Tri-ing again

Last year, I "competed" in my first triathlon, the Try-a-tri at the Chelanman Multisport weekend in Chelan.  The Try-a-tri featured a 1/4 mile swim, 12 mile bike, and a 3.1 mile run and was intended to introduce newcomers to the sport in a non-competitive way.  Despite very challenging swim conditions and the fact that I am a very poor swimmer, I made it through and found it to be kind of fun.

Thus, early this past Sunday, I again found myself standing in Lake Chelan waiting for my wave to start.  This year, however, I was entered in the Sprint event (1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, and 3.1mile run) and although many were there just to finish, this was definitely a competitive event.  As I mentioned, I'm not a great swimmer and knew I would be near the back when we came out of the water and would have to rely on my cycling and to a lesser extent my running for whatever result I might achieve.

The morning of the race blessed me with very calm waters and little wind which raised my confidence for the swim leg.  Soon the countdown was complete and I was underway dropping to the back of my wave with a mixture of backstroke, sidestroke, and occasional freestyle.  As the meters went by, I became a little more comfortable and gradually began to pass a few other swimmers.  I certainly wasn't threatening the leaders, but at least I wasn't going to be last out of the water.

The beach finally arrived and I headed for my bike with the knowledge that I was now going to be moving forward through the field.  I quickly got my jersey, helmet, and shoes on and headed out on the course.  My legs were a little noodly from the swim, but I was clearly going well and blasting by people like they weren't moving.  The rest of the bike leg continued well and I headed into the final leg feeling pretty good about my position.

I am lucky to not have difficulty transitioning from the bike to the run.  I've heard that it is common for it to take people quite a bit of distance to adjust to the change to the running motion, but for me as soon as I'm off the bike, I'm ready to run.  I headed out on the run and continued to steadily pass people and was only occasionally passed by others.  Passing through the final aid station with about a mile to go, I passed a competitor in my age group and soon heard his footsteps following close behind.  As the final short hill before the finish approached, I knew he would soon make his move and I just hoped I could match his acceleration.  Unfortunately, I was just unable to manage that and finished 10 seconds or so behind him.

All in all,though, my race had been a success,  I was 85th overall out of a field of 386 and 7th in my age group.  My swim leg was 358th overall ( I told you I was poor), but my bike leg was the fastest overall of the day.  I 'll have to spend a little more time in the pool before next year.

2011 Washington State Time Trial Championship

This past Sunday’s Washington State Time Trial Championships  was my last “A” priority event for my 2011 season.  After a good month of racing in May that included my best ever effort at the Enumclaw Stage Race, my plan was to do some focused time trial training in the weeks leading up to the event.  That was the plan, and as you go through life and racing, you learn that sometime the plan doesn’t come to fruition and you just have to adapt and make do.   Life’s other commitments and responsibilities intervened and in the two weeks leading up the State Championships, I rode only twice.  I was rested for sure, but not at my best form.

On the plus side, I got to travel to the race with two of my Methow Cycle & Sport – Blue Star Coffee Roasters teammates which was quite entertaining at times and definitely made the hours in the car pass quicker.  Sometimes, the journey to the race is the most memorable part of the race weekend.  Our dinner experience at a restaurant on the way to the race is one I won’t soon forget as one of the other customers answered the blues musician performing at the restaurant with, “ I don’t  play music, but I can appreciate it and I love goats”  when asked if he played an instrument.  He also added that he could hug a tree and eat a cheeseburger at the same time.

As it has been several times in recent years, the race was held on a course just outside of Tenino.  It’s a course that I really enjoy and most of it has been recently resurfaced which made the ride even better.  As for the race itself, it was pretty unremarkable.  I got off to a good start and settled into my pace easily.  I caught a few riders prior to the turnaround.  On the way back, I was passed by one rider, but I kept my pace high and felt strong all the way to the finish.  My time of 59:18 ended up being good enough for  7^th place in the age 40+ Category 4-5 group.  An okay result from an okay time resulting from okay form.  Hopefully, next year the plan comes to fruition and the result is a little better!

