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Beasty’s 2012 cycling pursuits ….

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  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Well the ferry didn't sink. I'm now registered, having been down to the track this afternoon - they still don't seem to know my nationality though (the "official" records are right, but the website isn't)

    Anyway, some great performances from the Irish so far. Terry Mackin took bronze in the 35-39 TT on Sunday, and today Susie Mitchell is second fastest in qualifying for the Women's 35-39 pursuit, which guarantees her at least a silver. On top of that Orla Hendron and Tanya Moran will be up against each other in the 45-49 pursuit bronze medal run off, so I'll be heading back to the velodrome later to cheer the ladies on (and hopefully suss out the timing on the starting gates)

    This morning someone set a new World Record for the hour in my age category at 47.96km. I would have to improve my PB by 12s to match that speed over 2km tomorrow...


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,200 ✭✭✭manwithaplan


    Beasty wrote: »
    This morning someone set a new World Record for the hour in my age category at 47.96km. I would have to improve my PB by 12s to match that speed over 2km tomorrow...

    From a standing start;)

    The very best of luck to you.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    The good news is that apparently although supposed to be banned from 1 October, it's not being enforced yet and the regulations are still to be put in place, meaning overshoes are allowed. Fortunately I've brought some (2 pairs - actually I've got pretty much 2 of everything), which I reckon could get me upwards of 0.2s ...


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 11,667 Mod ✭✭✭✭RobFowl


    Beasty wrote: »
    (2 pairs - actually I've got pretty much 2 of everything)

    Well you've an advantage on a certain Texan then ;)


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    So today was the day. Managed to get myself completely stressed up about it, waking up in a cold sweat early this morning. I ended getting up quite early and heading off to the track to set up my gear. There was a Hour record attempt in one of the women's categories between 8 and 9 with the track open to riders between 9 and 10

    I got the spare bike set up on the turbo and had a short session, before giving myself 10 minutes on the track to try out the bike with aero set-up.

    Getting on the bike took away some of the stress, but it was a long wait. In fact it was just before 12.30 that I eventually got to do my event. I was first off in my age category - in the home straight, meaning I was supposed to be faster than my opponent

    Anyway, the start didn't seem to go too badly. I had members of the Irish team and support cheering me on. I await the formal timings, but based on the transponder I have my first lap was around 23s and the second one just under 18s. I was hoping to lap at between 18 and 19s.

    At the end of what I thought was the 3rd lap I got a shock, as the lapcounter was showing 6 to go. I thought my mind was playing tricks, and tried to work out if I really had only done 2 laps. If so I was definitely going out too hard. Another lap and the counter was showing 5 to go. Damn I must have miscounted! I wasn't even half way but was suffering. I felt as if I had to ease off and my lap times lengthened (not that I knew at the time)

    I tried to up it a bit with just under 2 laps to go, but was drifting up the track and by that stage just desperate to get it over with.

    When I finished I looked up to see a time of 3:02 - I'd gone that fast at Kanturk, and it was over 20s slower than my time at Sundrive earlier this year. Indeed at an average speed of under 40kph, I've been faster on the track with the normal bike set up.

    I convinced myself I must have done an extra lap - very odd that both lap counters could get it wrong, but eventually I was approached by an official to be informed that was the case. They gave me the option of riding again, or sticking with the time after 8 laps (which was still a disappointing 2m 42.207s, almost certainly last place). I was a bit demoralised and didn't fancy going through it again - thought I would stick with the fact that at least I have a bit of an excuse.

    EDIT - just seen there was someone slower than me:D


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  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Think I'm suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome. Headache, sore throat and loads of aches and pains. Think I need a post-season break from the bike....

    ...then winter training starts on Friday


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    So I’m now on the ferry, on the way back to Dublin, after my first ever World Championships. Three years ago I would never have dreamed of doing anything like this, and despite what was in the end a very disappointing time, there are a few positives to take out of it, as well as some lessons learned.

