EEB and Flow: are you getting an e-bike?

[note -- I wrote this 2 years ago, summer 2023... just got around to posting. Ironically, I am revisiting this as I'm off the bike for a few months due to a broken scaphoid and fingers]

 

How it started...

Three weeks ago I had a minor surgical procedure and doc told me I needed to take potentially 2-3 weeks off the bike, and even then only easing into it. The idea of not riding at a time when Colorado dirt has been perpetually “hero” due to an abnormally strong rain cycle pained me – so much so that as I sat on a bag of peas on the couch I impulsively purchased my first e-mtb.  Impulsively, because in the 2-3 years prior I had not been able to logically allow myself to buy one.  If you had asked me my thoughts on e-bikes a week prior to that, I would have told you that I’ll never need one… sure, I think they’re probably great for climbs – but there’s no way they ride like a normal mtb going down right? And they’re ugly? And how would I get a workout if I rode one – would I not always choose it over the traditional mtb? Plus, sO eXpEnSiVe…

My honest roots

Well 3 weeks of amazing riding later, I want to tell you where I was wrong… to have disliked e-bikes. But first, let me tell you about my history with bikes in general before anyone makes broad assumptions a to the type of cyclist I am!  I grew up an elder millennial, learning to ride bikes in the 90’s with linear pull brakes, 26” wheels and friction shifters. Of course, things rapidly changed and I got to see shocks appear, fork boots disappear, hydraulic disc brakes become mainstay and by the time I graduated college even the first wave of electronic shifting. All the meanwhile I raced XC mtb in the SERC (now US Cup East), downhill at the TTC, a sprinkling of bmx and ultimately took a 10-year detour as a die-hard roadie. While most people in cycling circles know me for my insatiable appetite for 15,000-ft road climbing days, I’ve long been a mountain biker at heart. Growing up in the Appalachian Foothills, the woods have always been my happy place.  At some point I fell in love with a distant town named Golden in Colorado and made it a life goal to live there one day. 20 years later I’m here with family in tow and more mountains than you can shake a dropper post at.

Nowadays I fancy myself purely a mountain biker and have focused on developing the skillset needed to ride any trail regardless of difficulty. Racing is not remotely an interest but scaring myself with gnarlier features and larger gaps is certainly on the menu.  I value long, relentlessly chunky descents – and in Colorado those are almost always paired with hors category lung-busting climbs, so the fitness comes naturally.

                    (above - on of my annual Gray's peak honest summits)

A lightbulb moment

Thanks for humoring this detour. I didn’t want you to make assumptions about the rider that I am/have been just because I’m now an e-biker! Let’s get to the heart of the matter: E-bikes aren’t bikes right?  Or shall we tackle the existential crisis: e-bikers aren’t real mountain bikers, right? Well before getting into the mechanics of this let’s look at a eureka moment I had last October. I went to ride with a guy who is known almost exclusively for his appearances in go-pro edits (on his analog bike) and super-human riding prowess. The trail we rode was borderline illegal with large, exposed sections of rock slabs, drops, slick roots and tight turns that you won’t find on public front range maps. It also included climbs out of gullies that would make the average CAT 1 roadie sweat. After finishing a one-and done lap, my friend pulled his e-mtb out of his trunk for a second (and maybe third) lap… it dawned on me: this guy is getting at least twice as much practice on this terrain as I am! Is HE not a real mountain biker? My thoughts dwelled on that for some time but I eventually dismissed them under the guise of “he was always a great rider” and “I’m younger/more fit – if I want that DH practice I just need to climb more.”   Months later, I’ve found myself in many similar situations; the friends with e-bikes are getting more laps and are consequently getting even stronger/better/faster on their non-E bikes. Softened by blow after blow, I thus took the plunge when life finally gave me the excuse to do so.

                        (above: enjoying the rare cloud inversion atop NTM in Golden, CO)

First impressions

As I unboxed my spectacular new toy and nearly hurt by back loading it onto the bike stand, I still had strong doubts that it would feel anything like the lightweight trophy truck of an enduro bike I usually ride. Nevertheless, I was practically frothing at the mouth waiting for it to charge. Once it was ready to go, I took a few minutes to learn the pedal assist controls and bed in the brakes and off I went. My humble initial test ride was on a mix of green and blue terrain (by Colorado standards) as I didn’t trust that the thing wouldn’t be a pain to work with when the going got hard. From the moment tires touched dirt, I had a smile on my face.

Climbing

The ride started like any normal Front Range expedition with a hearty climb… only I was absolutely cruising uphill. For the uninitiated, a Class I e-bike has a motor assist limited to only 250W and all assistance cuts out at any speed above 20mph. This means if you’re capable of sustaining 2-300W on your own, you can effectively climb with 500W. In essence, you are now a Tour De France champion on every hill… still a far cry from anything related to a moto, but so very fun. What I immediately noticed was that what is usually a ho-hum 80% of my ride slowly navigating the rocks on the climb turned into effectively a downhill experience. I was popping off side hits and leaning into turns on the climbs and traverses like I would a DH. What was normally just a means to an end became an opportunity to work on bike handling.

                                (Above: Mr. Whistler himself, "Bid D" at Palmer in COS)

Descending

Of course, my greatest concern for this ride was never the climbs or the flats, but rather, the downhill. A 50+ pound tank of a bike is going to ride terrible, right? Admittedly, this is only 15lbs heavier than my honest bike, but it felt like so much more. I was pretty concerned that I wouldn’t be able to pull the front end around like I needed to and that the extra heft would be hard to lean into corners. This is where I was the most surprised. The additional heft changes the way the bike performs but also changes the way you need to ride. The extra weight being attached low on the frame (and not as love handles on myself) gives the bike a planted, confident sensation traditionally reserved for 200mm travel downhill bikes. Not only does the e-bike stick to flat turns and off-camber ground like Velcro, but it refuses to be knocked off-line by the clanging dinner-plate rocks that plague our dusty dry downhills. Consequently, I found myself charging harder into precisely these situations – and finally learning to not only lean but PUSH my bike in turns over rough surfaces.

