Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

The Rochester Twilight Criterium just keeps getting bigger each year. This year the race moved up to a UCI 1.2 grade event. The crowds seemed bigger and the action in the pro race was fun to watch. The Downtown Rochester course is one of my favorites with the various twists and turns. Its just plain fun to ride through.

My race this year was the Master’s Men 35+ whch included some very tough competition. The Maxpowercycling contingent featured Scott Grimshaw, Rob Walters and myself. At the start line I heard the pack was something around 80 riders. My other choice to race was the Cat 3/4 race which I found out was closed since they reached the 100 rider max.

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Sad news from Rochester as Champion Cyclist Jon Dechau (center) was killed yesterday while on a training ride.

From the Genesee Valley Cycling Club Website:

Dechau killed by Motorist: Jonathon Dechau (center above – after winning the Niagara Classic in 2003) was killed last night September 13, 2006 while out training on his bike. Jon-boy was a great competitor and an even better friend. I spent so much saddle time and countless hours on the road as we chased our dream and passion in cycling. We have lost of one the best. – TS

GVCC Pictures of Jon Dechau

More info at spokepost.com

Our condolences to John’s Family and Friends for this tragic loss.

The Kodak Gallery team are one of the few if only teams to be using the new SRAM Force gruppo on their bikes. Back in June during the Rochester Twilight Criterium, I was able to get a closer look at the gruppo. Walking by the Kodak mechanics I started fiddling with one of the spare bikes. I ask the mechanic how the riders like the new “double tap” shifting. He replied saying that it was easy to use and tried to explain how it works. It was difficult to understand without actually riding a bike to test out the theory.

I then asked if there was a learning curve and if it was steep. The mechanic replied saying that it did take a while for the riders to get used to the system, but once they got the hang of it, it was second nature.

Later on I was able to snap a few pictures at the start line as a KodakGallery riders parked right in front of me.

(photo courtesy of Photoradius)

Last Saturday I raced in the Rochester Twilight Criterium. The race circles around downtown Rochester with several corners, and uphill and downhill section that are not very difficult, but get worse as you are going around at full speed. My race was the Cat5 over 30 competition which had a field of around 50 guys. The Cat 5 field was split between over 30 and under 30 probably to keep the fields smaller especially for Cat 5 fields which tend to be sketchy. The race started out with a bang as I was near the front of the group at the start of the race.

Through the first set of S turns a crash unfolded right in front of me as two guys touched wheels. The result was a mass pileup as riders were riding into the crash. I was able to avoid the crash and was lucky enough to not be right behind it. Unfortunately, the crash caused enoug of a gap that I had to chase back on in the downhill section, but the CCY team was controlling the front and keeping the pace resonable for a few laps as a three man break formed with a CCY guy in the mix.

This even pace allowed me to be in the front group for a bit. I was surprised after the first two laps to be in the front group which was down to around 25 or 30 guys. The crash and initial pace cut down the field to a resonable size. On each lap I was in the group, but could not stay near the front. Being in the back was tough as the accordian affect makes you use up more energy than necessary because you are either speeding up or slowing right down.

In the back section there is a figure 8 where I would be able to gain position which is just before the hill. Each lap, the hill would wear on me a bit and I would be dangling off the back of the group. Finally after I don’t know how many laps the rubbar band snapped. I just felt that I lost power at that point. Maybe I needed a breather, but I was just not fit enough to go the distance with the front group. I kept chasing, and was within sight of the front group for a few laps, but could not manage to get enough speed to get back on.

The race was eventually won by Brad Crosby a potential new Colavita teammate. His win allowed him to move up to Cat 4, a move that could have come much sooner since Brad has been tearing up the Cat 5 ranks this year placing no less than 3rd or 4th in most races.

As for my season, I feel like I am getting fitter, but am not anywhere near my best cycling form. This is the first season of full racing as the most races I’ve ever done in one season was two. This year I’ve done four races with mixed results. The form is coming along, the weight is going down, so it is only a matter of time before the ftiness comes together for a good result.

Next up may be the Glenns Falls Criterium on June 9th. Before then I may ride a century this weekend with my club to get a few miles in between the short Crits.

The Abs Diet Update
The Abs Diet is going well as I am into the second week. The weight is coming down, but it is hard to gauge since I use different scales which give me various results. The scale at the gym shows I lost about 5 pounds. I got a body fat scale which is all over the board. Overall, my pants fit looser and I did get some compliments on looking thinner. My belly seems to be a bit trimmer too. Watch for more info on this soon.

I raced the Rochester Twilight Criterium this past weekend. The course is lots of fun, the competition is fast, and the crowds are gigantic. 40,000 people lined the streets of downtown Rochester to see pros ride over 30mph. Many of the spectators were new to cycling and the speeds were impressive.

