2010 training begins, and my thoughts on compact cranks

Today I woke up to an email from Joel who was to be my riding buddy for the day, saying that the roads looked pretty slick. Content to go back to bed, I believed him. I woke up around 11:30, and things were looking better so I started getting motivated to head out. I finally got dressed and out the door around 2pm, and hit the road on my cross bike complete with 24c Vittoria Open Paves and a 50/36 compact crank.

I ended up riding out to Bamberg and back, a rolling out and back that takes me a little over an hour in the summer, and about 1h20 today. It was a great day for a ride, with the temperature hanging around 0° and relatively clear roads. Only a couple times was I a little hesitant riding through some snow or icy looking patches. It felt good to get out for a road ride and in general to ride without going hard the whole time. Cross season really is a strange period for training - it has me so used to riding only at high intensity, or at a recovery pace. It was nice to ride some easy tempo for a bit.

It was also my first road ride all season on round chainrings. Overall I think it'll be good to move back to them for awhile. It felt a lot less stressful on the quads (because I was likely not pushing as large a gear, and the ratio is not effectively higher in the power stroke) and only took some minor thought into a good pedal stroke. I think the Q-rings have their place, but for me as a developing rider it's not the right time to switch over completely.

Now on to the compact gearing. I was riding 50/36 with my usual 11-26 road cassette out back. I really had no idea what to do with the front derailleur most of the time. The 50t was too much for the rolling hills at base efforts, and the 36 was a huge jump down. I eventually figured out that using the 50 for descents and tailwind sections and the 36 for everything else was the best compromise. Lots of 36x13, 14, 15 type gearing going on - something I'd normally avoid with a 39t on my road bike. I did enjoy the 36x26 for going easy on the hills at this time of year, but I also hit 120rpm or so in the 50x11 on some pretty tame descents. For the flat to rolling terrain we have in Ontario, I really don't see compact gearing as a viable option on a proper road bike. The common 50/34 is only worse in this respect.

The plan for this crank is to run a tight 36/42 combo for cross racing, and basically to stay in the 42 most of the time like a single ring. It came with 50/36 chainrings and I plan to leave the 50t on for some road riding over the winter and for Paris-Ancaster (if I even do P-A?)

Non-race report: Subway CX

I didn't race today, but I did go to the race so I figure I'll write a bit. Rolled in at the beginning of the 10 am race, saw Stephen go by quite quickly. That had to be a podium in M3? We'll see when the results are up. Chatted with some of the usual cross folks for a bit, the recurring topic being why I wasn't racing. My answer is that I'm finally taking a break. I thought all week about racing but decided to spend one on the sidelines, and after doing so I don't regret it.

The elite race was a great one to watch, with a front group stringing out early behind Morse, all the usuals in tow: Box, Stafford, Chown and Watson. Not far behind was Brusso and Mancini and a few others. Ah yes, Sam. He wanted to do the Elite race, and was told he had to win his Junior race first - and did so in style after flatting and chasing back. He sat in that lead group for about half a lap, then began falling back. After 2 laps, about to be caught by Mancini he pulled out, apparently having thrown up in the bushes. Nice.

Back to the front, Chown was there setting the pace with Box and Stafford in tow, Morse and Watson a few seconds behind. Then he flatted, leaving him chasing back to Morse. That would basically set the stage for the battle of the day, Box v. Stafford. It appeared they might come to the line for a sprint, but the last couple laps saw Erik pull away slowly opening a gap that would stick to the end. A well deserved win for him, after so many close ones. I'll let Watson off the hook because he's already taken a break from the 2009 season and is starting for 2010 as he explains over here.

I'm enjoying that post-season break right now, and will bring the tubulars out once more for Hespeler in a couple weeks. Other than that it will be riding when I can and trying to fix all the damage racing has done. I'm really looking forward to getting back on the base plan and racking up the kilometers for 2010. Time to start planning (ok, much of the planning has already been done). I'll start talking about next year's schedule soon.

CSAJ Riverdale Cross race report

Today I racked up my first (and I suppose only) DNF of 2009. The photo below says it all:

Lap 1 went really well - started a little slower than usual, seeing if settling into a spot I think I could finish with worked better. It seemed to, as I finished lap 1 feeling good and started to pick up the pace to try to catch the next man, only metres ahead. Out of the baseball diamond spiral I stood up to accelerate, just got up to speed and saw a flapping piece of broken course tape. Then I was on the ground. I guess the tape grabbed my handlebar and pulled the bike out from under me.