Airborne

As for getting this beast off the ground, that’s where I quickly learned to adapt. The e-bike (or at least this one) doesn’t bunny hop quickly… instead, I look for “help” on the trail. A durable casing tire (or insert) goes a long way toward making nearly any trailside stone operate as a ramp. While bump-jumping usually has a lot of feedback on the normal bike, the mass of the e-bike prevents a lot of that sketchy feeling from making its way back to me and somehow makes these sorts of jumps feel quite smooth. While I’m sure I’ll eventually adjust my timing and effort to negotiate more traditional bunny hops, I’m quite enjoying turning every root and stone in sight into a feature to hit rather than avoid. Otherwise, when it comes to jumps, it felt every bit as stable in the air as I would have anticipated. I don’t think I’ll be cranking out the widest whips or flattest tables on this thing, but that’s more than likely a personal skill issue more than a bike weight thing.

Endurance

My longest ride on the ebike so far included 2.5 laps of a long local downhill characterized by a tree-covered and root-infested loamy upper portion and a boulder and scree-strewn lower portion… truly a fire and ice difference between trail conditions, and the perfect place to test this bike.  I usually ride a single honest lap, or maybe double up on the upper portion for 1.5 laps of joy – but the climbing efforts leave me with less energy than Id like for focusing on the downhills.  It’s not uncommon for locals to run shuttles on this trail with convenient road access to the top. It’s only about a 1,500ft climb however, many sections of it are loose and technical zapping substantially more than an equivalent smooth xc climb would back east. Additionally, the base of the trail resides at 6,200 ft so while the air isn’t that thin, it isn’t exactly rich in oxygen either.

On my first e-bike ride here I did a complete lap and spent it learning how to manage my power on the looser sections of the tech climbs. It was also an opportunity to learn to trust DH casings across the pointy rocks and adjust tire pressure by a smidge. The next lap was race mode and I just focused on taking the best lines possible up and down so as to conserve battery. At this point I had never ran the bike to exhaustion so I didn’t have any idea how long I could push it. Erring on the side of caution I kept it in trail mode using “eco” occasionally to allow more gentle assistance on technical climbing features.  Ultimately after two laps I had 2/5 battery bars left on the Shimano indicator so I went for yet another lap… at about the half-way point it blipped down to the last bar (displayed in red) so I decided to call it a half lap and enjoy the DH without fear of having to pedal a non-assisted 50lb rig the rest of the way up.  In an hour and a half of riding I had accomplished more DH that I ever had on this trail on my regular bike (without a shuttle) and I felt excited… and a little…. Tired?

                    (Above: add snow rides to your winter workout routine!)

Fitness

I’ve saved this discussion for last for a couple reasons. One of my rules for the e-bike is that I use it only for certain rides… when I’m dog-tired for back-to-back days on the normal mtb, when I have less than an hour to ride, or when it’s a DH day where I would normally shuttle… ok, so maybe not that limited of use, but still! I was afraid I would lose the fitness I pride myself on if I had an e-bike. The truth is, I’m going to get stronger. Traditionally I will ride my mtb only 2-3 days a week, after which I’m usually too sore/tired to ride for a day or two. Front-range mtb fitness demands equal parts high-cadence spinning at altitude and max-effort grunts to clear tricky tech rocks. It feels like a full body workout each time you ride, especially if you descent with the same ferocity you climb.  These sort of workouts demand recovery – and I’ve found that active recovery yields better results than sitting on the couch. With the demands of life being what they are my behavioral pattern is to simply not ride on days when I need to recover… or if I do, to put in a humble spin on the trainer or gravel bike on a flattish greenway. I certainly would not have considered a 2000ft climb with chunky bits on the mtb a "recovery."

Now with an e-bike, even the most strenuous of trails are within reach on easy days – and more importantly, the skill-building DH that they yield is always accessible. The feel of an e-bike while pedaling is unique. With a high amount of torque (85 Ncm) I rarely find myself executing pistol-squat efforts on the steeps – but with only a 250W assist I do feel the need to spin fast and consistently. The post-ride feel is similar to having done a road ride. This was another light-bulb moment for me… the e-mtb basically disguises an easy roadie workout as a dh experience! Perhaps an e-mtb used in concert with an analog bike is the key to better mtb training. It’s not uncommon to see garages with multiple bikes… long travel, short travel, or road. This is no different… just newer in the grand scheme of disciplines.  3 weeks later I’ve gone on my first regular-enduro-mtb ride since I had to step away from the bike… and I’m not any weaker… in fact, I may be stronger – and was certainly faster on the DH. Where I used to feel my bike was a bit too much, it’s now a lightweight plaything. I’m cornering better, planning better lines, and jumping to my heart’s content. This e-bike may be the best thing I ever did for my regular biking.

Did you make it this far? Wow! -- consider following my shenanigans on IG for the latest in mediocre front-range riding :) https://www.instagram.com/borat_crashes_bikes/

[edit] Future topics to discuss
I wrote this bit of prose almost 2 years ago when I was feeling inspired. The last two years have been incredibly formative regarding my opinion on the subject. I plan to return soon to this thread with more discussion on e-bikes themselves, their evolution and what to look for in the ideal bike. I also would like to assess and tackle the remaining biases are larger regarding e-bikes and their impact to the community. There's just so much to unpack here. I look forward to addressing these in an open, respectful forum.