Rochester Twilight Criterium on Vimeo

(photo from photoradius)

My first real race of the season was at The Perinton Spring Classic on Sunday. The race was put on by the Genesee Valley Cycling Club who are located in Rochester, NY. They are the same folks that ran the Rochester Giros and will host a bunch of other races later this year. I have to admire the sheer number of races that GVCC manages to pull off every year. They have a very active racing club that makes us in Syracuse jealous.

(Dave Faso placed 4th – photo from photoradius)

Anyway, despite some very threatening weather and gloomy conditions, there was a great turnout for the Perinton Spring Classic. Our Colavita-Spokepost.com had a good number of riders in each race. Jeremy Wickham won the Cat 4 race and Dave Faso and William Nicholson finished fourth and fifth in their Cat 3 race. It was a good turnout for Colavita overall.

(photo from photoradius)

My race went better than I thought as the hill on Furman Rd was a tough climb to get over. As you can tell by the pics, I have a few pounds to shed this season. Gee, once you get on a bike, the belly just seems to sag more than usual. These shots are almost embarassing, but I’ll put them up for motivation to lose the gut.

(photo from photoradius)

I felt good as the race started. I made sure I was close to the front in the neutral start especially since I wanted to scope out Furman Rd. After the neutral climb, the Cat 5 race started heating up quickly and gaps started forming in the group. On each of the little hills I was able to get up to the lead group of about 10 to 15 riders. As gaps formed I was able to bridge up to the lead group. It is important to not get caught out because someone else creates a gap. It is better to bridge those gaps as soon as they form. Otherwise you will find yourself burning up lots more energy than necessary simply to stay with the lead group.

Once in the top group I felt fairly comfortable, but I was not into my rythm yet. Some of the accerlarations just would leave me gasping. On Wickman rd, the little riser just ate up my speed and I was quickly off the back of my group. I managed to crank back up to speed and caught up with some shrapnel from the group. Two other riders and I decided to work together to get back to the lead group. This was just before we were to head up Furman rd. Unfortunately the Cat 4 race was riding up in a neutral start and it was difficult to get around everybody. The steepness of the hill and the frantic pace to catch back on caught up to me and I was crawling up Furman.

(photo from photoradius)

Eventually I found myself alone cranking along in no man’s land. I thought my race was for a lowly placing. I saw Seth Torrice on the side of the road with a flat and stopped to offer him my wheel, but he declined as he was already too far back to catch on.

After that I caught a few riders and was passed by a few categories. The Pro Women caught me on Furman and they weren’t able to shake me off. Usually if a higher category passed me, they already had a head of steam going along so it would be difficult to latch on. But here, the Women were not going too fast, so I attacked to get ahead and try to catch onto a group up the road. On the hills the women would come right back. The group was composed of three Terry riders, one Handlebars and one JW Dundee rider. Finally on the next go round up Furman they totally dropped me on the hill that just got harder each time.

Finally in the last lap and one half the rained started coming down, and it was a bit heavy at times. So I was playing with just dropping out of the race. The idea became more tempting as I caught up to Scott Grimshaw who was riding in the Cat 3 race. He is working his way back to fitness and played with the Cat 3s for a while. He got 30 miles in and decided to bag it especially as the rain was getting heavy. But I only had one lap left and two Cat 5s caught up to me. One more time up Furman can’t hurt.

As I’m crawling up Furman for the last time I see Matt Howey and Jason Haight in William Nicholson’s car. They weren’t feeling well, so bagged it, which seemed like a tempting move until I heard Matt yell out what sounded like I was 40 seconds down on the Cat 5 group. I thought WTF? I am not totally dropped? So I started to crank along to try and get a good placing. The hills after Furman were more than manageable for me as I got closer to the finish about 5 Cat 5s caught up to me and so did a lead group of the Cat 3s that included William Nicholson. The Cat 3s still had one more lap to go before they finished. In the downhill run to the finish I got caught inside the Cat 3 group and it was tough to get around everybody, but William helped lead me out a bit to get a respectable placing.

(William Nicholson going for fifth and 1 point away from an upgrade to Cat 2 – photo from photoradius)

Overall, the race went about as expected. I have to lose a few pounds to get into better hill climbing form but my goal for the race was to get some racing fitness.

Here are a few more shots of Colavita Teammates: Special thanks to Photradius for the great photos.

(Andy – photo from photoradius)

(Andy – photo from photoradius)

(Jason was having “un Jour Sans” – photo from photoradius)

(Andy says “I laugh at this climb!” – photo from photoradius)