The Importance of Gear Inches

If you never think about gear inches, you probably don’t ride a fixed gear bike. With a geared road bike you have a range of gears, and you select whatever feels good for the moment. You might discuss with your mechanic changing the gearing if you are going to be racing flat crits, or climbing mountains in Spain, but otherwise you stick with the gearing options that came with the bike (maybe a 53/39x12/25 or a 50/32x11/23), which typically give you enough range to cover most of your riding.

But with a fixie there are no options. Whatever gear you have on the bike is what you are using on the flats, on the descents, on the climbs, sprinting for the yellow sign, etc. And if that gearing isn’t right, you will quickly be wishing you could change gears. Sometimes you forget and you start to push sideways on the brake lever, and then you remember …

The gearing that comes with a fixed gear varies. A true track bike would come with tall (high) gearing appropriate for the track but which would not get you up anything that resembled a hill. A single speed/fixie from your LBS might come with 48x17 gearing, and probably has a flip flop rear wheel with a freewheel on it as delivered. You buy the fixed cog and mount it on the other side of the wheel and remount the rear wheel to use the fixed cog. The 48x17 or 48x16 gear will work for normal riding on the road, but won’t be of much use if you try climbing hills like in Ellicott City.

And Ellicott City was the ride last Sunday. Coach Birner invited the wheelsucker to join, and the wheelsucker promptly asked "what gearing should I use, coach?" Coach Birner replied "39x16". This presented the wheelsucker with a problem. While his collection of fixed gear parts has been growing rapidly it does not yet include either a 39 tooth chain ring or a 16 tooth cog. A spare 39 tooth chain ring from a road bike would work – the wheelsucker’s road bikes and his fixed gear all use 130mm chainring bolt spacing – but both the 17 cog and the 15 cog in the wheelsucker’s collection would be too far off the 16. The nearest the wheelsucker could get to a 39x16 was a 42x17. By now you are probably wondering how to compare gears. The answer is: Gear Inches.

The formula for gear inches is number of teeth on the chain ring divided by number of teeth on the cog multiplied by wheel-and-tire diameter. The math-aware amongst you will immediately note that whoever dreamed this up forgot about Pi! Not only that, some people use actual wheel and tire diameter (say a wheel and 700x23c tire which converts to something over 27 inches), while others use the old 27 inch wheel diameter.

Here are the actual (not nominal) gear inches for some combinations (assuming a 700x23c tire):

50x14 93.9 gear inches
48x14 90.2 gear inches
47x14 88.3 gear inches
46x14 86.4 gear inches
48x16 77.3 gear inches
48x17 72.7 gear inches
38x15 66.6 gear inches
42x17 65.0 gear inches
39x16 64.1 gear inches

The 50x14 gear is appropriate for roller racing, and for pro level track monsters who push a monster gear. 47x14 is a mere mortal track gear. But it turns out that a difference of one gear inch is significant.

For example, coach Birner had suggested the 39x16 to the wheelsucker for the Ellicott City ride, but both coach Birner and Jay Murphy actually showed up with 38x15. A 39x16 is 64.1 gear inches, but fortunately for the wheelsucker he actually showed up with a 42x17, which is 65.0 gear inches. However he was still 1.6 gear inches short of what Mike and Jay were using.

Now it has been quite some time since the wheelsucker sat in a classroom studying mathematics, but by his calculations, one crank of the pedals with a 42x17 results in the bike rolling 5.178353 meters, while one crank of the pedals with a 38x15 results in the bike rolling 5.309867 meters. And this works out to the wheelsucker having to pedal at a faster cadence than Jay, just to stay with Jay. So if Jay is pedaling 160rpm down a hill, the wheelsucker has to be pedaling at about 164. And the sad truth is that the wheelsucker cannot pedal faster than Jay Murphy.

So the wheelsucker’s collection of fixie parts is being increased by the addition of a 38 tooth chain ring and a 16 tooth cog. And with any luck the wheelsucker will be riding the 38x15 combination at the Ellicott City ride next Sunday. Going with a slightly higher gear inches is tempting, but then the wheelsucker would have to push on the pedals harder than Jay, while chasing Jay up a long climb, and that does not sound like a winner, either.