It's a Boy!

My wife's water broke on my birthday, August 29.  For nine months what seemed like a dream was about to become true: we would have our first child — and he would be born on my birthday of all days!  Unfortunately, we didn't know her water broke.  Believe it or not, things aren't as obvious as the movies make it out to be.  I won't get into the details, but I'll just say it was so non-obvious that we didn't even visit the hospital until Sunday afternoon.  24 hours of screaming, crying, and a Labor-day (ironic) c-section later, a cycling legend was born: Elias Jacob Simmonds

From the moment I heard his sweet first cry, I knew things were going to be different.  True to his genes, his legs are strong as can be and he feels the need to show off his ability to flail them every time I try to change his diaper... for a newborn this is about 5-10 times a day, so it has given him ample opportunity to catapult a S$%#^-filled bag off the changing table and onto the carpet.  Diaper and feeding responsibilities aside, having a son is the coolest feeling I've ever experienced.  Here is a glimpse of day 1 at home:

For all my instagram followers, prepare thyself for more baby pictures.  I promise I'll still take a crappy photo of something I just ate, too, but baby pictures are definitely going to hold a prominent position in my albums.  Now one question some of my peers may be asking is "how do you balance riding/racing and having a kid and being married and having a job and paying taxes and...?"  Well, let's just say that for my birthday and in celebration of a healthy baby boy, I got an appropriately colored toy.  Meet the Trek Crockett (which I'm pretty sure is just short for "Crotch Rocket").

What is this bright pastel contraption you may ask.  Well, in one of my first sleepless nights I finally found a comfortable stance on how much I should be racing, and what types of races I should be doing.  With a newborn a full-time job and a wife in her last year of medical school, training for road racing is next to impossible...so let's just ride for fun, right? A fun bike [for me] means a jack-of-all trades.  Commuter.  Cross Racer.  Century steed.  Lunch ride.  KOM snatcher.  So I opted for a cross bike with disc brakes to handle the crap weather we get in winter and to get a little better control on Birmingham's many crazy descents and turns.  Let's talk about the build.

Frame: 54cm Trek Crockett Disc Limited Edition Cyan

Wheels: Reynolds Stratus Disc Pro (1550 grams)

Drive train: Shimano Alfine Di2 1x11 Shift/Brake Set, Ultegra 6870GS Di2 Rear D, Ultegra 11-speed 11-32 cassette, Shimano CX70 crank 1x46t w/Paul Components guide

Brakes: TRP Spyre w/140mm rotors

Handling: Bontrager Race XXX Lite bars/seatpost/stem

Saddle: SDG Limited Edition Colorways Full Ti

Tires: Continental Grand Prix 4 Season gatorskins for commuting

And pictures:

The Alfine shifters pre-empted Sram's CX 1x11, and have a much better feel IMHO.  The right is dedicated Di2, the left is dedicated brake lever.  Both have a little anodized blue plate that just so happens to match the bike!

The 11-32 cassette and long-range derailleur really make the bike complete.  With the 46 up front, the range is good for climbing and descending - and outgears most 1X setups accomplished on a road cassette.

Shimano's dedicated 1X CX crank gives a clean look when paired with Paul's sturdy guide.  I may change to a seat-tube mounted battery to make things even cleaner in the near future, but for now the external battery is much easier to reach for charging :)

This saddle was made for this bike!!!

The flatter profile of the Race XXX Lite bars gives much needed compliance for cross/backroads, and also a comfortable hand position for long road rides and aerodynamics for the front of the pack

Last, but certainly not least, the disc-specific rims are a dedicated approach to this setup, saving weight and creating a mud-friendly profile.  The TRP's are simple, strong, and innovative in their dual-piston action for mechanicals...why mechanical? Because it twerks (it works).Can stop will stop.

So what does this mean for my Madone and for road racing? Maybe a parting of paths, we'll see.  For $2400 its yours with a power meter.  Having seen the offerings for Eurobike, I think we can be pretty certain that discs will make their way into UCI/USAC sanctioned road races before long, and I'll find a way to race my Crockett.  Note: that's Johnny Brown on my wheel in this pic... he's headed to the World Championships this month, continuing the legend of his older brother and dad. Crazy the people you meet/compete against racing in the southeast!

As a wrap: It's a boy. It's a bike.  It's about time I got some rest.

2013 Alabama State Criterium Championships

This one’s fresh on the mind, so hopefully no lapses in detail.  The Alabama State Criterium Championships were held at Columbia High School in Madison, AL this year.  It’s kind of depressing when you see the names of the schools surround the arsenal, often named after terrible NASA tragedies.  I grew up going to Challenger elementary and middle school, named after what is probably the most horrific aerospace tragedies of all time.  Our trip started just a little late, meaning to leave town at 10:30 am but not getting moving until almost noon.  Hanh, Jacob and myself drove peacefully until we hit the wall of rain pummeling Decatur all the way to Madison.  It became terribly clear we were not going to enjoy a safe, non-technical course, or keep a dry chamois.  We tried to keep a positive attitude while hydroplaning on the highway, but it was tough.  We arrive about an hour before the Cat 3 start to find the rest of the team huddled under the two tent canopies Kevin brought.  We quickly got registered and found some shelter in the school to kit up and get ready to roll the course.

We didn’t have a terrible lot of time for warming up or pre-riding the course due to our late arrival, but my initial thoughts were that Turns 1-8 were terrifyingly slick, especially #2, and that getting splashed in the eyes from water/mud foxtails sucks.  These perceptions held true through the rest of the evening, with turn #2 proving to be the most troublesome.  The course was in the large drive surrounding the school, a well-paved round with 9 “turns”.  Some of these were really just back-to-back bends of an S-curve that bordered a roundabout, while some were true 90-degree off-camber turns with silt draining at the apex, at the bottom of a moderate decline.

