2007 Bariani Road Race

2007 Bariani Road Race Summary - Mens Elite 5

Last weekend was full of racing for me. On Saturday I did the Land Park Criterium see previous post here. Since I wanted to experience both a criterium and a road race I also raced in the Bariani Road Race out in Zamora, CA. This is a 30 mile 3 lap race on some country roads with a few rolling hills and one bigger hill with a KOM (King of the Mountain) - although it is more of a hill than a mountain...

Even though I only raced for about 25 minutes on Saturday, my legs were definitely feeling it on Sunday. I carpooled with a buddy to the race. He was on the waiting list so we were hoping there would be some no shows so he could get in. We got to the race in plenty of time. Changed, and set up our trainers in the shade of the winery warehouse. The weather was great, about 72 degrees, sunny and very little wind. This course is known for windy conditions, but today we got lucky.

There we no crashes (that I heard of any ways) on Saturday, however I was hearing some riders talk about crashing on Sunday. My buddy got registered for the race with about 15 minutes to go before the start. One last bathroom stop and we were off to the starting line.

The Elite 5 35+ category started at 2:00PM, our Elite 5 open category started at 2:05PM, and the Women Elite 4 started at 2:10PM. My goals for today were to #1 finish the race, and #2 try not to come in last place. As the race got underway, the pace was fast, but not as crazy as the criterium on Saturday. We made the first right hand turn safely and started settling into a nice group of 50 riders. It was a bit dicey as people were jockeying for different positions. I was hugging the white line as close to the edge of the road as possible. That way I only had to worry about riders directly in front of me and to my left. This worked out ok for a while, but as we made another right turn I could feel that I was being exposed to the wind. The ideal position would have been on the left side of the pack to be more shielded from the wind. If you're going to stay with the pack, you need to conserver as much energy as you can by drafting.

Things were going pretty good. I was in the middle to front of the pack as we started to get into some rolling hills. That's when I started to get very nervous. Guys were braking and slowing for no apparent reason. I guess that's just the way it is in bike racing. But it was a bit nerve wracking as the guy in front of you starts braking and then you have to brake and the guy behind you has to brake etc. Just like nasty traffic on the freeway, it's a chain reaction. Since I was riding close to the edge of the road, there wasn't much room for me to swerve out of the way if something crazy happened. After a few of these slowdowns and I started to give a bit more room between my front tire and the guy's rear tire directly in front of me. As I did this riders started to move up on the outside left of the pack. Before I knew it I was at the back of the pack. I didn't really know if there was anyone behind me or not. I was totally focused on that wheel right in front of me. A lesson learned is to look around at what the pack in general is going. Pretty soon I was at the back of the pack and when a small acceleration happened I was quickly in no man's land. I put in a good dig to catch back on the rear of the pack. I hung in there for a bit longer, then another hill. These were not steep hills by any means, but the pace at which we were going up them was pretty good. Because of my previous effort to catch up, I didn't have enough to hang on for this next climb. As the pack crested the climb I was about 10-15 yards off the back. That was pretty much my last contact with the pack for the day.

Once I knew I had been dropped, my mind started racing and questioning everything. Why was I here? Do I belong here? I started doubting my skills and all those nasty negative thoughts started creeping in. F*&$ that I thought. Shut up and just ride. Once I cleared those nasty buggers out of my mind, I started to race to the best of my ability and never give up. I could still see the pack ahead of me, but as we got into the hillier section of the course they were pulling further and further away. A quick glance back and I realized I was in last place. Oh well, I just kept racing as fast as I could. Soon enough I caught up to a rider with a flat tire. I asked him if he just had a flat, he said yes, so I kept on riding. Hey, it's a race after all, otherwise I would have offered to help. On the second lap I could already see some riders were being dropped from the main pack. So now it was my goal to catch them and perhaps try to work with them. I caught up to one guy just before the hilly section and asked if he wanted some company. He said sure. So I slowed up a bit and let him catch my wheel. I pulled for a good two minutes, then when we reached the KOM, I look back and he was no where to be seen. Oh well, I'm in solo time trial mode again. As I pass the start / finish line for the second time, I can see another rider up ahead. I quickly pass him and keep on truckin. I look over to my right and I can still see the main pack. They are about 2 turns ahead of me.

I really started to feel my legs weaken on the last lap. When I got to the hills I was going a bit slower than the first two times around. I knew all I had to do was get over the KOM climb, then just a few rollers and I was done!

I finished in 1:28 with an average speed of 19.7 mph. The main pack finished in 1:17 with an average of 23.4 mph. So for my first race I was satisfied because I accomplished my 2 goals! I rode around a bit to un wind my legs. Probably should have done a cool down lap, but I just wanted to get back to the car and slam my recovery drink.

Many thanks again to the Sacramento Golden Wheelmen for putting on a great event. I'll be back next year for sure!

The Bicycle Commuter Act (H.R.807, S.2635)

As quoted from the RBR Weekly newsletter:

Last week we mentioned the Bicycle Commuter Act (H.R.807, S.2635). It's before the U.S. congress right now. Here's how it'll work if passed into law: The bill provides a tax benefit to employers who offer cash reimbursements to employees to defray costs of riding to work. All it requires is an amendment to the Transportation Fringe Benefit of the tax code to extend the definition of "transportation" to include bicycles. Employers are given the flexibility to set their level of benefit payments, and the bike commuter can use the money to pay for a bicycle, accessories, safety equipment, insurance, and locker or shower fees. If you like this concept, click http://capwiz.com/lab/issues/alert/?alertid=8647031. Then put in your zip code and the page will generate e-mails to all your congress people. Just sign and click send. We did.

