Last year I was eliminated so needed to try this again today. Hung with the group (Elite 4) until the last sprint when the field left me. The best part was that during the last 5 laps I really felt awful. Suffering badly and thinking I was going to have to drop off. Might have been the heat. I was wondering if there was some way to throw-up in a peleton friendly fashion.  Just then, a guy pulls up beside me and strikes up a conversation about how might seat looks a bit low, my leg is bowing out to the side, yada yada…  The guy was fully conversational. It was like he was talking about the weather. Who are these people? At least I didn’t throw-up on him I guess.

Even though I couldn’t keep up at the end it was better than last year.

Mike

What: Amisha Indian Cuisine, Irving @ 20th
Tuesday, September 9, 7pm

When: 2008-09-09 15:59

More Info

Mike C. and I traveled to Yolo on Sunday for the Dunnigan Hills Road Race.  I was off to an infinitely better start this year as I managed to bring my front wheel to the race with me (unlike last year).  As Salavatore and James indicated, the course is actually quite scenic.  The Cat 5 race was off to an easy pace, but the wind was picking up.  My strategy for this race was to line up in the back and avoid doing work at the front early on.  At about 18 miles, a few riders from Synergy made a jump off the front and no one responded.  I then considered that some of the other Synergy riders at the front might be keeping a slower pace to let their riders get away.  I began working my way up to the front a bit.  After another rider tried to bridge up, me and another guy chased him down as well as the other two Synergy riders, and we were all one big happy family again.  At about 22 miles, we were riding into some serious head winds and the group was starting to suffer.  Around 22 miles, our group of 50 broke in half, with me in the front group.  Once this happened, we all started working together to put some time into the other group.  Somehow, our group broke up again, and I found myself in a break away of 12 or so riders.  Our pace was in the low 30s, which seemed quite fast for the 5s.  At about 38 miles, some of the riders in my group started to crank up the pace even more, and I fell off the back, riding alone in no man’s land.  About 2 miles later, three riders in that group crashed hard (I was actually thankful to have been dropped).  At about this time, another rider from the 5s passed me.  I followed him and somehow missed the turn off to the finish.  Yes, I blew the finish.  I could have placed in the top ten, but my internal GPS was not working.  And no thanks to the course marshalls who just looked at me as I sailed by.  I added another 4 miles and got to the finish from the other direction (the finish is not where the start is).  I had to reenter the course and finish again, probably near the end.  While my finish was ridiculous, I actually had a very good race.  The lesson here is:  know the course.

Brett

What: This is a 20-mile course in Stanislaus County near Knight’s Ferry, CA.

When: 2008-09-06

strong>2008-09-06

What: A 43 mile loop open road race course that begins and ends in Yolo, California (north of Davis).

When: 2008-08-31

I highly recommend this race for next year.  The course consists of two 24 mile loops with one moderate climb in the middle.  The conditions were clear and warm, with the temperature at the finish line around 90 degrees.  Unfortunately, I managed to bonk around mile 35 and limped my way home across the finish line somewhere near the back.  Living and training in the fog just didn’t prepare me for the heat, despite my best efforts to hydrate.  Regardless, this is a very safe course with a short climb and a fast and fun descent.

Below is a link to some video that someone shot from the Masters 35+ Cat 4 race.  This clip shows the top of the climb and then the descent.  There is a second clip on Youtube the follows this one.  Check it out.

Brett

I use the term “race” lightly but I sure enjoyed myself. I did Patterson Pass on Saturday and lost the lead group just before the very steep part of the climb on the first lap. Super fast descents and a lot of wind and suffering. It was a really hard race. I don”t think I was last.

I did the Esparto time trial the next day and even though I was just on my normal bike my left leg went numb after about 5 miles. I think it was quite a novelty for people to see an old guy time trialing standing up most of the way to take pressure off the sciatic nerve. I think I was last. Fun nonetheless!!’

Nick, Brian, Jonathan and I all rode in the Tour de Max yesterday and had an absolute blast. The course was 73 miles from Palo Alto to Pescadero and back, with 7,000 feet of climbing. The weather was outstanding, and the ride was well supported (even though we got a bit of a late start). Tom Yonker, the ride organizer was very happy to see Team TFK again this year. Special recognition to our sponsor Gu, who stocked each rest stop with tons of Gu. This is a great group event, and I highly recommend that everyone consider this ride next year. It always takes place around this time.

Brett

It went well!

Noe and I really put together a good strategy. On the first of four laps, I attacked on the big climb causing some movement in the field. Dropped a 3rd of the group, and then Noe and I took a commanding lead into the 2nd lap. I was feeling pretty good, and Noe was looking to be the strongest in the pack. I was sitting behind two guys from Total Athlete waiting for them to show signs of weakness so I pulled ahead of them to set the tempo a little higher before the feed zone. Then came an attack led by one of the guys from Total Athlete AT THE FEED ZONE!!! I wasn’t ready to respond to an attack at the feed zone but I reacted anyway. All of a sudden I felt a painful cramp right below my right rib cage. I knew then and there that my day was over. I had to regroup and hope the break away would suffer the same fate as I. So I rode in no mans land, admiring the barbed wire fencing and vultures that accompanied me. I knew a good portion of the group was still behind me so I was determined to finish strong. Meanwhile Noe was putting some heavy damage on these guys, and eventually ended up in a 3-man breakaway on the final lap. Unfortunately he hit a pothole, and flatted out. Noe was unable to finish the race, but left his mark carrying the TFK flag. I came across the finish line solo I’m guessing in 6th to 8th place.

Go TFK!

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