I Earned £20 Per Hour On Sunday.

No this isn't one of those 'get rich quick' spammy things before you hit the back button. Just an observation that for approximately 1 hour 30 minutes of racing on Sunday I came away with 30 quid. Not bad eh? It could have been more though as I was 3rd loser....or 4th as I prefer to call it! I am not one of those 'win or nothing' people, and always try to be pragmatic about stuff-especially racing. It's impossible to race a bike expecting to win every time you compete-there are just too many variables; the last year has taught me just how important patience is in this sport.


If I were to plot a graph of my placings this year I would see a pleasing upwards trend with each result (bar one) being higher than the previous (although to be fair that's not that difficult, with 30somethingth at Pimbo back in March and then 4th on Sunday with 3 races in between!) I have also realised that for whatever reason I am one of those people that takes a while to 'warm up' into things. That was shown last year when I got sod all points until June, then finished in early September on 48! On a separate note, I did two split days last week, with intervals Tuesday and Thursday morning followed both times by chaingangs. Give it a go if you haven't already, it's a good use of time!


So on to Sunday. It was a shorter than normal race at around 40miles (some people say they only did 38m while the Commisaire said at the briefing it was to be 41...so work that one out) so I was prepared to have to be a little more proactive than normal. Whilst recceing the course before going to sign on I came to the conclusion that the best place to get away would be on the 'climb' which connected two sides of the square making up the course. Long story short, I made a couple of other guys I knew to be strong aware of my intentions (it's hard whispering in someone's ear in the middle of a bunch let me tell you ;D), attacked on said climb on lap two and hey presto! John Agnew from the Lune club came across immediately which I was pleased about, as I knew he is a strong rider who is more than willing to work. I was even more pleased when 3 more guys bridged across to us about 1/4 of a lap later (as by that point I was, to be technical about it, breathing out of my arse), we immediately settled down into a rhythm maintaining the gap we'd made and that was when I knew we were on to something good. Everyone was willing to come through and do their share of the work and crucially, they all seemed to know what they were doing. The break I was in for a short while at Old Hutton the other week did have one or two guys that clearly didn't really know how to do through and off, and that completely f**ed up our chances there-so I was quite pleased to have forced the break, and more importantly that strong savvy riders had bridged!

Said strong savvy riders.

So thanks to the strong cooperation of the break, and also thanks to the fact that about 1/6th of the starting bunch was in said break, it was 5 of the original 6 that contested the finale (one guy having been dropped a lap or so previously). I was personally not convinced of my chances for victory, as believe it or not, it was my first proper breakaway (as in, first one that had lasted more than a lap or so) and while chaingangs supposedly replicate breakaway situations I wasn't exactly confident in being the freshest at the end. Besides, I was more interested in ensuring we stayed away-to quote Cancellara (perhaps indirectly) 'better to guarantee yourself a podium or top 5 then gamble it all away on trying to win'. Or something. Of course he was talking about Milan-San Remo, and not some poxy 3/4 race near Lancaster...anyway! So yeah, my rationale was I was willing to perhaps do more work than the others in order to guarantee a top 5 (and decent points haulage) than just sit in and hope the others were willing to carry me to the finish and that we wouldn't get caught. Unfortunately, due to the twisting nature of the course and the lack of radio communication for the organisers we had no real idea as to how much of a gap we had. As it happened it was probably around a minute-two minutes, but you never know! Count the number of times breaks have been brought back literally at the last minute due to the old 'cat and mouse' shenanigans...

An attack with about 3 miles to go by eventual winner James Knox shed one member of the break (and nearly killed me off too) but I eventually regrouped with the other two ahead and...erm...sat there in severe pain while we got back onto James's wheel. Four of us to contest the finish. The other Lune rider opened up the sprint right out of the final corner (which was a looooong way out from the finish!) which kinda killed me off. I just didn't have enough in my legs to get onto the wheels as the other two followed the effort. I had to be content with slowly winding my sprint up and hoping that somebody blew! They didn't as it happened, but I only finished a handful of seconds down at the end. All good fun! 


I should be on 9 or 10 points now, which is fewer than I'd hoped but still more than this time last year! Now to take a break from racing for a month or so and get my nose in some books. It's that time of year again.


Thanks for reading! (if you got this far)


P.S:Sorry for not posting in so long.


P.P.S: Sorry for long post.