If the math confuses you, simply download one of the iPhone gear inches apps and use that. But consider than any time you alter the number of total teeth (add the number of teeth on the chain ring to the number of teeth on the cog), you need to change chain length by adding or removing links.

Maybe you should stick to the geared bike after all.

Saturday Feb 14th Training Ride: The Wheelsucker Report

The wheelsucker tries to follow his coach’s workout instructions with the commmitment of a religious zealot following dictums in sacred religious writings. The wheelsucker is not trying to qualify for some sort of better afterlife, rather he hopes that doing the workouts properly will lead to another ten or fifteen watts when he really needs it, which might ultimately lead to winning a race. And that would be worth something!

So when the wheelsucker read his instructions for the Saturday ride and saw

"Settle in the pack today and do as little effort as you can get away with. Focus on conserving energy." He was determined to obey (and in truth, happy to have the excuse). A later e-mail from coach Birner had emphasized the point about doing no work, but had added "win the sprint". Hmn, the wheelsucker had no idea how he could accomplish that.

The wheelsucker showed up on his weight weenie CAAD9 and his new super bling deep dish aero wheels with Powertap rear hub. Lance Armstrong may have written a book entitled "It's Not About the Bike", but the wheelsucker was not taking any chances, just in case.

So all the way down Patuxent Parkway, most of the way down Sands, and up Ed Prout, the wheelsucker was dutifully sucking wheels at the back of the group. Once in awhile he accidentally found himself near the front, at risk of pulling through and taking a pull, but he carefully pulled out of line early and rotated back. Sure, the wheelsucker had to put down some power for short periods on climbs, or to make sure he was on a wheel in front, but by and large he sucked wheels most of the way to the rest stop, and let others do the work of chasing Dave down, whenever he went off the front. A couple of times he could not resist the temptation to close down a gap as someone – almost invariably Dave, sometimes the tandem – tried to go off the front, but after a short hard (for the wheelsucker) pull, the wheelsucker would flick an elbow and let someone else finish the job. And if that didn’t work and the tandem was behind him, the wheelsucker would look for the tandem, and take a tow up.

At the bottom of the climb out of Rosehaven, the group was in a double line with Mike Wagner and the wheelsucker leading; they pulled off and started to rotate back, but Dave came through and ramped it up. No one was inclined to close the gap, so Mike and the wheelsucker stopped dropping back and tried to ride near the front so they could grab a wheel when someone tried to close the gap. The wheelsucker was behind the tandem in the right hand line, and climbing is the tandem’s only weakness, so the wheelsucker looked for a gap and pulled out into the left line, and was perfectly positioned when -- sure enough, near the top of the climb -- Ace went by seated and pushing a big gear. The wheelsucker was in a quandary: Follow instructions and let Dave, Ace and perhaps others open a gap, or go after them. Even religious zealots can be tempted, so it is hardly surprising that the wheelsucker went after Ace, rode past the front of the group and quickly found Ace’s wheel. Ace was on Dave’s wheel, and the three had a gap. Ace rolled by Dave, and ramped up the pace. But the wheelsucker, having proven to himself that he could get to a safe wheel (and enjoying having an excuse to not work), decided he did not need to hammer with them, and sat up. Four chasers rolled by, and the wheelsucker grabbed the back of that train and rested, while Michel, Mike Wagner and others did all the work.

