Beasty’s 2012 cycling pursuits ….

Beasty

Suffering withdrawal symptoms as I'd not raced (not even been on a bike:eek:) since Thursday, so today the antidote was a 72km vets pursuit on the Green Sheds course at Batterstown

I say a CP, but there was some confusion at the start, when it was initially stated the 2 weakest groups would be doing 3 laps and the rest of us 4 - they would basically be starting after scratch - the rationale was that the group was so weak and the course relatively short, not allowing them an adequate handicap

Anyway someone seemed to forget all about this, and the slowest group was let off first. Some frantic activity amongst the organisers followed, and then the second group were set off. I was in the 3rd Group - 6 minutes behind a very large semi-limit, and there were only about 10 in our group.

Today I rode the spare bike again to give me some decent power data over a 2 hour or so race.

After some initial dawdling from some in the group we finally got organised and actually the up and overs worked far better than I had previously experienced in a vets race. Virtually everyone was contributing - it was clear that one or two were struggling, but they came through when they could. It was equally clear that there were 2 or 3 of us that were stronger than the rest and we tended to do some extra turns to keep the pace up.

We caught semi-limit perhaps 2/3 of the way round the penultimate lap. We then caught a handful of the limit riders. I wasn't sure if there were still any riders up the road, but with no sign of the faster groups and not wanting to pull the slower guys round to mug us in the sprint I made a break with a lap to go. It didn't last too long, but stretched things out a bit. About half a lap later we were caught and it became a group of around 40. I stayed in the first 4 or 5 for a while - unfortunately too many riders were trying to move up meaning we were all over the back roads and I decided to stick towards the back until the hill on the main road

It became clear there were still some limit riders up the road - the pace was fast and I was a bit exposed in the wind as I tried to move up, but I was holding my own

Coming towards the home straight again everyone came past to gain position - I left them to it and again stayed in a relatively safe position towards the back. There were still well over 30 of us, and when we had sight of the finishing line (and it was clear there was no traffic coming) I started to move up.

It looked like there were a group of 5 or so limit riders who took the spoils (so much for their alleged "weakness":rolleyes:. When it came to the bunch sprint I was picking off riders all the way until perhaps 20m from the line when the guy inside me had to veer a bit towards me - I had little space and had to back off a little, but still I think I came in the first 5 or 6 in the sprint, and was either 1st or 2nd from my group

In terms of power, here's the new CP curve (the black line reflecting today's race)



A couple of points to note

I've pushed the curve out (and up) - average power over 2 hours was 230w or so, with normalised 256w

The 16-18s section is a new PB - basically the sprint. If I'd not been forced to back off I would have hopefully pushed this out at least another couple of seconds

Beasty

So after doing the Drogheda CP on Monday, I did the vets DMS on Tuesday, followed by the Track League on Wednesday and Dundalk TT on Thursday. Two days rest and then today's vets DMS. When I add the vets DMS from last Sunday that makes a record of 6 races in 8 days. Didn't have any time for anything else over the past week, so my total distance of 235km at 34.2kph comprised only racing and the related warm-ps and cool-downs

YTD total now stands at 6,352km at 30.2kph

No Drogheda league tomorrow, and my programme for next week will depend largely on whether the Swords League re-starts on Wednesday. It looks unlikely at this time, and I could end up doing the vets circuit TT (21km) on Tuesday, Track League on Wednesday, then depending on how I'm feeling I may look to do the Dundalk League on Thursday.

I have a few options over the weekend with the Sorrento open 10m TT on Saturday or possibly an Ulster TT on Sunday, but it's more likely that I'll be doing the vets Age Championships DMS on Sunday.

Beasty

My first vets TT of the year today - 20.5km circuit on the Mullagh course starting at Batterstown

I've done the circuit twice before - my best time was 33m 6s set last year. Tonight's conditions were pretty good and I was experimenting a bit - dropping the bars 10mm and starting off a bit easier.

As it turned out I felt quite comfortable with the position. I clocked a time of 32m 39s, a near 30s improvement with a reduction in power of around 30w. I wasn't pushing too hard given my 6 races in the previous 10 days, and wanting to keep something back for tomorrow's track league. I would hope to get down to around 31 minutes if I could do it all-out in similar conditions.

Beasty

Back to Sundrive last night - the clouds were pretty ominous and the steady rain when I arrived put the meeting in serious doubt.

