tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028350976590674512024-03-18T20:11:31.940-07:00Jason Connell's BlogBlah Blah, Jibber Jabber about stuff that interests me.Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-46570396189805786432012-02-18T22:19:00.000-08:002012-02-18T22:22:23.030-08:00Andy Salmon Kermesse 2012 season kick off - 2/5/12Time to see if busting my ass the last 3 months training is going to pay off! I was sick for the first time in over a year the week leading into the race. I felt guilty for missing a few workouts earlier in the week so I might have over done it just a little on the<a href="http://app.strava.com/rides/3878773"> Saturday team ride</a>. My legs didn't feel great after a warmup lap Sunday but it was time to throw it down! I raced the same basic course going the opposite direction in last August's <a href="http://bikehugger.com/post/view/mountain-fresh-racing-rhonde-ohop">Ronde Ohop</a>. I fared well in that race (2nd in the 4/5's) and hoped for another good result. Apex Racing was by far the best represented team in the race, we were rolling 8 deep! This was an interesting race because all categories start together.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6y6DVy-ewtzU7PFzTpRBssGRRC4IRQDdNg6pET0U9uy92nSXaHkubHJk1KzRV6YV75LpxVC5TjOl9Au0XsgAj3dh2J3SFYmucPllOtEBpYd7asjl062t5y4cHRfeowliFpgMzGKteDS4/s1600/IMG_0334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6y6DVy-ewtzU7PFzTpRBssGRRC4IRQDdNg6pET0U9uy92nSXaHkubHJk1KzRV6YV75LpxVC5TjOl9Au0XsgAj3dh2J3SFYmucPllOtEBpYd7asjl062t5y4cHRfeowliFpgMzGKteDS4/s640/IMG_0334.JPG" width="558" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All smiles before the race.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I was able to get a good starting position in the second row between teammates. Bill was on my left, Chris on my right. Both guys are silly strong, Bill however has been operating on a different planet since last Summer and is a Cyclocross ninja. Bill was gunning to win the race, although I didn't know everyone in the field I liked his chances. My highly complicated race strategy was to be in the top 8-ish going into the gravel section (we started on .5 miles of pavement) and stick to the lead group as long as possible. The plan actually was working out OK until a couple hundred meters before the beginning of the gravel I start getting passed on both sides, dammit! We took a sweeping right hand turn into the gravel and I hit the gas. 460 Watts over the next minute moved me up into the top 6 or 7. My teammate Bill and a couple other riders already had a gap on the field. By the time we exited the off road section back on to the pavement I had moved up to 4th position but was alone. Bill's leading group had a bout 10 seconds on me and I was 10 seconds or so ahead of a small group. Knowing I wouldn't catch Bill's group I plugged away at about 70% until a chase group of 4 caught me right before going back into the gravel. I was really excited to see my teammate John in the group, we were now a group of 5.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJIB_qbbLH2vL7M8Sa4Is_rV4accaT24-qg0rMMMpg7DADgjlmQOI-dkc_XA4bqqNMe4rc-yT4_tmLn-XyQh3EQ67HxhnCWxCQfOlwIWulOtSsnetzDTWLEFILRX0LWrimUZDCt7PcjlM/s1600/IMG_7964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJIB_qbbLH2vL7M8Sa4Is_rV4accaT24-qg0rMMMpg7DADgjlmQOI-dkc_XA4bqqNMe4rc-yT4_tmLn-XyQh3EQ67HxhnCWxCQfOlwIWulOtSsnetzDTWLEFILRX0LWrimUZDCt7PcjlM/s640/IMG_7964.JPG" width="558" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chase group #1 (I'm on the left)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>For the next 4 laps (out of 10) it was much of the same. I sat on the back of our group of 5 for the most part. John and I were off the hook for working hard because we had a teammate up ahead and we were well clear of anyone behind us. On the 6th lap the Alki and Slalom riders put in a dig to drop us on the pavement. John had been pulling me around for a few laps so I took charge on this one and pulled him and the Sbux rider back. With 1 to go the Alki guy tried to get away again in the gravel but I was able to mark him. On the final lap as we exited the gravel and started the last .5 miles on pavement to the finish the cat and mouse started. The Alki and Slalom guys appeared to be working together. The Alki guy started to ramp up the pace on the front, I was marking the Slalom as I thought he had the best legs in our group. I was right! The Alki guy pulled off the front with about 400M to go, almost immediately Slalom hit it hard. I was ready and stayed glued to his wheel (662 Watts for 40s), his effort was strong enough to create a gap on the other three riders. With about 25M to go I was able to pull around him and claim 4th place by 1/2 a bike length.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAM1DpPj8c3ZFA6wgyvp4NbvfgOS3bAy6CbGcq6ryQEmdnw6x2EjqO5i7GmsWEQ-P7_Ec7KksbINFQLrGDvsIzlrcMqbRyDXQ-7fsSoZaWqAQr4RKFD8HuajH63ZPfwa9qVH6VH1uWEnk/s1600/IMG_8043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAM1DpPj8c3ZFA6wgyvp4NbvfgOS3bAy6CbGcq6ryQEmdnw6x2EjqO5i7GmsWEQ-P7_Ec7KksbINFQLrGDvsIzlrcMqbRyDXQ-7fsSoZaWqAQr4RKFD8HuajH63ZPfwa9qVH6VH1uWEnk/s640/IMG_8043.JPG" width="558" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Working hard for 4th place</td></tr>
</tbody></table>John rode away from the other two riders and finished 6th! Bill ended up winning the race, and two other teammates finished 9th and 10th overall. 5 Apex'ers in the top 10! Overall I was really happy with the race, I just felt my legs were "OK" on the day but I still managed 4th overall (behind 3 Cat2 CX'ers) and 2nd Cat3. I picked up $10 and 2 upgrade points to boot!<br />
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<a href="http://app.strava.com/rides/3930250">Strava data</a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUIIr-KGj78&context=C334e6bfADOEgsToPDskL5c72-Bu85y98JnnCEJ2TT">Video from the race</a> This gives a good idea of the course. We lap the guy filming right at the end.<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6xajP7QTob4">More video</a> This is on the back side of the course. Bill comes past first, I'm last in the 2nd group.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apex was in the money</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-60067406678426728532012-01-01T21:29:00.000-08:002012-01-01T21:35:05.148-08:00MFG #6 Woodland Park 11/13/11 - triple play!<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Race #1 – 9:30AM Cat4 35+</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-duZz0BlyhYA/TwE_MfA65mI/AAAAAAAAAq4/gywvXsGTz3g/s1600/_dsc1326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-duZz0BlyhYA/TwE_MfA65mI/AAAAAAAAAq4/gywvXsGTz3g/s640/_dsc1326.jpg" width="558" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Calm before the storm</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: small;">I got a great staring spot in second row, no excuses, lets roll! Well, not an excuse but my start sucked ass! I was a little tentative sprinting downhill and then got caught behind a crash in the first turn. I was probably back in 20th or so coming out of the first turn. I love this course, not very technical and suited to a power rider like me. Near the end of the first lap I had moved up to 7th or so, the leaders were in sight. As I entered a quick left-right –left section I over cooked the second turn and went off course. SHIT! Only cost me a few seconds but this wouldn't be my only slip up. This same section got me nearly every lap! Over the next few laps it was the same story, I would latch on to the front group only to fall back after riding off course. In the end I finished 5th (out of 99) 26 seconds back of the winner, only a second behind 4th place and 20 seconds ahead of 6th.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xjogoUffyY4/TwE7Z8-r6kI/AAAAAAAAAp8/a4xw00hF_WE/s1600/_dsc1354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xjogoUffyY4/TwE7Z8-r6kI/AAAAAAAAAp8/a4xw00hF_WE/s640/_dsc1354.jpg" width="558" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front wave of the Cat4 35+ race (I'm in green and black on the right)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">Getting out of the finishing shoot took forever. I was anxious because I only had a few minutes to swap numbers get a drink and line up for the next race. By the time I got all this done the starting chute was packed full of riders. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4hTttmnRn0U/TwE8e5qv-BI/AAAAAAAAAqU/boRiUrgzoWo/s1600/_dsc1482.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4hTttmnRn0U/TwE8e5qv-BI/AAAAAAAAAqU/boRiUrgzoWo/s640/_dsc1482.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Race #2 – 10:20AM Cat4</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was looking forward to this race since the top 16 riders in the series get "called up" into the first 2 rows. Call ups are based on series points, since I missed a couple early races in the series this would be my 1st call up. Well, by the time I was ready to line up the call ups had already happened. I decided screw it and basically jumped the queue and slid in to the 4th row, I politely told the guy next to me I missed my call up and I was going to start here. I had a much better start this race and was probably in the top 20 going into the first turn. After the 1<sup>st</sup> lap things started to thin out a bit. I had moved into the top 10 and finally made it cleanly through the section that killed me in the 1<sup>st</sup> race. Most of the race I was really in no man’s land. I had pulled away from the field but was 10-20 seconds behind the 5 leaders. With a lap and a half to go I caught the kid from UW that beat me out a Magnuson Park earlier in the season. He had some type of issue at the stairs and I was able to slip away. I ended up finishing with no one around me in 5<sup>th</sup> place (out of 117). I felt great getting back to back top 5’s!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suffer face</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Race #3 – 1:20PM Cat3</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">After freezing my ass off for a couple hours I got in a little warm up and headed towards the start line. Two teammates Jason and Bill got call ups and were in the first couple rows. I was happy to start in the back with another teammate Ed and stay the hell out of peoples way. To say my legs were blasted already would be an understatement. I did 2 races at all the previous MFG races but this was my first time going for 3! At check-in I was told I was the only racer all season that did 3 races in one day, pretty cool I guess. I had zero legs left but the one thing I did have going for me was I knew the fastest lines to take. It would have been interesting to have a power meter and see how much my power had fallen off by the 3rd race. On the uphill gravel section I was big ringing it the first two races and now I was barely getting up it in my lowest gear. Anyway, I finished right in the middle of the pack - 28th out of 54. Considering the higher level of competition and it was my 3rd race of the day I was pretty happy.</span></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look mom I can jump</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Two top 5's in such big fields is a big confidence booster for me going forward in Cross. I learned a lot this season and should be a lot more dialed in next year racing with the Cat 3's.</span></div>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-77128340554396519282011-11-07T22:37:00.000-08:002011-11-07T22:51:13.261-08:00MFG #5 Magnuson park 10-29-11Warm up:<br />
Apex had a big turnout for the early races this week. It was great to warm up with teammates. The course was fast and soft from overnight/morning rain. There were two sections where you could big ring it, awesome! <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/photogalleries/localnews2016644063/7.html"><br />
</a><br />
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<a href="http://app.strava.com/rides/2148330">Race #1 - 9:20AM Cat4 35+ 30 minutes:</a><br />
I got my typically sweet starting spot in the 6th row, solid! First lap went by OK but I noticed quickly the 35psi in my front tire was to much. I was having a hard time keeping the front tires from sliding in most corners. When I descended into "Randy's crack" on lap 2 I totally washed out the front and went down on the pavement.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting back on the horse after my spill in Randy's Crack</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">An ode to Randy's Crack by a hilarious teammate who's name will remain a mystery.</div><br />
