Tuesday March 31st Training RideThe Wheelsucker Report: An Unexpected Leader in Both the Sprint and KOM Categories

The Wheelsucker’s coach has him doing threshold (CP60 or Critical Power 60 minutes) intervals on Tuesdays, as they try to find the Wheelsucker some form. Tuesday evening is also the ABRT training ride time, so the Wheelsucker decided to combine the two.

Getting to the training ride for a 5:30pm start takes some doing for the Wheelsucker, as he has to pre-stage his car and bicycle at the Davidsonville Park & Ride in the morning, and take the Dillon bus in to work in DC. This requires getting up at a ridiculous time in the early morning. ...

The Wheelsucker made it out of work and took the bus back to the P&R. It was raining hard when he arrived, but he was determined to ride after having made the effort to get his bike and cycling clothes there.

Another reason to ride was that this year ABRT introduced rules including sprint and KOM (King of the Mountain) points for the Tuesday Training rides. As had been discussed on the listserver, points are awarded regardless of how many riders are there. Pat Hogan and Denzil “Quadzilla” Hathway had split the sprint and KOM points on the first Tuesday evening ride of the season.

The Wheelsucker chatted with Steve Esmacher and Kristin Seibert who were also at the P&R. But after looking at the forecast (harder rain), they pulled the plug. Patrick Hogan drove through just before 5:30pm, but he was not riding either. No one else showed up; the Wheelsucker was riding alone.

The Wheelsucker rolled out, warmed up, and started his first ten minute interval climbing out of the dip. Ten minutes of pain took him past the top of Harwood Hill.

He rode the entire route, including the inner loop, crossing each sprint line and each KOM line, and recording all of this on his front and rear video cameras.

He was soaked and cold by the time he finished, but he had completed three ten minute threshold intervals, and had first place points for all the sprints and all the KOMs; sixteen points in each category, enough to give him the lead in both competitions.

There was some good-natured ribbing on the ABRT listserver and on Facebook after the ride, with some questioning whether he had in fact ridden the route, and whether in fact points should be awarded for a solo ride. But the Wheelsucker had a partial GPS track, and video proof. As for riding solo, that point was in the rules.

So after two Tuesday evening training rides – the Wheelsucker was not able to ride the first – the Wheelsucker was the unexpected leader in both the sprint and KOM categories.

Rules are rules!

Ride data on TrainingPeaks: Ride Data

The Wheelsucker at the Tour of Page County Stage Race

Images were "brorrowed" from multiple locations and photographers, and the Wheelsucker is no longer clear on which images he got from where. Many images are from one of the ToPC photographers, Jon Winters. Some -- and the women's sprint finish video -- are from Chris Chrane. Some are from Stephen Szibler and at least one is from Mark Hemhauser, and one from Brook A. Edinger

 

While the Wheelsucker is usually (probably always) apprehensive about racing, the apprehension is highest shortly before the start of a race. Several days before the start, racing may seem like a good idea.

So the Wheelsucker signed up for the Tour of Page County Stage Race. This is the only MABRA Stage Race offering a 55+ field. The 55+ riders would race with the 35+ and 45+ masters riders, but be scored separately.

Hurray for Luray Road Race

Waiting for the neutral rollout to start

The Wheelsucker arrived at the Hurray for Lurray Road Race staging area -- Luray High School – to prepare. The masters were the third field in the second wave. The women had been part of the first wave. The ABRT women had pulled off another one, sending Amanda Watson up the road early in the race while the competition just watched Katy and Ainhoa. Amanda soloed for most of the race and finished with a three minute fifteen second lead over second place! Amanda's solo win in the RR

And second place was Katy Giles who started her sprint early and won the field sprint, with Ainhoa Perez-Diaz third, the competition –mostly Alexis Zink – was fourth, Sue McQuiston fifth, all in the same time, though small time bonuses were awarded. Nikki was slightly off the back after having attacked the field and dangled off the front for six miles, and then been caught a little short at the sprint.

As above, the masters race was a combined field of 35+/45+/55+. There were riders who normally ride cat 1/2/3 entered. The Wheelsucker had one teammate in this combined field; Stephen Szibler was also racing 55+. While the field was not that large in each age category: 19 in 35+, 24 in 45+ and 7 in 55+, racing together resulted in a field of about 50.

The Hurray for Luray Road Race course is a bit like the All American road race course; there are narrow roads and the yellow line rule was being enforced, even when there is no yellow line. The masters were racing five laps, for 58 miles.

Right from rollout the field plugged the road, yellow line to shoulder. The Wheelsucker and Stephen were at the back and frantically trying to move up, but were completely unable to do so. They spent all of the first two laps either last, or just in front of last. The initial pace was hard on the short climbs, and the Wheelsucker was straining and gapped on several short climbs, and was thinking he was close to being dropped. Too bad about the pace being driven by all those strong cat 1 and cat 2 35+ and 45+ riders!

But gradually the intensity eased up, the Wheelsucker's perceived exertion came down and the Wheelsucker felt better. And eventually somewhere on the third lap, the Wheelsucker was able to work his way up closer to the sharp end. Kelly had several strong riders in 35+ and 45+ and they were working hard to get something going. There were attacks and chases. Some riders would stay away for awhile, but during the first half of the race everything was brought back.

The Wheelsucker was trying to get into a break, and went hard to follow attacks a few times, but everytime he chased someone was on his wheel and the attack went nowhere.

Other breaks were going up the road, but they were being brought back each time, though sometimes there was an extended chase. Eric Boone's recollection is a little different, he recalls the first break of two going off fairly early and staying away the entire race for the win.

Late in the race, the Wheelsucker gapped the field on a short climb, and rolled off the front by a few bikelengths. A 45+ rider came up and off they went. Both rode hard, but the field was alert and chased hard, and they were soon brought back.

Eventually, late in the race, a break of two got away, and a second break of two including Eric Boone got off and chased. Each pair was one 35+ and one 45+ rider. Eric Boone told the Wheelsucker the first break got off much earlier in the race, and he should know 'cause he was closer to the front and in the second break, but the Wheelsucker thinks he saw the lead vehicle later in the race, which he believes would mean no one was off the front.

The field collectively sat up for the last few miles, or at least the eight guys at the front sat up and soft pedaled, and no one could get by them. Experienced riders who knew the course made the effort to move to the front very early and rode easy at or near the front. The Wheelsucker was pushed back. He was riding the yellow line hoping to move up, but other riders would push him over the line, and he would yield the position and slide back reluctantly. And he was forced further and further back until he WAS at the back as the sprint started.

You cannot see the Wheelsucker, because he is at the back of this mob

The road was open from the high school driveway and the Wheelsucker moved left looking for open road, but so did half the field. Riders slightly ahead of him were blowing up, or sitting up, and the Wheelsucker was frantically going around people trying to go hard.

A frustrated Wheelsucker finally makes it to the line

The entire main field pack was given the same time. time bonuses applied

There were four 55+ riders in the main field; the Wheelsucker was fourth, so given the same time, but the two second time bonuses separated the first four 55+ riders. Three other 55+ riders were dropped during the race, and there were significant time gaps to them.

Dennis Crockett – who packs quite a sprint – had crossed first amongst 55+ riders, Stephen Erb was second, and strong TTer Matt Robins third.

