Red Cross

Sunday was the Red Cross cyclocross race. The course was the same as the previous day except run in reverse. This made the course a little faster than the day before but some of the descents became a bit trickier. I liked the course run this way a bit better though I rode the wrong line in two of the downhill hairpins which made those corners much more difficult than they needed to be. It wasn't until I was lapped on my fourth lap that I saw the better line that the leaders were using. My day started out better as I remembered to bring my GPS. This luck didn't last long as I crashed on a little downhill chicane about halfway through the first lap. I had noticed it was a little slippery going up the day before and, with the awkward, off-cambre exit, was even more treacherous going downhill. My front tire slid out from under me as I was going through the chicane and I ended up on my side with some grass stuffed up the leg of my shorts. My chain also came off in the crash and I tried, unsuccessfully, to turn the cranks and have it catch and put itself back on. This is much easier to do on the road when you're not on the side of a grassy ravine. I tried twice and the chain jammed each time. I had to relent and use my hand to put my chain back on. By that point, I was way off the back. Before the end of the lap, I was able to catch and pass the rider I lapped the day before but I had pretty much lost interest in the race as I was alone for the rest of it. I still rode the corners fairly tight and have a good scrap on my right arm from a brush with a wooden picket. I think a few of the riders I was with at the back of the pack during the Jim Horner GP decided to get a head start on their turkey on Sunday. My GPS data shows I lost a lot of time with my crash and chain issues. The first lap can be a little slow for riders at the back since there's lots of slowing down to get through the bottlenecks until the field gets strung out. My first lap had a moving time of 7:43 while it had a duration of 8:03. Twenty seconds of not moving seems like a lot and that doesn't include the going slow with my chain off. All my lap times were 8:03, 7:16, 7:30, 7:36, 7:41 and 7:41. My total moving time was 45:27 and I covered about 12.6 km for an average speed of 16.6 km/h with a maximum of 27.7 km/h. My heart rate averaged 167 bpm with a maximum of 177 bpm.

Jim Horner Grand Prix

Today was the Jim Horner GP cyclocross race down at the Argyll Velodrome. You'll have to take my word on that 'cause I forgot my GPS at home. I get a lot of enjoyment out of logging data while I'm riding and it felt a little odd to look down and not see my GPS on my bars. I think it's the first time in six years I haven't recorded a ride. The course made good use of the small ravine near the velodrome as the riders had to cross the ravine three times during the race and all the significant twists and turns were located along the ravine's edges. As per usual, I spent my race at the back of the field though I actually lapped one rider. I was close to three other riders for the opening few laps but my stamina is limited and they started to pull away after the halfway point of the race. While I was with them I noticed my usual catching up on the corners and falling back on the straights. I really need to get some power and stamina back in my legs. I should really spend some time at the gym and on the trainer this offseason. Before the race, I was talking with fellow ERTCers Marg and Greg. We got on to the usual topic before a race of tire pressures. Greg and I were both running about 40 psi, which he considered a little hard but good for the course and I consider to be about as soft as I'm willing to go. The difference in attitude probably comes down to our body weight. If I remember correctly, Greg is a little shorter than me but much leaner and has a slighter build. He remarked that he's just under 60 kg. At 40 psi, he only has a total of just over three square inches of tire in contact with the ground. Even in high school when I was relatively fit, I was still heavy for my size. I'm currently quite fat so I outweigh Greg by over 25 kg. I once got a rough estimate of my lean body weight and, if it is still the same today, at 0% body fat, I would be 7 kg heavier than Greg's current weight. My weight means I had nearly five square inches of tire in contact with the ground during today's race. That's not actually a bad thing during a cyclocross race as the tire tends to spread out and float on top of grass instead of trying to sink in and leave deep tracks. Greg and I also chatted after the race about trying to brake less through corners. Cycling is all about momentum and I wonder if that's yet more incentive to lose the 12 kg I should lose. In theory, I could go through corners much faster with the same centrifugal force because of my reduced mass. In today's race I covered an unknown number of kilometres in something over 40 minutes. My lap times may have been consistent but might have dropped off in the end. I felt I worked hard the whole time but I cannot quantify that with numbers on my heart rate.

Tuesday night cyclocross #5

This Tuesday's race should have been my kind of course. It was mostly flat with a good number of turns. After being okay for the School of Cross and last Tuesday's race but feeling slippery during the Hop 'n' Hurl, my new Michelin Mud 2 tires should have been in their element on the wet grass. I wasn't able to take advantage because my race started after the Sun had officially set and ended right around the end of civil twilight. It probably seemed even darker due to the heavy overcast skies. With my extremely poor night vision, that meant I couldn't go too fast and I was often left guessing as to where the course went. Luckily, I wore my contact lenses because my glasses were fogging up on the second lap and I had to take them off as they were making my limited vision even worse. I had the clear lenses in and left them on at the start in case I took a tree branch in the face; a real possibility with all the turns around trees. On my second lap, I was having so much trouble seeing that I entered one corner way too fast. I wasn't able to make my bike turn on the wet grass at that speed so I had to slow way down then lock up my back tire so I could slide it around to get lined up for the exit of the corner. A few turns later I completely left the course, taking another rider who was following me for a little circle so we could rejoin the race. By my third lap, I was starting to be passed by the lead A riders and I had given up trying to ride very hard. I stayed in just to get a little bit of extra exercise. My lap times were 4:37, 4:53, 4:51 and 5:07 with my second lap including a few seconds of riding in a small circle trying to get back on course. I averaged 18.3 km/h with a maximum speed of 27.3 km/h over the 6 km course. My average heart rate was 161 bpm with a maximum of 172 bpm. For comparison, my average heart rate during the School of Cross was two beat per minute above my maximum heart rate on Tuesday. Next Tuesday the start time will be moved up 30 minutes so my race should start before the official sunset. I might ride with my headlamp just in case.

