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Beasty's 2011 assault on the vets

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  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    .... of the Ring circuit

    7 points for my 8th place - I claimed to have achieved my objective to
    get at least one extra point (beyond those awarded for simply turning up!) in the Swords League
    with my 4th place in the Club 10m TT Championships a few weeks ago, but as they are not actually awarding League points for the TT results this year last night's result puts this one beyond doubt!

    In terms of the stats:

    Total time 1:22:13, average speed 36.5kph, max 49.8kph
    Power – average 250w, normalised 280w, max 858w, work 1180kJ
    HR – average 161, max 182
    Cadence – average 87

    Breaking it down between the 5 laps (power excludes zeros)
    L1 - speed 36.2kph (max 49.8kph), Power - average 267w (max 858w), HR - average 155 (max 169), cadence 87
    L2 - speed 36.3kph (max 48.5kph), Power - average 268w (max 795w), HR - average 161 (max 171), cadence 88
    L3 - speed 36.5kph (max 48.0kph), Power - average 260w (max 703w), HR - average 163 (max 176), cadence 86
    L4 - speed 36.0kph (max 48.1kph), Power - average 248w (max 767w), HR - average 159 (max 171), cadence 85
    L5 - speed 37.3kph (max 49.8kph), Power - average 268w (max 720w), HR - average 164 (max 175), cadence 87

    One of the really pleasing things is the consistency, and that I still felt quite strong at the end - maybe I should have tried to have a dig with a couple of KM to go, perhaps trying to join the guy who had broken and eventually won


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Two commutes, the Swords League race on Wednesday and a couple of short sessions over the weekend amounted to a total of 182km at 30.4kph.

    YTD total now stands at 4,279km at 29kph

    The weekend sessions were to try and get a decent position for the new TT bike saddle. I'm sure there are more refinements to come, but I need to see how it goes in the vets 25m TT on Tuesday. I'll also perhaps get another 1 or 2 commutes in, then it's off to Disneyland Paris for a few days:D


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Back to Batterstown on Tuesday evening for my 3rd (and probably penultimate) 25m TT of the year, this time in the vets league. I hope to take part in the vets championships at Moy Valley in a few weeks to complete my 25s for the season.

    The vets run 25s and 10s at both Batterstown and Moy Valley, with the 10's being basically on the same course as the 25s. Of the two locations I find the Batterstown course is better for the 10s, and Moy Valley for the 25s, partly because of the profile of the respective courses and partly because of the way you can get shelter in certain places

    My previous two 25m TTs have been affected by strong winds (almost gale force for one of them), but tonight the forecast was very good -just 11kph from the WSW, which would be a slight head wind from the left on the way out, and should allow for some shelter from the hedges

    My "official" target was 64 minutes, but given the conditions I was actually hoping to get nearer 63 minutes. Anything under 64m 52s would improve my vets handicap, and give me a chance of some points in the handicap league

    The autolap was set to 4km, allowing me to compare with some of my 10m TTs on the same course - my best 10 had been set by hitting almost spot-on 6m 6s for each quarter. would need to be hitting just over 6m 20s for each 4km segment to get under 64m in total.

    I started off at a decent enough power output, with normalised initially hitting 400w and then slowly drifting towards 300w. The first 4km was done in 6m 26s, slightly outside target, but I was averaging over 280w and there was an incline and slight headwind to contend with.

    In the next 4km I passed my 2 minute lady. Again it was generally uphill, and the power eased back to 255w, with the autolap recording 6m 46s, so now I was over half a minute behind my target pace

    In the next 4km I passed 2 others. The fastest guy in the field started 2 or 3 minutes behind me, and I was expecting him to whoosh by at any time. However there was plenty of downhill in this section, and I did it in 5m 54s, clawing back 26s or so, meaning I was only 6s down on target, Power was down to 229w though

    In the 4th segment I picked the power back up to 245w - again there was a bit of a decline, and I managed to clock 6m 3s, bringing me ahead of schedule for the first time. I was suffering some discomfort from the new saddle, but nowhere near as much as in previous rides, and there was certainly no numbness.

    In the final segment before the turn I was overtaken, but I didn't think it was the guy I had expected to get past - it subsequently turned out it was him, but as he was in the new Usher gear I had not recognised him. I reached the turn in just over 31m 30s, which was quite a bit ahead of schedule, but the next 10km or so would be the most difficult given the amount on incline involved. Hopefully it would be tempered a bit by the tailwind though.

    The next 3 segments were a struggle, at 6m 37s, 6m 27s and 6m 47s respectively, putting me back behind target. I managed to pass a couple more riders though, making it 5 of the 11 that had started ahead of me. Power was pretty constant at just over 240w.

    I was now entering the final 8km - very familiar territory from my 10m TTs. I knew it was largely downhill and this was an opportunity to take advantage of the tailwind and push on. I passed one more rider, clocking 5m 54s and 231w for the penultimate segment, and pushing it up to 261w for the final 4km which took exactly 6 minutes - there were a few more seconds for the extra quarter of a km or so to make up the total 25m, and I crossed the line in 1:03:32 - a 1m 20s improvement on my previous best

    It did feel hard, but I don't think I was as fresh as I could have been, and hope there is something left in me to help get nearer if not below 63m. When I checked the weather later on it turned out that it had been around 19kph from the WNW, making it a straight-on headwind on the way out, and easing back to nearer 11kph on the way back, so the wind had probably been a bit more of a hindrance than I had expected

    Other stats:

    Average speed - 38.1kph
    Power - average 247w (slightly up on my previous attempt), normalised 254w (again slightly up), max 567w
    HR - average 159, max 174
    Cadence 87

    The segmental power analysis shows my highest power outputs were in the first and last segments, and lowest in the 3rd and penultimate ones (although these were also the two fastest segments!). Indeed throughout the ride the respective segments on the same bit of road but going in different directions were almost mirror images, with average speeds being very consistent when aggregating again across the two segments on the same bit of road.