The rain stopped and we warmed up on the drying track. It was still considered a little too wet for sprint races and so each ended up with 3 longer races

The first one was a 10 lap scratch race. The pace was fairly pedestrian to start with, so I made sure I picked it up when I came to the front, in an attempt to drop some of the sprinters. By the final lap there were 5 of us left but 3 of the other managed to create a bit of a gap and I rolled in 4th

Next was a Hare and Hound - only 4 scratch riders against us, but they included World Cup rider Eoin Mullen, so we knew we had to keep the pace up

It worked well and by the last lap they were still 70-80 metres behind us. I wasn't going to risk giving them chance to catch us so I pushed on taking the lead with half a lap to go. I managed to hold on until the last few metres when one of our group came by - still I was happy with 2nd in that race

The third one was simply pairs with one rider pacing throughout and the second remaining on his wheel until the race was completed. Given pursuiting is my specialism I was given the task of following, with a renouned sprinter leading me. It was handicapped and we had quite a distance to catch up. My leadout did brilliantly to close down the gap but then had had enough and dropped out, leaving me on my own. I knew it meant a DSQ, but I thought I'd just push on anyway to be firts across the line

Was hoping to head up to Dundalk for their league this evening, but circumstances conspired against me. Probably not a bad thing, as that draws to a close my sequence of 8 races in 11 days - I guess I'm due a bit of a break ...

Beasty

A relatively quiet week - total distance was only 178km, but as it was at a quite fast 35.8kph my YTD total now stands at 6,530km at 30.3kph.

In addition to Tuesday's vets TT and Wednesday's track league I did the vets Age DMS this morning and a couple of Wattbike sessions

I tried a 3km pursuit on the Wattbike on Friday, but was 1.5s outside my PB - maybe a bit of fatigue affected me

There were only a handful of riders from my group in today's vets race - I guess most realise there will be a lot of riders from the faster groups, and possible stay away from a potential hiding. Anyway I did manage to get in one break - I say break but at the time there was already at least one rider up the road. I found myself in a group of 3, not particularly intentionally, but we tried to pick up the pace to see if we could make some inroads into the leader. It was too early in the race for me though - I realised I would be incapable of sustaining that type of effort for the full race and eased back to the group, as the other 2 did shortly thereafter.

On the 2nd lap a more significant break grew, but a handful of us drilled it a bit and eventually everything came back together. Early on the final lap a more decisive break was made - perhaps half a dozen or so, and unfortunately this time a lot of the guys prepared to put in extra effort to close down breaks were in it. One guy in particular made extensive efforts to close it down and there were another 3 or 4 of us prepared to put in turns, although we were still dragging along another dozen or so.

We came quite close to chasing the break down, but the low number of riders prepared to work counted against us and we never quite made it.

When it came to the final sprint I was quite well positioned, but knowing the break would have taken all the spoils, and feeling quite fatigued I only made a half-hearted effort before easing towards the back of the group.

Anyway, having raced on 9 of the past 15 days, it's probably time for a bit of a break and I'll give tomorrow's Drogheda League race a miss. Hence no more racing until Wednesday if the Swords League recommences - if not it will probably be the vets DMS on Tuesday followed by track league on Wednesday and hopefully my first A4-only race at Donore on Sunday. I may also give the 3km pursuit another go on the Wattbike one evening.

Beasty

The vets DMS on Tuesday was rained off, so I just did a circuit of the course, then onto the Track League on Wednesday. First event was a points race - I managed a 2nd place in the 2nd sprint but that was never going to be enough to get a top-3 place overall. Then the kierin - again no placing - think I was around 4th. We also did a team pursuit. As probably the best pursuiter I went off last. With hindsight as the slowest starter I should have gone first and let the others overtake me. As it was I spent over half a lap catching up. We then lost one rider after his first turn - I suspect the fast start took its toll on him. I was a slightly detached 3rd man at the end but we still marginally beat our opponents. Final event of the night was an scratch race with the A and B groups. We managed to hang onto them which was quite a feat. I then discovered my rear tyre was deflating - not sure what caused the puncture - either a stone or possibly glass as we had some yobs throwing bottles onto the track at one time.

Then there was today's Brendan Campbell Memorial which when added to a couple of Wattbike sessions brought my weekly total to 176km and TYD to 6,706km at 30.4kph

Next week will be busy! - hopefully the vets league on Tuesday, Track League on Wednesday (assuming no Swords League), a ferry and car journey on Thursday with a track session at Manchester booked on Thursday afternoon. A day return to London on Friday taking in 3 Olympic events. Back to Manchester on Saturday with Olympic football at Old Trafford then another hour on the track. Over to Leeds for test cricket on Sunday, followed by another hour on the track, taking in the big screen at the velodrome when Mr Irvine is going for the Omnium...

