1/17/09:
2 hours of surfing at Tourmaline in San Diego, CA.

1/18/09:
8 mile trail run with 1000+ ft of climbing; massive blisters on both feet have me down for the count for the next week or so.

regional park :)

Thanks to Steel MX/SMX Optics for making some of the coolest glasses on the planet.  I look forward to wearing them at all of my races and training events.

Check them out at www.steelmx.com

I participated in the California Bicycle Racing State Championship criterium on June 8.  The crit was held on 3rd street in Chula Vista, CA and had 5 corners.  The course featured a long straight section followed by a hairpin turn that forced the peleton to ride really hard to hold position and then slam on the brakes to avoid crashing on the hairpin.

Not all racers were lucky and many went down on the hairpin corner for various reasons, including taking it too fast and hitting the inside pedal on the ground.  The remainder of the course was fairly wide open and allowed for very high speeds.

About two-thirds into the race, a rider established a small gap at the front after a prime lap and he was allowed to go.  After a half lap, I joined him and we raced off the front for two laps.  I was feeling really good and we were starting to increase the gap but the racer that started the break couldn't hold the pace and dropped off.  I decided to sit up and join the front of the peleton instead of trying to solo to a win with Swamis and SDBC having at least 12 guys each.

I was slotted in the front 5 riders for the remainder of the race and was 3rd wheel coming around the last corner.  However, I had to much weight over my front wheel and my rear wheel bounced high 3 times when I hit a bump in the road.  It sapped all of my speed and it was all I could do to finish 5th.

I am very pleased with the race and felt really good for the duration.  I am now going to work on keeping more weight over my back wheel so I can be a true contender in the final sprint.

I competed in a crit and a road race on the first weekend in May.  On Saturday, I finished 16th of 70 in a hard figure 8 crit near downtown San Diego.  I was unfortunate and was caught behind 2 crashes in the last 2 laps and couldn't make up the ground that was lost.  It didn't help that I just wasn't having a good day on the bike either.



I couldn't hold a line through a corner to save my life and soon noticed that I was riding through them with nobody beside me because I was so sketch.  All in all, it was fun but I had a bad day on the bike.



On Sunday, I finished just behind the lead group in the San Luis Rey road race.  For the Cat 4s, we did ~45 miles over 4 laps of the course and each lap featured about 1000 ft of climbing.  The race started with more than 100 riders and was definitely sketchy as everyone tried to squeeze into a single lane of the road.  With not much action and waaaaay too many people still in the pack going into the 3rd lap, I rode to the front and layed the hammer down for a while.  When I looked back after a few miles, half the field was gone and I tucked back into the group and looked for the draft.



While that move was successful for shrinking the pack, I overworked myself and it came back to haunt me at the end.  With about a half mile left, I fell off the pace of the lead group and finished somewhere around 25th to 30th.  Unfortunately, the race officials did not see me cross the line and I am not listed in the results.  The race was also very fast.  Even though I fell off the pace, I still finished with a 23 mph average.  For a Cat 4 race with about 4000 feet of climbing, that is screaming.



Both races were fun and that was my focus for the weekend.  I think I've been spending too much time being serious about the sport and momentarily forgot why I do it to begin with: to have fun!!  So, I went into the weekend not looking for a specific result but just wanting to enjoy riding my bike with and against other people.



Overall, the weekend was great and I even got in a nice 6 mile hike with my fiance on Saturday.  My next race will be the crit in Chula Vista on June 8 and then the SD International Triathlon on June 29th.



Take care and get outside,



Airey

with very few local cycling races in the coming weeks, i have switched my training focus to triathlon.  i have started running after my evening bike commute and swimming in the pool at the office during my lunch hour.



last week, i ran 25 miles and am getting faster each time i go out.  the first few runs were quite painful as my legs are not used to the impact of running.  specifically, i found myself having knee problems.  i am going to the running store this coming weekend to make sure that i am still using an appropriate pair of running shoes.



i have also seen my times drop each time i go out.  when i started, i was running 5 miles in about 50 minutes.  after about 2 weeks, i am at around 40 minutes for the same 5 miles and am very relaxed throughout my run.  by the time the san diego international triathlon rolls around in late june, i hope to be running 5 miles somewhere around 35-37 minutes.  that puts me on pace for a 7 to 7.5 minute mile.



i fully plan on being average or slightly better than average during the run and swim portions and to be dominant on the bike leg.  soon, i will be taking a baseline time for each portion individually, and then all together so that i have a measurement to gauge my progress against.  i will also compare that baseline to the results from last year so i can approximate how much i need to improve to meet my goal of a top ten finish.