    EDIT - results are now up - 15 beat handicap, and I managed 7th place, which gives me another 4 points. The guy who passed me clocked 56m 19s:eek: (and there were 4 others under the hour)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,454 ✭✭✭mloc123


    Have you tested your FTP recently or do you have a power target in mind when doing 25/10mile TTs?

    38.1kph for 247w is a pretty decent return on Irish roads.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    The wheels are supposed to save me getting on for 40w in the right conditions, - not last night though as it was relatively calm (they perform better in comparison to standard wheels in a cross wind)

    I was hoping to be getting 260w+ (I've been over 300w on a normalised basis on similar length club races), although as stated above I was not quite as fresh as I would have liked last night. IIRC I was hitting this sort of level with the road bike and clip-ons (when I did my previous best of 1:04:52 actually), but the aero position on the specialist TT bike does seem to cost me getting on for 20w (still gains me nearly 1kph though). I'm still getting used to it though, and think I could get a bit more aero yet


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  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Tuesday's vets 25mTT followed by a commute on Wednesday which took in marshalling at the Swords Club Champs, and the last 3 evenings on cycle machines in the Disneyland Hotel gym - a total of 190.13km at 30.6kph, bringing the YTD to 4,469km at 29.1kph

    Next week will hopefully see a return to the track league on Wednesday, before the vets Track Championships over the weekend. My main focus will be on Saturday, with the 2km pursuit probably my best event, and the 500m TT. Sunday will see the match sprints and scratch races (together with the possibiluty of a team sprint, where the aggregate ages of the 3 riders must be at least 135!)


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    2 day event at Sundrive. Yesterday was the 500mTT and 2km pursuit, and today the 200m flying TT and scratch races

    What I've clearly established is I am a very poor starter, a poor sprinter, but not so bad at endurance events

    The 500mTT did not go well, as I finished last in my age category. I could not get going, and actually did not hit the sort of speeds I was able to later in the pursuit. I'm still sussing out my best gearing on the track, but I think part of the problem with the 500 was I was more focussed on my main event, the pursuit, and probably had that at the back of my mind, I definitely think there's plenty of scope for improvement, particularly if I can practice my starting a bit more. I also think inertia is an issue - I was probably one of the heaviest riders and I need to work on translating the weight into a more powrerful initial surge.

    And so onto the pursuit - as a reminder from my OP:
    Beasty wrote: »
    My primary aim is to improve on my 3 fourth places in the IVCA track championships. I want a medal, and my best chance is in the 2km TT, where I was just a few seconds off 3rd place in October. Given it was my first experience of track racing, all those ahead of me had specialist aero wheels, and were using TT bars, I am hopeful. But ultimately it’s down to form on the day, and who turns up. My time for the 2km TT on the Kanturk track was 3m 4s, and I am confident I will be able to break 3 minutes at Sundrive. Indeed, if I get decent conditions I would hope to get down to around 2m 50s
    So I came into the year considering tjhis my main event - my primary aim was to try and get a medal, and I thought this was my best chance

    There were 3 pairs riding, and I was in the final race. I had sussed out the fastest time before me was something slightly over 2m 50s (about 2m 54s as it turned out)

    I set off slowly, and my opponent was clearly ahead after the first (of 4.36) laps. This is where I put the foot down, and with 2.5 laps to go I sensed I was back on even keel with him. Another lap and I thought I was slightly ahead, so I continued pushing, although I felt I had a little left in me at the end. I was pretty sure I had beaten him, but it took a while for all the times to be confirmed. I did 2m 49.43s - not only had I beat the 2m 50s target, but I had struck Gold:D. My opponent came second in around 2m 53s. Having gone back through the previous 3 Championships my time is the best for the age group (albeit by 1/100 of a second!).

    Moving on to day 2, and the first event was the flying 200m. Again I pushed hard, but felt I was spinning out a little. I'd increased my gearing slightly overnight, but didn't feel I was able to use all my power. I finished 5th, and with the top 4 riding off this gave me a chance to rest for the scratch race.

    The two who met in the final were very fast sprinters. I was hoping they were fatigued after all their sprint rounds, and my tactic for the scratch race was to try and stretch it out and hopefully split the group with the sprinters dropped. I put a higher gear on for the race

    After about 6 (of 12) laps the pace picked up, and one rider tried to make a break. I went with her, hoping we could get perhaps one more into the break. I took over at the front and pushed it (I actually did one lap about 7s faster that I did the first lap of the 500m TT yesterday). I looked back and no-one had gone with me. I was about 50m ahead of the group and faced with the dilemma - do I push on or go back into the group. I was actually feeling quite comfortable, and if the group had split I would probably have pushed on, but with them all still working together I thought I had little chance of staying away.