Beasty

Another wet vets DMS on the Green Sheds Circuit tonight. We took pity on the good and patient folk of Batterstown and moved the sign-on up the road to Drumree GAA Club

Tonight there was another difference - we were getting our 2 points for turning up, but there were no more of offer whatever position riders finished in, begging the question I put in the post title

Probably just under 20 in our group, under strict instructions - neutralised until the by-pass, extra marshals and lead cars/motorbikes, and absolutely no crossing the white line - not even in the sprint finish

We set off at an almost pedestrian pace, keeping well to the left - everyone looking to keep within the Rules of the Road. After about half a lap a couple of guys tried a break, and steadily increased their lead. Another bridged across and we had a 4th rider who managed to break away from the group but could not close the ever increasing gap at the front

Part way through the 2nd lap someone tried to break away from the group and I went with him. They didn't last but I pushed on, eventually linking up with the solo rider ahead.

By the time we got onto the Trim Road 2 of the riders ahead were back in sight, and another was making a concerted effort to bridge across to us from the main group. We caught one of the guys up the road about the same time the guy behind caught us and the 4 of us set about building our lead over the main group. I felt particularly strong and pushed on with around 1,400m to go. Only one of the others came with me and it was down to a sprint against him at the end and I just lost out at the line.

So was it a race? - well I finished 4th so it must have been ...

Beasty

Beasty wrote: »

So was it a race? - well I finished 4th so it must have been ...

Wahee! A DSQ for someone crossing the white line, so as a result of the new strict application of the ROTR, I move up to a podium position - I know how those German women's team sprinters feel now...

Then Wednesday saw my last racing for nearly 3 weeks with a track league evening at Sundrive. I gave the team sprint a miss and with rapidly fading light that meant i only got a couple of races in.

First was a hare & hound against the scratch group. There were a lot of us in Group B but this time we were too big a target for Group A who got their act together and made the catch a few laps out. There were probably only a dozen or so left by the end but i wasn't going to risk taking on the big boys and was happy coming in at the back of the group. As it was there was a crash near the front so I was happy to just be a spectator at the back by then.

My other race was a points race. Again it was a very big field. The first sprint in these events tends to be hotly contested, and I adopted my usual tactics of wait and see. The field tends to thin out a bit by the 2nd sprint, and i managed to win it. I had to come from the back of the field for the 3rd sprint, but i still managed to get 3rd to take 2nd place overall - only beaten by a 14 year old!,

smacl

Beasty wrote: »

A couple of points to note

I've pushed the curve out (and up) - average power over 2 hours was 230w or so, with normalised 256w

Loving the graphs. Do you do any year on year comparisons to see long term progress? Just starting to collect some power stats myself when using the turbo, and I'd be interested in seeing the progress others have made over longer time periods.

Beasty

Just the racing on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by 3 sessions on Manchester velodrome. I tried lowering the gearing a bit on the Manchester track bike with a view to improving cadence ahead of the Masters pursuit championships in October

Total distance for the week was 166km at 36.1kph - a high average speed because of the preponderance of track time and racing. That brings the YTD to 6,872km at 30.5kph

Next week will definitely be quieter with no opportunity to get on the bike until I get back to Manchester velodrome on Thursday. I'll then be on holiday for a couple of weeks - hopefully I'll get chance to get out some time over the weekend to minimise the risk of losing too much form

@smacl - not had chance to dig out some of the old charts, but will try and respond later in the week once my "Olympic Odyssey" is over ...

RidleyRider

Beasty, how difficult is it to get a chance to ride on the velodrome in Manchester? Is it open everyday or is there certain days of the week that hold sessions?

Beasty

Steve Marquis wrote: »

Beasty, how difficult is it to get a chance to ride on the velodrome in Manchester? Is it open everyday or is there certain days of the week that hold sessions?

Full details here

Taster sessions are run on most days - details here

Cost for an hour is just over £10, including bike hire - You can also hire shoes and helmets

Because of the interest generated by the Olympics it's been busy recently, although they've been running a lot more sessions. Summer tends to be quiet with plenty of availability. Some sessions are particularly popular (because of regulars turning up every week) and over the winter you may need to book several weeks in advance

RidleyRider

Thanks for that, was looking at going over during the winter.

