Seasons end
The 2009 OBRA race season is now over and the cold, wet winter months are now upon us; fortunately they haven’t been too wet or cold just yet as evidenced by the great riding that was to be had this past weekend.
After a fairly active and productive spring VRV quietly dropped off the radar and never really appeared for the rest of the season until Varner ramped things up for the Cross Crusades where he rode extrememly well and managed some very nice results in the always ginormous field size. For the rest of us, we were still riding, but were doing so in a very unorganized and primarily solo fashion.
This past year has been tough for most of the team in one way or the other and as such seemed to create huge obstacles in terms of riding and being able to get together as a team, but I can already see that everyone is looking forward to next years calendar and are already getting out and putting in some early, albeit cold, base miles.
So here’s to the end of one season and the preparation of another and the great teammates that comprise the members of Vista Ridge Velo; you guys are great and I’m looking forward to 2010.
Thank Goodness
WOW….let me say again…WOW! I am so thankfull that the eating holiday that is Thanksgiving is over; massive amounts of bird, stuffing and items that fall into the “other” category werre consumed and now I feel like I could not eat for a week and be alright.
Once the rain stops or at least lets up today I will be out trying to burn off a few lbs. and with that base miles start in earnest today.
Some days
Everything just seems to fall into place; headed out the door this morning and it was 1) warm and 2) dry. Started my ride off to work with a couple of miles of climbing before a long day of counting parts and putting out fires. At 5pm when I headed out and it was 1) still warm and 2) still dry. So with that I headed up towards the zoo for some more climbing, all the while feeling fast, fit and strong….only to come home and download the ride data to find out that the only positives were that it was 1) warm and 2) dry……..speeds were down, legs that felt strong were not, but still a great ride home!
base miles??
Earl and I set out today to put in some early…and primarily flat base miles….unfortunately we had a couple of things working against us. The first was the wind, the wind was unrelenting and seemed to blow into our rosey cheecks for the entire ride and the second was the last 1/4 of a mile (actually less) climb up to my house.
None the less it was a good day and a few rain free hours in the saddle. By the way, why is it when it’s Earl’s time to pull through, the pace picks up…considerably??
OBRA 2010
The schedule for 2010 is starting to come together already with preliminary version Here sure looks like it’s going to be a fun season!
Trefarm Tip
This is a great tip from the current US national Cross Champion Ryan Trebon ragarding the start of a cross race, but it can also easily be translated for mountain biking or Crit racing. This tip is taken from a newletter that I received from Champion Systems, our first year clothing supplier.
Get the Best Start in a Cross Race By National Cross Champ Ryan Trebon
I have never been one to believe that you can lose a race in the first 100m if you don’t get a good start. A cyclocross race is one hour long and while the first 20 seconds are critical they are not going to be the deciding factor on how the next hour will play out. That being said I always strive for the best start possible, and here are some tips to make that first 20 seconds of the race that little bit easier.
Starting on the front line is ideal but not always possible. So choose a side that you think will give you the path of least resistance if not on the front row. If on the front row, I like to choose the lane on the opposite side of the first turn we are going to encounter, so that way I am ideally positioned for the first turn and not having to worry about slotting in line with the other racers. Next is gearing, you want to choose a gear that is low enough that you can accelerate quickly off the line but not so low that you are spun out within the first 3 pedal strokes. I always choose a 46-21, for me it’s the perfect gear that I can comfortable clip-in, accelerate, and pedal for at least the first 10 pedal strokes without having to shift. Now that you are in the right gear clipped in and accelerating you want to give it 100% to have the best position for the first turn. Leading through the first couple of corners especially in a muddy race is helpful in that you are able to choose the optimal lines for the section without worrying about battling for position with other racers. Just make sure you are still riding within your limits, you don’t want to start too fast just to get the hole shot only to blow up 2 minutes into the race. It’s a balancing act that everyone needs to experiment with to find your own limits as to how hard they can go at the start. But most importantly remember to relax and breathe.
By Ryan Trebon
Ronde
OPB aired a story and footage of last April’s Portland Ronde, the unorganized organized pirate ride through 18 of the worst hills Portland has to offer.
I noticed several exciting points during the footage, the first was the fleeting glimpse of our own Heather Westfall litterally rocketing up to the top of Brynwood; it really was unbelievable how fast she was going in comparison to the other riders and walkers around her! The second interesting point was that the two orgoanizers are planning to make nexts years version even harder. However the best part of the whole thing was the final bit of footage that came from a helmet cam at the firts climb of the day; the helmet cam sat comfortably behind several riders, but the main rider n the screen was the prominent rear end of one Mr. Earl Patrick……simply classic!
Good job to all and let’s hope the weather is as nice next year as it was this year