Road Race Results on USA Cycling website

Luray Caverns Time Trial

It was cool and overcast Sunday morning. The first rider was off at 8:00am, but the Masters rode last, with the 55+ field the last of the masters. The route was 9 miles, out and back, downhill on the way out, uphill coming back. There were some tight turns making for a somewhat technical course. The Wheelsucker had checked out the TT course by car, Saturday evening.

The Wheelsucker's plan was to go out not too hard – wanting to save something for the harder return leg -- but trying to stay aero and go fast on the outbound leg. The Wheelsucker rode his TT bike, while some rode road bikes. Riders were off in reverse GC order, so the GC leader started last. On the outbound leg the Wheelsucker passed two riders including Stephen, and then passed a third shortly after the turnround. But just after that Matt Robins went by at a high rate of speed. The Wheelsucker was giving it everything he had, but Robins disappeared up the road. At a hard left turn most of the way back the Wheelsucker sneaked a glance behind him and saw Crockett behind, clearly having made up some time. The Wheelsucker had saved only just enough to stand and hammer the last short steep climb, and crossed the line gasping and drained. The Wheelsucker early in the TT, LOOKING fast ...

When TT results were posted, the Wheelsucker had moved up a place to third overall, but the gaps to first and second were considerably wider: Robins was winning with a ~ 50 second lead on Crockett, and the Wheelsucker was a further ~30 seconds back, and had opened a 1:06 gap on John Chamberlain in 4th. Stephen was 6th in the TT, which moved him up a place to sixth on GC.

Geriatric TT Results

Katy won the Women’s cat 1/cat 2 TT outright with a time of 20:55.08. This time was competitive with the Men's P/1 times, though Scott Giles' winning P/1 time was faster, 0:18:27.01.

Katy TTing, and actually GOING very fast

Amanda was still leading the GC with Katy second. But Alexis Zink had taken a minute out of Ainhoa on the TT and so moved up to third, and had gained back some of the time gap on Amanda.

The women's team was seeking world – or at least podium – domination, and was plotting how to keep their podium positions and perhaps move Ainhoa ahead of Alexis.

Time Trial Results on USA Cycling website

Downtown Luray Criterium

As riders moved from the TT venue to downtown Luray for the crit, it started to drizzle. The forecast was for worse rain and riders were wondering if they really wanted to race a challenging, rather technical crit, in the rain. The Masters crit was scheduled to start last, at 4:45pm, so there was lots of time.

The cat 5 and cat 4 crits went off. The Wheelsucker was hanging out at the Main Street deli, watching the pain on rider's faces as they climbed the hardest climb on the crit course. Fields were exploded on the first lap with the splits apparent as riders crossed the start/finish line at the end of the first lap.

It was raining harder by the time the women's crit started.

There was a very short delay while Nikki's wardrobe malfunction was fixed. This was post Hairgate and Nikki's hair is held up somehow.

The ABRTers were all marking Alexis. With little alternative, she rode hard at the front trying to make something happen. Alexis was riding strong, bobbing her torso like Eddy Merckx, while Katy, Ainhoa, Sue, Amanda and Nikki were holding on, apparently easily. But after a few laps Amanda started to fade at the top of the hard climb. She hung on and hung on, but then the gap started to open. And Alexis soldiered on. After the TT, Amanda had something like 45 seconds on Katy. But the key was that Amanda had about 1:57 on Alexis. Amanda going through the photo corner

Amanda was having problems with the wet slippery corners on the technical crit course, and apparently was easing up on the corners and then working hard to chase back on. And she was tiring, and Alexis was prying open the gap.

Nikki dropped off the front group to go back and help Amanda.

ABRT's best dressed member, Nikki wears very stylish contrasting arm warmers, and sunglasses picking up the official ABRT accent shade ...

But the gap between Alexis and Amanda was slowly increasing. At one point the officials announced a prime for a time bonus; Ainhoa takes the prime

Ainhoa carefully took that one to deny it to Alexis. Then Alexis flatted close the the start finish line. She was given two free laps while her bike was worked on, and an opportunity to catch her breath. Katy, Ainhoa and Sue immediately slowed the pace down so that Amanda and Nikki could close the gap somewhat. One other rider went off the front, but she was not a GC threat, so Katy, Ainhoa and Sue let her go. Then Alexis jumped back in stronger than ever, and it was game on. Sue eased up and dropped back as well looking for Amanda, though she never made it back far enough to help out.

With team mates shouting encouragement each lap Amanda kept pushing and pushing, hanging on, losing a little time each lap but trying to stay within the 1:57 cushion.

At the finish Katy narrowly took the sprint win from Alexis. Ainhoa was very close behind in third.

Video of the sprint on FB

Amanda was finished a lap down, though not actually lapped. So it came down to what time was charged for the one lap down. And from the timings the GC was going to be very close. But eventually the time came out in Amanda's favor, by THREE SECONDS!!!!!

Amanda hangs on for second, Katy wins, Alexis finishes 3rd

So Katy won the overall with Amanda second, and Alexis third. Very strong teamwork and tactics from the ABRT ladies, and a courageous and strong ride by Alexis Zink.

The masters crit was a combined field again. On a technical course with a significant hard climb each lap, the Wheelsucker was not looking forward to racing in a field that included cat 1 and cat 2 35+ and 45+ riders. And though the rain had eased, the course was still wet. There had been crashes in some fields, including Scott Giles (he was not hurt and had jumped back in).

As the field gathered on the start line, the Wheelsucker looked around to check for the other 55+ riders. The overall field size was clearly smaller; many riders had left, not wanting to race in the rain. The first and second place 55+ riders were there in the front row, and Stephen Szibler was racing, but the Wheelsucker was not sure if all of the remaining three 55+ riders had left.

It was a fast start. The Wheelsucker was expecting this and worked hard to hold on and make the selection. But he was uncomfortable in a crowded pack and was going through the wet technical courses slightly slower than some. He WAS able to tag on the back of a lead group of about 12 or 13, but he was on the rivet hammering out of corners and on the climbs.

Part way through the first or second lap he was still on at the bottom of the course, but on the first right turn a rider dive bombed inside of him, and he eased up slightly, opening a slight gap. He chased hard and was still in contact at the start of the hard climb, but the effort was costing him. He chased and chased and chased, but the gap slowly opened. He WAS able to go into the corners at his desired speed, rather than braking as riders in front of him slowed, but that was not enough to close the gap, and it slowly opened.

The Wheelsucker chased and chased and chased, on his own. The only good news was that no one was in sight behind him. After going as hard as he could for several laps, the Wheelsucker eased up slightly to a pace that he thought he had a chance of sustaining.

Each time he climbed the hard hill the ABRT women's team and Scott Giles were cheering him on.

The Wheelsucker was going so hard up this climb that he frequently missed checking the lap counter.

At one point he saw 17 laps and knew he couldn't last that long.

After a few more laps the Wheelsucker could see two riders rounding the corner ahead, one straight-away in front of him. One was an Artemis rider. Apparently they had been dropped out of the lead group. The Wheelsucker kept going and slowly closed the gap, though it took several laps. He latched on to them, and recovered for a lap, before taking pulls. Both were 45+ riders.