Beasty

Lowest weekly total of the year as a result of an hour on the track on Thursday and getting out for 90 minutes or so in Cornwall yesterday. Distance for the week was 72km, bringing the YTD to 6,944km at 30.5kph

Hope to get out 2 or 3 more times during the holiday before getting back to the serious stuff the week after next. There will still be a few weekend vets races as a track league evening, but the main focus will be peparing for the World Track Masters pursuit in Manchester in October, which will probably mean a bit more time on the Wattbike

Beasty

Only 3 shortish spins while on holiday last week - total for the week 114km which at least takes the YTD past 7,000km, now standing at 7,058km at 30.4kph

So after all the galavanting about trying to get some cycling in while attending numerous Olympic events and on holiday, it's got to be back to the serious stuff next week. I'm raring to go after what has in effect been a late season break. It will be interesting to see how the form holds up.

My first racing for 3 weeks with hopefully a track league night on Wednesday (the final one of the year) and the penultimate vets league race on Sunday with a couple of Wattbike sessions interspersed - it may just get me in the mood for registering for the Track Masters Championships Pursuit in October. The basis plan between now and then will be to try and get a couple of Wattbike sessions in each week, including at least one pursuit over 2, 3 or 4km (the Masters event will be over 2km)

Beasty

So last night was the last track league evening of the year

I arrived to discover last week's racing had been rained off, meaning I would be in 4th place, with an outside chance of getting into a medal position in Group B if I got some decent results last night

I'd approached this year's racing with a bit of trepidation - I thought I would struggle in the semi-scratch group having been "promoted" from riding in Group C last year.

The programme was looking good for me:

12 lap points race - I tend to do well in these
Devil - never done one of these but was looking forward to it
1km dash

I seem to be relatively strong in the endurance races, so it looked good for points, particularly as a couple of stronger riders were trying out the scratch group. However there remained one rider who was a point or two behind me, but seems to beat me in every race - my Nemesis

So we get to the first race to discover it had been changed to a hare and hound against the scratch group, who had plenty of strong riders amongst them on the evening. It was going to be tough. It became tougher when we dropped most of our group, leaving only 3 or 4 of us with half the race to go. We pushed on though - Nemesis was with us and I didn't mind pushing the pace on to try and stay away. Then with around 3 laps left one of the scratch guys bridged over and pushed on. There were 4 of us, but one was quickly dropped and I followed, leaving the scratch racer to take it with Nemesis 2nd, and I tailed off to be unplaced

Onto the Devil. Plan was to stay at the back and try and come round each lap to stay in. It didn't work that way though as every time there was someone outside me leaving nowhere to go. I managed to scrape through and decided to take the lead to stay out of trouble, pushing up the pace with half a lap to go each time round. Before I knew it, I looked round to see there were only 3 of us left in. I therefore concentrated on getting into the final 2, dropping the 3rd rider in the sprint, but having led for 7 or 8 laps I was completely at the mercy of Nemesis at the end. Anyway, at least I took a very enjoyable 2nd place

Then onto the kilo. We were split at random into 2 groups, but unfortunately pretty much all the strong riders were in my race. Kumate Champ took the lead with probably around a lap to go and was never caught. Nemesis took 2nd, and I managed to get 3rd by a matter of inches

I've not seen the final league table, but am guessing I dropped to 5th, having been leapfrogged by Nemesis - he's really not bad for someone who's not much more than a quarter of my age - the appearance of a choirboy, but really the devil in disguise:).

The good news however is he can't afford a Garmin, and he gave me a decent pull to get the KOM for the track on the final lap of the kilo, averaging getting on for 55kph (OK, equal with 2 others)

Beasty

I managed 3 reasonably intense Wattbike sessions, together with the track league night on Wednesday and also managed to get out on the road on the TT bike this morning, giving me an opportunity to try out some intervals in the pursuit position. Hence although distance for the week was only 139km, the quality of training was reasonably good.

YTD now stands at 7,197km at 30.4kph

Next week I should get a few commutes in - the first for getting on for 2 months. There is also some informal track racing on Wednesday, and I will hopefully get out for a vets race on Sunday. I also will try and get a Wattbike session in one evening

Beasty

When I did last week's update I forgot about my Paralympic jaunt last Thursday and Friday, which limited activity a little during the week

Still I managed a couple of commutes on Monday and Tuesday and then the informal track racing on Wednesday - we only managed a scratch race before the heavens opened. A couple of riders broke away and once we had dropped everyone else there were 3 of us left fighting for 3rd place. I stuck on the wheel of the Devil from last week until half a lap to go, then blasted it to take the third place - one of the rare occasions I've beaten the kid.

