Banff Bikefest Time Trial

Today was the Banff Bikefest Time Trial. It takes place on a great course towards Lake Minnewanka. So much better than than the usual Alberta TT: go straight, 90° turn, more straight. The road heads out of Banff and under the Trans-Canada before winding along a scenic road towards the lake. The first half is hilly and climbs towards the summit near the lake then there's a fast, twisty descent back to the finish.
I arrived a little later than I would have liked but got in a quick warm-up and a two gels before I took my start. There was a big tailwind out of Banff which made the ride to the loop seem quick. The climbs this year didn't seem very hard and I was surprised to find myself almost half-finished before I knew it. I caught the same guy I caught on the hill climb as he struggled through the first half climbs as well as a Speed Theory rider. I caught the other rider I passed at the end of the hill climb as we were finishing off the loop by the lake. About four riders caught me but none after the summit of the loop. One who caught me I think I saw walking around after the first texas gate after the loop. Aerodynamics was the name of the game for the descent as there was a good headwind the whole way in.
I finished the 21.2 km course is 35:52, according to my GPS. I averaged 35.5 km/h with a maximum speed of 62.6 km/h. My average heart rate was a little lower than I would have liked at 166 bpm and a maximum of 174 bpm but I still felt like I put in a good effort. I'm very happy with my ride because I had been averaging around 33.7 km/h for my other time trials this year. Also, I took nearly five minutes off my time from last year; most of that during the first half of the race. The wind probably has a huge part to play in that since it was pushing me up the small climb to the loop by the lake. From the summit to the finish, I did go about 30 seconds faster than last year despite the wind. There was a small family of bighorn sheep feeding by the lake at almost the exact same spot as last year.
All in all, a good day for me.

Banff Bikefest Hill Climb

Today was the start of the Banff Bikefest. The first event for me was the Hill Climb up Hwy 93. The race info kept the distance switching between 6 km and 7 km so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. I hoped at least that the elevation profile would be correct since the end would be near once it started to level out. I didn't know how much the gradient would affect my speed so I couldn't predict my time. I knew it wouldn't be that long of a race so I knew my usual strategy of keeping my heart rate at 170+ bpm was going to work again. I had a little advice from the ultimate climber before the race. Marg said to expect a fairly constant gradient but it would feel tougher if there was a headwind. There was a headwind.

Due to the slow speed of the climb and wide open highway, I could see a few of the riders who started before me. I caught one fairly quickly but he was quite a large, though not tall, man who was definitely struggling on the climb. He was weaving back and forth and pedalling at a very low cadence. My confidence was high at the start because the riders I could see in front weren't getting away very quickly. I think I suffered through the middle as the climb went through its steepest section. I sat for the entire climb but, in retrospect, I should have stood for some sections. On my commute, I have one steep section during which I always stand and it seems easier than the rare time I sit the whole was up. The next hill climb I do, I'm going to try mixing my sitting and standing more in a burst and recover format. Since this climb was fairly constant, there were no real sections to convince me to stand. It did level off towards the end and I was able to put in a sprint and pass another rider who I had slowly been catching for most of the ride. Another strategy would be to get a lighter bike. There was a weigh-in at the top and the official just looked at my bike and said it made the weight. I think I saw one person fail the weigh-in while I was at the top. I really wanted to ride back down but that was forbidden. After a short wait, I was driven back to the parking lot in a van.

The race was only 6.2 km and I finished in about 22:25 for an average speed of 16.5 km/h and a maximum of 33.4 km/h as I sprinted for the finish. There was 275 m of climbing and my GPS recorded 1.3 m of descending! I averaged 172 bpm with a maximum of 180. The time trial is next on Saturday. A very enjoyable course but lots of rolling hills for the first half.

Stoney Trail Time Trial

Today was Speed Theory's time trial out on the Stoney Trail extension east of Calgary. It was billed as a flat, straight course so a pure test of speed with no technical turns or climbs. What made it interesting was the weather. The race was almost cancelled as Calgary is having a little cold snap and woke up to snow on the ground this morning. I bought the ERTC winter cycling jacket but didn't think I'd use it until much later this year. The start was pushed back two hours and that was a good call by the organizers. The snow and rain stopped just before I left for the race and the start area was dry as I warmed up.

I really need to buy another trainer as there was no where to ride before my race due to the mud and gravel of the construction site. Once on course, the road was very nice since it hasn't been open to traffic yet. My heart rate monitor wasn't function properly for the whole race and I really like the feedback to know how hard I'm pushing myself. I'd like a power meter to gauge my effort but am not willing to spend the money on one yet. I could have pushed myself more but I'm not too disappointed in my effort.

The course was a simple five kilometres out and then straight back, repeated three times for a total of 30 km. The variability of Calgary's weather was amazing to experience over such a short stretch. As I said, the start was dry and remained that way the whole time I was there. The turn-around was a different story. On my first lap, everything was dry and there was a light cross-wind out of the East. On my second lap, the wind picked up and it started to rain. On my third lap, the wind felt quite strong and the rain had turned to small, stinging hail. A number of racers, myself included, rode a short distance after the turn with their right hand on thier cheek since the wind was slightly in their face and blowing the stinging hail as they charged into it at top speed. But, everything would clear as the start/finish turn-around approached. Once again, I was caught from behind by a few racers while catching no one. I did have one good moment going into the first turn as I went through the turn much faster than a racer who had just passed me. I made up 20 m and pulled right beside him after the turn but he left me behind again as he got back up to speed.

