Beasty’s 2012 cycling pursuits ….

RidleyRider

Beasty, how difficult is it to get a chance to ride on the velodrome in Manchester? Is it open everyday or is there certain days of the week that hold sessions?

Beasty

Steve Marquis wrote: »

Beasty, how difficult is it to get a chance to ride on the velodrome in Manchester? Is it open everyday or is there certain days of the week that hold sessions?

Full details here

Taster sessions are run on most days - details here

Cost for an hour is just over £10, including bike hire - You can also hire shoes and helmets

Because of the interest generated by the Olympics it's been busy recently, although they've been running a lot more sessions. Summer tends to be quiet with plenty of availability. Some sessions are particularly popular (because of regulars turning up every week) and over the winter you may need to book several weeks in advance

RidleyRider

Thanks for that, was looking at going over during the winter.

Beasty

Lowest weekly total of the year as a result of an hour on the track on Thursday and getting out for 90 minutes or so in Cornwall yesterday. Distance for the week was 72km, bringing the YTD to 6,944km at 30.5kph

Hope to get out 2 or 3 more times during the holiday before getting back to the serious stuff the week after next. There will still be a few weekend vets races as a track league evening, but the main focus will be peparing for the World Track Masters pursuit in Manchester in October, which will probably mean a bit more time on the Wattbike

Beasty

Only 3 shortish spins while on holiday last week - total for the week 114km which at least takes the YTD past 7,000km, now standing at 7,058km at 30.4kph

So after all the galavanting about trying to get some cycling in while attending numerous Olympic events and on holiday, it's got to be back to the serious stuff next week. I'm raring to go after what has in effect been a late season break. It will be interesting to see how the form holds up.

My first racing for 3 weeks with hopefully a track league night on Wednesday (the final one of the year) and the penultimate vets league race on Sunday with a couple of Wattbike sessions interspersed - it may just get me in the mood for registering for the Track Masters Championships Pursuit in October. The basis plan between now and then will be to try and get a couple of Wattbike sessions in each week, including at least one pursuit over 2, 3 or 4km (the Masters event will be over 2km)

Beasty

So last night was the last track league evening of the year

I arrived to discover last week's racing had been rained off, meaning I would be in 4th place, with an outside chance of getting into a medal position in Group B if I got some decent results last night

I'd approached this year's racing with a bit of trepidation - I thought I would struggle in the semi-scratch group having been "promoted" from riding in Group C last year.

The programme was looking good for me:

12 lap points race - I tend to do well in these
Devil - never done one of these but was looking forward to it
1km dash

I seem to be relatively strong in the endurance races, so it looked good for points, particularly as a couple of stronger riders were trying out the scratch group. However there remained one rider who was a point or two behind me, but seems to beat me in every race - my Nemesis

So we get to the first race to discover it had been changed to a hare and hound against the scratch group, who had plenty of strong riders amongst them on the evening. It was going to be tough. It became tougher when we dropped most of our group, leaving only 3 or 4 of us with half the race to go. We pushed on though - Nemesis was with us and I didn't mind pushing the pace on to try and stay away. Then with around 3 laps left one of the scratch guys bridged over and pushed on. There were 4 of us, but one was quickly dropped and I followed, leaving the scratch racer to take it with Nemesis 2nd, and I tailed off to be unplaced

Onto the Devil. Plan was to stay at the back and try and come round each lap to stay in. It didn't work that way though as every time there was someone outside me leaving nowhere to go. I managed to scrape through and decided to take the lead to stay out of trouble, pushing up the pace with half a lap to go each time round. Before I knew it, I looked round to see there were only 3 of us left in. I therefore concentrated on getting into the final 2, dropping the 3rd rider in the sprint, but having led for 7 or 8 laps I was completely at the mercy of Nemesis at the end. Anyway, at least I took a very enjoyable 2nd place

Then onto the kilo. We were split at random into 2 groups, but unfortunately pretty much all the strong riders were in my race. Kumate Champ took the lead with probably around a lap to go and was never caught. Nemesis took 2nd, and I managed to get 3rd by a matter of inches

I've not seen the final league table, but am guessing I dropped to 5th, having been leapfrogged by Nemesis - he's really not bad for someone who's not much more than a quarter of my age - the appearance of a choirboy, but really the devil in disguise:).

The good news however is he can't afford a Garmin, and he gave me a decent pull to get the KOM for the track on the final lap of the kilo, averaging getting on for 55kph (OK, equal with 2 others)

Beasty

I managed 3 reasonably intense Wattbike sessions, together with the track league night on Wednesday and also managed to get out on the road on the TT bike this morning, giving me an opportunity to try out some intervals in the pursuit position. Hence although distance for the week was only 139km, the quality of training was reasonably good.

YTD now stands at 7,197km at 30.4kph

Next week I should get a few commutes in - the first for getting on for 2 months. There is also some informal track racing on Wednesday, and I will hopefully get out for a vets race on Sunday. I also will try and get a Wattbike session in one evening

Beasty

When I did last week's update I forgot about my Paralympic jaunt last Thursday and Friday, which limited activity a little during the week

Still I managed a couple of commutes on Monday and Tuesday and then the informal track racing on Wednesday - we only managed a scratch race before the heavens opened. A couple of riders broke away and once we had dropped everyone else there were 3 of us left fighting for 3rd place. I stuck on the wheel of the Devil from last week until half a lap to go, then blasted it to take the third place - one of the rare occasions I've beaten the kid.

