Conradstudios Blog

Baker to Death Valley Road Race, 10/28/2007

John Conrad — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 03:21:50 +0000

Joy and I awoke a little before 4 today. I, as usual, wasn’t looking forward to the ride as I never am. We went to the coffee shop in the Primm Valley Resort, had a little breakfast, and went back and got semi-prepared for the ride. After checking out, we stopped and gassed up, then got on the road with Joy driving. Baker was a short 50 or so miles away, and we arrived at the Start/Finish close to 6 am. After speaking to Chris briefly, we went to the convenience store where I got to use the bathroom for the last time for the next few hours, and mixed up my feed bottles for the start and for the feed zone.

We are back at the starting line close to 6:30 to get ready. Cleave and Greg show up and put some drinks in our cooler, their bags, and some spare wheels. I finish getting ready, and almost forget my Garmin. It turned out, it was dead, so it didn’t matter, and that would make it a lot more fun as I’d have no real idea about speed, distance, time, anything. As the Masters are rolling out one of my teammates whom I’ve never met comes up to me and asks if I have a spare Shimano wheel. It just so happens I did so back to the car, grab the wheel, and get back to the start/finish where Chris is giving the speech.

We roll, pretty easy at first and then the pace picks up somewhat. There’s a few times where we’d slow for no apparent reason, once when I had my hand on my bottle which in avoiding the rider ahead almost caused me to take a ride through the dirt, and before we hit the first climb a couple riders went down in the middle causing a lot of riders to go skid trying to avoid another crash.

The first and only major climb I was at the back and was watching the peloton break apart. No biggie, I knew I’d suck on this climb; I’ve gained like 7 pounds since Everest due to inactivity and not cutting back on the caloric intake. I started picking off a few riders and dropping a few others.

Towards the top I got boxed in, purposely I think, by a few riders that I was riding with somewhat. Feeling good, however, I dropped back, went around them, and then picked up the pace which they weren’t able to match. At the top of the climb was the feed zone, I tossed my empty and Happytime handed me a nice, cold replacement, then I started the only really good descent. I caught up with three other riders and we all started working together in a pace line with great rotation. Later when I talked to one of the riders he said we were averaging 38-40, however it was somewhat downhill. We picked up more riders, dropped a few, and kept rolling. Around Shoshone the winds started to pick up. Great, this is starting to feel like the DV Century from the spring. Again, we pick up some more riders, including WhiteCarbonDude and Cleave, but now the pace line sucks, only a few of us are doing any work, and no one wants to come forward. I pull out and go to the back. Still, nothing happening, no one wants to step up, so I pick up my pace and pass the group hoping that some of the others that were working would take off with me. Nope, I’m out here all alone. Oh well, they’ll catch up to me… eventually. When they do finally catch up, though, they now have a pace line going. Good. I jump back into the rotation.

As we get farther down the road, less and less of the riders, now around 14, are doing any work. Eventually it’s pretty much 6-7 of us rotating through the pace line with the rest just hanging on for the ride. The problem for the folks in the back, though, is since we’re all rotating around we’re able to talk about it out of earshot of the hangers on. Some of the guys decide to pick up the pace and see who can hang on. I am on the threshold of blowing up big time and don’t know if I can do it, but I push on. WCD told us he wasn’t going to be able to maintain the pace and dropped back. Now it was 4 other riders, 3 of them from PAA, and me. Around this time Joy tells us 5 more miles while passing us. Thanks Joy, that was wonderful to hear! We pick up another rider for a while who jumps into the pace line, but then blows up quickly.

The finish line’s coming up, pace line breaks apart and the sprint starts. I pull around at least two other riders, maybe three I can’t really remember, and cross the line so much into my redline that I feel like I might pass out! And I don’t have my Garmin so there’s no way to know what my heart rate was. I pull over at the minivan, get off my bike (my butt was pretty numb) and grab something to drink, and talk to the other riders. I have no idea where we finished; I know we didn’t place, though.

Pack up the gear, get my wheel back, and Joy drove Cleave, Greg, and myself the 80 miles back to Baker. While I’ve been out here before it’s amazing! For 80 miles I rode through this beautiful and interesting countryside and didn’t see ANYTHING. On the bike, in the pace line, in the peloton, I was so focused on the race that I didn’t see any of the ride. But, I had a great time!