Several laps later the Wheelsucker's group was lapped by two Kelly riders; one was Eric Boone. They were flying! Being unsure of crit rules the Wheelsucker was not sure he could try to grab a wheel, so eased up slightly with the two riders he was working with.

The laps went by. The pain of the hard climb was offset by loud cheering and encouragement from his teammates. Without this the Wheelsucker could not have continued at that pace. The next time the Wheelsucker remembered to check the lap counter it was seven laps; he started to think he might make it.

Then the first chase lapped his group and rolled by. Crockett and Robins were in it, and the Wheelsucker did not see any other 55+ riders, so the Wheelsucker thought he was might still holding on to third on GC, though losing time. Again uncertain of crit rules the Wheelsucker did not try to grab a wheel.

Then at the corner before the climb there was a loud crash just behind the Wheelsucker; the Artemis rider had slid out and gone down. The Wheelsucker continued up the hill with the other rider, with both yelling to bystanders and officials that there had been a crash.

But the crashed Artemis rider reappeared on the next lap, and said he was fine.

Though only a 45 minute crit, it was feeling like purgatory, except that each time up the climb the cheering from his teammates was so loud that it drowned out the pain.

Then the Wheelsucker saw 3 on the lap counter and for the first time thought he could make it.

And soon enough it was 1 to go. The other two riders eased up slightly on the last lap, and on the penultimate leg the Wheelsucker told them they were going too slow and came around to lead through the last corner. And with his head full of his teammates loud cheers, the Wheelsucker gave it every little bit he had left and powered up the hill for the last time, gapping his two companions and throwing his bike across the finish line.

It was over. The Wheelsucker’s agonized breathing gradually slowed, and his pegged heart rate slowly recovered. The post-hard-effort burning in his lungs and stomach did not ease.

It took awhile, but when crit results were posted, it was clear that only four 55+ riders had started the crit. The Wheelsucker had lapped Stephen's group, and though down a lap on the two man lead group and the ~ 10 rider chase, he had finished third in 55+. He lost a bit more than one lap's time on the two ahead of him on GC, but held on to third overall on GC.

Crit Results on USA Cycling website

General Classification (GC)

It took awhile longer for GC results to be posted, but these confirmed the finish order, and the Wheelsucker was photographed standing on the third place side of the podium.

With three 55+ riders not racing the crit and so not finishing the stage race, Stephen Szibler moved up to fourth overall, though down quite a bit on time; a very just reward for his persistence and determination.

Overall GC Results from USA Cycling website

Mallorca Training Camp Day 4Rest DayThe Wheelsucker Report

The group took a rest day today. While most went to into downtown Palma, a few wanted to get an easy spin in first. Katy and Scott Giles, Nick Vita, and Ali Meller headed out along the beach, with the Wheelsucker tagging along at the back.

The forecast was for rain and cold, but the rain looked to be holding off longer than suggested by the forecast. The group rode along the beach front bicycle path into downtown Palma and the harbor area, then out the other side.

At one point the bicycle path went THROUGH the water, at a ford, though there were steps that could be used to cross as an alternative. Nick proved it was shallow enough to ride through, though he soaked his shoes. Riders with Fred bikes (bikes rented from the Fred Rompelberg organization) rode through the water, while those on their own (steel) bikes chose to use the steps.

A perfectly normal road/bike route

all of a sudden is routed under water

or you can carefully step over on these

Despite the plan being easy spin with no climbs there was one very steep short climb – albeit nothing like what was seen in Tirreno-Adriatico – and some fun playing in Palma traffic. The group stopped several times to admire the view.

Rain clouds were coming in so the group turned around and headed back, but were caught in a light rain as they passed through the harbor area on the way back.

While Fred Rompelberg clients are staying in about three different hotels, while renovations are going on at the Tauras hotel, the ABRT group, less John and Denise, are at the Jade hotel, and eating breakfast and dinner at another hotel nearby, the Hotel Playa Golf.

part of the group at dinner

Amanda, Andy, Sue and Sean

Wheelsucker Data:

1:55:55, 26.81 miles

Average power 104 watts, max 505 watts

Climb of the day: 0:2:30, 0.28 miles, 160 feet elevation gain, 310 watts average, 408 watts maximum, Grade 10.8% (if felt steeper!!!), speed 6.63 mph

If Only the Wheelsucker Could Actually Ride a Bike …

In his long-standing but apparently in-vain efforts to become stronger, the Wheelsucker does a fixed gear ride/workout winter Sundays starting at 8:00am, in Ellicott City. As per his coach, the idea is to build leg strength pedaling up the climbs, and work on leg speed going down.

On most Sundays Jay Murphy, Marc Frazer and Rick Tyler are there, and the Wheelsucker gets a really good workout chasing Jay and trying to hold Rick on the steep climbs, and then pedaling furiously down a hill while wondering what happens when pedal cadence gets just a little too high.

On this particular Sunday, Jay, Marc and Rick were not going to make it so the Wheelsucker was on his own. After a late Saturday evening and a foggy morning, the Wheelsucker dawdled and only drove out later in the morning. And he decided to start from the BWI Overlook rather than downtown Ellicott City, and do every climb he could.

Ever conscientious, the Wheelsucker dutifully rode out the normal ABRT ride route, pedaling up Lawyer's Hill Road, Landing Road, and down Beechwood Rd. Here he diverged from the usual ABRT route and went DOWN Bonnie Branch Rd to Ilchester Rd, turned around and rode all the way up Bonnie Branch Rd, back down to Ilchester Rd, onto River Road, up South Hilltop Rd, down Thistle Rd, up River Road to up Westchester Ave, then down Oella Ave to the café.

The Wheelsucker was happy to take a break a the café, but soon got back on this bike and started his return, up Oella Ave (he was caught by two Kelly guys early, but wheelsucked, and then rode away near the top), down Westchester Ave, out River Rd to Thistle Rd, up Thistle and down South Hilltop Rd, up Bonnie Branch Rd to up Beeechwood Rd to Ilchester Rd, then started down Landing Road for the mostly downhill ride back to the BWI overlook except …

About .63 miles down Landing Road, at 25.6 mph and 126 rpm cadence, with a heart rate of 134 bpm, the Wheelsucker went down almost exactly the same way Jens Voigt crashed on stage 16 of the 2009 TdF, except the Wheelsucker’s front wheel went right (Jens’ goes left) …

The front wheel slid out to the right as it rolled over an acutely angled crack or discontinuity in the road surface, and the Wheelsucker went down to the left, at full speed.

The only exceptions/differences being:

It was not Jens.

It was not at the top of an Alpine climb in the TdF riding with just the top GC guys

It was not at 50 mph

The Wheelsucker will not back in the pro peloton in just a few months

The Wheelsucker did not black out and was not taken to hospital.

but it was very similar in all other respects.

OUCH!! That hurt!!!

The Wheelsucker slid some distance (and time) on the wet road, but eventually came to a stop, picked himself up and dragged himself and the bicycle onto the shoulder.

His kit was torn up on the left side and he could feel road rash in several places. The Wheelsucker was still some distance from his car, so he took it fairly easy down Landing to Montgomery Rd, to down Lawyers Hill, Levering, Main, Furnace, up the false flat on Race Road, up false flat on Hanover, up false flat on Ridge, Stoney Run Road to bike path on Aviation and Dorsey back to the BWI overlook. He was slightly short of 3:22:30 (recall Mike Hefner’s pro tip) as he approached the BWI overlook, so he turned down WB&A Rd for a few extra minutes, before returning to the car.

