New Ride

Pedals, Check!

Galena Gravel

I was in Galena last week and did some gravel riding. Here are some pics.

River rd at the Bottom of Chesnut Mt  

River rd. 

River rd. 

Devils Ladder Rd at Rt 20

Devils Ladder Rd at Rt 20

Devils Ladder Rd from the West. 

S Rodden Rd

New Ride!

Strava followup

I emailed Strava's customer support asking what the accuracy of a segment that short would be. Here's their response. The accuracy of very short segments depends entirely on the quality of the GPS hardware recording the data; however I can say that the shorter the segment, the more prone it will be to GPS errors. Most GPS devices have sampling rates anywhere from every 1 second to every 10 seconds. Clearly a ten second sampling rate is going to render a 5-second-long segment completely inoperable. Unfortunately there isn't really anything that can be done to improve the accuracy of the segment - other than encouraging your friends to get high quality GPS devices. I did some experimenting in a field during barrier practice where i set a lap marker on my garmin before and then after the barriers i set up. I had the auto lap feature but it was a total crap shoot as to when it would trigger a new lap. It was a difference of up to 20 feet. So long story short it might not be that reliable.

Using Strava to analyze Cyclocross Technique

I don't use Strava on a regular basis but if I have a ride i did well on or a race i'll upload my file. After uploading my last cross race i had the thought of what if i created a segment that was just the barrier section, or in the case of the Psycho Cross race, a flyover. I was hoping i could see how i compared on these sections with whoever else raced. I can't verify the accuracy of this but it's fun to see. You also have to filter out the year due to course changes from year to year. I created the segments just guessing where it was. I think for the next race i'm at i'll create a lap with my garmin during warmup for each section just to try to be more accurate. Anybody ever messed with this? Here's a couple segments from our race yesterday.

Eye on It - 2012 CCC theme song for me

Not a real music video but it's in my playlist right now.

Treepow

Good to be racing!

This past sunday i took part in my first race since july.  All i can say is that it's good to be back.  In May my back flared up on me and though i limped thru racing until July i called it quits after superweek.  After taking a good month off I started riding again and finally in the middle of October I was able to start doing some cyclocross specific training.  I'm nowhere near i'd like to be fitness wise but cyclocross is just too fun to miss.

New Bars on the Cross Bike

Long story short is that my back has been messed up since may.  Raced a bit thru July then called it quits. I've been riding again now for a few weeks but it's all easy endurance paced riding until i can do that pain free.

About a month ago i dropped the chain on my road bike and it sucked my derailleur into my rear wheel.  Shredded the derailleur as well as bent the dropout/hanger.  I'm sitting on the frame for a bit before i send it back to Trek to have the dropout replaced.

Since then i've been riding my cross bike.  When i built the cross bike last year i threw my old road bars on it that were 42cm.  My road bike is now a 44cm bars and i always felt a little cramped with the 42cm bars.

This week i bought a 44cm wide handle bars and i can't believe how much better it feels.  Now the cross bike feels like my bike.  Now i'm really loving this bike.  

Also i grabbed some Forte Grip-Tec Handlebar Tape.   This was the first time i've used this stuff and i have to say it's gotta be the easiest tape installation i've ever done.  Great tape to work with and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg.  It's quite comfy as well.  We'll see how it's durability is.

Fox River Grove

Thankful to be alive.

This past weekend we took a mini family vacation to Galena. As always the bike came with and the plan was to get a couple rides in on the course for the Tour of Galena RR. In later posts I'll profile the climbs on the loop and I'll also have a review of the Sea Sucker Talon+ bike rack I recently purchased but this post is about how I feel very blessed to be writing this right now.

Saturday morning I woke up to clear skis. It had been overcast and rainy and Friday I actually got sleeted on so this was a welcome change. I headed out from our hotel at about 6:35am for the 20min or so ride from the hotel to the southernmost part of the course.

When I left the hotel it was twilight as the sun wasn't above the horizon yet. I had 2 white flashing lights on the handlebars and two flashing red lights on the rear of the bike. By the time I made it to Gulliford road and started the climb the sun was above the horizon. I went over the climb and descended down to Stagecoach road.

Stagecoach is a road I don't like to be on too much because there isn't much of a shoulder and it's the main road heading East out of town. Traffic isn't that heavy but speeds are high and you do have to be careful. The sun was on the horizon at my back and looking back it was blinding but it was behind me so I wasn't too concerned but was very aware that any oncoming traffic might not see me.