Joy and I went to Bobs Big Boy for lunch; we’d been talking about the chili spaghetti for the last day so we had to have it for lunch. Then back to the road for the long ride home.

Oh, and that was my 10^th race, too, so it’s time to move to CAT 4. Now I’ll have to actually figure out what I’m doing.

And thanks again Joy!

SLO Criterium Classic - 08/12/2007

John Conrad — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 19:15:10 +0000

I arrived at the SLO Criterium Classic at 7:30 Sunday morning, having spent the night in Paso Robles with the family. We found a place to park and I went to go get my numbers. On the way back from registration I ran into UMD and said a brief hello. After I got dressed and pinned on the numbers I was running later than I planned and didn’t have time to get on the trainer, the course was free, however, and I got to get in a few warm-up laps.

The 30+ 4/5 race started with a full field of 75 and my lack of a good warm-up was apparent quite quickly. The course at SLO was pretty fun, a bit of an uphill, a bit of a downhill, and an interesting section where it narrowed down and went over a walkway where you’d have to watch out for hay bails if you were on the outside, which I was frequently.

Twenty minutes into the Criterium I was in pain, cramping up, and I was feeling a bit worn out. I was doing ok keeping with the pack or at least the back of it as I would move up somewhat on the uphill back leg, but have a hard time maintaining position on the downward leg. The intensity was pretty constant, too. Perhaps I should have gotten up earlier and had a somewhat normal breakfast instead of the sports bars and drinks I had?

On the second to last lap coming out of turn 4 I heard a loud crash in front of me and saw a rider bounce off the ground, and another rider barely make it by him without getting tangled up. I think the second rider rode over the front wheel of the downed rider, but it went so fast I can’t recall. I braked a bit and swerved just enough to avoid becoming a part of the crash, but this blew my momentum enough that I was now off the back.

I worked myself back into the pack, but since there wasn’t any way I was going to place I just decided to finish strong and not overdo it. Coming upon the finish line I passed quite a few riders whom had already given up, or blown up. Not that it mattered, though.

After looking at the data afterwards, my average power was 40 watts higher than CBR, but my heart rate never came close to maximum. I think the lack of breakfast and lack of warm-up contributed to this, I’m not sure how much, though. I didn’t make it into the Cat 5 race that followed, though, if I had had more than 5 minutes I would have given it a shot, but at that point I wanted to give my legs a rest and I was having some hand pain and numbness, too.

After watching a bit of the Cat 5 race I realized I should have gone ahead and ridden it anyway.

El Dorado Crit, August 7th, 2007

John Conrad — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:13:05 +0000

Last night I ventured down the 605 freeway, again, to ride in the Tuesday Night Crits at El Dorado Park. The website listed the start time at 6 pm, and with traffic on the 210 I didn’t think I would make it in time to get much of a warm-up. My middle child, Xavier, was accompanying me, too, since I didn’t want to leave him at home alone for the 3 ½ hours until my wife returned from work. I’m sure he wasn’t thrilled with the idea, he’s not big on fresh air and sunshine, but he went along with it.

I arrived around 5:15, walked over to pay my registration fee, and found out that they weren’t going to start until 6:30 so I did have plenty of time to warm up. Again I listed myself as unattached even though I joined SC Velo recently, partially because I haven’t gotten confirmation from them that they received my application and check. I did speak to the president of SC Velo and actually purchased a team kit and a skin suit and he mentioned that they had some mail that they hadn’t gone through, so hopefully there aren’t any problems. I didn’t wear the SC Velo kit; however, I wore an Incycle jersey and my standard Assos bibs, instead.

I put the number on my jersey, testing it out and moving it a couple of times until I felt it was on pretty well, then continued getting ready and it was at this time that I realized that I didn’t bring any cycling socks. Great, I guess I’ll wear these white cotton gym socks. Oh well, I never said I wasn’t a Fred…

The ride felt a bit quicker than last week, I’m not sure why. I also felt that I braked too much, I really need to work on that, I think I need to work more on my pacing as I think I tend to pedal too hard and not pay close enough attention to what’s happening up the field which brings me to brake. I don’t use the front brake, though, and feather it so I’m not hitting it too hard. I really need a coach.

