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TiRed races on a propel.
Only caveat is don't race on what you can't afford to replace, crashes happen a lot!
[url= 
]STW Team Issue Bike (well frame really)[/url]
Interesting bit of info from Garmin. Weirdly the HR data etc didn't export correctly.
I managed just under 21mph for the race even though a massive chunk of that was on my own ! Very happy with that
Average HR for the 'race' part where i was in/around the bunch was 175bpm..... On my own it was 173bpm
Maximum speed was 29.8mph, the section where i got spat out we were averaging 26mph for 3 mins or so.
As a cat 4 I got 17 points.Does that mean to reach Cat 2 (40 points) I need to get 40 points as cat 3 or 23 points more?
Idea is that any "easier" points you got in 4th cat races are erased and you have get the new points in 3rd cat races where it is a bit harder 🙂
So some racers that get to 2nd cat then struggle to get any points (because they are riding in 2nd cat or above races) rather than the 30 they need to keep their license and they go back down to 3rd the next year.
I don't think you can ever go back down to 4ths!
I have been 2nd for a few years but had a crash last year (not in a race) and didn't do any races at all so will be down to 3rd 🙄
..again.Need to do some saddle adjustment
Can I politely suggest you get yourself bog standard KMC chain instead of the bling and spend the rest on a bike fitting? It was the best £50* I ever spend on bike products.
*North of England prices (Paul Hewitt)
Can I politely suggest you get yourself bog standard KMC chain instead of the bling and spend the rest on a bike fitting? It was the best £50* I ever spend on bike products.*North of England prices (Paul Hewitt)
You can Quadruple that down here !
I've got a bike fitting planned for when I go up north, friend works there.
This saddle adjustment is just slightly pointing the saddle down a tiny bit so I don't lose the feeling in a particular area. 😳
I did a zwift race yesterday and it's worked so no further adjustments. 🙂
You can Quadruple that down here !
Ha. I know. It was a few years back too. But you do get the data chiselled into a tablet of stone and all measurements in feet and inches of course.
Give you all a laugh on a Monday
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http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg167/weeksy59/68_IMG_4413_zps7yjc3ggx.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]
I can't be accused of not trying then 🙂
Nice one weeksy!
Photo finish:
I can't be accused of not trying then
Sure I can, not even on the drops = must be having a relaxing cruise round. 😛
@weeksy - you going to join us for another one? Hillingdon is a nice course, must be added to your to do list now you're licenced up 🙂
No sir. Maybe in a year if all goes well. But at the moment its just 2-3 laps and I'm out of there. Part of me is mildly curious about whether if I was in the pack longer I could hold it, similar to the progression that CH has made, but I know he's quicker than me from our rides, so I'm still not there later on.
My main focus now is the White Roads sportive on 9th July and a new potential plan which is forming into an SDW double the weekend after of which day 1 is BHF ride, then unsupported on way back the day after. I'm hoping the longer hours of training that will now be happening will help on the weight as well as the cardio. 95-96kg is just too damn heavy to play with you racers.
Racers come in all different shapes and sizes 😉
I think it's easier to hold on at Hillingdon, definitely worth a go when you're feeling up to it. Happy to do some domestique work too 🙂
This is my new favourite picture of my cycling career so far, I gone aero and everythink!
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I see you in the background too weeksy!
Many congratulations MrBlobby!!! 2 points 🙂
Racers come in all different shapes and sizes
Of course i get that, but in life there are optimal settings for most things, i personally feel that 95kg isn't the optimal for racing, sure, some guys could and probably do hang in and do well at that weight, but they're clearly fitter and stronger than me.
With all the best intentions in the world, i'm not convinced even you and Blobby could super domestique me back into the pack once i've peaked. Even if you could, hanging in still would be clearly open to debate.
I'll be back... one day... but it won't be 2017 unless i'm very very lucky.
Here's a bit of a write up from my race in Bath this weekend.