10 Day Time Trial

Long time no see. How's things? I have had a TON of work to do over the past week or so, and through doing my French Presentation on le Tour ce matin I have finished! Well kinda. I still have quite a bit to do for after Easter, but I think that can wait a few days :)


Did my first 10 mile TT of the year tonight with the Ystwyth Club. The course would best be described as 'lumpy' with 300ft or so of climbing. I'm no tester, so don't really know what would constitute a 'fast' course-but I can definitely say that tonight's was not a 'fast' course. It was however, good fun. Made a nice change to be having to fight the terrain and road a bit as opposed to just sitting on a busy A road like back home. 


I have, unfortunately, seemingly forgotten how to pace myself over 10 miles though. Probably comes from still being in Hill Climb mode whenever I don my skinsuit. Or not. 


So anyway, much fun was had by all. Us students rolled up 'en masse' (there were 3 of us) and intimidated everyone else with our obvious professionalism (Max loudly asked where you were supposed to pin your number on), decimated the field (we placed 3rd, 12th and 13th) and rolled off into the sunset looking cool (by cool, I mean cold. We-or was it just me-had rather underestimated how chilly it could get at 8pm)


I managed a 24:47 at a decent average power (although below what I was aiming for), good enough for 3rd although a long way down on 2nd and 1st. It's always fun doing a new course, and I reckon there's a good 30 seconds to be had just from knowing where the hard bits are, where to push, where to wind it up to finish etc. I definitely could have paced it better as well, I had a few too many big drops in power from just pushing too hard and was nearly sick just before reaching the turn-which was a new experience!


So yeah. There's probably loads more I should talk about/moan about/discuss/bore you with, but to be completely honest my brain is barely functioning properly as it is. So with that, I bid you good night-but rest assured lots more bloggy fun is on the way! (Providing I don't get loads of work/forget again)


Ciao.


Oh no wait, full results here: http://www.ystwythcc.org/news/category/events/club-tt/ :D

What is Cheating?

I came across an advert for this: http://www.epoboost.com/ in Pro Cycling the other week, advertised as the 'World's first legal, safe and all natural EPO Booster' and it got me thinking.


To begin with,  EPO (erythropoietin) is a naturally occurring hormone that stimulates red blood cell production. So if there is more EPO in your bloodstream, more red blood cells will be produced and your aerobic capacity will be increased due to the greater oxygen carrying capacity. Increased aerobic capacity defined in terms of endurance sports=you go faster for longer.


Now, to take a phrase: 'Blood doping is the process of artificially increasing the amount of red blood cells in the body in an attempt to improve athletic performance.' Rice University Source Blood doping is banned in sport for obvious reasons. 


So my question is; if this '...legal, safe...EPO Booster' 'stimulates the body's natural production of EPO and in turn improves athletic performance, how does that differ from other already banned ways of getting this improvement artificially such as blood transfusions or synthetic EPO abuse? 


Moreover does it still not carry the dangerous side effects of EPO abuse such as an increased Haematocrit level that the body can't handle? We've all heard the stories of juiced up 90's Professional Cyclists having to set alarms for the middle of the night to go on the rollers to stop their heart rates dropping too low:  Increased EPO levels-->Increased Red Blood Cell Count-->Increased Haematocrit-->Increased Blood Viscosity-->Risk of blood clots.


Will WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) move to ban this 'EPO Boost'? I'm not sure. How does one classify what cheating is? Artificial improvements? That would explain why substances such as Amphetamines, EPO, Growth Hormone etc are banned. But what about an 'all natural' product? Should it be banned on ethical 'nobody should be given the opportunity to gain an artificial advantage' grounds? That then raises the issue about things like Beetroot Juice for example, as that has been shown in studies to give athletic advantages when taken. But how could you outlaw something like that? 




I shall leave you with a link to the WADA Banned List: http://list.wada-ama.org/list/s2-peptide-hormones-growth-factors-and-related-substances/#erythropoietin (EPO) in which it states, 

'The following substances and their releasing factors are prohibited:

Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents [e.g. erythropoietin (EPO) 

...

and other substances with similar chemical structure or similar biological effect(s). '

Does the 'legal, safe' EPO Booster not have similar biological effects? I am no pharmacologist, but I would suggest it does.

On 2 Hour Power Naps.

If you need to get rid of an illness quickly, here is my patented, bona fide, genuine homebrew solution. A two hour powernap. No seriously, I've been ill since Tuesday with some 'orrible snotty make-me-feel-really-tired-and-feavery thing. I got up this morning to go out on the bike ('right, that is it! I have to get out!') Felt like...well let's avoid weird comparisons and just say I felt quite ill shall we. So I went back to bed, went straight back to sleep (even though I had had a strong coffee about an hour previously O_O) woke up two hours (and what felt like a lot more than two hours worth of CRAZY dreams) later feeling positively radiant! If that fits. I probably didn't look radiant though.