It was a mess, with the brake cable housing actually out of its stop and such. I fixed that, then shouldered the bike for the runup since I was more or less at the base. Remounted at the top, only to find my chain off. Fixed that, got going again, but by now the majority of the M1 field had passed and the Seniors were long gone. After pedalling along for a bit longer and looking at the increasing amount of blood coming from my knee, I decided to call it a day. I let Steve and Al know I was done, and went about cleaning up my leg. After a brief wipe with some TP at the washroom I figured some first aid would be wise, and got helped out with a proper cleaning and some gauze.

Now that I'm home and showered, it's not so bad but I put some 3M Tegaderm over the wound in hope of fast and clean healing. I'm getting quite good at this after my road season this year...

Back to the race, the St. Catharines folks had a good showing with Geoff winning the S3/4 race, Brandon Etzl sprinting to a win in the Junior race, Aly taking 2nd in master women and Nathan dominating the Sr. mens race. The course was pretty good, with the long runup and another climb taking up the majority of the time, and the rest being a mix of straightaways and spirals on the flats. Not a very selective course, so it came down to who had good legs... which I did, and I think I would have done well, perhaps not getting lapped by Nathan which would have been a first since upgrading this year. That said, I am content with my season and was not necessarily out to accomplish or prove anything in particular. I'm very much undecided about racing next weekend. On one hand, the legs are there and it would be nice to finish the season on a high note. On the other, my head has really not been in the racing lately and I have little left to do with my season. Goals passed and fitness maximized, I really need to change gears and get back to the longer hours in the saddle for next year's preparation. I guess I'll have an answer by next Sunday!

USGP Mercer Cup Day 2 and recap

Day 2 began with me feeling quite a bit less sick than when I went to bed, but not generally feeling too fresh. This is typical for the second day of a double weekend, and with running around the pits and such a bit of extra fatigue was expected. The plan was largely the same for Sunday as I was racing at the same time - a stop for coffee and a breakfast bagel, sign on for the day, warm up, race, then work the pits and spectate. The course had been changed a little, with some sections cut out, some new turns added and a few sections run parallel to the previous course. Still, a lot was the same and there would be many sections that would be a muddy slow grind. Luckily I had a pit bike care of Marc Boudreau (and pedals for it c/o Natasha Elliott) so I was not as worried about the mud as just a tough second day of racing.

The weather took a considerable turn in the warm and sunny direction, so I was able to warm up in shorts and a jersey. I spun up and down the road through the park and did a few starts and hard efforts. I got to staging a bit earlier and got into place with my callup - 2 places better than the day before (i.e. same spot, basically). It turns out the guy beside me was 5th on Saturday and wasn't too happy that they didn't award any callup priority based on results from the previous day. I can't say I disagree with him. The whistle came up pretty fast, and we were off. I didn't really have a bad start, but I also didn't move up much at all so I basically hit the grass in about 50th or so. That was fine, because I found I moved up a lot easier on the grass than on the start Saturday. This did work, and on the hairpin bottleneck that everyone ran I got through quickly and gained probably 10 spots. I rode myself up another 5 or 10, easily into territory I could not sustain (top 30). As soon as we hit the flats I started falling back, and probably hit about 50th again - back where I belonged(?)

This was fine, but I felt like I was really just out for a ride and not really racing. My heart rate was not up and I couldn't get motivated to get going since my legs were still working hard to push through the mud. I pitted after 1 lap to get on a bike without so much mud, but right away the bike all over the place in the rear. I figured I just wasn't used to Marc's bike and the other tires weren't quite as good in the mud, but once I hit a less muddy section it became apparent that there was little to no air in my rear tire. Since it was my own tire, I decided to risk riding it out, trying to keep the weight over the front and limped into the pits. I think this is probably where I lost the rest of my places, only a handful of which I'd get back in the end. Rode into the pits and got my bike back, and was off. A lap later I pitted again and got the bike with the same rear wheel so I figure they must have got it to hold air. Ran most of the off camber by the expo this time and then pitted again to finish the race on my bike. With the bell lap upon me, for some reason my body decided to start racing and I was picking off a few guys here and there. Maybe got 1/3 of the spots I lost riding the flat to roll in for 63rd, 12 worse than Saturday, feeling like I hadn't really done much.