Mutual of Enumclaw Stage Race

The reasons to race bikes are as varied as the people who race them.  Of course it’s easy to enjoy it when you get a high placing and your friends are telling you how well you did, but for me some of the most rewarding races are those where I’ve had nothing on paper to point to when all was said and done.  This past weekend at the Mutual of Enumclaw Stage Race was such an occasion.  The Enumclaw race is a stage race and unlike an omnium where points are awarded in each event based on finish places and totaled for the weekend, all that matters is the total elapsed time for the events for the rider.  Ride a great time trial and don’t lose any time in the criterium or road race and you’ll have a high finish.

My time trials are usually solid and this year was no different with my ride being good enough for a 12^th place finish in the Masters C/D field of 47 riders.  As for the weekend’s other events, my previous attempts at this race have left me wanting in the “don’t lose any time in the criterium or road race” department which has led to bottom half of the field finishes for the weekend.  Road racing is full of moments where you are challenged to push just a little harder, hurt a little more to stay in the race.  Ease up in those critical moments and the suffering goes away, but so does the pack and any chance of finishing well.  For me, criteriums are full of those moments.  The races are usually about 30 minutes long and the middle third is the hardest and where the most doubt creeps in.  In the beginning, you’re fresh and have enough energy to hang tough.  Somewhere in the middle though, the strength begins to fade, the finish is still a long way off, and it would just be easier to let off a little and let the pack drop you.  You have to battle through these moments, and there may be several each lap, and keep telling yourself it’s just a little bit more until the finish.  Make it through that middle third of the race and the finish is close enough, you can take a little more hurt and get the job done.  This year I successfully fought off the self doubt and lost just 11 seconds to the leaders when a crash caused a split in the field early in the last lap.

The road race at Enumclaw is another race that has given me fits in past attempts.  The race consists of three laps of a 14.5 mile circuit that features a long, steep climb up Mud Mountain Road.  In previous attempts, I haven’t managed to top out on that climb with the field even once.  I have managed to chase back on before being dropped for good, but all previous attempts have ended in big time losses.  The ride up the climb is a lot like that middle third of the criterium,  lots of suffering and struggle while trying to focus on hanging on a few meters at a time instead of worrying about the miles to come.  As the top of the first trip up the climb approached, I was fighting for all I was worth and although I was beginning to lose the battle, I crested the top within easy reach of the pack and caught back on within a quarter mile or so.  This was a significant step in the right direction.

The second lap saw me lose contact about two thirds of the way up the climb and then join five other riders in a full throttle chase for the rest of the lap in an attempt to regain contact.  We worked very well together and managed to rejoin the main field a mile or so before the final trip up the climb.  The chase had left me drained and as soon as the final climb started, I lost contact as the front riders pushed the pace in their bids to set up victory.  As the climb went on, the pack’s pace moderated and I actually began to close the gap a little.  I was never able to close the gap, however, and was left to trail in a little over four minutes behind at the finish.

The results sheet shows that I finished 23^rd for the weekend out of 47 starters in the Masters C/D field.  The real story though, is that this was my best effort at this race and probably my best racing weekend in a couple years.

2011 Wenatchee Omnium

This was my fourth time participating in the Wenatchee Omnium.  I’ve done pretty well at this race in the past even though the road course really doesn’t suit me.  The weather forecast for this year’s edition was pretty grim and for the most part, it lived up to the predictions.

The time trial in Wenatchee is usually a windy affair and this year was no exception.  In fact this year was the windiest that I have experienced.  As a bonus, it was cool and rainy too!  The 9.5 mile course is oriented in such a way that you blast out to the turnaround with a big tailwind and then battle the headwind all the way back to the finish.   With the wind at my back and my new Easton TT wheels (this was my maiden ride on them) I pushed past 40 mph a couple times on the small descents during the outbound leg.  The return leg as you might expect was slower, at times I was down below 15 mph.  My time was the slowest for me of my four times at this race but was good enough for 5^th in the Masters C category and got my weekend score off to a good start.

I headed back to the hotel for a nap dreading a wet criterium that afternoon.  After rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I was very happy to see the sun shining and dry pavement went I looked out the window after my nap.  I usually struggle with the speed of criteriums and this one was no different.  For the criterium and the road race the Masters C field would be combined with the Masters D field but be scored separately.  I survived about two-thirds of the race before being pulled out by the officials, but still managed an eighth place and a few more points towards my total.