Today was the final vets group race of the season (there are some TTs left) - 4 laps of the Green Sheds circuit in a 70km CP

The first lap there were only a few of us working - we only averaged 36.4kph. It picked up a bit on the second lap, with an average of 36.8kph. I managed to get a bit more shelter and was feeling good moving into the 3rd lap, when I think the others realised there may be a chance of us staying away and we finally got our act together and started working properly together (well all but a handful of us anyway). Unfortunately we were still caught by the faster groups just past half-way round that lap - it managed to up the speed to 38.1kph for that lap though. Onto the final lap, in a very large group, we managed to catch one slower group. The limit group however were only doing 3 laps and were never caught. I stuck towards the back of the Group and coming onto the home straight I was still at the back. I was conscious of previous instructions to stay to the left of the right line and decided not to cross it - many others did though and there was no room to get round. However they left the hard shoulder free and I must have gained over 30 places by taking a solo route (albeit a bit more in the wind) - I took about 15th in the group sprint, but reckon I could have been in contention oif I'd managed to find my way through earlier. Average speed for the final lap was around 39.6kph, a PB for the circuit.

Anyway, that's the end of group racing for the season.

Distance for the week was 208 km, bringing the YTD to 7,405km at 30.5kph.

Next week should see a few more commutes then hopefully some Wattbike sessions over the weekend.

Beasty

Furthest weekly distance since early April with 4 commutes plus a couple of Wattbike sessions over the weekend. I managed to improve my 3 minute Wattbike distance yesterday by about 10m, not much but given my complete lack of freshness very encouraging, with an average power output of 373w, just 10w shy of my best for the time (which was set on the Ardgillan Hill climb when it's a bit easier to push the pedals down when out of the saddle). That was just a warm up before I went out for a spin on local roads - glorious weather, a nice tailwind - what more could you ask for? Well a tractor never goes amiss, particularly on a dry road when you are after a KOM, and one duly came along - unfortunately it could only manage 41kph, and had to turn off after a km or so, but the KOM was duly obtained;) (to add to another, non-tractor assisted one the previous day)

So total distance for the week was 295km at 30.2kph, bringing the YTD to exactly 7,700 km

Next week I'm hoping to do some more commutes - perhaps 3, then with a bit of luck there's a vets TT I could be doing on Sunday. I'll also try and do another Wattbike session in preparation for the Track Masters next month.

Beasty

I managed commutes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, getting a KOM on each return journey. Wishbone Ash took a different one off me yesterday, so I may be looking for revenge some time soon;)

I then took it easy ahead of Today's TT. I really didn't feel motivated but wanted to try out a new tri-spoke front wheel and a slightly lower aerobar setting. The weather was pretty miserable when we set off, and I decided there was no way I would be doing the 50. I didn't feel I was pushing particularly hard - indeed my strategy was to see if I could take it a bit easier early on, saving something for the latter stages

I had a big skid at the first turn, but then had the wind slightly behind me an was able tp pick up the speed a bit. Then a crunch and hiss from the back wheel - the tub had punctured. I had no spare so it was a 6km or so walk back to the car ...

The shoulder ached a bit during the ride, so I'll probably raise the bars back up the 5mm I had lowered them for next time

Total distance for the week was 205km, making the YTD 7,905km at 30.4kph

Next week should see a couple of commutes then I'll be taking the track bike over to Manchester on Wednesday. Hopefully I'll then have an incident-free 2-up vets TT on Sunday - we'll be attempting to defend our handicap victory from last year.

Beasty

So after last night's Champions League victory, the Red Devil made her debut at her spiritual home this morning. Basically I was trying out the bike on the indoor track for the first time ahead of next month's Masters event.

As it was a taster session, there were no aerobars, skinsuit or pointy hat. Overshoes go on the UCI banned list from 1 October, so there was no point in wearing them. I did have the disc wheel and 5 spoke front wheel on though. The only problem with that is I can't put a speed sensor on either, so I had no "in-ride" information, only the transponder chip data that I could download after the session.

As usual for Thursday morning sessions, there were a couple of fast riders, and a reasonably heavy session ensued. I estimate my average speed was just over 40kph, but more importantly I managed some decent 8-lap intervals - basically replicating the pursuit distance of 2km. Some of the intervals were done on the wheel of the other fast rider, but some were done on my own. When taking into account the extra distance riding on the blue line I reckon I was getting close to 2m 50s for the 2km on at least 3 occasions. I also did some "flying laps", getting under 19s on 3 separate occasions (riding the black line). That's the sort of pace I need to maintain for the full 2km in the Masters - hopefully the aero gear will help me get there.

Next I need to adjust the bike to TT mode, with the Adamo saddle and aerobars. Then I'll need to work on my starting which could count quite a bit against me if I don't do it well in the Masters.

Beasty

In addition to Wednesday's track session I managed a couple of commutes earlier in the week.

