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Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Smelling
Snelling RRTeam: Stone, Peter and Ivo
This was my first race as a 3, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I wanted to stay attentive, near the front and out of trouble. We had 92 guys lining up at the line and our plan was to be near the front from beginning. The only other person I recognized was CVC's Brandon Howard. SPOC seemed to have come out of hibernation and they had a bunch of guys in the morning's 35+ 1/2/3 race as well as afternoon's P/1/2 race.
The pace was fairly quick but we wanted to be agressive and I really wanted to test my legs and see how everyone else responds. The plan was to try and initiatie a breakawy. Unfortunately the wind was not as strong as last year and even though Peter, Stone, Ivo and I spent little bit of time in breaks, nothing stuck. So here we are, 92 guys rolling into the final Blood Alley and I wanted to help position a teammate near the front. The tempo actually seemed pretty decent for the first 1/3 of the alley (this is the last mile before the right-hand turn to the finish). However, a while later we slowed to a crawl and there was NO WAY OUT. Once a spot opened on the outside guys went in and clogged it up. People were riding on and some even off the road to keep their position. This was insane. Finally, with about 300m to go before the right-hand turn Peter M attacked and strung out the field. However, nobody would pull through and beffore long we were all getting sandwiched again. However, before that moment a spot opened on the righ-hand side and I went by the peleton and into the last turn in 2nd place. I just went from 30th to 2nd in matter of seconds. I was able to get a ride up to the 200m mark and then I was on my own. Sitting 1st I knew guys would come fying by me soon. I gave it everything, but by the time I went through the line I was finish I was completing a 400m sprint and ended up 7th.
Looking forward to Merco! Let's get some!!
Picture Copyright Ronald Marino
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Pine Flat
Just a few pics... while we wait for everyone's post. Great to see all black and red out there!
More here:
Cantua Creek RR
So there we were, cruising out into the middle of nowhere, 6 in the morning... just another Saturday morning at the races... I signed up for the 35+ 4/5 with Matt and Patrick, and we were off around 8:45 am, quite a ways behind everyone else. That made for a relaxing morning and plenty of time for setup and warm-up...
Lap 1 - and we are off at 19mph! Oh boy... Finally, one guys breaks away and TTs for about 30 minutes, then another one joins him. We are not excited yet, and even though Wells Fargo has about 8 guys, they are not chasing yet. We get to the bottom of the hill and start bringing the two escapees in. The wind is not that strong yet, but the hill is taxing and we catch the two escapees half-way up the hill. A few guys take strong pulls and I try to stay top 10 on the way up just in case someone gets away. It seems all the months of winter training are paying off, for the tempo seems hard, but it is manageable. I think we are pretty much together, all 75 of us, starting the next and final lap.
Lap 2 - now that we caught the break, we really slow down. I try a few punches, but the field seem to react fast, so I stay near the very front, watching for any dangerous breaks and just trying to stay out of trouble. By this time, we already had one crash and another one is just around the corner. How do you crash going 18mph??? Well, 40 minutes of exciting racing later, we are lining up for the hill. The pace picks up a bit and so does the wind it seems. Couple of guys break away at the bottom of the hill, and I am thinking that is the move of the day. However, the wind is brutal at this point, and less than half-way up the climb they are cooked. I am staying in the second line, out of wind and as guys fall out and new reinforcements come in, I tuck in right behind them to keep my top 5 spot. This happens a few times in the last 1/2 mile and I think we are getting the pack pretty strung out at this point. Last time I looked back Matt is just behind me! Good to see you there Matt! Now we are about to crest the last ridge and the guy who was pulling hard on lap 1 is just in front of me. I jump on his wheel and am now in 4th. There are two other guys who just took off battling it up the hill, about 4-5 seconds up the road. He seems to be going strong and I feel comfortable and trying to save just a bit of energy in case someone else comes around us. However, nobody does and as we approach the 200m to go sign, I am right behind him. With about 50m to go I feel strong and try a list second effort to come around him; I do, by about a tire-length for the 3rd. I am not happy this is over, Matt comes in 12th, with Patrick just a bit behind. We cruise around and wait for the rest of the crew... Peter M gets a nice lead-out from Ivo and comes in for 3rd (almost 2nd) with Stone just behind. Ed *the Hammer* gets 2nd in his class, complete another respectable day for the Steven's Crew!