<i>One feature that was only barely mentioned in previous Magnuson reports was ‘Randy’s Crack’. Of course when guys are traumatized by something, they are reluctant to discuss it. This is understandable because many a good man went down hard in Randy’s Crack on Saturday. </i><br />
<i>Randy’s Crack, as you might recall, was adjacent to the restroom area. And let me start by saying that Randy’s Crack is a terrible place to bite it.</i><br />
<i>Early in the morning, after a long wet night, Randy’s Crack was very slippery, you might even say slimy, not to mention tight and treacherous with a manhole right in the middle — so guys were hesitant to just charge right in, although clearly the temptation was there. The question was, do you ease slowly into Randy’s Crack, or just charge in hard and hope for enough friction to see you through? Indeed, do you circle wide around Randy’s Crack or do you just dive in tight?</i><br />
<i>Well, even though Randy’s Crack had dried up a little and gotten a bit stickier later in the morning, both Don and Travis dumped it in Randy’s Crack and came out dirty and battered. Even Connell went down hard in Randy’s Crack and emerged a little sore.</i><br />
<i>Somehow Jason defied has natural inclination to come too quickly into Randy’s Crack. Instead he eased in gently and kept his shorts clean and his dignity intact. Bill the Drill, not surprisingly, drilled Randy’s Crack repeatedly with great aplomb. Each man handled Randy’s Crack in a different manner.</i><br />
<i>In the end, Randy’s Crack was the undoing of many men. I can speak for everyone when I say that we hope to never see the likes of Randy’s Crack again!</i><br />
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The crash took some spunk out of me for sure<i>.</i> I picked up a few spots on the last couple laps and rolled in 15th.<br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<a href="http://app.strava.com/rides/2148329">Race #2 - 9:20AM Cat4 40 minutes:</a><br />
This old dog learned a thing or two from the previous races start. I queued up on the left side of the road with Chris and Travis prior to the call ups. Once the first row was called up we were in prime position to to slip into the 2nd row, my best start position of the year! I got off to a pretty good start, maybe 10-12 back. It was really cool to have the leaders in sight after the opening straightaway for once. I was down to 30psi in the front tire, that combined with my knowledge from the 1st race I was picking pretty good lines. My only big mistake of the race was overcooking a downhill right hand turn off the gravel road and onto the pavement of the finishing stretch. This was with 2 laps to go, it totally sucked because while I was at a stand still in the bushes the guys I had just passed on the uphill stretch were getting away. I clawed back past a couple guys and on the final lap bridged up to a UW rider and my teammate Chris. Our teammates were great at yelling out our positions every lap, Chris and I both knew we were fighting for top 10's. The UW kid had just been sitting on Chris on the straightaways, shortly after I joined the group he attacked. I thought we might be able to work together to bring him back but no luck, Chris and I rolled in 6th and 7th. <br />
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This was my favorite weekend of CX racing so far. Great course, great weather, and lots of teammates out cheering and participating.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deep in Randy's crack</td></tr>
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Lots of great pictures <a href="http://talesfrommytrails.smugmug.com/Recreation/Cyclocross/MFG-10-29-11/19816009_m3XHfh#1557596118_8zpPv4p">here</a>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-30204245694294508672011-10-23T21:07:00.000-07:002011-10-23T21:07:15.176-07:00MFG #4 Marymoor parkFirst things first, I raced today and... wait for it...I finished both races with the wheels I started with, Hellz Yeah! Turns out if you don't run the last 10 minutes of a race you'll place higher, weird.<br />
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Race #1 - 9:20AM Cat4 35+ 30 minutes:<br />
I hate to start a race with a poor attitude but that's what I was bringing to the table today. No coffee, moderate hangover, flat course, 8th row start, all bad signs for me. Well, fuck it, I'm here and it's time to party!<br />
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</div>The start went pretty smooth and once I got going I was picking riders off quickly. Nothing of note for most of the race other then it was slippery out there.With 1/2 a lap to go I was closing in on a couple riders who had been called up. Huh, maybe I'm closer to the front then I thought. With a couple hundred meters to go I got past Randy from Byrne, I nipped one other rider at the line in a full sprint. The final effort turned out to be worth it, I took 10th place out of 80 starters.<br />
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Race #2 - 10:30AM Cat4 40 minutes:<br />
I was lucky enough to get a pretty good starting spot in the 3rd or 4th row for the 2nd race. For one reason or another (bad start position or mechanical issue) I have yet to be in contact with the leaders of any CX race this season. Surprisingly it happened in race #2 today. I was maybe 20 or so back going into the first corner, a lot of the usual suspects were up front. After a couple laps I had moved up to about 10th and caught onto the back of a group of 4 racers. A couple Farestart guys and Evan and strong Jr. rider were in the group. I lost contact after plowing into a stake after over cooking a corner, no harm done but now I was 10-15 seconds down again. I was back in contact near the finish of the 3rd lap when a Starbucks rider I was lapping ate shit right in front of me. FAIL, down I go, again nothing major but there went another 15 seconds or more.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dude, really? This is how kool kids wear their helmets these days.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> I regained contact with Evan after a bit, he would sneak away in the corners and I would real him in on the power sections. Late in the 4th lap he took a spill and I moved past him. the 5th lap I was alone, no one close behind me and no carrot close enough to chase. My Teammate Chris made a big push on the final lap and moved up several spots, we ended up finishing 11th and 12th in a big field.<br />
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Great day over all! 10th and 11th in back to back races made for an awesome morning. I was able to hang out after the races and cheer on teammates for a few hours, great fun! The MFG point system doesn't seem as stupid as Seattle Cyclocross, maybe I'll get a call up next week!Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-41552735203458783892011-10-19T21:13:00.000-07:002011-10-19T21:13:04.243-07:00Seattle Cyclocross #3 Silver LakeThe Awesomeness continues!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fucking Tubulars!</td></tr>
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As you can see in the picture to the left I had another tubular issue this week. More about that later.<br />
Silver Lake was a hard course, no two ways about it. Lots of sand and very little time to recover. It took a couple warm up laps before I got at all comfortable riding through the sand. It was hard for me to judge how fast to "hit" the sand sections. Gradually it dawned on me that the best approached was faster the better!<br />
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The Start - I asked the USA Cycling official if call ups were based on last weeks results or season standings. I didn't get the answer I was looking for, season standings it was. Even though I finished 8th the previous week I missed the 1st race of the season so I was ranked 29th, no call up for me. Call ups are critical in cyclocross because it allows faster riders to position themselves in the first few rows. Fitness levels in cross races vary so much that a mid pack start can trap you behind much slower riders. We had 87 riders in my field (Cat4 35+) I started in the middle of the field, maybe 40th or so. Within a 100 yards of the start line the course transitions from pavement to sand. I fully expected to get caught up behind a shit storm of riders going down in the sand. True to form some guys in the second row went down and by the time I even reached the sand I had to dismount and run around guys on the ground. I remounted and pushed through the beach section about 2/3rds of the way before again getting caught behind fallen riders. The remainder of the first lap was spent trying to pass riders that were already gassed. The second lap I tried running across the beach section. now I'm a "runner" but this was a mistake, it was hard as hell and not particularly fast. The 3rd lap I got into a pretty nice groove and slid by quite a few riders.<br />
Starting the 4th lap I felt strong and powered through first sand sections. I had already passed my motofish "friend" from last week (who had the benefit of a call up) and was closing in on one of his teammates. I got passed him on a small uphill section but he stayed right on my wheel over the next minute or two. On the final mini climb I was determined to crush his soul and give myself a cushion leading into the finish. Well I was crushing, John Alving (a teammate who races 1/2's) was yelling at me, I was pooped but fired up. As the course transitioned from pavement to to dirt around a small turn I jumped out of the saddle and... FAIL. I knew it right away, I rolled my back tire off the rim. No need to get down about it, I tossed the bike over my shoulder and started running. Roughly 1/2 a mile to the finish. It stung to get passed by 15 riders or more that I had passed along the way but I'm proud of my 26th place finish.<br />
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Before my training class at HSP last night I was chatting up Thomas the master bike tech about CX gluing techniques. Four coats of glue was his recommendation. I have some gluing to do this week!<br />
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Article on Sunday's race - http://www.cxmagazine.com/ssx3-stevenson-hernday-wins-silver-lake<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9J2gds3ESVICFrXrPXpQpQkbC9yFj12VE-yc2-c9-1h-gDKzKeWGiyXmBtVeKtyaWFismf9PY4qVGrFZ4zOPU4BIDLJgmRWfoV778yMJIDbmNzYo4X9QCdEChoc1GtuVlBL0weoDkf6s/s1600/Screen+Shot+2011-10-19+at+8.15.01+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9J2gds3ESVICFrXrPXpQpQkbC9yFj12VE-yc2-c9-1h-gDKzKeWGiyXmBtVeKtyaWFismf9PY4qVGrFZ4zOPU4BIDLJgmRWfoV778yMJIDbmNzYo4X9QCdEChoc1GtuVlBL0weoDkf6s/s400/Screen+Shot+2011-10-19+at+8.15.01+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-7120083158494835722011-10-14T21:56:00.000-07:002011-10-14T21:56:25.627-07:00Independence Valley road race - 3/26/11<span id="internal-source-marker_0.9604773305049079" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>"Catching up on old reports"<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ended up having a lot of fun today despite making a big mistake and having a little bad luck. I was on my own for today’s race, Travis’s wife had a ½ marathon and the only other CAT5 (Gabe) raced in the even group, I was in the odd. The IVRR course consists of two 20 mile loops with two pretty good climbs per lap.