Dave and Ace continued to open the gap up the rest of the climb. Shortly before the right turn, the wheelsucker’s temptation to close the gap overcame his commitment to sitting in. He rolled to the front of the chase, checked that the next rider was on his wheel, and went to maximum wheelsucker power. Not much happened; maximum wheelsucker power was not enough (this should not be a surprise, as the wheelsucker was admitting before the ride started that his lactate threshold power was lower than that of anyone’s late grandmother). But the wheelsucker was feeling good, and felt fast with his super bling deep dish aero carbon wheels, and kept pushing. The gap had closed slightly by the time the wheelsucker led the chase group through the right turn, and he continued hammering down the hill, pedaling hard in a big gear, and the gap started to close! Once he’d got it a little closer, the wheelsucker conveniently remembered he was supposed to be taking it easy and flicked his elbow, letting Steve Owens close the rest of the gap. Steve did a magnificent job of holding about 500 watts and 30+ mph downhill, to lead the group up to Ace and Dave, all while the wheelsucker rested. The tandem went OTB on some rollers, so the group sat up climbing past the horse farms. Steve Owens rolled off the front and made the hard right turn that led to the wall with a gap, the wheelsucker waited (and wheelsucked) till the very top, to roll by and get to the front, then waited for a good wheel to grab. Conveniently, Ace rolled by. Down the descent before the wall, the wheelsucker was trying to hold Ace’s wheel, but the rush of wind as the tandem went by knocked him off. Ace climbed the wall seated, pushing a big gear. The tandem faded on the climb. Ace caught Steve, but the wheelsucker was somehow still glued to Ace’s rear wheel (this is what wheelsuckers do). At the top Ace was leading, but did not accelerate as hard as he sometimes does, and the wheelsucker was able to hold his wheel and catch his breath… and then wait for the right moment to rotate to the back.

Somewhere near Nutwell Sudely, Dave went off the front for about the seventeenth time, and Ace, Steve and the wheelsucker went after him (rest assured the wheelsucker was on the back as someone else punched it to close the gap). The four opened a gap on the peleton, and rotated pulls. Steve popped shortly before they crossed 255. The wheelsucker was rationalizing to himself that his coach’s instructions justified him taking very short pulls, and he let Dave and Ace do most of the work. The three had a nice gap at route 2, though Steve was still in sight. They survived the left turn off of route 2, then shortly after going down Harwood Hill, Dave’s long pulls took their toll, and he popped. The wheelsucker was glued to Ace’s wheel, so when Ace slowed down to let Dave catch up, the wheelsucker gratefully caught his breath. The three continued down Patuxent Parkway, up the wheelsucker’s favorite climb shortly before 214 and then sprinted across 214 as the light turned yellow. The wheelsucker continued taking short aging-wheelsucker-trying-to-follow-his-coaches-instructions pulls, while Ace took monster pulls, and Dave also took long pulls. The long pulls wore Dave down, and he popped half way from 214 to the finish. This time Ace thought they were close enough to the finish to make it without Dave, so he continued, with the wheelsucker still glued to his rear wheel. With at least second across the line almost guaranteed , the wheelsucker turned his thoughts to how on earth – short of some sort of divine intervention – he was going to beat Ace in a sprint. On the last flat - between the penultimate dip and the last dip - Ace pulled off after another monster pull, and the wheelsucker jumped. Well, jumped for the wheelsucker; Ace was so scared by this move he did absolutely nothing, and simply rode alongside making it clear he wasn’t worried at all, and the wheelsucker quickly gave up and assumed his usual wheelsucking position behind Ace. Ace led down the dip and up the other side. The wheelsucker was expecting Ace to go early on the climb to the finish, as Ace seems to like a long sprint. The wheelsucker’s first idea was to let Ace accelerate and try to hold his wheel, hoping for the best; but Ace didn’t go. As they neared the finish, the wheelsucker had another idea: If Ace wasn’t going to go long, but was thinking shorter sprint, what if the wheelsucker waited until they were close enough that even an aging wheelsucker could get out of the saddle and hammer as far as the line, and then try and jump Ace? This was the best the wheelsucker’s aging and tired brain could come up with, so from nearly point blank range to the finish, the wheelsucker launched – well, launched for a wheelsucker – from behind Ace, and jumped to the far side of the road, standing up and going as hard and as fast as an aging wheelsucker can sprint. Ace was either slow to react or not particularly interested in winning the sprint, because the wheelsucker got a bit of a gap. Ace refused to get on his line, close the gap and then jump out, but rode on a parallel line, gaining on the wheelsucker with each revolution of the pedals. But somehow, the wheelsucker still led by a wheel as they both lunged for the line. Ace had a much better lunge, but the wheelsucker still got it by about eight inches. Go figure! Ace said afterwards his legs were tired (and he had pulled about 75% of the time in the break), but the wheelsucker thinks Ace just let him have it.


