You are here: Berkeley Hills RR
May 15, 2012 Race report, Road Race
Other teammates: Gonzalo, Bill, Mike, John L, Rory
Class/Cat: M45+ cat 4
Finishing place: 27/48
Berkeley Hills was the 2nd race for me for this season. I felt like I’m in better shape at this point in the season than last year so I was hoping to stay with field. There were about 50 starters in the 45+ cat 4 group including Gonzalo. The race starts with a 2 mile promenade out to the course and then a gradual downhill run to the first right turn and the first of several short power climbs. Basically, everyone seemed to have the same idea of how to ride this race, conserve energy on the flatter portions and go hard on all the climbs, burn everyone’s legs out and let the best win on the final climb. There may have been a few trying to go off the front but no one managed to get more than 10s up the road before they were reeled in within a few miles of the next climb. The first time up the bears (Baby, Mama, & Papa) I was working hard but was able to keep my place in the pack. I thought I was in the middle but I kept hearing the motorcycle not far behind. Gonzalo was having troubles with the climbs and was getting gapped on every climb. I didn’t think I was going to see him until the end of the race, but he would chase and catch back on just before the next climb, get gapped and chase again. He was in for a long morning!
The 2nd lap was more of the same and the bears were OK and I had no trouble staying with the pack through the S/F line. The 3rd lap the racing started in ernest and the speed picked up on the flatter sections. When we started the bears again the pace was a notch higher on the climb. At the top of Baby bear, I was gapped by about 25 feet to the end of the pack. It may as well have been 250ft at that point. I gave it everything I had on the decent and worked with another rider. We charged up Momma Bear with the pack dangling just in front, but again at the top of Momma bear, we had about a 40ft gap and could not close before the decent. I was gassed but went as hard as I could, even drafting passing cars to try and gain a few more feet but to no avail. When I stared the final climb to the finish, the pack was about 15s ahead. My finishing place, 27/48. Gonzalo finished about 5 minutes later but he was chasing almost the entire race! After downloading the garmin stats and comparing to last year, this race was ridden 1.5 mph faster and I was riding the climbs at about 1.8mph faster than last year. Lessons learned from this race: loose two more pounds, do more hill intervals.
Wente Road Race
May 1, 2012 Road Race
Last year I was DQ’d at Wente, my very first road race. It was rather embarrassing and disappointing especially since I was actually enjoying the event… er, no, I was suffering miserably. This year, with very little intensity to my training, my goals weren’t exactly lofty. All I wanted was not to be DQ’d and to finish the event, preferably with a smile on my face. As my ever encouraging team mates reminded me on my last time up Carroll – to smile means you’re not working hard enough, so I scrapped the last part of my second goal. I finished without being DQ’d, and the heat on Carroll wiped the smile off my face (but I was smiling on the inside).I came 32nd of the 34 finishers so I’ve got lots to work on before next year.
p.s. An added bonus was that I did my first ever water bottle pass off at the feed zone.
Belated Regalado RR Report
Apr 13, 2012 Race report, Road Race
Team mates: Bill Brier, Rey Surla, Chris Gaitos, Michael Baxter, Gonzalo Carrillo, Roy Taylor
54 miles
Cat: 4 (women)
Result: 2nd
Field size: do I really have to say? Ok – 2
I tried to post this report right after the race, while the details were fresh in my mind, but WordPress and I had a spat and I lost. Finally, using a different browser, after changing my password five times, and clicking my heals twice, I finally got it to work. On to the race.
I signed up for Regalado based on the fact that it was hosted on a Sunday. It’s a poor way to choose a race but since I don’t have Saturdays free until mid-June and I wanted to try a road race before Wente it seemed like a good choice. I signed up as soon as registration opened. Roy told me a couple of weeks later that only one other woman was signed up. It was disappointing, especially as the forecast for race day was poor which made it unlikely there’d be any race day entrants. Sure enough it was just Pennie Sponsel from IronDataThirstyBearCycling.com and me. It wasn’t hard to spot my competition at registration. She immediately suggested riding together which was nice but a little intimidating. I’ve done lots of base training this year but I’m distinctly lacking on the intensity front. My original plan for the race was to stay with the group as long as possible to gain experience and then fall off the back if I couldn’t keep up. With only one person to race against, someone with plenty of race experience, I felt a little like the Emperor in the kids story who didn’t have clothes. Pretty soon Pennie was going to figure out that I was a club rider masquerading as a racer.
