Pro racers (it was 1/2/3), it was quite fast, which usually lends to a breakaway occurring. However, the effect of high speed was countered by the lack of wind at the earlier-than-usual race time of the day.
When it came down to a field sprint, there were plenty of guys who'd sat in most of the race ready to take advantage, or at least get in the way. Chris and Gil averted a a déjà vu-like crash in the chaotic sprint. They tangled up to shred Gil's rear derailleur cable in Chris' front wheel. Unlike two weeks ago, when Gil and Nate crashed out of what was building up to be a winning break, both guys stayed up and finished remarkably well under the circumstance: Gil cashed in at the last money spot, 10th, and Chris was 13th. I was officially placed at 23rd - just as good (or bad) as the rest of the pack finishers.
1-2 Yes
Teammate Lance Coburn and I paired up in a seven-man break to pull off a satisfying (and somewhat redeeming) 1-2 finish in the Masters 30+ 1/2/3 race.
Photo © SoCalCycling.com
Many of the riders, including us, had already tested their legs in the Elite 1/2/3 race earlier in the day. An over two-hour time gap between the races meant some guys opted to go home rather than wait to race again, but there were still plenty of strong guys who'd stuck around when we gathered at the start line for the 45 minute race.
The race started fast and a group of six rolled off the front in the first half-lap, but was brought back a half-lap later. Lance and I kept near the front and took part in the ensuing attacks. Powerful moves from guys like Thurlow Rogers and Karl "The Viking" Bordine, and a healthy dose of wind that had picked up significantly from earlier in the day, were stringing out the pack and starting to cause riders to gap. At about 15 minutes into the race, I saw a threatening and sizable move go up the road and made the decision to jump across. I made it to the break and pushed past the group to keep it moving, sensing this was the opportunity to stay away; I was willing to put an extra hard effort for the chance. Within a lap, our break of about six became nine when three more bridged across, including Lance. I was glad to see Lance come across, as well as to see the rest of our able company, including Rudy Napolitano (Helens), Josh Webster (SC Velo), and Allen Richburg (TaylorMade/24 Hour Fitness).
A chasing field was still close behind, but everyone in the break contributed well and we started putting space on the field. The efforts we put in to stay away started to take their toll on several riders in our break and two fell off. This put an extra workload on our remaining seven but we still managed to keep pressing and extending our lead, which grew to almost half a lap, and as I heard from a shouting spectator, approximately 25 seconds. As the only team with more than one rider in the break, Lance and I played the situation to our advantage. Lance began to sit in to conserve energy for the finish, joining the two other riders at the back who were pulling through slowly and irregularly. I picked up the primary rotation with Rudy, Josh, and Allen, increasing the intensity of my pulls to try and make up what we were losing from Lance and the other two riders.
When we crossed the start/finish line and heard the call of "five laps to go", I was both surprised and relieved. I'd forgotten the race was only 45 minutes long but relieved that it would all be over soon. Still running scared from the field, our group didn't let up until we got down to our last lap, when the cooperation ended and attacks for the win began. Rudy went into corner one and the rest of us chased, and out of two it was Josh, and we chased again. On the back side, when Josh was caught, Lance put his comparatively rested legs to full work, jumped hard, and was off with a quick, impressive lead. Again the rest of the guys chased. I locked in at third wheel and rode it into the last turn, then let the two riders ahead of me wind up the sprint. They went along the inside and I jumped to the left, half way to the finish. I charged past my leadout pair and closed in on Lance, catching up with him just past the finish line where we gasped for breath and celebrated our 1-2 finish!
-adm
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Dear aunt, let's set so double...
FRI, 04 AUG 2006
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Mug and Race Frustration
WED, 02 AUG 2006
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Mug Frustration
I hated that black mug so it's no wonder I killed it. Unlike all my other mugs, whenever I put this one in the microwave to heat up my coffee or tea, it would get really hot, even at the handle. I always seemed to remember this fact a moment too late, just as I would grasp the handle and lift the mug out of the microwave. The memory would kick in, or the burning sensation would travel from my hand to my brain, just late enough for me to be fully committed to either getting the mug to the counter or dropping it mid-air. Dropping the mug to the kitchen floor would have been a proper fate, but I hated the thought of cleaning up the ensuing mess. Instead, I suffered the pain countless times, quickly moving the mug to the counter.
A few days ago my subconscious had enough and got its revenge. While rinsing the black mug in the sink, I flicked it under the water for a final rinse and accidentally (perhaps) pushed the mug handle into the sink's center divider. The handle broke off in one big chunk and fell to the bottom of the sink. After a short moment of surprise, I felt my face pull to a grin as I stared at the damaged mug. For only a brief moment more, I considered gluing the handle back on, but then I recognized the moment of opportunity to rid myself of this scalding foe, grabbed for the cabinet door below, pulled out the trash can, and in a satisfied, defiant, and superfluous motion, cast the mug in. I gave the same ending, but no similar ceremony, to the piece of broken handle.
Race Frustration - Paramount Criterium
Sunday was the Paramount Criterium. The race was on the same course as the one CBR uses regularly in Rancho Dominguez. Our team was looking forward to it because it's typically a good course for us and the prize money was 75% better than usual and the money placings that much deeper, too. Instead of 10 places splitting a $1,000 purse, Paramount Racing and Orange County Wheelmen were putting up $1,750 cash to the top 18. It should have been no surprise, then, to see a full field with pretty-much all the top SoCal talent and then some.
