Why Crits Hurt

And we're not talking about crashing...

The Camino Real Cycling Club is hosting a crit in New Braunfels the first and third Tuesday's of the month thru August. Race info.

One of our Bicycle-Heaven masters raced this past Tuesday, and demonstrates why criteriums are great training for cycling and triathlon.  No matter what you are training for - bike races, charity centuries, triathlon long or short - a bit of intensity helps make the event easier.

Here is a rider with a Maximum heart rate of 206 (lactic threshold 167, anaerobic threshold 184,) who averaged 186 bpm for over an hour of the race.

Yeah it hurts alot, but that pain makes the other stuff alot easier...  If your heart doesn't explode.

ToTG Day 5 - Don't crash don't finish last

Although there is no true shame in finishing last (remember what you call the last place guy to finish the Tour de France -  "Hero")  if you aren't competitive with your class these are reasonable goals.

Craig and Jim achieved these goals on the final stage aka the "Gila Monster" and for the race overall.

Also they can hold their heads up knowing that even in the pro race there were racers who lost more time each day than they did (ie "didn't belong?")

The men's pro field fared less well meeting these basic goals as around 20 riders crashed on the Cat 1 descent to the Cliff Dwellings (Jim and Craig's fields don't do that climb/descent) with the race leader crashing out and another rider suffering possible spinal injury.  That sucks.  Our hearts and thoughts go out to them.

The final stage starts w/ about 1500 feet of climbing in the first 15 miles, making it tough to stay on, which Jim and Craig did not.  They did get into small groups and finish the day, it was very hard with tired legs.  Craig deserves special props for racing even though sick.  His bunkie Wes had a tough night, but recovered an got a training ride in.  They blame Friday nights pasta feed.

Jim was worried about Craig because the last day is so hard.  Unfounded fears as Craig did it and wants to come back next year.

We rolled out of Silver around 3pm with Wes doing most of the driving and hit SA around 3:30am.  Safe trip, no speeding tickets.  Car smelled really bad and may need fumigation.

Hopefully the boys will race again next year.  They won't win the race, but they can certainly achieve improvement goals such as lasting longer in individual stages and moving up daily and overall GC by 1.  losing weight 2.  Toughening up mentally during the hard sections 3.  Riding the bike.

Til next year from the Gila.

ToTG Day 4 - Criterium

Saturday during the Tour of The Gila is crit day.  1 mile circuit with 70 foot climb each lap.  Nice course, a little rough.   Great crowds and announcers.

Craig raced first, at 0830.  He couldn't breath and had came down with a GI bug overnight so only lasted 6/15 laps.  Ate a burrito for lunch, so probably on the road to recovery.

Jim raced at 1030. He lasted 12/18 laps and was happy with that.  You can see where he wasn't able to recover his heartrate during lap 4 so got popped on the steep hill on lap 5.  Fortunately for him, a guy who was stronger had come off earlier so he towed Jim around for the next 7 laps, doing 90% of the work.  They did get pulled at least a lap sooner than they should have, disappointing, but hey, whatever.

Craig did come up with a few new verses for the old "Diarrhea" song.  He substitutes "Balmorrhea" to honor the town in TX near Ft. Davis.

"When you're riding in the crit and your just about to sh__, Balmorrhea.  When you're moving thru the pack and you feel it in your crack, Balmorrhea.  When you're climbing up the mountain and you feel the chocolate fountain, Balmorrhea."

Childish yes, but since when isn't bike racing or dudes on the road together childish.

Craig made the mistake of telling Wes he had diarrhea, so Wes caught the malady instantly.  We returned from the crit to find him still in bed, unable to do his 3 hour monster ride of climbing today.

Tomorrow, the final stage aka "The Gila Monster."  Stay tuned, looks like we survived.

ToTG Day 3 - Same Old Stuff

Today was the "Race of Truth."  16.1 mile time trial on an out and back course.  4 mile Cat 4 climb out, 1.5 mile Cat 3 climb back.  30 mph side wind.

Uneventful day.  Craig and Jim rode their hardest, and ended up in the same spot relative to the other racers in their class, near the bottom.  One thing you find out in a stage race is that each day you pretty much ride with the same people and have similar results to the same people.  Like capabilities tend to layer out together.

Jim gave Craig a semi-deep dish front wheel to ride, then chose not to ride his deep dish rim due to the wind and handling.  He prayed Craig didn't crash or he'd have a lot of 'splainin to do.

Wes has this crazy idea that you should get everything ready the night before, so that you are ready.  He almost proved this theory's validity when Jim was having trouble getting his "jury-rigged" 11-27 cassette to work on the TT bike.  With Wes's help and a few spare cassette cogs we got 'er done.

Tonight the local Lion's club put on a great spaghetti and lasagna dinner.  Definitely need to make this an annual part of this race.  Hopefully the race will continue, we understand there are financial difficulties this year for the event...

Anyone interested to following the race along online (and you can even see Jim and Craig's results if you look down far enough in their respective categories) on CyclingNews.

Thanx for reading.

ToTG Day 2 - Progress

ToTG Stage 2 Ft. Bayard - Ft. Bayard aka "Inner Loop"

Obviously Jim made the time cut because he raced again today.  Not by the rules, because 40 minutes would have been where the cut should have been, and Jim finished 50 minutes behind the winner of yesterday's stage.  Fortunately the race commisare's stretched the rules a bit...

Remembering Wes's encouraging statement that today's stage is harder than yesterday, when the alarm went off Jim didn't spring from the bed with alot of enthusiasm.  Craig had already started his race at 8am and Wes swung back by the hotel to have breakfast and pick Jim up.

Riding out to the start Jim noticed the rolling nature of the first 5 miles or so and said to Wes "look I don't want to be negative, but if they start attacking from the guy and I get dropped before we even get to the first climb (Cat 2 climb of 6 miles starting around mile 7) I'm turning around and meeting you down in the valley to ride...

Well, as soon as the race started the attacks started but the headwind was so ferocious that they didn't go anywhere and Jim could sit in the bunch.  He made it 1/2 way up the first climb before coming off (right at Wendy Road where Matt's Dad used to live) at the Large "W" of whitewashed rocks signifying Western New Mexico College which is in Silver City.

Jim thought he could have gone a little farther with the group, but, didn't want a repeat performance of cramping and total body failure like had happened the previous day.  He waited for a couple of guys behind and caught a guy ahead of him so had a decent little group to do the rest of the race with.

The ride across the valley is beautiful, hard for the first half and easier for the 2nd half as you climb up to then descend from the Continental Divide.  A highlight here was the 6 foot Rattle snake slithering across the road as Jim and his 2 racing companions rode by at around 30 mph.

The last 17 miles included a Cat 3 climb (around 6mi of climbing in 8 miles) and was into the 20-30mph headwind.  By this time the women's Pro race had caught Jim and the other rider that he finished with so riding along side beautiful cyclist who actually smell good made the time fly by.

Wes did a training ride today.  He rode up the Cat 3 climb and stopped at the neutral feed, teaching the cute high school girls there how they were supposed to hand up water bottles.  He also rode beside the Women's Pro race for a little while, chastising them for not racing hard enough.  ("Those B____'s need to race.)  He was a little angry at the woman he was riding up the Cat 3 climb with because he was riding easy and she dropped him.

Craig had a good ride, his first 60 mile race with 4500+ feet of riding.  He actually rode with with an old friend of Wes and Rob, Chris Murphy a former Cat 1.  What he's doing in a Cat 4/5 race is beyond me.

Now Jim and Craig need to see the results and hope they make the time cut so they can do the TT tomorrow.