2007 Land Park Criterium

2007 Land Park Criterium - Race Summary

On Saturday I headed down to Land Park for my first ever mass start road race. The format was a criterium. I was entered in the Elite 5 category, which sounds fancy, but it's actually the beginner class. I arrived in plenty of time to park, register, change and put in a 1/2 hour warm up on my trainer. I was surprisingly calm. Sure there was some obvious first time race nervousness, but overall I felt pretty good. I was here for the experience and most importantly to have some fun!

After my warm up I headed over to the race course. I got there just in time to chat with a few buddies who were racing in the Elite 4 category a bit later. After that I headed out onto the course just in time for 1 practice lap. The course was great. Mostly flat with a small downhill section just after the start / finish line. All on closed roads inside the park. There were mostly right hand turns with an S turn thrown in for added fun. I'm pretty comfortable cornering my bike coming from a mountain biking & bmx background, but knew it would be dicey with 50 other riders trying to negotiate the same corners at high speeds.

After the practice lap all 50 riders lined up at the start line. I positioned myself to the left, 2nd row back. I should have been on the right, as the first corner is a right hander. The race official gave us a quick talk about being safe, etc. stating it's not a pro race, and to make sure and have fun. They also notified us that we could be asked to pull off the course if we were about to be lapped by the main field. There was a pit with neutral wheel support in case of a flat. There were a few other first time racers including myself, which made me feel a bit more comfortable.

Once the race course was clear, they were ready to blow the whistle and get this race of 40 minutes started. Tweeet... and, we're off. Bam, the pace was high right off the line as people sprinted for the front right side of the course. I tucked into the middle of the pack and tried to move over to the right side of the course as quickly as possible. A quick glance at my computer and we were going 27 mph, and my heart rate was pegged at 178, just 4 beats shy of my maximum. Wheeew, this was hard. I was with the pack up until the first set of tricky corners. The field started to string out a bit through this section. Once we were back on the straight away towards the start / finish line, that's when I really started to fall back. Given that it was my first race, I knew I would probably get dropped at some point. As I watch the main pack proceed to pull away I begin to look around to see who else is around me. There were a few other riders here and there. I rode alone for a bit then caught up with another rider. He and I worked together for a bit trading pulls and we were able to catch a few others along the way. As we hammered our way around the course we could see the main pack ahead for a while. They were a couple of turns ahead of us. We kept on hammering and did not let up one bit. After a while I had settled into a rhythm and forgot about the main pack. Ultimately though we were pulled off the course with just 5 laps to go. Oh well, it was fun and there were no crashes! Next time will be better. I won't be as nervous, and will think more about where to position myself at the start. A bit more training, and I should be able to hang in the pack. Probably not win, but at least not get pulled and be able to finish the race.

Since we got pulled we were able to watch the remaining 5 laps and the finish of the race. After that I pedaled over to my buddies who were now warming up for their race. They let me know that they were dropped their first race as well, and to keep on trying! I wished them luck and headed back to the car to change.

I want to thank the Sacramento Golden Wheelmen for putting on a great race!

Temporary Closures on the American River Parkway Bike Trail

Temporary Closures on the American River Parkway Bike Trail

Due to the railroad trestle fire near Cal Expo, portions of the American River Parkway Bike Trail are temporarily closed from river mile 3.5 to river mile 6.

Detour:

• If you are traveling downstream (west) on the bike trail, exit bike trail at “H” Street, use “H” Street to commute into downtown.
  
  
• If you are traveling to Discovery Park downstream (west) on the bike trail, exit the bike trail at the Ethan Way trail spur,
  
  
• Take Ethan Way to Exposition Blvd,
  
  
• Take Exposition Blvd. to Expo Parkway,
  
  
• Take Expo Parkway trail spur back to American River bike trail
  

Signs are posted on the bike trail. This is preliminary information, and subject to change. Please call 875-6672 for additional information.

Test Post

No links in this post. Trying to figure out why all posts with links get blue text up until the hyperlink, then switch back to black.. Something must be jacked up in the template.

Japanese Pedal Powered Roller Coaster

How about a pedal on the A "Green" Roller Coaster?

Looks like alot of work but some of those descents must be pretty frightening and fun!

One smart comment asks about making this into a commute system for a city, how cool and healthy would that be? Just make sure the trains have their own tracks!

Road Tubeless Review

Roadbikerider.com reviews the new road tubeless tire system from Shimano and Hutchinson.

Hutchinson has the Fusion 2 tires and Shimano has the Dura-Ace 7801-SL wheelset. As they mention, other companies such as Campagnolo, Continental, Michelin are working similar products.

Read the review here: http://www.roadbikerider.com/producttests.htm

Fire Up Your Tivo - The Cyclysm is about to begin!

Versus Network, formerly OLN has posted their coverage schedule of the 2007 Cycling calendar. Looks like they'll have pretty good coverage.

Coasting

Shimano's joint Coasting project with Trek, Raleigh & Giant bikes is a great idea! It makes bike riding simple again. For many people the idea of riding a bike is scary. Many bike shops do not often cater to the casual or recreational cyclist, especially women. The idea of shifting gears, braking etc. is just too complicated for most to understand. So the goal with Coasting is to just make it fun and simplify everything. The bikes are auto shifting and have simple coaster brakes. Good enough for most people to get out for some exercise and most importantly have some fun!

So check out Coasting and pass the word along. Americans need to get off their collective fat lazy asses and start riding. The more people who ride bikes the more visible it becomes. The more visible it is the more likely local city governments are to approve funding for additional bike lanes and create safe biking routes for all to enjoy.

Big Hair Super Fan

Gotta love this guy! He was seen all over the Tour of California this year. Europe has the infamous devil, now the US has the Big Hair Superfan !