My third official race. :0)

thought I'd post the HR chart. Shows the elevation and you can see how the wind, killed on the way back. Lap-1 was on the way out, more up hill. Lap-2 was on the way back, more down hill, but slower.

Heart rate and course information:
see first attachment.
Lap information. Lap-1 is out. Lap-2 is the return.
See second attachment.

Congratulations. Sounds like you gave it your all which means you're still a winner. There's nothing else you need to have done to feel proud about placing 4th.

I think you deserve another pizza though!

Edit: I just ordered one after posting this! Sounded too good.

Quick question, how are you getting the elevation/climbing information that you have posted on your second link?

Congrats stormer! 4th is a nice finish, especially considering the riders. Sounds like you had a great time afterward with your daughter, too.

One other excellent outcome of races like that is that you now know exactly what you need to do next year to hang with the top dogs. Best of luck! I really enjoyed reading your pre-race prep threads.

Doctor Morbius said:

Congratulations. Sounds like you gave it your all which means you're still a winner. There's nothing else you need to have done to feel proud about placing 4th.

I think you deserve another pizza though!

Edit: I just ordered one after posting this! Sounded too good.

Quick question, how are you getting the elevation/climbing information that you have posted on your second link?

Thanks man. Dudes were cat-3 riders, I'm VERY happy with my effort. 😄

The information for the elevation comes from the Polar 720I HR monitor. I wouldn't ride without it. I love that thing. The information shown in the "laps" actually comes from the first chart. If you look at the colorful heart rate image, the beige-brown color that looks like it could be a "hill profile" is the profile of the course.

Starting at the top:
Red is my pulse
green is cadence
blue is speed

Background colors (behind what looks like the profile of a mountain or hill): pink, orange, green, light green colors are my heart rate zones.

Catabolic_Jones said:

Congrats stormer! 4th is a nice finish, especially considering the riders. Sounds like you had a great time afterward with your daughter, too.

One other excellent outcome of races like that is that you now know exactly what you need to do next year to hang with the top dogs. Best of luck! I really enjoyed reading your pre-race prep threads.

Thanks Cat'. I just like to type the information, hoping it will inspire others to ride or get out. PLUS, sometimes there might be a little something in there that might help somebody out. I've gotten a lot of help here, and hope in some small way I can help out in return. 😄 You watch, Morbius is gonna get a Polar 720i. 😄 If your'e an information junkie, it's the ticket.

Congrats! Great race, everything considered. You should feel very proud of hanging in and trying to chase down the guy who finished third. Long chases are the absolutely most painful and lonely aspects of racing -- I hate it. I think you (and everybody who trains essentially solo) is at a huge disadvantage in races. When I was racing, I had the good fortune of riding every day with several of the fastest riders in my area, including one guy who was a member of three Olympic road teams. We just pushed each other, especially on the hills. On race day, I didn't have any doubt about my ability to hang with the guys at front because they were my daily riding buddies. I always felt sorry for the guys who trained alone, because I just think it's very hard to push yourself as hard as your training buddies will push you. I'm getting in shape to race again now, but it'll be this Fall at the earliest and before I enter my first race I plan to start riding with a semi-pro race team here (I can't stay with them now). After a month or two riding with them, I'll know I'm ready. I know there's just no way I could be competitive if I trained alone all the time. It sounds like you live in an area without many serious cyclists. But, if you can find a group to hook up with on the weekends, they'll make you better, especially if they are young and fast. Then, next year you'll kick that other guy's a**.

stormer94 said:

You watch, Morbius is gonna get a Polar 720i. 😄 If your'e an information junkie, it's the ticket.

You bet your ass! I'm hooked on info! 😄 I'm an data junkie.