Wheelsucker Data:
Time 2:50:04 (P&R to P&R including a couple of cool down laps in P&R).
Average speed 20.87 mph (slow early, fast late).
189 watts average, 899 watts peak.

Roller Racing: The Wheelsucker Branches Out

A long time ago, before global warming, there was a season called winter. Depending on exactly where you were in the Northern hemisphere (above the tropic), winter was so cold that rain fell as snow, and open water would freeze. People would shovel snow off their driveways, ski, and complain about winter, as forms of winter exercise. Since the roads frequently had snow or ice on them, cycling outdoors was dangerous, and it was much too cold to be comfortable doing this; so cyclists developed ways of riding indoors.

What with global warming, we no longer have a winter. Sure, we still call it winter, but there is almost never snow or ice on the ground, and many cyclists ride outdoors year round, though most of those declare an "off season" that was frequently a Thursday afternoon in November. But old traditions die hard, and the tools and techniques developed by cyclists in the old "real winter" days are still here, being used by some of the traditionalists.

Hence, indoor roller racing.

Roller racing is done indoors, so is unaffected by weather. Two riders face each other on two sets of rollers. Each set of rollers drives a pointer on a shared dial. The pointers show distance. To start a roller race both riders are stopped on their rollers, with the pointers lined up at the starting point. Each rider is held upright so they can start with both hands on the handle bars. While traditionally this is done on a 98 gear inch track bike, the shortage of track bikes, and riders who can ride track bikes, has caused the roller racing aficionados to become a little flexible, and allow road bikes using a 53-14 gear (which is about 99.5 gear inches, depending on wheel/tire size. A timer calls out "riders ready!" and then "go!" There is very little load on the rollers, so riders are spinning as fast as they can, going over 40 mph. While the race could go for any distance, apparently ½ mile, 1 mile and 2 miles are frequently raced distances. With the low load, high cadence and resulting very high speed, roller races are over in a matter of a few seconds.

Feeling that he had done "OK" at being an old dog learning a new trick (group riding and masters age group racing), the wheelsucker was easily convinced by Bobby "The Baltimore Bullet" Phillips to try roller racing. The roller racing setup is in Bobby’s basement, just north of the Baltimore beltway, so one evening a week the wheelsucker shows up at Bobby’s place and meets a few more cyclists encouraged (by Bobby) to try roller racing.

The wheelsucker had been under the impression that being able to ride on rollers was a prerequisite for roller racing. This was a show stopper for the wheelsucker, who – having talked president Shapter up to $150 – bought a set of rollers from him, but has so far failed to ride a bike on them for more than 15 seconds at a time, and has scared himself silly trying. But the Baltimore Bullet was very persuasive, saying he was a great teacher.

Evening one: Encouraged by Bobby, Track-Sean and Carol, the wheelsucker tried to get going on the roller racing rollers. With Bobby holding the head tube and seatpost, the wheelsucker was able to "ride the rollers" and was even able to stay on the rollers for short periods of time, while Bobby would let go. Fortunately Bobby is rather good at this, and would grab the wheelsucker’s head tube and seatpost just before the wheelsucker "lost it", so despite coming very close every 15 or 20 seconds, the wheelsucker did not actually crash off the rollers. When it came time to "race" for time, Bobby did not dare let go of the wheelsucker's bicycle, as the flailing wheelsucker was all over the rollers, would have been off them in short order, and the nearby contents of Bobby’s basement were at risk, to say nothing of the aging wheelsucker himself.

It turns out the wheelsucker is not bad at flailing, and with Bobby’s firm grip on the bike, the wheelsucker turned in some respectable times.

