You know it, you want it, we're bringing it!!

Privateer proudly presents "Gone in 250m" at Encino Velodrome.

Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, get your bikes, boot up, and come race!


Also there are "Low Key TT's" in the AM before the race.

=================





REGISTRATION: Opens at 8:15am Closes at 9:15 am. Racing
starts at 9:30am. Track opens for Warm-up at 8:15am. Entry $10, Oneentry
fee and race as many events as you like. Race day entries only. Makechecks
payable to Encino Velo Cycling Club. Must sign Standard Athlete’sRelease
form. Racers under 18 years must have signature of parent or guardian on
the release form.

RULES: Must have track experience. All 2010 USCF rules apply. Helmets
must be worn at all times while on the bike.

Race information email:
Info and results http://www.encinovelo.org/
LOCATION: Encino Velodrome17301 Oxnard St, .Encino, CA. 91416

=====================

And a swap meet.

Bicycle Swap Meet

                                                                                                         

Saturday April 17, 9:00 AM -  11:00 AM

Sellers only $10 Vendors & Bike Shops-$40

Buyers- FREE

Encino Velodrome –Oxnard and Louise streets in Encino Ca.

Encinovelodrome.org

 

 

 

Other track events on same day : 9:00 AM Keirin School P/B Prostate Cancer Awareness Project 12:00 PM Bob Hansing Memorial Cup Series Omniums & Madison RACING For more info: Ken Avchen TRCKRCR@aol.com

Please help spread the word!

=================

That is all.

J.

        

81.8kph is 50.8mph is my new speed record down Miguelito Canyon.

In the process of setting the above record I nearly slammed into a doe that decided her best plan of evasive action when faced with The Meat Pie flying down at her was to run directly in front of said flying Meat Pie.  Since I know how stupid deer can be I backed off the gravity fueled fun and slowed allowing her to cross in front - at that point her two other deer buddies I didn't see jumped from the brush and decided they needed to run across the road in front of me too. 

Deer are stupid like horses, only faster and more tasty.

In addition, today was the first 12C ride of the year and apparently it killed the battery in the SRM crank.  Zero offset dropped from 565 to 0 in the first 10min of the ride.  Seems that even though the SRM is from good German stock it's adapted to the SoCal weather completely.  Now it's off to Colorado for service, and I'm on the hamster wheel if I want power data.  Can I leverage this into a Quarq Cinco purchase though...?

Interbike was good.  Greg did a good write up of the trip here: Interbike write up

I've actually ridden my bike a bit.  At least to the point that I don't want to cry when I go hard for longer than five minutes.  It's going to be a loooong winter...maybe I will go play with TjK in the mud on the CX bike.

J.

        

It's done.  Now WTF the am I going to do with 5hrs of TV watching time I've built into my day?
-------------

3 weeks of being back on the bike.  I'm still brutally fat and slow.  CTL is up to a whopping 35.  woo.

-------------

Since Assos changed the formulation of their chamois cream I've been at a total loss for friction reduction that keeps saddle sores at bay - while still providing that 'minty fresh balls' feeling.  I'm happy to report that I have found two reasonable substitutes: DZNuts and Chamois Butt'r Euro style.

The DZNuts is the more expensive of the two and has the bigger burn factor on first application but the Chamois Butt'r is thicker and has a more lasting warming sensation.  The one concern I have about the DZNuts is the toothpaste tube like applicator that I know will have me struggling to get the last bits out near the end of it's life.

-------------

For better or worse this race season seems to be the nadir of what is apparently my 4 year rhythm of racing.  It seems I go three years real hard, race like crazy, then get tired of all the work required to get to the races and lose the motivation required to actually get out to the races.  It's not the training or the pain of racing; I love that.  It's the unidimensional nature of life as a bike racer that gets in the way.  Maybe I just live too far away from the racing I like to do...

-------------

Locally I know there are big changes afoot with racing clubs. 

This will serve as the first notification that Privateer will accept applications for review for new members. 

It's an early sign up window I know, but if your team is folding and/or you want to race in new kit during the upcoming cyclocross season contact Privateer.

J.

        

ATL = 8.6
CTL = 19
FTP=240W
Body Weight = "that's no moon, that's a space station!"

Jason.
    

        

Just like the title says.  Twitter is the anti-blog.  Or the lazy man's blog, or whatever.  Point being, you can tweet your ass off and feel like you've blogged.  Not the case.  So, I'm trying to go "old school" and push past the 140 character limit.  And I mean besides, what else are you going to read Tuesday afternoon when you should really be working?

