Winters Road Race

49 miles in 2:14.

So, today I learned that despite my efforts thus far, I'm not a climber. :saddowns:



Got dropped off the lead group on the climb on the second lap. Around mile 38 on the above graph. My powertap tap says there wasn't much I could do about it. 281 avg power for the 12 minutes it took me to climb it. That's the best I've done for the time period.

Ended up 18th out of 45.


(last)


(4th)


(2nd)

Strava:
http://www.strava.com/rides/169673

San Ardo Road Race

Cat 5. 46 miles at 21.7 mph.

http://www.strava.com/rides/162806


(840)

Stayed up near or at the front most of this race. Focused on being comfortable, calm and efficient. No physical or mechanical issues this time. Ended up 7th out of 33.

Oh, and I like this power graph of the last few miles:

Dunnigan Hills Road Race

Cat 5 (first road bike race)
42 miles at 23mph avg.



http://www.strava.com/rides/158291

Cat 5 wasn't what I expected. It was a smoother and more predictable group then most fast group rides that I've done. Wasn't really all that fast either. Except for a few brave souls going off the front near the beginning, the whole class pretty much stuck together and put down a consistent pace. I was never at red line. Though, on the flip side, the finish did sneak up on me and I never even tried to get into position for the sprint. Results had me finishing 21st of 50.



Playing on my phone before the start.

Had a few mechanical type issues that I need to address ASAP:
1) lost a water bottle out of my seat tube cage on the first rough bit of road. Way annoying and dangerous. New cages incoming.
2) For some reason, my Garmin wasn't picking up my PowerTap. I think when I turned it on, it grabbed someone else PM. Not that I had time to look at my power during the race but I would very much like to go over it now.
3) Saddle got uncomfortable after an hour. Odd because I've done many hours at a time on it without problem. I guess it was the rough road. That and I'm using to standing up and doing more climbing. At least every once in a while. Long flat rides are foreign to me. Might swap my Thomson Masterpiece out for a carbon post.

Anyway. Good times. Looking forward to doing more.

Ridley Damocles goes Red

Went through and did a major overhaul of my road bike. Took over two pounds off her to bring the total down to 16.5 lbs. And that's with a more comfortable saddle.



large Ridley Damocles frame & fork
* Full SRAM Red group (except for a Dura Ace chain)
DT Swiss 240s/Mavic Open Pro front wheel
PowerTap PRO+/Mavic Open Pro rear wheel (heavy!)
* Michelin Pro 3 tires
Maxxis Ultralight tubes
Thomson Masterpiece seatpost
Thomson Elite X2 stem
* Selle Italia Flite Kit Carbonio saddle
* T3 Rotundo Team bars
* Look Blade pedals
* KCNC Ti QR Skewers
RavX Arrow X cages

* = new part

Loving the SRAM Red shifting over the Ultegra 6600. Very snappy. Also moved from 53/39x12-27 to 50/34x11-25. Gives me a bit more range, is lighter and opens up the ability to toss a 11-28 on there for truly epic rides. No problem with the change in ratios.

As an added bonus, I love that all the routing goes under the bar tape. Very clean and way more aero.

And the weight loss has already paid off. Got a new PR on my benchmark climb at almost the same power.

http://www.strava.com/segment_efforts/1882426
Distance: 3.2 mi
Avg Grade: 7.8%
Elevation Gain: 1,300 ft

Previous PR: Mon, Jul 19, 2010 - 268 avg power, time - 22:23
Current PR: Tue, Aug 3, 2010 - 270 avg power, time - 21:41

So, it looks like I cut off 40 seconds by taking off:
3 lbs from my body (6', 158 to 155 lbs)
2 lbs from my bike
1.5 lbs doing it without extra water