I tend to focus on shorter flattish segments at present - good preparation for the Masters 2km pursuit next month, and I was particularly pleased to go under the minute for a 800m segment on the Lusk by-pass - I think it's my first 50+kph flat KOM (I've actually done it in the opposite direction at just under 55kph, but there is a very slight decline in that direction - about 3m), and at 450w its the sort of power I need to be putting out over the minute - hopefully helping me get to around 400w for the 2km

Then today was the Vets 2-up TT. I was again paired with my pro cyclist friend, and we were defending the handicap trophy which is awarded to the team which gets closest to their own predicted time. We got within 14s last year (over 35km or so)

This year however the course was changed. It was only going to be 30km, starting on the flyover on the Green sheds circuit, heading back to the roundabout on the Trim road, out to Trim and back

I knew the wind would be behind us on the road to Trim, and therefore in our faces on the way back. Last year I basically had to try and hang onto my teammate's wheel. I did absolutely none of the work. This year he was just back from a broken collar bone, didn't have an aero helmet, and we then discovered one of bolts holding the pad onto the armrest was snapped. We tried fixing it with a bit of electical tape.

I guessed we could go a bit faster than last year, and hoped to get over 40kph, which would be a time of less than 45m. So we went with a handicap time of 44:44.

We were 6th off, and went off at a very handy pace - so handy that we caught our minute man/lady by the first roundabout - ie within the first 2km or so. The 2nd and 3rd teams ahead quickly followed. We were really pushing it on the way out - probably too hard, but at least this time I was able to contribute to the workload - it felt harder than any of the TTs I had done this year. We caught the next team not too long after the turn, but my partner was starting to struggle with his shoulder and the dodgy aerobars - he had to spend the last 10km or so sat up, which clearly slowed us a little.

We caught the 1st tem off just before the roundabout and ploughed on to the end to clock a time of 45:23 - 39s outside our handicap. I had the Garmin in my back pocket and was disappointed to see that Normalised Power was only 251w - it felt a lot harder. I guessed we'd averaged getting on for 45kph on the way out and when I analysed the data it was just under at 44.9kph (and the KOM;)). We had gone out a bit too hard and suffered a little on the way back. But for my partner's problems I'm sure we would have beaten our handicap. It transpired though that the Garmin power data was comletely inaccurate - the fact it had been in my back pocket meant it was not picking up all the ride data. Because I had a trispoke front wheel I didn't have a speed sensor on, and hence speed data was entirely based on the GPS and not susceptible to data loss.

Anyway, it turned out that one of the teams we passed were within 25s of handicap and took the trophy. I'm not sure where we ended in the handicap or fastest team award (I know at least 2 teams were faster though - we may have taken 3rd)

Total distance for the week was 198km, with YTD now through the 8,000km mark at 8,102km (at 30.4kph) - that's 350km or so ahead of the same stage of 2010 and just under 2,000km ahead of last year

Next week should see hopefully 3 commutes, an evening Wattbike session, the perhaps my first vets Hill Climb next Sunday

Beasty

As we all now know, commuting and racing are completely independent disciplines of cycling

Anyway, after my TT efforts on Sunday, this week I set about showing that the 2 can mix. I'm now preparing for the Masters pursuit in a couple of weeks in Manchester. What this will basically entail is putting out getting on for 400w for hopefully just under 2m 40s to complete the 2km event.

So this week I set about using my commutes to train specifically for this event.

Yesterday morning I did a couple of intervals - the first being the Lusk bypass - my previous best time was 2m 56s - the perfect opportunity to try and mimic the pursuit effort required (although admittedly I would not be using aerobars). Anyway I managed a 7s KOM improvement and at Normalised Power of 370w or so it was just the test I needed. Later on there was a longer segment - 2.7km on the Swords bypass - a steady incline with nice tailwind. Anyway this time I beat my previous KOM by 4s, with NP of over 340w. For late on a hard morning commute I was particularly pleased

Unfortunately the floods put paid to any KOM attempts on the way home, but this morning I was back in segment search mode, setting my 2nd best time on the Lusk bypass at around 340w. Tonight I had to head up to Balbriggan to get the benefit of a tailwind into Skerries - a 6s KOM improvement and NP of 310w or so over 6 minutes

So who said commuting and racing don't mix?

I'm heading for the airport tomorrow so no commuting for the next 2 days, then probably a Wattbike session on Thursday evening, before searching for more segments on Friday...

Beasty

Today saw the last IVCA event of the year - a hill climb starting just outside Kilmacanogue. Around 2.9km up towards Sugar Loaf.