From Gulliford rd Stagecoach takes a soft right curve then straightens out for about 1km. I had just entered this part and was hugging the shoulder as close as I could. I heard what sounded like a pickup coming up from behind so I steadied myself and waited for the truck to pass.

What happened next took only about 1.5 seconds. The first clue that I had that this wasn't going to be a normal pass was that startling feeling you get when someone buzzes you. You know they are coming but unless you have done a head swivel to check if they are giving you space, the proximity of their front bumper to you as it enters your peripheral vision startles you. I didn't even get to complete the thought of "damn that bumper is.." then WACK! The trucks mirror tags me on the back. The sound was loud.

Somehow by the grace of God i didn't go down. Then to my surprise the driver of the pickup just keeps going. He did not even adjust his path or tap the breaks. Just kept on driving. Completely stunned I came to a stop and quickly checked myself out. Other than feeling like I had just been slapped really hard on my back I seemed fine. Then I started taking tabs on the truck. All white large pickup, maybe early 2000's. I don't think it was a dual rear tires but it was large, with large black extended mirrors.

As the truck disappeared around the next curve I continued into town. Once in town I did a couple loops looking for the pickup but didn't see one. I then went to the county courthouse and talked to an officer there who took some details down but said that it was a county sheriff's deputy that needed to interview me but he was in East Dubuque dealing with overnight vandalism. Long story short, I finished my ride of the RR circuit and rode back to my hotel. A little while later a Deputy met me at the hotel and filed a report.

This photo shows the exact point where i was hit. The orange line on the graph is my cadence. I stopped pedaling the moment i got hit. The blue line is my speed.

Will anything come of this? I don't know. I just wanted this on record so if it happens again there will be a history recorded.

Could I have done anything different? Well I actually had a GoPro camera on the bike but it was off because I was saving it for some of the climbs later in the ride. I had the blinky lights going and was in colorful clothing so I don't think I could have been better prepared. I was as close to the shoulder as possible as well.

Being that there was no oncoming traffic I'm pretty certain that the driver was either impaired or that this was deliberate. I just can't believe that he didn't see me before or after.

Location:Galena, IL

Getting reacquainted with the road bike

Tonight I rode the road bike for the first time since I think October. I've been using the cross bike for trainer rides all this time and switching back to the road bike was a bit of a shock.

I've yet to get an outdoor ride in yet but hopefully that all changes tomorrow.

Quick Update 2011 season

I have just completed a 3 week base period training block that has to be the best one i've ever had this time of year. I was able to make my hours all 3 weeks with almost all of the time being indoors on the trainer and rollers. It's getting a bit mind numbing but it's awesome to have friends over for the early sat. am long rides. Makes the time go faster.

I had been afraid to compare to last year since i feel i haven't been as driven as i was at this time last year but the good news is that i'm a little ahead of this same time last year so i'm excited about that.

After hearing about all the exciting things happening in the midwest this fall for cyclocross i've decided to make a somewhat focused run at cyclocross this fall so the current plan is to build up for Superweek in July and then reset for the fall.

I've also gotten myself into another Gatorade Study that i'll be doing the month of April. If you'd like to get in on the study check out Provident Clinical Research's website to get signed up.

That's all for now.

ChiCrossCup_4b

Cyclists needed for Study

Gatorade is conducting a study for which they need cyclists. If interested contact Provident Clinical Research at the numbers above. Provident is doing the initial screening process for this study. They are only taking applicants thru next week so hurry.

Bandit Cross 10.21.10 5:30pm

View Larger Map

Course is on other side of lake from parking lot.

Carpenter Park Cyclocross Race

Here's some photo's and vids from my race on sunday.

Video of the whoops. I roll thru at about 50 sec. in.



This is the same sequence in photos.

Why I love Galena

I spent this past weekend in Galena and this time i brought a video camera. Armed with the Flip video HD Ultra and 2 little tripod mounts i set out to make a video of my favorite road in Galena. Here is the finished product.

Cycling up S. Clark Ln - Galena, IL from Ron Cook on Vimeo.

This is the first time i've done anything like this and i learned a couple things. First don't do this in the early morning hours. The shadows are cool but it changes really fast so you see the differences between the clips. Also the Flip Ultra doesn't have image stabilization so the helmet cam shots are a little shakey. Also it does something a little weird if you zoom in. It didn't seem to focus as well. Unfortunately i didn't catch this till after the fact.