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My big mistake came early on. I figured the 1</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 6.6pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">st</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> climb would blow the pack apart and in all likelihood a half dozen stronger riders would pull away on it. I knew I had to be in the lead group at the top of the 1</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 6.6pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">st</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> hill. Since the 5’s have been split every week the packs are so small that if a half dozen stronger rider’s get off the front there just isn’t enough horsepower or numbers in the peloton to run them down. I was way too far back starting the 1</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 6.6pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">st</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> climb, maybe 15</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 6.6pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> wheel. I incorrectly figured I would slip through the field and catch the guys up front. When I hit the gas I quickly hit (literally) the rider’s wheel in front of me who was already gassed after 10 seconds. Frustrated, I continued and managed to get through the field but the lead group of 7-8 was already up the road. By the top of the hill I was in no man’s land, a hundred yards behind the lead group but ahead of the rest of the field. I bombed the descent the best I could and chased on my own for a couple miles before it became obvious I wasn’t going to catch up solo. A group of 10 riders or so caught me and I did my best to get everyone to work together, I knew we would never catch the leaders (even though we were still only 30 seconds back). Aside from a few guys there wasn’t a lot of heart left in that group of ten. When we hit the second hill the group of ten became 3 by the time we reached the top. At the top is where my bit of bad luck came in. Flat tire! Boo, race over 13 miles in! Watching the rider’s stream past was rough as I sat on the side of the road. Much to my surprise CAT5’s had neutral wheel support today, I raised my hand, the car pulled over, I yelled back wheel, the friendly volunteer swapped my wheel, and boom I was riding again after 3-4 minutes.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I flew down the second hill and time trialed my way up to a father son duo riding for bikesale. We worked together (for the most part) until we started picking up other riders. At the end of the first lap we had about 10 riders in total. The pace was slow, I quickly took a flyer off the front hoping a couple guys would join but no luck. I dangled for a mile before they caught me again. The next climb arrived shortly after, I hammered the lower section pretty good and got a solid gap on the other riders. About 2/3rds of the way up the hill I said to myself, self, what the fuck are you doing? There is no chance of you running anyone down solo so why hammer this hill. I laid off a bit and crested the hill with maybe a 20 second gap. I zipped down the other side and was on my own for a couple miles before meeting up with a teammate, John C. We worked together for a bit before 5-6 guys caught us, from there our group of 7 worked together well. About a mile before the final hill our group of 7 was down to 4, the other 3 guys were all pretty strong and nice guys. At the base of the last climb we spotted a couple riders near the top from our race. The 4 of us decided to keep it together on the climb and work together after the descent. The 4 of us were really working well together, despite this we were caught by a couple CAT5 even Audi guys and a Second Ascent rider. The three riders slipped past us but after a couple good group pulls we picked them up. Our new group of 7 lasted to the finish. We did managed to catch the couple riders from our pack in the last 1K. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Finish: Not much of a sprint, one of our 4 guys busted his cleat near the end so it was just 5 of us plus the 3 guys from the evens. I hit the gas hard at 200M, I got some room on a few of the guys but one of the riders who had been working with us for miles came around me with a few meters to go for 10</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 6.6pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> place. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">IVRR 2011 finish</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">All things considered I really enjoyed my race today. Despite missing the lead group on the 1</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 6.6pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">st</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> climb and flatting on the second climb I raced hard and managed 11</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 6.6pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> place out of 30ish. Tomorrow I’m taking the upgrade class so this was my final CAT5 race!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/75883075">Garmin Data: </a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Next week I’m headed to Spokane for the Frozen Flatlands stage race and hopefully a little redemption in a new category!</span>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-11808847558655091092011-10-13T22:24:00.000-07:002011-10-13T22:24:11.459-07:00Cougar Mt MadnessTonight’s commute home had a little added flavor! Char agreed to meet up at the Factoria Sbux for a little evening hill climbing. Char is new to the team so he was wearing his old teams kit, I think this was primary contributor to his cramping. After Montreux Char had to call it a night, I was on my own to finish off Zoo Hill and Lakemont. On the upper section of Cougar near the towers I had mountaineering memories flooding back. Every breath lit up by my headlamp, grinding uphill in silence, vision restricted to what my light illuminates.<br />
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Hopefully as the weather gets worse more (any) teammates come over and join the Thursday night PARTY!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlIQyi0M79SeT88clGC5tntO4niuMXcVs3Xa2mCxrPi-PrYnqlRRZJUh8EuxJbydg9zcwXg8wIY7kXkV07R53Fgvecj105nAhGqmeEXTg73fRMcGHeSI9XCxXQIWEX6eBkwY9mVupxmU/s1600/char.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlIQyi0M79SeT88clGC5tntO4niuMXcVs3Xa2mCxrPi-PrYnqlRRZJUh8EuxJbydg9zcwXg8wIY7kXkV07R53Fgvecj105nAhGqmeEXTg73fRMcGHeSI9XCxXQIWEX6eBkwY9mVupxmU/s400/char.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Char cramping up on Montreux</div>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-65010606538429001342011-10-10T22:12:00.000-07:002011-10-10T22:12:21.878-07:00My front wheel – a CX love story…<div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_1039" style="width: 610px;"><a href="http://apexracing.org/news/race-reports/my-front-wheel-a-cx-love-story/attachment/img_4450-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-1067"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1067" height="450" src="http://apexracing.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_44501-600x450.jpg" title="IMG_4450" width="570" /></a> </div>While this will be a brief SCX #2 race report I’d be remiss to not kick it off without a call out to my front wheel/tire. Just like dating hot women there are pros and cons to riding tubulars. In the first couple months of the road season I flatted 6 times racing on tubulars that has to be a record, and a serious con! I hung in there though, sleek, lightweight, ride like a dream, all pros! For Cross season I picked up a pair of older Zipp 404 tubulars, the promise of lightweight, no pinch flats, and low tire pressure turned me on. Let’s quickly flash back to Labor day. Half way into my fist warmup lap I started a sharp left hand turn that I didn’t finish. Halfway through I was rudely introduced to the ground, WTF I thought? Ah, rolled my front tire off the rim, sweet. After racing back to my car and jacking up the air pressure I started the race, I made it 1.5 laps before I again kissed the grass, rolled tubie – con! Flash forward to MFG#3 in North Bend. My tire and wheel have a new layer of glue holding them together. I made it through my warm up A-OK, I even made it .5 laps in the race before now for a third time in two races I was on the ground, I knew exactly why this time. I finished off that race (Cat4 35+) and the following Cat4 race on a pit clincher. The clincher got me to the finish line (pro) but I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel yet on my tubulars. The amount of glue I used to secure my front tire this week left no doubt in my mind that it would hold. I have nothing funny to say, I really did use damn near a tube of glue.<br />
SCX # 2 Steilacoom:<br />
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<dl class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_1070" style="width: 610px;"><dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a href="http://apexracing.org/news/race-reports/my-front-wheel-a-cx-love-story/attachment/img_4439-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-1070"><img alt="" class="size-large wp-image-1070" height="444" src="http://apexracing.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_44391-600x444.jpg" title="IMG_4439" width="570" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text">Cat4 35+</div></dt>
</dl></div>Chris and I were the only 9:15am Apex racers this week. Chris raced the open Cat4 and I did the Cat4 35+. Chris is super fit but new to CX racing this year, I am less fit and also a newbie this year. This course was much more interesting then Mountain Meadows the week before. There were 2 short climbs that separated out fitness levels quickly. The top 24 riders from the previous SCX race were “called up” to the front. This is a big advantage in a Cross race because it can often be challenging to pass on the course. Rows were 8 across and several riders were absent, I was able to get a good spot in the 3rd row. I had an OK start probably hitting the turn onto the grass in 25th place or so.<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://apexracing.org/news/race-reports/my-front-wheel-a-cx-love-story/attachment/img_4473-3/" rel="attachment wp-att-1064"><img alt="" class="size-large wp-image-1064 aligncenter" height="450" src="http://apexracing.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_44732-600x450.jpg" title="IMG_4473" width="570" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Before the top of the first climb I had already started catching some of the slower Cat4′s, from here on it was hard to tell the “old guys” from the “kids”. I guess it didn’t really matter though, I tried to pass everyone in sight. As I would have guessed on the uphill sections I passed riders easily, more of a surprise however was the fact that I didn’t lose much ground on the technical sections and downhills. I felt much more confident then even the week before. On the 2nd climb of the second lap I was pinned behind a pack of riders 3 across, I managed to hop up onto the field above the “road” and pick off 4-5 riders. As I came by the Start/Finish line I heard the bell ringing, one lap to go. Damn, we were told 4-5 laps, longer the better for me. I went deep up the first hill catching a couple more guys in my field, on the 2nd climb things got spicy. I had 2 Motofish riders in my sights, I knew one of them had been finishing well in previous races and if I didn’t get him on the climb I wouldn’t get him at all. I channeled my inner <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonconnell/6229670374/in/photostream/lightbox/">GOAT</a> and dropped the hammer, it hurt but I wanted these guys. As I approached I yelled “on your left” so naturally dude goes left to cut me off. Without missing a beat I went right, he didn’t like this and leaned into me pretty good, hmm, OK dude whatever. Once wasn’t enough for this fella though, he comes back into me again? I had already nosed ahead of him and he hooked his bars somewhere on my bike and down he went. This pumped me up even more and I made sure I went past his buddy hard as we crested the climb. There is a fair amount of contact in cyclocross but this guy was not playing fair. Anyway, I finished off the lap and the race without further incident.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://apexracing.org/news/race-reports/my-front-wheel-a-cx-love-story/attachment/img_4482/" rel="attachment wp-att-1085"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1085" height="450" src="http://apexracing.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_4482-600x450.jpg" title="IMG_4482" width="570" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">My goal coming into the race was top 10, I finished 8th. For my second CX race I am really pleased with the result. I should get a call up next week, this will help with early positioning.</div><div style="text-align: left;">My front tire stayed on the whole race! Major pro! I ran 35psi and had very little slippage. I was SO excited that I left my damn wheel at the race! It was on the side of my car when I was getting changed, totally forgot about it until I got home to clean it off. Love story over? Nah, this is a happy PG rated report. I quickly called Cemanski who was racing later in the day. After some work on his part my wheel was found slumming it in some other teams pit. She will be coming home to me Tuesday night.</div>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-14923493719304810822011-10-08T18:35:00.000-07:002011-10-11T08:58:39.473-07:00MFG #3 - SCCA/Starbucks GP - North Bend 10/2/2011<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclo-cross">Cyclocross!</a><br />