Tuesday night cyclocross #4

After the problems I had on the weekend, things seemed back to normal at Tuesday's cyclocross race. I really enjoyed the course as it had a few good turns and the downhill section was fun. The quick downhill was a little intimidating during my warm-up lap but it was really no problem at all. I would have enjoyed a few more turns on the course but the long straight was slightly downhill so it went quickly. I felt good for the whole race and was able to push myself without extended run-ups on hills really pushing my heart rate too high. There is a noticeable dip in my heart rate on the first lap as I decided to draft another rider along the long straight, which I thought was into the wind. The wind turned out not to be that strong as did the rider in front of me. My heart rate starts to climb again as soon as I decided to make my pass. Official results were not available but I finished about where I usually finish in these races with just a small number of riders behind me. If you're interested to see just was cyclocross is like, check out these helmet-cam videos. I haven't seen myself being passed yet. I kept up my even lap times with laps of 7:00, 7:01, 7:08 and 7:05 plus the run to the start. I did 8.4 km in 28:35 for an average speed of 17.7 km/h and a maximum speed of 30.1 km/h. I had an average heart rate of 167 bpm with a maximum of 180 bpm. The night did end poorly as one rider collapsed after finishing. His status can probably best be monitored over at the race blog.

So long, suckers!

Today was Free Admission Day at some of the city's attractions. After my race and a nap, I pulled my girls in the bike trailer down to Fort Edmonton Park. The great thing about taking our bikes was that we got to pass all the cars idling in a one kilometre queue waiting to get into the parking lot. I had wondered if we'd make it to the park since I didn't know if the sidewalk on the Quesnell bridge had been opened yet. Naturally, the bridge was kept open to traffic and the road was completed a few weeks ago but the sidewalk must have just opened this week after being closed for about three years. The alternatives for pedestrians and cyclists was a long detour to the foot bridge between the Laurier dog park and Hawrelak Park or the shuttle. The shuttle has now been cancelled since the bridge's sidewalk has reopened. We used to watch the shuttle bus pass right in front of Mom's house; usually with no one on it. The City's website states that access to Fort Edmonton Park would not be affected by the bridge work. The City must only mean vehicle access as the sidewalk and path to Fort Edmonton Park were obstructed with dirt, gravel and trailers being used for the bridge work. Still, my wife and I were able to ride past all the cars just trying to get to the parking lot. We locked our bikes at the racks right outside the front entrance.

Flopped but didn't hurl

Sunday was Hardcore's Hop 'N' Hurl cyclocross race. It was run in the opposite direction of the School Of Cross race with just a few small modifications in the ravine. I was able to ride a few more parts of the ravine section but there were still six dismounts per lap. I felt better about the course and the race than I had the previous day but that came to an end on the first steep descent into the ravine. I twisted my front wheel about half way down the hill and went right over the handlebars. I got my only revenge against the course by going right through one of the stakes and breaking it. I continued on with grass in my right shifter and tucked between my front tire and rim. I was very surprised that my front tire wasn't a potato chip after twisting it in that rut on a downhill. I didn't really inspect my bike, or myself, before jumping back in the race but I could tell after a while that the rear wheel wasn't 100% and my lower body number was hanging on with just one pin. After the race, I noticed that I'll have to spend a little time aligning my rear wheel before Tuesday's race. Two of the three pins that ripped were still in my jersey. I picked up another DNF after three laps. In retrospect, I should have continued on in both races as they would have totalled about an extra 40 minutes of good training. After my fall, I was running second-last and starting to lose contact with the guy just in front of me. My lap times were more consistant at 9:14, 9:26 and 9:57. I had an average heart rate of 171 bpm with a maximum of 183. I was indeed trying as hard as I could but I don't go very fast for that kind of effort.

Schooled at 'cross

Saturday was the ERTC's School of Cross cyclocross race. I knew it'd be much tougher than the Tuesday races as I'd have to keep my effort up for twice as long. That turned out to not be quite true as I DNFed. This course was like two different courses in one and neither one suited me very well. Half of the lap was spent close to the school with some tight turns mixed in with lots of long straights. The ravine section was mostly steep climbs and steep descents. Over the course of a lap, I had to get off my bike six times. I might replace my small chainring with something even smaller for next year as one or two of the hills could have been climbed while on my bike, if I had a few lower gears. I ended up dropping out after just two laps. I was really struggling at the end of my second lap. I can blame it all on my lack of training though I was also fighting a sore throat and cold brought home by my eldest daughter from preschool. I ended up riding for just 20:09 with my second lap being about 50 seconds slower than my first. I averaged 173 bpm with a maximum heart rate of 184.