ARSEcyclist Racing Thread

[pixelboy]

Well done Knappo! I'm impressed.. Thats a huge effort! You should be proud.

[norbs]

Well done Knappo.

[CLP]

sensational effort Knappo!

[CLP]

I wanted to try out a different video editor, so i made a proper video of my last race.. if you're interested, here it is:

[CLP]

Dirty Weekend 2018

Well, the body isn't exactly happy with me right now :P but it's totally worth it. Awesome event.

Miss V and I came 3rd out of 3 teams in our category. We had a few goals to achieve and we smashed them.

Miss V had a goal of 4 laps (ie more than her previous years). She managed to complete that before heading to sleep for the night. Then came out the next day to do another one just to push her boundaries just that bit further.

I initially didn't have a concrete goal, but as the event progressed I figured that 100km total for myself would be an achievable goal to aim for. So that meant 10 laps for me. Having finished my 7th lap at about 4:30am I had a good amount of time to knock off the last of my planned laps. finished my 10th lap at 1:18pm (based on official timing). Pretty sure I didn't have a lot left in me by that point. V took the shot below of me after the finish. Looks like I can barely keep myself upright in the chair..



Some personal takeaways from the event.
1) Maybe don't try a new tyre brand at an event. I switched to some Michelin rubber (from Schwable) because I couldn't find the Schwable tyres I like. They worked pretty well, but their grip profile (for want of a better term!) was different to what i was used to.
2) I need to revisit my bike fit on the MTB. I always get lower back aches and pains after a couple of laps; caused, I believe, by the general trail chatter that gets transmitted through the bike.
3) Related to above.. maybe think about a shock absorbing seatpost.
4) Maybe have a better think about food/drink for these events. I lost about 2kg over the course of the event which i'm sure isn't ideal.

[KNAPPO]

Mega effort mate. Hats off.

110k on the MTB is just crazy stuff no matter which way you break it down. Gob smacked at Kev and Matthew's efforts in the 24hr category, those blokes are simply not human.
One day ill be able to give this event a go.

[CLP]

Mega effort mate. Hats off.

110k on the MTB is just crazy stuff no matter which way you break it down. Gob smacked at Kev and Matthew's efforts in the 24hr category, those blokes are simply not human.
One day ill be able to give this event a go.

Cheers Knappo!
Those guys are machines.. It's really amazing to watch them churn out lap after lap.. insane.

FYI - You're already *more* than ready to take part in one of these events..

[KNAPPO]

FYI - You're already *more* than ready to take part in one of these events..

Its more the time away from family that makes it a bit difficult. But having said that, if I was in a team of 4 I could easily drive home in my off stints as its only 30 mins away from Fox and get back for the next required stint.

I think ide rather camp on the hill and have my boys with me, the twins just need to be a bit older and better behaved...

[CLP]

State Masters TT Championships

Change of scenery for the championships this year, heading to Mt Compass. Of course being in a location with "Mt" in the name meant that it's likely to have a few lumps and bumps in the course.. which it did. This aspect had me a little concerned at over cooking it, particularly since pretty much the entire return leg was uphill. The potentially for having a *really* bad day out was quite real, at least in my head. I swapped out my usual cassette to one from my CX bike which has a 27t cog and had a bit of a plan to run fairly conservative since the course was pretty much unknown save for some google maps based recon.

Ultimately I think i ran just a bit too conservative, possibly not taking advantage of the tailwind on the uphill return section, but all the same, pretty happy with how i went and how i felt at the end. Not sure how i went in the scheme of things, but I was so confident of not placing that I skipped the presentations had a delicious egg and bacon sandwich from a local cafe.. recommended!

https://www.strava.com/activities/1568360360

Miss V parked herself on a section just before the finish line, where the road unkindly kicked up a bit just to smash the legs a little bit more.. so she could capture people in pain. She's mean. Here's me realising that i still have a bit extra in the tank with about 1.5km to go :P

IMGP0392_0800.jpg

[markus]

I swapped out my usual cassette to one from my CX bike which has a 27t cog and had a bit of a plan to run fairly conservative since the course was pretty much unknown save for some google maps based recon.

I have 11-28 cassette on my tt-bike. (And a 55t front ring)

Miss V parked herself on a section just before the finish line, where the road unkindly kicked up a bit just to smash the legs a little bit more.. so she could capture people in pain. She's mean. Here's me realising that i still have a bit extra in the tank with about 1.5km to go :P

Ladyshave on the legs would be easy free seconds

[markus]

Lup-82 tt

The 50km hilly classic. This year it was the first tt race of the year. Which was not optimal. I made a conservative and safe plan to ride with watts that would be nothing to write home about but with no risk of blowing up. A plan that would give me useful data for the upcoming races.

End result was 3rd, 20 watts down from previous years, but I did a personal course best on a not-so-fast day which just shows that tt is not only about the watts. So that means that I was able to keep the aero-tuck quite nicely, I'm sure the gym sessions during winter helped.

Race data; https://www.strava.com/activities/1566663854

[norbs]

If Carl shaved his mohair legs he would gain 100W

[CLP]

If Carl shaved his mohair legs he would gain 100W

Not feeling the love for leg beards around here! :P

[norbs]

https://www.strava.com/activities/1583092432

[CLP]

Oh. My. God.

Well done Mr Norbs! that's a whole lot of awesome

[markus]

Great leader with a number pinned on the back :O

Next there will be shaved legs and coaching and - gasp - aero parts.

Well done!

[markus]

Technically not a race, or it is a race for some, but for me it was just start in front of several hundred cyclotourists, keep riding at 34kph avg, pull away at last feedzone 10km from finish to avoid having to sprint for positions. Job done.