Sunday morning brought the return of the rain.  It was going to be a soggy, challenging day on the bike.  The road course consisted primarily of a loop that featured a five plus mile long climb that is very steep in spots and would be completed twice.  Being a larger rider and not really a climber, this road race is always a case of riding my own pace up the climb trying to limit my losses and bombing the descent to the best of my ability to regain time.  I felt that I struggled a little more on the climbs than usual and maybe had a bad day, but still managed a seventh place in the weather induced small field.

Speaking of the weather, it’s not as fun to race in the rain, but on these miserable days, I always think of the volunteers and course marshals that make it possible for us to go racing.   As racers, we tell tales of battles in epic conditions, but the volunteers stand in the rain and cold for hours with no recognition or tales of glory.  I always make a point of thanking them as I pass by and I hope that the other racers appreciate them as well and let them know.

As for my final weekend placing, I ended up 6^th in the Masters C field.  A pretty good result, but I would have liked a faster time trial and to have felt better on the climbs.  Five days of recovery and I’ll do it all again at Enumclaw.

2011 Frozen Flatlands Omnium

Finally! This past weekend it was finally time to get out and race on the road. I made my annual trek to the Frozen Flatlands Omnium in Cheney, Washington. The weekend’s events included a short time trial and a 24 mile road race on Saturday and a 50 mile road race on Sunday. Points are awarded for high finishes in each event and the rider with the most points at the end of weekend wins. This was the fourth year I had raced in this omnium and as usual I approached the weekend of racing with training as my primary goal. I wanted to ride a solid time trial, but I had no expectations of results in the road races. As a bonus, I would be introducing two of my Methow Cycle & Sport – Blue Star Coffee Roasters Cycling Team junior teammates to the world of road racing as this would be their first time racing on pavement.


In all my previous visits to this race, weather has been a factor at some point and this trip was no different. Saturday we awoke to temperatures in the upper 30s and sideways rain with high winds. By the start of my time trial, at least the rain had ended but the cold and wind was still in full effect. This year, the organizers had required that “mass start legal” bikes be used for the time trial which meant no specialized time trial bikes with aero handlebars. Essentially, everyone rode their regular road racing machines. When the weather is crappy, it tends to dampen my enthusiasm and I’m a little slower to get my act together for my pre-race routine and thus my usual 45 minute warm up was more like 15 minutes. Despite that, my time trial went pretty well and I managed an eighth place in the Masters 40+ field.

The weather continued to improve and by the afternoon we had sunshine and dry roads for the weekend’s “short” road race of 24 miles. The wind was still howling and as the conditions had been identical last year, I was pretty confident of how the race would develop and where I would need to be when. Last year, the race broke up during the last 5 miles of rolling hills and crosswinds. I expected this year to be no different. Unfortunately, some inattention on my part found me bridging to rejoin the main field as we entered the last five miles when I realized that the half-dozen riders around me were no longer attached to the main group. I rejoined the main pack soon enough but the damage was done. As the pace hotted up and the wind and rollers did their part, I yo-yoed off the back a couple times and then was gone for good. I trailed into the finish off the back.

The “long” road race on Sunday was blessed with sunny weather and significantly lighter winds. Although it was another off-the-back finish for me (I’ve never finished the long road race in contact with the pack), I was very encouraged to have ridden comfortably in the pack for the first 40 miles to the key climb in the race before becoming detached. The weekend had met my goals going in: a solid time trial and some valuable road race training miles which will serve me well as the season progresses. As for the weekend omnium standings, my time trial netted me enough points to finish 19th in the Masters 40+ field.

Coming along nicely

This past Sunday was my second race of the year and the third race in the Singletrack Cycles Westside Mountain Bike Series. It was held on the trails at King County’s Soaring Eagle Park near Sammamish. Having last raced nearly a month ago, I was hoping to see a little improvement in my riding and my results just to let me know my early season training is progressing as it should. While this is event was still “just for fun” in my mind and having no real expectations for it, I decided I needed to approach it a little more seriously to test my early season fitness appropriately. The race started up a gradual climb for maybe a ¼ mile before entering the singletrack that made up nearly all of the course. Another feature of this opening stretch was a fairly significant muddy section over the upper half that tried to slow you down just when you were fighting for position to enter the singletrack.