The Cat 3 race started with 15 participants, 6 of them including myself and 5 other Infinity-Donahoo teammates… needless to say, our presence was noticed.  From having entered solo into races with other complete teams, I know this has an intimidating effect.  It’s a standoff and we’re ones with a full clip.  However advantageous, this was a rare treat as our schedules usually never let us race more than 2 or 3 together at a time.  Needless to say, we employed a team strategy…I mean, what else is the point of being on a team if not to race as one?

The race took off with plan A – Jason Kellen take off the front as hard as possible and see if he can solo lap the field.  The idea was however that if another went with him, that we could send another up the road to make it a 2-on-1 fight.  Unfortunately, a 2^nd 2-3 man group formed half-way between, that included teammate Kevin Pawlik, so to send any more up would have meant to bring the rest of the field up to the Jason, so we sat tight and slowly reeled in the mid-group.  Per Jason, he wasn’t getting much cooperation out of his break compadre, so he let up and the whole of us re-gathered at about 5-6 laps in.  Plan B was to send counter-moves when/if Jason got caught, so at that point, Jamie took a solo leap and established good gap fairly quick, however remained in sight.  Alan Laytham (ST3 Cycling), a solid Cat 3 and accustomed to fighting alone, took it upon himself to keep things interesting and put in a dedicated 4-lap effort on the front to bring back Jamie.  The peloton stayed strung out through most of this, with a short bungee effect at some point that allowed a couple riders to set the pace up front until Alan put in the finishing effort to bring back to the break.  Immediately as Jamie was caught we were due to send up another attack, so I gave it 100% starting after turn 1 and got my wheel free.  I only had a 3-4 second gap though most of that first lap, having to stay out of the saddle the next lap to make it happen.  The gap grew to 20 seconds… held, declined, but at some point the elastic snapped and I had 34 seconds.  I did my best to stay out of the saddle springing on the uphill segments and drive the turns hard – the best advantage of not being tight in the peloton.

The race was set up so that we received lap counts at 7 to go, but to be honest, 7 to go seemed like an eternity.  I thought surely I would see everyone catching up at 6 or 5 to go, but it stayed mellow through the finish.  After ¾ of a year racing as a Cat 3, I finally had the chance for a win… and I was happy to do it on a day when we had our team in full presence.  I didn’t know how the fight was playing out in the peloton, but I was hoping things would play favorably for our guys. I had seen Jacob jump in earlier with a bloodied up arm/thigh and didn’t know if there was a major wreck.  As I finished I made sure I got a good pose then looped around to watch the final sprint.  Around turn 9 came a freight train: Kevin, Jason, and Jacob.  For those who remember the crazy days of sprinting to the John Rodgers bridge on Tuesday Night Worlds, these are some of the craziest sprint legs around, and they took 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th in style.  Jamie and Doug followed shortly thereafter, with a drag race between Pat Casey (Momentum) and Doug keeping it lively to the end.

I’ve attached most the race photos to a Facebook album, and have appended Jacob's P123 race report, as he actually RACED in that event. I just rode around in a circle for some extra workout time and tried to stay out of their way!

Jacob's P123 report:

"The Men's P123 State Championship started with a small field racing on a course that was still fairly damp from the earlier downpours. Boris started out with a strong attack out of turn 1 that set up what we all knew was coming -- Mike Olheiser dropping the hammer and soloing away. Olheiser got a small gap ahead coming out of turn 2 ahead of Brian Toone on lap 2. Brian, Paul Tower, and I each put in hard pulls that did nothing to bring him back. With the lone pro soloing away, the real race began. Brian Toone was now the man to beat, and Paul, Justin Bynum, and I planned to work together to keep him in check. Unfortunately, Justin crashed in the same corner that claimed me and many others in earlier races, and was unable to continue. That left Paul, me, Will Fyfe, and Ryan Jones of Nashville in a small group to battle it out with Brian for the all-important "first non-pro" finish. 

The pace of our small group fluctuated as Brian made several vicious attacks, with the rest of us trying to keep him in check and not get dropped. Mike Olheiser completed lapping us with only a few laps to go, and almost immediately attacked again. This time, however, Brian reeled him in, and we were altogether with 2 to go when Will Fyfe threw in a surprise counter-move that caught us all flat-footed. After a hard chase, Brian took over to try and dictate the pace going into the last few turns. He controlled the front with the group lined out behind, all the way through the last downhill sweeper to the finish, but Paul powered off his wheel and took the sprint. I got out a little out of position and slipped behind Ryan Jones for 5th, but was happy to see Paul on the podium as the first non-pro finisher, with a well-earned 2nd place in the Alabama Cat 123 Criterium Championship."

 

2013 Alabama State Time Trial Championships

I’m writing this a couple weeks after the fact, so details may be blurry… Historically I have SUCKED at time trials.  I don’t think I have ever been within a minute of the podium, even in a 5k TT.  If you don’t believe me, check my USAC TT results and you’ll see that quite frequently I do battle for last or second to last, ensuring that I have no hope in omnium-style racing.  That said, the tables are turning… The TT weekend was overcast with absolute zero wind, and a hilly 24-mile course was everything but a TT specialist’s favorite.  Columbiana, AL provided clean, dog-free, low-traffic roads for a 12-mile out-and-back course designed and organized by Travis Sherman (Pimpin Bikes).  Kudos to Travis as well as Stewart Lamp for sharing their most precious resource – their time.

