My 2009 racing season so far

Like usual, my season is a mixed bag: A bit underwhelming at first glance, but still with some glimmers of promise.

Executive summary

I would have to say that I started off the season more relaxed than I should have. I really slacked off at Merco when I could easily have been further forward for the finish. That one really sticks in my craw! Menlo Park was similar, except that I really did try to move up but the huge pack bunched up and pushed me back... my fault, but more of a misjudgement than slacking off. I feel I rode well at Brisbane and Santa Cruz, but was just outraced.

The nitty-gritty

Here's my list of races in 2009, to date (with links to my race reports and the results):

1. Early Bird Road Race (not listed in results for some reason; I should have been 19th though)
2. Merco Credit Union Foothills Road Race (21st place)
3. Tri-Flow Menlo Park Grand Prix, criterium (28th place)
4. Ronde Van Brisbeen, criterium (8th place)
5. Ronde Van Brisbeen, circuit race (11th place)
6. Santa Cruz Classic Criterium (30th place)

I have been very happy with my fitness, thanks to Team Bicycle Trip Coach Mark's programs, but my form has been lacking as I pretty much always "train through" my races without "peaking" for them. I still haven't decided on any races to peak for, and have intentionally kept that to a minimum in the interest of concentrating on achieving my maximum fitness potential instead (every time we peak we actually lose some fitness). That was something I started in fall 2007, and so far I have managed to stick with my regular year-round regimen of non-stop intervals, skeptics notwithstanding!

All of that yields me a measly 3 points toward upgrading from Category 3 to Cat. 2. Not that Cat. 2 is my goal, really, but it's something to use as a measure of progress. I had about 26 points last year, plus a 1st place, but the points are starting to expire as they only count points earned in the last 12 months toward upgrades.

The future

This Saturday I am racing Cat's Hill Classic in Los Gatos, one of my favorites even though the course doesn't favor me at all. Plus I'm racing in the Cat. 3 race with all of the crazed young guns, so that won't be easy. At least it's a super-cool venue! After that it's on to Berkeley Hills Road Race and Pescadero Road Race (I'll be the team's water-bottle carrier at those!), and whatever else I can fit in. It would be nice to get on the podium at least once this year though...

Arrivederci!

Training with power: Love/hate

Last December I bought a used Saris "CycleOps "PowerTap" power meter kit that I saw on Craigslist.org. Basically it's a bicycle-wheel hub that has an internal Watts meter. That is, it measures how much power I'm sending to the rear wheel, in Watts. Neat device that is helpful in training, and also allows you to save each ride's data to your PC for detailed analysis and record-keeping.

Car engines are measured in horsepower, but we mere humans put out only between 0.1 to 1.6 horespower, so we measure it in the more impressive-sounding Watts equivalent: 75W to 1200W. (That is my typical power output range, by the way, from easy cruising to full sprint.) The PowerTap includes a cyclometer (bicycle computer; the kit's CPU) with an LCD display that mounts on the handlebars, so you can constantly check your power output, plus the usual speed, time, etc., and also heart-rate. This picture shows a newer wireless unit; mine is the older wired type.

Actually, I have two older PowerTaps now: The first PowerTap I bought (black CPU with serial dock) had a semi-faulty CPU that dropped the data from the hub about 30-40% of the time, and also never worked with the older serial dock connecting it to my PC (it didn't work with a newer USB dock either). I ended up buying a second used full PowerTap kit (newer yellow CPU with USB dock). I tried to save money, oh well, but the good news is that I now have two PowerTap wheels and wiring harnesses so I can keep one on my 10-speed training bike and the other on my 9-speed commuter bike. Still, I may sell the extra wheel, HR chest-strap and wiring harness (the semi-faulty CPU and the serial dock are included free!), so if you want a slightly used PowerTap hub on a Bontrager Aero wheel, drop me a line using the "comments" link below.

