Race Night at the NASCAR Track

race While riding my bike about 10 miles to the track I felt that my legs were less than ready to race due to the effort from this weekends races. So, I did what I know works for me…that’s stretching. At the track I stretched then rode stretched then rode…I started to feel ready. I stretched mostly my quadriceps for a total of about 8 minutes! I once learned that stretching helps circulation by pulling on muscles and pushing blood away from muscles and then when relaxed more blood comes back.

I raced smart by coming into each sprint in about 5 th to 7 th place in the lead bunch who were “faster than the rest”. We did heats and raced in groups according to our finishes. Then we did a 20 lap race with all the elite racers. At about mid race I became excited and went with a break. While in that break a preem lap went on and I may have scored some points as I was in 3^rd. I was caught after about 4 laps then was dropped. I rode as fast as I could for the remaining laps and finished strong. I didn’t get to see who finished in top 5.

Jim C. from our Team Wachovia Securities Cycling placed well and earned the right to be in the faster heat. Teammate Dave B. was also there to talk with before the race. He represented the team well with a courageous attack with about 2 laps to go in the first heat which was loaded with top racers.

7/26 Grandview Crit and 7/27 Altoona Crit

Saturday at the Grandview Criterium

This race day was hot. The temps were high and the pace was roaring.

In the 3/4 race Ken and Andy stayed with the pack. That means they were riding super fast. Ken reported that he was at about 180 bpm the entire race and felt like he was maxing out the whole duration. Ken and Andy were 14th and 15th th in the field sprint out of about 60 riders. I got dropped into a chase group about 5 laps in and was pulled at only mid-race. My legs weren’t responding to the demands of racing. They felt sore stiff and tired. I had two difficult training weeks and maybe a few days of tapering was not enough.

Sunday at the Altoona Criterium

The race started with a moment of silence for a race a race promoter that passed on. And there was a church next to the course. There’s more to life than just bike racing, and more life to bike racing when you’re on bikes with great people and are good to people, and ride with a good heart.

Andy was in good position the entire race behind wheels and not expending excess energy.

Ken must be smart because he stayed out of the wind all race then moved up near the front with about 3 to go. The race commentator talked about Ken of Wachovia Securities Cycling who was saving energy in the pack and likely specializes in sprints so watch him at the finish…

Mike was up near the front most of the race. He helped chase some breaks. That was a fine strategy to keep our guys in contention.

There were a few breaks that were caught.

The group is together as they come into the last lap. Here’s the first racer through the finishing corner…and now the rest of the pack…he has a gap. The pack is looking uber fast through the corner… oh no there’s a pile up near the hay bales. Ken has an excellent position in about 3 rd spot on the right side with Mike separated by only one racer…they have a mini lead out train. Ken is passing to the right of a racer. Mike moved to the left of them as he may have been boxed in otherwise. Where’s Andy? Oh no there was that pile up. Ken approaches the second place racer and this is close to the finish...they nearly catch the first place rider. Mike is neck and neck with the guy that Ken passed. Across the line Ken is third distanced from second by only inches… they nearly caught the leader. Mike did edge out that guy on the other side of the road for fourth place.

Unfortunately, Andy’s tire rolled of the rim and thus a pile up formed. Only road rash and bruising happened. Bummer, that crash happened near the front so Andy was in good position.

In the 4/5 race there were surges and slow downs. The accelerations after corners got to me. My legs did not have much zest. Eating pasta instead of salmon the night before may have helped. The pack split… I was with a chase group. I bridged with a strong sprint to the lead group. Then the chase group caught up again. Basically the same racers and I got dropped into a chase group again…we must have had lesser fitness. We sprinted at the finish. The other racers waited so long I questioned if we would sprint. So I went alone up the right side. I almost held them off but one or two passed. With some tough track racing and Thursday crits coming up my fitness should improve.

I have a few nicknames…these are the long term nick names that have stuck, in chronological order: davey crocket, Safety Dave, Heartrate Dave, Neon Thunder, Demo Dave.

Bicycling related nicknames:

I became known for riding my bike at a steady pace on group rides while wearing a heart rate monitor. And so my A.G. Edwards teammates called me Heart-rate Dave. And they said my heart rate was way up near ladies.

Reuters spotted me training in the winter months on a Bianchi 1980’s neon super training bike. The set up on that bike was meant to train my muscles for superior performance. And then Mike called me Neon Thunder

Non-bicycling nicknames:

This one time at band practice the second chair trumpet player called me davey crocket “king of the wild frontier”. There’s that song from the Disney movie that went along with that nickname.

At the ski resorts I would state some precautions. And so they called me Safety Dave. I was a snowboard instructor at the time. “Hey guys, tell your students to avoid all that ice on the slopes and check for frost bite.” This lasted almost an entire season until I rode through some deep powder near the edge of a ravine. Then I was called Danger Dave for about one week.

I earned the nickname Demo Dave by demonstrating snowboard maneuvers to other instructors. I said that this is because I’m action orientated. I also usually jump into Lake Erie first to try out the water for friends and family.

