Biscotti Madness

BiknBen said:
I'm glad that you were paying attention. To benefit others, I'll elaborate.
Tip #1:
Get to the front ASAP.
There is always a mad dash to get to the first challenging area of the race course. (first single-track or first climb, etc.) Those at or near the front have a better view of the course and less traffic to distract them. They control their own destiny. This is also where the fastest guys will be. Pay attention, these guys are offering you a free skills clinic. Watch what they do, their approach to obstacles, the lines they choose, the body position, cadence and style. This is why racing reduces your learning curve. Learn by watching others. Make note of where you loose and gains seconds on the riders around you. That indicates your strengths and weaknesses.

If you are stuck behind in traffic, you are fucked. You now have to navigate the course and the other riders. This mental distraction is huge. They will interrupt your rhythm by forcing you to slow down and then speed back up. You end up wasting mental and physical energy while those at the front are riding away.

Tip #2
Make the pass as quickly as possible.
When you catch up to a rider on the course there is often a moment of easing. You slow down and wait. You expend mental energy thinking about when to pass. Some racers may even think, "Cool, this guy can show me the lines and I'll just follow him". This is BAD. Remember...There is a reason why you caught up to this rider. He is SLOWER than you.

While passing rules and etiquette apply, you need to make that pass as quickly as possible. If you are closing that gap fast, make that pass without having to slow down. You loose time slowing down and then have to expend additional energy to accelerate around the rider. Be sportsmanlike but assertive with the slower rider and get it done. Then move on.
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Tip #1 was the beginning of my becoming a better racer. I literally went from mid/lower-pack, finishing 30+ to top 10 overnight. The only time I finished outside the top 10 after that was a) broken chain and b) when I blew up at Stewart last year. It soon became apparent to me that often times guys did not want to be #1 off the line. A lot of guys want to be #2 and #3 (with good reason IMO) and will let you take the #1 spot. While you may be going too fast to handle, you're now ahead of the 20 guys who are the same speed as you, and you will pass the slower guys ahead of you sooner.

If you are an average sport rider, the guys who are utterly faster than you will catch you and pass you. The guys who are close in ability but stay back will finish mid-pack while you may finish anywhere from 5-10 just because you position yourself well.

Tip #2 is becoming more useful for me this year. At the SS race every rider ahead of me was another chess piece between me and whoever was behind me. When I caught the expert class I was a little startled. I hesitated a little and slowed down for a moment. But then I came to my senses and said, "I don't give a crap if he's expert, I'm passing him."

Like Ben says, if you can, do it with authority. Leave no doubt in the rider's mind that you are faster, and he shouldn't bother. I often pass on the crest of a hill when the other guy is winded. I'm winded too but I make sure I give it a little extra to make it stick.

What makes all this stick more is Ben's advice from last year about riding more miles and losing weight. Of course, you can't pass with authority of you don't have the authority to begin with.
 
And on that note, out for another ride! Tip 1 is a big thing for me, as I'm usually in the mindset of if I'm faster I'll catch them eventually which almost always fails so next time at stewart I'm going out strong. Tip 2 was huge issue for me last race as I was riding my brakes on descents where I wouldn't have touched them to avoid careening into another rider. I'll be sure to keep all this fresh for next race 😛
 
I think tip number 1 there is going to be huge for me as well. Last race I was of the mindset that it is a long race, and if I burn up all of my reserves early I will have nothing left at the end. All of the logjams and traffic make it impossible to find a groove, and by the time it all thins out too much time is lost, and I used just as much energy struggling with the course and other riders. If I was off the front I can ride the course at my pace, which is always easier. Now stop giving out free tips, or else everyone else is gonna have the same plan.
 
FWIW, I find now with increased fitness, #1 matters less. I can make up more time in less space than I used to be able to. So at Waway I think I came out of the start at 8-10 and was at #2 in maybe 4 miles.
 
i so failed on both of these.

+ i had no illusions of winning so i didn't even bother with the start. i was WAY in the back. survey says!: FAIL

+ for the most part when i'd come up on people i'd pass them. i don't know when i'm supposed to or not so i'd ride behind them for a bit then go. execpt the last guy, the marty's guy that i rode with for about, oh, four maybe five miles. i just sat on his wheel. why? i don't know. actually, i do. he was going a pace i thought i was comfortable with so i figured WTF. my garmin was DOA and i needed something. i was faster than him b/c every time that first lap he tried to get away i'd reel him back in. by ben's logic i should have gone. survey says!: FAIL

i likely would have blow up sooner but who knows...maybe i don't work as hard on my own and blow up later? either way, at the end of the day i need more miles. but truly, if all races were as much fun as the ss-a-palooza, i'd probably be a lot more motivated to do them.
 