    Firstly I’ve now experienced an event like this. Just having attended this one is going to benefit me in the future. I’ll always be nervous before any event of this nature, but for me the first time is always by far the worst. That is part of the reason I chose to do the single event. I wanted to focus on it and not have any other distractions.That increased the pressure, and next time I will look to throw some more events in (perhaps the TT and/or points race). The nerves certainly got the better of me this time, and a poor night’s sleep beforehand resulted in a muscle spasm in my neck with resultant shoulder pain and what is now a very stiff neck. I’m feeling a bug coming on also, probably as a result of the stress I put myself under. Anyway I’m sure I’ll cope much better next time.

    One thing I have been consideringis gearing. I went with 50:14 (96.4 gear inches), which is slightly higher than I used at a windswept Sundrive earlier in the year. However I’m pretty sure I will benefit from faster leg speed, which involves reducing gearing. I didn’t want to mess about before this event, but it will be something I’ll be working on over the winter. One particular point is that I run 165mm cranks on the track bikes. I normally don’t notice the difference with the road bike, but at high cadence I do. Hence I’m going to move to longer cranks – either 170mm or 175mm (the latter would match the road bikes). This would allow me to lower the saddle and aerobars by up to 10mm, which could make me a bit more aero also. The impact of moving to 175mm is quite marked – it’s the same as reducing gearing by 6%, which would bring me to the equivalent of just under 91 gear inches. I would then probably put a slightly larger chainring on, but the net extra leverage would certainly improve my weakest point – starting.

    Pacing is also an issue. It’s easy for me with the speedo on the bars, but in an event like this I don’t have that luxury, and I now know I cannot take anything in from the scoreboard. I basically need to do it entirely on feel. Yesterday I did feel as if I went out a little too hard, but it was just about on the pace I was looking for in the first 3 laps. I would have been better off taking it a little easier in the first couple of laps, although the lap counter mess-up was always going to wreck my head. Hopefully something like that won’t happen again (I couldn’t believe it would happen at such a high profile event), but if it does I’ll just have to trust my instincts more. Funnily enough though my overall pacing, once adjusted after the first couple of laps, was relatively consistent. Yes I slowed but by around 0.2s each lap. I would have definitely been able to pick it up in thelast 2 laps if the lap counter had been correct. Having said that I would have needed another 5s to improve my overall position, which was probably too much for yesterday. However if I can get those 5s I will then me moving into the realms of “mid-table mediocrity” a definite improvement on my current position of “relegation material”.

    Moving onto the wider event. It was great to get there on Tuesday afternoon to discover Susie Mitchell had qualified for the Gold medal run-off in one of the Women’s pursuits. She gave birth only 5 months ago and this is her first year competing at this level. She had improved her PB by 10s in qualifying. Then Tonya (who has only been riding the track since August) and Orla qualified for the Bronze medal race in one of the other pursuit events. There was a great atmosphere in the Irish camp, and to be trackside to witness (and cheer on) Susie’s Gold Medal winning performance (with another 2s+ improvement) was fantastic. That was followed by the Tonya/Orla head to head, with it swaying backwards and forwards until Orla made a final surge to take the medal. Terry Mackin had taken a bronze earlier in the week.There was a real camaraderie in the Irish team which I don’t think was matched anywhere else. There were enough riders and helpers to create an excellent atmosphere. Everyone saw how much Susie’s medal meant to her and a few riders from other nations came up to congratulate her commenting that her victory ceremony probably had a bit more passion and celebration to it than any other.

    So overall conclusions – disappointed with my time, delighted with the experience and will definitely be looking to try again next year


  • Registered Users Posts: 926 ✭✭✭G rock


    well done beasty, fair play


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 11,667 Mod ✭✭✭✭RobFowl


    Respect to the Beast..

    Well done


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Only 146km this week, but as it encompassed my winter break as well as the World Masters and took my YTD to 8,628km (at 30.5kph), which is more than my total for last year, I guess I can't complain too much:D

    I did a couple of Wattbike sessions, improving my "best distance" over 20s on Monday and knocking just under 0.9s off my best 500m time (which had only been set last Sunday) this evening. I've been focussing particularly on cadence on the Wattbike, doing my 20 minute warm-up at 99rpm this evening. It's one area I am looking for significant improvement in over the winter

    Next week should see a few commutes and hopefully getting out over the weekend. With a bit of luck I should get one of my longest weekly distances of the year in


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  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Hopefully they will eventually publish my detailed laptimes from the Masters at some stage (they've done this in the past), but I do have enough data from the transponder I was wearing to try to analyse the ride and some areas for improvement.