I charged up the hill with the rest of the field, trying to hold my position through the sticky mud and be as far up as I could entering the singletrack. I certainly went out harder than I had at the first race of the season. I was moderately successful and entered the singletrack approximately mid-pack. This course was far less technical than the Dash Point course had been and really had only a few spots that were really muddy or rooty. I tried to push as hard as I could throughout the race, but kept developing bouts of nausea. Whether it was from effort or too big a breakfast, I’m not sure. I’d ease my pace a bit and then begin to feel better.

For two and a half of the three laps, I felt pretty good, not great, but good enough for this point in the season. For that last half lap though, I really began to feel the effort and lost any sense of smoothness or flow on the trails. All my turn ins were late and I began to miss my lines. I made my way through it though and ended up 14th in the Sport 40-49 field. Definitely an improvement over a month earlier as was the gap to the leader. All in all, the training seems to be progressing right on schedule with my first road race less than two weeks away now and I’m excited for my “real” racing to begin.

Getting a little dirty....

I decided to begin my racing season at this past weekend’s opener of the Singletrack Cycles Westside Mountain Bike Series. It was a great chance to stretch my legs a bit in anticipation of the 2011 road racing season. The race was held at Dash Point State Park on a really fun course made up of slightly muddy and rooty singletrack with just enough elevation change to give the heart and lungs a real workout. The weather gods even cooperated, providing racers with sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 30s. All in all, a great recipe for an early season mountain bike race.

Being primarily a roadie, I generally don’t race my mountain bike more than a few times a year and then usually with no real expectations. My approach to this race was just to use it to add a little intensity to my training and as an excuse to escape the snows of the Methow Valley, if only for a day. My race started pretty calmly with me settled in near the back of a thirty or so strong field strung out nose to tail on the twisty singletrack trails. It took a good part of the partial lap that opened the race before enough space was appearing between riders to get a good look at the trails and to begin to think about passing.

As the course began to reveal itself (I didn’t get a chance to pre-ride), I was reminded of just how much fun the correct amount of mud can be. You need enough to get dirty and make the ride a little tricky, but not so much that it bogs you down. I was very happy to have left large aggressive tires on my bike as opposed to the faster rolling tires I might have usually opted for. Although this early season effort put the hurt on me at times, playing in the mud for most of the race left me giddy.

From a competitive standpoint, the race passed pretty unremarkably. I passed a few riders here and there, got passed by others, and continually swapped places with a couple more. When the end finally came, I’d finished 20th of 27, or about what I would have expected for my current fitness. I had a lot of fun and may try to add a couple more mountain bike races to my schedule before the road season kicks off for me in a couple months.

Getting the riding season started.......on snow!

Although snow storms have been sparse in the Methow Valley this January, it is still the middle of winter and icy roads have kept the bike riding options somewhat limited.  This year I decided to try a couple of new (to me) ideas to open up some other outdoor options for riding my bike in the middle of winter.  The shop I work at, Methow Cycle & Sport, has a demo Surly Pugsley, which for those who are unfamiliar with them, is a bike designed for soft surfaces.  It features tires that are nearly four inches wide and are run at very low pressures to get better traction and flotation on soft surfaces such as snow.  For my first ride of the year, I decided to take it out and see what it could do.

I took it to the local wildlife area and found some trails that had been packed slightly by snowmobile traffic.  These were not "groomed" snowmobile routes, but just areas that had been tracked a few times by snowmobiles passing by.  It was a ridiculous amount of fun.  Given the couple feet of snow cover, it was essentially like riding on an elevated trail.  The occasional soft spot or steering mistake was rewarded  (not punished) with a short flight into a pillowy soft landing.  I probably only took one or two diggers at any significant speed, but they left me laughing not cringing.  It was so cool being in an area that I typically only access this time of year on snowshoes or touring skis.  If you have the opportunity to try one of these "fat bikes", I highly recommend it.

Given the success of the "fat" tires on a moderately packed trail, I decided to see how my 29er with 2.4" tires on it would fare on a more firmly packed surface.  A recent warm period followed by cold had left the groomed trails at Loup Loup's South Summit Sno-Park very firm.  To my delight, the riding was excellent.  The tires sunk just enough to provide excellent traction without unduly slowing my progress.  To be fair, riding a regular mountain bike on groomed snowmobile trails is going to be very dependent on conditions that provide the firmest platform possible.  However, I got in a couple hour ride on a beautiful Methow winter day outside in the middle of January.  I'll take that over the indoor trainer anytime!