Lap 1 - and we are off at 19mph! Oh boy... Finally, one guys breaks away and TTs for about 30 minutes, then another one joins him. We are not excited yet, and even though Wells Fargo has about 8 guys, they are not chasing yet. We get to the bottom of the hill and start bringing the two escapees in. The wind is not that strong yet, but the hill is taxing and we catch the two escapees half-way up the hill. A few guys take strong pulls and I try to stay top 10 on the way up just in case someone gets away. It seems all the months of winter training are paying off, for the tempo seems hard, but it is manageable. I think we are pretty much together, all 75 of us, starting the next and final lap.
Lap 2 - now that we caught the break, we really slow down. I try a few punches, but the field seem to react fast, so I stay near the very front, watching for any dangerous breaks and just trying to stay out of trouble. By this time, we already had one crash and another one is just around the corner. How do you crash going 18mph??? Well, 40 minutes of exciting racing later, we are lining up for the hill. The pace picks up a bit and so does the wind it seems. Couple of guys break away at the bottom of the hill, and I am thinking that is the move of the day. However, the wind is brutal at this point, and less than half-way up the climb they are cooked. I am staying in the second line, out of wind and as guys fall out and new reinforcements come in, I tuck in right behind them to keep my top 5 spot. This happens a few times in the last 1/2 mile and I think we are getting the pack pretty strung out at this point. Last time I looked back Matt is just behind me! Good to see you there Matt! Now we are about to crest the last ridge and the guy who was pulling hard on lap 1 is just in front of me. I jump on his wheel and am now in 4th. There are two other guys who just took off battling it up the hill, about 4-5 seconds up the road. He seems to be going strong and I feel comfortable and trying to save just a bit of energy in case someone else comes around us. However, nobody does and as we approach the 200m to go sign, I am right behind him. With about 50m to go I feel strong and try a list second effort to come around him; I do, by about a tire-length for the 3rd. I am not happy this is over, Matt comes in 12th, with Patrick just a bit behind. We cruise around and wait for the rest of the crew... Peter M gets a nice lead-out from Ivo and comes in for 3rd (almost 2nd) with Stone just behind. Ed *the Hammer* gets 2nd in his class, complete another respectable day for the Steven's Crew!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
tues. training ride
cow trails- undisclosed location. Root's looking fast, the cat 5's better watch out. this sunday should be fun!
Cal Aggie 4s and 35+ 4/5s Race Report
4s:
So this was the first race of the season for me and being 2 to-10s away from an upgrade, my hopes were for a solid run and good placing. As always, tried to stay near the front to keep away from the bunching up/springting out of every corner. Well, in one of my moves near the first left-hander I went into the ditch and picked up some dirt/water ... and ate it on the left-hander. Not even sure how the fall went down (ended up with my right side of the handlebar scratched up), I worried about getting nailed by more riders. Thankfully I was off to the right a bit and wasn't in the way. I got my lap and got back into the action. The ref started me towards the back end of the 100-strong pack, and I spent the next 3 laps moving up. However,... there was a crash in front of me and I was now forced to bunny-hop onto the grass and chase again. So long story short, I didn't have much left for the sprint, sat up and tried to save some energy for the 35+ 4/5 race.
