NorCal Cycling News – Cycling and Racing in Northern California

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Even though I promote the track i actually like to race cross.  I dunno why – the season is short, the races are closer, the weather is sunny and temperate – with a dash of mud, each race series (and race) has a different character ( i love the Surf City Halloween Psycho Cross and Pilarcitos races) – and the Belgian races are great internet TV.  Rumor is DJ Snead has started to show up for some local crits which signifies the start of cross season training.   NorCal is one of three official “Cyclocross Centers of Excellence” in the United States right next to Portland/Seatle corridor and New England.   The NorCal scene is like Switzerland – we are so good we don’t need to join the European Union.   Anyways…. August and September are clinic time…here are

a few that I’ve seen coming across my desk.

• Velo Girls Bike Skills 103 September 26 – LLL always gets a turn out and is beginner friendly.  The class is going to be taught by John Funke who is threatening to retire.  Funke has been talking retirement for the last year at least… i think everybody just needs to show up with “John 3:16″ signs  to show him some love and cure what ails him my miracle if need be.  We can’t lose a guy with that kind of passion to the Pro Bowling Tour.

• Sterling Sports Group has a camp and a training series going in September. Matt’s pretty intense, and well versed in training details, so this is a good one for the information- hungry-engineering types.  He’s even got a webinar scheduled for 8/27… Go Internet Man!

• Clark Natwick – The master, the myth, the man who brought it all home to NorCal has a few clinic’s rolling.  Clinic dates are 8/29, 9/5 & 9/12. Click here for more details. Clark Natwick Coaching.  For those that don’t know Clark was an early US Cross Champ… for some reason i get stoked seeing he’s teaching locals.  Its like the gods have descended from mount olympus and started handing out magic spears or something.  Anyhooters – YEA CLARK!

• The Alto Velo leprechauns usually hold a few early season low key clinics.  Right now they are planning their get togethers for  September 10 @ Byxbee Park, and September 24   6 PM start time…and that’s loose.  Keep an eye on the for details.

• During the season there are a couple of options.  Las year Roaring Mouse put on some clinics for racers before Pilarcito’s Bay Area Prestige races and Velo Bella does a star studded clinic before the pscyh cross.   Shoot them some emails and let them know you are interested early on.

•  Livermore Series – Even though its not a clinic Shane Huntoon’s Livermore series is a great way to start racing cross since they get rolling on early September 5th.  Cool courses and kids under six race make this a great family event.  Nothing says family like cross!

I’m missing all the good stuff going on in the East Bay, Marin,Sacramento and other cool NorCal spots but i don’t think they have put up any announcements yet.  I don’t know if it is in NorCal but I’m sure Rodney Cox will be doing a cross race every other day out in Chico – that man is a one man wrecking machine!  I want to go there just to see if those races are real or some kind of facebook joke.  Put up anything i’m missing in the commnets section…

(Mike handed me a set of keys for the NorCal car, so I’m gonna try to back it out the driveway without knocking over the trash cans…spot me, OK???)

Been hearing too many reports about crashes and squirrelly moves on the race course lately, so thought the following that came across courtesy of Bicycle Trip-mate Joe Platin, might be of use to some of us:

Hello All -
My name is Bruce Hendler, owner of Athleticamps up in Rocklin. AthletiCamps is a premier provider of bike coaching, testing and camp services in the Northern California area.
I work with Joe Platin (coach) and I asked him if I could send a quick message to invite the team to our AthletiCamps Race School which takes place July 18-19th up here in the foothills.  We are offering a team discount of 10% if 3 members attend together.  So the cost would be $300 per athlete (versus $325.)
I started the Race School back in 2003 and then took a break from it, bringing it back this summer.  I really feel that there is a great need for this type of information in the NorCal racing ranks.  Most of your race training is “on the job” and there are few opportunities for a dedicated weekend where many different aspects of bike racing are taught.
It would be especially useful for team mates, as it offers a great opportunity to learn this stuff together
I am fortunate to have both Larry Nolan and Kevin Metcalfe as instructors for the school.  There aren’t many racers as experienced as these two and are willing to share it.
Please feel free to check out the website at:
http://www.athleticamps.com/cycling/training_camps/race_tactics
And of course, if you have any questions, I am always available.
Ride safe,
Bruce

