Ciclistas del Rio

Monday, June 13, 2011

Joe Lookingbill Denver-to-Aspen Classic

Saturday June 11 was Denver-to-Aspen. A big day for me, as I was testing the progress of my low back recovery. No holding back on this one, a big day with lots of vertical, and goals of a high placing with a good time.

The start was at the park-and-ride off of C-470 in Littleton at 4am. The climbing starts immeidately, covering 7000' in the first 50 miles to Kenosha Pass. I told myself to take it easy to start, and I did for a while, but I was feeling really good. 2nd in to the checkpoint at Conifer, and 2nd at Kenosha Pass. (1st place was long gone, he was trying for sub-10 hours). The next 60 miles through South Park to Buena Vista were tough - two smaller passes and strong headwinds the whole way. I was wishing I had gone a little slower just to ride this section with some other riders. Dropped to 3rd when I had to get some water in Fairplay, and maintained that position to the check point in Buena Vista.

Then I slowly started to run out of gas. At least there was a tailwind up the Arkansas valley, and I traded pulls with Steve until the Rte 82 turnoff to Twin Lakes. Really bad westerly headwinds off the lakes nearly stopped me in my tracks, and unfortunately I had to let Steve go. Needed to regroup at the Twin Lakes checkpoint.

Again I was overtaken for 4th place by the day's 2nd place women's finisher. She had just been clipped on the helmet by a camper's wing mirror! Thankfully she stayed upright, but the camper did not stop, and she was rightfully both shaken and extremely pissed off. She stormed out of Twin Lakes and went on to finish 4th, a half hour faster than me.

I'd had enough of Perpetuem, so after a Mountain Dew and Hostess Cupcakes, the endurance fuel of champions, I headed for Independence Pass. I was not feeling good, but recovered on the long rollers to the base of the pass, and found to my surprise that I was enjoying the climb. Alternating headwind and tailwind depending on which switchback you were on, but a really nice steady climb, topping out over 12,000'!

Final break at Independence Pass

30 downhill miles to the finish at the Woody Creek Tavern, one of Hunter S. Thompson's former hang-outs. Final time of 12:49, 5th place, and first in my age group. And the back felt strong!

OK, that's two 5ths in a row - time to step up a spot or two at the Death Ride, the next round in the Colorado Triple Crown series on July 3rd!

Denver-Aspen, 180mi
13,100' vert
Top five:
1. Mark Lowe 10h 4min
2. Andrea Koenig 11h 39min
3. Steve Rudolph 12h 5min
4. Diane Benoit 12h 17min
5. Michael Henderson 12h 49min

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Sunday Rides

Hola Ciclistas!

I’ve been busy with training, racing and other events, and will be through the July 4th weekend. But that doesn’t mean you all can’t get together for the usual Sunday ride! I’ll try to join in when I can, I think I can make it June 19th.

Anyway, I’ve added the 9am Sunday Ride to the calendar on the blog through the summer. Feel free to use the e-mail list to set up any rides you wish, including Sundays.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Lauren Wins!!!

Lauren Hall (USWCDP grad and Dolores resident) won the Dilworth Criterium leg of US CRITS Speedweek, part of a dominating week by her Colavita/Forno d'Asolo team. Lauren also got a number of Top 10s during the week. Awesome Lauren!!!
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/usa-crits-speed-week-ne/dilworth-criterium/results

Monday, May 2, 2011

Gila Monster!

It was a good day for Ciclistas, although I had a few mechanicals to overcome. Half way up the first Cat 4 climb, I hit a bump that jarred my odo pick-up into the spokes. So I had to stop for a few seconds to re-adjust, and it's amazing how fast the peloton rides away from you (I'm not about to try and reach down while riding and risk chopping my fingers in the spokes!). It took a few more miles for me to chase back on, catching them before the big descent to San Lorenzo. After re-gaining good position, it happened again! This time the chase wasn't as long, as the pace had eased a bit - but that was still extra energy I didn't need to spend. Finally, descending from the Continental Divide, while sitting back and streching, I hit another rut and my saddle tilted back a few degrees - nothing disastrous, just more inconvenience I could do without.

After 54 miles is where the race is decided - over the next 18 miles you have a huge Cat 2 ascent, a descent, then the final Cat 4 climb to the line. We got to the base in good position (front 1/3 of the peloton), Vince attacked with the lead group, and I adopted my usual "dial-it-back-and-reel-'em-in" pace. I passed EB and the other DWC boys, and felt really good. It flattens a bit near the top, and I had the power to keep cranking with a couple other guys. I left them on the last incline to the top, but I could hear EB's distinctive cough behind me. We traded pulls on the descent, pulling away from a couple more riders. EB slowly distanced me on the last climb by 30s, but I crossed the line in 30th with another personal best, 3h48m, only 14m off the winning time. Vince put in a strong ride, finishing 19th, 9m down.

Overall, a good showing - Vince ended GC in 21st, and I jumped 10 spots to 36th. I think we did Ciclistas, Montezuma County, and Scotland proud!

Gila...

Corrections! Turns out I rode the first stage faster than I thought - 3h19m. Yay for me. And I only jumped one place after the time trial, to 46th. Gila Monster report to come...

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Tour of the Gila

It's a windy weekend down in Silver City, but we're holding up.

DAY 1 - Inner Loop Road Race.
This race starts with a 10 mile long Cat 3 climb, and I have never made it over the top with the lead peleton. Same this year, but closest I've ever been - maybe 1/2k. That 1/2k makes all the difference, though, as the peleton disappears on the ensuing descent.

Vince made it over, and ended up 24th with Eric Burris from DWC. I hooked up with a group of 5, left them behind on the final climb, and came in 47th, about 28mins down. Still, my fastest time for this course, 3hr23m.

DAY 2 - Tyrone Time Trial
Can you say windy? As in ~40mph with gusts. Very scary during warm-ups, but I felt comfortable on the course. Stayed in the aero bars the whole time except the climbs, passing a lot of people who were having a hard time in the wind. Again, my best time, 48:59 for 16.5mi, 34th. Vince came in about a minute down. Overall, Vince dropped 2 spots to 26th, I gained 3 to 44th.

DAY 3 - Downtown Criterium
15 laps of a 1.1mi course with a kicker hill on the backside and an uphill finishing drag. I have never finished this crit before, always getting lapped and losing time. Not this year, though! Finished in the lead peleton - psyched! Eric B top 20, Vince 20s back. No change in GC.

One more day to go, 72mi 'Gila Monster' - always a fun time.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Durango Area Women Represent at Fleche Wallonne

Pretty impressive: Two Durango-area cyclists in the top 20 at the Fleche Wallonne Feminine:
Kristin McGrath, riding for the US National Team, 10th
Carmen Mcnellis Small, riding for TIBCO, 19th
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/la-fleche-wallonne-feminine-cdm-1/results
Way to go!