35+ 4/5:
These races are usually just a tad slower and cleaner. I like racing with the old farts :-) Ed was also partaking and both of us stayed top 20 throughout the race. With 2 to go we moved up a bit and held our positions around 10th-12th. With about 3/4 laps to go I was now on Ed's wheel, as he was taking nice smooth turns and had good umpf left over in his big ingun. We stayed in a good position throughout the last few turns and after the last turn the sprint started. We now were about 8th/9th and slowly moved forward. There was one guy off the front my about 2-3 bike lengths. Ed was moving forward slowly and with about 200m to go I went around and Ed started sucking my wheel. I was able to creep up past 3 more guys and with about 50 to go only had 2 in front of me. I was already celebrating and probably should have given it another go and see if I could pass one more guy (he ended getting 2nd in the earlier 4s race). Either way, walked away with a 3rd and Ed coming in for 7th.
Good times! Cantua/Dinuba are next!
http://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2009-272
So this was the first race of the season for me and being 2 to-10s away from an upgrade, my hopes were for a solid run and good placing. As always, tried to stay near the front to keep away from the bunching up/springting out of every corner. Well, in one of my moves near the first left-hander I went into the ditch and picked up some dirt/water ... and ate it on the left-hander. Not even sure how the fall went down (ended up with my right side of the handlebar scratched up), I worried about getting nailed by more riders. Thankfully I was off to the right a bit and wasn't in the way. I got my lap and got back into the action. The ref started me towards the back end of the 100-strong pack, and I spent the next 3 laps moving up. However,... there was a crash in front of me and I was now forced to bunny-hop onto the grass and chase again. So long story short, I didn't have much left for the sprint, sat up and tried to save some energy for the 35+ 4/5 race.
35+ 4/5:
These races are usually just a tad slower and cleaner. I like racing with the old farts :-) Ed was also partaking and both of us stayed top 20 throughout the race. With 2 to go we moved up a bit and held our positions around 10th-12th. With about 3/4 laps to go I was now on Ed's wheel, as he was taking nice smooth turns and had good umpf left over in his big ingun. We stayed in a good position throughout the last few turns and after the last turn the sprint started. We now were about 8th/9th and slowly moved forward. There was one guy off the front my about 2-3 bike lengths. Ed was moving forward slowly and with about 200m to go I went around and Ed started sucking my wheel. I was able to creep up past 3 more guys and with about 50 to go only had 2 in front of me. I was already celebrating and probably should have given it another go and see if I could pass one more guy (he ended getting 2nd in the earlier 4s race). Either way, walked away with a 3rd and Ed coming in for 7th.
Good times! Cantua/Dinuba are next!
http://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2009-272
Monday, February 9, 2009
oops
that was not really the downhill from the parkinglot at the river gorge trails (squaws leap), this one really is...funfun
Sunday, February 8, 2009
what's up guys
good to hear everyone's riding. check this stuff from our mtb rides. hopefully it'll motivate.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Cal Aggie Pro,1,2
Beginning this first race of 09 i had no expectations but to just test myself, conserve as much as possible by pedaling as efficiently as possible, and watch the fast guys get ready and launch their attacks and then i would decide what to do. The race started out pretty fast and lined up double riders. there was always riders up the road trying to establish a break. One guy would launch an acceleration up the side of the peloton taking with him one or two guys up the road to usually 2-10 guys max in a break but nothing every got organized or there just wasn't enough representation from teams to sit up and stop chasing because they already had a man in the move. The Breaks would never get more that 5 seconds ahead, I wasted a lot of energy in a couple bridging moves and following the wheels of the established fast men of nor cal to hope to end up in a successful break but nothing worked. After the 40 minutes i decided to sit permanently in the main group to sprint. The non-sprinter type riders tried all they could to take off up the road during the lap cards showing but i decided to take the gamble and get lucky by following a good wheel into the sprint. On the bell lap i was probably 10Th in the main group with still about 4 guys giving everything to stay out in front of a hungry driving fast peloton. Coming into the last turn i was the 4Th wheel back with one guy in between pooping out so at that point i lossed the perfect lead out situation of sling shooting for the win so i jumped way too early, far from the finish line to wind up for the sprint. As i crossed the finish line, i looked up to see a Davis kid crossing about a bike length in front of me and i in second. I was very happy with the day and look forward to more racing. Here's a couple of my views from the day, I had a good time and thanks Montoya family!
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