On the course that day were plenty of familiar faces from Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and Huntsville.  Spud and his dad showed up in style, bringing the team tent and warm-up tunes.  Team Momentum was also there in full force, with even Omar Frasier riding his cross bike to a Podium spot in the open category.  Olheiser, Toone, Payne, all ready to kick butt!  I was the last of the Cat 3’s to take off, 3 minutes before the Pro12… so I was the carrot on the stick.  However, I did have a 30-second and 60-second guy to chase down, the 30-seconder helping a lot during the initial 10 minutes.  I never caught my 60-second man (Todd Hollingsworth), who put in a hell of an effort on the “out” segment as he never came into sight until the last 10 minutes, where there was probably a 20-second gap still.

Having never done a TT longer than 15 minutes my main goal was to not soft pedal on the ‘out’ segment, and observe the course so to go harder on the back .  At some point I was passed by a semi (Olheiser), but maybe not. It all happened so fast I can’t really remember.   Payne came up on my swiftly by the mid-way point, and we almost wrecked at the turn-around as I didn’t know where to turn, causing us to fumble and skid just a bit.  I did my best to keep him in sight on the firetower climb on the way back, but lost him over the top of the ridge.  The ride back was painful, but uneventful, pushing 400W-ish watts on the hills and trying to keep above 200 on the descents.  No really a lot of flat ground, which made this a very unique TT.

At the end of the day, I took home a 2^nd place finish for the Cat 3’s with a time of 58’35”, with Kyle Campbell (Momentum) 45 seconds ahead, and Kevin “Spud” Pawlik 5-10 seconds back.  There were some Strava discrepancies, but no place to discuss that here.  In the Pro12, Olheiser took 1^st with a 50-minute TT (or was it 48?), Payne in 2^nd 2 minutes behind, and Brian Toone in 3^rd just behind them.  A very powerful podium!  In the Cat 4’s, Doug Robinson also set an amazing pace to take a clear victory, and graduated to the Cat 3’s in the days to follow!  Overall we had great results from Infinity-Donahoo Racing and all Birmingham teams, and enjoyed a friendly venue.

2012 Sunny King Cat 3 Criterium, 7th Place [strava]

The last week has blown by so quick. With projects getting up to speed at work and Hanh getting ready to take her first medicine boards exam, stress was at an all-time high.  However, Wednesday of this week I was notified that my Cat 3 upgrade had been approved, and by Thursday I was accepted to Tria Cycling.  This came as a huge relief because I was really counting on having the support of strong riders like Justin Bynum, Jacob Tubbs, and Timo Stark in the weekend’s races and my first weekend as a Cat 3.

So let’s talk about the crit.  By now I’m come to realize that if I don’t win criteriums because I make stupid decisions, then I don’t win them because $&*@ just happens.  The Sunny King crit course reminded me some of Dothan, but with less climbing and narrower streets/turns.  Thus, it favors some of the wattage-happy powerhouses.  If you get a chance to read Brian Toone’s blog, he explains it best.  The biggest pain for me was the slinky-effect.  Only, in the cat 3’s handling skills are NOT quite up to par with the best in sport, so the smell of burning carbon/rubber appeared in all but the first turns, and the out-of-the-saddle sprints ensued leading into every straight.

About 3 laps into the race, I was hanging near the back just trying to conserve energy when a crash on the wheel right in front of me (I would later find out it was Jacob Tubbs who was dragged into it by another rider, costing him his front wheel).  For some reason, this coincided with the field picking up the pace and after negotiating the wreck I had to light a few matches to bridge back up pulling a whole lap solo to catch the draft of the back of the group. There were maybe 3-4 riders behind me when the wreck occurred, and I don’t think they caught back on.  I spend the next several laps recovering before trying to move up again. Luckily, Jacob was able to rejoin with help from neutral support and he proceeded to work the front of the race for quite a while.  About 2/3 of the way into the race, two junior riders representing Hot Tubes/Cervelo broke away and had a huge gap that only came back in the 2^nd to last lap with Timo Stark doing most of the work to pull them back.  Going into the last lap we were averaging 30+ miles per hour with the front of the race single-file and myself on 8^th wheel.  As we went into turn 4 (the last turn), the rider in front of me lost his front tire and slid all the way across the road dropping bottles/wheel bits essentially blocking the field behind him. I was able to barely get around him by using the bid of gutter/sidewalk on the far side before the barriers started up again; having lost my draft however, I was unable to participate in the final sprint and finish where I was, in 7^th.  Timo came in 2-3 spots behind me, and Jacob finished mid-pack as well (this was his 2^nd HARD race for the day, too!).

2012 Foothills Classic Road Race Cat 2/3, 3rd Place [strava]

I’m tired, so this will be short.  This was my chance to redeem myself for yesterday’s mishaps. The 2/3 race started uneventfully (just the way I like it), and at the first climb we hit, 2 guys broke away (Krystal/Warp 9 rider Anders Swanson & the taller of the Hot Tubes juniors).  They quickly put a minute on us, but sitting at the back of the peloton, I didn’t find out until half way through the race until the motorcycle referees started giving us splits. I remember saying “1’15” to what?! A break?! After this I figured it was going to take a break to bring back the break, since nobody up front wanted to push the pace and chase the eventual winner.

I tried to get to the front and ride a downhill on my toptube and got a little gap, but nothing worth committing to.  Thus, the race continued smoothly with only a few surges on the hills until we completed the lollipop of the course and turned homeward.  At the 33 mile mark I started dreaming of a 20 mile solo breakaway. I don’t know why, but knowing I have teammates in the bunch gives me so much more confidence that before, so I gave a break a shot.  On one of the long flats into the headwind returning I sprinted out as hard as I could and surprising got off alone for a few minutes until two riders bridged up – I only recognized Nate Robinson.  It looks like the bridgers caused quite a stir, though, as the field started gaining. When we hit the first of many climbs on the way back, I advised our 3-man group to take it easy and brace ourselves for the counter attack.  I looked back and didn’t see my teammates ready to attack, so we sat wide allowing only enough room for a single lane of bike traffic to pass us. Essentially, we blocked the field to get a little rest and not get dropped in a counter move.  If you’re ever in this position, it’s a pretty good recover technique!

