Today was a long day. Not only did we have to change the clocks back, I woke up at 4 am to drive to Waco, Tx to race in the Bicycles Outback Blowout race. The race is held at Cameron Park in Waco. I rode with Matt to the race. He was racing in the Cat 2 race and to register by 8:30 to race at 9:00. My race was at 1:30pm.
I figured this would be a interesting race for a few reasons. Not the least of which is I have not been on any bike since the Huntsville race. The other factor is I did not pre-ride the course, and there is a lot of climbing which pre-riding would have helped to identify the best way through. Oh well, here we go.
We lined up and waited for our start. I pushed it but gave up a few places on the road before dropping into the grass section on the way to the single track. I got stuck behind one guy who I found I kept catching on the up hills. The good news is it did not take long for him to take himself out. I just had to wait for the opportunity.
I ended up catching a few of the rider who went out two hard, but for me I made my biggest gains on the up hill climbs. This course really does not have many good passing places. For several of my good climbs, I got stuck behind a rider who was just a little slower than I. This caused me to hit the breaks to avoid running him over. The result, I was walking up several of the longer hills. He would pull away, then I would catch him again for the next climb. Finally on the second to last climb, I was able to get to the top the same time he did. I was also able to get back on the bike and pass him. On the next down hill I was able to pull away. All that was left was the 1/2 mile up hill road finish to put the race in the bag.
That last climb was tough. I started the climb with the HR at 181 bpm, and pushed it all the way to the top. Just before the top, I tried to take a drink, but could not sowallow. Not fun. I looked down as I crossed the finish. My HR was pegging out at 193. Looking at my HR graph after the ride, I was pretty near red line the whole race. My average was 173, but it felt like it should have been higher.
After the race, there was some issues with scoring. It took the team about 2 hours to get the Cat 3 results posted. When they posted the preliminary results, I was in 10 place with a total time of 43 minutes for the lap.
Sweet a top ten finish. Let's hope the results stay that way.
Sunday, November 07, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Huntsville Mtb Race 2010
Wow, it has been awhile since I have posted any more adventures of my racing or riding. I have been a little preoccupied with some minor health issues, and focused on getting that in order. The good new, I seem to have it under control. The better news, I am much leaner and trim than before. To date, went into this race 30 pounds lighter than last year. The results showed it too.
I lined up with the field and got a pretty good position. The course was very sandy, but it was fast as long as you paid attention to the course. I had one good crash due to a bad timing to grab my water bottle. I crashed hard.
After the dust settled, I finished this race in 13th place out of 42 rider. My time was 48 minutes and 31 seconds, or about 4 and a half minutes faster than last year. I was very happy to do that, and even better I was able to break the 50 minute mark for this course. All in all, I was very happy with the results considering the year I have had. Looks like I came out of my health problems for the better.
I lined up with the field and got a pretty good position. The course was very sandy, but it was fast as long as you paid attention to the course. I had one good crash due to a bad timing to grab my water bottle. I crashed hard.
After the dust settled, I finished this race in 13th place out of 42 rider. My time was 48 minutes and 31 seconds, or about 4 and a half minutes faster than last year. I was very happy to do that, and even better I was able to break the 50 minute mark for this course. All in all, I was very happy with the results considering the year I have had. Looks like I came out of my health problems for the better.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Mountain Biking in KL
With a long stay in Kaula Lumpur, I wanted to do some riding. One of my co-workers took me to a local bike shop which had a loaner bike I could use for the stay. The only thing they asked for was that I bring the bike back.
Deal!!!!
So for my first ride in another country, my co-workers to me to the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia. The ride was a little north and west of downtown KL but within view of the twin towers. We met on the back side of the park and rode to the back entrance. The one thing I quickly noticed is that KL has a lot more mountains to deal with. We started out with some easy climbs and then regrouped at the base of a long steady climb. I was able to make it up about half the hill before I ran out of legs. I don't know if it was my legs which quit or if I needed more gears. Either way, I walked up part of the hill. Not what this flat lander was used to.
After the big climb, we had some nice down hill rides on some of the gravel roads through the park. This brought us to the front of the park so we headed into one of the local areas to get a drink and something to snack on. Then back toward the park and a chance to see a short section of KL single track.
As we re-entered the park, I learned that we had a nice climb waiting us on the north slop of the mountain surrounding the park. After reaching the top, we had some nice downhill sections to make the climbs worth it.
FRIM consisted mostly of jeep road type trails, but was alot of fun.
Deal!!!!
So for my first ride in another country, my co-workers to me to the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia. The ride was a little north and west of downtown KL but within view of the twin towers. We met on the back side of the park and rode to the back entrance. The one thing I quickly noticed is that KL has a lot more mountains to deal with. We started out with some easy climbs and then regrouped at the base of a long steady climb. I was able to make it up about half the hill before I ran out of legs. I don't know if it was my legs which quit or if I needed more gears. Either way, I walked up part of the hill. Not what this flat lander was used to.
After the big climb, we had some nice down hill rides on some of the gravel roads through the park. This brought us to the front of the park so we headed into one of the local areas to get a drink and something to snack on. Then back toward the park and a chance to see a short section of KL single track.
As we re-entered the park, I learned that we had a nice climb waiting us on the north slop of the mountain surrounding the park. After reaching the top, we had some nice downhill sections to make the climbs worth it.
FRIM consisted mostly of jeep road type trails, but was alot of fun.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Excruciation Exam 2010
Nothing like a short ride at Warda and Rocky Hill ranch to start the new year. On January 2nd, 2010, S&S Trails sponsored another installment of the Excruciation Exam. Against my better judgment, I signed up again. The full course is 87 miles. My goal, finish the whole thing.
I got to Warda a bit under dressed for the race. It was about 30 degrees when I got to Warda. Luckily it was about 38 by the time we started. One thing was sure, by the time I finished the lap at Warda, I was making better time than the year before. I started the road portion with a small group. I was able to keep up with the group for a while, but eventually it turned into a solo ride to Rocky Hill Rance. I got to Rocky Hill and refilled the water and took in some snacks. I had about 3 hours to finish the long lap a RHR. With my last race out there, that should be doable. As the day wore on, I was poised to almost make it. I started getting tired with about 5 miles to go at RHR and noticed that I was going to be close on time. As the miles ticked off, I noticed the time was getting closer and closer to the cut of. In the end, I missed the cutoff again this year, but the good news is that they moved the cutoff up by 1 hour over the previous year I did this race.
Over all I was about 45 minutes faster for the same distance, but this year it counted as a DNF. I think I will wait until I am a bit faster before trying this race again.
I got to Warda a bit under dressed for the race. It was about 30 degrees when I got to Warda. Luckily it was about 38 by the time we started. One thing was sure, by the time I finished the lap at Warda, I was making better time than the year before. I started the road portion with a small group. I was able to keep up with the group for a while, but eventually it turned into a solo ride to Rocky Hill Rance. I got to Rocky Hill and refilled the water and took in some snacks. I had about 3 hours to finish the long lap a RHR. With my last race out there, that should be doable. As the day wore on, I was poised to almost make it. I started getting tired with about 5 miles to go at RHR and noticed that I was going to be close on time. As the miles ticked off, I noticed the time was getting closer and closer to the cut of. In the end, I missed the cutoff again this year, but the good news is that they moved the cutoff up by 1 hour over the previous year I did this race.
Over all I was about 45 minutes faster for the same distance, but this year it counted as a DNF. I think I will wait until I am a bit faster before trying this race again.
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