    The time for the first lap, although vitally important in terms of my overall time, is difficult to draw too many conclusions from as it includes time taken to get up to speed, and I'm not sure where the transponder start line is. It recorded a time of 22.8s, but I suspect the real time was 25 or even 26s, which is not particularly good.

    My second lap time was just under 18s. I reckon I was at least 1% longer (probably more) than the "official" 250m distance as I was nearer the red line than the black one. However using the Bike Calculator, I reckon I was putting something over 450w out on that lap. The first lap would have been higher - looking at my road TT starts I typically put out over 500w in the first 25s or so. It may have been even higher given it was a fixed gear.

    Working my way through the laps, and eventually getting to an average speed of around 44.5kph for the 9th lap, I estimate an average power over 3m 2s of around 380w. This is actually higher than any of my 3 minute Wattbike efforts bar 1, which I did a week ago at 391w (previously I'd typically been in the 370s). In terms of distance travelled (2,250m plus at least 1%, so getting on for 2,280m), when I adjust for the time taken to get up to speed this is entirely consistent with my Wattbike performances. Hence on the face of it I was actually pretty near my best over 3 minutes, although I went out too hard for that time/distance (and probably a bit too hard for the 2,000m).

    If I now look at the time I would expect to take to do 2,000m at this power output applied consistently, and adjusted for the time taken to get up to speed, I can see I would have improved my time by over 2s to around 2m 40s.

    I can also adjust for my typical loss of power between the 2m 40s and 3m marks, based on both road bike and Wattbike power records. Basically I would expect to put out 15-20w or so more over the shorter distance. In time terms this amounts to over 3s, bringing my "potential" time down to 2m 37s. If I could get back that 1% I lose by riding above the black line that could be another 1.5s, and suddenly I'm in that "mid-table" mediocrity I was looking for.

    Add to that the psychological effect of the lap-counter debacle, and the potential to put out a bit more power and I can see possibilities for further improvements. Increasing cadence is one area I'm already committed to work on. Starting is another, and hopefully slightly longer cranks will give me a bit more leverage in this area. I also noticed most of the other riders had front disc wheels - it may be the law of diminishing returns on this, as I already have the second best option of a 5 spoke wheel, but I'll check out potential improvements it may offer


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,723 ✭✭✭kennyb3


    Pretty sure i passed you earlier this week, what type of helmet light is that?


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Exposure joystick pointing forwards, with the
    RedEye attached and pointing backwards


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    4 commutes, the Swords Saturday spin and a Wattbike session today - a PB for the year of 326km this week to bring the YTD to 8,954km at 30.5kph.

    I hit a 4-month high power output on the Wattbike, and then get within a quarter of a second of my kilo PB. Hopefully I'll be able to crack that one if I give it a go when I'm relatively fresh. Encouragingly I managed to average over 100rpm cadence throughout my Wattbike session - that's the first time I've done it on each segments of a Wattbike session. I was also in the high 80s/low 90s on all the commutes

    Next week I'm aiming for another 3 commutes then getting out both days over the weekend - tomorrow I should get through the 9,000km barrier on the commute


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    3 commutes, 2 Wattbike sessions and a partrige in a pear tree yesterday's Swords spin added up to 264km for the week and a YTD total of 9,218km at 30.5kph. Only the one KOM, but as I took it from myself I guess it doesn't really count

    Tonight's Wattbike session was particularly productive, taking a quarter of a second of my best "flying 200" and 0.4s off my best 500m. The higher cadence is definitely paying off with my ability to maintain speed/power through these "sprints" improving

    Tomorrow I'll hopefully be finalising plans for next year's TT bike, and then should get on the Wattbike in the evening. I'm then planning to be on the bike for commutes during the rest of the week. I'll then try and get on the bike or Wattbike on Sunday (assuming I get out of Clonmel alive the previous day;))


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    A Wattbike session on Monday delivered a further improvement on my best "Flying 200" which now stands at 11.30s, or marginally under 64kph. If there only wasn't all that getting up to speed to take it out of you when on the real bike!