Evening two: Acutely aware that he had not in fact mastered a new trick (but was only doing it with Bobby literally holding his bike on the rollers), the wheelsucker was determined to have another go. A somewhat different group were already there when the wheelsucker arrived, Janet, not one but two track riders named Sean, John K. and another rider whose name escaped the wheelsucker’s aging memory. The other riders had already started their races. The wheelsucker decided to warm up on another set of rollers. These were carefully positioned next to a steel post, but were – in retrospect – perhaps a little to close to a free standing shelf containing pictures of Bobby and his parents cycling, some trophies, and some extra water bottles. The wheelsucker managed to get the bike on the rollers, himself on the bike clipped into the pedals, and holding firmly to the steel post, started pedaling. This was working fine until it was time to let go the post and move that hand to the handlebars. The wheelsucker was having trouble with this transition and had several aborted attempts – frantically grabbing the steel post each time to save himself – before trying the free standing shelf, as it was closer to the handlebars. The wheelsucker regrets that his flailing knocked several items off the shelf, and caused multiple pictures to fall over flat on the shelf as the wheelsucker fell off the rollers to the left, being saved from a complete crash by John K. who grabbed him on the way down. By mutual consent, John and the wheelsucker agreed that the wheelsucker should avoid warming up by himself.

The wheelsucker turned in respectable times (but keep in mind Bobby was holding him on the rollers) of 1:14 for the mile, 2:32 for the two mile and 29 seconds for the half mile.

As John Krawczyk wrote:

I’m still hurting. I didn’t think it would be possible to ride 2 miles in 2 ½ minutes, or beat Ali at something this year (if only by a second and a half), even on rollers.

Thanks for hosting this Bob.

In case you’re all wondering, Bob kicked all our asses at ½ mile (27 sec) and 1 mile (59 sec). Ali did great at the ½ (29 sec), the 1 (1:14) and 2 mile (2:32) distances for someone who’s not a roller rider. A little more practice on them, and he’ll cut those times down even more. FWIW I covered the ½ in 31 sec, the 1 mile in 1:22 (bad pacing) and the 2 miles at 2:31. Ali and I went head to head on the 2 mile. He was tough, but I edged him on lap 10 with a killer sprint finish that knocked a cleat screw right out my shoe.

The wheelsucker is looking forward to trying again next week. It is a unique experience – at least for the wheelsucker – to warm up by riding the rollers for less than a mile and then going as hard as an aging wheelsucker can go, for all of 29 seconds. It is amazing how tired and out of breath one can become in only 29 seconds. The notion of working very hard and not actually going anywhere also seems strangely familiar.

Wheelsucker data:
Total duration: 13:16 (that is thirteen MINUTES)
Distance 5.20 miles
125 calories
Max HR 168
Max power 547 watts
Max cadence 178rpm
Max speed 51.2mph

Slip Sliding Away: Sunday in Philadelphia

The wheelsucker's scheduled Sunday workout was:

Ride fixed gear bike on a rolling course. Ride mostly in heart rate 2-3 zones with some 4-5a on small uphills.

The wheelsucker thought this should be easy enough to do in the Philadelphia area, and he thought the standard Sunday ride 8:45AM starting at the dog statue would work well. Besides, Sunday was warmer and sunnier than Saturday, and the wintry mix forecast for Saturday had been mostly a no-show, and the roads appeared bare. However, when the wheelsucker rolled up to the little park with the dog statue, he was only the third rider there, one of the others being Super Brit¹. After waiting a few minutes for other riders to turn up, the three decided to roll over to the Italian fountain behind the Art Museum to see if there was a ride starting there to hook up with.
On the way there, the third rider disappeared leaving Super Brit and the wheelsucker -- neither of whom knew any routes -- wondering what to do. Super Brit and the wheelsucker decided to see if they could remember the Vino Velo ride route, but problems started pulling out of the parking lot when they disagreed regarding whether the Vino Velo route went straight across Kelly Drive, or was a right turn onto Kelly Drive. While this particular issue was resolved in favor of going straight, it did not take long for Super Brit and the wheelsucker to find themselves beyond their known world, clearly off the normal Vino Velo route. But this was not too bad, as the day was nicer than Saturday, the road they were on did have a bicycle lane, and looking at the brightest area of the sky, they figured they were heading Northwest.