Today was the final vets group race of the season (there are some TTs left) - 4 laps of the Green Sheds circuit in a 70km CP

The first lap there were only a few of us working - we only averaged 36.4kph. It picked up a bit on the second lap, with an average of 36.8kph. I managed to get a bit more shelter and was feeling good moving into the 3rd lap, when I think the others realised there may be a chance of us staying away and we finally got our act together and started working properly together (well all but a handful of us anyway). Unfortunately we were still caught by the faster groups just past half-way round that lap - it managed to up the speed to 38.1kph for that lap though. Onto the final lap, in a very large group, we managed to catch one slower group. The limit group however were only doing 3 laps and were never caught. I stuck towards the back of the Group and coming onto the home straight I was still at the back. I was conscious of previous instructions to stay to the left of the right line and decided not to cross it - many others did though and there was no room to get round. However they left the hard shoulder free and I must have gained over 30 places by taking a solo route (albeit a bit more in the wind) - I took about 15th in the group sprint, but reckon I could have been in contention oif I'd managed to find my way through earlier. Average speed for the final lap was around 39.6kph, a PB for the circuit.

Anyway, that's the end of group racing for the season.

Distance for the week was 208 km, bringing the YTD to 7,405km at 30.5kph.

Next week should see a few more commutes then hopefully some Wattbike sessions over the weekend.

Beasty

Furthest weekly distance since early April with 4 commutes plus a couple of Wattbike sessions over the weekend. I managed to improve my 3 minute Wattbike distance yesterday by about 10m, not much but given my complete lack of freshness very encouraging, with an average power output of 373w, just 10w shy of my best for the time (which was set on the Ardgillan Hill climb when it's a bit easier to push the pedals down when out of the saddle). That was just a warm up before I went out for a spin on local roads - glorious weather, a nice tailwind - what more could you ask for? Well a tractor never goes amiss, particularly on a dry road when you are after a KOM, and one duly came along - unfortunately it could only manage 41kph, and had to turn off after a km or so, but the KOM was duly obtained;) (to add to another, non-tractor assisted one the previous day)

So total distance for the week was 295km at 30.2kph, bringing the YTD to exactly 7,700 km

Next week I'm hoping to do some more commutes - perhaps 3, then with a bit of luck there's a vets TT I could be doing on Sunday. I'll also try and do another Wattbike session in preparation for the Track Masters next month.

Beasty

I managed commutes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, getting a KOM on each return journey. Wishbone Ash took a different one off me yesterday, so I may be looking for revenge some time soon;)

I then took it easy ahead of Today's TT. I really didn't feel motivated but wanted to try out a new tri-spoke front wheel and a slightly lower aerobar setting. The weather was pretty miserable when we set off, and I decided there was no way I would be doing the 50. I didn't feel I was pushing particularly hard - indeed my strategy was to see if I could take it a bit easier early on, saving something for the latter stages

I had a big skid at the first turn, but then had the wind slightly behind me an was able tp pick up the speed a bit. Then a crunch and hiss from the back wheel - the tub had punctured. I had no spare so it was a 6km or so walk back to the car ...

The shoulder ached a bit during the ride, so I'll probably raise the bars back up the 5mm I had lowered them for next time

Total distance for the week was 205km, making the YTD 7,905km at 30.4kph

Next week should see a couple of commutes then I'll be taking the track bike over to Manchester on Wednesday. Hopefully I'll then have an incident-free 2-up vets TT on Sunday - we'll be attempting to defend our handicap victory from last year.

Beasty

So after last night's Champions League victory, the Red Devil made her debut at her spiritual home this morning. Basically I was trying out the bike on the indoor track for the first time ahead of next month's Masters event.

As it was a taster session, there were no aerobars, skinsuit or pointy hat. Overshoes go on the UCI banned list from 1 October, so there was no point in wearing them. I did have the disc wheel and 5 spoke front wheel on though. The only problem with that is I can't put a speed sensor on either, so I had no "in-ride" information, only the transponder chip data that I could download after the session.

As usual for Thursday morning sessions, there were a couple of fast riders, and a reasonably heavy session ensued. I estimate my average speed was just over 40kph, but more importantly I managed some decent 8-lap intervals - basically replicating the pursuit distance of 2km. Some of the intervals were done on the wheel of the other fast rider, but some were done on my own. When taking into account the extra distance riding on the blue line I reckon I was getting close to 2m 50s for the 2km on at least 3 occasions. I also did some "flying laps", getting under 19s on 3 separate occasions (riding the black line). That's the sort of pace I need to maintain for the full 2km in the Masters - hopefully the aero gear will help me get there.

Next I need to adjust the bike to TT mode, with the Adamo saddle and aerobars. Then I'll need to work on my starting which could count quite a bit against me if I don't do it well in the Masters.

Beasty

In addition to Wednesday's track session I managed a couple of commutes earlier in the week.

I tend to focus on shorter flattish segments at present - good preparation for the Masters 2km pursuit next month, and I was particularly pleased to go under the minute for a 800m segment on the Lusk by-pass - I think it's my first 50+kph flat KOM (I've actually done it in the opposite direction at just under 55kph, but there is a very slight decline in that direction - about 3m), and at 450w its the sort of power I need to be putting out over the minute - hopefully helping me get to around 400w for the 2km

Then today was the Vets 2-up TT. I was again paired with my pro cyclist friend, and we were defending the handicap trophy which is awarded to the team which gets closest to their own predicted time. We got within 14s last year (over 35km or so)

This year however the course was changed. It was only going to be 30km, starting on the flyover on the Green sheds circuit, heading back to the roundabout on the Trim road, out to Trim and back

I knew the wind would be behind us on the road to Trim, and therefore in our faces on the way back. Last year I basically had to try and hang onto my teammate's wheel. I did absolutely none of the work. This year he was just back from a broken collar bone, didn't have an aero helmet, and we then discovered one of bolts holding the pad onto the armrest was snapped. We tried fixing it with a bit of electical tape.

I guessed we could go a bit faster than last year, and hoped to get over 40kph, which would be a time of less than 45m. So we went with a handicap time of 44:44.

We were 6th off, and went off at a very handy pace - so handy that we caught our minute man/lady by the first roundabout - ie within the first 2km or so. The 2nd and 3rd teams ahead quickly followed. We were really pushing it on the way out - probably too hard, but at least this time I was able to contribute to the workload - it felt harder than any of the TTs I had done this year. We caught the next team not too long after the turn, but my partner was starting to struggle with his shoulder and the dodgy aerobars - he had to spend the last 10km or so sat up, which clearly slowed us a little.