In the final lap I was on the wheel of a rider that started going up the left side. While I really didn’t want to continue up the left, has a Cat 5 there wasn’t any reason for me to place and it would probably irritate the Cat 4s, a quick glance back told me that there was a string of riders on my wheel and since there really wasn’t a way to get out of this pace line I kept moving forward. Eventually, I was at the front with a few other riders. Hmmm, I guess I should go for it somewhat, I really don’t want to get in the way.

Out of the final turn and heading towards the finish line a couple riders passed me on the left and I was accelerating, then all of a sudden two riders in front of me blew up while cutting me off. I braked, but I know this caused problems behind me, so I got through the two riders and got out of the way. Man, these guys can sprint; I’m going to have to work on that in the off season!

Anyway, I finished mid pack, didn’t crash, and generally felt more comfortable than I did the week before. On Sunday I’m going to be racing in two categories at the San Luis Obispo Downtown Criterium Classic, first in the 30+ Cat 4/5 race, and then immediately afterwards in the Cat 4/5 race. My family is going to join me for this so we’re going to be spending the night in Paso Robles. After these two races I’ll be half way towards my Cat 4 upgrade!

CBR BAR Series Finale

John Conrad — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 21:04:06 +0000

Dominguez Hills, August 5, 2007

This morning I did another Cat V race, this time the CMR Bar Series Finale in Dominguez Hills. I woke up before my alarm went off, rested, but didn’t feel like going. I got up and turned off my alarm (I use my cell phone and I don’t keep it next to the bed) and then contemplated whether I would go or not.

“Screw it, it’s only 20 bucks, I’m going back to bed!”

So I went back to bed, and laid there feeling pathetic. I’m not sure what the reason was that I didn’t want to go; I did have quite a few excuses lined up, though. Actually, I do know what the reason was: I didn’t want to look like an idiot. I’ve ridden a few times with the training ride at the Rose Bowl and have done El Dorado once, so I don’t really feel like I’m that experienced.”

“But that’s what Cat 5 is for… How will you ever gain experience if you don’t go?”

So I got up, had a banana, packed up my stuff and away I went. I arrived a little after 6 and they were just getting registration set up. For whatever reason, I’m the ONLY guy wearing bike clothes; everyone else is in t-shirts and shorts.

I feel like a doofus.

They’re finally ready for us to check in; I fill out the waiver and get my number. I then go back to the car and try and pin it on. I’ve done this before, and yet I can’t seem to get it on well. Typical.

I really feel like a doofus.

Okay, now I think I have it on okay, and I’ve got my shoes on and helmet and the guy next to me tells me to assume the racer position.

“Huh?”

“Let me help you unfurl that sail of yours, it’s such a pain doing it yourself.”

“Thanks.”

Now I’m a doofus that can’t put on his number.

Time to go out and do a few practice laps… This is a nice course, well-paved, wide corners; only turn three might be problematic due to the concrete gutters. On my third practice lap I notice some big pieces (like 3-4 inches long) or wood right in the exit for turn 3, so I stop and bend over and grab them and toss them off the course… and CHAIN MYSELF!

Dammit, I’m a real doofus, I hope I don’t crash!

A couple more practice laps and we’re told to line up. I think there’s only one other guy here who isn’t wearing a team kit. I really should get a team kit, I belong to enough of them and it’s not the cost… Maybe I should go get an Incycle one until I get around to getting a SC Velo one…

Here we go, I hope I don’t crash!

Around and around we go, and yet it doesn’t feel like we’re pushing it too hard. For the first prime a ride goes off the front and no one goes after him. I move up somewhat, but every time we hit the back stretch we all slow down. Maybe doing all these centuries and double centuries has given me more endurance, but I don’t feel like we’re working that hard.

One lap to go and we’re picking it up a bit. I go a little shallow in turn one and end up in the wind and the rider behind pulls up. Screw it, I’m going for it, maybe someone will go with me. Nope, just me. We go through turn three and still no one’s making much of an effort, but I’m really maxing out my heart rate.

“So that’s my maximum heart rate? Cool.”