Hmn…

Wouldn’t it be nice if the Wheelsucker knew how to ride a bike!

Tuesday May 17th Training RideThe Wheelsucker Report

The Wheelsucker spent the weekend in Ontario with his girlfriend and was tired from the nine hour drive home Monday night, and short on sleep having arrived home in the very early hours of Tuesday AM. The Wheelsucker’s girlfriend is an avid hiker, and the Wheelsucker was also sore from a fast two hour hike in the Niagara escarpment on Saturday.

Sore legs and sore back, and lack of sleep notwithstanding, the Wheelsucker was looking forward – with some apprehension – to the Tuesday training ride. Tuesday’s on-again-off-again rain was not looking great, but the weather radar showed it clearing around 5:30, so the Wheelsucker drove from Annapolis to the Davidsonville Park & Ride. It rained hard most of the way out there, but amazingly the rain stopped half a mile before the exit and the roads were dry at the P&R.

But the rain did limit turnout, with only Ace, Ryan Brian, Rick, Tom, Mike Schneider, and Mike, a non-ABRT rider with aero bars, in the Park & Ride. The Wheelsucker’s warmup started really well when he flatted after half a lap in the P&R. But the others were kind enough to wait while he stuffed a spare tube into his front tire. The group rolled out about 6:04.

Just as they were leaving, Will Nuckols passed them in his car and raced ahead to find a spot to meet them. Given the small group and the forecast the notion of keeping the group together and shortening the route had been discussed, and --the Wheelsucker thought -- agreed to.

The pace picked up shortly after the left turn onto Rossback. Well before 214 the Wheelsucker was hurting and thinking he really needed more time to warmup before going this hard. Mike-with-aerobars popped before 214. Also before 214 a rider was spotted ahead. As he came back to the group this turned out to be Will. Will was caught on a shallow climb. The Wheelsucker shouted “Jump, jump!” a short distance before the catch, but Will must have struggled to catch on to the back of the fast moving train from nearly a standing start, because he was popped by 214 as well. Ace was driving hard, and the Wheelsucker appreciated the short break at the red light at the 214 intersection.

Given the pace being set by Ace and Ryan, the Wheelsucker was into survival mode early. He was struggling to stay on for the shallow climb out of the dip to past the Sands turn, and was dreading Harwood Hill. Ace pulled hard to the base, and then pulled off for Ryan shortly after the climb started. The Wheelsucker tried to glue himself to Ryan’s rear wheel, but it wasn’t sticking hard enough. Somehow a knackered Wheelsucker made it to the top and grimly hung on as Ace and Ryan accelerated off the top. Once the road flattened out and the Wheelsucker was not working quite as hard to just stay on, he checked behind him and realized Rick, Tom and Mike Schneider were gone. So it was just Ace, Ryan, Brian and the Wheelsucker. This group agreed to skip the additional loop to shorten the ride and limit the risk of being caught out in hard rain.

The Wheelsucker tried to avoid working hard before the South Polling House road stairstep climb and was riding third wheel, on Ryan, at the base of the climb. Part way up Ace did his slightly-out-of-the-saddle move and started to push a little harder. Ryan went with him. The Wheelsucker dug deep and stayed with them, with Brian behind him, and the four were together at the right turn onto Bayard. “Whew!”, thought the Wheelsucker, “dodged that bullet.”

Since the group had agreed to skip the loop the route was straight on Bayard. The Wheelsucker took the downhill pull to the turn they were skipping and pulled off for Brian. Bayard is slightly downhill and FAST through this section. Brian took the next pull, with the Wheelsucker struggling to catch on at the back. Then Brian pulled off and Ace took over. For whatever reason – does Ace need a reason? – Ace decided to drill it. The Wheelsucker was trying to glue himself to Ryan’s wheel again, but the speedo was showing 34 to 35 mph. The Wheelsucker’s pain-and-suffering indicator was going off. And then the Wheelsucker realized Brian had popped, probably unable to get on the back of the short train as Ace hit it at the front.

Desperately wanting a break and thinking the group had agreed to ride together, the Wheelsucker yelled “Wait!” to Ace and Ryan and eased up. But Ace and Ryan were having none of it, and hammered on. The Wheelsucker waited for Brian while wondering if he would have been able to hold on for another eight seconds if he had really tried hard…

Brian and the Wheelsucker (mostly Brian) chased and Ace and Ryan eased up so the four were back together a little up Sands Road. The Wheelsucker was taking shorter and shorter pulls, but even so catching on at the back was taking desperate measures, and just holding a wheel was hard enough that there was no recovery.

The Wheelsucker was certain Ace would go on his favorite second roller, but Ace didn’t. Ace continued his pull into the last dip on Sands. Then part way up the climb, after the group had started to slow, Ace did his slightly-out-of-the-saddle move. Ryan responded again, and the Wheelsucker once again tried to glue himself to Ryan’s wheel. He was so close to Ryan that he had to coast for a second to avoid hitting Ryan’s wheel, but then the gap to Ryan’s wheel started to open. The Wheelsucker set his CP5 seconds, CP10 seconds and CP20 seconds here, but still could not hold Ryan’s wheel. Near the top of the climb, shortly before the left onto Harwood/Patuxent River Road the Wheelsucker was officially unglued and off the back. He looked behind him for help, but Brian was gapped behind the Wheelsucker

The Wheelsucker was blown. He decided he had no chance of catching Ace and Ryan on his own, so he waited for Brian and they chased together, with Brian doing most of the work. They were still close to Ace and Ryan at the dip. The Wheelsucker went to emergency climbing power for the climb, and the gap held, but he was not able to match Ace and Ryan’s acceleration off the top and the gap opened. Meanwhile Brian was gapped again.

Ace and Ryan caught the tail end of the green at 214. When the Wheelsucker got there it was a new red with 214 traffic going through the intersection so the Wheelsucker could not jump across. Brian caught up while this happened, so the they rolled through the intersection together and took up the chase.

Every now and then they would gain on Ace and Ryan because Ace and Ryan had eased up and were chatting, but they would work harder when Brian and the Wheelsucker got closer and kept their gap. Brian took a long hard last pull, but the Wheelsucker popped, so Brian eased up. Coming to the finish line the Wheelsucker tried to launch a sprint from behind Brian but had nothing left.

From first crossing the finish line, back to the finish line.

distance: 23.87 miles
time: 58:27
power: 250 watts average, 800 watts max
cadence: 94 rpm average
speed: 24.67 mph

Tuesday April 12 Training RideThe Wheelsucker Report

The Wheelsucker REALLY looks forward to the Tuesday Evening World Championship, oops, he means Tuesday Evening Training Ride. So when the weather forecast and radar image was rain and more rain, he was reluctant to blow off the ride.

So the Wheelsucker arrived at the ABRT Ride Staging Area (known to non cyclists as the Davidsonville Park & Ride), and to his surprise, found another ABRTer -- Mike Faber -- there. It was not raining hard at that moment, but upwind the clouds were ominous. Mike and the Wheelsucker had just about convinced themselves that heavy rain was imminent, and they should go home and ride the indoor trainer, when Steve Owens drove in. With a combination of optimism and fatalism the three convinced each other to ride, and rolled out soon afterwards.