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I am a million posts behind but I'm going to try to keep up on Cross updates.<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PDy2YgEs6wc/TpDm1qNsC7I/AAAAAAAAAlc/uFK1_gRGg6E/s1600/35%252B+post+crash+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PDy2YgEs6wc/TpDm1qNsC7I/AAAAAAAAAlc/uFK1_gRGg6E/s320/35%252B+post+crash+1.JPG" width="212" /></a><br />
My total CX experience consists of racing Lake Sammamish in 2010 and 1 lap of the Labor day season opener this year. I only made it 1.5 laps due to rolling my front tubular tire off the wheel. My fitness is pretty solid right now but I have zero off road skills, game on!<br />
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The plan was to race Cat4 35+ @ 9:30am and the open Cat4 @ 10:20am, back to back baby! I drove out to North Bend and arrived in plenty of time to register and take a couple warmup laps before the first race. I have been adding more running into my workouts lately, this and a hard-ish team ride the day before left my legs feeling just OK. At the start I was nervous but ready to go. I was starting from the 3rd row and had some work to do to improve my position. I started off OK, probably 30th back or so in a field of 90 going into the first turn. After a short uphill section on gravel there's a sharp right hander, as I hit the apex of the corner I found myself on the ground, dammit! Rolled my front tire off again. I picked myself up and hurried back to find the neutral wheel tent. Thanks FSA for being out there supporting these races! The rest of the race was uneventful, I picked people off and built a little confidence on the course.<br />
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<a href="http://app.strava.com/rides/1840326">http://app.strava.com/rides/1840326</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yzXyKWqqotw/TpDm2B3FC7I/AAAAAAAAAls/HDvOwv6iD0I/s1600/Cat+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yzXyKWqqotw/TpDm2B3FC7I/AAAAAAAAAls/HDvOwv6iD0I/s320/Cat+4.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>I had just a few minutes between races to race back to my car, adjust my brakes, swap my race numbers, get in a gel and water, and finally shoot back over to the start. I arrived at the start line 2 minutes before we started. My start wasn't fantastic, I got pushed out to the right down the opening stretch and again was 40 or so riders back entering the first turn. Over the next couple laps as riders tired I made pass after pass on the straightaways. Once I moved up to about 20th it was apparent that the guys in front of me were generally far superior technically. Over the last couple laps I passed a few riders but for the most part I would pull riders in on the flats and get dropped in the turns and technical sections. I was at the tail of a chase group of 6-7 riders starting the last lap. Try as I might I just didn't have the legs to get past this group. I took a small amount of pride in piping a guy at the finish but was disappointed I couldn't have picked off a few more riders. Overall I finished 16th out of a field of 90. Hard to get real excited about 16th but for my 2nd CX race ever and 1st this year I'll take it! <br />
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<a href="http://app.strava.com/rides/1840328">http://app.strava.com/rides/1840328</a><br />
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</div>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-5598533725095760812011-06-22T21:17:00.000-07:002011-06-26T12:46:47.205-07:002011 Elkhorn Classic<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">2011 Elkhorn Classic</span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">When I first read about Elkhorn over the Winter I knew right away that this was a race I really wanted to do. Big miles with lots of climbing in an amazing location. I was still really excited last week leading into the race but my expectations for a good result were extremely low after getting dropped on the final day of the Capital stage race. My plan was to have a great time, hammer the TT, survive the Crit, and help Travis as much as possible. Travis and I along with Jason Cemanski left Seattle around 4:00PM Thursday and arrived in Baker City at 10:30PM after stopping for a great steak dinner in Pendleton, OR. Cemanski had three other teammates racing that were staying in the same motel (Knights Inn), we agreed to meet up for breakfast and get in a spin before getting ready for our 2:00PM race start. After breakfast Friday we took the TT bikes out to check out the TT course. We ended up taking the wrong route but got in a good “easy” spin. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Stage 1: The Oregon Trail Road Race</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">71.6 miles with 3,055’ of elevation gain. The weather was beautiful, warm enough to race w/o any thermal gear but not too hot. The fields were down 40 percent this year so organizers mixed the cat 4/5 with the masters 4/5 but would score us separately. One of Cemanski’s teammates Bill was racing Masters 4/5 and we all agreed ahead of time to race together as much as possible. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The first couple miles were neutral as we rode out of town, it was pretty cool starting in town vs. the middle of nowhere. Travis was off the front a couple times early but never got too far away. The first Cat5 climb came at mile 23, I started near the front and faded back to the middle/rear of the peloton, I wanted to conserve as much energy as possible. Shortly after the climb the calls came out for a pee break, I didn’t really need to go but I figured I should since everyone else was. By the time I finished up most of the group was riding again and several of us had to put in a solid 2 minute effort to catch back on. Getting dropped on a pee break would seriously suck! The next 20 miles cruised past w/o incident, then we hit the Cat3 climb and things blew up. The climb was 2.9 miles and gained almost 800’, I tried not to panic when a few riders started pulling away. After the first 5 minutes I started to get into a groove and began pulling riders back. I slowly moved past Travis and Bill, I was now pulling a few riders along behind me. Cemanski was doing the same a few meters in front of me, I put in a big effort and soon we were a group of 10. Our grupetto was roughly 30 seconds behind the leading group of 8-10 at the top of the climb. We closed in a bit on the descent and quickly reeled the leaders back in within a few miles. After a hard chase I was elated to hear Travis and Bill had rejoined the group. Over the next couple climbs we dropped a few riders but the 4 of us were still together. The final rollers that led into the final climb were brutal for me, they never seemed to end. I was really digging deep to hang on, I didn’t want to get gapped off after all the work I had already put in. Somewhere on the final climb a Master came across the road at a wild angle and slammed into Travis’s front wheel. Travis kept his bike upright but his bars were knocked sideways and he had a damaged front spoke. Travis was able to finish the stage but this cost him over 3 minutes on the lead group. A young Second Ascent kid soloed off on the final climb, our chase group was 1:05 down to him at the top of the final rise. Over the final 3 miles we cut his lead to 30 seconds, but there was no coordinated effort to chase him down. Our group was now 15, Cemanski and I were both scared to mix it up in a sprint with several of the remaining guys, it was surprising how many poor bike handlers there were. With 1K to go Cemanski agreed to try to lead me out, at 200M he swung left across the yellow line, we had a clear shot to the finish. I would love to see video of the sprint, before we hit the line both of us cramped up and were yelping, I went around Cemanski too early and didn’t (couldn’t) pull past him before the line. We finished 1-2 in the sprint though, 2-3 for the stage. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://app.strava.com/rides/779909">GPS Data </a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etmS7CL_vqE">Cool Video of stage 1 </a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://obra.org/events/18401/results">Results</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Stage 2: The Pleasant Valley Time Trial</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">11.3 miles with 260’ of elevation gain. It was a cool overcast morning, perfect for hammering a TT! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The TT was an out and back with an addition mile added past the start line so we finished in town. The first 5 miles were slightly uphill and into the wind, I wanted to be careful not to blow up on the way out. Travis and Cemanski both out TT me so I really wanted to take 3<sup>rd</sup> and not let Cemanski who was starting right behind me pass me on the course. Mission accomplished! Cemanski almost got me but I held him off. Travis won the TT in 25:30, Cemanski was 2<sup>nd</sup> with 25:36, I took 3<sup>rd</sup> with 26:00, 4<sup>th</sup> place was a further 41 seconds behind me @ 26:41. Podium sweep = sweet. Cemanski took over as race leader, I was 2<sup>nd</sup> 24 seconds back.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://app.strava.com/rides/779906">GPS Data </a>(I didn't stop it till .3 miles past the finish)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://obra.org/events/18402/results">Results</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Stage 3: The Gold Rush Criterium</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">40 minutes on a 6 corner flat course.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">This was really the race that wasn’t. by the end of the TT in the morning the rain had started and we figured the crit would be canceled, our start time was 2:30PM. Around 2:00PM we jumped on the course to check it out and get a warm up in. Main St. has a lot of river rock in it so it was clear that if it was wet there would be problems. Well, it was wet. The rain started picking up at the start line while we were getting instructions from the race official. I got a good spot on the front line and was able to clip in quickly as we started, I was able to get a good position near the front. I gave up some ground early so I could keep an outside line thru the corners, it was already getting slick. In the first corner of the 3rd lap there was a pile up of 6 riders. As I passed by the kid who won the first stage was screaming that he lost his teeth, bad news! We were neutral (sort of) for the next couple laps before the crit was officially cancelled. Goal achieved, I survived the crit.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">After dinner Travis and I along with the Apex guys drove out to Dooley mountain to check out the summit finish of Sunday’s stage. 8 miles of climbing to finish a 101 mile stage, ouch. I took some solace in the fact that the pitch wasn't that bad, 4.3% on average with the steepest sections near the start and at 4.5 miles. We headed back to town and had a fantastic dinner at <a href="http://www.barleybrowns.com/">Barley Brown's Brew Pub</a>. The rain had stopped and we were treated to watching the Men's Cat3 and 1/2 races. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Stage 4: Dooley Mountain Road Race</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/s/routes/view/bike-ride-map/oregon/baker-city/2778871#climbs">100.5 miles with 6,635' of climbing.Six rated climbs, 2 Cat5's, 3 Cat3's, and a Cat1</a>. It was a bit chilly warming up before the race, I started with arm warmers but no other thermal gear.