while yes, that goal is huge for my first triathlon, i think it could be within my reach.  i have done a few duathlons in the past and feel comfortable in the transition area.  plus, i drill my transitions on a regular basis.  specifically, i am running after my 20 mile commute home on my bicycle, and i am also doing some spin training after swimming.



if you see me out training, be sure to say hi.  i'm always happy to train with others and meet new people.  also, i will be racing the barrio logan criterium and the san luis rey road race on the first weekend in may, so i haven't totally abandoned cycling.



thanks for reading,



airey

it has been too long since i last posted an article to this blog, so here is a fairly lengthy update from the san diego cyclo-vets omnium and my tactical stupidity.



san diego cyclo-vets omnium

i raced in the san diego cyclo-vets omnium on april 12 and 13.  the event included a time trial, road race, and criterium.  i did not compete in the friday time trial due to complications in getting off of work.  however, i did compete in the road race on saturday and the criterium on sunday.



road race

the road race was held about an hour east of downtown san diego on the same course used for the boulevard road race.  the weather was rather brutal as temperatures throughout san diego county were in the 80s and wind at the race course was gusting to 40+ miles per hour with 25-30 mph steady out of the east.  the cat 4 race was shortened to 1 lap of the course (22.5 miles) due to the wind and the safety concerns for the support vehicles on course.



swami's cycling lined up with 9 or 10 guys across the start line and as soon as the race broke out of the neutral zone, they formed an echelon and drilled it.  i recognized that they were trying to break the group up and happily sat just behind their echelon at about 10th wheel.  their tactics worked though, as about one-third of the field was dropped in the first mile.



the back section of the course is almost entirely downhill and we had the wind at our backs.  i hit a max speed of 52 mph through this section and stayed in the front 15 racers the entire time.  as we hit the climb on course, the pace slowed drastically as we all knew we had a 12 mile uphill grind into the wind ahead of us.



a few brave souls tried to attack early on the climb but the peleton was content to let them go and they were always reabsorbed within a mile or so.  unfortunately, i was at the very front of the peleton for much of this stretch as i could not get anyone to come around.  thus, i just rode easy and tried to save as much energy as i could by riding beside others when possible.



as we made the final turn on course, we had about 5 miles left in the race and the racing began in earnest.  this section of the course was steeper than the previous uphill miles and was straight into the wind.  as soon as we made the turn, i drilled it off of the front and initiated a break of 5 riders.  we had a decent gap but two of them dropped off about a mile after the break was established.  into that kind of wind, the remaining 3 of us couldn't compete with the ten behind us.  we were soon caught and i jumped on the train of ten along with my other remaining breakaway companions.



at this point, there were only 13 or us left in the lead group and slowly, riders were dropped off of the back of this group, myself included.  i was able to hold the pace until there was 1 mile left.  after a brief rest, i was going strong again, but i couldn't latch back onto the group riding into the stiff wind by myself.  i was caught from behind by two other riders and we took it in together.  i ended up finishing 12th on the day.  considering the conditions of the day and my less than desirable race tactics, i am pleased with the results.



criterium

the criterium on sunday was held in an industrial park in sorrento mesa.  the course was .7 miles long and had about 50ft of climbing on each lap.  the cat4 race lasted for 40 mins and proved to be fast as both swamis and sdbc had riders in contention for the overall.



during the criterium, i sat in the front ten racers for the entire race and was pleased with my ability to hold position.  during the second time bonus sprint, a large group of 7 racers pulled away to gain time.  i followed wheels, sat out the sprint and we found ourselves with a sizable gap on the field.  swamis strongman pascal bonaventure bridged up to the group and tried to organize a break.  i jumped on his wheel and was prepared to jam but we quickly found that the other racers were not up for it and we all sat up and waited for the group behind.



going into the final lap, things began to get hairy as the guys on the outside of the turns started pinching down and leaning on the inside guys.  i decided that i didn't want any part of the danger and put myself into the front 5 guys around the last lap.  as we hit the last corner, i was sitting in third wheel and feeling great for the sprint to come.  but then it happened...



for some unknown reason, i took the final corner 3 feet wider than everyone else and about 15 guys cut underneath me.  even today, i cannot provide an answer for why i did this and it probably cost me the race.  during the sprint, i made up ground on everyone and finished 10th.  the most frustrating part is that i had quite a bit left in the legs at the end.