    With hindsight I should probably have pushed harder to try and break their spirits, and hope they became more worries with each other, letting me go. But I actually just maintained the gap (which allowed me to recover quite well). With a couple of laps to go they did close a bit, and I let them catch up. Onto the final lap and the pace picked up, but I was still feeling relatively comfortable. A couple of riders came round me on the final bend and another in the straight, but I still managed to hold 4th place quite comfortably

    Anyway, I can now tick off number one objective for the year. I remain tactically naive on the track, and feel I could have done better in some of teh events, but if anyone had offered me a Gold in the pursuit before the event I would have snapped their hand off


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    The calling off of Wednesday's Swords League race meant I only got a gym session in on Monday before the weekend's IVCA Track Championships

    Total distance was only 82km bringing the YTD to 4,551km at 29.1kph

    Away on holiday from tomorrow for a week, which will be only the 4th week in the past 2 years where I will get no bike activity in (unless the kids drag me out on a hire bike on the Camel Trail;))


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    The vets track championships over the weekend were nice climax to the first part of the season. I’m away this week, so will be getting a bit of a break before returning for the second half. Hence this is an opportune time to review my achievements to date, and refine my objectives for the rest of the season.

    It’s been a very positive 3 months, with a lot of my racing going pretty much to plan. I managed to win my first vets handicapped TT (10 miles) back in May – my first ever race victory, and followed it up with extra points in all but one of the other vets TTs I have done. The Clubs league TTs have gone particularly well, finishing second club member (4th overall) in the 10m, and 4th club member (10th overall) in the 25m. I’ve managed to improve my 10m PB by 26s to 24m 23s, and my 25m by 1m 20s to 63m 32s

    In the club league racing I’ve scored my first points, and managed to stay with my group for all but one race - I’ve only struggled in one of the vets races, the first one of the year when I was suffering with back problems.

    On the track I’ve managed to get down to Sundrive for one Summer League event, and hit gold in the 2km vets pursuit over last weekend

    In terms of my specific objectives:
    IVCA track championships – “get a medal” – achieved :)
    10m TT – sub 24m – current best 24m 23s – so far I have not had decent conditions, but with at least another couple of opportunities I’m hopeful of getting there
    25m TT – sub 63m – current best 63m 32s – only one further attempt expected – I think I will need particularly good conditions and will have to be on my best form to get this one. I’ll give it a go anyway
    40k in the hour – unlikely to get a chance to do this, unless the new indoor Dublin Velodrome gets off the ground and I am able to hire it for an attempt later in the year
    Extra points in the Swords League – achieved :)

    With regard to the RobFowl “specials”, I’ve managed to avoid him so far in all the TT’s, and likewise he’s not been around whenever I’m “sprinting” in a road race – maybe these two will get resolved later in the season

    I’ve a couple of big opportunities left to make inroads in the vets TT league over the next few weeks, and my success, or otherwise, will determine to what extent I will continue to focus on this league during the remainder of the season.

    So far as road racing is concerned, I will continue to use this to maintain and hopefully improve my fitness for other events. I will be looking for any opportunities to impress in either the Swords or vets leagues, but this will not be to the detriment of my other objectives

    Finally the track. I’ve proven what I pretty much knew already – I’m not bad in endurance events although need to suss out the best tactics for scratch-type races. I clearly need to improve my starting and sprinting, and with this in mind I’ll be looking to do at least a couple of the Sundrive Autumn League events, and also get down to some of the training sessions over the next few weeks. There is a vets Omnium championships in September that I’d like to give a go also. I’ll have absolutely no chance as it will be across all vets age categories, but I will use it to get further experience, and hopefully benchmark myself against some of the other guys in my age group.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    So for the first time for over a year I have no activity to report in my weekly summary.

    I'm flying back to Ireland from my holidays tomorrow and hope to get out some time in the late afternoon just to turn the legs over after the mid-season break. Then there's a vets 40km DMS on Tuesday evening - I'll definitely be aiming to hide in the bunch for that one, as there's also a Swords League race at the Bog of the Ring on Wednesday that I'll be aiming for if I have no particularly adverse reaction to Tuesday.

    The vets 25m TT Championships are next Sunday - it should be my final 25 miler of the year (unless we do a boards one;)) - it will be interesting to see to what extent my reduced activity over the past couple of weeks affects my performance.

    So the plan is 3 races in a week - I struggled with this level of activity last year, so I guess it will be a useful test of how things have progressed (or not) since then.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,783 ✭✭✭RidleyRider


    Where are the 25m TT's taking place?


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Where are the 25m TT's taking place?
    It's at Moy Valley, Enfield. However, based on your own log, I think your start time would be in just under quarter of a century, as it's run by and for the vets (over 40s) ;)

    BTW, what sort of time did you clock for the Munster 25mTT Championships?


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    After a week's break it's been back to racing with a vengeance ovev the past couple of days.

    Last night was a vets 40km DMS at Batterstown - basically 3 separate races with a staggered start, the fastest off first and slowest last.

    Tonight was the Swords League race over 40km on the Bog of the Ring course - a Chase Pursuit ("CP"), which is a single handicapped race.

    The DMS tends to involve a lot of speeding up and slowing down, which can take a bit more out of you than a CP (which tends to be a continuous slog) at the same power output

    Last night's race was not particularly different from most DMSs. It actually felt a bit harder than normal but I put than down to my lack of recent cycling activity. A lot of riders tried unsuccessfully to break until right at the end when one of the Swords riders got away with another guy with a few km to go. They just held on to take the first 2 places.

    I had intended hiding in the bunch, knowing I had the Swords League race coming up tonight and with my main focus being on next Sunday's 25mTT. I only hit the front 2 or 3 times, although a couple of us tried to make a break with half a lap to go. In the end I managed to get into the sprint, finishing 11th, However as 2 handicap groups were mixed I was actually 4th in my group, gaining me a couple of extra points.