longtime sufferers of the hernando-blather will call me out on this one ~- – -Mind’ervals The lunch workout can be such a bitch, especially when fatigue is setting in, or maybe breakfast wasn’t anything but caffeinated chocolate ~ or maybe the nite before saw one or three too many margaritas.or worst of all, perhaps the will is simply waning …- – -But, form has to be built, training has to be done, results have to be earned … so, dammit ~ turn the screws to it.  Turn the screws.-And so, when the repeats oppress like a looming, dooming mountain to be scaled – and when the back is tight and twisted from too little ab-work and the evils of crooked, hooked, age ~ that is when we must gulp, we must push through with one foot forward, blinking eyes that sigh and a brief mantra of, “ok … two more … just two more.”Just Two More is digestible ~ it’s realistic.  And though a bail-out of what might be optimal, it’s still better than nothing. And no matter how blown or shattered or disgusted i feel with myself after an interval … i know that i can do at least one after that … so, looking at the mountain, it’s…”ok … just two more.”- – -Up the hill, knees in violent revolt, shoving daggers and screaming jihad at every muscle, every ligament.where is your breathing?turn the pedals over, it’s only two more.  but, the first is agony, shattering glass.- – -The top is reached, and thankfully the hinges find just that hint of lubrication, the shoulders drop and teach the back to relax that little bit and … another time up the hill is possible.Turn and start.I know I can make it up one more time, and then it’s the last one. I’ll be done and the pain will stop. Just make it up this hill … do what needs be done.”two more, just two more.”.Turn and start again.- – -- – –And this time, i think we can do it. Come’on bicycle, let’s accelerate mid-way through this repeat … that’s what the workout called for, right? And now, you can do it. I mean, we’ve only got two more, just two more … the body has woken up and the suffering has changed from ripping cloth to lightly pounding hammer … we can do a couple in the right form, the right effort, the right mold.Hit the big gear …yes, feel the circle, distribute it evenly … efficiency is there under the dust. you can find it.”two more, just two more.”- – -- – –Everything, pour it into this one … everything. This is the winning move … this is the training. Yes, at least this is the right pain, the building pain, the pain that brings rewards.Shake with effort at the top, breath rasping, eyes bloodshot. Turn down the hill, get down for the next one … “just two more.”Sprint, don’t just accelerate … is that the 19t? …. make it to the 17. Burn, BURN, get back on that saddle and force the speed to remain after that attack. Let them chase, make them chase, put everything into the pedalstroke.”just two more.”.just two more~turn and start again.

- – -

TIPS FOR HOLDING POSITION IN THE PACK

No doubt about it – holding position in a pack is definitely one of the more advanced skills we can learn in bike racing. It’s difficult and takes quite a lot of concentration and … sometimes … effort.

But, the more you practice and incorporate a few easy tricks into your everyday riding and racing – the less energy you’ll end up using and the more it will become instinctive, 2nd nature, effective.
-

Where to be in the pack?

Personally, i live by the mantra – near the front, but not at the front.

Meaning ~ i love to ride in the top 1/3 of the pack so as to get the energy saving benefits of the tucked-in and protected draft, yet also free enough from the confines of the pack to be able to shoot out and cover attacks … or maybe make my own.

I don’t like riding at the back 1/3 of the pack … it is MUCH more physically difficult and that grates heavily against my naturally lazy demeanor. When in the rear of a pack, we have to accelerate harder out of corners and there is little ‘wiggle-room’ to slide back in the pack if there is a hard section of riding (climbing or crosswinds, for example). Once you’re out of the protection of the pack in those circumstances … it’s usually a gawdawful push to get back to the protection of the peloton, or it can mean a long, lonely solo effort to the finish.

So, my goal in a race is to always try and ride in the top 3rd of the pack and if i fade back a bit, not to stress about it … but instead to make the conscious decision that I MUST move up.

How to move up in the pack?

The big, meaty chunk of time you’ll have racing will be spent exercising the skill of moving forward using as little energy as possible to get the job done. Here are a couple of good ways to do so ~

1. Speed differential ~
   When you see a slowing in the pack, this will be a golden opportunity for you to NOT hit your brakes, but instead ~ safely slide up and around the growing mushroom of riders.  The keys to this glide are 1) make your initial lateral movement out of the pack predictable and relatively slow so that if there is a rider behind you desiring to do the same thing, they have opportunity to recognize what you’re doing and adapt their action. And, 2) be absolutely relaxed and watchful of each rider you pass, trying to predict if any of them will scoot out in front of you. And lastly, 3) know EXACTLY what the terrain is ahead of you. If there is a sharp turn coming up, that may not be the best time to use this tactic to move up in the pack … because you might just lose all those places passed in the pack as you brake awkwardly to set up for the turn.
   .
2. Pedal through the top of a hill ~
   Often, the few meters right after a small climb offer an excellent place to move up in the pack. Riders will often lay off the gas at the crest of a climb and the speed will drop as they recover and look around at the damage done. A handful of seconds of continuing the same effort you had up the climb as you top over it will often push you past many riders in the pack without using a huge amount of excess energy. There isn’t much downside to this tactic as it is often safe AND it can sometimes be a bit intimidating to competitors who see you spinning smoothly and quietly past them after a hard little kicker.
   >..
3. Pedal the end of a descent ~
   Many times the group will slow down at the end of a descent because someone at the front has to pedal hard to keep the speed up (instead of just coasting along). This is often the easiest way to move up in position because you can pedal at a moderate amount of effort to maintain a much faster speed than those continuing to coast. However, this calls for an increased awareness of what riders are doing around you. You’ll want to concentrate hard on predicting what riders will do … making yourself aware and in the moment – able to react in a relaxed manner to any sudden movements of riders as you move past them.
   .
4. Riding the wheel ~
   Often this is the most efficient way of moving ahead in the pack while the speeds are still high. And it can also be the trickiest.  When you’re in the pack and you see someone riding strongly through the wind … why not hop on their wheel and take the draft they provide?  Let them tow you to the front!