So met up with Max and Wojtek for a ride this afternoon, missed the hour or so of GLORIOUS sunshine we were treated to as a Spring Warm Up and recorded some videos along the way:

WARNING: Lots of shaky cam, Wojtek's bum, wind noise, fog and not a lot of actual substance. 


Don't let that put you off watching them though ;)

The Leadout

I hunch over the bars trying to squeeze myself into as aerodynamic a shape as possible. My pilot Wojtek accelerates slightly, perhaps less than 1 mph but a noticeable increase when doing speeds close to 30mph. I glance down at my speedo: '27.4mph' and take a deep breath, shifting up a gear in preparation. The jump is too big and my cadence drops noticeably, but that isn't a problem. I know I'll be pedaling much faster than my normal comfortable cadence soon. 


I shift right ever so slightly to peer down the road past Wojtek; clear. I see the slight rise approaching that usually signals the start of the effort. A quick glance at my power meter shows I am doing just below 400W; if I'm lucky I might treble that in the next few seconds. 


Wojtek gets out of the saddle and kicks. He was doing around 500W in the run up to this and will probably nearly double that with this effort. I follow him trying to keep as close as possible to his rear wheel (trickier than it sounds); it takes a lot of effort-around 700W-but I know that at this speed if I fall too far behind and start eating wind the effort I will have to put in might well leave me with very little 'kick' left at all. You see, I am not a sprinter in the classic sense-more just someone who can (on his day) ride a bike fairly quickly.


I sense that he's tiring, understandable considering the work he's done over the past 30 seconds or so and accelerate towards his rear wheel, easing round him as I pick up speed. The 'sprint' lasts 15 seconds and I max out at 35mph before lunging for the imaginary finish line. My HR suddenly jumps up by 10bpm as the lactic acid makes itself known and my legs become incapable of pushing more than 15mph, I slow to an almost stop and look behind. Either I just rode very fast, or My Pilot pushed himself to his limit-the gap is big. 


We stop and have a chat. That effort was significantly easier for me than previous ones, and required less than 1000W for my final kick. That was the fastest speed we achieved that day and interestingly, one of my lowest power peaks for the session. More speed, less power. A good combination, who would say no? We agree that while him kicking out of the saddle took a bit out of my legs before sprinting, the resulting speed increase before I made my effort was worth it. Another note made in the mental book.


As I said, I am not a sprinter. I have a fast finish at times and won a race from a bunch sprint last year-but I put that down more to sneaky positioning and timing than raw power. So you may wonder, why practice leadouts? Surely they are the reserve of the sprinting elite? Wise man say: work on your weaknesses and your strengths will take care of themselves. I agree, plus it's fun; and who doesn't like going fast?


More appropriately in being the last man and sprinter for a few sessions, I know exactly what worked and what didn't, I know what sort of efforts helped, and what sort of efforts hurt. Our sprinter, Tom, won his first race of the season on Sunday. From a bunch sprint. By about 3 bike lengths. I couldn't help much in the finale thanks to a suicidal lone break earlier in the race, but through practicing these I believe I will be able to play a part in future success. Bike racing, even at an amateur level is not just about Number One. 

Moaning Works

Movie Maker obviously heard me moaning and realised it had better pull it's socks up. Blogger however won't embed the video (must be something in the circuits tonight) but if you would care to cast a glance over it here: cliquez s'il vous plait that would be much appreciated :)

That has to be my favourite shot from the ride. For obvious reasons ;)

A Solid Weekend of Riding

Title says it all really. I figured that as I was missing out on the Clayton Velo Spring Classic (the Northern season opener) I should probably do something a bit different this weekend. 


So we (a contingent of the Uni Club) did. 3 days, 171 miles, 9 hours and around 13,000ft of climbing. Good fun, did a couple of jaw-droppingly beautiful sections of Welsh road, ate quite a bit, had a few laughs. 


I am trying (and failing) to get Windows Movie Maker to perform it's intended function and collate all the videos/photos from yesterday; but so far all it's managing to do is make me want to throw my laptop through the window. Every single time I try, it crashes. Without fail. It got to 98% complete saving the video before...and crashed. Now it barely gets past the storyboard section. Honestly, sometimes I hate technology with a fierce, unbridled passion. Why is that? These things are designed to make our lives easier and more pleasant surely? And why is it always Microsoft products that do this? Why do you never hear Mac users screaming at their machines? I know. It's a conspiracy. I bet Microsoft have shares in major Pharmaceutical companies that specialise in stress relief drugs. You read it here first.


If I don't post again for a while then you can probably guess what's happened.