    I again managed to keep the cadence high diuring the 4 commutes - averaging 88rpm. This time last year I was typically averaging between 75 and the low 80s over the commutes

    Total distance for the week was 223km and the YTD now stands at 9,442km at 30.4kph, so hopefully I'll be able to break through 10,000km some time over the next 3 weeks

    Next week sees the return of the nocturnal Swords training spins and I should be out on Tuesday evening. Hopefully I'll be getting the commutes in during the rest of the week


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    I managed to get the 4 commutes in together with the (solo!) Swords training spin on Tuesday. Winds were generally moving against me during week, so the average speed was down a bit. Again I managed to keep the cadence up, averaging 90 (excluding zeros) for the week.

    Then a session on the Wattbike today, when I managed to hit my highest power peak of the year (1,140w). The cadence work seems to be paying off as I did it in a relatively low gear and felt I had a bit left in me.

    I then did an endurance test - a 10km TT, where I managed to beat my previous best time by 35s at an average power of 309w over just under 13m 49s, which is certainly a season's best for this time interval (by 10w or so), and only 1w shy of the CP curve. It also moved my Wattbike ranking up 30 places or so to 54th (out of 168), with no one as old or older than me ahead.

    Total distance for the week was 250km bringing the YTD to 9,691km at 30.4kph.

    Hopefully there will be more of the same next week, and I should be within touching distance of 10,000km by the time I report back again.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    The commuting didn't quite go to plan this week, with a broken chain on the way home on Thursday resulting in a walk back to the office to then get a taxi home. That meant I drove in on Friday also

    As a result, I was reasonably fresh on Saturday, and decided to give the one Wattbike challenge I've never attempted a go - the hour.

    I had done 30 minutes a go, but not since February. I did know that going all-out for that length of time when actually going nowhere is not very pleasant. The good news is I've recently invested in an industrial fan!

    Setting off, my initial focus was to get half-way, thinking I could bail out if I could manage to beat my PB of 20.6km at that stage. Unfortunately I was slightly adrift of that distance but it encouraged me to push on. By that time my HR was only slightly shy of 170 - just over 90% of my maximum of 186. It continued its slow upward drift, hovering around 174 at the three-quarter mark, and up to 176 with a couple of minutes to go. It finally hit 180 during the final push, and I managed to get through the 40km mark, eventually finishing on just over 40.6km (average 258w), putting me in 63rd place (out of 138) in the Wattbike ranking, and 3rd (out of 13) in my age category. I suspect it may be a while before I try that one again!!

    Total distance for the week was 221km, bringing the YTD to 9,912km at 30.4kph.

    Next week I'll be away on business for a couple of days, although I'll hopefully still get a couple of commute in together with the Swords training spin on Tuesday, then perhaps back on the Wattbike over the weekend


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    So today I hit 10,000km for the year - that's 3 weeks ahead of when I got there 2 years ago, and over 11 hours quicker. Average speed was 0.4kph faster than for the whole of last year when I did 1,500km or so less.

    Weather permitting, I'm now looking to crack 11,000km by the end of the year


  • Registered Users Posts: 926 ✭✭✭G rock


    Beasty wrote: »
    So today I hit 10,000km for the year - that's 3 weeks ahead of when I got there 2 years ago, and over 11 hours quicker. Average speed was 0.4kph faster than for the whole of last year when I did 1,500km or so less.

    Weather permitting, I'm now looking to crack 11,000km by the end of the year

    Well done!