We caught the 1st tem off just before the roundabout and ploughed on to the end to clock a time of 45:23 - 39s outside our handicap. I had the Garmin in my back pocket and was disappointed to see that Normalised Power was only 251w - it felt a lot harder. I guessed we'd averaged getting on for 45kph on the way out and when I analysed the data it was just under at 44.9kph (and the KOM;)). We had gone out a bit too hard and suffered a little on the way back. But for my partner's problems I'm sure we would have beaten our handicap. It transpired though that the Garmin power data was comletely inaccurate - the fact it had been in my back pocket meant it was not picking up all the ride data. Because I had a trispoke front wheel I didn't have a speed sensor on, and hence speed data was entirely based on the GPS and not susceptible to data loss.

Anyway, it turned out that one of the teams we passed were within 25s of handicap and took the trophy. I'm not sure where we ended in the handicap or fastest team award (I know at least 2 teams were faster though - we may have taken 3rd)

Total distance for the week was 198km, with YTD now through the 8,000km mark at 8,102km (at 30.4kph) - that's 350km or so ahead of the same stage of 2010 and just under 2,000km ahead of last year

Next week should see hopefully 3 commutes, an evening Wattbike session, the perhaps my first vets Hill Climb next Sunday

Beasty

As we all now know, commuting and racing are completely independent disciplines of cycling

Anyway, after my TT efforts on Sunday, this week I set about showing that the 2 can mix. I'm now preparing for the Masters pursuit in a couple of weeks in Manchester. What this will basically entail is putting out getting on for 400w for hopefully just under 2m 40s to complete the 2km event.

So this week I set about using my commutes to train specifically for this event.

Yesterday morning I did a couple of intervals - the first being the Lusk bypass - my previous best time was 2m 56s - the perfect opportunity to try and mimic the pursuit effort required (although admittedly I would not be using aerobars). Anyway I managed a 7s KOM improvement and at Normalised Power of 370w or so it was just the test I needed. Later on there was a longer segment - 2.7km on the Swords bypass - a steady incline with nice tailwind. Anyway this time I beat my previous KOM by 4s, with NP of over 340w. For late on a hard morning commute I was particularly pleased

Unfortunately the floods put paid to any KOM attempts on the way home, but this morning I was back in segment search mode, setting my 2nd best time on the Lusk bypass at around 340w. Tonight I had to head up to Balbriggan to get the benefit of a tailwind into Skerries - a 6s KOM improvement and NP of 310w or so over 6 minutes

So who said commuting and racing don't mix?

I'm heading for the airport tomorrow so no commuting for the next 2 days, then probably a Wattbike session on Thursday evening, before searching for more segments on Friday...

Beasty

Today saw the last IVCA event of the year - a hill climb starting just outside Kilmacanogue. Around 2.9km up towards Sugar Loaf.

I'd not done this climb before, and hence had no handicap. When I arrived weather conditions were pretty dire, with a stong South Westerly blowing down the hill. I did a quick recce in the car and the conditions at the top were even worse - very blustery and raining.

I rode up the hill just to suss it out a bit better. It was still quite windy and I needed to adjust the gears as I was unable to engage the lowest one. By the time I was back to the start riders were about to start heading off. The slowest group were off first. I was second off in the third group. Ahead of me someone 17 years my senior riding a fixie. Behind me another fixie - this tme someone who rides it in all the vets TTs. He mentioned his previous times, and I immediately knew I was in trouble - he'd done it over 2 minutes faster than I thought I could do it 2 years previously.

Anyway, when my time came I set off without the aid of a holder (didn't feel comfortable with him) and ended up spending a bit of time clipping in. I felt as if I was pushing it, but the fixie guy caught me probably with around 500m to go. In the end the wind had died down a bit and I clocked 10m 46s. A half-decent time - indeed when I check out Strava I'm 9th out of 69 in my age group, and 4th in my weight category. More importantly my power output at around 320w is dead on the CP curve. I think I could have pushed a bit harder, but I stayed in the saddle pretty much throughout as I felt the back wheel slipping slightly when I tried to get out of it.

Earlier in the week I'd done 3 commutes, getting 3 KOMs (a couple were improvements on my own times), and managed to get a lot of 2-5 minute intervals in at the sort of power I will need in the Masters. I also did a Wattbke session, managing to get within 0.5s of my PB for the 2km pursuit and matching my PB power output at 394w for just over 2m 30s (which is about 10w better than I've recorded on the road bikes)

Total diistance was 210km, with YTD now standing at 8,313km at 30.4kph.

Next week I'll be in the car tomorrow so should do a Wattbike session in the evening, then a couple of commutes before focussing on the Wattbike for the rest of the week, with pursuit efforts in most of the sessions,

Today I started setting the track bike up for the pursuit. The saddle was relatively easy, but I had to guess at what I could get away with in terms of the 3% maximum slope. The aerobars were more difficult though - getting them within the 75cm limit (in front of the BB) meant I had to bring them back nearly 5cm. I've shortened the stem, but am still finding the pads are in the centre of my forearms. I'll have to see if I can get a dispensation on morphology grounds when I get to Manchester, or else I think it's going to be quite an uncomfortable position to hold (albeit for not much longer than 2 and a half minutes).

The UCI definitely seem to have it in for me - my overshoes will be banned from tomorrow also ...

Beasty

5 days to go. Road bike's locked away for a while now. Having done a couple of commutes earlier in the week, I'm cutting back the workload and focussing on the Wattbike

On Monday I did a 3 minute test. The Masters pursuit is over 2km, which on the Wattbike takes me around 2m 32s (the real bike is a bit slower as I typically lose 5-6s getting up to speed). Hence 3 minutes is the full distance plus a bit more

Before Monday my best "distance" was 2,322m set last month. On Monday I managed 2,331, an average speed of 46.7kph at 375w which was just shy of my best of 381w set on the road bike - not directly comparable as it was a hill climb and I was out of the saddle (and had a breeze to cool me down a bit). The good news was I didn't go out too hard - 372w for the first minute, 361w for the second, but I kept something in reserve pushing it up to 391w in the final minute.

