2009 April 26 Wente Crit 35+ 4

CTL: 105
TSB: -8


Go at the gun to stretch out the legs a bit and find there's not much pop left in them even though yesterday was pretty easy after the first hill climb was over. So sit in to wait for the finale. Try to get to the front with a few laps to go and spend so much time in the wind that I tire myself out before I can get to the front and have to rest a bit and find myself with Juan in the back. The pack surges and slows so much that we can get right back in the thick of things in the last lap should one choose to do so. There are so many large gaps between riders it's a matter of just accelerating into each one until we get to the front stretch. One rider in white slows in the middle of the road and I choose left to pass (which turns out so wrong in hindsight...) and move up and box myself in behind two rows of riders. Usually on a course like this with a long straight into a headwind, very few of the riders in front will be in contention by the end so I am prepared to wait for the inevitable blowing up of riders. However some of the riders in front of me get tangled in a crash so I look for a hole and slow to avoid the carnage (after hitting a flying bicycle while trying to ride past a crash last year it seems foolish to keep the speed up now...) and feel quite a relief that I make it past untouched for at least two seconds when someone (who was way out of contention) keeps his speed up through and past the accident and manages to clip my handlebars or my elbow at full speed and flip me over (I have a big hematoma on the crook of my elbow from some contact) and knocks himself off the bike, too. It takes me a while to get up because I'm a bit shocked to be on the ground and both my legs cramp in position and my hands are numb so the nice course marshal comes and checks on me before triaging the rest of the crash victims.

2009 Wente Crit 35+ 4 - front view from Steven Woo on Vimeo.

2009 Wente Crit 35+ 4 - view towards the rear from Steven Woo on Vimeo

T: 42.12
S: 41.4
C: 92
Pavg: 171
Pnorm: 198

April 25 Wente Road Race 35+ 4

CTL: 104
TSB: 5

Think I am finally over that swine/avian flu thing I got last month and a beautiful day to be on the bike so why not race. The climb is like a vo2max interval but I couldn't do those while I was recovering since I couldn't breathe but get to do at least one during the race on the first lap.

I thought I made it farther with the group this year but it's about the same as last year, just nothing left by the overpass over 580 after fifteen minutes or so, can see about forty five riders going single file about fifty meters ahead but at the pace I am going will not catch them, attempt to stand up and accelerate up to them and my legs won't do it so that's that. Takes me a while to recover from the climb, about a dozen riders catch me on this lap and I almost get dropped by the small group I am with on the flat part, catch up with them on the feedzone hill because they are taking it pretty easy, and am able to start pulling after we get past the overpass. The next time up the hill our group has expanded from three to about ten. Consider just doing the next lap solo after I get on the front on the feedzone hill with only one rider close but the fact that we are going for only about fiftieth and I want to save a little bit for the crit tomorrow puts that thought out of my head, though I take a lot of pulls on this lap, cause it's fun on the descents. By the last climb only one other rider is feeling frisky and he attacks at the next to last turn, I wait until the last turn and we finish in that order, slightly ahead of our companions.

T: 2:35:24
D: 77.3 km
S: 29.8 km/h
C: 92
Pavg:171
Pnorm:203

This is not quite as hard as I went last year, and I am about five pounds heavier so really could not expect much results-wise, but a fun day on the bike with a good group of guys, though white shorts have got to go... Last year we went at about a 19:00 OLH pace at the start and this year we went at a 23:00 OLH pace at the start.

2009 April 19 Sea Otter Circuit Race 35+ 4

CTL: 102
TSB: 25
These numbers are kind of deceptive because I didn't ride my bike for four days last week and was only able to ride easy this week since I have been sick for a few weeks and only starting to recover. Would have skipped today's race but I already paid for it and have never done it so figured I would at least get one lap on video...

The course is pretty nice, worth doing at least once on the road bike. Totally blew the second time up the climb. We doing 5w/kg for two minutes on the climb then not to hard for the other four minutes of the lap, could only do that once, and couldn't breathe any more on the second climb.


2009 Sea Otter Circuit Race E4/35+4/45+4 from Steven Woo on Vimeo.

until I was pulled
T: 34:31
S: 31.1
D: 17.9 km
C: 85
Pavg:194
Pnorm:236

graph until I blew

2009 April 5 Santa Cruz Criterium

CTL: 113
TSB: -11

Last year I came into this race with what now looks like a crazy CTL of 133 and a higher FTP, this year after being under the weather for a while in February had to choose between going into this fresh or trying to regain some fitness and chose fitness, probably should have skipped this, but have to sign up for some of these races really far in advance and I signed up for two races and can't just do only one if you show up so will try to use some laps in the E4 race to get used to the course again at race speed and see if I can do anything in the 35+ 4/5 race. On the other hand, didn't do so well last year with better fitness...

Sit in for nine laps of the cat 4 race and pull out. The pace is manageable even given my current condition, the riders are pacing themselves for a forty minute event, but I'm not complaining.

T: 18:46
S: 36.2
C: 106
D: 11.4 km
Pavg: 185
Pnorm:240

The 35+ 4/5 field has a lot of large teams so it could be interesting and it is. It is strung out for the first six laps as a couple of teams make the race hard (and faster than the 3's - but they had a much longer race) and after we shed half the pack, there is no longer a group of riders I can hide behind and I can't hang on any longer, the pace is not much different from last year just my lack of fitness showing. Ride with two other riders and eventually we catch or are caught by five other riders and just finish out the race, kind of surprised we weren't lapped or pulled but my teammate in the front group of 22 said they slowed up with four to go.


2009 Santa Cruz Criterium 35+ 4/5 from Steven Woo on Vimeo.

T: 29:02
S: 36.6
C: 102
D: 17.75 km
Pavg: 202
Pnorm: 258