The only downside is a 720i costs almost as much as my bike. :eek: At $290 I'm going to have to sell a kidney or something. Maybe I could rent one.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=94&subcategory=1054&brand=&sku=8439&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=

P.S., Your description of your chase brought back vivid memories of a race that I'll share with you briefly. The hardest race I ever rode was a 120 mile race from the Canadian border to Bangor, Maine, including about 4 major climbs. I made the mistake of going on all three unsuccessful breaks in the first 80 miles of the race. When we got to the last major climb about 20 miles from the finish, I got dropped because I hadn't sufficiently recovered from the last break attempt. I rode the last 20 miles solo, and picked off about 5 guys to finish about 15th (out of about 120). Those 20 miles were the hardest 20 miles I ever rode. I think I wanted to quit every 100 yards. At one point, I began making a commitment to myself to quit after 100 more pedal strokes. Then, I'd commit to quit after another 100 strokes. I did that for awhile and eventually saw a sign that said, "Bangor 10 miles." Then, I said, "Aw, hell, you can ride 10 miles!" Your story brought back the pain, vividly.

RapDaddyo said:

P.S., Your description of your chase brought back vivid memories of a race that I'll share with you briefly. The hardest race I ever rode was a 120 mile race from the Canadian border to Bangor, Maine, including about 4 major climbs. I made the mistake of going on all three unsuccessful breaks in the first 80 miles of the race. When we got to the last major climb about 20 miles from the finish, I got dropped because I hadn't sufficiently recovered from the last break attempt. I rode the last 20 miles solo, and picked off about 5 guys to finish about 15th (out of about 120). Those 20 miles were the hardest 20 miles I ever rode. I think I wanted to quit every 100 yards. At one point, I began making a commitment to myself to quit after 100 more pedal strokes. Then, I'd commit to quit after another 100 strokes. I did that for awhile and eventually saw a sign that said, "Bangor 10 miles." Then, I said, "Aw, hell, you can ride 10 miles!" Your story brought back the pain, vividly.

Remember that show with Burt Reynolds in it? He swims out so far into the ocean, to drown himself. Once he gets way out there he decides he wants to live and starts making a deal with God. "let me get back to shore and I'll go to church 3 times a day, donate all money to charity, etc... As he gets closer to shore he starts taking it back, " and when I'm in church once a month, I'll try and remember to bring money"... Or whatever it was. It was quite funny, and the closer he got to shore, the less and less he promised. Kind of the reverse of your situation.

I suppose I am at a bit of a disadvantage riding solo all the time. BUT, bigger picture is that I'm healthier than I've ever been, and having fun. If I happen to pick off a few riders, all the better. 🙂

Will I ever be a cat-3 or 4 rider? Not likely. But I think I can eventually be a pretty good cat-5 racer. Which also, based on the lack of riders in my area, makes me the fastest MO-FO in a 100 mile radius... LOL... 😄

Doctor Morbius said:

You bet your ass! I'm hooked on info! 😄 I'm an data junkie.

The only downside is a 720i costs almost as much as my bike. :eek: At $290 I'm going to have to sell a kidney or something. Maybe I could rent one.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=94&subcategory=1054&brand=&sku=8439&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=

Morbius,

You know how to justify that stuff? What's a trip to the hospital worth? Chiropractor? That kind of stuff. PLUS, it's your HEART!?!?!?! Don't want to take chances with that baby. When I was heavy, I went to the Chiropractor 2 times a month, got massages all the time, was sick, had to buy medicines, etc.. Go to the doctor, expenses.... I probably spent $400-$500 a month on trying to be healthy because I was just not very healthy. I haven't had a cold, the sniffles or been sick in about 3 years now. Haven't been to the Chiropractor since I got under 200 pounds. Still indulge in a massage now and then though. 😉

Think about it like that and excercise equipment, and I mean "ANY" excercise equipment is justifiable. I managed to justify myself into a new time trial bike this year. I don't ride it that often, but do enjoy it. Only ridden it about 6 times. I spend most of my time on my other bike, I'm used to it, and save the TT bike for fun events or just days when you need to haul butt.

They had a 10 mile fun ride at this event, my wife, son, daughter decided to do it. That was just a good excuse for me to buy some new bikes. 🙂 Picked up the wife a Fuel 70. That's a nice bike for the money.

Thought I would mention that I polished off the rest of that 1/2 gallon of ice cream, and had 3 more pieces of pizza and then watched "Shaun of the dead".