The guy in the second position sees me and accelerates, there’s no way I’m going to catch him now. Crap. Out of turn four I’m blowing up. Cool! That may sound bad, but I have a better idea how much I can take.

Coming to the line and I’m getting passed left and right. I think I’m around 10, but it wouldn’t surprise me if I was 20^th, I know I’m not DFL, though, since there’s still someone out on the course.

Two races down, and I’m going to do El Dorado on Tuesday and two races in the San Luis Obispo Downtown Criterium Classic next Sunday.

El Dorado Crit, July 31st, 2007

John Conrad — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 19:01:01 +0000

A friend and I went out to El Dorado Tuesday night for the Twilight Racing Series. Since I’ve been interested in racing, and I have my learners permit (my USCF License) and I had no other plans for Tuesday night I thought it was time to pop my cherry. Since it was my first race, I had no intention to do anything else except finish and not crash, and I achieved both of these, although there was a couple times when I thought I was going to be taken out.

During the race I essentially jumped from wheel to wheel, picking lines that I felt comfortable with, and usually on the outside. Although towards the beginning I ended up on a couple wheels that were working their way up the outside which brought me close to the front, I tried to stay behind riders that weren’t making any moves, and hence I ended up slowly moving backwards throughout the race. I wasn’t sure if the pace would pick up towards the end, either, so I thought it was better to conserve my strength. Now that I’ve finished, I do know that, at least for El Dorado and the pace they ran Tuesday, I had enough in reserves that I could have pushed it harder and not blown up.

In what was the last lap, one of the other groups had a bad accident with a lot of riders involved. I would say that at least 15 riders were still on the ground when we came through. This effectively ended the race.

As we were leaving the park, the carnage was still apparent, with paramedics, fire trucks, and ambulances still tending to the injured, and as we were getting back on SGRT a second ambulance arrived. I hope will recover soon.

I’m going to have to do this again next week and may end up doing a race or two this weekend, if possible.

Grand Tour Highland Double Part I

John Conrad — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 03:43:45 +0000

As usual, I didn’t get much sleep the night before the Grand Tour, not falling asleep until after 10:30, and waking up at 2:45 put me in the 4 hours of sleep ballpark. I’ve had less sleep for other rides, but this was the first one that I would be driving home afterwards, so I was a little concerned with how wiped out I would be.

The drive to Malibu was fast an uneventful, taking less than 40 minutes, which was good as I was running a little late. I pulled into the lot, and immediately saw Mary getting her bike set up. I stopped and said hello, then quickly found a parking spot and went in to check in. I also scanned my sticker then since I didn’t plan on timing the ride. In retrospect, I probably should have done that before I actually left as I’m going to have a time of 20 minutes longer than it took me.

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Central Coast Double Part I

John Conrad — Wed, 16 May 2007 04:21:53 +0000

When arrived at park in Paso Robles that served as the start and finish line a little before 5 AM. It was pretty chilly, but as usual my crack organizational skills left me a little under prepared, so I didn’t have any base layer. I decided to wear arm warmers, leg warmers (I also forgot me knee warmers) and my lightweight Optik jacket. Dante and I took our light drop bag, checked in, and waited the few minutes for the pre-ride spiel. I noticed that I’m starting to see familiar faces as these events, and Dante knew quite a few riders from other events.

At 5:40, the start of civil twilight, we proceeded out of town and immediately started climbing. The CCD is billed as having 13200 feet of climbing and 207.5 miles, and listed as 7th in difficulty on the Triple Crown website, which I thought would be a good ride to see how I’m progressing. Since I completed the Solvang Double and Alta Sierra Challenge recently, I thought was up to the CCD. Besides, if I couldn’t cut it I’d just SAG it back.

Anyway, we’re winding our way through the countryside west of Paso Robles towards Cambria and the coast through rolling hills, vineyards, farms, and wilderness areas. The countryside at this time of the day if peaceful with only the sound of the cyclists and the occasional car is broke the silence.

The course climbs 1300 feet in the first 8 miles, then descends for 12, then starts climbing again until it reaches The Wall, a short but very steep section that culminates at the first SAG stop. The Wall hits 21% at one point, and some of the riders end up walking their bikes up it.