I'd not done this climb before, and hence had no handicap. When I arrived weather conditions were pretty dire, with a stong South Westerly blowing down the hill. I did a quick recce in the car and the conditions at the top were even worse - very blustery and raining.

I rode up the hill just to suss it out a bit better. It was still quite windy and I needed to adjust the gears as I was unable to engage the lowest one. By the time I was back to the start riders were about to start heading off. The slowest group were off first. I was second off in the third group. Ahead of me someone 17 years my senior riding a fixie. Behind me another fixie - this tme someone who rides it in all the vets TTs. He mentioned his previous times, and I immediately knew I was in trouble - he'd done it over 2 minutes faster than I thought I could do it 2 years previously.

Anyway, when my time came I set off without the aid of a holder (didn't feel comfortable with him) and ended up spending a bit of time clipping in. I felt as if I was pushing it, but the fixie guy caught me probably with around 500m to go. In the end the wind had died down a bit and I clocked 10m 46s. A half-decent time - indeed when I check out Strava I'm 9th out of 69 in my age group, and 4th in my weight category. More importantly my power output at around 320w is dead on the CP curve. I think I could have pushed a bit harder, but I stayed in the saddle pretty much throughout as I felt the back wheel slipping slightly when I tried to get out of it.

Earlier in the week I'd done 3 commutes, getting 3 KOMs (a couple were improvements on my own times), and managed to get a lot of 2-5 minute intervals in at the sort of power I will need in the Masters. I also did a Wattbke session, managing to get within 0.5s of my PB for the 2km pursuit and matching my PB power output at 394w for just over 2m 30s (which is about 10w better than I've recorded on the road bikes)

Total diistance was 210km, with YTD now standing at 8,313km at 30.4kph.

Next week I'll be in the car tomorrow so should do a Wattbike session in the evening, then a couple of commutes before focussing on the Wattbike for the rest of the week, with pursuit efforts in most of the sessions,

Today I started setting the track bike up for the pursuit. The saddle was relatively easy, but I had to guess at what I could get away with in terms of the 3% maximum slope. The aerobars were more difficult though - getting them within the 75cm limit (in front of the BB) meant I had to bring them back nearly 5cm. I've shortened the stem, but am still finding the pads are in the centre of my forearms. I'll have to see if I can get a dispensation on morphology grounds when I get to Manchester, or else I think it's going to be quite an uncomfortable position to hold (albeit for not much longer than 2 and a half minutes).

The UCI definitely seem to have it in for me - my overshoes will be banned from tomorrow also ...

Beasty

5 days to go. Road bike's locked away for a while now. Having done a couple of commutes earlier in the week, I'm cutting back the workload and focussing on the Wattbike

On Monday I did a 3 minute test. The Masters pursuit is over 2km, which on the Wattbike takes me around 2m 32s (the real bike is a bit slower as I typically lose 5-6s getting up to speed). Hence 3 minutes is the full distance plus a bit more

Before Monday my best "distance" was 2,322m set last month. On Monday I managed 2,331, an average speed of 46.7kph at 375w which was just shy of my best of 381w set on the road bike - not directly comparable as it was a hill climb and I was out of the saddle (and had a breeze to cool me down a bit). The good news was I didn't go out too hard - 372w for the first minute, 361w for the second, but I kept something in reserve pushing it up to 391w in the final minute.

Then today I gave it another go - this time I got the pacing reasonably even throughout - 396w, 384w and 394w respectively, to produce an overall average of 391w, 10w ahead of my previous best for this time, and only 3w down on my best for the 2,000m.The distance covered was 2,371m, moving me up 6 places in the Wattbike Ranking to 25th overall (out of 96), now less than 400m behind Olympic Rowing Gold medallist, Hamish Bond!

So I'll be taking it easy now until Wednesday - sticking to the Wattbike to keep the legs turning a bit, with another one or two "pursuit-type" efforts thrown in

Beasty

The Masters kick-off on Sunday. I'll just be doing the single event though - the pursuit on Wednesday, so I'll be catching the ferry over on Tuesday morning, returning on Thursday.

It will be my 40th race of the year, and despite being the one I have least chance of winning (by a long way - the pursuit is arguably the event leat likely to cause any upsets), it's my most important race, simply because it's the World Championships. I'm trying to play it down a bit in my mind though, as I'm actually seeing this as part of a longer term strategy. This year is (supposed to be) all about the experience. I'd like to give the Europeans a go next year, but my long-term objective is to try to continue to improve, with the aim of giving it my best shot when I move up an age catergory in 3 years time.