***Bloated***... gag... ill... <but happy>.

stormer94 said:

Morbius,

You know how to justify that stuff? What's a trip to the hospital worth? Chiropractor? That kind of stuff. PLUS, it's your HEART!?!?!?! Don't want to take chances with that baby. When I was heavy, I went to the Chiropractor 2 times a month, got massages all the time, was sick, had to buy medicines, etc.. Go to the doctor, expenses.... I probably spent $400-$500 a month on trying to be healthy because I was just not very healthy. I haven't had a cold, the sniffles or been sick in about 3 years now. Haven't been to the Chiropractor since I got under 200 pounds. Still indulge in a massage now and then though. 😉

Jeeezus! That's a lot of cash to dole out for medical expenses. I've not been that unhealthy ever, except for when I was a kid. The worst I've ever been was probably this past year due to several respiratory problems. I thought I was overtraining doing too much time on the indoor trainer, but have recently come to the conclusion that I wasn't working hard enough to overtrain (65% - 74% max HR type stuff). I think the low humidity during these Indiana Winters is the culprit. Next Fall I'm going to fill the bloody house with humidifiers! 😄

I use an HRM. In fact I live by it. Feel naked if I go for a ride without it. Have a couple of them actually. They are the Sigma Sports ECG5 model that is a couple of years old. Every now and then Nashbar will have one in their returns section for $33. That's why I have two. The first one I paid a whopping $55 for but I ran over it with my car. It fell out of my pocket! Dohhh! Then I realized I needed 1 to use and 1 backup. Had a Polar A5 but sold it and bought the ECG5 as it has more features.
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=94&subcategory=1054&brand=&sku=12197&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=

Quoted post said:

Think about it like that and excercise equipment, and I mean "ANY" excercise equipment is justifiable. I managed to justify myself into a new time trial bike this year. I don't ride it that often, but do enjoy it. Only ridden it about 6 times. I spend most of my time on my other bike, I'm used to it, and save the TT bike for fun events or just days when you need to haul butt.

They had a 10 mile fun ride at this event, my wife, son, daughter decided to do it. That was just a good excuse for me to buy some new bikes. 🙂 Picked up the wife a Fuel 70. That's a nice bike for the money.

I certainly don't need to drop any more coinage into the cycling business. I have 2 mountain bikes, 3 road bikes (one that I've never even ridden!), a couple of Schwinn 10 speeds and a mess of Schwinn Sting-Rays. I've run out of room!

One of my favorite bikes has turned out to be this Allez Sport (pic) that I bought used for $375. The guy I bought it from worked at a bike shop and had only put 1000 miles on it. It was brand freakin' new! This is the bike I used to break my personal best 50 mile time Thursday. Did a solo 50 miler at 17.7 MPH. My previous best was last September at 17.0 MPH solo. But the course I do these on is a loop and has a hill, which is why I was interested in how you logged your climbs. I ride down the steep side and ride up 2 shallower inclines to get back to the top. It's not much of a hill but it's not the flats either. I'd actually like to find a closed loop that is flat so I could produce a better average speed. There's an outdoor velodrome here in town but it's always being used. I prefer to ride by myself on a closed loop with headphones on playing some 80's tunes. That's my own personal heaven.

Another one of my favorite bikes is this Raleigh M60 that I got on ebay for $325 shipped. Rode it today for a little recovery ride around the neighborhood. It's great for putzin' around or doing some exploring.

As you can see, I don't think it takes a lot of money to enjoy cycling and to get fit. Having the latest bling or poser equipment isn't important to me as I don't equate material posession with happiness. I've moved beyond capitalism & consumerism. Besides, I enjoy the process. And as long as I can see improvements I'm going to be happy and continue working toward improving my health. And I can do it on these bling free low cost bikes just as easily. And better yet, if they get stolen I'm not out major bucks! 😄

stormer94 said:

I suppose I am at a bit of a disadvantage riding solo all the time. BUT, bigger picture is that I'm healthier than I've ever been, and having fun. If I happen to pick off a few riders, all the better. 🙂

Will I ever be a cat-3 or 4 rider? Not likely. But I think I can eventually be a pretty good cat-5 racer. Which also, based on the lack of riders in my area, makes me the fastest MO-FO in a 100 mile radius... LOL... 😄

