Sunday, February 26, 2012

The Other Side of the Clipboard


I’ve been racing in OBRA events since 2009, primarily at the Cross Crusade series. I know all about pre-registration, waivers, and race rules. I know the pre-race announcements by heart; I recognize the course marshals. Racers in Oregon are lucky – OBRA is a well-oiled machine that consistently puts on well-organized, fun events. We show up, warm up, race our races, and go home to prepare for next time.

Officials training requires proper nutrition taken seriously

A few weeks ago, several Tensegrity members attended the OBRA officials training in Salem. We are starting a new short-track mountain bike series here in Eugene this summer so we decided to get involved in the officiating end of racing. Additionally, there is a dearth of OBRA officials in the Eugene area; Tensegrity wants to contribute to the local events like the Eugene Roubaix, Twilight Crits, and PsychoCross. So Taylor, Julie, Spencer, and I spent a (sunny, beautiful) Saturday getting trained to be assistant judges and assistant referees.

I learned how little I actually know about what goes on behind the scenes at an OBRA race. There are approximately one million moving parts that make up the machine of a cycling race. From registration to equipment to results posting, it is a TON of coordinated work from a host of talented individuals.

We each chose between getting trained as an assistant judge (AJ) or assistant referee (AR). I went the route of AJ since I like numbers, organization, and detail. AJs are the folks at the finish line writing down your finishing order. We also note rule violations like crossing the centerline in the final sprint, public urination (Really guys? Right by the finish line?), and other things you should know better than to do.

Sounds easy enough, right? I put my newfound skills to the test at the Cherry Pie last weekend and found out just how hard seeing and recording thirty numbers simultaneously can be. Luckily, it’s 2012 and we can score every racer with a combination of technology and our handwritten notes. But it takes a lot of focus, which means I don’t register the people associated with the numbers. Several friends said they talked me as they rode by but I didn’t hear a word. I hope that means I was doing it right.

At the Cherry Pie finish line
(photo courtesy of Denny Rowe)

Next time you’re at an OBRA race, be sure to thank your officials. They are up pre-dawn checking the course, setting up equipment, making sure your number is pinned right side up, keeping the race fair, and cleaning up everything after you’ve left. They coordinate so that you don’t have to. Let them know how much you appreciate them! I look forward to seeing everyone out there this season, either on the bike or behind the clipboard.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Sun and Fun at the Cherry Pie

The Cherry Pie Road Race is my white whale.  This is my third time attending the race and let’s just says the previous two attempts resulted in less than stellar results. Mechanicals or lack of fitness have contributed to me being dropped by the peloton. Suddenly I go from racing to being on a solo training ride.  This year was going to be different.  The bike was prepped and the fitness was good.

We are racing!
The neutral start was jovial.  As the peloton rolled along we discussed post race plans and lack of early season fitness.  The sun was shining and everyone felt like they had a chance to win.

As the group rolled through the first few miles, the pace lifted and all the jitters of the first race of the year become apparent.  Uneasy bike handling, uneven pace, and jockeying for position was the norm.  I sat in the middle of the pack and relaxed, feeling good.  I was focused on staying out of the wind and on the wheel in front of me.

I am very aware of where the first set of rollers are on the course because this is the place I have been dropped in the past.  Looking around I find myself at the back of the pack.  We hit the first roller and I bury myself to stay on the wheel in front of me, however, when I look up from my effort, I realize the person in front of me is getting dropped.  I swing out and really start driving up the hill, but the front of the race had pulled away as I rolled past those who were spit out the back.

I pass an unfortunate racer who dropped his chain on the second roller.  He is OK and I drive on.  As I clear the first set of rollers I see the front of the race and they are a ways away.  At this point I have two choices, stop racing and enjoy the day on the bike, or keep fighting in the hopes the peloton slows and I can get back into the group.  I choose the latter and keep pushing.

Then something unexpected happens.  The guy who dropped his chain in the first set of rollers passes me.  I get on his wheel.  He is definitely motoring, but I am able to stay in his draft and somewhat recover.  I continued to sit on his wheel and we rolled into the second half of the race.

Eventually, a small group forms and one strong rider is pulling six of us along.  However, we are slowing as the “engine” of our small group is getting tired.  He needs a rest.  I pull out of the pace line and move to the front of the group.  The pace lifts and we continue along.

I figure, if our group works together we can get back into the race.  I begin to tire and swing out to let the next racer pull through.  As the next racer does a pull he stays on the front to long, the group slows and results in the main “engine” of our group to pull out of the line and push to the front.  This is not efficient, but it is all we have.

Our group pulls it together
We continue to motor along and eventually pass the juniors who started five minutes before our race.  With two miles left in the race I spot the peloton.  They are within reach.  With one last effort we reach the back of the main group.  The racer who did most of the work rolls past me and tells me to follow him.  Unfortunately I do not have anything left.  I sit on the back of the peloton as we enter the final climb. 

In the end, I finished at the back of the main group.  Although it is not the best outcome, I was happy the effort got me back to the main group. Road racing targets my greatest weakness on the bike, which is a lack of sustained power.  One race into the season I feel like I have a good base from which to build. 

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Cherry Pie Race Report: A Missive

...And so it begins!

2012 starts not with the mountain bike race I thought it would, but rather, a road race I thought I'd never do again: the Cherry Pie road race. I did this race a long, long time ago and swore I would never road race again. Especially since it takes place in February, a time of year in Oregon not known for its blue skies and butterflies. Frankly I've always thought road racing to be mind-numbingly boring and not something I was likely to ever pursue.