Then today I gave it another go - this time I got the pacing reasonably even throughout - 396w, 384w and 394w respectively, to produce an overall average of 391w, 10w ahead of my previous best for this time, and only 3w down on my best for the 2,000m.The distance covered was 2,371m, moving me up 6 places in the Wattbike Ranking to 25th overall (out of 96), now less than 400m behind Olympic Rowing Gold medallist, Hamish Bond!

So I'll be taking it easy now until Wednesday - sticking to the Wattbike to keep the legs turning a bit, with another one or two "pursuit-type" efforts thrown in

Beasty

The Masters kick-off on Sunday. I'll just be doing the single event though - the pursuit on Wednesday, so I'll be catching the ferry over on Tuesday morning, returning on Thursday.

It will be my 40th race of the year, and despite being the one I have least chance of winning (by a long way - the pursuit is arguably the event leat likely to cause any upsets), it's my most important race, simply because it's the World Championships. I'm trying to play it down a bit in my mind though, as I'm actually seeing this as part of a longer term strategy. This year is (supposed to be) all about the experience. I'd like to give the Europeans a go next year, but my long-term objective is to try to continue to improve, with the aim of giving it my best shot when I move up an age catergory in 3 years time.

Anyway, in terms of Wednesday, there are at least 52 riders in my age category. I don't now how many will be doing the pursuit though. Last year 22 entered but only 18 took part. Overall entries are supposed to be up, so I would guess the entry list will run to between 20 and 30

Looking at the results, there were only 3 slower than my fastest time last year, and none of those appear to have entered this year. The order of riding is determined based on fastest times recorded, which means I will be off early - possibly first, and possibly on my own if an odd number have entered. Obviously having someone to target can only help with pacing. I'll have no gizmos on the bike. I can't put a speed sensor on the tri-spoke front wheel (or disc rear wheel) (and I'm not sure if computers are allowed anyway - probably not). I know the track, but have never "raced" on it and only once used TT bars (a couple of years ago). The starting gatw will be a challenge - I tried one out at Sundrive last year, but this will be different, particularly given the steepness of the track. I may be able to work out what's going on by looking at the scoreboard, but suspect I won't be able to look up and suss it out, so it may all be down to feel.

The fastest 4 go through to the medal races in the evening, so I don't have to worry about having to perform twice in the day - I'll be in the crowd in the evening session.

In terms of objectives, I put them in the following order

1. Don't miss the ferry
2. Avoid falling out of the starting gate
3. Stay on the bike
4. Don't finish last

Not sure about no. 4 - it really does depend on who turns up, but if there are any with a slower "handicap" than me, I would at least like to maintain and ideally improve my relative position.

I should be able to improve my best time, as that was set outdoors at Sundrive. I gave the Wattbike another go tonight, and improved my best 2,000m time by 0.9s. That's very encouraging, particularly as I upped my power output by 10w to 404w (which is consistent with what I did over 3 minutes on Friday evening)

RobFowl

Good luck Beasty
On the big occasions people often pull and extra few percent out of the bag and I'm sure you'll do the same.
Whatever position you end up in you've prepared well and will do yourself proud.
Hope to follow you if there's live tracking or updates.
All you need to do now is get yourself a proper passport

Beasty

Thanks Rob

No live tracking, which is a good thing as I'll be so far behind on the first lap everyone will turn off - hope to make a bit up thereafter though...

TBH the last couple of Wattbike attempts have been to as near exhaustion as I think I've ever been. Having said that it's difficult to translate that into what can/will happen in real life, partly because I won't have the metrics in front of me (although if I can see the timings on the big screen I will suss a lot of it out as I go along - I know pretty much what my speed and power output will be for any given lap time), but also because I don't know how much the Wattbike and Bikecalculator take into account all the aero "investments" I've made (helmet, skinsuit, wheels ets).

I do know, based on what I've done at Sundrive and looking at other detailed records (and acknowledging I'm a particularly slow starter) that I will lose 5-6s on the first lap getting up to speed. Therefter I'm guessing my "cruising" speed could be anything between 47.5kph and 50kph (assuming I get my pacing right)

Results will be posted on www.cyclingmasters.com (and they have me down as IRL:eek:)

Now I have to stay clear of any ailments and be paranoid about the possibility of any banned substances getting into my system (I'll be staying at a secret location, so hopefully no-one will attempt to spike my porridge!!:D)

Beasty

2 commutes plus 4 Wattbike sessions - weekly total 169km at 31.8kph bringing YTD to 8,482km at 30.4kph

Tonight's Wattbike session saw me marginally improve my best 500m, to 32.89s - if only I could translate that onto the track - even with the 5s or so I lose getting up to speed that would be a pretty good time, well over 2s inside my "real-life" best (I've never broken 40s). I think the main issue is getting my gearing right and practicing more at high cadence (and I've been getting some results from lowering the gearing and increasing the cadence on the Wattbike this week)

Anyway, I now have the track bike set up. Saddle 7cm behind the BB (plenty of headroom on that one), sloping at just over 2% (maximum permitted 3%). Aerobars are protruding 2cm beyond the "legal" limit, but I reckon I should get through the morphology test on that one - still I've had to shorten the stem to 7cm to get my forearms comfortably on the pads.

So next week I'll do a Wattbike session on Monday, rest day Tuesday before all of 2km (plus warm-up) on Wednesday. Ideally I'd like to get onto the track before my event to try the bike with the aerobar set-up, but numbers on the track are limited and there are a lot of riders who will be trying to do the same. Alternatively I'll have to stick to warming up on the turbo (I can set up the track bike I have already based in Manchester on the turbo)

On Thursday I'll be getting the ferry back, so hopefully there will be a commute on Friday - not sure what if any opportunity I'll have to get out over the weekend, but I suspect I'll be taking it easy following the end of my "racing season" before kicking off the winter training later in the month.

lennymc

best of luck beasty!!