Moving on…, as soon as I recovered from this we were about to crest the top of the first of the big climbs heading back when I saw a nice rotation forming up front. I slid into position and when I came to the front I just launched with everything I could over the top and down the back. I looked back at the bottom of the hill and noticed that nobody came with, so I jumped out of the saddle and climbed as hard as I could through the next few rollers until I was almost out of sight.  I guess the 3rd time is a charm.  Amazingly (and fortunately), a Subaru rider decided he wanted to get away too and he bridged up to me.  A little pep talk and we were giving it all we had up every climb, chip-seal flat, and downhill.  The dream of staying away started to become more and more real, and on the last climb we even saw the 2 breakaways, the 2^nd of which was in the process of getting popped.  At the base of this climb I stood up to climb and my right calf/hamstrings seized completely.  I immediately sat down and went back through my ‘empty’ bottles and emptied every last drop out of them, ensuring I could rely on just my main bottle to finish.  At the 5K mark in the road we experienced some horrific crosswinds, such that the person drafting was almost right beside the person pulling.  At the 3K mark, I informed my riding buddy that I could be of no more use as my calf had seized, and amazingly, he pulled!  At 100m he stood up to sprint and I came around with everything I had, almost falling into him as my right size refused to work.  I finished 3^rd place, about 20 seconds behind the popped breakaway, and exactly 1’01” behind the winner. I would have been stoked with 4^th in my first 3 race, let alone a 2/3 race, so I was screaming with excitement before I even crossed the line.

My breakaway compadres got back to the start and watched the field come through in its entirety to a 6-wide sprint.  Justin Bynum took 5^th in the field sprint, but I think they scored him incorrectly giving him 10^th on the day.  Timo had gone in the first sprint move with the other Hot Tubes rider, but the kid sat up early, boxing him in.  From what I could gather, Justin tried to muster up a break on the last climb, playing out similar to last year, only it appears nobody was prepared to work with him.  All-in-all, Tria Cycling ended up with some respectable results for the weekend, including a few top 10’s and a podium.  See you at Athens Twilight!

2012 MSGP Stage Race

Race Report: The Bike Crossing’s 2012 Mississippi Grand Prix

It appears that April is tends to be an intensely busy month with regard to bike racing in the South, and this past weekend proved to be no exception.  The Mississippi Grand Prix (MSGP) marked my second race as a Category 4, and my first opportunity to do battle with Cat 3’s, since the Omnium was set up as a combined 3/4 class.  The weekend was run as a stage race, meaning that our cumulative times would determine an overall winner; however, there is always the opportunity to score a few bucks in the individual races, as well as special time bonuses for 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place in each stage.  I detail the races individually below, but as a quick summary, I ended up taking the 3^rd place general classification (GC) for the stage race/omnium as well as 3^rd on the last day’s circuit race.  Traveling along with Tria Cycling (Birmingham Velo) I also got to see Kevin Pawlik take 4^th in the time trial, 2^nd in the circuit race, and 1^st overall for the weekend!  Pat, Brian, and Justin also did well in their races making up huge time in the last day’s race (race reports here and here).  While my racing begins with Saturday’s road race, I drove to the MSGP early with the Tria crew to watch them race the 1/2/3 criterium and chow down on some of the most rubbery pancakes Cracker Barrel has ever served.

Saturday Morning: Cat 3/4 Road Race (Stage 1) [strava]

The road course for this year was a tame 54 miles including about 2,000 ft of climbing over very gradual hills.  With a field just over 60 and narrow roads, the yellow line rule became instantly frustrating.  I had opted to remain in the back of the field for the entirety of the 1^st lap to conserve energy, and nothing important happened at the front for the first 27 miles.  I was happy to see a strong ST3 team at the front for a large part of the first lap, who was well represented in this weekend’s affairs.  As we dove into our second/final lap, I began to try to move up to the front of the pack along with Kevin Pawlik of Tria.  We had a feeling that we might be able to make something happen, and given our lack of team support this particular weekend, the arrangement was promising.  Our original plan never worked, however, as there was really no significant elevation change on the course that would stress the peloton in a useful way.  In short, Kevin and I both sent attacks off of the front of the field with nothing sticking for more than a couple minutes.  The 5-wide group ensured that everyone would be there for the finish, and with 3K to go I had popped out in the front much too early.  Given the pain it had taken to get into the front of the group, I was afraid to duck back and miss the sprint, so I opted for setting the pace and at 500ft to go I made a jump, but was quickly swamped, finishing a lousy 23^rd.  Kevin, who had done so much work with me was robbed of his position 4 deep back into 29^th, and even Adam Morris, the weekend’s GC 1^st finished only 36^th.  While the field finish ensured we all received the same time, landing out of the money and more importantly the finishing time bonuses really hurt… Adding insult to injury, someone stole the Camelbak waterbottles I ditched after the first lap. Who does that?!  On the bright side, Reuben Dupre and Stewart Miller of ST3 Cycling took 3^rd and 4^th, respectively, in the road race, putting Reuben instantly in contention for the GC podium.  Following the race I waited for the finish of the 1/2/3’s before packing up and heading back to Super 8 to eat lunch and set up my TT gear as well as enjoying a long nap.