Aims for this week were trying to position myself better through out the race and to achieve a top ten finish. I have a tendency to be a bit lazy and hang back as far as possible. It kind of works in Abingdon as there's a lot less chance of the bunch splitting, but on the tight track at Bath I knew I needed to be a bit smarter. For the first few laps I managed to stick near the front, sticking to wheels of riders I know are strong. I was feeling good and pretty confident. Maybe 10-15 minutes into the race I dropped back to about 30th. I knew I needed to move up, but just at the wrong time a lad about 10 places in front of me went down on one of the hairpins. The bunch behind slowed to not crash into him. I think the riders in front must have kicked on as soon as they heard him go down. As I went around the fallen rider I look up and see the bunch strung out and the chase was on. The bunch split into 3, 8 riders up front, about 5 in the second group, 4 or 5 in the third group and a load out the back. We managed to close the gap to the second group, it took a big dig from me on the front to close the last 5 seconds but we made contact and I decided to sit on for a few minutes while I recover. At this point the gap to the front group as about 20 seconds. We tried to organise ourselves into a chain gang to chase but the group wasn't working well. Eventually I realised we weren't going to catch the front group and started prepping for the final sprint to contest 9 and 10. A couple of lads attacked on the final lap which put the whole group into the red, coming around the last corner I was about 5th in the group and couple only come around 1 or two guys. I ended up about 11th or 12th, so just short of the points (again)! But I'm feeling my race craft is improving and I know the points will start to come. Onwards to the University of Birmingham one day stage race on Saturday, really looking forward to it.
that sounds like an exciting race though 🙂
Well done Rawka! Great to come away feeling positive too. Good luck on Saturday!
Sorry MrBlobby! I hadn't realised how the points work (never needed to know 😆 ) so just the one point.
Still- 9th is top bombing!!
SO what's next then Nath ?
Going to take a temporary break from racing to sort out life things which I've been putting off.
Lots of races coming up at Hillingdon, going to try do the ones in bold:
West Drayton Specialized Crit Series - Event 1 Sat 18/03/17 34 miles
[b]West Drayton Specialized Crit Series - Event 2 Sat 25/03/17 34 miles
West Drayton Specialized Crit Series - Event 3 Sat 01/04/17 34 miles
61st Archer Spring Criterium - Sat 08/04/17 either 1hr race or 50 miles race
Westerley Spring Crits - Sat 22/04/17 1hr[/b]
On Tuesday nights the BC West Thames series starts from 11/04/17 - 08/08/17 and there's a choice between 40 mins or 1 hr races. [b]As many as I can.[/b]
The 34 mile races sound really good, 85 mins?, not sure I have it in me for race pace for that long but it would certainly be an eye opener!!
Managed to open my BC points account at Wakefield Circuits inaugural race at the weekend it was my 4th race. Was a podium position to boot. There was a 2 man break off the front the whole race but I managed a solo break from the bunch with 2 laps to go as everyone behind me slowed to avoid a crash to finish 3rd. 5 points to go to cat 3 and another race tonight...
Awesome! Good luck!
Cheers, managed 5th (4th in Bunch sprint) and 5 points takes me to cat 3. All achieved inside 4 days. Now the hard races start I think as no more Cat 4 only for me
That's good going! Well done you!
Thanks! I thought it would take all season to get here... Back to hard training now after 3 weeks of racing. I have some road races booked for spring including a 2/3/4 which is 66 miles long. Will be a different kettle of fish I think!
Wow, well done fella... that's mightly impressive for sure !
Nice one! Not jealous at all that it took me 9 races 😆
I've learnt so much in those 9 though, only 2 weren't fun:
4/9 Hillingdon as punctured
8/9 Hillingdon as a club turned up and were choppy as fudge!
I should probably do a structured training plan to get the most out of my fitness, but there's no time if I'm potentially racing from the 18th... 😆
I should probably do a structured training plan to get the most out of my fitness, but there's no time if I'm potentially racing from the 18th...
Even when I was racing properly, I rarely used much in the way of strcutured training, I just raced muyself fit.
Midweek crits to build speed and racecraft, weekend races got me the long fast miles. I could happily stay in the E/1/2 groups although I rarely saw the front and wasn't competitive in them but it was always fun.
Higher level races are far steadier as well, much less of the attack/sit up/attack format of an average 4th Cat group.
I've had no specific training plan, just tried to average 180 miles a week including 2 hard sessions, the main one bing 40 mile chaingang on Sat am, which is 23mph plus. Without that session it would have been much harder I think. made the crits seem easy effort wise and enabled me to focus on the positioning and tactics required to finish up there.
Congratulations djglover - that's impressive work!
Ah it took me 3/4 races to get comfortable in the pack, my early 7th place was a fluke - helped by a crash. It's only the last 3? Races were I've had a plan and the last race it all came together, nearly spectacularly with a 1st...
The next set of races, if I take part in them, are going to be a new learning curve - +33% longer and 2/3/4s...
Other than upping my water bottle from 550ml to 750ml I've got no further plan 😆
The higher cat races I have watched have been much faster with sustained attacks and big breaks, sometimes containing all the points contenders working together. Its going to be a whole different ball game, that said all my races for the rest of the year will be on the road rather than crits which I am hoping will mean steadier sustained efforts rather than sprit, surge rest... !