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  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Only the 2 commutes, as anticipated last week due to spending a couple of days in London. Was home late on Tuesday and couldn't make the Swords spin, then wasn't feeling too good yesterday so only managed the 1 Wattbike session tonight

    Total distance was therefore only 135km, with YTD standing at 10,047km at 30.4kph

    The good news was I managed to improve my PB on the Wattbike over 500m by half a second to get myself into the top 50 in the Wattbike ranking. I also found out that I had won the company "Green commute" challenge from a couple of weeks ago, having cycled significantly further than anyone else across the global workforce of many thousands - didn't think I had too good a chance as it was the bank holiday week, meaning I only did the 4 days. Anyway, I'm adding the $500 prize to this year's winnings:)

    Next week will be a bit more of the same with only a couple of commutes split by a business trip, although I am planning to get a couple of sessions on the track in Manchester in while away then another Wattbike session over the weekend.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Monday's commute was followed by a track session in Manchester on Wednesday and then I managed to get on the Wattbike for 2 sessions over the weekend. I managed to improve my 30 minute Wattbike distance to 20.66km at 271w, although I think I have a bit more in me over that time.

    I managed to average cadence at around 92 throughout November on the roadbike and at over 104 on the Wattbike, so the focus on this through my winter training is going well.

    Total distance for the week was 145km and the YTD now stands at 10,193km at 30.5kph, which means I'm now only 20km adrift from my 2010 distance.

    Next week I should get another commute then should be back on the track on Wednesday, before hopefully getting out again over the weekend.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Monday's commute didn't quite go to plan - heading home, almost exactly where the chain snapped a couple of weeks ago, I looked down at the front wheel just as it was going over something in the road as there was a massive blowout. So it was a trudge back to the office again to get a taxi, as there was no way to repair the tyre with a 5cm gaping hole in it. Later scrutiny discovered the brake pad had been rubbing the tyre and worn it down:o

    So that meant the next time on a bike was back in Manchester on Wednesday. I managed a full hour and 38.3km - pretty much a record on drop bars when not sharing the work with anyone else.

    Then the Wattbike for a short session on Friday (when I got within 3w of my best power output), before heading over the the Green Sheds course for the Dublin Wheelers Xmas race this morning. I was suitably attired in festive gear, but alas my attempt to get in an easier handicap group on the basis I was clearly not taking the race seriously backfired.

    Indeed, an initial allocation to semi-limit turned into a semi-scratch posting as they evened up the numbers - seeing guys from faster groups than me in both Swords and Vets leagues heading off in the semi-limit group gave me a hint of what was to come. Then seeing riders from the vets scratch and semi scratch groups (ie 2 and 3 groups faster than me) in the group I was in confirmed my fears.

    We set off fast - very fast. I managed one turn at the front, but we were heading towards the Dumcree bypass at getting on for 50kph, and actually hit over 60kph on it. My only chance was going to be hanging on for dear life at the back of the group, which I managed to do until we hit the hill up past the Warrenstown Arms when I could hold on no longer. I carried on and as I crested the hill I was caught by scratch, who only had 6 riders. I don't know how much time they had made up but I managed to get onto their wheels and again hung on.

    Unfortunately as we approached the roundabout to turn onto the Drumcree bypass again we were held up by traffic, and I got stuck behind one particular vehicle which allowed the rest of the group to get away. They had nearly caught the slower groups and I tried with a couple of other dropped riders to close down the gap in pursuit mode, but we had to give up. I kept going at a decent pace for a while then had to ease off and headed back to the car at Dorey's Forge. Anyway, without doubt the hardest 30 minutes or so racing I've ever done ...

    Total distance for the week was 136km (at 34kph) to bring the YTD to 10,328km at 30.5kph

    Next week's activities will depend on the weather. I'll do 3 or 4 commutes unless it's icy (in which case I'll be on the Wattbike)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,454 ✭✭✭ Louise Calm Somebody


    Hey Beasty how do you find the Wattbike?


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    The weather restricted opportunities early in the week, and I ended up on the Wattbike on Wednesday, improving my PB for the flying 200 by a hundredth of a second. Then it was a couple of commutes when it warmed up a bit, although the weather wasn't particularly great with stromg winds and showers particularly on Friday.

    Tonight it was back on the Wattbike, with an improvement of over half a second in the kilo.