    The interesting thing is comparing power records. Normalised power (the effective effort) was 276w last night and 290w tonight (a 5% difference) - so tonight was a bit harder overall. However average power (including zeros) was around 240w last night and 266w tonight - a 26w (11%) difference, highlighting how much more a DMS can take out of you

    Anyway, I'm knackered now, so having another break from the bike until Sunday ...


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    It was the vets 25m TT Championships at Moy Valley (Enfield) this morning. This would be my final 25 miler of the year, and marked the start of my final push in the vets TT handicap league. I’ve made no secret that this league was one of my main objectives of the year, and after today there would be only two 10 milers, the 50m Championships and the hill climb left. I was lying 8th before today, 23 points behind the leader, but third place was only 11 points away.

    I changed my warm-up routine, using a turbo trainer for the first time before a TT. I also decided not to do any stretching before the race following a thread on here suggesting it may diminish power output.

    The weather forecast was excellent – it should be the best conditions of the year, both warm and still. When I arrived just before 9 there was a light drizzle, although I was expecting to cloud cover to burn off before the race. Given the conditions I was hopeful of breaking 63 minutes.

    I did about 30 minutes on the turbo, pushing my HR beyond 160 and getting a decent warm up.

    I was number 13 off, and as always I was conscious of not pushing too hard early on. Unfortunately the drizzle had not cleared, and the temperature hovered around a disappointing 13 degrees.

    Within 500m my HR was up to 160 and continued to climb, hitting 170 after about 3km. Power was around what I was looking for, 280w for the first 4km. The drizzle continued, and I headed into a stronger than expected wind over the first quarter. My HR remained at or above 170, which was a bit of a concern – It’s the sort of level I may see for a 10m TT but my last 25 miler I had an average of less than 160. I was operating at 90-95% of maximum, and focussed on trying to get it back below 170. I’d not been on the bike much at all prior to my 2 races earlier this week (when again my HR was higher than normal), and I guess it reflected a lack of conditioning. I didn’t want to blow up, so although I possibly had a bit more in the legs I wanted to try and keep a lid on the HR.

    Turning after the first quarter I then had a slight tailwind and was able to pick up pace a bit. My HR remained high though. Another 20km and it was the final turn back to the finish – At my average speed 63 minutes was still possibly on, but I would be heading back into the wind, and the final few km has a nasty short climb. That climb really slowed me down, and it was clear after it that I wouldn’t beat handicap (63m 32s), let alone 63m. I crossed the line in 63m 57s, 25s outside handicap, which was a bit of a disappointment.

    Looking at the stats, I was actually marginally ahead of my previous 25m TT power (249w v 248w) so I guess my slower speed was down to either worse conditions or being less aero. I think it’s possible that I was slightly less aero, as riding into the drizzle I was more inclined to point my head down a little to protect my glasses from it. I probably could have put a bit more power out, but my HR was a bit of a concern. I also think the conditions were slightly deceptive, although some guys did post some pretty good times (one was 54 something, and a 63 year old hit a lifetime best of 60 something, about 2 minutes inside his previous best for the year)

    When I got off the bike I could hardly walk – my hamstrings had pretty much seized up – the first time this has happened to me since my first 25m TT last year (the only other one when I did no stretching), so it will definitely be back to stretching before the next one.

    I think any chances of the TT league will have gone after this race, so I’ll focus on improving my position – I guess a podium finish is still an outside possibility.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,833 ✭✭✭niceonetom


    Well done Beasty and hard luck on missing your target.

    I skipped the stretching on my last couple of TTs (Orwell league 25 on Thursday and Sorrento open 10 on Saturday) for much the same reasons you did. I didn't notice any great bump in power but I did spend most of the 25 fighting cramp in my calf. I'm going back to at least light stretching before future efforts.

    What course do the vets do their 25 on? Batterstown?

    The idea doing of a 50 mile TT is appalling. Good luck with it.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    I've seen something suggesting it takes your muscles up to an hour to "recover" from the stretching, which means I probably shouldn't do it for track events, hill climbs and 10 milers. 25 milers and above may be different though - I'm getting a sports massage later on this week and will ask about it, as I've been advised before that my hamstrings are particularly tight and I should do more stretching.

    All the vets championships (10m, 25m and 50m) are run on the same road - the R148 (I'm guessing the old N4) starting off at Moy Valley and heading towards Enfield or Kinnegad - just over a complete circuit for the 25 and twice round for the 50

    I'm probably going to be doing two 50s - the first to get a handicap (which does not count towards the league) and the 2nd will be the Championships as well as counting towards the league

    Everyone who completes the 3 distances during the year gets a "Best All Rounder" certificate with their cumulative time


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Beasty wrote: »
    I will not be looking to do up to 3 hard races a week.
    ... well that one went out of the window this week:rolleyes:

    I did a vets race on Tuesday, which was a bit harder than the other vets races I have done. The intention was to do a bit of sitting in during the Swords League race on Wednesday, but the return of shaungil put paid to that - it was probably my hardest road race of the season (actually the first Swords one on the Ardcath circuit was probably harder, but it was quite a bit shorter than Wednesday. And then there was the vets 25m TT earlier today

    Total distance for the week was 214km at 31.9kph, bringing the YTD total to 4,765km at 29.2kph

    Next week there's another vets race on Tuesday, and I'll probably try the track league on Wednesday. Depending on how I feel I may give the vets age CP Championships a go on Sunday.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    ... for another vets 40km DMS tonight.