TiRed races on a propel.
I started on a used 2007 alloy TCR for £400, upgraded to a Propel Advanced frame with the same 7yo Ultegra groupset, wrote that off in the "great crash of 2015", upgraded to a nice white Propel SL which is run stock.
I also race my Defy SL when it gets hilly, but that is a bit too nice to crash! I've flung the Propels down the road a few times, been over the bars twice last season on the SL. It's pretty robust. I ran over a Colnago C60 on it and survived (the C60 did not).
And there is quite a difference between 4th cat and higher cat races, even 3/4 - and not just pace. Having ridden most of the 4th cat Winter Series races, I can say that there is, sadly, a distinct lack of strategy. This is unsurprising, because most people are learning to ride in a bunch. But fortune favours the brave, and you will learn a lot more by trying to attack (and failing), than sitting in for an inevitable sprint (assuming you survive the crash).
Nathb has shown this to good effect. You have to be prepared to lose in order to win (or win points anyway). A team can help too, because it is possible to control the bunch with three or four dedicated riders on the front. Once you make it to 3rd cat, you can't go down. But the list of objectives resets to number 2.
I'll race at Hillingdon a lot this season, but most of the road races (central RR and Surrey League) are hugely over-subscribed at the moment! It's harder to get a place than it is to race!
Here is my race bike, its a 2015 Giant TCR, I changed the wheels to Prime 38mm carbon running schwalbe one tubeless, and the saddle and bar tape. I think the wheels have made a big difference to how the bike performs
[url= https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3795/33164816782_37eb9264f9_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3795/33164816782_37eb9264f9_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/SwEmzU ]20170308_100212[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/60401414@N00/ ]danjwilkinson[/url], on Flickr
@TiRed - thanks for the nice feedback 🙂
@djglover - bike looks really nice!
I'm back to riding without power too, so going to see how much of a difference it makes. In races I used it on solo attacks to ensure I still had enough juice left in me should the attack fail (and of course they all did) based around my FTP and perceived effort/HR. 34/50 mile crits are going to be a crash fest 😆
I would love to have the power and endurance to attack or to try and shape the races but realistically, the only advantage I have is over 200m.
The rest of my power curve has nothing to offer 🙂
So for now, I'm resigned to finding as much shelter as I can bring myself to use in the hope that I can surf my way to the front group on the last lap and try a sprint.
Nath- you did what, circa 6000miles last year? So you have a great base. If you are getting the hours in anyway, there's probably not that much a training plan would offer that you're not already doing organically anyway.
The main 2 questions to ask are "what are my goals?" and "what are my limiters?" and in Cat 4- that was pretty much only 'Tactics!'
If you race on the 18th, you should hopefully get an answer to both that may help you narrow your focus for one or two training sessions a week.
But if it ain't broke, don't fix it 🙂
o for now, I'm resigned to finding as much shelter as I can bring myself to use in the hope that I can surf my way to the front group on the last lap and try a sprint.
I found the best way to do this was put my nose in the wind for 1/2 a lap, move up to the front and wait for the bunch to turn across me, thus bullying someone else out of position. You'll annoy people but it works quite well!
@CH- 5,600 miles 😆
Not sure what my goal is yet, it was get to 3rd. I guess it should be 2nds now? Just mentally need to prepare myself for not being in contention - and like you keep telling me - be a little more arrogant with what I've got.
Guys, I've got some Fulcrum Racing Quattros 35mm sat in the garage doing nothing. My other bike is a disc braked commuter that would be used for training in adverse conditions and there's no mountains in the UK. Racing would always be done on my 45mm carbon wheels. Can you envisage any situation where I'd fit the Fulcrums over the carbon wheels? I can't therefore thinking of selling them on...
Personally I think it's quite useful having spare wheels in case of crash / buckle / freehub poppage or other hassle. Guess it depends on how much you'd get for them. Unlikely to be loads, I'd have thought.
It's more about the space and whether or not I'd ever use them...may be down sizing in the next few months or so..
My carbon wheels never come off that bike and I only kept the originals as I passed them down to my very old summer bike and sold the wheels from that. Having said that, I have found 3 bikes to be useful over winter when my winter trainer wheel bearings were being serviced and it was too crappy for the summer bike, so maybe keep them for that kind of scenario, as gray says
Dammit, you people are amateurs !
You don't need fewer wheels, you need moar frames&forks 😀
I had 3 bikes once, does that count? 😆