   However, this is an advanced skill and one that must be practiced, over and over again.  A rider passing you may have someone already in their draft and there is a very delicate art to negotiating with that rider to allow you “in the draft.”  If you begin to move slowly towards taking the draft of the rider passing you, the rider right behind them may let you in, or may ‘fight’ you for the wheel. This is a decision for that rider to make … and the best negotiating point you can offer is to signal to that rider that you are a smart, smooth wheel, and he or she will lose nothing by giving it to you.

   If you see daylight, don’t hesitate – go ahead and slowly take the wheel, all the while increasing your speed to get in the draft of the rider just after they completely pass. If the rider behind that wheel doesn’t let you in, KEEP PEDALING, and then try the same tactic behind that rider.  Again, it’s a tricky business … however, this is a skill that, if practiced, becomes the bread and butter of keeping position in the pack. You’re always looking for wheels to slide on to to move you forward.

Now that you’re at the front, STAY THERE!

You’ve done it, you gotten to the front of the pack and happily see yourself riding 10th or 12th wheel with no problems. And then … dang it! … one of the riders at the front doesn’t continue a pull or there’s some other reason for a slow down … and before you know it, swooosh ~ 20 riders just swarmed past you and now you’re in the butt-end of the pack again.

All in a few seconds.

What to do?

Here is the thing to burn into your consciousness … swarms are predictable.

1. Slowing at the front is visible. Anytime the string of riders becomes more dense, billows out, mushrooms – that is the time you must INSTANTLY look to move up. If it’s not safe to do so, so be it. But, the key is to make it 2nd nature that you are always looking for such opportunities. EVERY TIME.

   The key to holding position in the peloton is that your automatic response to a drop in speed must be to look for ways advance in position. You can use any of the above tips … sliding around the pack, riding a wheel … whatever, just keep moving forward (safely).
   .
   

2. Feel the swarm from behind.  Anytime you feel riders moving up from behind … it should be a warning signal. When you feel riders swarming around the pack, it needs to be an automatic reaction to try and squirm your way into that line of riders, safely and quickly.

   The key is to pedal. You must match the speed of that swarm and move your way slowly into the path of their advance.  Maybe the first few riders won’t let you in … but, if you don’t try, none of them will. And to move up in position .. you must try. This is most evident in sprint finishes and … really is one of the harder skills to develop.

Which leads me to my final point – moving up and keeping position in the pack takes EFFORT. The goal is to minimize that amount of effort. And, the more experience and practice you have, the less energy you will have to use to keep position near the front of the pack.

The keys are: recognizing that you must move forward, deciding you will move forward, and committing the energy required to move forward.

In a finish, it doesn’t mean anything if you’ve saved energy and yet aren’t near the front to use it. Being at the front of the race costs energy. Spend it. Spend it over and over again … because eventually, you’ll learn how to do it efficiently.

gotta go, bye!
m

Conversation ~

20′something rider: “are you doing intervals?”

vanderpoop: “yes, i hate myself”

- – -

Scene ~

the campus hill, exposed … but softly. warm breezes accompanying trees doing their windy waves and ocean vistas twinkling ‘hi’ at all the hikers passing above and below.

bottom of the little hill, turning to start another … perfect time to get paused and chatted up by bus stopped bystander ~
- – -

20′somth’un: “how many do you do?”

vanderpoop: “uh … ”

20′sumfin: “do you use heart rate, or power? what’s your rest? how long does it take you to get to the top? where do you stop?”

vanderpoop: (scratching head and looking squinty to withstand the onslaught): “well, ya know … i start here at the bottom. i hit this little button on my watch that counts down from an hour. i ride to some place up there and come down, and do it again. i don’t stop till that watch beeps at me.

… and if i’m lucky i won’t look at that stupid thing ’til it does.”

- – -

and so it goes.