An hour into the ride things were looking good; Super Brit was looking for an easier ride, so the wheelsucker and his fixie were not pushing as hard to stay with him, but still the wheelsucker WAS following Super Brit down a hill when all of a sudden Super Brit went down, parting company with his bike and sliding down the shoulder on ice. The wheelsucker's first thought was to avoid hitting Super Brit, but this rapidly became moot as the wheelsucker went down two seconds later and slid with his fixie down the hill. When both riders finally came to a stop, they slowly picked themselves up, leaned against the guardrail and assessed the damage. Super Brit's folding bicycle was more than thirty feet back up the hill. Super Brit was sighing in pain. Both riders had fallen to the left, and the wheelsucker had hit his head (and helmet) on the ground and was shaken up. After some assessment it was determined that neither rider was hurt badly, but both were a little beat up. Jackets were scarred on the elbow and both riders were covered in salt stains on their left sides.

Continuing the ride out of town (where it seemed to be colder than in town) with the possibility of more ice seemed foolish, so the two turned around and carefully retraced their steps. But it was less than five minutes later than the wheelsucker found himself in the bike lane (which was generally less salted than the car lanes) avoiding car traffic, and suddenly on ice. The wheelsucker very carefully tried to ease the bike over to the left towards the traffic lane, but the bike lane was sloping right to left. This effort lasted a short while until the wheelsucker went down on his left side again, but not as hard as the first fall.

After picking himself up again the wheelsucker reverted to survival mode, riding easily in the traffic lane, trying to spot icy patches before he rode over them.
It did seem to be warming up slightly as they headed back towards Philadelphia, and eventually the two decided to head over to Manayunk either for some hills if they could find a dry patch, or for a coffee. Once in Manayunk the coffee won out and Super Brit and the wheelsucker holed up with large latte's (note to Lance and Kyle - these were skinny lattes) and an almond croissant.

After waiting what seemed like sufficient time for some more ice patches to melt, Super Brit and the wheelsucker carefully rode back to the Art Museum area, going easy on Super Brit's pulled groin muscle and their tender hips, knees and shoulders.

The ride back was uneventful, and after a nice hot shower at his girlfriend's home, the wheelsucker assessed the total damage as a headache, a slightly sprained neck, banged elbow, a bruised and sore hip and some mild road rash on his hip and knee. It could have been a lot worse.

Another Vino Velo Ride

Nearly all group rides in the Philadelphia area start from the Art Museum, actually the fountain behind the Art Museum. Of those that do not, most start from the dog statue across the street in a small triangular one block park. There are a few other locations listed on various websites, but on the two occasions the wheelsucker tried those, no one else showed up. While there are multiple rides a day -- nearly hourly -- going from the fountain behind the Art Museum, the 9:00AM Saturday Vino Velo ride is well known and popular. And the tough Philadelphia cyclists are renowned for doing the ride almost regardless of conditions. So it was quite a surprise for the wheelsucker to be parked near the fountain at 8:55AM, getting ready to ride, and not seeing another rider. Surely the Philadelphians could not have been scared off by the somewhat-below-freezing temperatures, the ice in the gutter, or the forecast of "wintry mix"? Finally another rider rolled by and stopped to chat. It was a rider the wheelsucker had ridden with before, on a previous Vino Velo a few weeks ago.

"Super Brit"¹ is staying in a hotel in Philadelphia on weekends and doing consulting work during the week in various other cities. Since he is flying all the time, he rides a neat folding bicycle. While this may not sound like the greatest road bike, the bicycle has an SRM and drop handlerbars, and comes close to duplicating the position he has on his various road bikes (which are still in England).

One of the "rules" of the Vino velo ride is that one circles the fountain counter clockwise while waiting for other riders to arrive.