As expected we started off with one of the men’s groups (Cat 5 Master 35-99 I think). We stuck at the back of the pack chatting with the referee through the neutral zone. He had good suggestions and was very encouraging. Pennie and I stuck with the men for the first few miles of the race, drafting nicely off them. We turned a corner and suddenly, poof!, they were gone. We couldn’t believe how quickly the pace had picked up, and that was the last time we saw them.
Then it was just my competition and me. We chatted as we rode, well mostly Pennie talked and I grunted monosyllabic responses as I tried to get into a rhythm. It became apparent really quickly that I was completely out classed. Pennie could have probably lapped me if she chose, but she didn’t and we both had a really fun race. As it turns out Pennie is also a coach and over the course of our 54 mile race she coached me and offered me lots of great encouragement.
Because it was all new and I was trying to find a pace I could sustain for the entire 54 miles the first lap seemed quite hard. I’d been looking forward to, and dreading, the dirt section of the course in equal measures. I don’t mind a bit of gravel but after all the rain the night before what we encountered was not dirt, it was more like small lakes interspersed with mud flats. We were lucky, because we’d agreed to stick together, and there were only two of us, we could pick our line through it. Even doing that was hard in places. I can only imagine how hard it was for the men’s groups to really race through it. The pot holes were deep, wheel-sucking lakes, one of which was the width of the entire road. Unfortunately I ended up riding through it when my back wheel slipped in the mud at the edge of the road. I had a nice rooster tail for the rest of the race but I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed that part of the course, it added a little interest.
The second lap felt so much better than the first. Pennie and I chatted, we talk to the cows, horses, dogs, donkeys. We exchanged life stories. Pennie continued dispensing valuable advise and since we were only racing against each other we stopped to help a rider with a flat (who didn’t have a pump). It was very civilized but it was not a leisurely ride in the park (at least not for me).
At the beginning of the third and final lap it looked like it was going to pour. At few drops of rain on my bike and then if was fine again. The landmarks were becoming familiar and everything was going pretty well until I started to bonk. I’d brought 2 bars with me, broken into small pieces in zip lock bags in my jersey pockets. The only problem was that one of them was too hard to chew comfortably and it mostly tasted of stale cardboard, while the other (a favorite) was tucked into my middle pocket and no amount of wrestling with it and my jersey could dislodge it. My emergency energy is Hammer Gel. I’m not a fan of gels, they just taste nasty so I rarely use them but I was really glad I thought to throw one into my pocket. The only problem was that I couldn’t rip the top off. Dang! Eventually I managed a dribble from the gel but it wasn’t enough. So, I bonked half way through the last lap and really only figured out the problem after the race. Pennie slowed her pace so as not to lose me which of course just made me feel worse.
Did I mention we had our own personal SAG vehicle follow us with lights flashing for most of the third lap? We were the last people on the course. Each time we got to a turn the volunteers were so happy to see us so they could pack up and go home. We lost our SAG on Tim Bell (the lake road) but regained it again shortly before the end of the race when it went from being our SAG to our lead car. Pennie, who was so patient through the entire race, decided to let the horses run to the finish. I tried to follow her but the tank was empty.
All in all a great race although race might be too strong a word for it. I’m looking forward to doing it again next year hopefully with a few more women.
Sorry for the terse report, next time I’ll try to flesh it out with a few details.
Merco Crit
Mar 7, 2012 Race report, Road Race
Category: 4′s
Team Mates: None
Place DNF
Average Speed: 23mph
My day started well because I was able to pre-ride the course. Then I went off and did my warm-up. When I was finished I headed to the line and awaited the start. The race started fast. As we raced round there were several attacks, especially when one of many $50 primes were offered. After about 5 laps my back tire blew out. I made my way to the pits where they gave me zipp 404s. Thank you Larry for reminding me to get a back wheel that had a Jr. cassette. Once I got the new wheel I rejoined the race. I had never ridden zipps so I was unprepared for the speed and handling in the corners. It was very fast. When I rejoined the race I was greeted by a flurry of attacks. A few laps later going into a tight left hand turn I almost crashed. I do not know what happened, I think I may have got my wheel stuck in a road crack, but midway though the turn my back wheel kicks up and out to the right. Luckily I managed to stay up right. After that I could feel a problem with my back wheel, it felt wobbly. The pace of the race was raised again with multiple attacks, but no one could stay away. Then with just two laps to go my back wheel flatted again.This was probably because of my near crash, and because I do not have brake pads made for carbon wheels like 404s so I was probably messing the rim of the wheel up when I would brake. When I got to the pits they said there was no more Jr wheels, and even if there was the free lap rule had ended, so unfortunately I was forced to take a DNF. This crit is one of the most fun races I have ever done, I wish my luck was better because I had good legs that day.