--------------
Since it's been a while...
--------------
The Bos:

To all the pro roadies (and posers) that could never hope to even sniff at a 1:01kilo, or a sub 10s flying 200m - STFU about Theo Bos.  You don't know what you're talking about and that's the end of it.  I won't even validate your argument with any sort of response - well except to laugh in your face and walk away. 

If you don't know what I'm talking about you can watch this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8K_7bJQaaI

-----------
Boom Boom the crack head?

Boonen.  Tommeke can't you at least get caught in flagrante delicto with some "pros" and the Coke, instead of saying, "I get hammered and loose control"  Pussy.  Cipo would have, well, Cipo would have never gotten caught.

--------------
Great Giro - Bad Giro:

The coverage on Universal HD's webcast is what I've always wanted for a grand tour.  No Phil.  No Paul.  No Bob.  No commercials, just the RAI-TV live feed, and only one talking head to have to drown out.  I don't care what the racer's back story is - I'm here to watch the racing thank you very much.  Now stop talking so I can think.

Poor Levi.  Poor VdV.  Lance?

Poor Voeckler.  (OK I didn't mean that one) hehehe.  >:}

At least Menchov proved he wasn't a pod person by showing some emotion on the last day.

---------------
Collar Bones:

Breaking them sucks.  15 years of racing, and my first collar bone break on Cinco de Mayo.  Totally my fault - I can be a dumbass at times I guess.

With no riding for the past 6 weeks, I'm getting fat enough to have my own gravitational field.  If I throw the cats just right, I can get them to a stable orbit around me.

Just to add a little more mental torture on the whole IR list thing, my brother kindly setup a family vacation to Tahoe over Memorial Day weekend/week.  I was stoked until I broke the collar bone and realized it meant I'd be sitting on my ass, drinking cocktails out of boredom because I can't ride.  (The Gondola to the top of Heavenly was painful, so many cool trails to ride)  No paddling, no sailing, no rock climbing - and I think gambling at the casinos is about as stupid as asking to get hit in the face with a hammer.  I don't like to pay voluntary taxes.

----------------
No District ITT
No District TTT
No Master's States

Since Master's Nats isn't going to be at Indy I was hoping to at least have one event to salvage for the season, when it was rumored to be at ADT.  Now it seems it's going to be in COS.  Greeeaaattt.....

-----------------
Maybe this is the first season I "race" CX?

Christ, that means running at some point....without getting chased by a bear.  Where will I find the motivation without the big snarling carnivore?

------------------
SuperDave at Felt has to be a little proud, and a little pissed that every bike manufacturer is following nearly all of the Felt DA design cues, while giving them none of the credit.  Figures.
------------------
Mavic and the stupidity that most cyclists have about equipment choices:

"Crabon" performs poorly in compression.  That's why you shouldn't use it that way.  It might just break your shoulder to teach that lesson, as a Velonews tech editor has recently demonstrated. (props to BSNYC for conveying the general distaste and over use of the material with nothing more than a simple misspelling)

Even without the crabon spokes those wheels are a design travesty.  They are slightly less aero than a standard brick and not nearly as attractive, while still weighing about the same as a steel wire spoked wheel.  Wow.  Where can I spend $2k with less effect?  Stoopid Monkey.
---------------------

Whew.  That's all for now.

J.



 

        

The SRM is back in Colorado Springs.
No display, bad speed pin contact, and battery won't take a charge. 

Hopefully it's not more to fix than buy a new one.  $850 bucks for a bike computer (2x what I paid for the laptop I'm writing this on) is tough to choke back.

Rolling around on some new rubber from Challenge tires.  Wow.  I forgot what 300TPI "race" tires felt like.  Spending 97% of my time on rock hard training tires has me thinking these are going flat all the time, they are that buttery smooth.

If I had my PM I'd do some rolling resistance testing.  :-/

Blog has been a little abandoned lately.  Not much racing for me, many house projects, and honestly I'm still a bit depressed about putting one of my dogs down.  Not to get all Tyler Hamilton but it basically sucked.

Chance to race at ADT and Encino this weekend, and if I'm really feeling froggy there's the Long Beach Gran Prix!  Or, I'm still moving furniture and doing prep work on the floors...

J.

        

Raced the Piru 20km TT Sunday AM, carpooled with TnA.  The first real ITT of the 2009 season.

It was windy.  Strong tailwind on the outleg and a gnarly headwind home.
266WAP, 271WP, 49.6kph avg outbound. 
Did I mention there was a tailwind?
260W AP, 271W NP, 31.0kph avg. 
I did say wind right? 
~12min to the turn, ~19:30 to the finish.  31:26 @ 262W AP, 271W NP, 38kph avg.