    The same circuit and distance as last week - many of the same opponents also.

    In fact there were lots of similarities - it was slightly slower this week (37kph against 37.9kph last week). (Well actually, according to the Garmin average speed was 150kph, which looks a bit odd, as it recorded a distance of 3,905.17km, which by my reckoning was an average speed of over 3,600kph;))

    Average power was 244w (245w). Normalised power was 276w (276w). Cadence 85 (84). In fact the main difference was my HR, which averaged 154 tonight with a maximum of 180, and last week the average was 160 with a maximum of 185. I guess that probably means I've quickly regained conditioning following my holiday breaks. The other thing was it felt very different. Last week felt like one of my hardest vets races, and tonight felt like one of the easiest. Indeed if I did not feel a bit boxed in during the sprint (or indeed if the finishing line had been another 100m further on), I am sure I would have bettered my 5th place (which is itself my best ever placing in a "proper" race). I never felt I had the chance to go full blast and I had plenty more to give - I guess I'm going to have to think a bit more about getting better positioned for the run-in.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Plan was to do the track league at Sundrive tonight, but the weather was looking dodgy and the alterantive would have been the Swords League race

    It was still clear when I finished work, so I headed off the Sundrive, where a couple of other boardsies, Caroline and the Crunch, were also racing. I was in group C, along with Caroline. I think she was a bit concerned seeing me lining up against her in the first race, but I'm a novice in track racing and Group C is where novices go (at least initially;))

    The first race was a "Hare and Hound". We would be given 3/4 lap start against the fastest group (A) and they had to try and catch us over 8 laps. I checked the protocol at the start - we didn't have to work together and it was everyone for themselves, first over the line winning.

    I started last but one in our group, and when we set off some from the front shot off in an apparant attempt to catch Group A. I managed to pass most of our group and thought I had a chance myself of bridging over. I'm not sure myself when I actually caught them - after the race I thought it was towards the end of lap 1, but riders were starting to get detached, and I was not sure if they were from our group or Group A.

    I was definitely with them during the second lap although more riders started to drop off. I assumed they were from my group and thought I was the last one remaining. Then I thought am I supposed to do this? Am I going to forgo my first win for cheating? I hung on for a couple of laps then eased off the back and soloed it for the rest of the race, until the final lap when I passed a rider dropped from the Group. I eased off in the final straight thinking I had half a lap to spare, and this other guy sped up. It subsequently turned out he was from my Group and actually got 2nd place. Another rider had managed to stay with the A Group, so I was 3rd. Anyway, apparently it's perfectly acceptable to latch onto the faster group, so I got my 3rd

    Next it was a 1km race, with separate races for the men and women in our group. The guy who had taken second in the first race and another (I think the winner from the first race) were clearly strong and pushed on at the front. Another rider - a vet who I'd pipped in last night's race, tried to close a gap and I was coming up quickly behind him. The first guy had broken away, and the vet couldn't breach the gap, so eased up the track. Unfortunately I was on his outside and was forced up the track having to slow, meaning the one rider had got away (and went on to win). I managed to get onto the wheel of the other guy and stuck there until the final straight when I managed to get past him to take 2nd

    We were then due to do a team sprint - I had teamed up with the other vet and the Crunch, but the rain came before we could race and the meeting was abandoned


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Back to Batterstown this morning for the Vets Age Championships CP this morning

    I was feeling a bit under the weather and almost didn't bother, but then thought I'd do a couple of laps and see how it went from there. I have a TT on Tuesday, and wanted to be reasonably fresh for that, so today was going to be more of a training effort

    Having checked the vets ability matrix I expected to see a few from my ability group with some more from the next couple of groups up. As it trned out there were only 2 or 3 others from my group, a few from the next group up, and then quite a lot from semi-scratch and probably one from scratch

    The first lap would be a bit longer than laps 2, 3 and 4. The group ahead had about 5 minutes on us and we would be 2 and a half minutes or so ahead of the next one

    There were about 15 of us, and I expected to be hanging off the back. We set off at a handy pace, and about 10 of us were doing the work. We were averaging over 40kph and I think a few riders were suffering from quite early on

    I missed a couple of turns, although there were some riders who were not coming through at all - in most cases I think they were simply trying to hang on.

    I knew the two groups behind us would be a lot faster, so I wanted to stay in the group, although after about 23km or so there was a bit of a drag and I lost touch about half-way up it. I stuck with it and was caught by the next group after about 27km as I approached the finishing line. I managed to hang onto them for another half lap or so and then the young nippers (40-45 year olds) caught us. I stuck with it for a while, but knowing I would be dropped on the drag next time round I decided to ease off the back to head back to the car

    I knew my power output was relatively high - I actually hit PBs around the 32-34 minute mark, as well as for the full distance I did (47km in just under 1hr 18mins)

    Next week there's an age DMS, with races for each 10-year age span from 40-49 onwards. It will be interesting to see how it pans out - I'm sure there will be plenty of attacking going on given the clear ability of some in the age category, but there will also be a number of older riders who will be keen to try and keep it all together


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  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    This week's activities included the vets DMS on Tuesday (5th place), Track League on Wednesday (a couple of placings), an extended commute on Thursday, and today's vets age CP (abandoned after about 50km). Total distance 190km at 32.8kph, bringing the YTD total to 4,955km at 29.4kph

    I've learned I don't like 80km CPs - certainly not ones handicapped on an age rather than ability basis. However today's race was not originally on the calendar - I can at least console myself that it was a decent workout, and I hit some new power records. I could probably have hung on for longer and extended the power records if my heart was in it, but I was more concerned about keeping something in reserve for Tuesday's circuit TT (20.5km).

