On a more positive note Ethan raced his bike again. It was a last minute thing and I ended up missing him race. When I got there he was in his UCLA cycling jersey and had a number on his handle bars. There was a small course set up for the kids and Ethan was at the starting line. He took off and flew around the course, I couldnt believe how fast he was going.
Then I noticed he had a medal around his neck. I asked how he did and he said he got first place. When I ask my sister in law she also said that he finished first in his age group. Ethan was so proud and he wanted to ride his bike around the course over and over.
I have reached my annual goal for mileage already. I have a few more rides to upload but at last count I have 1240 miles. I have been riding 30-40 miles each Sunday with Gerardo and Jacob. Its nice to have a couple of new riders enjoying the sport and seeing how much fun cycling is.
They are great to ride with and its a lot of fun to share my experiences with them and help them improve in all around cycling. Maybe next year I can get them to do a fun ride or an underground race where the environment is relaxed.
I signed up for a triathlon with one of my co-workers. I have been running and biking and I am going to start swimming. Its a short sprint triathlon in reverse order; run, bike, swim. Hopefully I will get some good cross training out of it.
Then its back to training for the race season. With school and work and the family time is limited and cycling is the least important on that list. So I want to start training early so that I can just do intensity training during the race season and not be concerned with getting into race shape.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Dominguez Hills CBR Crit
I decided to race the off season criterium at Dominguez Hills. I raced the course early this year and finished 12th. The course was good and it was seemed like a pretty good place to get some more experience. The course was a basic four right hand turn course with three lanes on each street. The race was also later in the days so we got to get up later and relax a little in the morning.
That relaxation changed when we got to the race. I forgot my jersey at home and a T shirt really does work. Anne had to rush to the store and buy me one while I was warming up. Luckily she made it back in time so I could change.
As soon as the race started someone took off. So I decided to chase. I am not sure why because I always tell myself to just sit in the pack and save energy until the end. For someone reason though people off the front are like my running rabbit at a dog race. The break didnt last long and when we were caught I relaxed and sat in the pack.
Around the three laps to go the field started to break up. I ended up passing a lot of people who looked like they had just quit. On the next lap though the pace slowed way down. I am pretty sure that everyone caught back up and I was expecting a big push on the last lap.
As we past the line with one to go I moved up towards the front but the pace remained slow. So on the second corner I decided to take off. I moved up to the front and started up the small hill on the course. Then everyone else started to attack.
I went a little too early and was out of gas with about 200 meters to go. I push through anyways and finished 19th out of 50+ racers. I was pretty happy with how I performed.
That will probably be my last CBR race however. The USCF decided that the CBR (local organization) races will not count towards upgrading your license. I personally noticed that the CBR was comprised of people who were getting pulled from USCF races. They would complain and say it wasnt fair and then say that they were going to race at the CBR.
I have no problem with that but even at the CBR races they complain about the speed and the riding styles and everything else. So I think I will stick to the USCF events. They are more competitive and there is less complaining from people who can actually finish a race.
That relaxation changed when we got to the race. I forgot my jersey at home and a T shirt really does work. Anne had to rush to the store and buy me one while I was warming up. Luckily she made it back in time so I could change.
As soon as the race started someone took off. So I decided to chase. I am not sure why because I always tell myself to just sit in the pack and save energy until the end. For someone reason though people off the front are like my running rabbit at a dog race. The break didnt last long and when we were caught I relaxed and sat in the pack.
Around the three laps to go the field started to break up. I ended up passing a lot of people who looked like they had just quit. On the next lap though the pace slowed way down. I am pretty sure that everyone caught back up and I was expecting a big push on the last lap.
As we past the line with one to go I moved up towards the front but the pace remained slow. So on the second corner I decided to take off. I moved up to the front and started up the small hill on the course. Then everyone else started to attack.
I went a little too early and was out of gas with about 200 meters to go. I push through anyways and finished 19th out of 50+ racers. I was pretty happy with how I performed.
That will probably be my last CBR race however. The USCF decided that the CBR (local organization) races will not count towards upgrading your license. I personally noticed that the CBR was comprised of people who were getting pulled from USCF races. They would complain and say it wasnt fair and then say that they were going to race at the CBR.
I have no problem with that but even at the CBR races they complain about the speed and the riding styles and everything else. So I think I will stick to the USCF events. They are more competitive and there is less complaining from people who can actually finish a race.
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