The Garmin connect file for this is here. (for some reason imbedding the garmin file doesn't work) If you play it you can see how many times i went back and forth on the hill to do this. The hill is the east side of the loop starting at the south and going till about half way up north to Wachter Rd.

After seeing the video maybe you might understand why i love Galena and would buy a place there if i could. Can anyone say spring training camp?

Superweek 2010 - Better late than never?

I've been too busy to sit down and write about my superweek races but i'm finally getting to it albeit almost 2 months late. First of all i would agree with Druber's assessment of Superweek this year. While entry fee's are as expensive as they get around these parts, especially if you don't preregister like me, but things seemed to be run a lot better this year. I did a total of 5 races and i loved every single course. The only course issue was the Willow Springs RR course. It seemed to me it was a bit too dangerous for a weekday morning. There was a lot of traffic in the oncoming lanes and then there was the Fed Ex Truck (more on that later) For the most part races were on schedule and there were good safe courses. Results were timely and it seems that payouts were good(not that i know from personal experience)

Anyway on to the racing. This year for the first time I raced the Masters 35+. I went into Superweek thinking i'd flip back and forth between the Masters and Cat 3 but after the first couple of races i decided to stick with the Masters.

Richton Park Criterium 7.12.10
I spent the most part of this race trying to cover moves and get in a break. Missed the actual break that got away and ended up paying for my efforts at the end. Tried a little move with less that 2 to go but got nowhere and ended up last in the field.

Willow Springs Road Race 7.13.10
This course was a lot of fun. Like i said before it felt pretty dangerous at times with all the oncoming traffic. The craziest bit was when a Fed Ex truck turned onto the course right in front of the 2 man breakaway and they had to swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid the truck. As the field got to turn 1 the truck was sitting there not knowing where to go. Fortunately people guided the truck around the median so it could get off the course but it was a little goofy.

As far as the race i felt good the whole race. Every time up the climb i kept having my cassette slip and couldn't figure out what the deal was. I had just replaced the rear derailer cable so i tried adjusting the tension but it just didn't seem like it was doing anything to help.

Since it seemed that i really didn't have any sprint to mention i figured i would try to get into some sort of move. I realized that on the section before turn 3 i would get a lot of momentum and figured i could try to make a move there. unfortunately for me on the last lap when i was ready to try i let myself get a little too far back and got boxed in and couldn't do it. I ended up following some wheels and being one of the first guys thru turn 1 at the bottom of the hill but i just don't have the jump to hang with these guys in a sprint yet. Finished towards the back of the field again.

Lake Geneva Criterium 7.14.10
Going into this race i was determined to do nothing but sit on wheels and wait for the sprint. I had spent the last 2 days being too excitable and so i decided to try and play it cool and see what would happen if i was fresher for the end. Plus it was in the upper 90's. Then the race started. Again this was a great course but turn 1 seemed a bit tight to me and i decided i wanted the hole shot into turn 1 for the start. When the whistle blew i had one of the fastest clip in's i've ever had and sprinted for turn 1. i made it first and by the time i got thru turn 2 there were 3 of us off the front. That turned into a 10 lap breakaway to start the race.

After we were brought back i was trashed for a while and at times was just hanging on for dear life at the back. Sometime during this point a move went off the front and the field was left fighting for 6th or 7th place. I actually recovered enough to try to shed the field with a couple of laps to go but was not successful. Finished in the field.

Whitnall Park RR 7.19.10
For real this time i was not going to do too much too early. And this time I actually stuck to it. Finally on the last lap i got off the front with a couple others and thought we just might stick it but it didn't pan out. Finished again at the back of the field.

South Milwaukee Road Race 7.20.10
This was a new course and i loved it. A couple little hills, nice sections thru a park, and a downtown start/finish. Again this time i told myself i would be a good boy and conserve for the end. This time i truly did but confirmed that i don't have a sprint this year. I got myself about 6th wheel thru the last turn before the 300m sprint to the line. I ended up in the low 20's. Some of it was positioning as i got stuck behind a couple guys but i still wasn't passing many myself.

When everything was all said and done i was actually very pleased with my 2010 superweek. I had gotten myself in the best shape that i had been in since high school and felt like i proved to myself that i could race with the Masters. I not going to be winning these anytime soon but this was going to be a great building block for the races in august and i learned a lot as well.