With only three riders this became a no-drop, long steady pulls, ride that resembled a three-rider team time trial. While there was some light drizzle from time to time and the roads were wet, the really hard rain held off until after the ride. The three opted to skip the loop portion of the Tuesday/Thursday ride route.

The Wheelsucker took the last long hard pull, Steve Owens launched the sprint from just after the bottom of the last dip and Jim Faber chased him down and passed him to take the sprint.

Where we you?

Wheelsucker Data (from accelerating after turning onto Rossback to sitting up at the sprint when Steve launched):

ride time: 1:11:15
average power: 241 watts
normalized power: 274 watts
average speed 21.97 (on a windy wet rainy day)

ABRT At (and Getting To) The Morgantown Road Race

When the Harwood Road Race was postponed (and later cancelled) we had the opportunity to race the Morgantown Road Race, which was one of the six West Virginia ABRA road races the ABRT Masters Team had decided to target. We had a strong team registered in 40+ and 50+ (this was a combined field with 60+), so it looked like we could race as a team. Several of the elite team guys were also registered for the 1-2-3 race and Sara Clafferty was racing the women’s 1-2-3, which was a combined field with women’s 4 and some juniors.

I e-mailed the team and then those who were registered trying to work out car pooling, but on Friday it became apparent to me that everyone else had some sort of arrangements in place, while I did not. But I was able to drive up with Mike Brown and Sara Clafferty, while my bike went up with Matt and Ace.
Like a “B” war movie where the planning session ends with “synchronize your watches”, this “plan” required me to wake up at 4:40am to drop my bike off with Matt, and then get myself to the BWI overlook before 6:00am to meet Mike and Sara.

Not having to drive myself – we were in Mike’s Volkswagen – I was able to phone, text, e-mail and check Facebook for the 4.5 hours it took us to get to the race. Randy Thrasher was about ten miles in front of us, while Matt and Ace were behind us and Mike Hefner and the elite team guys behind them.

As we neared Cumberland weather conditions worsened
and the calls and texts started. Randy reported accidents including jackknifed trucks ahead of us, while Matt and Ace were expressing doubts about racing. Soon the rain changed to snow, and a short time later, near Frostburg we were driving slowly on unplowed interstate, passing cars in the ditch and shoulder. The pace slowed down considerably, and soon we were slowly moving around trucks stopped in traffic lanes on the interstate while drivers mounted chains.

We were getting phone, text and e-mail updates from others driving to Morgantown. Considerable doubt was being expressed about driving conditions or racing conditions. But a couple of e-mails to the MABRA list server from riders in Morgantown reported no snow there. So we continued.

Ken McDowell was driving to the race in his Corvette and after one minor mishap decided road conditions were ridiculous to be driving a Corvette, and turned around. Mike told us his Volkswagen station wagon was 4wd; we did not have any close calls. I think my ’92 Honda Civic would have been fine too.

But Ken, I feel for you buddy, having to drive that Corvette, so I am offering to trade you even, my 1992 Civic 4 door for your Corvette, so you have a reliable way to get to races.

After a very long drive with two breakfast stops, we found the snow turning back to rain as we descended towards Morgantown. When we arrived at the race staging area there was no snow to be seen, just some light rain.
We had plenty of time, but as I changed into my kit, the rain got harder, then it included sleet. When I got back outside for a warm-up ride it was snowing hard, with huge wet snow flakes.

Knowing in advance there was a significant chance for precipitation I had brought kit for cold and wet. I went with the ABRT knickers thinking that the easiest way to have a bad race would be to get hypothermia.

By the way, I would like to publically thank Alex Pline for finding these on the Pactimo website and pushing to have these included in our team store. I think all of us who have them, love them.

But it took only a minute of riding to conclude that the knickers were not going to be enough. The snow flakes were splatting on my glasses so it was hard to see, and the wet and slush from the road soaked the back of my knickers in seconds, while the exposed lower leg was immediately wet and quite cold (OK, I am not a Belgian hard-man).

So it was back inside to add leg warmers. While working on this the race starts were postponed 30 minutes.

Meanwhile a number of riders were wondering why on earth they were in nowhere WV to race bikes in the snow, sleet and rain, and many left. More turned back on the drive to Morgantown.

And then things got a little better.
When I went back outside after adding the leg warmers the snow had stopped and all we had was a light rain.

Racing was a go, and soon fields were rolling out. The men’s 1-2-3 was first followed by 3-4, 4-5 and 5, then the combined men’s masters field. Our field was clearly reduced in size, -- perhaps 25-30 -- and the large and strong ABRT team that had registered was reduced to just Brian MacLean and myself. After being warned about potholes on the course, the yellow line rule and the usual, the whistle blew and we rolled out.

The first while was flat or small rollers. Even when it was not raining everything was very wet so riders and bikes were covered in spray. There were some not-very-serious attacks, but these were all brought back. I jumped across on a wheel once or twice, but most riders figured the climbs would sort it out so there was nothing to get too excited about until the first hard climb. I was trying to save energy for the climb, so I only got on the front once and soft pedaled until someone came by me.

Mike Brown and another rider got into one of the not-very-serious break efforts and were a short distance ahead at a right turn. When I got to the turn Mike was stopped on the side of the road. I asked him if he was OK and he replied he was. I think he had been giving some excess clothing to a marshall.

Just after this turn we hit a section of a couple of small rollers that trended up. Someone on the front decided to drill it HARD and I very quickly found myself on the rivet riding about 12th or 15th wheel. Once the road flattened out and it got slightly easier the pace eased up, I looked back and no one was behind me; the rest of the field was gapped and gone. Mike had probably not quite gotten on when this attack happened (and for all I know someone tried to take the opportunity to gap him), but rode by me not long afterwards, so clearly had no trouble getting to this group.

When we did get to the first climb Gerry Pflug and Mike Brown quickly gapped everyone else. I thought I was going as hard as I could and was staying near the front of the rest of the group, but always following wheels. Once the gap had opened a little, Randy Thrasher easily jumped by and bridged, still on the climb. Brian MacLean was either with them, or caught them. It was a long hard climb and those four were gone by the time I got to the top. The rest of what had been the lead group were scattered all over the climb, though I was close to Gunnar Shogren, Mike Spinnler and a tough 60+ rider. Shogren slowly opened the gap on me, and Spinnler came by me, and was 3-4 lengths clear by the time things started to flatten out. I should have had the mental toughness to accelerate and grab his wheel, but didn’t. I tried to work with the 60+ rider, but he was probably going as hard as he could, and was winning his field, so did not need to catch and pass anyone. The sun came out for awhile while we were climbing so I went from very-wet-and-a-little-cold to much-too-hot even-with-everything-I-could-unzip-opened-up. This seems quite funny in retrospect, but I was uncomfortably hot for awhile before the sun left for good.

Meanwhile up ahead Brian popped out of the lead four while climbing and Gunnar Shogren and Mike Spinnler eventually caught him, though all three were out of my sight up the road by the time this happened.

Now there was a lead group of three with Mike Brown, Randy Thrasher and Gerry Pflug. The first chase was Brian MacLean, Gunnar Shogren and Mike Spinnler. I was chasing with the 60+ rider, and could not see anyone from the 40+/50+/60+ field behind us. The 60+ rider and I were catching lots of riders, either alone or groups of two, but each time we caught them and checked numbers they were riders dropped from the 3-4, 4-5 or 5 fields.