Beasty

Well the ferry didn't sink. I'm now registered, having been down to the track this afternoon - they still don't seem to know my nationality though (the "official" records are right, but the website isn't)

Anyway, some great performances from the Irish so far. Terry Mackin took bronze in the 35-39 TT on Sunday, and today Susie Mitchell is second fastest in qualifying for the Women's 35-39 pursuit, which guarantees her at least a silver. On top of that Orla Hendron and Tanya Moran will be up against each other in the 45-49 pursuit bronze medal run off, so I'll be heading back to the velodrome later to cheer the ladies on (and hopefully suss out the timing on the starting gates)

This morning someone set a new World Record for the hour in my age category at 47.96km. I would have to improve my PB by 12s to match that speed over 2km tomorrow...

manwithaplan

Beasty wrote: »

This morning someone set a new World Record for the hour in my age category at 47.96km. I would have to improve my PB by 12s to match that speed over 2km tomorrow...

From a standing start;)

The very best of luck to you.

Beasty

The good news is that apparently although supposed to be banned from 1 October, it's not being enforced yet and the regulations are still to be put in place, meaning overshoes are allowed. Fortunately I've brought some (2 pairs - actually I've got pretty much 2 of everything), which I reckon could get me upwards of 0.2s ...

RobFowl

Beasty wrote: »

(2 pairs - actually I've got pretty much 2 of everything)

Well you've an advantage on a certain Texan then

Beasty

So today was the day. Managed to get myself completely stressed up about it, waking up in a cold sweat early this morning. I ended getting up quite early and heading off to the track to set up my gear. There was a Hour record attempt in one of the women's categories between 8 and 9 with the track open to riders between 9 and 10

I got the spare bike set up on the turbo and had a short session, before giving myself 10 minutes on the track to try out the bike with aero set-up.

Getting on the bike took away some of the stress, but it was a long wait. In fact it was just before 12.30 that I eventually got to do my event. I was first off in my age category - in the home straight, meaning I was supposed to be faster than my opponent

Anyway, the start didn't seem to go too badly. I had members of the Irish team and support cheering me on. I await the formal timings, but based on the transponder I have my first lap was around 23s and the second one just under 18s. I was hoping to lap at between 18 and 19s.

At the end of what I thought was the 3rd lap I got a shock, as the lapcounter was showing 6 to go. I thought my mind was playing tricks, and tried to work out if I really had only done 2 laps. If so I was definitely going out too hard. Another lap and the counter was showing 5 to go. Damn I must have miscounted! I wasn't even half way but was suffering. I felt as if I had to ease off and my lap times lengthened (not that I knew at the time)

I tried to up it a bit with just under 2 laps to go, but was drifting up the track and by that stage just desperate to get it over with.

When I finished I looked up to see a time of 3:02 - I'd gone that fast at Kanturk, and it was over 20s slower than my time at Sundrive earlier this year. Indeed at an average speed of under 40kph, I've been faster on the track with the normal bike set up.

I convinced myself I must have done an extra lap - very odd that both lap counters could get it wrong, but eventually I was approached by an official to be informed that was the case. They gave me the option of riding again, or sticking with the time after 8 laps (which was still a disappointing 2m 42.207s, almost certainly last place). I was a bit demoralised and didn't fancy going through it again - thought I would stick with the fact that at least I have a bit of an excuse.

EDIT - just seen there was someone slower than me:D

Beasty

Think I'm suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome. Headache, sore throat and loads of aches and pains. Think I need a post-season break from the bike....

...then winter training starts on Friday

Beasty

So I’m now on the ferry, on the way back to Dublin, after my first ever World Championships. Three years ago I would never have dreamed of doing anything like this, and despite what was in the end a very disappointing time, there are a few positives to take out of it, as well as some lessons learned.

Firstly I’ve now experienced an event like this. Just having attended this one is going to benefit me in the future. I’ll always be nervous before any event of this nature, but for me the first time is always by far the worst. That is part of the reason I chose to do the single event. I wanted to focus on it and not have any other distractions.That increased the pressure, and next time I will look to throw some more events in (perhaps the TT and/or points race). The nerves certainly got the better of me this time, and a poor night’s sleep beforehand resulted in a muscle spasm in my neck with resultant shoulder pain and what is now a very stiff neck. I’m feeling a bug coming on also, probably as a result of the stress I put myself under. Anyway I’m sure I’ll cope much better next time.

One thing I have been consideringis gearing. I went with 50:14 (96.4 gear inches), which is slightly higher than I used at a windswept Sundrive earlier in the year. However I’m pretty sure I will benefit from faster leg speed, which involves reducing gearing. I didn’t want to mess about before this event, but it will be something I’ll be working on over the winter. One particular point is that I run 165mm cranks on the track bikes. I normally don’t notice the difference with the road bike, but at high cadence I do. Hence I’m going to move to longer cranks – either 170mm or 175mm (the latter would match the road bikes). This would allow me to lower the saddle and aerobars by up to 10mm, which could make me a bit more aero also. The impact of moving to 175mm is quite marked – it’s the same as reducing gearing by 6%, which would bring me to the equivalent of just under 91 gear inches. I would then probably put a slightly larger chainring on, but the net extra leverage would certainly improve my weakest point – starting.

Pacing is also an issue. It’s easy for me with the speedo on the bars, but in an event like this I don’t have that luxury, and I now know I cannot take anything in from the scoreboard. I basically need to do it entirely on feel. Yesterday I did feel as if I went out a little too hard, but it was just about on the pace I was looking for in the first 3 laps. I would have been better off taking it a little easier in the first couple of laps, although the lap counter mess-up was always going to wreck my head. Hopefully something like that won’t happen again (I couldn’t believe it would happen at such a high profile event), but if it does I’ll just have to trust my instincts more. Funnily enough though my overall pacing, once adjusted after the first couple of laps, was relatively consistent. Yes I slowed but by around 0.2s each lap. I would have definitely been able to pick it up in thelast 2 laps if the lap counter had been correct. Having said that I would have needed another 5s to improve my overall position, which was probably too much for yesterday. However if I can get those 5s I will then me moving into the realms of “mid-table mediocrity” a definite improvement on my current position of “relegation material”.