It turns out my 'flat' was the result of the valve being open or something like that, because the tire held air after that and appears to be fine. Thank goodness for tubulars. The same event on a clincher would have been a DNF because I was not running half a lap, and there's no way you can ride a clincher flat like that.

As for the rest of my day, I helped Alex out in the pits a bit and then got Jared's bike ready to pit for him in the Elite race. Watched the Elite Women go, and by now things were considerably drier and faster. Katerina Nash put on a good show, dropping Dombrowski to take another win. On to the men, I was pitting for Jared but it was clear from the Women's race that there would not be much action there unless there was a mechanical. Bikes were coming in clean and the course was only drying up. The pit was actually a good vantage point to watch from when it wasn't busy, so I got to watch Tim Johnson put in a huge effort halfway through lap 1 to drop everyone and solo away to victory. The battle for the rest of the top 5 was quite interesting with Trebon, Wells, Kabush and Driscoll swapping spots a few times and working on gapping each other before the finish. The remainder of the top 15 was a good show as well with DSJ riding himself into 11th for the next best Canadian showing behind Kabush.

The drive home was long and we had quite a hard time getting propane for the van after 2 am. We ended up making it into Toronto at the very end of our range and finding some fuel. It's amazing how many truck stops were either out of propane or had no staff on hand at night who were licensed to pump it. It was 6 before we got to Waterloo, barely able to stay awake and having to work just hours later. I got an hour of sleep and showered before heading to work. Needless to say, it was a long couple of days. I'll be resting up again this week, as at this point in the season I'm pretty much coasting on what fitness I have and trying to hold on to my form for a couple more weeks. The last few races should be very fun and largely low-key, though it should still be some good racing.

USGP Mercer Cup Day 1 report

I don't think I will be able to write much before I feel like sleeping, so I'll do a brief report today and a full report of the weekend later.

Today's race went reasonably well considering course conditions and my cold. I got to the race and got my number/chip and then back to the van to get dressed. There was no question about tire choice or pressure - it was Rhinos as low as I cared to run them. Rather than risk loading up the bike with mud in my warmup, I skipped a preride lap and did some sprints on the pavement near the course while the 3/4 women raced. I wasn't really concerned about getting much effort in so much as spinning up the legs to get moving, so the warm-up was kept short.

Onto the starting grid I got to experience the size of my field. With something like 83 there, it was the biggest start I've done. I was pretty much right in the middle, maybe 8th row. Zipped off the tights and jacket and passed them off, and we were away. The start was long and paved, and it was only halfway up the paved section that I heard bikes hitting the ground - luckily behind me, so I just kept pedalling! Into the grass things were good and I was moving up. Through the technical bit I rode right past a bunch of guys who were either running or sliding out. Nice! I was probably sitting top 30 at this point, but once we hit the muddy, bumpy slog through the field I started dropping back rapidly to guys with more fitness. Settled in and most of lap 2 and 3 were spent gaining/losing less than 5 spots. I picked it up on lap 4 and caught a couple guys I'd let go, but of course others had the same idea and likewise passed me.

And that was it... rolled in after 4 laps of about 10 minutes each, and I figured I had no idea how I did. Turns out it was 51st, which is better than I expected coming into the weekend. I'll take it. Tomorrow's goal: top 50 ;)

After my race, I got changed and checked out the Expo a bit. I got a sweet Stanley coffee mug, and got it filled with beer for free (this was part of the promotion). Enjoyed some frites and chicken fingers (ok, not really belgian frites, but french fries).

Then it was over to the pits to see how Alex was doing. I helped him pit for Natasha Elliott, since the pressure washers were hit and miss and half of the laps you had to wash the bike by hand. More of that in the Elite race where I was pitting for Jared Stafford - terrible service at the wash station! What a joke.

Pitting every half lap or every lap at minimum was a huge advantage, a huge advantage I didn't have. So for tomorrow, even though the weather is supposed to be better, I've secured a mix of borrowed gear to use: a bike from Marc Boudreau, and pedals from Natasha Elliott since she's the only person I knew with Looks. Thanks for hooking me up! No more 40 lb bike for the last half of the race.