Without a power meter you have to rely on carefully-staged, timed rides to measure your training progress. You might, say, use Old La Honda Road in Woodside to measure your speed during 20-minute intervals (well, for me, as that's about how long it takes me to climb that hill). Ride that several times a year, using the same bike and other equipment, and keep records, and then see if you are getting faster or slower. Trouble is, things like wind, temperature, road conditions, barometric pressure, tires, chain lubrication etc. all add up to create substantial variables that can overwhelm your actual training results. I know this from personal experience! The PowerTap, on the other hand, reads accurately no matter what. Power is power. And you don't have to test on one specific section of road to measure your progress. Just ride as hard as you can for whatever interval you want to compare, on whatever road suits you at the time. 20 minutes at full power is always the same regardless of the conditions... well, sort of: Your body still reacts to your diet, your form, etc., so power still varies accordingly. But at least you eliminate the outside variables so you can compare how your body is progressing.

So, how has this PowerTap changed my life? Well, in several ways:

It has helped me refine my pacing during intervals:
That is, I can use the PowerTap CPU's display to read my current power, and I just ride at the correct power I am capable of for a given interval length. I now know what my power output should be for various interval lengths between 5 seconds to 20 minutes and even longer. This is a huge help in training because I have discovered that I was riding too hard in my longer intervals, but not hard enough in my shorter intervals. Also, I have discovered that I was riding too fast at the beginnings of my intervals, then fading toward the ends. Using my heart-rate monitor for pacing was partly to blame, because HR is slow to respond to workout intensities, but it's also human nature to go too fast instead of pacing ourselves smoothly.

It has helped me further define my relative strengths and weaknesses:
This is the "love/hate" part: You can't hide the results when you use a power meter! It's cool to see your strengths, and to see confirmation that your training is making you faster. But it sucks to see high-tech confirmation of your shortcomings. Some of the experts have come up with a "power profile" chart you can use to gauge your power compared to other cyclists that ranks you within a range from "world-class" to "untrained novice." According to this chart I'm still very much a sprinter! A pretty good sprinter actually. Not world-class, but not bad at all. And I'm not much of a climber, though I'm still fast enough to keep up with the fast guys some of the time. It's kind of reassuring to know this stuff. I haven't finished my complete power profile, but will try to do that soon. I'm really curious what my maximum 1-minute power is, but figuring that out is a demanding test that's hard to fit into my routine.

In the future:
The PowerTap, combined with better software, will allow me to better assess if I'm training too much or too little (you'd think our bodies would tell us, but they often lie!). I just need to spend more money to buy the more sophisticated "TrainingPeaks WKO+" software. I'm still using Saris's "PowerAgent" software which is pretty good, but lacks some of the cooler features of WKO+. Specifically, the "Normalized Power," "Intensity Factor," and "Training Stress Score" that WKO+ tracks really indicate the long-term training load we are under, and can predict very accurately whether we need to back off or go harder during the season.

And soon, once I have enough ride records with power data, I will know better whether the rigorous year-round training Coach Mark got me started on is helping or not. But for now I just have to hope that is is!

Finally got to ride my new bike!

Today Team Bicycle Trip had it's usual big Saturday workout ride, up Swanton Road four times it turned out. I have always loved that ride, and today I also had the extra treat of riding it on my new 2009 Giant TCR Advanced 2. And it didn't rain! What could be better? How about good legs? Well, my legs felt great too!

The new bike is more comfortable on the bumps. Noticeably so. Giant claims that, and I can confirm it. Swanton has some fairly rough stretches but this bike does a better job of isolating the rider from them. The improvement is merely incremental, but still very welcome.

Giant also claims the frame is stiffer laterally. That may be so. But I haven't yet done any really hard jumps to really test it. Most of my sprints training is on my old aluminum Specialized. I did win the city-limit sprint, but that wasn't because of the bike.

[After several months of swapping between my bikes I can now say for certain that the 2009 Giant is way better in sprints than my old one. My old 2007 sometimes gets a real wobble when I sprint really hard, while my new 2009 just rides nice and straight no matter how hard I jump on the pedals.]

But one area really stood out: Handling. The old bike was always a bit wobbly in fast turns, which I attributed to the 30 mm deep-dish Easton EA50SL aero rims I use. But the new one corners beautifully... even on the same rims and tires I used on the old bike! So, it is the new frame that gets credit for the handling. I expected this, due to the massive head tube area. But it's nice to confirm that too.