Moving onto the wider event. It was great to get there on Tuesday afternoon to discover Susie Mitchell had qualified for the Gold medal run-off in one of the Women’s pursuits. She gave birth only 5 months ago and this is her first year competing at this level. She had improved her PB by 10s in qualifying. Then Tonya (who has only been riding the track since August) and Orla qualified for the Bronze medal race in one of the other pursuit events. There was a great atmosphere in the Irish camp, and to be trackside to witness (and cheer on) Susie’s Gold Medal winning performance (with another 2s+ improvement) was fantastic. That was followed by the Tonya/Orla head to head, with it swaying backwards and forwards until Orla made a final surge to take the medal. Terry Mackin had taken a bronze earlier in the week.There was a real camaraderie in the Irish team which I don’t think was matched anywhere else. There were enough riders and helpers to create an excellent atmosphere. Everyone saw how much Susie’s medal meant to her and a few riders from other nations came up to congratulate her commenting that her victory ceremony probably had a bit more passion and celebration to it than any other.

So overall conclusions – disappointed with my time, delighted with the experience and will definitely be looking to try again next year

G rock

well done beasty, fair play

RobFowl

Respect to the Beast..

Well done

Beasty

Only 146km this week, but as it encompassed my winter break as well as the World Masters and took my YTD to 8,628km (at 30.5kph), which is more than my total for last year, I guess I can't complain too much:D

I did a couple of Wattbike sessions, improving my "best distance" over 20s on Monday and knocking just under 0.9s off my best 500m time (which had only been set last Sunday) this evening. I've been focussing particularly on cadence on the Wattbike, doing my 20 minute warm-up at 99rpm this evening. It's one area I am looking for significant improvement in over the winter

Next week should see a few commutes and hopefully getting out over the weekend. With a bit of luck I should get one of my longest weekly distances of the year in

Beasty

Hopefully they will eventually publish my detailed laptimes from the Masters at some stage (they've done this in the past), but I do have enough data from the transponder I was wearing to try to analyse the ride and some areas for improvement.

The time for the first lap, although vitally important in terms of my overall time, is difficult to draw too many conclusions from as it includes time taken to get up to speed, and I'm not sure where the transponder start line is. It recorded a time of 22.8s, but I suspect the real time was 25 or even 26s, which is not particularly good.

My second lap time was just under 18s. I reckon I was at least 1% longer (probably more) than the "official" 250m distance as I was nearer the red line than the black one. However using the Bike Calculator, I reckon I was putting something over 450w out on that lap. The first lap would have been higher - looking at my road TT starts I typically put out over 500w in the first 25s or so. It may have been even higher given it was a fixed gear.

Working my way through the laps, and eventually getting to an average speed of around 44.5kph for the 9th lap, I estimate an average power over 3m 2s of around 380w. This is actually higher than any of my 3 minute Wattbike efforts bar 1, which I did a week ago at 391w (previously I'd typically been in the 370s). In terms of distance travelled (2,250m plus at least 1%, so getting on for 2,280m), when I adjust for the time taken to get up to speed this is entirely consistent with my Wattbike performances. Hence on the face of it I was actually pretty near my best over 3 minutes, although I went out too hard for that time/distance (and probably a bit too hard for the 2,000m).

If I now look at the time I would expect to take to do 2,000m at this power output applied consistently, and adjusted for the time taken to get up to speed, I can see I would have improved my time by over 2s to around 2m 40s.

I can also adjust for my typical loss of power between the 2m 40s and 3m marks, based on both road bike and Wattbike power records. Basically I would expect to put out 15-20w or so more over the shorter distance. In time terms this amounts to over 3s, bringing my "potential" time down to 2m 37s. If I could get back that 1% I lose by riding above the black line that could be another 1.5s, and suddenly I'm in that "mid-table" mediocrity I was looking for.

Add to that the psychological effect of the lap-counter debacle, and the potential to put out a bit more power and I can see possibilities for further improvements. Increasing cadence is one area I'm already committed to work on. Starting is another, and hopefully slightly longer cranks will give me a bit more leverage in this area. I also noticed most of the other riders had front disc wheels - it may be the law of diminishing returns on this, as I already have the second best option of a 5 spoke wheel, but I'll check out potential improvements it may offer

kennyb3

Pretty sure i passed you earlier this week, what type of helmet light is that?

Beasty

Exposure joystick pointing forwards, with the
RedEye attached and pointing backwards

Beasty

4 commutes, the Swords Saturday spin and a Wattbike session today - a PB for the year of 326km this week to bring the YTD to 8,954km at 30.5kph.

I hit a 4-month high power output on the Wattbike, and then get within a quarter of a second of my kilo PB. Hopefully I'll be able to crack that one if I give it a go when I'm relatively fresh. Encouragingly I managed to average over 100rpm cadence throughout my Wattbike session - that's the first time I've done it on each segments of a Wattbike session. I was also in the high 80s/low 90s on all the commutes

Next week I'm aiming for another 3 commutes then getting out both days over the weekend - tomorrow I should get through the 9,000km barrier on the commute

Beasty

3 commutes, 2 Wattbike sessions and a partrige in a pear tree yesterday's Swords spin added up to 264km for the week and a YTD total of 9,218km at 30.5kph. Only the one KOM, but as I took it from myself I guess it doesn't really count

Tonight's Wattbike session was particularly productive, taking a quarter of a second of my best "flying 200" and 0.4s off my best 500m. The higher cadence is definitely paying off with my ability to maintain speed/power through these "sprints" improving

Tomorrow I'll hopefully be finalising plans for next year's TT bike, and then should get on the Wattbike in the evening. I'm then planning to be on the bike for commutes during the rest of the week. I'll then try and get on the bike or Wattbike on Sunday (assuming I get out of Clonmel alive the previous day;))

Beasty

A Wattbike session on Monday delivered a further improvement on my best "Flying 200" which now stands at 11.30s, or marginally under 64kph. If there only wasn't all that getting up to speed to take it out of you when on the real bike!