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Our neutral rollout was a couple miles, as soon as it ended Travis took off. This is becoming Travis's MO to open his legs up early. A few guys freaked out and started to chase but Travis stayed away for several miles before sitting up. Cemanski and I were both concerned about the guys 3rd and 4th in the GC, they could climb well. One guy (#411) had talked a little trash at the crit the night before, he wasn't thrilled that he was out sprinted in the 1st RR and beat by all three of us in the TT. The other guy Paul was a total wildcard, this was his first bike race! We all came to really like him and were super impressed by his climbing. I was really just hoping to make it to the final climb with the peloton and have a crack at defending my 2nd GC position. I had 5 rated climbs to contend with 1st though!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">About 14 miles in I was at the front with a team Oregon rider, we each took a little pull and then slid off. At least I tried to get off the front, I looked down and I was doing 16mph (into a modest wind) and the two of us had gapped the field a bit. Right away I thought, hey, if I can get a head start on the first short Cat5 I might as well take it. We worked together at an 80% effort for the next 3 miles and hit the climb with a small gap on the field. Travis and Jason in an attempt to make 411 work chased up to us and took 411 by surprise, this forced him to pull the field up to us. Half way up the climb 411 pulled up to me huffing and puffing hard, Travis's move clearly worked. 10 miles later we started the hardest of the cat3's, 3.2 miles, 4.4% grade. The pace was hard but none of the better climbers were trying to hurt the field. Despite this, at the top of the climb 15 minutes later the peloton was halved. The second Cat3 was a lot of work but the pace was slightly softer than the previous Cat3. Next up was a Cat5 that was fast but a non event. The Final Cat3 came up a couple miles after the previous Cat5. The pace was up and there was a lot of huffing and puffing in the field. Maybe a 3rd of the way up Travis took over pace making. It was perfect, fast but not so fast he dropped us. This kept 411 in check until near the end of the climb when he soloed off. Cemanski started to chase but I told him not to, 411 was not going to solo the next 30 miles on his own before the final climb.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">As I mentioned before the 4/5's were racing with the Masters 4/5's. Before the second Cat3 a breakaway formed that contained 4 Masters and 1 Cat4. the Cat4 got spit out the back pretty early so there was no pressure on the 4/5's to chase. I was in favor of double pacelining to real the break back and help Bill out but there was no interest from the 4/5's outside our group. For the most part Bill and 2-3 other Masters drilled it for the next 30 miles, at times we were north of 30mph on the flats (we had a helping wind), it was work to just sit in. Travis had been protecting me all day and helped pull me along during this stretch.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><a href="http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?col=Dooley-Mountain&qryMountainID=9692#profile"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Dooley Mountain:</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">92.5 miles in we hit the final climb. 411 went right to the front and was drilling it. I started to lose his wheel after a few minutes, Cemanski and Carsten from Second Ascent came around me. Carsten was only about 80 seconds down to me in the GC. I was able to dig deep and pull back up to 411's group. The road swung left, I was hurting to hold on, then I hear a bad sound and see Cemanski's chain hit the ground right in front of me. I couldn't believe his bad luck. Before the next switchback I was gapped, 411, Paul, and a Master were pulling away slowly, SHIT! Bill was on my wheel when I started feeling better, I unzipped the jersey to get the nice white trash look going and picked up the pace. I started reeling Carsten back in, this fueled my fire. I tried to attack Carsten when I went past but he had some fight in him and held on. For the next few miles it was just the two of us, he tried to pull a couple times but it was short lived, I did 90% of the pace making. Up the road I saw Paul pass 411 and the Master he was dragging along. I only had 41 seconds on 411 and 56 seconds on Paul. About this time Travis starts yelling encouragement to me from an SUV, WTF? I was pumped up but confused, turns out he felt so bad about Cemanski (#1 GC) sitting on the side of the road that he handed him his bike! Pretty fricking amazing, after helping drag our asses 92 miles with 5K of climbing he gives up his bike, wow. I dropped Carsten with a few miles to go and was flying solo. I have to say it's the closest to a Tour de France type experience I have had racing all year. I went deep the last few miles and finished as strong as I could. There is a festival with free beer and pizza at the top, very cool. not 15 seconds after I finished Cemanski comes flying in. He almost caught me after his earlier disaster. I finished 3rd on the stage but dropped from 2nd to 4th GC. I had a great climb up Dooley, 13.0mph average was faster then all the previous shorter climbs that day. Next year my power will be up and my weight will be down!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><a href="http://app.strava.com/rides/779912"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">GPS Data</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://obra.org/events/18403/results">Results </a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://obra.org/events/18400/results">GC results</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Elkhorn is an amazing race! I would encourage everyone to consider it for next year. This was my 6th stage race of the season and by far my favorite. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Between Cemanski, Travis and I we picked up 6 of 9 possible podium spots (no podium for the crit) including a sweep of the TT, not too shabby.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If you made it this far you must be a hard core cycling nerd, or retarded, or both.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Final note: One of my goals was to get some upgrade points this weekend. I succeeded by picking up 9 ORBA points, bad news is USA Cycling won't accept them, total BS!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Nice! </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bfygf3KvY68/TgNjWXNAf-I/AAAAAAAAAjU/ZkX4dWpjv8k/s1600/2011-06-23_07-51-08_573.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bfygf3KvY68/TgNjWXNAf-I/AAAAAAAAAjU/ZkX4dWpjv8k/s320/2011-06-23_07-51-08_573.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-76588042509990075652011-05-19T08:53:00.000-07:002011-06-25T17:17:37.733-07:00Weekly Riding Stats<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="160" scrolling="no" src="http://app.strava.com/athletes/14693/activity-summary/c7323b5cbcb63736ef24d5ac90ebb1684b0dd0b6" width="300"></iframe>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-44920176771872144602011-05-08T00:27:00.000-07:002011-05-09T03:23:15.697-07:00Ravensdale Road Race 2011Today was my 20th bicycle race since March 6th and sadly this is my 1st blog entry. Come to think of it I'm behind at least 2 ironman races, 2 70.3 IM races, and a bunch of other crap. I'll get caught up on that soon I'm sure :-)<br /><br />Anyway, today's race!<br /><br />Last week at Vance Creek we enjoyed dry sunny conditions, the same could not be said for today. The Cat4 race didn't start until 11:09, it was great to be able to sleep in a bit and "enjoy" slightly warmer weather then the morning starters. Today we were racing 5 laps at about 9 miles per lap. Pretty standard stuff, nothing really significant about today's course, one little hill and a couple small rollers but that's about it. At either the end of the first or second lap there was a crash in a corner, I was a couple wheels back and managed to swing wide to avoid it. I had to chase a bit to catch back on to the pack but it wasn't too serious. The rain and wet roads were awful, today was a day to stay on your toes. On the third lap I was about 4-5 rows from the front when I saw my teammate Travis off the front with 2 other riders, Jed and Jason. Jason has won nearly every race he's entered this year, Jed is very strong, and Travis is a beast. I knew if the pack didn't close them down soon that this was a breakaway that would stick, they had some serious horsepower. At the beginning of the 4th lap I moved up to my teammate Chad who was near the front. He was sitting behind 4/5 Byrne (another team) riders who were working at the front to bring the break back. I respect that they were trying but either they didn't have the legs or the heart to really do much. The race official gave us a 1 minute to the break time check around this time, I knew the worst Cycle U (my team) would finish today was 3rd, the break was going to stick. One final note on the break. Bikesale is a team that had 11 riders in the field and they made absolutely no effort to pull the breakaway back. I was truly embarrassed for them, not to even try was pathetic.<br /><br />Back to me, it is my blog after all, even if I only update it once a year! Since I had Travis up the road I was able to just sit in the pack and take up space till the end. At the start of the final lap I moved back up near the front with Chad. Chad is fantastic at moving through the pack, I stayed stuck to his wheel the rest of the lap. Inside the last mile Chad was in the lead up the final hill, he was setting a strong pace and I was sucking his wheel, thanks Chad! With a few hundred meters to go riders started coming up on both sides. I was able to jump behind Paul from Recycled Cycles and actually catch my breath a little. Somewhere inside 200M a couple guys launched hard up the side, I was slow to react but I slid left and hammered it. I was able to get by Paul and a couple others but I ran out of road before I could run down the two guys who broke early. I rolled in 3rd behind these guys finishing 6th overall. All things considered I'm pretty happy with 6th. Last week at Vance Creek I finished 4 seconds off the winner but rolled in 26th and was very disappointed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2IvocfhNocp-bwGcttRlek93-suPY_aO89MYa5yvzJA-RXj4lVCzXWHVhmC8AOoYqxLnyXfZ15JRHdJ8BDHz32JsixTnXyZQQX9B9gJn8l7umeVFsHgfQ_Y5Pl1hPT3xHjaeZv6UMDz8/s1600/DSC08375.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2IvocfhNocp-bwGcttRlek93-suPY_aO89MYa5yvzJA-RXj4lVCzXWHVhmC8AOoYqxLnyXfZ15JRHdJ8BDHz32JsixTnXyZQQX9B9gJn8l7umeVFsHgfQ_Y5Pl1hPT3xHjaeZv6UMDz8/s400/DSC08375.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604254744675714370" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Recap:<br />6th place out of 72 starters + Travis took 2nd place = great day for Cycle U in the 4's.<br /><br />GPS data:<br />http://app.strava.com/rides/529110<br /><br />Pictures:<br />http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonconnell/sets/72157626546701639/Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-92038317570741199142010-10-02T21:14:00.000-07:002010-10-29T12:02:26.377-07:00Lewis and Clark Ultra race report.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJgnMnf3g7dxM_IDqIrD-ORQDqAKD6WfrrmAaT4UaGC4IEPebrqGdQ1uQsMjsTE7p8Io7dwngyE1DHax31_S8S12s6qxAX-VkYetUc_N2YS9Qqyzi4jGnXLIkKwUEJh6D15OfZkFDggg/s1600/4699092348_ed73d3b228_b.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJgnMnf3g7dxM_IDqIrD-ORQDqAKD6WfrrmAaT4UaGC4IEPebrqGdQ1uQsMjsTE7p8Io7dwngyE1DHax31_S8S12s6qxAX-VkYetUc_N2YS9Qqyzi4jGnXLIkKwUEJh6D15OfZkFDggg/s400/4699092348_ed73d3b228_b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523671349817859954" border="0" /></a><br />May 29th 2010<br /><a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/35110211">Garmin File</a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonconnell/sets/72157624146231655/">Photo's from the race</a><br /><br />Drove down to Battle Ground Friday night, between traffic and an accident it was a four hour drive. The race started at 6:30am, we arrived at the start about 10 after 6:00 just in time to catch the pre race briefing. My official start time was 6:37am. I had 20 minutes to get dressed and get my bike ready. At the last minute I decided to put on a windstopper jacket, I’m glad I did it stayed on for the next 9 hours. Racers started 30 seconds apart beginning at 6:30, at 6:37 I was off.