    Wednesday Swords League is in the Corduff circuit, so I'll probably be giving the Track League another go. I'll probably be commuting again on Thursday and then trying to rest before the vets Age DMS on Sunday, which again will be more about getting a decent training worout than actually placing

    It will be the 3rd week in a row of racing on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday, and at this stage in the season I'm getting very little additional training in. I'm basically using the races to train and I guess the key is not to overdo it in the less important ones and allowing recovery time for the ones that do matter. The main focus this week will be the TT. The advantage of the track racing is, although intense, the races are short and don't take too much out of me.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Last night was a 20.5km circuit TT from Batterstown on the Mullagh circuit

    It was a very technical circuit and I lost lots of time on the bends and junctions. I clocked 33m 6s, but reckon with more practice on the course I could improve that by up to a minute. Certainly my power output was up there at an average of 270w or so, which matches my best 10mTT on the TT bike, although I was still a couple of kph slower last night

    I knew I had a decent handicap, and managed to beat it by 4.5% to take second place, although there may be a stewards enquiry into some of the handicaps - any changes will certainly not improve my position

    Then tonight it was back to the track.

    First was a points race - I've never done one before - points awarded would be 5, 3, 2 and 1 after laps 4, 8 and 12. At the first sprint I managed to get a bit clear of everyone else for the last half lap and took the 5 points. I took the 5 in the second also, so only needed a third place in the final one, which I duly got to take the victory:D

    Second was the Kierin. Although I had ridden behind a derny in Manchester before, I'd never raced behind one. I was badly positioned about 2nd or 3rd from last in the line. When the derny pulled off we had a lap to go. One guy managed to break to take the win - still I managed 2nd

    Third was a team pursuit, with teams chosen randomly from the respective groups. My team lost, but we did ride very well as a team, keeping it all together throughout

    Finally we had an all-in scratch race involving all three ability groups. Darkness was closing in, and we were instructed to leave the track if we were half a lap behind the leaders. I managed to hang on for the first half of the race then TT'd the second half pretty much alone. I couldn't work out how far ahead the leaders were because of the darkness so stayed on the track. During the last lap I felt someone approaching so upped the speed. In the end there were 2 behind me who had not been eliminated, both from my own group - they were the stronger riders from the group so I reckoned there was no-one ahead of me from my group and hopefully will pick up the group points

    All in all a very productive evening. Nice to meet tawfeeredux also


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,150 ✭✭✭kumate_champ07


    That was me behind you in the last race(sundrive jersey, shiny steel frame). Happy I stayed in it, rest of the night was a disaster for me. Well done on your results


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    All the cycling this week has been either warming up for or taking part in races. A total of 141km at 34.3kph, from Tuesday's TT, the track racing on Wednesday, and today's vets age handicapped DMS

    YTD distance has now surpassed 5,000km, standing at 5,097km at 29.5kph

    Tuesday's 2nd place has been confirmed, gaining me 9 points in the vets ability handicapped TT league, moving me up a couple of places to 5th. I'm still 16 points behind the leader, but have closed the gap on 3rd place to 7 points with 4 TTs remaining (although one of them is a hill climb where I have not established a handicap, and hence I can only expect a couple of points if I take part)

    I'm still awaiting confrmation of points gained in the track league, although I'm hoping to have narrowed the gap on the leader of our group, Kumate_champ07

    I was hoping for an easier race than last week in today's vets DMS, but it wasn't to be, with some early breaks resulting in lot of speeding up and slowing down, and a quite fast overall pace. I went in intending to sit in. It was quite a large group and I tried to stay towards the front of the group. I ended up taking a couple of turns at the front on the first lap. The break had established quite a lead by the start of the second lap and some of the riders in the bunch tried to organise things a bit better. I did quite a few spells this lap but was quite concerned when seeing my HR hit 180 - normalised power on lap 1 was 275w, but had increased to 276w by the end of lap 2 - normally it drifts down during a race.

    Moving into the 3rd and last lap I drifted back a bit and was quite surprised how quickly I found myself at the back. We must have dropped at least a third of the group and there was only one other from my ability group still there - everyone else was from the next 2 faster groups.

    About a third of the way round the last lap I struggled to hold on up a longish drag and drifted off the back. We'd closed the gap on the break quite considerably and I hoped they would catch them and slow up, allowing me to try and get back on during the next descent, but it wasn't to be, and I TT'd it back to the finish to find that break had managed to stay away and take the victory

    Still I managed to set new power bests from around 90 to 110 minutes so I'm not complaining. Normalised power was 258w, and average (including zeros) 233w

    Next week I'll probably be heading off to the track again (weather permitting) or doing the Swords League if it's raining on Wednesday and there's a vets 10mTT on Saturday. Depending on how I feel there's then a vets CP on Sunday


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Beasty wrote: »
    I will form a plan once the respective race calendars are out, but I will not be looking to do up to 3 hard races a week.
    So after the Swords League race on Wednesday, it was back to Batterstown for a 10m TT yesterday. All four of my 10 milers this year have had quite strong winds, and my times have only varied by 5 seconds - my fastest being 24:23 and slowest 24:28. Yesterday the winds would turn out to be quite blustery, and in the form of a cross-wind probably from the SSW to SW direction - more in my face on the way outr. The other TTs have had more of a headwind/tailwind, and there were a few more wobbles than usual yesterday