Each time I saw a rider up the road I would try harder to catch them. I was taking much longer and harder pulls than the 60+ rider, but it was still useful to follow him and recover briefly before pulling again; I saw no reason to try to drop him. But each time we caught someone it was not a rider from our combined fields.

After the race I heard how the race had played out for the six riders up the road. Mike Brown told Randy he was going to go, and eventually did, riding away for the solo win, apparently by a minute or more. With about a mile to go Randy jumped Gerry Pflug and stayed away to the finish. So DC Velo finished 1,2, with Mike first overall and first 40+, while Randy was second overall and first 50+. Gerry Pflug crossed alone for 3rd overall and 2nd 40+.

Brian won the sprint out of his group to finish 4th overeall and 3rd 40+. That gave Gunnar Shogren 4th in 40+ and Spinnler second in 50+.

As I recognized the road near the finish (same route we had driven in on), I could see a lone rider up the road. I worked hard to catch him, and did inside 200 meters. But once again it was someone dropped from another field, not a 40+/50+/60+ rider. There was a slight uphill to the line and I had nothing left to sprint with, so the rider I had just caught, and the 60+ rider launched and came by me. I didn’t think I was racing against them so ignored them and coasted across the finish holding my rain jacket tight hoping this would help the officials see my race number.

The 60+ rider who I had towed for most of the second half of the race told me afterwards I should not have pulled hard for the last mile, but I didn’t care about him, I had been hoping to catch one of the 50+ riders in front of me.

After a quick chat with Brian, I concluded I was probably 3rd in 50+ and 8th overall. Brian already knew he was 3rd in 40+.

The women’s 1-2-3 had been combined with the women’s 4 and some juniors. Sara told us that once on the climb, a single woman rider had jumped clear and no one except Sara was interested in chasing. Soon she was in a group of three a short distance behind the single rider. Then she was gapped by the other two, and they got to the lone leader, so Sara chased this group of three for 25 miles, by herself, and did not catch them. She was eventually caught by a small group from behind, but won the sprint out of that group. Then it turned out that two of the riders in the lead group of three were cat 4s, so Sara was second to Betsy Shogren in the women’s 123.

Well done, Sara!

After changing, rinsing off the bikes and then slowly freezing while waiting for awards, we rolled out. With strong déjà vu feelings, I was in the back seat of Mike’s station wagon, only now it was more crowded as we had squeezed my bike in on top of the other two.



We left late enough that road conditions were somewhat better on the drive out, unlike what happened to those who turned around on the way in, or left before the race started. Finally around Cumberland we noticed blue sky and sunshine. With lots of time to phone, text and e-mail, we learned that our elite team had bailed before getting to Morgantown and that Hef and Wahl had a great training ride in warmth and sunshine, near Hef’s home. Kyle Pitman reported hard rain towards the end of the Davidsonville ride.

Nearly starving, we got off the interstate in Hagerstown looking for a place to eat supper. After a sequence of events that could be the basis for an episode of a sitcom (except it took much longer than 30 minutes) we found a Ruby Tuesday we could get into without a long wait and had dinner.

I took the opportunity to let Mike know we were doing things with the masters team this year in terms of picking “A” and “B” races, having a coordinator for each field in each “A” and “B” race, and so on, without actually mentioning any roles or names. He had commented on the drive out that he had not found what he expected at DC Velo in terms of masters team organization.

Then it was back to the BWI overlook, unpack bikes and gear out of Mike’s car and into Sara’s and mine, and off home. I was home a little after 11:00pm; a long day.

Congratulations to Sara for a great hard ride in her race.

Congratulations to Brian for his race and result. As those of us who have ridden with him know, Brian is very strong. But his size and weight worked against him on the long climbs in this race, and he was up against some very strong riders.

My 3rd seems a good result. I don’t yet know how many 50+ riders I was ahead of, but I wish I could have held on to Mike Spinnler and Gunnar Shogren and been more in play towards the end of the race.

As for the ABRTers who turned around, or left without racing. Given the driving conditions and the conditions before the race (hard rain, then rain and sleet, then heavy snow) turning around or leaving before the race were eminently reasonable decisions.

Results: http://www.abraracing.com/Results/2011MRR.html

Images: http://fredjordan.smugmug.com/Sports/Morgantown-Road-Race-APRRS-1/16433060_X6DeJ#1237455762_kpPi5

Riding the Hills on Fixed Gear with Younger Stronger Riders

The wheelsucker has read somewhere that one way to get better at something is to do it with people who are better at it that you are. It is easy for the wheelsucker to do this with cycling because there is no shortage of riders better than the wheelsucker; most of MABRA is stronger than wheelsucker!

As per his coach, the wheelsucker has being doing fixed gear rides out of Ellicott City on Sundays. The route is from Ellicott City to near the airport, and back to Ellicott City, apparently routing through as many climbs and descents as possible on the way there and back, followed by –– you guessed it –– more climbs and descents in Ellicott City. The first climb –– Bonnie Branch –– is the longest.

The wheelsucker goes hard up Bonnie Branch mostly because no one else does; nine minutes into the ride they are still trying to warm up so the wheelsucker figures it is his best chance of winning a climb. On this occasion the wheelsucker had a gap half way up, but Jay Murphy stopped chatting with the other riders and became serious for the last few seconds of the climb and sped by as the wheelsucker was 20 seconds from the top.

After being told by his coach that he had "a good ride" the previous Sunday but that he had conserved energy by sitting in the wheelsucker was determined to get a workout and avoid sitting in except when necessary to recover. He pushed hard on the climbs to stay with the strongest riders, who were Jay and Chris Harshman. The wheelsucker even rolled off the front a few times.

This worked for a little while, but then the others grew stronger, or maybe it was the wheelsucker tiring. First he was being gapped on climbs by Jay and Chris. Then one or two other riders were able to gap him on the climbs; then it was only Marc behind him at the top of the climbs. The wheelsucker was getting to the top of a short climb gasping for air, his legs burning and the gap in front of him opening. Then his left calf and right quad started to twitch, ready to cramp.

But the wheelsucker kept trying to hold on wondering if he could make it up one more climb or if he would be the first to cry "Uncle!" And then to the wheelsucker's relief Marc called "Uncle!" as Jay steered the group right from River onto Thistle for yet another climb, and Marc peeled off on River for the parking lot. A little while later, after the group had climbed Thistle to route 144/Frederick Road, Rich decided to stay on route 144/Frederick Road and head for the cars, while Jay led the dwindling group up Oella.

Jay turned left at the stopsign onto Old Frederick Road (to go back to Frederick Road). The wheelsucker was trying to keep Jay in range on the descent when his chain jumped off the rear cog (the chain had somehow become too loose). Fortunately the wheel did not jam and the wheelsucker was able to coast to a stop, advise the rider behind him that he could fix it OK, loosen the wheel nuts, slide the wheel forward, put the chain back on, slide the wheel back to tighten the chain, and tighten the nuts (this is why one carries a wrench when riding a fixed gear without quick releases). But now that he was alone, the wheelsucker called it a day and rolled down the Frederick Road/Main Street hill into Ellicott City, ignoring further climbing opportunities. The third rider was already at the cars.