<br /><br />The first 3 miles are flat and being aero was nice, I passed a couple people that started ahead of me. Right at 3 miles you run into an 18% grade hill, oh hello nasty hill, I’ll see you again another 5 times on the short course. There were a couple 600’ climbs in the next 27 miles before we dropped down into the Columbia Gorge at mile 30. The rain was falling heavily for much of the first few hours. It was nice catching occasional glimpses of the river, Beacon Rock, and the Bonneville dam. At roughly 50 miles we headed north through the town of Carson. The next 15 miles was a gradual climb gaining a little over a thousand feet. The roads were quiet for the most part now that I was out of the gorge. Anessa and Hunter had stopped for breakfast earlier so I was on my own for about an hour and a half. One of the relay teams swapped riders around the 60 mile point and the fresh rider bombed past me, this was a low point. The gradual uphill that never seemed to end was weighing on me, getting rained on and working reasonably hard but only making 16 miles per hour.<br />In typical “Jason style” I briefly read the route description and knew there was a “big climb” around mile 70 but that was about it. Little did I know I was climbing a damn mountain pass, Old man pass to be exact. My biggest worry doing this race was cramps, prior to 2008 they had never been a problem but the last couple years they had struck at various running races. I am by no means a climber so I didn’t have to swallow much pride to take it easy on the climb. My 39/28 gearing worked well but I was still out of the saddle a fair bit. Time Station #2 was on top of the pass at over 3,100’. It was great to see Anessa and Hunter at the summit, I had a few orange slices at the time station and started the descent. The ride down Old Man pass was wet, wild, windy, and dangerous due to limited visibility at high speeds (49+mph).<br />(Picking this report back up on 10/2/10, I’m a total slacker)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YRmWovvG_m838CRPq0VOQZ-YbA1efav0SCsxnDXygTkzUySTNmHEE2uRrQ5qKmOFwFDCWjJX8VBWKmXaXPq6BfTDnWPdwbPT7Idov4pPeMND9LjqiHqI9lUWDVbqc6BJ4oyWFPBrcq4/s1600/old.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YRmWovvG_m838CRPq0VOQZ-YbA1efav0SCsxnDXygTkzUySTNmHEE2uRrQ5qKmOFwFDCWjJX8VBWKmXaXPq6BfTDnWPdwbPT7Idov4pPeMND9LjqiHqI9lUWDVbqc6BJ4oyWFPBrcq4/s400/old.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523672269859239010" border="0" /></a>The final check in station was in Cougar and went by w/o incident. At this point I had not seen another rider for probably an hour. I made my only big mistake around mile 120 in the town of Yacolt, I missed a right hand turn and ended up doing a 5 mile detour (check out the Garmin file). Once back on track I was feeling great and finished the 140 mile big loop strong. When I rolled into the high school check point the volunteers were chatting away and seemed a little surprised I was checking in. I used the rest room and chatted with Hunter and Anessa for a bit before starting the short loop(s). I had no idea where I was in relation to the other riders but I was enjoying be out there competing.<br /><br />After 4 short loops I was ready to call it a day, there was less than 30 minutes left and I knew I couldn’t complete another full 10 mile lap. I was urged on by a volunteer to try to squeeze in a few last miles, and figured that was probably the thing to do. Anessa and Hunter were great when I asked them to follow me out on the course in about 20 minutes. I made it to mile 6 in 11:59 so I pulled over and waited for Anessa to pick me up. I reported my 6 miles back at the high school and then headed back to the hotel. Once the results were posted later I was shocked that I took 2nd place despite the extra 5 miles. I felt even better when I found out the guy who beat me is a pretty hardcore CAT3 racer who was intent on winning this race. His race report is <a href="http://dessat.blogspot.com/2010/06/lewis-and-clark-ultra-2010.html">here</a>.<br />Not bad for a fat guy who bought his first road bike 10 months before this race.<br />Notes:<br />Food:<br />Breakfast consisted of a Starbucks sausage and egg breakfast sandwich, a chocolate old fashion doughnut, a small Super Food, and a Starbucks energy drink.<br />On the course I consumed:<br />• 3 King size and 1 regular snickers bar<br />• 8oz of Hammer gel<br />• 2 32oz red Powerade’s + 8 scoops of Carbo Pro<br />• 1 Almond Joy<br />• 2 Banana’s and ½ an Orange<br /><br />What I will do different next year:<br />• No TT bike, road bike with semi aero wheels and clip-on bars.<br />• Don’t get lost!Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-22808017422571164592010-04-29T22:13:00.000-07:002010-04-29T22:20:21.362-07:002010 Vance Creek Road Race3rd CAT5 road race! Expectations for this race were very low. Legs were a little weak from the TT the day before and a mile uphill finish does not suit a 205lb rider. Finishing with the main pack and maybe helping set up Travis and/or Rob for the final sprint would be considered a win for me. Rob got lost on the journey down to Elma and missed the start, he ended up racing in the afternoon with the Masters. Travis’s friend Nate that rode with us the weekend prior was also racing, it was cool to know a couple people in the field.<br /><br />Start: I rolled out at the back of the 40 rider pack, after a few miles Travis and I moved up to the front 3rd of the pack. At the end of lap 1 of 3 (13 mile laps) I was situated near the middle of the pack. There is a 10%+ small hill in the final 200M that hurt and would hurt again twice more. Nothing crazy about lap two, Travis pushed off the front once and I followed. For a mile or two we were up front but never really clear of the field. About half way through lap 2 Travis flatted, I found out after the race that Nate had flatted on the first lap. At one point the only bikesale rider in the pack (Aaron) pulled up along side me. He let me know that all the other CAT5 riders on his team upgraded and this was “”my race”. I paused a bit deciding how big of an asshole I was going to be. I figure I must be the douche bag on the Orange Tarmac to the bikesale team. I decided to blow off the comment and let him know any race with a long uphill finish was never going to be “my race” I think he got dropped shortly after that and ended up finishing 2nd to last.<br /><br />In the final 1km of lap 2 a Jr. racer who had been swerving all over to this point managed to go hard into the back wheel of the guy in front of him. The Jr. who was just left of me went down and managed to take 3-4 other riders with him. Thankfully I managed to avoid another CAT5 crash. I didn’t have much time to think about it because I was trying to haul my fat ass up this damn hill! I focused on the guys wheel in front of me and was determined not to lose it. When I popped up out of the saddle to get over the final kicker the main pack had split in two and I was stuck in the middle. For the next couple miles I worked hard to try to bridge up to the main pack but it wasn’t happening. I let off the gas a little and let the chase group that and formed pick me up. The chase group was totally unorganized but after about 8 miles we latched back on to the lead group. Inside the final 1km the front part of the group split apart, there was no way I was going to be able to match the speed of the guys pulling away. I did manage to hold my own though and actually pass a few guys in the final few hundred meters. I ended up 12th. <br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xyCd6XSvsco&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xyCd6XSvsco&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-21688396680271194472010-04-29T20:59:00.000-07:002010-04-29T21:09:28.841-07:002010 Pedal Dynamics Time Trial<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CJ9k49JiFF8_Zr2r3ptYX76tB0peABzoVmUH5mbmUewyaVHNHMcBQELLhJ_eZ2-xu3KpVLH7owEty1P8gvnJdX62k3tH3ywdslUdChHSPIxTqORDeCD1mbLULim9ZSnnz1xp7h4oD00/s1600/4556407587_c4c8bdbd66_b+(1).jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CJ9k49JiFF8_Zr2r3ptYX76tB0peABzoVmUH5mbmUewyaVHNHMcBQELLhJ_eZ2-xu3KpVLH7owEty1P8gvnJdX62k3tH3ywdslUdChHSPIxTqORDeCD1mbLULim9ZSnnz1xp7h4oD00/s400/4556407587_c4c8bdbd66_b+(1).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465777052389708162" /></a><br /><br />Let me get this out of the way upfront, I’m a total retard. Not that you need proof but here goes. Last Thursday 4/22 I met Rob on Mercer Island to get in a few miles on the TT bike and test out my new Giro Advantage 2 aero helmet. We were zipping around the Island when Rob threw his chain on the short steep hill on the SE side of the Island. I waited for him on top of the hill while he put the chain back on. He was in a tall gear so he said I need to go back downhill to downshift. I call down to him to lift the back tire and spin the crank while downshifting. I decided to demonstrate and promptly fell over. The lady getting her mail must have had a great laugh at the dumb ass on a TT bike outfitted with a disk wheel and rockin an aero helmet falling over. Ouch! I mainly tell this story to explain why when I woke up the morning of the TT I couldn’t turn my head. Damn my neck is sore! It’s not like riding 12 miles in the aero position really is hard on the neck though, right? Wrong! After taking a boatload of Advil before leaving the house it really didn’t turn out to be much of a problem.<br /><br />The Race:<br />I ran this same course in early March and was really disappointed to only average 23.7mph. <a href="http://jasonconnell.blogspot.com/2010/03/ice-breaker-time-trial.html">Report here:</a> I had two goals for this TT, stay relaxed, stay aero! I think I did a pretty good job of both. Finished in 28:25 and averaged 25.3mph. A nice improvement over March despite plenty of wind and rain. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonconnell/sets/72157623940866714/">Few pictures of Rob and I here:</a>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-66959996420516544592010-04-19T23:19:00.000-07:002010-04-19T23:30:06.267-07:00Weekly catch up. <meta name="Title" content=""> <meta name="Keywords" content=""> <meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"> <meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 2008"> <meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 2008"> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:drawinggridhorizontalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:drawinggridverticalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:dontautofitconstrainedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment-->Signed up for a couple races tonight, the Pedal Dynamics 12 mile TT in Black Diamond on Saturday and the Vance Creek road race on Sunday.<span style=""> </span>I really want to bring it on Sunday but I need some redemption on the Green Valley TT course.<span style=""> </span>I raced 10 miles back in March on the same course and was very disappointed in the result. Whatever happens it should be a fun weekend! <p class="MsoNormal">Skipped work today to stay home with a sick 9rd old. After Mom got home I was able to get out for a quick ride. The rain was looming so I stayed close to the house and got a couple climbs in. I was thinking Zoo Hill but the legs were a little weak after yesterday’s 100 miler and I settled on Lakemont and Forrest dr. I also worked on sprinting over some short climbs, burn baby burn!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/30643403">Garmin file:</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal">4/18</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Met Travis (from last weeks race) and his friend Nate in Woodinville at 8am. Nate was really strong (especially after finding out he had only been on a few rides this year) Travis is a monster! I did my best to hang on his wheel as much as I could all day, that was no easy task. About 85 miles in Nate and Travis headed back to Seattle over the I-90 bridge and I finished riding across Mercer Island and back to the house. At about mile 95 I had a TOTAL power outage, I needed calories pretty bad. I swung into Starbucks for a smoothie and finished with a little dignity.