This year was a bit harder since we lost one pacer early on and had to do a two man 100km tt effort, but we managed a 34.5 avg so job well done.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1583999699

[norbs]

Dont get too carried away. I only bought a 3 race license.

If the weekend was an indication, I dont think I will extend it.

I may have been put into a group that was too quick for me, but I held on til the last 2 kms when I cramped up.

I will probably do the crit this weekend to see how that goes, but I did not enjoy yesterday.

[CLP]

Dont get too carried away. I only bought a 3 race license.

If the weekend was an indication, I dont think I will extend it.

I may have been put into a group that was too quick for me, but I held on til the last 2 kms when I cramped up.

I will probably do the crit this weekend to see how that goes, but I did not enjoy yesterday.

I'm sure you enjoyed it.. you just don't realise it yet

In all seriousness Norbs, to hold on until the last 2 km in your first race, I reckon you've done outstandingly well; much respect to you mate. If they run things like they do here in Adelaide, they would have graded you a little harder for your first race to avoid having a new, but fast, person cleaning up in the lower grades. My first race had me dropped inside the first 7 km or so or a 50km race. Come to think if it, most of my road races still seem to go like that :/ You could likely request that you be graded down now, and point to you struggling to finish as justification.

Criteriums are a totally different ball game.. so enjoy!

[CLP]

Well, while Norbs was having a crack on the road, I was on the CX bike in the last race before the National CX Series kicks off in Adelaide in 2 weeks.

We were racing in an extension of a park that I have traditionally done pretty well at, so hopes were pretty high. That said, the course was also much more technical than i'd usually expect, so i was unsure how things would go. One thing was certain though; there was bucket loads of grip which was awesome!

For reasons unknown I was starting off the 2nd row, but fortunately my closest competition was also along side of me. Off the line I managed a pretty cracking start, almost nabbing the holeshot, and slotting into 2nd place around the first corner. A slight mishap midway into the first lap had me going the wrong way after the leader got confused but I managed to correct things and get back on the wheel of the (new) leader.

From there things were pretty tight, with me and another guy going wheel to wheel for most of the rest of the race. Unusually for me, I even put in a bit of an attack putting myselfin the lead for a while.. fun times Things came a little unravelled when on a single lap i lost the front wheel twice. So having lost a little bit of ground, but still in second place I think i panicked a bit and pushed a bit hard to get on the wheel. I think this was my undoing as I over cooked things a little and heading into the final lap found I was dropping the pace. Worse came as the guy that was in third caught and passed me.

Rolled over the line in 3rd. A (very tiny) little bit disappointed that I couldn't have taken 2nd or even first place, but also extremely happy with how i raced. Our battle up the front was described as the most epic of the weekend.. can't complain about that

and to top things off, I just checked the results page.. looks like i managed the fastest lap of the race!

https://www.strava.com/activities/1583206254

33089716_10216224202180637_8620980372257112064_o_0800.jpg

32950259_10215925871363264_7671064890647248896_o_0800.jpg

[norbs]

Criterium this weekend. 30 mins plus 2 laps of an 800m course. Might be more to my liking unless I end up in B grade like has been suggested. :o

[KNAPPO]

Im destroyed, right now. Mind and body is a mess but so fucking proud to have not only beaten a personal goal but smashed it.

Lined up for the Adelaide Half Marathon this morning on a pretty flat course with the intentions, at best to finish under 2hrs and at least beat my Clare time of 1hr 50. The lofty goal was to run at 5min/k but fuck me it wouldn't be easy... I set out at just under that pace and didn't dip below it till 8kms in, didn't fell like it at the time. I reckon I thought what the hell am I doing here running at this pace at least 10 times but told the mind to SHUT UP.

At 9.5k there was a bloke on the riverbank with a sign saying "Remember, you paid to do this" Those words defiantly made me laugh at the whole excersize and that was it, SHUT UP BRAIN OR ILL STAB YOU WITH A QUE TIP!!!

At 11 - 13k I knew the course was a little uphill as you leave the River Torrens and head towards the Botanic Gardens and the pace on the watch would dip to 5:20min/k at times and I thought I would shed a lot of time with the changes of direction but looking back at the Strava data the 11th k was my slowest at 5:14 then I corrected it with a 5:02 and 4:58min/k at marker 13k. That's when I saw a sign at a drink station that got my mind on track and my race back under control.

"Pain is only temporary, pride lasts forever"

I repeated those words so many times as the pain set in towards the back end of the race. I knew my wife and son would be at the finish and a bloke I know who has been a big inspiration to me was over from the UK for the race so the mind shifted from the pain I was in at the moment to the final push home. 5k to go and "Its only 1 Parkrun", 3-4k to go OUCH MAKE IT STOP lol....

In the last 2k you get off the River Torrens trail and head home via War Mamorial Drive. Some smart ARSE thought it would be fun to make you run in the wrong direction for 200m so the course would be the official length, such a sole destroying experience to be so close to Adelaide Oval and running away from it!!!!!! Got to the turn around over pace and thought right, not far now. 500m later Andy from the UK saw me and gave me some very encouraging words followed by my wife and son spotting me and delivering the same. Final k's at 5:01 and 4:34min/k tell the story, having that support was massive. I ran onto Adelaide Oval and sprinted my arse off at bloody 3:35min/k when I spotted Andy again yelling at me to finish strong.

Fuck me, what an experience.

Official time:1hr 45.09
223rd out of 992 and 37th out of 85 in my age block.

Strava, average pace 4:59mins per K: https://www.strava.com/activities/1598218318/overview

[CLP]

Legend Knappo! Congrats on not just achieving your goals, but smashing them. That's an epic effort.

that photo.. where's the rest of you? :o

[pixelboy]

Impressive stuff knappo! Very impressive.

Nailed it!

[Santaria]

Well done Knappo!

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