I woke up this morning and it was raining again. I figured that another day off won't kill me, but I got up anyway. Eventually the rain stopped and I got on the road a bit after 6:30. The ride, which doesn't mean anything looked at as a whole:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8374370

LTHR Test

Since I'm using HR lately I need to find my LTHR, Lactate Threshold Heart Rate. This is the point that your body goes from suck to blow. No, wait. This is when it starts to go from aerobic to anaerobic, which is the canned definition but it's not technically correct. I think it's the point at which your muscles start producing lactic acid at a rate equal to how fast your body can clear it. You know when you go hard and it hurts? That's lactic acid building up faster than your body can clear it. As you sit here and read this, your muscles are producing lactic acid at a rate much lower than what you can clear.

There may be a pedant or 2 who want to shout, "But it's not the lactic acid that burns, it's the by-product of lactic acid that burns." Ok, fine. But the model above still holds.

Warmup

20 minute endurance pace
3x1:1 high cadence spins
5 minute endurance pace
5 minute all out
10 minutes endurance pace

Test

20 minute time trial

The book says it's better to start the first 2 minutes below LT, then build up, then ride you max the last 3 minutes. I started at 23, moved up to 24, and finished off the set at 25 mph with my HR banging on 182.

Then subtract 5% of your average to get LTHR.

My average HR: 171
LTHR: 162.45

Since HR response lags a bit, I would tend to round that up to 163. Plus, in a "my amplifier goes to 11" sorta way....163 is bigger than 162. I had been estimating it at 158 just because that's what the HRM was set to.

Then

Then I planned to ride easy for another 2 hours but my body was like, "F you and the bike you rode in on," so we lolly-gagged around the swamp and went home. I got off the bike and I was a bit light-headed.

Now What

Use these training zones to get more pointed workouts. I don't know if this will stick but I've been wearing the HRM so I might as well see where I need to be. Tomorrow I hope to go for a 3 hour tempo ride so I'll set the zones appropriately and it will beep at me when I go over/under. If it's pouring tomorrow morning I don't know what I'm going to do.

Tomorrow

Wake up and see what the weather looks like.
 
Engignar said:
I think tip number 1 there is going to be huge for me as well. Last race I was of the mindset that it is a long race, and if I burn up all of my reserves early I will have nothing left at the end. All of the logjams and traffic make it impossible to find a groove, and by the time it all thins out too much time is lost, and I used just as much energy struggling with the course and other riders.
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Keep in mind, those tips are vague. Each course, class, and category will be different. A field of 5 racers is different then a field of 25. The theme is that it is better to expend energy to get ahead of the competition than to waste it and stay with them.

There are always a handful of riders that take this advice and blow up catastrophically in the early-going 🙄. You have to ride within your abilities. The race is often determined by the 1/3 or 1/2 point. Where you are at that point is likely where you will finish. The rest is what I call the "The race of attrition". In other words, who can survive the rest of the race without a mechanical? 😱

Also consider that you want to finish every race with absolutely nothing left. At some point in the race you should expect to blow up. Just plan to do it while you are far enough ahead. :getsome: The rider that wins is often the one who goes the fastest at the beginning and cramps last. 😀
 
Norm said:
Go for it. The people who read this thread deserve to see me in all my glory. I actually have some pics on my Flickr page. But I also have something like 500 or more pics up there, so you'll need to look through. I think there are 3 pics of me really looking dreadful.
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Sheesh, I thought people would be begging me to post it up...that I'd auction off the pic and make Big Bucks on it...Early Retirement...
Oh well, here it is:
3597855080_6a2186e6d9_o.jpg
 
Norm, Much respect!!!! You are already me hero but now you are my superhero.....Your Choice of which one....BTW, I think I went to Highschool with that girl....:hmmm:
 
Holly S! I had not seen that one before. I don't even see a resemblance to the current Norm. That is a good thing.

Girl is cute. I'd hit it! :popcorn:
 
woody said:
I've got a pretty good pic of Norm in his 'prime' at college. Trying to decide whether to share it with the board, or Blackmail him with it...:hmmm:
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woody said:
Sheesh, I thought people would be begging me to post it up...that I'd auction off the pic and make Big Bucks on it...Early Retirement...
Oh well, here it is:
3597855080_6a2186e6d9_o.jpg
Click to expand...

Were you and Woody like Laurel & Hardy in college or Abbot & Costello?
couldnt resist that one...
Norm you are the biggest winningest looser... people loose alot of weight and as a milestone compete in a triatholon... or some other race and are so proud that they finished the race. What you have done on a bike can only be done by top cyclists in NJ, very impressive.
 
That is Pure Love baby, Pure Love.

I mean me, not the couple in the pic. That was a GF of friend of ours in college. She's from Fanwood/Scotch Plains - Chuck is that your HS neighborhood?

I think that t-shirt said Maine on it. Apparently I was trying to compete with it in size.
 
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