    The target, as usual, was to break the 24 minute barrier. I hadn't been on the bike since Wednesday, but was still a bit concerned about the toll that and last Sunday's vets race may have taken on my legs. I knew I would probably need to up my power by around 10w or so to get under 24 minutes

    It was quite overcast and drizzly, particularly on the way out. The first 4km split was 6m 13s - I needed to average around 5m 58s for each quarter to get under 24 minutes, but my average power was 300w - probably a bit high, but reflecting the incline involved and impact of the wind

    Second split was 6m 16s, but the power had dropped to 250w and I was about 30s behind target. Because of the wet I had to take it very tentatively round the roundabout - my slowest speed was 24kph, compared with over 30kph on previous attempts. This was the only time throughout the ride my cadence dropped below 80

    I picked it up a bit by the 3rd split - 260w and 5m 48s, and then pushed on in the final segment.

    I stopped the computed just after the finish - 24:06. The official time was actually 24:04 - only 5 seconds away, and I suspect I would have made it in drier conditions.

    Average power was actually pretty similar to my previous 10 milers this year at 268w, suggesting the wind had not had any particularly detrimental impact on my time.

    Anyway, that's my first time at over 40kph, which is a bonus. The final 10 miler was due to take place in a couple of weeks, but they've realised it will be too dark for a Tuesday evening, so hopefully it will be re-arranged for another Saturday morning, and I can have a final go at breaking 24 minutes

    Then today it was off to Kentstown for a vets 72km CP. I was feeling tired after yesterday, and wondered if I would last the race. We actually set off at a relaxed pace - normalised power was around 250w for the first lap (it tends to start off nearer 300w in the Swords League and then drifts down during the race)

    We were caught by the next group at the end of lap 1 (of 3) and the pace picked up. I did few stints at the front but was more concerned with hanging on at this stage. We caught the second group after another half lap, and then disaster nearly struck. The group had getting on for 30 in at this stage, and on a slight incline I found myself heading back through it. There were riders on both sides of me coming up from behind and converging! I felt forced to the left a little and ended up bumping into the rider on my left - my balance went and I was sure I was going down, and taking him with me. He gave me a scowl and a shove and I regained balance to allow me to the apologise to him and carry on

    The next lap was mainly a matter of hanging on - keeping somewhere near the front for the corners to avoid the risk of getting dropped coming out of them. We were then caught by the 2 fastest groups with around 7-8km to go, and it was definitely then a matter of hanging on.

    I managed to stick with them and even found myself at the front on the home straight. However the group was very large and I was quickly passed by a number of riders. There were too many riders across the road to be able to dig deep in the sprint, and I was probably around half way down the group at the end (although probably around 3rd or 4th of my ability group)

    So having done 3 races in the past 5 days, I'm now looking forward to another vets race on Tuesday, and either the Swords League or track racing on Wednesday, which would make 5 races in 8 days - so much for my suggestion that 3 races in a week was too much!

    Last year I think I did 24 races with a total distance of around 750km. Today was my 31st of the year, and I went past the 1,000km mark - 1,049km to be precise. I guess I've got to make the most of it while I can ...:)


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    In my efforst to get as much racing in as possible, this was another week where it was a matter getting the recovery in between races

    Between the 3 races and related warm-ups I did 183km at 33kph - the racing cerytainly helps get the average speed up

    YTD now stands at 5,280km at 29.6kph

    Next week's calendar is hpefully going to comprise the vets 40km DMS on Tuesday, Track League (weather permitting, otherwiseSwords League) on Wednesday, and then my first 50 mile TT on Sunday

    The plan on the TT is to take it steady for the first 25 miles, and then push on in the second half if I feel I have anything left. It will certainly be interesting to see how the body copes with being in the TT position for well over 2 hours.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Results are up for the weekend's racing. I managed 7th on handicap in Saturday's TT. It gave me a couple of extra points, but as I suspected a couple of other contenders did better than me, and I remain in 5th place with a couple of races to go. The good news is that for the first time I was in the top 10 on a non-handicapped basis, taking 9th position with only one rider who is older than me posting a faster time

    In Sunday's vets CP I managed to pick up an extra point by getting the third unplaced position in my group. Then last night there was a 40km vets DMS in Batterstow. Although the results are not up yet I'm pretty sure I was in 9th position picking up a couple of extra pointrs by being 2nd unplaced (3rd overall) in my group

    Tonight it was back to Sundrive for the track league. With Kumate_Champ07 being "promoted" up to the next group I was hopeful of picking up some points. It was quite calm and I could probably have done with a slighter higher gear, although my legs didn't quite have it in them after all the racing in the last week.

    The first event was a handicapped scratch race with the slower riders being given a half lap advantage. We would be doing 11 laps.

    We managed to catch the other group with 3-4 laps to go, but I was outsprinted in the finish and took second

    Next was a 3-up - basically 3 riders over one lap. I was up against the guy who beat me in the scratch race, and he managed to get away when the other guy was between us, meaning I ended up second again

    We then had a run-off betwen the second placed riders, and again I didn't quite have it in me in the sprint and took second

    Finally it was the kierin. I managed to get second wheel behind the derny and when it pulled off with a lap and a half to go I stuck to the first guy's wheel as he picked up the pace. I didn't realise a gap had opened up with the others, although the guy who had already beaten me twice managed to close it and bring someone else who beat me in the sprint - so I got my 4th second place of the night.