all in all though, i am pleased with my fitness and turned in an 11th place overall finish for the omnium, without doing the time trial on friday.  i am looking forward to barrio logan and san luis rey at the beginning of may.

after taking a few days to heal up and get my bike looked over at adams avenue bicycle shop, i resumed riding on thursday.  i feel really good since getting back on the bike and other than treating road rash, i have no real lasting effects from my wreck at the san dimas stage race.

today i will be riding with the adams avenue bicycle club and will follow that up with a trip to check out the race course for my race next saturday.  i will be competing in the san diego cyclo-vets omnium.  the entire omnium consists of a friday time trial, saturday road race, and sunday criterium.  however, i will only be participating in the road race and crit because i don't want to take a day off from work on friday.

the road race course is the exact same course used in the boulevard road race.  i understand that it is a difficult course that consists of two 22.5 mile loops.  The first half of each loop is downhill and the second half of each loop is uphill.  it should be interesting to ride.

the crit course on sunday is about a mile from my office location.  i'm hoping that i'll have a few friends come out and cheer me on since the race is so close.

if you're in the san diego area, you should come and check out the race scene, and please introduce yourself if you see me out there.

keep the rubber side down,

airey

sorry for the late follow-up from the remainder of the sdsr.  the day started out nicely as i woke up, ate breakfast, and my fiance and i made our way to the race course.



i did a light warm up just to get the blood pumping and then lined up for the start.  the race started smoothly and slowly wound up to speed, which is a nice change from the fast start criteriums that i've been in lately.



the first lap went by quickly as i sat around 10th wheel and tried to stay out of trouble.  i also got my first taste of the hill on cannon road.  it averages around 13% for a little less than a mile.  it's just enough to make everyone hurt and begin splintering the field.



the entry to the hill is rather tricky though.  there is a very skinny chicane that must be traversed before getting to the hill, and that is quickly followed by a very fast right to left chicane to go up the hill.  the first time through, everyone took the chicanes rather cautiously and there were no incidents.



the same could not be said for the 2nd lap though.  i was sitting 5th wheel as we entered the 2nd chicane to go up the hill and as i pedaled through, my left pedal hit the pavement and i was tossed over to the right and off of my bike.  ouch!!!  the crash hurt a lot despite not breaking anything and only having some minor road rash.



the worst part though, was when i realized that a water bottle flew out and took out the guy who was in 4th place on GC.  after getting back on the bike, i buried myself trying to get him back up to the peleton, but the effort was futile.  in the end, we made it back to within 100 yards or so, but just couldn't close the gap.



i ended up finishing the race that day but was outside of the 5% time cut, and thus, did not get to start on sunday.  i am very frustrated with myself for being so aggressive when it wasn't necessary.  i could've just coasted through the corner and not lost any position by the time i hit the top of the hill.  in the future, i won't take risks like pedaling through such a steeply embanked and fast corner.



however, racing with some of the fastest cat 4 guys in the Southern California area has inspired confidence in me as i was right there with them the whole time (save the crash).  i will be taking the next couple days to rest and heal up before getting back to my training.



i plan on doing some more hill repeats and sprint intervals to improve my fitness that much more.  i'm a little uncertain of my near term race plans, but will definitely be out there soon as i only need 6 more points to be a cat 3.  also, my training will become more diverse as i start preparing for the san diego international triathlon in june.  so, although i won't be on the bike quite as much, my fitness should improve as i start adding runs and swims into my routine.



keep the rubber side down and thanks for reading!!



airey

stage 1 of the san dimas stage race (sdsr) was a 3.8 mile uphill time trial on glendora mountain road in glendora, ca.  the weather was great; bright sun, light breeze, and low to mid 60s when I started.

knowing that I needed to meter my effort over the climb, I started in 39x16 along the first half mile which was a false flat.  at the first switchback, i stood and climbed to the next switchback.  by the time i reached this point, i had already reached the rider 30 seconds in front of me.  at this point, i continued switching between standing and sitting at each switchback.

when i stood, i was using 39x17 spinning around 65 - 70 rpm and when i sat i was in my 39x19 and spun at about 80 - 85 rpm.

with 1k to go, i caught the riders that started 1 minute and 1.5 minutes in front of me.  in the last 200 meters, they both put in a big effort to pull away but i knew that i had ridden well as i crossed the line just  a few seconds behind them.

i finished the stage in 14th place at 1 minute 18 seconds behind the leader.  the remaining stages promise to be exciting as there are time bonuses along both courses and the punchy hills promise to splinter the pack.

i'll post an update of tomorrows stage after i get back to my hotel.

airey