Given that you train mostly solo, I am all the more impressed with what you have achieved. I don't think I could do as well if I trained solo. Those of us who have good groups to ride with are probably not as appreciative of that fact as we should be. That's especially true if we have a really top rider to train with. I was so fortunate to have not only one of the top riders in my state but one of the top riders in the country at that time to train with. There's nothing quite like having your "coach" ride with you every day. And nothing's quite as humbling as to be maxed out in your sprint and have your training partner go by you easily, saying something like, "Nice lead out." BTW, given the info junkie you say you are, I'm pretty surprised that you don't have a power meter. I think using a PM could take you to a new level, especially training solo.

Doctor Morbius said:

Jeeezus!One of my favorite bikes has turned out to be this Allez Sport (pic) that I bought used for $375. The guy I bought it from worked at a bike shop and had only put 1000 miles on it. It was brand freakin' new! This is the bike I used to break my personal best 50 mile time Thursday. Did a solo 50 miler at 17.7 MPH. My previous best was last September at 17.0 MPH solo. But the course I do these on is a loop and has a hill, which is why I was interested in how you logged your climbs. I ride down the steep side and ride up 2 shallower inclines to get back to the top. It's not much of a hill but it's not the flats either. I'd actually like to find a closed loop that is flat so I could produce a better average speed. There's an outdoor velodrome here in town but it's always being used. I prefer to ride by myself on a closed loop with headphones on playing some 80's tunes. That's my own personal heaven.

I think you'd dig the elevation part of the 720i. I've never tired riding to music. I think I'd like to, but am to afraid of not being able to concentrate on the ride, my HR, cadence, and more importantly the TRAFFIC! I think I'd like it, but would be to chicken to try it. Plus I'd be concerned that I would concentrate to much on the music and not enough on the ride. Plus, when I'm riding a recovery day, it's one of those special days, you're riding in the middle of nowhere and you get to practice your singing or impressions.... LOL.

RapDaddyo said:

Given that you train mostly solo, I am all the more impressed with what you have achieved. I don't think I could do as well if I trained solo. Those of us who have good groups to ride with are probably not as appreciative of that fact as we should be. That's especially true if we have a really top rider to train with. I was so fortunate to have not only one of the top riders in my state but one of the top riders in the country at that time to train with. There's nothing quite like having your "coach" ride with you every day. And nothing's quite as humbling as to be maxed out in your sprint and have your training partner go by you easily, saying something like, "Nice lead out." BTW, given the info junkie you say you are, I'm pretty surprised that you don't have a power meter. I think using a PM could take you to a new level, especially training solo.

I'd like to get a powertapp, but really debate it's value. I've already got some wattage information I get from my Computrainer. BUT, I would kind of like to see what kind of wattage I'm putting out in the "real world". You got me thinking about it again... 🙂 I see ZIPP is selling a wheel with the powertapp right from the factory. Hmmm.

I'd love to have a riding partner, not someboy soft, somebody that really wants to push it now and then. I'm pretty self motivated, and would worry I'd hook up with a slacker... would be my luck. "Dude, we've been riding at 12 mph for over an hour, I think you're recovered from the 15' hill in front of the ice cream store that we also had to stop at...." heheh.

I can "ride" with my wife, but it's purely for pleasure, 5-8mph 40 cadence, for about 3 miles and she's good... 😉

stormer94 said:

I think you'd dig the elevation part of the 720i. I've never tired riding to music. I think I'd like to, but am to afraid of not being able to concentrate on the ride, my HR, cadence, and more importantly the TRAFFIC! I think I'd like it, but would be to chicken to try it. Plus I'd be concerned that I would concentrate to much on the music and not enough on the ride. Plus, when I'm riding a recovery day, it's one of those special days, you're riding in the middle of nowhere and you get to practice your singing or impressions.... LOL.

I only listen to music when I'm riding at a certain park under very low traffic conditions. I would never do it otherwise.