    Anyway, I'm staning off the bike now ahead of my first 50m TT on Sunday.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    ... but possibly never again - doing a 50 makes you appreciate how relatively "easy" a 25 is:eek:

    Today was my first 50m TT, on the same course as we used for the vets 25m Championships a few weeks ago. It would basically be the same course, but done twice, finishing slightly beyond where we started. This was another first - I would be able to record data at 4km intervals from each "circuit" allowing me to compare and contrast performance in pretty similar conditions - there would be about 3.6km of "overlap" in each 4km segment, reflecting the fact the course was not exactly 40km.

    There were no TT league points at stake today, and it was an option event. Some riders were only doing 25 miles whereas others would be doing the full 50 miles (12 in total, it turned out, with another 20m or so "just" doing the 25). This would allow me to establish a handicap for the Championship event on the same course in 2 weeks time, assuming I would still be up to it after today's "experience"

    The weather was the best of the year for a morning TT, and I was hoping to do something around 2hrs 12 or 13, which would require average splits of between 6m 30s and 6m 40s for each 4km segment. I reckoned this would take around 225w over the full distance, which would be PB. The plan was to take it relatively easily in the first half and push on in the second 25

    The first segment was slightly into the wind and downhill, and I clocked 6m 38s, just about on target. Power was slightly up at 262w, reflecting the extra effort required to get up to speed.

    Part way through the second segment I went through a small village, and it appears as if I hit it jus as the whole village was descending on the church for mass. There were cars pulling up, and joining the road from all directions, as well as a number of pedestrians crossing the road. I ended up stuck behind one car with another then pulling out right in front of me, and then various pedestrians slowing my progress. This is where comparing with second time round is particularly beneficial, as I did the same segment a few second slower but at 13w less. My HR spiked at 179 going through the village first time round, and I reckon the hold-ups cost me over 10s

    There was no further problems until I approached the first turn-around just before 12km. There were 3 roundabouts in quick succession, and at one of them the marshall was too concerned with a rider coming back the other way, and a car came round, taking the next exit after the road I was entering from. I came to a virtual standstill, and again comparing with next time round I think I lost getting on for 20s.

    Heading back to the start my normalised power was settling down in the mid 230s, with average (excluding zeros) of about 228w. Everything seemed in line with what was required to get back to an overall average of around 225w.

    It was quite demoralising knowing I was only just over 1/4 of the way there when I went past the car, and knowing the 10km or so from the next turn-around would be hardest, as it was both uphill and into the wind. In addition a number of riders paassed me, and I didn't know if they were just doing 25m, or would also be doing the full 50m. Anyway I ploughed on, and coming back I tried going up the steepest part of the course out of the saddle, both to maintain momentum and to use some different muscles for a while. This shows in the power records, when I did the same section at around the same power output about 30s faster second time round

    My arms were getting a bit uncomfortable by the 3rd quarter, and my hands were feeling a bit numb. By the final quarter I was finding myself sitting up for short intervals to ease the pressure.

    My time in the end was 2hr 14m 42s, a bit slower than I had hoped, but normalised power was 230w, average (excluding zeros) just over 220w, and including zeros 224w, pretty close to what I was looking for. Interestingly I did the first 25m in 1hr 7m 7s, and the second in 1hr 7m 35s, so my overall pacing was pretty good, although I probably lost getting on for 30s due to the first half "incidents". I think I was about 6th fastest of the 12 doing the full distance. I suspect I could have gone out a little harder, and there are some refinements to the bars required to make things a bit more comfortable over this distance

    My power output was a PB between about 2hrs and 2hr 15m, and given I reckon I lose over 20w in the TT position is quite pleasing.

    Did I say "never again" - OK, we'll see ...

    And the final "first" of the day - when I took the bike out of the car I spotted my first evidence of roadkill on the stem:

    roadkill003-1.jpg?t=1313944588

    All I can say to other hornets is if you know what's good for you stay clear of Beasty's TT bike


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Another week of racing, with Tuesday's vets DMS. Wednesday's track league and today's vets 50m TT. Total distance for the week was 164km at 34kph, bringing the YTD total to 5,444km at 29.7kph.

    That makes 15 races (including track league evenings) since 20 July when I returned from holiday, over a total distance of 577km

    Perhaps it's time to ease off a bit, so the plans for this week will be to do the track league on Wednesday and hopefully get out on Saturday morning for the final vets 10m TT of the season


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  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 77,496 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty




    That's it - the assault is over. I'd planned to do the vets 10mTT on Saturday, with a view to improving my 5th place in the handicap TT league. However events conspired against me, and I couldn't make it. It's probably not a bad thing though, as my head was not in the right place, and even if I'd turned up the chances of me putting in a decent performance were pretty low.

    Following the TT I've slipped to 6th place with only the 50m championships and hill climb to come. I've no handicap for the hill climb, and even a good place in the 50 mile would not get me up into a podium position. As I've already set a 50m time last week, I've now posted times for the vets Best (based on age handicap) and Fastest (based on absolute times) All Rounder categories. I think I was 6th fastest when I did the 50 miles, and others will better me in the Championships, but I'm hopeful that I may be able to get in the top 10 in the "fastest" category.

    Hence I'm going to give the Championships a miss. Hopefully that leaves more scope for improvement next year, although as I'll be starting with faster times in the 3 other distances we do I'm not holding out much hope to do well in the handicap league - it will be more a matter of trying to move up the age handicap league


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