To the NYS Road Race Championships and back again

I didn’t represent very well for the AG Edwards/Wachovia Cycling Team because I raced like a softy this weekend. I had some serious back pain since Friday from doing construction work.

Oh here I go about to say the phrase that separates racers from losers… at least that was a good workout. The race marshalling Grizzwalds reported that I was the only racer to ride a bike there.

McLovin gave me a 8 mm allen key to tighten my crank that almost fell off en route to the Buffalo Ski Club that was the venue for this event. Thanks to the folks at The Bike Shop who have ties with BSC people… I think.

At the start line we observed a moment of silence for Tim Putman. He was a very kind hearted guy. I am confident that he is in heaven, in a better place. Two summers ago I was on a training ride with Tim and Janel where Tim showed that he was a genuine guy. A lightning storm rolled in and we rode to Holland real fast, Tim rode fastest. We went for subs afterward. Tim and his family are in my thoughts and prayers.

My performance at the NYS Road Race Champs in the 4/5 pack was overall a disgrace. I took my pace to the max but my power to weight ratio is weak. This was not enough to stay with the lead group. In last place I dropped out after 1 lap of 10 miles due to back pain and my knee feeling awkward probably because my pedal stroke was altered by my back issues.

There is no column in the race results to say I “had a back problem”… or so and so “forgot to eat a good breakfast”… or also I “showed up 10 pounds over weight”.

I had some great conversations with our guys and a few other guys. What, was this race more like an ice cream social for me?! Speaking of ice cream and foods that cause fatness... I’ve had enough! I just need to replace ice cream with another cream like my favorite cereal substitute, cream of wheat with honey on top.

I rode home about a 10 mile trip. A car made a high speed turn from Main St. onto Mill Rd. This happened way to close to me. I pounced on my brakes and swerved left toward open road, saved from a crash. Alleluia!

Home at last…I need to stay away from comfort food. Fortunately I sent some text to and fro with a friend…that helped me stay away from a post event binge.

predictions and addictions

I predict that the racers that lost to me on Thursday night preserved some energy and will have a more successful race this weekend than I do. But look out... I have yet to max out this week!

I'll have to back away from this blog for awhile because I'm getting giddy and maybe addicted.

put 1 in the race win column for local races

At the start of the race I realized my sprint juices were likely drained from Tuesday Night at the track…so I planned to quench my thirst for race performance by making a break-away happen. I thought of a statement made by a racer from a similar race two seasons ago… “there’s a mixed group here today”…yes there was… I’m pretty sure all the racers in the B race of the local Thursday Criterium were on different teams or unattached. This means they may not work well together to catch breaks. So after 5 neutral laps near the front of the pack I broke away into the head wind on the first race lap. There was a 3 place deep preem awarded so I won that. I’ve played rabbit before and here I went again. From what I heard afterward the pack thought they’d let me stay out there and drain my energy. This rabbit doesn’t fall asleep under a tree. I started to feel more like a stallion because of the max power that I was putting out. I felt the urge to stay ahead and put my effort in to staying smooth and fast and cornering faster than the rest. I settled in very fast and felt a rhythm. I could look across the course and see certain riders making efforts to catch. Among them, an up and coming junior rider, a former collegiate runner who really picking things up within 10 to go, and a talented at time trials lady. I focused on staying away but there were some concerns I had about not getting enough recovery for the finish if they caught me.

After about 25 laps of 1 kilometer each…I put up my arms straight up nonchalantly with a modest smile as I crossed the line. The sweet taste of victory!

Tuesday Night at the Track

Super high paced race stuff here today. I did some training in the off season to ride for as long as I could at 30 mph. This was evident in my flying lap time that was amoung the A racer caliber times. Hurah! Trying to stay with the A pack was challenging. I don’t have a spiffy power meter but according to feeling that was my best effort for training for this season.

I talked with some riders, felt some soft white bar tape, and stated my goals for this weekend at NYS Road Race championships. When asked if I'd be at NYS RR Champs, I told my good friend that "yeah", "I'm going to max out", she laughed. Lol

The opposite sex? Or the same sex?

They (scientists and society and the cliché they people) are allowing parents to choose for their children’s biological and sexual orientation. The docs give the kids hormone treatments so they are neither male nor female until puberty at which they chose their sex. Unfortunately, these folks will be infertile… how could a parent make that choice for their kid? Tough choice! If a kid procrastinated they might miss the boat on puberty.

Kissing regulations

No kisses without permission...

There are laws now in Great Britain that forbid a parent to kiss their kids without permission from the government. Shocking!

What does the government do? Do they have kiss testers and kiss guides? Some official who evaluates the type of kisses one gives and gives “feedback”. Is there a kissing class that the parents have to attend?

Creation

Let us start with creation.

What I do know is that other than natural occurring systems I have not found a system that was not created by people. The Bible says that God created people in the likeness of God. Thus, natural systems could likely be created by God.

Now check out a new hip evolution theory...

I’m not a scientist but I do realize there is a lot of evidence for evolution. Gene mutations are pretty firm evidence. Once again here is the idea about systems as evolution is a system that is in place to select what’s meant to be.