I again managed to keep the cadence high diuring the 4 commutes - averaging 88rpm. This time last year I was typically averaging between 75 and the low 80s over the commutes

Total distance for the week was 223km and the YTD now stands at 9,442km at 30.4kph, so hopefully I'll be able to break through 10,000km some time over the next 3 weeks

Next week sees the return of the nocturnal Swords training spins and I should be out on Tuesday evening. Hopefully I'll be getting the commutes in during the rest of the week

Beasty

I managed to get the 4 commutes in together with the (solo!) Swords training spin on Tuesday. Winds were generally moving against me during week, so the average speed was down a bit. Again I managed to keep the cadence up, averaging 90 (excluding zeros) for the week.

Then a session on the Wattbike today, when I managed to hit my highest power peak of the year (1,140w). The cadence work seems to be paying off as I did it in a relatively low gear and felt I had a bit left in me.

I then did an endurance test - a 10km TT, where I managed to beat my previous best time by 35s at an average power of 309w over just under 13m 49s, which is certainly a season's best for this time interval (by 10w or so), and only 1w shy of the CP curve. It also moved my Wattbike ranking up 30 places or so to 54th (out of 168), with no one as old or older than me ahead.

Total distance for the week was 250km bringing the YTD to 9,691km at 30.4kph.

Hopefully there will be more of the same next week, and I should be within touching distance of 10,000km by the time I report back again.

Beasty

The commuting didn't quite go to plan this week, with a broken chain on the way home on Thursday resulting in a walk back to the office to then get a taxi home. That meant I drove in on Friday also

As a result, I was reasonably fresh on Saturday, and decided to give the one Wattbike challenge I've never attempted a go - the hour.

I had done 30 minutes a go, but not since February. I did know that going all-out for that length of time when actually going nowhere is not very pleasant. The good news is I've recently invested in an industrial fan!

Setting off, my initial focus was to get half-way, thinking I could bail out if I could manage to beat my PB of 20.6km at that stage. Unfortunately I was slightly adrift of that distance but it encouraged me to push on. By that time my HR was only slightly shy of 170 - just over 90% of my maximum of 186. It continued its slow upward drift, hovering around 174 at the three-quarter mark, and up to 176 with a couple of minutes to go. It finally hit 180 during the final push, and I managed to get through the 40km mark, eventually finishing on just over 40.6km (average 258w), putting me in 63rd place (out of 138) in the Wattbike ranking, and 3rd (out of 13) in my age category. I suspect it may be a while before I try that one again!!

Total distance for the week was 221km, bringing the YTD to 9,912km at 30.4kph.

Next week I'll be away on business for a couple of days, although I'll hopefully still get a couple of commute in together with the Swords training spin on Tuesday, then perhaps back on the Wattbike over the weekend

Beasty

So today I hit 10,000km for the year - that's 3 weeks ahead of when I got there 2 years ago, and over 11 hours quicker. Average speed was 0.4kph faster than for the whole of last year when I did 1,500km or so less.

Weather permitting, I'm now looking to crack 11,000km by the end of the year

G rock

Beasty wrote: »

So today I hit 10,000km for the year - that's 3 weeks ahead of when I got there 2 years ago, and over 11 hours quicker. Average speed was 0.4kph faster than for the whole of last year when I did 1,500km or so less.

Weather permitting, I'm now looking to crack 11,000km by the end of the year

Well done!

Beasty

Only the 2 commutes, as anticipated last week due to spending a couple of days in London. Was home late on Tuesday and couldn't make the Swords spin, then wasn't feeling too good yesterday so only managed the 1 Wattbike session tonight

Total distance was therefore only 135km, with YTD standing at 10,047km at 30.4kph

The good news was I managed to improve my PB on the Wattbike over 500m by half a second to get myself into the top 50 in the Wattbike ranking. I also found out that I had won the company "Green commute" challenge from a couple of weeks ago, having cycled significantly further than anyone else across the global workforce of many thousands - didn't think I had too good a chance as it was the bank holiday week, meaning I only did the 4 days. Anyway, I'm adding the $500 prize to this year's winnings:)

Next week will be a bit more of the same with only a couple of commutes split by a business trip, although I am planning to get a couple of sessions on the track in Manchester in while away then another Wattbike session over the weekend.

Beasty

Monday's commute was followed by a track session in Manchester on Wednesday and then I managed to get on the Wattbike for 2 sessions over the weekend. I managed to improve my 30 minute Wattbike distance to 20.66km at 271w, although I think I have a bit more in me over that time.

I managed to average cadence at around 92 throughout November on the roadbike and at over 104 on the Wattbike, so the focus on this through my winter training is going well.

Total distance for the week was 145km and the YTD now stands at 10,193km at 30.5kph, which means I'm now only 20km adrift from my 2010 distance.

Next week I should get another commute then should be back on the track on Wednesday, before hopefully getting out again over the weekend.

Beasty

Monday's commute didn't quite go to plan - heading home, almost exactly where the chain snapped a couple of weeks ago, I looked down at the front wheel just as it was going over something in the road as there was a massive blowout. So it was a trudge back to the office again to get a taxi, as there was no way to repair the tyre with a 5cm gaping hole in it. Later scrutiny discovered the brake pad had been rubbing the tyre and worn it down:o

So that meant the next time on a bike was back in Manchester on Wednesday. I managed a full hour and 38.3km - pretty much a record on drop bars when not sharing the work with anyone else.

Then the Wattbike for a short session on Friday (when I got within 3w of my best power output), before heading over the the Green Sheds course for the Dublin Wheelers Xmas race this morning. I was suitably attired in festive gear, but alas my attempt to get in an easier handicap group on the basis I was clearly not taking the race seriously backfired.