Pine Flat RR
Feb 28, 2012 Race report, Road Race
Pine Flat RR
M45+ 1/2/3
Field size: 22
Result: 6th
Teammates: None in my race. Chris Gaitos in the E5′s.
Chris and I drove up on Saturday and pre-rode the entire course loop without the out and back section. I felt like crap with a terrible stomach ache but it was worthwhile to see the course, especially the last several miles. We stayed at the cheapest hotel you can imagine with a broken electric wall heater, but it was only about 1/2 mile from the start and they had comfortable beds, so it served it’s purpose.
We started at a good pace and after the turn around, or maybe before, there were many many attacks. All of them were covered so it was a constant surge. Finally after turning on Riverbend Chris from San Jose was ahead then the first and second place winners bridged up and they were gone. Then came the main climb. There were eight of us so about half the pack had dropped back on the climb even though the pace was moderate. After the climb there is a short descent which we were taking pretty slow. Hunter decided to attack and no one seemed to care. After a few minutes I took the lead and picked up the pace to catch Hunter. I didn’t jump but went hard enough that there was a gap between myself and the others. We caught Hunter then I slipped back to rest for the final couple of miles. It would have been a good time to attack and it might have worked because everyone seem pretty tired. But I played it safe and saved my energy for the last little climb which would come after the fifth cattle guard. This is a hilltop finish so with 200 m to go someone took off. I was second but could not close the gap on him then about half way up I got passed by a Berkeley guy. So I finished 3rd in our pack and 6th overall.
This was my first race of the season. My second race was to be Snelling the following week. After Pine Flat I figured I was starting to feel better and had high expectations but that’s not how it worked out. Wednesday I got my first clue that something was amiss when my time up Sierra was 90 seconds off from the a week earlier. I didn’t ride on Thursday and went for a short hour ride on Friday. Saturday rolled around and at 4:45 am I was on the road to Snelling. Garry had full support setup with the team tent. I started about mid-pack. After Olsen Rd I had gravitated to the back of the pack. Not a good sign. On the second half of lap 1 with a strong tailwind the pack was strung out long so you can imagine the pace was fast. Before completing lap one my race was done so I turned left and headed for the parking lot.
Bill
Feb 25, 2012 Race report, Road Race
I arrived got registered, and warmed up. My warm up ran a little longer than it should have and I almost missed my start. Once the race got going we rode along, and since the field was very small there was no shelter from the brutal wind. There were some attacks, nothing stuck though. The pace started to pick up, but then we were neutralized by an other pack. While neutralized the speed hovered between 10-13mph. It was very slow. This happened about 5 times, it was very frustrating. With to laps to go I clipped the wheel in front of me and almost when down. As we went on to the last lap there was no attacks over the hills as I expected. On the long stretch before the last turn I had good position, but coming out of the final corner going for the sprint I pulled my foot out of my peddal. I still managed to come in 6ht. Thank you to Garry for having the tent up, Dad for standing in feed zone with bottles for me.
Knights Ferry RR
Feb 8, 2012 Race report, Road Race
- Knights Ferry RR
- February 4, 2012
- Team mates- John L, Chris G, Roy T, Ken
- Other team mates racing- John B, Chris M
- Results: 13th
- Category- Elite 5
- Field -48
John L, Chris G and I decided to carpool to the race. With none of us ever participating in a road race before we all a little nervous/excited and this made for a fun car ride. We were happy to see our teammates Roy, John B, Ken and Chris before the race started.