Jay had not had enough of a workout and did several more climbs, meeting the others later at the local coffee shop.

Wheelsucker Data:

Ride time	02:08:31
Distance	36.41 miles
Energy (trainingpeaks estimate based on HR	1821 calories
	Average	Max
HR	142 bpm	168 bpm
Cadence	86 rpm	177 rpm
Speed 16.9 mph	35.1 mph

Anything but the Indoor Trainer!Be Careful What You Ask For!

The wheelsucker confesses that he does not have the determination to ride intervals on the indoor trainer. Each time he tries, he struggles to complete the first interval, while his legs tire, his breathing becomes labored, his lower back becomes tighter and tighter and he is quite unable to distract himself with new Giro d’Italia and Tour de France DVDs and an iPod. He dreads the start of the second interval, and part way through it rationalizes that maybe rest and recovery are what he needs, and he stops. The same intervals are very hard but doable on the road. Somehow the distraction of the next short climb or the next curve is enough to keep the wheelsucker pushing, and staying within target power numbers.

But record snow falls and unplowed roads have made riding outside problematic. The wheelsucker’s coach is quite unsympathetic, posting a blog entry at: http://midmaryland.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/determination/.
This was not only directed at the wheelsucker, but coach Birner went out of his way to get the wheelsucker to read it. Ouch!

Desperate to get off the indoor trainer, the wheelsucker rode fixed gear on the route 2 shoulder south of Annapolis on Saturday, with Tom Aga. Some other team members were predicting broken hips, or offering to restrain the wheelsucker to protect him from himself, but the nearly two hour fixie ride went fine, with no icy spots found, though the bike was so dirty it needed a shower afterwards. Rather than do the same ride again, the wheelsucker decided to ride with some of the elite team on Sunday, out of Eric Krause’s home in Middletown MD.

It was cold and windy; the wheelsucker’s chronic sore lower back was tight from Saturday, and he was a little hung over and short of sleep, but the elite guys had suggested a normally-paced ride, so the wheelsucker figured he would be OK.

As soon as the wheelsucker exited from interstate 70 onto route 40 he noticed that the terrain was NOT FLAT!

Eric was ready and once Nat and Stephen rolled up, the four rolled west on route 40 to pick up Brian. The wheelsucker’s first indication that this ride would have its challenges was when he could not clip in due to snow and ice buildup in his cleats. He fixed that and found the long sprint to catch up with the others seemed to help his warm up.

The first part of the ride was OK, but then the climbs start. The wheelsucker struggled on the short climbs and was gapped on the medium and long ones, and would summit – maxed out and nearly cross-eyed – to find the elite riders relaxed and waiting for him.

The wind built and the riders used a rotating paceline. The wheelsucker was told that he was drilling it too hard when at the front. This might have explained why he was tiring rapidly, while the elite guys not even breathing hard (the real reason was harder for the wheelsucker to accept). Soon the wheelsucker was going off the back on short climbs. He started skipping pulls and staying at the back until his HR dropped to 130, and would then jump back into the rotation until he was ready to pop again, but he was still vulnerable on any climbs.

After about an hour and a half of this, the wheelsucker was cold and miserable, all-to-aware that he was slowing the other riders down. He finally took the opportunity to short cut back to Eric’s home down alternate 40, while the others went looking for more hard climbs. The wheelsucker ended up back at Eric’s home with 50 miles, the others ended up with 80 to 102!!!

The next elite team ride is the elite team training camp, and that was advertised as "cat 1 and cat 2" only. Coincidence? The wheelsucker suspects not.

A Tale of Two Ellicott City Fixie Rides

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times … it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair …"

Two Ellicott City fixie rides on successive days were very similar in some respects for the wheelsucker and very different in others. 

Saturday:
Just two riders started; Jay Murphy and the wheelsucker. The first good climb and longest of the ride is up Bonnie Branch. Jay opened a gap at the bottom of the climb, and the wheelsucker was immediately gapped, and could not close it despite going as hard as he could. The wheelsucker was sneaking peaks at his HR on the computer and calculating how far from his max HR he was, to distract himself from the pain. The HR varied slightly with the steepness of the climb, but gradually rose. Fifteen beats from max, then twelve, then near the top, seven. The wheelsucker could see Jay and was within easy site range at the top, but Jay had to wait for him. This was the pattern for the rest of the ride, Jay continued to push the pace on the climbs to ensure he got a workout, and the wheelsucker was gapped on every climb over a few seconds, was maxed out at the top of every climb, and would have to chase, while Jay would slow up and wait. Jay reported feeling stronger than he had a week or two earlier after some good workouts; the wheelsucker quietly lamented Jay’s form to himself.

Jay cut off part of the airport loop, so they returned to Ellicott City earlier than normal and then went up several steep climbs in Ellicott City. You thought Ilchester was bad? How about riding up a salt covered road so steep one needed to stand, but could not, because the back wheel would break loose when one did, or an unpaved two rut laneway that went through a mud pool at a low spot. The wheelsucker finally called "uncle" due to right ankle pain, when they dropped into Ellicott City at the bottom of a descent. The truth is he was exhausted, and nearly cross eyed on the climbs, and despaired of being able to stay with Jay. The wheelsucker went home, sat in a hot bathtub for awhile, and then went to bed to rest. The rest of the day was nearly a total loss, as he tried to recover

Sunday:
Six riders rolled out, but one dropped out very early after a flat. That left Mike Birner, Chris Harshman, Marc Frazer, Eric and the wheelsucker. Eric was riding a road bike, which is OK with this ride's rules as long as the large chain ring is not used. Even being able to coast on the fast downhills instead of spinning as fast as one dared looked great to the wheelsucker.

Mike was leading at the start of the Bonnie Branch climb but pulled off and the wheelsucker pulled through. Having done the same climb the day before, the wheelsucker was confident he could hold 158 bpm for at least part of the climb and was also expecting to tire quickly after the hard ride the day before, so kept rolling while he could. After a minute or two the wheelsucker started to wonder if he was killing himself towing the rest up the climb, so he sneaked a peak under his arm, and didn't see a front wheel. Now Bonnie Branch has some nice curves, and when the wheelsucker looked back more carefully, there was no one in site. Winning a climb that no one else contests may be a bit lame, but the wheelsucker will take whatever crumbs he can, so kept going hard. There is a road coming into Bonnie Branch from the left just before the very top, and when the wheelsucker turned the last corner, saw that road and saw no one behind him he stood and gave it all he had left, winning the climb (over a group that probably wasn't contesting it) by 20 seconds (yes, the wheelsucker timed it). The wheelsucker will take what he can get. Average and max HR were a beat or two below that on the same climb Saturday.

The rest of the ride was good for the wheelsucker, the pace on the climbs was slightly easier, and the wheelsucker could usually hold a wheel, or failing that quickly chase down after the top, confident that he was not the last rider at the top of the climb, going off the back. The wheelsucker finished the ride feeling good, with better hopes for the coming season than on Saturday.