I ended up liking the Fizik Arione saddle after all, so I am keeping it. It's pretty similar in feel to my Selle San Marco Aspide, but perhaps slightly nicer. It might even become my new preference!

Another improvement is in the weight: my new bike is 18.1 pounds per my fish scale, as ridden with the Ultegra gruppo and the heavier rims. My old bike is 19.9 pounds, though that includes a Bontrager aero wheel with a Power Tap hub and the 105 gruppo. Still.

So. Am I happy I upgraded? Of course! The difference in cost was only a few hundred bucks, and it was well worth it. But I would have to say that the improved high- speed handling is the only reason I say that. The other improvements are nice, but not that compelling unless the improved sprint stiffness proves to be beyond belief. [It is!]

Now I just need to win some races on it!

Dennis's Amgen Tour of California, Stage 2, predictions

It's pretty exciting to have the world's best cyclists riding into my home town this Monday, riding on the same roads I have become so familiar with... usually seen through a veil of blood, sweat and tears as I struggle up the big hills! Putting one's predictions in writing for all the world to see is risky, to say the least. But it does help fight boredom! Here I go:

The long ride down Highway 1 from Sausalito over the Golden Gate bridge will probably face a strong crosswind. That, plus the many rolling hills, will likely tire out the sprinters and maybe even open up some gaps as the riders at the front form "echelons" to fight the wind.

Even if the peloton stays together down HWY1 (a head wind is also possible, and that could prevent breaks from succeeding) then the big climb on Tunitas Creek Road might break it up. It is big, and gaps will open up. Depending on who is (and isn't) in the lead breaks, it is possible that a motivated team, like Columbia for instance, could bring them all back together in order to get their sprinters to the front on the next section down HWY1 before...

I've ridden up the decisive Bonny Doon Road climb close to a hundred times (though it feels like thousands!). It is decisive because it is steep, long and close to the finish line in Santa Cruz. Breaks will form, guaranteed, as the various body-types work for or against the riders in the race; big sprinters will struggle at the back (e.g. Tom Boonen, JJ Haedo, even smaller sprinters like Mark Cavendish), while small climbers will fly up (e.g. Levi Leipheimer, or local favorites Andy and Ben Jacques-Maynes). The top of the 25-minute climb is followed by several miles of fast descending down Empire Grade, and some tricky turns through old neighborhoods, narrow streets and into downtown for the finish on Front and Cooper Streets. That means the guys at the front at the top of Bonny Doon will be very hard to catch before the finish line.

This course's finishing profile is actually a lot like that of Milan-San Remo, and that race usually ends with a small group contesting the finish, or even solo attacks that stick (remember Fabian Cancellara's win last year?).

In short I doubt the peloton will stay together for a mass sprint on Front Street. That means the stage winner will probably be an all-around rider who can climb pretty well, and sprint. Perhaps one of the one-day classics riders like Oscar Freire or Fabian Cancellara... or maybe Levi will try to make his mark on this one. Robert Gesink won the similar Sierra Road stage into San Jose last year. Others like him who can climb, but aren't small, could shine due to their combination of climbing ability and high power that will help them on the flatter sections. I would add Lance Armstrong, but he is still getting up to speed and is riding in support of Levi anyway.

There, I have written down my predictions! Shoot away....

My new bike is in!

Got my 2009 Giant TCR Advanced 2 on Sunday... on my birthday it so happened! It was raining though, and I still need to get some pedals for it, so I still haven't ridden it yet. But since it is a really good-looking bike, better-looking than the photos make it seem, I have been enjoying the mere sight of it. :-)

Though I know some people like subtle graphics, I like big ones. And the 2009 is a big jump up in that regard, with large white "Giant" logos and vivid blue stripes and "TCR" emblems really setting it apart. Even the saddle and bar tape are white with blue accents. Way cool! My 2007 Giant TCR C2 has rather dull gray-on-charcoal graphics, while my 2008 TCR C3 had nicer white highlights with small blue accents. But I really like my 2009!

What really is striking about the 2009 is the huge, ginormous even, frame tubes. Though they are so sculpted that calling them "tubes" seems like a misnomer. The head "tube" is simply enormous, bulging out beyond the headset bearing areas, and flows into the top- and down-tubes, lending what must be a huge increase in stiffness around the steering tube and its headset bearings. Can't wait to see how reassuring that feels at 52 MPH down Bonny Doon Road! I bet that they will be expanding on this in the future, and the current 1.25" and 1.1875" headset bearings will soon be considered small.