Saturday Afternoon: Cat 3/4 Time Trial (TT) [strava]

This was my first attempt at a time trial.  The 3-mile course included 2 gradual inclines topping out at 3.4% grade, but given that they occur when you’re already all-out in the flats, they HURT!  I really wasn’t sure how I wanted to warm up for this event.  With the morning’s race still fresh on my legs, I really just spent time getting used to some clip-on aero bars and the Zipp 303 clinchers I borrowed from Jacob.  I’m not sure if the setup made a tremendous amount of difference, but given the immense amount of money people spend on a full TT getup I would like to think it did.  There were a surprising amount of time trial bikes on the course for the 3/4’s, so I was pretty nervous that I would lose a great deal of time in this event.  However, with my legs feeling well I put in a good dig and managed a time of 6’11”, sliding into 7^th place for the race and top ten for the GC.  Kevin put several seconds on me, but I was happy that we had both done well as we figured the RR had been a fluke and we ‘deserved’ a better chance at the omnium than that.  Traveling along with Kevin, Pat, Brian, and Justin made for great company and we immediately drove over to Cracker Barrel (again) after the TT for another helping of carbs.  That evening I had hoped that my TT performance would boost me into GC contention so that I would just have to relax on Sunday’s race… however, at some point in the evening as I was drifting off to sleep Brian informed us that we had been schooled by Adam Morris, who put 15 seconds on me in the TT and took the lead for the weekend.  I just sighed knowing that I had a hard day to come and drifted back to sleep.

Sunday Morning: Cat 3/4 Circuit Race [strava  KOM – woo-hoo!]

This was my last opportunity to make the weekend worth the drive.  After last night’s terrible news of a 15-second lead by Adam, I needed to make up 16 seconds in today’s race.  In order to do so I would not only have to finish first in the mid-race time bonus, but also proceed to win the event.  One thing worked in my favor – the finish was atop a hill.  While it was no behemoth, the 10% kicker at the end would be all I needed to make use of my strength/weight ratio and beat others to the line, given there was room on the road.  The course was situated in the Lake Lincoln state park and was primarily flat with some good exposure to crosswinds near the lake, and a very rough segment in the backside leading to the base of the finishing climb.  The first lap I opted to hide in the pack to save for the bonus at the end of it.  At 5 miles into the 6.2-mile lap, I began to move forward. I found myself trapped about 20 riders off of the front and as we began to hit the incline, a very large man blocked a move going up the left side along the yellow line.  A break of about 6 riders made a jump and I was still trapped behind this most annoying dude…but finally when he deviated to the right I made a quick sprint up to the break, catching it just as David Gottlieb of ST3 began his sprint to the bonus.  With the rush I had in me I finished my move and sprinted to a secure 1^st for the bonus, gaining me 6 much-needed seconds for the GC placing.  The bonus sprint created a bit of a gap in the field, but it didn’t appear that we were going to be able to fend off a break and the group came back together after the descent.  Because of the attack I made I found myself trapped at the front for the majority of the 2^nd lap.  Nobody seemed too interested in attacking, which made for a nice recovery.  Out of curiosity I made a faux sprint at the beginning of the rough road to see how a field would respond. Absolute Racing, who had 4 men in the front, immediately jumped on my wheel, so I sat back down and said “just kidding!”  It became obvious that it was not going to be easy to break away in the last lap.  On the second ascent up the finishing hill I drifted back about 20-30 spots hoping to get some rest for a tough final lap.  As we neared the rough road again on the last lap Kevin sent off a flyer taking with him the GC 2^nd man, but I was too deep in the field to join.  As the pack responded and began to string out I found a clearing and worked my way up into the top 10 alongside Stewart Miller of ST3.  With Kevin’s break caught, the group set a blistering pace into the base of the final climb.  As the pitch began to pick up, though, something slowed down and Subaru rider Gene McBrien shot a flyer that went uncontested.  Not knowing it was him up front, I assumed the rider would return, but he stayed away to the finish barely holding off Kevin who took 2^nd for the event.  Having set the pace from over 1K out I had a late jump on the finishing sprint, but made up a lot of ground on the steeps and snagged 3^rd for the day, granting me a 3^rd for the weekend overall.  I was so close to a victory, but still achieved a satisfying result.  Perhaps I was prematurely dismayed by the prior day’s results, and there is much to learn still for my next stage race.  Reuben Dupre of ST3 also made a top 10 spot in his first stage race, amongst Cat 3’s and 4’s no less.

On a side note, I applied for my Cat 3 upgrade and was approved! Guess this means my next races will be the Sunny King Criterium Cat 3’s and the Foothills Classic 2/3 field.  What an exciting month.

Here are a few random pictures I took with my cell phone… I didn’t see any photographers on the course, and I neglected to bring along my DSLR... but maybe there is someone else out there with some cool photos to share?

 Results were posted very quick - and I was only missing out on the 6 seconds I could have made by winning the last race - so close! The TT was detrimental to my success this weekend.

 This is a panoramic picture I took using photosynth. This is the view of the finishing bend/climb from 200m.

 
Spider inside screen when buying gas

The numbers I had to chase to win...& the blurry fast crit Friday night

2012 Crit #2: Dothan Cityfest

Ok, it appears I need to learn to write shorter; however, since I already drafted this thing up I'll post it as is ;)

2012 Dothan Cityfest Criterium

There was a shudder that woke me from my dreams.  I knew it had been something loud and forceful, but it was dead silent the moment I realized my conciousness.  I think the cat fell off the piano again.  Long slivers of cold white light across my room from the streetlamp revealed the familiar, and a Bici kit on the floor reminded me why I was up.  Dang, was it 4am already?!  I sat up and asked myself the same question I do before every cold winter ride, early training session and race: Is this what I really want to do?  I can’t say I really answered the question right then and there…nevertheless, I was out the door with an equally groggy Hanh and a bowl of oatmeal before any doubts could set in.  About halfway to Homewood I called Jacob and let him know I was down the road.  I missed his house on my first pass up the street, but eventually found another soul willing to suffer on two wheels for a hobby.  Off to Dothan!