    Overall I managed only 143km, although it was quite fast and brings me to 10,471m for the year at 30.5kph. With only a couple of weeks to go I'm not sure if I'll quite get to the 11,000km mark, as I'll be away on work a bit this week, and it may not be easy to get out during the Christmas break. Anyway, hopefully I'll get my final 2 or 3 commutes for the year in next week with a couple of Wattbike sessions and maybe looking at trying to improve on of the endurance PBs


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Only the couple of commutes this week, then I've been off the bike because of a bit of a head cold - I was feeling pretty crap yesterday, but hopefully should be back on the Wattbike tomorrow. I can't complain too much - it's the first bug I've picked up since February, and that was a 24 hour job which didn't really affect my cycling. It meant I managed only 120km, my second lowest weekly total of the year. I guess it also means that I've actually had quite an easy December of it overall, and hopefully will be ready top come out all guns blazing in January

    YTD total now stands at 10,591km at 30.5kph

    Next week I'll be off work for the full week, so no commuting. Depending on how I feel I'll hopefully get a couple of Wattbike sessions in over the Christmas break, then perhaps some local spins later in the week


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Road racing

    This year’s racing commenced with the combined Ladies/Masters race at the Traders Cup in February, resulting in my first ever road podium finish – 3rd place and a nice trophy to go with it. I followed that up with my first road race victory in a vets race in May then took another 3rd place in vets race at the end of July.

    Total number of road races 22 (Masters 1, Open 3, Club League 7, IVCA 11) – total distance 1,070km

    Time Trials

    My first TT was the Swords Hill Climb – I would never be a contender but improving my time by nearly 30s over last year was particularly pleasing. Then it was what turned into a 10km Championship for Swords. There may not have been that many turned up, but I don’t care – a victory is a victory, and this was my first one on a non-handicap basis. A week later I took the bronze medal in the Leinster TT Championships and I finished the season with a 3rd place in the vets 2 up TT (based on handicap which was your estimated time). I only did 8 TTs in total during the year so it wasn’t a bad return overall. I’ve a new TT bike onorder and the Vets TT League will be one of my priorities next year

    Track

    8 Track League evenings resulted in 1 race victory (points race) plus another 8 placings, which I’m more than happy with given I was moved up a group from last year. I also managed to retain my age category pursuit championship (albeit under the auspices of the Track Commission rather than the IVCA this year), and took part in an open event. The less said about the Track Masters in Manchester the better, although it was good experience for future attempts.

    So in summary I did 41 races/track days - a total distance of 1,327km. I took 3rd place in the Swords League (with a medal to go with it) and was the leading vet when the league was prematurely curtailed.

    Hopefully I will be able to build on this further next year – plans will be revealed in the new log which I will be starting shortly …


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,831 ✭✭✭ROK ON


    Beasty,

    I just wanted to say - that while I don't understand a lot of the power related stuff or track stuff, your log is an inspiration. Particularly for the middle aged cyclists with families and careers, that have taken up cycling later in life. It just goes to show what dedication and hard work leads to.

    Well done. Hope you have a good 2013.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    The after-effects of the cold and a bit of a break over Christmas resulted in my longest spell off the bike during the year - 5 days in total, but I managed to get out on St Stephen's day and again on Friday before a Wattbike session on Sunday. I bettered my previous best 3km pursuit by over a second, which indicates the lower gearing/higher cadence is having an effect. I'm now up 24th in the Wattbike ranking for the distance (out of 124)

    Total distance for the week was 132km which brings the YTD total to 10,723km at 30.4kph.


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  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,823 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Total distance for the year 10,723km (2009 - 6,800km, 2010 - 10,211km, 2011 - 8,554km) in 352hrs 13m - average speed 30.4kph (2009 - 29.6kph, 2010 - 29.4kph, 2011 - 30.1kph)

    Total climbing - 57km

    Distance break down
    Road Racing 1,071km
    TTs 155km
    Track Racing 102km
    Commuting 5,054km
    Other Road 2,339km
    Other Track 637km
    Wattbike 1,332km
    Turbo/gyms 33km

    so endeth the 2012 log ...


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