The down-tube is way bigger than on the 2007/2008 frames, and also has a semi-square cross-section to it. I suspect that squareness allowed the engineers to design in very different vertical and lateral compliance. And the bottom-bracket area is massively filled in, so much so that the fillet into the chain stays (behind the seat tube) almost touches the rear tire. It also has a nice aerodynamic seatpost and seat tube.

All of that should translate into a very stiff sprinting bike, but hopefully without excessive ride harshness; in fact Giant says that both these traits are improved and that seems likely to me.

Looking at my TCR Advanced 2, and comparing the photos with the higher-end TCR Advanced SL models (super light), it seems like Giant positioned my bike to be a real criterium racer's workhorse. Bingo! My frame isn't as light as the SL frames, but it looks stiffer in many areas, and maybe more aerodynamic too (judging from the looks of them). The components also seem better suited to the rugged demands of crit racers... why go too fancy? It would be nice to have an SL for hilly road races, but my budget doesn't allow for two new bikes!

One thing I will probably change is the Fizik saddle, even though the white/blue color is so darn good-looking on this bike. I use Selle San Marco saddles on my bikes, and my body has gotten used to them. Oh, and the standard Mavic Aksium wheels: My 2007 had these wheels too, and they made an annoying whistling noise at speed. Plus, they aren't particularly light, or aerodynamic, so I will be using my more-aero Easton EA50SL wheelset instead. And they are mounted with the Michelin Pro Race 3 tires that flatted in 5 of my races last year... argh!!! Vittorias for me, please.

OK, I haven't even ridden it yet, so I will have to finish this review when I have a few miles on it.

Mountain-bike-less for the first time in 15 years!

Yup, I sold my trusty ("antiquated," per Mike Evans) 1998 Specialized Stumpjumper, after 11 years of companionship, my first cross-country race victory, much commuting to work, rainy training rides, etc. I am kind of sad. I now only have road-bikes... and a very rusty Schwinn cruiser that I use for carrying my surfboard to Pleasure Point.

Why? To raise money for my next bike of course! Hopefully it will be a 2009 Giant TCR® Advanced 2.

I am also trying to sell my 2008 Giant TCR C3. See it in my blog posting, or on craigslist, or eBay. And my 2007 TCR C2 on craigslist.

Won't you help me secure the most up-to-date bike bling? I must have this new bike in order to win gloriously! Spread the word! OK, I'm kidding, but if I can sell these bikes that would be cool. :-)

Update: The 2008 has been sold! I would still consider selling my 2007, but I really doubt it's worth it. I will probably just keep the 2007 and use that for training rides. My new 2009 will be mostly just for races, and occasional training... I am secretly hoping it somehow transmogrifies into a TCR® Advanced SL 1. Who wouldn't want that awesome integrated seatpost and full Dura-Ace! While reality intrudes, and dictates that I will get the Advanced 2, I still can't wait to get it!

Why counting calories is so cool!

Yeah, carefully counting the calories I take in and burn puts me in the "looney-bin" category for most people, but it really does work. If "calories in vs. calories out" is the real issue, then counting them is the only way to make sure your weight is where it should be, and that you won't be under-nourished for your workouts.

If I just relied on my bathroom scale for weight management, I'd mistakenly think I was under-eating right now! I actually weigh less than I did before my Mexican vacation, and two Christmas feasts, the heaps of yummy leftovers, cookies, drinks, etc. But since I count calories I know that I am, in fact, merely halfway there. I have lost half of the one pound I gained. The other loss is from glycogen depletion.

To lose weight you have to run your glycogen levels dangerously low. That puts me at risk of bonking on big workout rides. But so far my strategy of eating big before workouts, bringing sports drink on them, and starving myself afterwards (well, not really; just feeling slightly hungry) has worked great! I should be back to my normal weight in a leisurely week or two, even with New Year's Eve looming.

This morning I had a huge quinoa cereal breakfast to prepare for my next workout ride. And away I go....