RVBR Ain't Just for CX!!

The RVBR boys from RVB rode 21 spectacular miles this morning at Kettle Moraine State Forest. Falling leaves (and hidden trails), forests, meadows, sand, mud, a 12-year-old with a gun - you name it, Wisconsin blessed us with it today. We scored this sweet view after climbing over 400 feet to the top. (If you find that impressive, you've been in the midwest way too long.) In 2010, expect to see RVBR not just on the cross circuit, but on the road, on the trails, and on the track.

Do They Know Something About Cyclocross in Turkey?

On vacation in Turkey this week, so no racing for me. But a great experience nonetheless. On the way we found this popular candy. My wife said, "You need a whole box of these, they explain your obsession with cyclocross!" Nuff said.

Quick Recap from Carpentersville

The course at Carpentersville was rough - literally. It kind of felt like riding cobbles. But the weather was great (50's and partly sunny), so the race fun. (We all know 'cross weather will be here soon enough, so I welcome as many warm, sunny races as possible.) The course featured a waterless creek crossing, a 180 through a sand pit, and lots of turns.

Alex started off the day fighting off the big dogs for 45 minutes in the Masters 30+ race. His time on the course early in the day no doubt helped all of us with race tips. In the 4A's Chris, Chris and Mike all scored points! In the 4B's, Austin took a podium spot in 3rd!!! I was at the back end of the lead group with the B's in 6th place, and we were all clocked finishing around 2 minutes faster than the A's group! (And this was a short race, ~25 minutes.)

After all is said and done, out of 75 point-scoring teams, RVBR ranks tied at 11th! Pretty phenomenal for a new team with a bunch of new riders!

Some Tips and Hints

No doubt there are some team members riding at the front of the bus....they can pretty much skip over this post. But for those of us who are trying to move off the back bench where the bad students sit to at least the middle of the bus....there are some useful tips and hints that I have found personally helpful. Of course, you have to absorb all of this with a certain grain of salt because I am definitely still a middle of the bus wannabe! But if you will indulge me for a moment, here are a few odds and ends.

Want to see a first class dismount/remount video? I have looked at plenty, looking for that secret sauce. This is the best video I found out there:

http://kissena.info/more.php?id=245_0_1_0_M

Check out how smooth and professional this looks. If only that were me....but I hope that practice makes perfect.

Then there is the search for elusive power, so necessary at the start, for getting up those hills and for passing the pesky opponents from other cycling teams! I've been doing a bit of reading and here are some links to some writeups that are helpful.

This is a general article that addresses training during the season:

http://cxmagazine.com/training-for-cyclocross-part-2

I was struck by how much recovery time is scheduled. Don't know about you but I am a bit OCD and have a tendency to crank away every day. Wrong!

If you are looking for a compact but good new book, I'd look at Chris Carmichael's Time Crunched Cyclist. You will find some practical and sensible training schedules. You should substitute"openers" or some other lighter workout on Saturday, then substitute the Sunday intervals with a race and presto!

Here is an "opener" that a friend gave me:

5 min warmup, 8 min tempo, 2 min recovery, 3 min tempo, 4 min recovery, 4 min tempo, 4 min recovery, 1 min power interval (max effort), 2 min recovery, 1 min power interval, 5-10 min recovery. And you're ready for the race the next day!

Finally, if you are looking for some intervals to do, here is a good collection of them. They're on the Cycle Ops site, which is a good read and has tons of solid training tips:

http://www.saris.com/newsletter/SarisSource/February09/February%202009%20-%20Power%20Workout.pdf

That's the sum of my knowledge for now. If you find some good things out there, post them on the blog.

Hopkins Park....Slippery When Wet!

Hopkins Park was the third CX race this season and my sixth ever. It started out cold and it was no use warming up. I did a partial recon lap, at least enough to recognize that the runup was pretty challenging and that the off camber downhill was likely to lead to some sideways sliding down the hill. This was readily apparent because the two guys in front of me on the practice lap promptly slid off the hill. I did not, but mainly because I stopped to try to scope the line out. 
I started the race with my teeth chattering, I obviously did not really have exactly the right clothing on and I had shed my jacket, figuring that I would roast in it as the race went on. Good news is that the sun started to come out a little as the whistle blew for the start. I wasn't in too bad shape by the time I reached the runup but I was breathing hard at the top. I slowly slid backward through the field with a slide on the off-camber hill putting me solidly in the caboose. By this point I was mainly interested in surviving, staying ahead of a guy who was still behind me and trying to catch a guy from South Chicago Wheelmen who was tantalizingly close. Didn't catch him but I worked up a great sweat and some serious leg pain giving it a try.
Bottom line: need more power and less weight. Got to ditch the double ring up front for a 42 single ring. Could use a bike upgrade next season, but in the meanwhile, technique getting better but still needs work. More power intervals needed....:)

When You Look Good....You Feel Good.....