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/30508011">Garmin file.</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9og3e5dALbKLRssXqN3EAZT3lghXD45nq49mkqRYiWAbSEJkQT27U5Bgh-95TQYVLQLz87YlLbU-A2rkfgKERLLA_sIsWIJcP_RzB0Balm4iFVCPmRwDrQckVh2_xxb0BzTFAUMYiq0M/s1600/Picture+7.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9og3e5dALbKLRssXqN3EAZT3lghXD45nq49mkqRYiWAbSEJkQT27U5Bgh-95TQYVLQLz87YlLbU-A2rkfgKERLLA_sIsWIJcP_RzB0Balm4iFVCPmRwDrQckVh2_xxb0BzTFAUMYiq0M/s400/Picture+7.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462102720558446514" border="0" /></a></p> <!--EndFragment--> Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-53557902042912984662010-04-12T00:06:00.000-07:002010-04-12T00:10:02.080-07:00Olympic View Road Race 4/11/10<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonconnell/sets/72157623710808861/">Pictures:</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/29774743">Garmin file:</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZexPmQA2xdejHXM3xZlRwSx0-XkLN-yfIBXKWt-cJ4tACpw9BxZkmPK8nUKm03cvcvQVn9E-C5fXXd5M4Vd-btQrvCbpyz9Yg-b6jPE9MaJ179k2cKcb-zYaibESxcM3GLDrfIPE1Uc/s400/4513250832_5faa7b3710_b.jpg" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459144492458816354" /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Cat5 race report.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Note to self: Five beers on the golf course the day before a road race is a bad call! I hadn’t swung a club in almost six months due to a broken finger playing football in November and a serious ankle sprain in January. It was good fun and I played much better than expected after such a long layoff. That said, getting up at 6:00am and starting to drink beer at 10:30am the day before a race wasn’t ideal preparation.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The alarm went off at 5:30am this morning, boo I need more sleep after yesterday! And another thing, damn my back is sore as hell, wonder if that has anything to do with golfing, DONG. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The race starts in Brady, a small town 30 miles or so West of Olympia. Anessa drove and we arrived about 45 minutes before our scheduled 9:15am start time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Plenty of time to check in, use the rest room, and prep everything. Today’s race consisted of three 18 mile laps. The terrain was flat with several rolling hills but no significant climbs. The neutral rollout was only a few blocks so the race got started pretty quickly. Nothing to report on the 1<sup>st</sup> lap other then the fact that the bike-sale team had eight riders in the race and one of their guys was in an early break away. When we crossed by the start someone at the timing tent yelled out that the gap was 1:16.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lap2 – I really wasn’t concerned about the gap since we still had 36 miles left. I was generally sitting in the last 3<sup>rd</sup> of the pack up to mile 20, I hadn’t seen much of Rob but I knew he was only a couple bikes behind. It was becoming clear that the bike-sale guys planned on controlling the front and keeping the pace down since they had a rider up the road. I wasn’t sure how many riders were in the break (I think it ended up being<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>5 riders after looking at Hunter’s video) I started chatting up another unattached rider (Travis) and in mile 21 we went off the front to try to close the gap. Travis was strong, we shared leading for several miles pushing it pretty hard. We were alone for 6-7 miles but never really got more than a few hundred yards clear of the pack. At one point my HR hit 189bpm, is that possible for a soon to be 37yr old? Up to mile 32 Travis or I were at or near the front of the pack, Travis tried hard to rally some others to get up front and do some work but there was absolutely no appetite for it. OK, I guess it’s a race for 5<sup>th</sup>? I did think it was funny that while I was out front (and had been for a while) one of the bike-sale guys actually had the stones to tell me not to “change my shirt” if I was up front. This really pissed me off, I was simply pulling down my arm warmers. I let my F-U reflex go and told him if I was up front working I’d do what ever the fuck I wanted, there was no response.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Around mile 32 I slid to the back of the pack and Rob was gone, he’s a total animal so I figured he probably had a mechanical issue. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lap3, final lap – In the first mile or two I hear “hey dr, J”, Rob was back? Somehow he had fallen off the back and managed to team up with an unattached rider who had been DQ’d for crossing the center line earlier. Pretty awesome that they clawed back into the pack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Nothing to note for the next 20 miles. At mile 51 I moved up to the front and pushed a little off the front for a very short stretch. The most significant hills hit on mile 52 and it blew the pack apart. Rob passed me halfway up the hill but I managed to stay with him. The 53<sup>rd</sup> mile we raced past a cemetery and down a steep hill with a sharp turn at the bottom. Coming out of the turn I was out of position and near the back of what was left of the pack. I managed to hang on a wheel and move up a few positions.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Finish – CRASH! With 200yrds to go right in front of me on my left a rider went down very hard, he was immediately hit by another rider who flipped over him. I swerved hard right (Anessa confirmed this later, she was relieved to see me still upright) a piece from one of the bikes hit me in the cheek. Well, this is the CAT5 crashes that everyone talks about. I yell out wholly shit Rob, I saw he swerved left and was also safe. I jumped back on his wheel and finished right behind him. I’ll update the post when the results are posted.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Great ride, sad that a team of 8 would protect a CAT5 break away 40 miles from the finish though. Even more sad that other than Travis not a single rider was willing to even try to do anything about it. It was great racing with Rob , hopefully he catches the bug!</p> <!--EndFragment-->Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-68679499954995646862010-03-28T22:05:00.001-07:002010-03-28T22:07:12.092-07:00Ravensdale/Cumberland road race report 3/28/10<div><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in; "></p><div style="text-align: left; "><p class="MsoNormal">First road race today!</p><p class="MsoNormal">I accomplished my primary goal of not crashing and finishing in the main pack.<span> </span>I started with the CAT5 men that left Ravensdale park at 9:30am. The starter told us the first mile was a rolling neutral start but it turned out to be closer to 3 miles. I can’t complain about the slow start though, the easy pace helped me relax a little bit.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The race got going in the 5<sup>th</sup> mile, it was interesting that the pace would pick up and slack rapidly w/o much rime or reason. 7 or 8 miles in I moved up near the front of the pack for a while, never actually taking the lead though. From roughly mile 10 to 16 I hung out at the back of the pack with a guy from recycled cycles.<span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">For several miles there was a solo rider leading the pack by several hundred yards, at some point before mile 20 he was joined by a second rider. The pack didn’t seem too concerned by this, I guess because they were in sight and not that far up the road. Mile 21! I got tired of hitting the brakes at one point so I decided to hit the gas! The right shoulder was open and well paved, I shot forward from the back of the pack.<span> </span>As I was passing the leaders in the pack the bikesale guys (a team that had 5 riders in the pack) yelled “break up the right side”. This made me puff up a little and I really hammered it as I went off the front, my HR hit 187bpm! I stayed away for 2-3 miles on my own. I got within 25yrds at one point of the 2 leaders but couldn’t close down the final gap. The bikesale guys gave me props for the “nice attack” as the pack gobbled me up. I actually had a tough time slipping back into the pack and ended up jumping on at the back, 3<sup>rd</sup> to last in less than a minute. The 2 riders in the break away were caught right after me. The pace had picked up a bit and I had to fight to not get dropped for the next ½ mile.</p><p class="MsoNormal">As the race turned on to Kent/Kangley around mile 28 the pace really picked up. I was near the lead of the pack or actually leading from mile 28-30. The course takes a sharp left on to the Cumberland/Kanasket RD at the start of mile 31. I was leading at this point and gave myself a good scare entering the turn at over 35mph! I scouted the course yesterday and thought the race finished at Ravensdale park sooo that sharp turn and the climb that followed were a surprise. Right from the start of the hill I started getting passed. When we crested the hill I was still near the front (10<sup>th</sup> or so) I was starting to catch my breath when I saw the 200M sign. CRAP, it was on and I was not prepared for it. My “master plan” was to launch an attack in the last mile so I wouldn’t be caught in a sprint, heck, I don’t even know how to sprint. Long story short I hammered it the best I could, passed a couple guys and got passed by a couple others.</p><p class="MsoNormal">End result I was 13 out of 29 finishers, just a few seconds behind 1<sup>st</sup>. I learned a lot and plan on racing again in a couple weeks!</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; ">32 Miles</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">1:27:00 – 22MPH – average HR – 163bpm</span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div></div><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in; "><a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/28296212">Garmin File</a></p></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAXADOQ3l1lA9ljYcDkjfncGyAVzjAQkSZtX5dK7W5Z98mtWT0T4fm9GzGRmv2-DnB9kFNs2PSq_gRdBbekBgUqVaDqILOdAx6lQozP1UneS3n76ElZcJAyUwVjXpAe4HfYWRyV9CskA/s1600/Picture+4.png"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAXADOQ3l1lA9ljYcDkjfncGyAVzjAQkSZtX5dK7W5Z98mtWT0T4fm9GzGRmv2-DnB9kFNs2PSq_gRdBbekBgUqVaDqILOdAx6lQozP1UneS3n76ElZcJAyUwVjXpAe4HfYWRyV9CskA/s400/Picture+4.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453917641288415682" /></a><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAXADOQ3l1lA9ljYcDkjfncGyAVzjAQkSZtX5dK7W5Z98mtWT0T4fm9GzGRmv2-DnB9kFNs2PSq_gRdBbekBgUqVaDqILOdAx6lQozP1UneS3n76ElZcJAyUwVjXpAe4HfYWRyV9CskA/s1600/Picture+4.png"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9P9lKvfKvU6NyFfl-7mwtm8ak4GE4ZvAY7QZLbJycwJCW1Uo2xSfpVjGorWvnUVe0ps2jwrz0_pSHutAS9wT_Qdua0ZDCU17WvZhc9HnnUL_Bg15FlnGbNxSD70sqITRejdnaaZ94xM/s1600/Picture+6.png"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9P9lKvfKvU6NyFfl-7mwtm8ak4GE4ZvAY7QZLbJycwJCW1Uo2xSfpVjGorWvnUVe0ps2jwrz0_pSHutAS9wT_Qdua0ZDCU17WvZhc9HnnUL_Bg15FlnGbNxSD70sqITRejdnaaZ94xM/s400/Picture+6.