All in all, not bad for the first TT effort of the season.  I was convinced that I had totally blown the pacing on the outleg and gone too hard because I was sailing the tailwind and it felt great.  Can't believe that I even split the power.  Hell, I was holding 65kph through some sections and couldn't help myself.

Well, no racing for me next weekend.  Jenelle's birthday celebration and brew club - so I'm still a wiener. 

J.

        

Today Commuter Man and Idiot Racer Boy met at the crossroads of an Amtrak station.

The Great Transportation Experiment started in October of last year and yielded mostly positive results through January. The benefits of a relaxing commute and the smugness that one can only get through use of comfortable mass transit, and riding their bike to get to work, make a compelling argument. Commuter Man was in full effect.

Now the race season is starting to spool up – Hell, racing has already started, and Idiot Racer Boy is back in town.

And the question must be asked, “Can the demands of training be met while still being both fiscally and environmentally responsible through continued use of the train?” To put this in terms I can relate to, “Can my inner 'David Banner' find peace with my inner 'Incredible Hulk'?”

We shall see. Today has been frustrating already on the way home. Delayed 15min due to southbound trains and no sidling rail access further North – UP is working on the rail. Another 15min waiting for the work crews to clear the main tracks. One full hour and we are still just at Gaviota.

A general question to anyone that is reading this out there on the interwebs – Flickr or Picassa? I want to put up more photos but don't want to hog all the bandwidth here (yes, I'm that cheap plus I think it clutters things). So, which photo service to use? Is one better than the other? Is there a service I should use for a photo stream instead?

J.

        

January racing - really? 

Yep.  Welcome to the 2009 season kids.

Friday night was my first swing at the Friday Night series at the ADT center velodrome in LA.  We thought that Mini Phinney was going to come out - along with the rest of the U23 National team.  We got a bit of a reprieve and they didn't show.  I really kind of wish that they had been there just to get the world class beat down.

As it was, the A flight was still fast.  Good clean racing and a nice way to ease my way back into racing this year.  Motor paced scratch race, Miss-n-Out, and Points race.  I got ripped off in the miss-n-out as some jack ass refused to pull himself from the race - for FOUR laps after he was pulled.  I looked behind, saw a body hit the gas, and cleared him.  Too bad he had already been DQ'd.  My  number was up then.    By the time 16lp to go in the 60lp points race came round the engine room shut down and I was toast.  I finished the race but went a lap down.  Worst part was I forgot the Power Control and have no data from racing.  In retrospect, probably better.

Saturday I rode with John and the Team Velocity group ride.  LA riding is interesting, TONS of stop light sprints.  By the time we hit the rollers 2hrs into the ride my legs were wobbly.  When we hit the climbs I was hurting.  Second climb I got dropped, then lost, then had to navigate back to Fullerton solo - with some phone help from John.  Ended up with ~5+ hrs on the day which is cool but it wrecked my legs.

With wrecked legs I didn't make it to Mothballs Sunday.  Sat on the couch, rode easy, and watched the Superbowl.  Telling myself that's there's still plenty of racing left in the year - on the road and on the track.

J.

 

        

Jan 16-23 saw the return of G.S. Tenzing to Santa Barbara for their California training camp.  Privateer acted as host for the camp again.  It was a great time and Thomas and I enjoyed seeing the guys from Texas.  Mr. Steele, from wattagetraining, was able to join us for camp again too.

We finally had some decent weather for the boys this year and only fought the rain on the last day.  We did Sunday worlds, with anywhere between 7-9 pros out for the fun and games too.  It was the biggest Sunday Worlds I have seen in years.  There were easily 100 riders out and it was fast as hell.  Photos here.  We also did the obligatory Gibraltar, OSM/Painted Cave/Stagecoach rides.  Greg and I did two rides in the valley (Solvang/Figueroa Mtn. and Lompoc to Jalama beach) while the rest of the crew rode Hwy 33 on those two days.

For me, camp was a painful reminder of how hard cycling as a "hobby" can be if you don't train regularly.  Take a week of vacation from work, ride your bike up 3500'+ cols for three to four hours a day, all the while feeling like someone is pulling your lungs out through your nose using a rusty coat hangar - hell of a hobby.  I'd like to think that my crappy performance was a result of my "death" cold that I caught just before the guys got here - but I know better.  I know it's from too many beers and not enough time in the saddle, thanks for the reminder.

J.