Successful Living had their 6-7 guys, SDBC/Karl Strauss appeared to have 9, and we had a complete team of 9 for only the third or fourth time this year. Other teams like Coates Cyclery and Kahala/LaGrange were present with 4-6 riders and the usual solo suspects like Kyle Gritters (Health-Net/Maxxis), Karl "The Viking" Bordine (Labor Power), and Thurlow Rogers (Sonance/Specialized). Our expectation was this would be a fiery 80 minutes of racing full of attack after attack, eventually leading to a break once the majority of teams were represented and satisfied.
Well, we got it half right. The attacks were non-stop. From beginning to end, there was always somebody attacking. Breaks of 5-6 would get up the road, only to be chased down within a few laps. Most only got a few seconds worth of gap and the best one never had more than 15-20 seconds. Our team was probably not as aggressive as we should have been, given our numbers, but we were also always in the breaks or at the front bringing them back quickly.
As we passed an hour, it started to seem very likely it would come down to a big field sprint. Usually, I make the best of bashing elbows and handlebars to the finish, but something about the way the pack was moving that day felt weird and uncomfortable. I wasn't looking forward to a thick sprint this day. When we got lap cards at 5 to go, a group of five had gone a bit up the road at the same time the field began to slow slightly. Sensing the chance to be part of a last-push break, I jumped on the pedals and bridged across. I got to the group just in time to see the five guys begin to shuffle and hesitate. Our lead was just enough that I thought we had a chance, but also not enough to ensure we'd stay away without lots of effort and luck. Not enough effort, not enough luck, and a hungry pack full of sprinters meant a lap and a half later, we were caught.
The last three laps were tense, the most stress I've felt in a pack in a while. I spent a lap recovering mid-pack and then started to make my push forward, helped along by my teammate Jared. At one lap to go I was still not far enough forward, probably something like 25th. I kept moving on the outside and by turn three, was about 15th. Moments before, I had a wheel I would have like to have kept in Rahsaan Bahati (TIAA-CREF), but he squirmed forward, as usual, and I lost him. Still, having raced this course so many times before, I thought I had a good spot, expecting there to be a final push along the outside where I could jump into the flow and move ahead into the last corner. That move came when my teammate Chris punched it and dragged a group by, but there was no space and it was too fast for me to weasel my way in. I hit the last corner in about the same position I would finish, 20th. Up the road, Chris managed to hold on for 15th and Frank would get our best placing one ahead of Chris at 14th. Still further up the road, where it really counted, Hilton Clarke (Navigators Insurance) took the win, edging out Kayle Leo Grande (Kahala/LaGrange) and Bahati.
Afterwards, I was frustrated with how the race turned out. Usually, there's something we can point to, some critical moment to which we can look back and say, if we had just handled that different, we could have done better. But in this case, it was just an odd race without any lasting breaks to tire-out the field, and it came down to a field sprint where we just didn't find the right spots this time. We weren't the only ones. Certainly, the guys who were at the top earned their stuff, but reading down the results, there were plenty of strong and capable guys who are usually top 10 but didn't get in the money this day.
-adm
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Cooler Runnings
TUE, 01 AUG 2006
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It's finally started to cool down here in SoCal. After something like two weeks of incredibly hot and humid weather, we're getting back to our more typical summer temperatures and it feels great. I compare it to gas prices: the shock of $3.25 a gallon makes anything less feel like a deal.
I blame not blogging in about a week on the heat. My office is on the second floor and it easily gets 5 degrees hotter upstairs than downstairs. It doesn't help to have two or three computers and various peripherals running up here, too. Then, there was the timing of our most recent electricity bill, just as the heat wave hit its stride. I got our bill in the mail and it was nearly $300 of mostly air conditioning-related energy use! I immediately went to the thermostat and turned it up several degrees.
Despite the heat, I put in a full week's worth of riding last week. Yep, 7 days. Two of them were easy jaunts: Monday to loosen the legs from Sunday's ride, and an easy ride on Friday, my usual off day. Because it was so darn hot, I skipped doing a double ride on Tuesday, opting for just El Do instead of climbing and then El Do. I left the house early on Wednesday to try and beat the heat. I went climbing in the Whittier foothills and, even after drinking three bottles of water during the ride, had managed to lose three pounds. Thursday was a very hard Hughes Park.
Saturday was interesting. Jule and I went to the Kings "Breakfast with the GM" at the Kings' training facility in El Segundo. Fans had continental breakfast, were introduced to the new President/General Manager (Dean Lombardi), Coach (Marc Crawford), and the rest of the staff that replaced Dave Taylor and the Andy Murray regime. Since this event started at 9:30 AM, unless I chose to wake up really early, I'd have to get my ride in afterward. Then I had the idea to bring my bike and ride back from El Segundo after the event. That's what I did.
I geared up and went south on Sepulveda towards Palos Verdes. I could have gotten home by going east from El Segundo but I wanted to be sure I got enough miles in and taking a southern and then eastern route would help me avoid riding through some of the less savory parts of south L.A. I kept a steady pace over the rolling hills south on Sepulveda and then turned inland through Torrance. Pedaling became easy and I realized it was because I had a nice wind at my back. I blew along eastbound at 25 miles per hour, sometimes topping 30. Usually, I count wind as one of my top cycling foes, but today it had my back (literally), replaced by red lights as Anthony Enemy #1. Had it not been for the lights, I would have made the in just over an hour and a half. Instead, I got in at just about 2 hours.
Next Up: I'll tell you about last Sunday's Paramount Criterium, with better-than-usual prize money and worse-than-usual results for our team.
-adm
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