After the stop its downhill into Cambria, then we turned up PCH and started riding along the coast. The wind here was pretty bad, but we still made great time into the next SAG station at Ragged Point. From here, PCH becomes a little steeper and there’s more prolonged climbing – and great downhill sections, too! This section was very scenic, and more than once I caught my eyes wandering to the cliff and the surf below. One of these days I may try to do doubles as part of the Triple Crown Stage Race, and then I won’t we able to spend as much time enjoying the scenery.

After the next SAG stop, we turn inland and climb the Nacimiento/Ferguson Road for about 7.5 miles, doing about 2700 feet of ascent. The first 3.5 miles the road is frequently at 10% or above reaching 15% at one point. The road switchbacks frequently and the vistas are incredible! If I had brought a camera with me, I know I would’ve had to stop a few times to take some pictures, but I worried that when the miserable times on the ride hit I’d use it as an excuse to stop, so I didn’t bring it with me. I am going to bring it on the Eastern Sierra, though.

At the top of the climb they had a water stop, which was great as it was another 20 or so miles until the lunch stop, and it was going to be getting warm. The descent passed through some pretty riparian scenery, but there wasn’t any time to look around as the descent was fast, curvy, and technical. At one point Dante braked for a tight corner and I thought I was going to overrun him.
We passed by a nice looking campground, perhaps I’ll have to bring the family here sometime, then we crossed onto the Fort Hunter Liggett military base for some rollers. Here, we rode for a while with some other riders in a pace line, and I tried to do a better job of not surging once I was pulling, which is something I really have to work on.

The lunch stop was on the base, and there was a good assortment of food. I made myself a sandwich, had a potato, some chips, and a few cookies. I was hoping for some V8, but all they had was water, Gatorade, and sodas.

After resting a few minutes, using the restroom, and loosening my shoes, it was back on the road for the second half.

Part II Coming Soon!

Central Coast Double Website

Alta Sierra Challenge Part II

John Conrad — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 20:16:17 +0000

While standing around at the summit, I made the decision to NOT use my jacket that was in the drop bag, even though it meant I might not be able to get it until an hour or two after I finished. I was wearing a base-layer, arm warmers, short sleeve jersey, knickers, and was going to put on my little OpTik jacket that I had in my jersey pocket. I knew I’d be cold, but I figured the worst would be the first 1000 feet of descent, after that I’d be ok. After a couple pictures, I started the descent.

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Alta Sierra Challenge Part I

John Conrad — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 17:35:06 +0000

Alta Sierra Challenge - April 14, 2007

When I hit the Bakersfield city limits on Friday, I called DanteB and let him know I’d be along soon. DanteB was kind enough to let me stay at his place for the weekend, and I was very happy to oblige him. After we brought in my luggage – I don’t travel light – Dante gave me a tour of his home. He’s in the middle of remodeling and doing a great job, I wish I had the skills or patience he has, but when I’ve tried my hand at it I usually stop after I create a big hole. Anyway, Dante and his wife took me to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner, and then let me run into the Trader Joes for my breakfast foods – currently I’m eating blueberry swirl bread with peanut butter before a ride – and it was bake to their home. I got to bed somewhere around 11:15 pm; I really need to figure out how to get to bed earlier.

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Solvang Double Century - Part II

John Conrad — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 19:24:26 +0000

On the ride down to the lunch stop it was pretty uneventful. The Morro Bay area was pretty, the weather was a bit cold for part or it, and then it warmed up once we turned onto Los Osos Valley Rd. I was at the back of the group heading up the only real hill on Los Osos when I tossed a chain and had to stop to dig it out. No one noticed, but I didn’t mind, I figured I’d catch up to them at the lunch CP. After coming off the hill, with a nice tail wind I got it up to 34 and was flying along when I caught up to the group, and thankfully the road was clear at the moment so I just kept on riding. A short while later, however, I thought better of it, I still had a long way to go, haven’t ridden this far before, and would really like to finish, so I lowered my effort and dropped my heart rate back down. A couple minutes later DanteB went flying on by. We chatted for a bit, but I was getting some hard bumps on the inside part of the road so I dropped back, took his wheel, and sped to the lunch break.

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