The 38x15 gear was working well both days, allowing the wheelsucker to stay with the others on the fast downhills. The light rain on Sunday kept the roads and riders wet, and increased the wheelsucker's concerns on the downhills. On one occasion Mike and Chris contested a downhill sprint and went by the wheelsucker like he was standing still. Mike's high cadence for the day was an incredible 194 set on the long downhill back into Ellicott City on Frederick road. The wheelsucker recalls braking on this descent (and on many other descents) as he was uncomfortable spinning any faster on the wet curved road.

The wheelsucker’s guidelines for surviving the Ellicott City Sunday (and occasionally Saturday) fixie ride:

Do whatever you have to get rid of Jay; Jay was flying out of town for the week so could not ride Sunday. Jay's good days will make one suffer!

Don't believe Mike Birner when tells you a 39x16 will work. Unless you have an amazing ability to spin, you won't be able to hold experienced fixie riders on the downhills with a lower gear, especially when they can spin rather higher than you can. The gear you want is 38x15, or whatever is nearly identical in gear inches. It might interesting to try a slightly higher gear to make the downhills easier, and trying to hang on the uphills with the bigger gear.

Conserve energy and wheelsuck as much as possible (of course this comes naturally to the wheelsucker).

Ensure someone a little weaker than you is doing the ride. Some heavier riders who struggle on the climbs or some pretty women in Lycra (remember: don't drop the pretty women!) who may not be quite as strong as Jay and Mike will cause the group to wait at the top of the climbs, or at the bottom of fast descents, and one can catch one's breath while waiting for them, quietly grateful that one is not off the back oneself.

Wheelsucker Data (the Saturday ride was longer and had more very steep climbs in Ellicott City at the end):

Saturday:
average/max
HR 141/166 bpm
Cadence 78/169 rpm
Speed 15.4/33.5 mph
2:22:59 elapsed time
36.81 miles

Sunday:
average/max
HR 135/164 bpm
Cadence 84/165 rpm (the Powertap only recorded cadence for the first part of the ride, average and maximum cadence calculated from average and maximum speed)
Speed 16.7/32.9 mph
2:03:38 elapsed time
34.61 miles

Playing In the Snow

Does anyone know what the official snowfall was? Twelve inches? Fifteen inches? Twenty inches? Not that it matters, because whatever the number it was more than enough to shut down Washington DC and shut down Annapolis. The wheelsucker finished his Tour de Balcony ride (the wheelsucker rides the indoor trainer on his balcony because it is cooler than riding indoors) just about the time the snow started to fall on Friday. By Saturday morning everything was covered. The wheelsucker eventually checked on his car and decided digging it out was too much work, and decided to wait for the snow to melt. But sitting at home got old quickly, so eventually the wheelsucker decided to try the MTB in the snow. After taking a guess at what tire pressure would work, the wheelsucker and his hardtail hit the snow. The wheelsucker was a little concerned about being hit by a car, but only saw four between his home and downtown Annapolis. There were a couple of falls when riding too close to the piles of snow on the shoulder, trying to give cars room to pass, but falling in the snow is a lot easier than falling in a road race.

Grinning ear to ear, the wheelsucker rolled into downtown Annapolis at the traffic circle and Market House and realized most of it was closed. His favorite coffee shop, the Hard Bean was dark. But a few bars and City Dock coffee were open, so the wheelsucker enjoyed a large latte as his reward. After savoring it to the last drop (and procrastinating as long as possible), the wheelsucker hit the road for the ride home. For some reason, everyone he passed had the same comment – that’s dedication – but the wheelsucker actually thought there were less complimentary words to describe riding in the snow.

Winter riding thoughts:
Keep the weight back so the front wheel does not dig in.
When riding in a car tire rut, don’t look down, look ahead.
Brakes work remarkably well in the snow
When you are about to wipe out, wipe out towards the shoulder, not into the road.

A Good Idea? Not So Much.

Last night I was really hoping that the snow would melt and the roads would be clear today for the Ellicott City ride. Given that desire, I was predisposed to optimism this morning when I saw the temperature hit 32 degrees and the roads in West Annapolis clear of any snow, ice or moisture. I saw Mike Wagner's Facebook post "Michael Wagner is braving the cold and icy weather" so I knew I wouldn't be alone. And of course Steve Owens is always there if it is not raining. So it was the three of us that set off at 10:15. The roads looked good and the BWI path (at least the parts I saw on the drive in) were clear. So far so good. A little ways down the path, there were a few slippery spots and I'm thinking, hmm, maybe this isn't such a good idea, but we press on. Lawyers hill was wet but not slippery, certainly not anywhere near what High Rock was like last spring. All was good into Ellicott City, although we were taking the descents very carefully. All was good going up Oella, until about half way up we came around one of the left hairpins and like three dominoes down we went, floop, floop, floop. Luckily it was a pretty slow speed fall, so pretty much no harm, no foul. I'm sure there will be a few sore hips tomorrow though. There were a couple more icy spots on the way up and we went REALLY slow down Westchester back to the coffee stop.

We decided to go down River Road and see how that was (quite dry) and thought we'd go up Thistle road for the hill and then come back down it because we knew S. Hilltop would be treacherous. Thistle looked good at the bottom, but just after the first turn and out of the sun, not so good, so we skipped it and continued up Illchester and back to BWI. In retrospect, probably not the smartest thing in the world, but we did get in a nice 2:15 ride (only 4 miles shorter by cutting off Thistle/Hilltop). And at least it was a little more sane than Ali who, according to a text he sent me, was sitting at the Davidsonville Road park and ride yesterday, wondering why no one was there...

Sometimes You Just Have To Get On The Bike

I was really looking forward to a day off today because that meant that I could get in a long mid-week bike ride. A few days ago the forecast went from bad to better when Ida changed tracks a bit. So, I put out the word to ABRT for a fixie friendly longish ride for Wednesday. Either there are not too many Feds in ABRT or everyone else was looking at the weather forecast because I got virtually no response.

Well, sometimes, you just have to get on the bike, weather be damned. Sure it's almost always more fun to have people to ride with, but I just didn't want to miss the opportunity: kids in school, wife traveling... I geared up with my Pactimo "rain cape" and tried a new thing of plastic bags between my shoes and booties in the hope that would keep my feet from getting totally soaked. Uh, right. I was a little worried because I couldn't find my full leg warmers, so just put on the knee warmers and hoped for the best. I rode from home in West Annapolis and made a swing through the park and ride just to take a few pictures.

Hmm, no wonder I couldn't get anyone to join me. The ride out was pretty nice given that it was a tailwind. I looped around Gov. Bridge and St George Barber and after an hour with some headwinds it started to get cold. The last 1/2 hour was pretty chilly since it was a full-on headwind back. But I know it's almost over when I get to my favorite part of riding back to the house: the section on Ridgely Ave from Bestgate Rd. You come down the hill and over the Weems Creek Bridge. Ahh, home sweet home.

So how'd I fare on the cold, rainy ride gear? Defeat long sleeve base layer, check; Pactimo long sleeve jersey, check; Nike full finger dryfit gloves and balaclava, check. Pactimo rain cape, check. Legs/rear, wet and cold. Feet, wet, cold, numb. I think I need some long bibs that have more insulating properties for the 40-60 degree and wet rides. For booties, I am wondering if there is an insulated shoe cover that is 100% waterproof that is essentially a mini "drysuit" with neoprene seals to keep the water from running down your legs and into the shoes. All in all, and hour and a half, 30 miles. Perfect.