Anyway, in terms of Wednesday, there are at least 52 riders in my age category. I don't now how many will be doing the pursuit though. Last year 22 entered but only 18 took part. Overall entries are supposed to be up, so I would guess the entry list will run to between 20 and 30

Looking at the results, there were only 3 slower than my fastest time last year, and none of those appear to have entered this year. The order of riding is determined based on fastest times recorded, which means I will be off early - possibly first, and possibly on my own if an odd number have entered. Obviously having someone to target can only help with pacing. I'll have no gizmos on the bike. I can't put a speed sensor on the tri-spoke front wheel (or disc rear wheel) (and I'm not sure if computers are allowed anyway - probably not). I know the track, but have never "raced" on it and only once used TT bars (a couple of years ago). The starting gatw will be a challenge - I tried one out at Sundrive last year, but this will be different, particularly given the steepness of the track. I may be able to work out what's going on by looking at the scoreboard, but suspect I won't be able to look up and suss it out, so it may all be down to feel.

The fastest 4 go through to the medal races in the evening, so I don't have to worry about having to perform twice in the day - I'll be in the crowd in the evening session.

In terms of objectives, I put them in the following order

1. Don't miss the ferry
2. Avoid falling out of the starting gate
3. Stay on the bike
4. Don't finish last

Not sure about no. 4 - it really does depend on who turns up, but if there are any with a slower "handicap" than me, I would at least like to maintain and ideally improve my relative position.

I should be able to improve my best time, as that was set outdoors at Sundrive. I gave the Wattbike another go tonight, and improved my best 2,000m time by 0.9s. That's very encouraging, particularly as I upped my power output by 10w to 404w (which is consistent with what I did over 3 minutes on Friday evening)

RobFowl

Good luck Beasty
On the big occasions people often pull and extra few percent out of the bag and I'm sure you'll do the same.
Whatever position you end up in you've prepared well and will do yourself proud.
Hope to follow you if there's live tracking or updates.
All you need to do now is get yourself a proper passport

Beasty

Thanks Rob

No live tracking, which is a good thing as I'll be so far behind on the first lap everyone will turn off - hope to make a bit up thereafter though...

TBH the last couple of Wattbike attempts have been to as near exhaustion as I think I've ever been. Having said that it's difficult to translate that into what can/will happen in real life, partly because I won't have the metrics in front of me (although if I can see the timings on the big screen I will suss a lot of it out as I go along - I know pretty much what my speed and power output will be for any given lap time), but also because I don't know how much the Wattbike and Bikecalculator take into account all the aero "investments" I've made (helmet, skinsuit, wheels ets).

I do know, based on what I've done at Sundrive and looking at other detailed records (and acknowledging I'm a particularly slow starter) that I will lose 5-6s on the first lap getting up to speed. Therefter I'm guessing my "cruising" speed could be anything between 47.5kph and 50kph (assuming I get my pacing right)

Results will be posted on www.cyclingmasters.com (and they have me down as IRL:eek:)

Now I have to stay clear of any ailments and be paranoid about the possibility of any banned substances getting into my system (I'll be staying at a secret location, so hopefully no-one will attempt to spike my porridge!!:D)

Beasty

2 commutes plus 4 Wattbike sessions - weekly total 169km at 31.8kph bringing YTD to 8,482km at 30.4kph

Tonight's Wattbike session saw me marginally improve my best 500m, to 32.89s - if only I could translate that onto the track - even with the 5s or so I lose getting up to speed that would be a pretty good time, well over 2s inside my "real-life" best (I've never broken 40s). I think the main issue is getting my gearing right and practicing more at high cadence (and I've been getting some results from lowering the gearing and increasing the cadence on the Wattbike this week)

Anyway, I now have the track bike set up. Saddle 7cm behind the BB (plenty of headroom on that one), sloping at just over 2% (maximum permitted 3%). Aerobars are protruding 2cm beyond the "legal" limit, but I reckon I should get through the morphology test on that one - still I've had to shorten the stem to 7cm to get my forearms comfortably on the pads.

So next week I'll do a Wattbike session on Monday, rest day Tuesday before all of 2km (plus warm-up) on Wednesday. Ideally I'd like to get onto the track before my event to try the bike with the aerobar set-up, but numbers on the track are limited and there are a lot of riders who will be trying to do the same. Alternatively I'll have to stick to warming up on the turbo (I can set up the track bike I have already based in Manchester on the turbo)

On Thursday I'll be getting the ferry back, so hopefully there will be a commute on Friday - not sure what if any opportunity I'll have to get out over the weekend, but I suspect I'll be taking it easy following the end of my "racing season" before kicking off the winter training later in the month.

lennymc

best of luck beasty!!