The next 3-4 hours was strategy, prep talk and twitter updates on Flanders.  I was really hoping my day would go better than Cancellara’s.  The drive was uneventful thanks to the fog and we arrived in Dothan in time to secure a nice shady spot for our rollers and chairs.  Tubbs had planned two rides for the day so we quickly got to warming up for the Masters criterium while I rode the course and found all the fellow Birminghamians.  Mike Garner was also getting a nice long warmup prior to his race and seemed super focused, so I tried not to disturb his concentration.  ST3 Cycling also showed up early and in semi-full force as a few key members were missing due to injury or other races, so I knew it was going to be a fun day.

The Cat 4 criterium was at 11:45, but the sun hadn’t really started beating down just yet.  Our field included only 13 preregistered riders, but enough showed up the day of to bring our field to 23.  My biggest goal for the day was to try and ride the laziest criterium possible…I didn’t want to lead anything out and I surely didn’t want to get into a breakaway.

Well, that worked pretty well for some of the early laps.  But after the first 10 minutes there were a few people making quicker accelerations onto the starting hill and I couldn’t help but to jump up and try to dictate the pace a little.  I did make a point of just sitting in at the front.  No hard pulls, no sprints, no counterattacks – but I did jump on the wheel of every rider that felt eager enough to take a stab at it. If something got away, I wanted to enjoy the free ride; this was especially the case on the 2^nd part of the climb as I knew everyone who followed suit would be working harder to keep up.  Alan of ST3 was generous to put in a pull at the front (and at a consistent pace, too). I swear, some of the other riders would go 400-500 watts for all of five seconds then sit up and not make way for anyone to follow through (and the 2^nd rider back never offered to do so either).  This became increasingly popular at the 8-lap to go count.

At about 20 minutes into the race I got into a two-man break with a rider in a black jersey (team?). Many of the teams had similar jerseys, so I forget who it was in the break. Regardless, the teammate of the rider in our break worked to pull the field back up.  I’m not sure if this is on purpose or not, but the last criterium I raced the same thing happened… funny.  Well, several more unexciting laps went by and I continued to get mini-gaps on the downhill where most people stopped pedaling. I love railing the turns so that may have helped, too.

On 3 laps to go there was another one of those random/fruitless accelerations that looked like a breakaway attempt and I refused to jump on. The last dozen had gone nowhere so I watched as a rider rolled off the front.  From what I had been told, the field tends to speed up in the last couple laps anyways so I figured we’d catch up in a few.  Well, the field didn’t speed up.  And nobody came around front of me.  I think at some point I looked back and asked if we were really going to let him get away.  In the second to last lap Reuben of ST3 did what they had planned all along and scooted up to sit on my wheel.  Having looked into the field a few times early on it looked like he had sat several deep to save up for the finale.  At this point I had to choose to try to sprint and bridge the gap to the breakaway (now about 10 seconds up), or just keep a manageable pace and secure my legs for the field sprint.  I picked up the pace a little but it looks like everyone was set to sit on so I tried to see what I could do to get Reuben up to the front for the second half of the last lap.  Bingo!

With that, he led the pace hard down the final downhill and into the turn with me on his wheel and we beat the field for the line.  2^nd on the day was not what I came for, but it was a relief not to screw up my race entirely this time.  It would appear that I learn more from not winning, and watching the winning break walk away with the gold will help me fine tune which efforts I choose to chase in the future.  I have to hand it to Reuben who rode strong AND smart taking 3^rd in his first Cat 4 race (and maybe 2^nd criterium ever?).  Alan rode well also, finishing 13^th after doing good work for his teammate.

Part Deux: The other races & drive home

So with that the day was over…NOT!!! The thing I love about crits (thus far) is that at my level you finish one exciting event to crack open a cold one and watch several more.  I got into my comfy spot to do cool-down on the rollers and yell at Justin Bynum, Kevin Pawlik, and Jacob Tubbs race for Tria in the 2/3’s.  Justin was favored for the win and did so in fantastic style.  Kevin pulled an Andy Crater and bridged a gigantic gap at probably 400 watts for a solid 1:30 to let the break know that he was feeling alright and that his feeling weren’t hurt that they didn’t invite him.  He then retreated to the field to let them know that the breakaway is totally over-rated.  Tubbs put on a spectacular pain face and took a second serving of criterium rations.

The pro/1/2 was just as much fun to watch with Frank Travieso of Team Cocos putting the hurt on a field of 54 competing for a $10,000 purse that paid 25 deep.  It was really great to watch the race unfold as Cocos, Latino Cycling Team, Team Mountain Khakis, Team United Healthcare, Competitive Cyclist and Herring Gas made moves.  I thought Kenda/5-Hour Energy was pre-registered, but maybe I was only wishing.  Brian Toone rode well (his race report here) and Justin Bynum helped himself to some more lactic acid finishing ahead of a dozen other riders.  Andy Crater rode like a yo-yo and was great entertainment to watch.  In one of his breakaways he put 25 meters on the field on a single downhill stretch and closed the remaining 25 to the break in the turn without pedaling.  In another break he clipped his pedal in the same turn and gave all of us a scare, but made it through safe and sound.  There’s no substitute for experience when that happens.

At the end of the day we made our way to Arby’s, then home.  I got to see the largest ROOSTER in the south, and made it home to the same scene at which I left.