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453917474520794850" /></a><br /></div>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-43505918391709538412010-03-15T20:04:00.000-07:002010-03-15T21:11:41.566-07:00Weekly recap<div>Got about 120 miles in on the Tarmac in the last 3 days. Since Wednesday I have also logged 13 miles running. Wednesday's run I managed a 8:42 for 5 miles, not great but it's fantastic to be running again.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a nice reminder of what my ankle looked like back on 1/9/10.</div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9jOjPdjVZVVNYMzpXoKKAPCbEyPUCbihIdTXqh3mh6b-uV54Pcn0x54Rcaof0_CCpdbmQiPRgdtPtxD1oMz7ZgAjmvKB6c6t60fkgeI0Ziog_7qReov9ac-MZG9XjUpb_qUscINC5Wg/s400/IMG_0137.jpg" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449079295095908946" /></div><div>Took advantage of day light savings and got a ride in after work to night.</div><div><a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/27122964">Monday 3/15 ride</a></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogUcPIxEsUtRyMi5p4AhmpWxkz1FCNR-dEzoJ_k5wQgMlmwtpycM568keQgvrHLYhjFmcrYxUx-d_kkLy8J6T_n88oeK1ZvZ7v47r8z-DPM15eFoNAHgoj-w9VVD_UxwdCb29FlE14KM/s1600-h/Picture+3.png"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogUcPIxEsUtRyMi5p4AhmpWxkz1FCNR-dEzoJ_k5wQgMlmwtpycM568keQgvrHLYhjFmcrYxUx-d_kkLy8J6T_n88oeK1ZvZ7v47r8z-DPM15eFoNAHgoj-w9VVD_UxwdCb29FlE14KM/s400/Picture+3.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449062296741049394" /></a><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/27026460">Sunday 3/14 ride with Werner and Rob.</a></div><div>Got in 52 miles yesterday and squeezed in a apple cinnamon roll at the Black Diamond bakery too!</div><div><a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/26890315">Saturday 3/13 Jill team ride.</a></div><div>Team Ride, 2 laps around Mercer Island. Jill pulled for the 1st lap and I pulled for most of the second lap. Glancing at the power data I probably put out 40 additional watts per miles pulling, it's good to be in the draft!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div></div>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-70003619676756244072010-03-07T17:41:00.000-08:002010-03-07T21:25:37.961-08:00Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Training Ride<div><a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/26406544">Black Diamond Bakery training ride</a><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdLqazyuWuXKHEBsP2m8r6-3KgiY_EraWP9p13btiwSHfxBnPVur4sLK1bunDTIxDsQem36b12uXEtna0PVZ0cfVzRdrTALb2b_Nr2IxW4rgvadf8DVmg6krHbfu_-V6Cm6_sUJjNxBv8/s400/Picture+9.png" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 176px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446129886724649586" /></div></div>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-76258580436184527332010-03-06T20:26:00.000-08:002010-03-06T23:06:41.942-08:00Ice Breaker Time Trial3-6-10 - So, today was my first bicycle race... It went OK. The event was the Ice Breaker Time Trial in Black Diamond. The Time Trial format is pretty simple, ride a specified distance as fast as possible, you against the clock. Today's race was 10 miles on the SE Green Valley rd, 5 out, 5 back. I "raced" the course back on 2-21-10 after a 96 mile ride the day before. I averaged 23.7mph that day, I was working hard but I thought if I was fresh I could get it closer to 25mph. WRONG. I was WAY to amped this morning and went out WAY to fast. 187bpm hr in he 1st minute can't be good, can it? :-) I ended up fading pretty bad on the second half or the race (albeit slightly uphill) and only finished a few seconds faster then my training ride on the 21st.<div><br /></div><div>Overall I had a blast today and look forward to improving for my next race!</div><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonconnell/4412418505/sizes/o/">Here are some stats today broken down by mile.</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Werner and I warming up in the JFT2 tent before the race.</div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDFoW_VOyE_Z0FZk4tr3Pfs-ixj3O1sDXXeRzN4P2Nq5AU9EJLmL4lsYH7QgxFPGbW-i4Ciu5-eO2sJHc4BubGJWODLivLxSio-RpNZguMSjD7_XQU8SwY3MB_rIwfFtcCxcWCQ_YfBa4/s400/IMG_2101+copy.JPG" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445777124152097282" /><br /><div>Choppy race video.</div></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dytgVGYf1ZliWejp_q8J6FGd5bPJGoCNAshqnw_ZDymdTKz1JQq6Y8YWdS2gIYf4b8ZCT2oMEHv8kSlsz0Tgg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-23473674769084937332010-02-28T21:08:00.000-08:002010-03-08T21:42:40.507-08:00Chilly Hilly 2010!<div>Hunter and I rocked the <a href="http://www.cascade.org/EandR/chilly/index.cfm">Chilly Hilly</a> today. We totally lucked out with the weather, it wasn't so chilly but it sure was hilly! </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonconnell/sets/72157623531074078/">Pictures</a></div><div><a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/25824362">Garmin ride details</a>.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKbbqlExunK4SYit9vidh4cQ_4bdwbOrG0LvNpVGrsEDG0dlCb6clRVOhcWsUFE2hZ7frCSDLDvy-ULyCiXGoBZQLw3HNuZUVYcbnT3BeQ60wW56Zzv9yglx14Eg-x-e5rCa8K7aAUS-o/s1600-h/4397576808_46e456c574_b.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKbbqlExunK4SYit9vidh4cQ_4bdwbOrG0LvNpVGrsEDG0dlCb6clRVOhcWsUFE2hZ7frCSDLDvy-ULyCiXGoBZQLw3HNuZUVYcbnT3BeQ60wW56Zzv9yglx14Eg-x-e5rCa8K7aAUS-o/s400/4397576808_46e456c574_b.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446497797036269426" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-10409404633090918002010-02-24T20:40:00.000-08:002010-02-24T21:39:08.521-08:00Update from the last week: <div>Had a good commute to work on Friday 2/19. Little slow coming home (15.2mph) I had the saddle bag loaded down though.</div><div><br /></div><div>Saturday 2/20: Had a great ride with Aveen from Jill's team. We started out from the Eastgate Sbux @ 7:15am and I pulled into the house at 3:00pm. This time did of course include a sit down breakfast at the Black Diamond cafe. My GPS puked itself on the "course" I created and downloaded to it so no good power/hr data. I didn't need any data to know I was pretty pooped by the end.</div><div><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/wa/bellevue/777126672727039649">Here's a link to the ride route.</a></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb9eW7QiKPJXQeP9hbLtTwfbKB9_fGGOiBlFgh7V34AzQNFsJ5tQUnmy64Bnk0GhpQ5iBckGxb2Tbttr9yyDr5kJ_iwugpwl-TSxSXv6Vm7DjwkkI8zYV5HvMIJi6yr0Yq8srnEb9Lugk/s400/Picture+2.png" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 323px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442041175239801490" /></div><div><br /></div><div>Sunday Morning 2/21 I checked out the Ice Breaker TT course in Black Diamond. The weather was perfect when I started the course around 10:00am. I didn't feel like I had much power after the long ride the day before but I did average a respectable 23.7mph over the 10 mile course. The Felt felt great! Man I love riding that thing on a flat road.</div><div><a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/25244063">Garmin Ride data.</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Hunter shot this video of me with eating a GU!</div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyzSPTMtkw-NxuKab-jXOL4tg6TAjE-3HPqlckQ0JZENYTeKNZuLY9VtSSGtI_tAUDYSpcvsv7qONsMLG1o3g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><div><br /></div><div>Here's a shot that captures my riding "style" :-)<br /><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasZGbQlgeQDg2znGa7riTa2pKUQgWmEMp6Rr6reZ4uQvCR7a0qtHaQSUqC3-GndEDfByMIxsMyQUN3aanvYXxSK5HgVdbGmxSEPd2lLLItVBT91btfJI-x-AsfFKnAEaD2k6Y5QBbbPg/s400/IMG_2078.jpg" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442050880564213138" /></div><div>Later Sunday afternoon Hunter and I rocked 20 miles on the Cedar river trail. it's the perfect trail for us on the tandem, wide and flat! The weather is looking good for this coming weekend so we'll be rockin the tandem at the Chilly Hilly!</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/25280891">Tandem ride data.</a></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ5ueZDoKuR1LMXBpWe0X0jxSAnDicPBsQ49REx6iFEzjGC9PUErWw12OrF1vYBQrsw897O7DuWbOAf4EDCUtDdrEOFTNoVBVdAYqk-W8VqE5-b84UQa2VJGkWapYvJTULsheHJtHgkxk/s400/hunter+tandem.jpg" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442044846794878930" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-52972950442334095432010-02-17T21:27:00.000-08:002010-02-17T21:48:20.046-08:00More boring bike stuffDear silly Surly hipster boy, did you really try to hold me off across the I-90 bridge tonight? You should know better :-) Took advantage of today's great weather and additional daylight and rode home around the south end of Mercer Island.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hUgwIIs0UFYEB6hBrsRDThU1YO8Nx5cj3wNhwkYPdybvXrlgPtXmiOuu3UvPoATLy6a98tqxfF5vI9YGiZJ6VXhv5CCihynce_wFL1yT_Mus76hCifZRpJHzqeEmGi6AjtlMfzQsq1U/s1600-h/Picture+9.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 177px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hUgwIIs0UFYEB6hBrsRDThU1YO8Nx5cj3wNhwkYPdybvXrlgPtXmiOuu3UvPoATLy6a98tqxfF5vI9YGiZJ6VXhv5CCihynce_wFL1yT_Mus76hCifZRpJHzqeEmGi6AjtlMfzQsq1U/s400/Picture+9.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439452703695691138" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Saturday 2-13<br />Got in a nice 60 miler with Rob and the team today. Rob and I were out at <a href="http://www.94stewart.com/">94 Stewart</a> the night before with the Ladies and Charlie Woods but still met up at 7:30 the next morning!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeDBmtGnPWIJWdvDm011bSr1nvbW5JTREVaHdOEPykF_gC4R5ie9N9cXY2chjG5wPVxgNiGTVhhgKEwWJfr6vfV2M_LXKzQOzYNht8oum9f_4mMcMqoiFnIKjmy3zTps3FCV6zqjM0WVs/s1600-h/Picture+10.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeDBmtGnPWIJWdvDm011bSr1nvbW5JTREVaHdOEPykF_gC4R5ie9N9cXY2chjG5wPVxgNiGTVhhgKEwWJfr6vfV2M_LXKzQOzYNht8oum9f_4mMcMqoiFnIKjmy3zTps3FCV6zqjM0WVs/s400/Picture+10.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439454573245138578" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Sitting at 260 miles so far in February.Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-902835097659067451.post-36737910659302772192010-02-08T21:08:00.000-08:002010-02-08T21:10:28.902-08:00Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Commute - Tarmac<a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/24297541">275 Watts on my commute home, highest average yet! </a><br /><br />Won tonight's drag race up 36th ave se! :-)Jason Connellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02322874159277200856noreply@blogger.com0