Yes, the altimiter function sounds intriguing. There are cyclecomputers out there with that function too that aren't as expensive. Here's one for $100 under Nashbar's returns section so I doubt it will stay there long.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=&sku=9548&storetype=2&estoreid=&pagename=

stormer94 said:

I'd like to get a powertapp, but really debate it's value.

I find that hard to believe in 2005. Maybe in 1995, but not today. There are some really extensive discussions of power meters and their benefits in the Power Training forum. Let me sum it up like this. Power is the fundamental objective of cycling because power is what makes the bike go forward. Power meters measure this directly, either at the cranks (SRM and ergomo), the hub (Powertap) or the chain (Polar). Given that you've already got the Polar and seem to be enamored with its data and interface, I would think you would lean toward their add-on power module. I think the PT and SRM Pro are superior, but I have friends who swear by the Polar. One of them runs a bike shop and has been riding and racing for 30 years, 20 years as a pro. His bike shop sells PT and SRM, but his personal preference is the Polar. For someone who trains mostly solo, I would think a PM is even more important due to your ability to more precisely develop and ride power-based training rides. All other data captured by today's cycling computers are lag variables and are affected by many factors. You currently rely on HR as the primary indicator of how hard you are working. But, HR is affected by many things and is not consistent day to day. Power is consistent day to day and is not affected by anything. 300w is 300w, any day of the week. If you got a PM, you could also consider getting a remote coach. You just send them your power files every week and they can help you develop a training program for your specific cycling objectives. All the top coaches now work with their elite cyclist clients with power meter files. I am considering going the remote coach route myself. There is a coach in WI who rides and wins Masters events at the state and national level that I'm thinking about working with. I think he'll appreciate the training issues of a masters cyclist like me. I think that having someone look at my PM files at the end of the week will provide that extra little incentive to do my rides in accordance with the plan. Sometimes I feel like backing off a little for those last couple of intervals. If I know my coach is going to be looking at my files, I think that would provide a little extra incentive to finish strong, the same as if he was riding alongside me.

Congratulations on your race, and not a bad time at all considering the 2 600 ft sections of climbing you had to do.

-Bikeguy

RapDaddyo said:

I find that hard to believe in 2005. Maybe in 1995, but not today. There are some really extensive discussions of power meters and their benefits in the Power Training forum. Let me sum it up like this. Power is the fundamental objective of cycling because power is what makes the bike go forward. Power meters measure this directly, either at the cranks (SRM and ergomo), the hub (Powertap) or the chain (Polar). Given that you've already got the Polar and seem to be enamored with its data and interface, I would think you would lean toward their add-on power module. I think the PT and SRM Pro are superior, but I have friends who swear by the Polar. One of them runs a bike shop and has been riding and racing for 30 years, 20 years as a pro. His bike shop sells PT and SRM, but his personal preference is the Polar. For someone who trains mostly solo, I would think a PM is even more important due to your ability to more precisely develop and ride power-based training rides. All other data captured by today's cycling computers are lag variables and are affected by many factors. You currently rely on HR as the primary indicator of how hard you are working. But, HR is affected by many things and is not consistent day to day. Power is consistent day to day and is not affected by anything. 300w is 300w, any day of the week. If you got a PM, you could also consider getting a remote coach. You just send them your power files every week and they can help you develop a training program for your specific cycling objectives. All the top coaches now work with their elite cyclist clients with power meter files. I am considering going the remote coach route myself. There is a coach in WI who rides and wins Masters events at the state and national level that I'm thinking about working with. I think he'll appreciate the training issues of a masters cyclist like me. I think that having someone look at my PM files at the end of the week will provide that extra little incentive to do my rides in accordance with the plan. Sometimes I feel like backing off a little for those last couple of intervals. If I know my coach is going to be looking at my files, I think that would provide a little extra incentive to finish strong, the same as if he was riding alongside me.

I think if somebody like Shimano enters the PM market, then prices will drop drastically. They already have dropped compared to a few years back but a big player entering the market could chop the price in half overnight.

Certainly if Stormer is willing to plunk down $300 for a Polar i720 HRM, then a PM is in the cards for him. He already has a Computrainer, which has that info available for data manipulation, but that's only practical for indoor Winter sessions.