I logged 30 km for the race and finished in 53:18 for an average speed of 33.8 km/h and hit a maximum of 44.7 km/h. I had the highest average speed on my first lap before the wind picked up. My heart rate monitor wasn't working well but I might have averaged about 166 bpm. There was about 80 m of climbing for the entire race.

C4 WNS Team Road Race

Tonight I was out NW of Calgary taking part in Crankmasters' Wednesday Night racing series. Speed Theory actually put on this race and it was very enjoyable. An eight kilometre loop was designed in the Bearspaw area just outside Calgary's city limits. We did one lap to preview the course, a one lap individual time trial to seed the riders and then a three lap team race.

I felt good during the time trial and I think I pushed fairly well. My data seems to tell another story. I finished the 8 km in 14 minutes for an average speed of 34 km/h with a top speed of 50.5 km/h. I averaged 173 bpm with a maximum of 180.

The road race was three laps; the team leaders won points based on their order finishing the second lap and the team's finish would be determined by their fourth rider across the line at the end of the race. The first lap was supposed to be neutral but there were still people at the front pushing the pace. There's definitely an advantage to being in a pack because I didn't feel like I was working very hard, my pulse averaged 153 bpm, yet the average speed was 34.5 km/h; 0.5 km/h faster than my time trial. The second lap was even faster. Team Purple was reduced to just three riders in the main pack as we started the second lap. One team mate had already recognized we had lost our important fourth rider but I'm not a strong enough rider to go back and pull someone up to the main pack. As we headed towards the end of the second lap, I started to move forward so I could lead out my team leader for the sprint. Instead, he attacked with 500 m to go and opened up a large gap on the field. I sat up and crossed the line at an easy pace but still averaged 35.6 km/h for that lap. We had three team mates and we needed our fourth. We rode a very easy pace until we were finally caught by our fourth. Unfortunately, he had sat up to wait for our fifth member. We decided to get our whole team assembled and finish together. I was surprised that I could do most of the work for our team to finish the race. The last lap averaged just 27.8 km/h. All told, the race averaged 32.3 km/h over 24 km with a maximum speed of 55.7 km/h. I had an average heart rate of 155 bpm and hit 175 bpm on the second lap.

It was a fun format and I enjoyed staying in the pack and feeling good for the entire race. I wish I could feel like on of the stronger members of the main field in all my races.

Pigeon Lake road race

I was out at Mulhurst at Pigeon Lake on Sunday. The ERTC hosted its big, yearly race. Due to construction, they weren't racing around the lake like usual. I've been riding a bit but, once again, haven't been training super-seriously. My weight-lifting has taken a hit due to some hip problems for the past month. It hurts constantly and sometimes I cannot walk well but it feels good to cycle. I've had a few chiropractic adjustments but nothing has worked yet.

My race started out well. I stayed towards the front of the pack but nicely sheltered as we were lead through the town towards the main loop of the race. I can see from my data that my heart rate was low, for me, because the pace was slow as we headed into the wind. One of my teammates came up beside me and tried to encourage me to go to the front with him and push the pace but I knew that wasn't a good strategy for me. If I'm ever going to do well in a race, it's because I hid in the pack and waited for the final sprint.

Despite feeling well, I got dropped by the pack at 30 minutes. We were just finishing the southern portion of the loop where there were a few little climbs when someone just a few riders in front of me lost their chain. A few of us on the left side of the pack had to almost stop as this rider lost speed and swerved out of the pack. A climb, a gap and a headwind and I was done. I tried to get back on but the pack slowly pulled away. Five minutes later, two Juventus riders passed me and I joined them. 15 minutes later as we turned south on our first loop, we picked up my teammate, Bruce. Despite feeling good along the northern part of the loop and even pulling my little group up the climbs, I started to tire and hide at the back on the southern part of our second loop. I lost contact with them just before turning north again and rode alone for the last 45 minutes. I was passed by four riders after I left the main loop and headed for the finish but I was able to get back ahead of one of those riders in the last kilometre to ensure I wouldn't finish last.

I covered the 62 km course in 1:53 for a pace of 32.78 km/h with 479 m of climbing. My average heart rate was 163 bpm and I hit a maximum of 185 bpm. I ate a CLIF bar, a package of CLIF bloks and had one CLIF shot before the race. I was drinking water from my bottles. I don't think I was running out of energy when I was dropped but it was about 20°C, sunny and windy and I was feeling quite thirsty. I don't think I had drunk 500 mL of water before I was dropped. I don't think my weight-lifting at home has been very effective but I think it was helping me. Having worse than usual hip and back pain since the end of April stopped my weight-lifting and has affected some of my other training. My back did stiffen up towards the end of my race but my hip felt okay. I'm going to seek some more answers about my hip problem soon.