Indeed, an initial allocation to semi-limit turned into a semi-scratch posting as they evened up the numbers - seeing guys from faster groups than me in both Swords and Vets leagues heading off in the semi-limit group gave me a hint of what was to come. Then seeing riders from the vets scratch and semi scratch groups (ie 2 and 3 groups faster than me) in the group I was in confirmed my fears.

We set off fast - very fast. I managed one turn at the front, but we were heading towards the Dumcree bypass at getting on for 50kph, and actually hit over 60kph on it. My only chance was going to be hanging on for dear life at the back of the group, which I managed to do until we hit the hill up past the Warrenstown Arms when I could hold on no longer. I carried on and as I crested the hill I was caught by scratch, who only had 6 riders. I don't know how much time they had made up but I managed to get onto their wheels and again hung on.

Unfortunately as we approached the roundabout to turn onto the Drumcree bypass again we were held up by traffic, and I got stuck behind one particular vehicle which allowed the rest of the group to get away. They had nearly caught the slower groups and I tried with a couple of other dropped riders to close down the gap in pursuit mode, but we had to give up. I kept going at a decent pace for a while then had to ease off and headed back to the car at Dorey's Forge. Anyway, without doubt the hardest 30 minutes or so racing I've ever done ...

Total distance for the week was 136km (at 34kph) to bring the YTD to 10,328km at 30.5kph

Next week's activities will depend on the weather. I'll do 3 or 4 commutes unless it's icy (in which case I'll be on the Wattbike)

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Hey Beasty how do you find the Wattbike?

Beasty

The weather restricted opportunities early in the week, and I ended up on the Wattbike on Wednesday, improving my PB for the flying 200 by a hundredth of a second. Then it was a couple of commutes when it warmed up a bit, although the weather wasn't particularly great with stromg winds and showers particularly on Friday.

Tonight it was back on the Wattbike, with an improvement of over half a second in the kilo.

Overall I managed only 143km, although it was quite fast and brings me to 10,471m for the year at 30.5kph. With only a couple of weeks to go I'm not sure if I'll quite get to the 11,000km mark, as I'll be away on work a bit this week, and it may not be easy to get out during the Christmas break. Anyway, hopefully I'll get my final 2 or 3 commutes for the year in next week with a couple of Wattbike sessions and maybe looking at trying to improve on of the endurance PBs

Beasty

Only the couple of commutes this week, then I've been off the bike because of a bit of a head cold - I was feeling pretty crap yesterday, but hopefully should be back on the Wattbike tomorrow. I can't complain too much - it's the first bug I've picked up since February, and that was a 24 hour job which didn't really affect my cycling. It meant I managed only 120km, my second lowest weekly total of the year. I guess it also means that I've actually had quite an easy December of it overall, and hopefully will be ready top come out all guns blazing in January

YTD total now stands at 10,591km at 30.5kph

Next week I'll be off work for the full week, so no commuting. Depending on how I feel I'll hopefully get a couple of Wattbike sessions in over the Christmas break, then perhaps some local spins later in the week

Beasty

Road racing

This year’s racing commenced with the combined Ladies/Masters race at the Traders Cup in February, resulting in my first ever road podium finish – 3rd place and a nice trophy to go with it. I followed that up with my first road race victory in a vets race in May then took another 3rd place in vets race at the end of July.

Total number of road races 22 (Masters 1, Open 3, Club League 7, IVCA 11) – total distance 1,070km

Time Trials

My first TT was the Swords Hill Climb – I would never be a contender but improving my time by nearly 30s over last year was particularly pleasing. Then it was what turned into a 10km Championship for Swords. There may not have been that many turned up, but I don’t care – a victory is a victory, and this was my first one on a non-handicap basis. A week later I took the bronze medal in the Leinster TT Championships and I finished the season with a 3rd place in the vets 2 up TT (based on handicap which was your estimated time). I only did 8 TTs in total during the year so it wasn’t a bad return overall. I’ve a new TT bike onorder and the Vets TT League will be one of my priorities next year

Track

8 Track League evenings resulted in 1 race victory (points race) plus another 8 placings, which I’m more than happy with given I was moved up a group from last year. I also managed to retain my age category pursuit championship (albeit under the auspices of the Track Commission rather than the IVCA this year), and took part in an open event. The less said about the Track Masters in Manchester the better, although it was good experience for future attempts.

So in summary I did 41 races/track days - a total distance of 1,327km. I took 3rd place in the Swords League (with a medal to go with it) and was the leading vet when the league was prematurely curtailed.

Hopefully I will be able to build on this further next year – plans will be revealed in the new log which I will be starting shortly …

ROK ON

Beasty,

I just wanted to say - that while I don't understand a lot of the power related stuff or track stuff, your log is an inspiration. Particularly for the middle aged cyclists with families and careers, that have taken up cycling later in life. It just goes to show what dedication and hard work leads to.

Well done. Hope you have a good 2013.

Beasty

The after-effects of the cold and a bit of a break over Christmas resulted in my longest spell off the bike during the year - 5 days in total, but I managed to get out on St Stephen's day and again on Friday before a Wattbike session on Sunday. I bettered my previous best 3km pursuit by over a second, which indicates the lower gearing/higher cadence is having an effect. I'm now up 24th in the Wattbike ranking for the distance (out of 124)

Total distance for the week was 132km which brings the YTD total to 10,723km at 30.4kph.

Beasty

Total distance for the year 10,723km (2009 - 6,800km, 2010 - 10,211km, 2011 - 8,554km) in 352hrs 13m - average speed 30.4kph (2009 - 29.6kph, 2010 - 29.4kph, 2011 - 30.1kph)

Total climbing - 57km

Distance break down
Road Racing 1,071km
TTs 155km
Track Racing 102km
Commuting 5,054km
Other Road 2,339km
Other Track 637km
Wattbike 1,332km
Turbo/gyms 33km

so endeth the 2012 log ...