Super Brit and the wheelsucker accordingly circled the fountain and eventually Alex² turned up. While three riders -- two of them visitors -- was hardly representative of a Vino Velo ride, this did give the group one rider who actually knew the route, a key requirement. Alex, "Myrig" and the wheelsucker set off. Given the forecast the wheelsucker had brought his rain bike, his old Trek 1220 upgraded to 105 ten speed and a Powertap wired wheel, not one of his weight weenie race bikes. It took a while to warmup, as though Super Brit's SRM was reporting 1 degree C above freezing this was while riding past puddles that were clearly frozen solid. Once warmed up, and one the riders realized the crunching sound was from riding over salt, not crunching through ice, the pace increased, with Super Brit driving the pace most of the time, Alex taking over from time to time, and the wheelsucker working harder than he cared to and increasingly concerned about being dropped in some middle-of-nowhere spot somewhere northwest of Philadelphia. The wheelsucker is very good at wheelsucking, but it is probably worth pointing out that the salt on the roads was melting the snow and ice, so there was a lot of dirty water on the roads, and this dirty water was being flung up by the rear tires of Super Brit and Alex. The wheelsucker was turning brown/grey from all of this, and his sunglasses were slowly being covered. But the risks of being dropped in some middle-of-nowhere spot somewhere northwest of Philadelphia outweighed the risks of being completely covered in salt and grit spray, so the wheelsucker hung on, wheelsucking, breathing hard, and taking one or two very short pulls in case anyone was counting.

After riding back through Manayunk onto Kelly Drive, the three crossed the river and rode back to the Art Museum on a particuarly flat -- actually slightly downhill section. By this time Super Brit and Alex had been chatting awhile, and the wheelsucker overheard snippets to the effect that Super Brit was the equivalent of a cat 1 in England, and had a 52 minute 49k TT time. This was enough for the wheelsucker to accelerate enough to pull along side and ask how many watts Super Brit had averaged for those 52 minutes, "340 watts", was the answer! And Super Brit weighs about 130-135 pounds! Super Brit was driving the pace back to the Art Museum and the wheelsucker finally cracked and decided he HAD to take a pull or would not be able to live with himself, so after waiting sufficient time to hope that Super Brit might be tiring, the wheelsucker accelerated, pulled out, passed Super Brit and took a pull. The trouble was that to accelerate and get in front of Super Brit required northwards of 500 watts, and the wheelsucker felt obliged to hold at least 400 while at the front, and as you all know, the wheelsucker's time at 400+ watts is limited, severely limited actually!
A very short pull later, the wheelsucker pulled over, and Super Brit happily pulled through and continued. After waiting a considerable time for Super Brit to tire for real, the wheelsucker had another go; after all, they were close to the Art Museum, how bad could it be? The wheelsucker quickly found out when he slowed on a false flat and suddenly saw Super Brit go by easily, with Alex sprinting to stay on his wheel. The wheelsucker called down to the engine room for flank speed, but nothing noticeable happened, the gap opened and the wheelsucker watched Super Brit and Alex easily ride away. The only good news was that the end of the ride was another three hundred feet further, so the wheelsucker could claim to himself that he was merely cooling down after the ride.

1. Super Brit is actually a mid thirties Welshman named something that sounds like "Myrig" but is probably 27 letters long like many Welsh names. Super Brit started racing as a nine year old, stopped racing while at University, then took it up again. He is the UK equivalent of a cat 1. His TT time is apparently good enough that he has a shot of getting on the podium at the UK TT Nationals if he can ever make the race. Super Brit lives in a downtown Philadelphia hotel on weekends, and in hotels wherever his clients are, the rest of the week.

2. Alex is a mid thirties cat 3 who did not race last year. He rides for Chesapeake Wheelmen. He has won Memorial Hall in a lone breakaway. He is moving to Washington DC soon.

Thursday October 30th Training Ride: The Wheelsucker Report or "We're Not Sprinting!"

This was it, the last weeknight training ride of the year. With the Daylight Savings Time clock change coming this weekend, there would not be enough daylight to ride any more. Actually even without the DST change, there was not enough light to finish the ride.