Last year was good year of racing for me. As a Cat2 in the XC mountain bike series, I managed to make it to the podium 4 times; twice on the top step, securing 2nd place for the overall series. With this I earned myself an upgrade to Category 1 for 2012. As a Cat B in cyclocross, I started the season in early September with 11 top-ten finishes. I started the Cross Crusade series at Alpenrose Dairy by taking 2nd place and only nearly missing the win in the last minute and a half. After this, I was awarded with an automatic upgrade to Cat A status. It did not take long to realize I had a long way to go before I would be anywhere near the top-ten again! It was at this point that I revisited the idea of road racing again.

What would it take to be able to compete with these guys? They are fast, I mean, stupid fast. With most of my racing background in the off-road disciplines, I generally had no trouble competing with these guys through the more technical sections of a race; it was my fitness that slapped me right in my face.

Criteriums! This is where the fitness will be built. They are similar in nature, in that it requires and all-out effort for 45-60 minutes with little or no time to recover. I decided that for 2012, I needed to do as many crits as possible and I need to do them as a category 3 road racer.

The simple problem is that one cannot just arbitrarily upgrade from a cat4 to a cat3. In road racing you must earn your stripes.



"One does not simply walk into being a Cat3. Its black gates are guarded by more than just OBRA officials. There is evil there that does not sleep. Kenji's eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with high vO2 max, high LTs, and broken spirits. The very GU you eat is a poisonous gel. Not with ten thousand water bottles could you do this. It is folly."





Road racing: a necessary evil for the betterment of my cyclocross racing! And so, the friday before the Cherry Pie, I was informed by my roommate that I was racing on Sunday and that I didn't have a choice in the matter. Once the weather reports confirmed that I was indeed racing, I started readying my soul.

Race day! Bags packed, bike tuned, oatmeal eaten, coffee drank, nutella/jam sammy made, numbers pinned, legs warmed up, nutella/jam sammy eaten, ~2 mile neutral roll out and we were off! The race started fast. Although immediately up to 30 mph, I was quite comfortable sitting in the middle of the pack. This was my strategy: hide in the pack, do no work, go home a winner...this almost worked out.

From the beginning, one solo rider got away from the group and took an impressive 2 minute lead then about 10 miles into the race, another 2 riders got away. In an attempt to catch the second breakaway, a couple of guys moved to the front of the pack and pretended to do some work. However, after sitting in the middle of the pack for nearly 20 miles, the last 2 or 3 of which trickled by at a mere 18.5 mph, I started getting antsy. I didn't necessarily need to catch the breakaway, but I wanted to do something other than decide which wheel was the best wheel to suck. I was feeling too fresh for my own good. I decided I would put in just enough work to get the party started and then drift back into oblivion. To the front! I pulled us up to about 22 mph, where I still felt strong, but wasn't spending too many watts! I only stayed there for a couple minutes and that was enough. The real chase began and before we knew it, we had the 2 riders in sight and soon enough, we had them in our grip.

We hit the final climb of the first lap at balls-out speed and I immediately went into the red. Knowing this is where a split in the field could happen I was committed to staying with the front of the group. Once over the climb, we had a small split, though it came back together within just a couple miles. It was at this point we finally caught the solo rider who had been off the front from the beginning. Ready for round two!

Early into the second lap another two riders broke off the front, got 40 seconds on us, and stayed at 40 seconds nearly the whole time. Midway through the lap, with about 12 miles to go, we decided it was time to start the chase. Again...sitting in the middle of the pack had rendered me impatient and I felt like I needed to open my legs up a bit. 5 or 6 of us finally started working together and formed a nice tight pace line for a few miles and brought the gap down to about 10 seconds. With the final climb/sprint rapidly approaching, and satisfied with my efforts I went back to mid-pack and continued my trash-talking and started singing Lady Gaga.

As we approached the final right-hand turn to the finish climb, I knew I needed to be no further back than 10th wheel so I made my move and made the hard right. My big fear was that I would be so jacked up with energy that I would make the mistake of trying to fully sprint the 1K climb up the 7% gradient. But, I kept my head and picked a nice low gear and started the slow grind up the hill. As what felt like the entirety of the field came screaming past me I briefly questioned my tactics. That is, right up until I actually saw their tiny little heads explode one by one and I continued right on by the bloody stumps of their shatters legs. I spun the pedals, dropped a gear, spun that one up, one more gear, spun that one up too, dropped one more, 200 meters to go, passed a few guys, then a couple more, one more gear, heart beating in my ears, tunnel vision beginning, passed another guy, one more gear, 50 meters to go, finish line in sight, people screaming.....

11th place! (Which actually ended up being 10th because one guy was later disqualified for a tainted blood sample or for crossing the centerline during the sprint or something like that!)

Though I missed any upgrade points by just one placing, I am confident that with a little commitment to this road racing business, I will be racing the crits this summer as a Cat 3 and well on my way to peeing with the big dogs of cyclocross this year!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Tense-N-Grity! New Short Track MTB series to be hosted by Tensegrity PT Cycling

Bloomberg Course Details are not finalized and will be approved by Eugene Parks and EWEB

Tensegrity PT Cycling is proud to be bringing a new short track mountain bike race series to Eugene this summer. Plans are in the works for a 4 race series on Thursday nights July 12th-Aug 2nd. The course details are still being worked out but the location will be at Bloomberg Park near Lane Community College.

The course will be most likely 0.7 miles to 1.5 miles long with a mix of new singletrack, grass, and gravel road climbs with approximately 100-160 feet of climbing per lap. Tensegrity PT Cycling will be working closely with the Disciples of Dirt a non-profit chapter of the International Mountain Bike Association. The DOD are expert trail builders and will be helping in the design and maintenance of the new trails. The DOD would like to see Bloomberg park be kept as a year around training site for short track mountain bike races and cyclocross races with permanent barriers put in place.

More to come in following months. Stay tuned and keep on riding folks.