After taking care of the pre race stuff the cat 5 guys made our way to the start line. The race started out nice and slow which trust me I wasn’t complaining about. During this part of the race John, Chris and Roy where towards the front of the race while Ken and I were hanging back. After a few miles the race speed picked up and the first turn around was upon us. I found out that we were turning around because of all the chaos in front of me, soon enough I was shoulder to shoulder with a guy as we helped each other around the cone in the middle of the road. After the first turn around the increased pace continued and I managed to get about two wheels behind Roy, John and Chris. Ken at this point was still hanging towards the back of the pack. We started to come across some rollers and this is where Roy who was hammering in the front all morning started to fall back. Eventually we came across the finish line which was on a slight incline, and shortly after we made our way to the second turn around which went much smoother then the first one. Once we passed the finish line and some of the rollers on the return of our first lap I looked back and found that the group of 48 was narrowed down to about 25 or so riders. I had about four or five guys behind me and let Chris know that our group had dropped a bunch of riders. John and Chris were rotating near the front, and maintained a position 6 or 7 wheels back. At some point our group of riders passed up two groups of cat 4 riders who had started 10 minutes before us. During the catch confusion accrued which let two guys break free. Our group of 25 slowly made its way down to about 16 or so riders during the second lap, but this time it was Chris and I sitting in the very last two spots. We were flying and my legs were dying. As we approached the finish and I had done my share of yo yoing off the back and politely asking some of the riders if they would push me to the finish. Everyone towards the back of the group seemed to just a worn out as myself and was not willing to push me to the finish. We started going over some rollers and this is where our group started to get spread out. The group was starting to gap Chris and I when I took advantage of a descent and told Chris to hop on my wheel. John hung in there with a group of at least 4 and Chris and I had found a second wind. Despite being behind a bunch of riders Chris and I were approaching two other riders. I was pretty determined to catch these guys and was making up ground on them until I got a horrible cramp in my right calf. At this point I was trying to get some water and next thing I know I am near the edge of the road. I was starting to gather myself when I heard this voice “come on lets go!” and felt this godly like push from behind. After the push and the slowing of the pace there was no way we were going to catch the two guys ahead of us. Now we had to focus on not getting caught by the two guys behind us. At this moment I started focusing on using every muscle except my right calf to get to the finish. The last few miles of the race felt like an eternity which I loved about the race. The struggle to the line was great. Chris and I managed to hold our spots and got 13th and 14th despite yo yoing off the back of a group of 16 or so riders. John was able to grab an 8th place finish which was great and one of the two riders that broke away was able to stay off the front and grabbed first. I had a lot of fun during my first road race and having teammates there with me defiantly made for a better day on the bicycle.
Geno Uliana
Knight’s Ferry RR
Feb 8, 2012 Events, Race report, Road Race
| February 8, 2012 | ||
| 7:00 pm |
Even though it was early, it was nice to be in a warm car at 7 am and not on my bike, freezing and looking at Bill and Chris’ [backsides] riding to the ride (the joke of the day was wondering what time Bill left to ride to the race) though I did have to eat Roy’s dust, literally, for about 4 miles on the, as it was advertised, “short” section of unpaved road on the way there.
Beautiful day in the valley, mid 60’s and it was nice to race without a ton of clothing exposing my Englishman-like pale skin (sorry, laddies). Any thought about the first race being a bit easy quickly disappeared as we hammered from the start (glad I did a 15 mile warm up). The two turn-arounds which were at the top of long rises were pretty wicked, from ½ mph to 35 mph just like that. It was a typical Masters (55+) race, fast, but even paced with sensible riding, no yelling, no brakes, no crashes, no squirrely riding, and, aside from the turn-arounds, no slow and then fast. I stayed up front most of the time hoping to get into a break but none materialized, the pace was too high. One started to get away and I quickly road up to it, pulling 20 of my closest friends along as well. I felt great the whole race, despite the frostbite those early mornings rides did pay off (thanks Chris and Bill). Unfortunately for me the only time we slowed was the last three kilometers when the pace let up and everyone got back on, so the pack hit the last hill together. I had hoped it would have remained fast and strung out, but not to be, so it was a mass sprint up the hill, I was near the front but faded to 9th. All in all it was a great day and worth the trip. Lesson for the day, if you want a break, start one. It will be nice to race in the future with my teammates in the 45+ 1,2,3′s.