The wheelsucker kept on going on Patuxent Parkway when the others split off left, as he wanted to do his 2x20 @ 80-90% of LT workout, and would have been going too hard if on the front, and way too easy if sitting in.

By happenstance and some careful timing by the wheelsucker, just after he crossed 214 on his way back, part way through is second 20 minute interval, he saw a target -- the other riders -- some distance up the road. It was dark enough that the wheelsucker's aging eyes could not read the power numbers on his computer clearly. He was supposed to be averaging about 250 watts, but with a target up the road, a
"7" looked a lot like a "1", and the wheelsucker was probably seeing 27n, deciding it was 21n, and pushing harder. It took him all the way from 214 to the last level before the sprint to catch the group, though the chase was a little quicker once the 20 minute interval ended and the wheelsucker gave up all pretences of keeping his wattage in the target range and PUT THE HAMMER DOWN! (well, put the hammer down for the wheelsucker), and rolled up to the tail end of the group, huffing, puffing, hyper ventilating and wheezing, just as they were setting up for the sprint. But then a strange thing happened; no one seemed to be sprinting. The wheelsucker rolled up to Stu, who told him no one was sprinting. This was a little hard for the wheelsucker to believe, so he rolled past Stu and Steve, and accelerated to catch Ace who was in front a few bike lengths ahead. The wheelsucker pulled up next to Ace and asked him what was going on. Ace replied with "GO! He's jumping!", as Steve Owens (who it turns out WAS sprinting after all) whizzed by at speed. Gosh!, said the wheelsucker (well, not really, but this is a family blog so we'll leave it as "gosh") as the gap to Steve opened. But then the wheelsucker launched into the signature wheelsucker sprint, and went after Steve. But Steve was at speed and had a gap, and the wheelsucker could not get to him, and in the meantime someone else who was not going to sprint, was in fact sprinting. In the fading dusk light, the wheelsucker's eyesight was not good enough to distinguish who was second between him and the other person "not sprinting", but Steve was clearly first.

"Gosh!, so much for not sprinting", thought the wheelsucker, considering that it would be months until Tuesday/Thursday training rides started again, and provided a chance for revenge.

Tuesday October 14th Training Ride: The Wheelsucker Report

The wheelsucker LOVES the Tuesday/Thursday training rides, and with the days shortening, and the imminent arrival of daylight savings time, the wheelsucker believes these training rides are something to be treasured while one can. On the other hand, two days of bouncing around on a fixed gear were not kind to the wheelsucker; so it was a conflicted wheelsucker riding out of the Davidsonville Parker & Ride, wondering if the soreness in his legs would go away as he warmed up.

The Doetsch was a no show, but with Ace and Invincible Nat to drive the pace, there was certainly enough horsepower to make it interesting. The ride started with a medium sized group including a couple of non Latitude riders, one wearing team kit. There was a minimal warmup and the pace was “solid” not long after crossing Governor Bridge Road. The peleton started to take casualties shortly after turning off Patuxent Parkway, on the first climb. The wheelsucker was trying to ride at the back early, but people kept letting him in before he rotated all the way back, and he was also concerned about early attacks from strong riders, so was not entirely comfortable riding all the way at the back. Ace rolled by and off the front at the top of Harwood hill, but the wheelsucker found Nat’s wheel and took the pull up. The pace stayed solid-but-not-too extreme to route 2, faltered a little on route 2 as the paceline had to stop rotating and slow down to go by some cars parked in the shoulder, but then started to ramp up on Bayard. There was not enough daylight for the full course, so Ace charged past the right turn for South Polling House, trying to put the hurt on riders. The peleton had been weeded down to the stronger riders, and everyone left was determined to hang.

The wheelsucker’s legs were thoroughly warmed up, and the tightness was gone, but he was still not far from the limit, and was being careful to take short pulls and have enough in reserve to get back on. Ace rolled off the front on one of the rollers on Bayard, everyone looked at each other wondering who was going to close it and then Nat went hard. The wheelsucker had been waiting for just such an opportunity and just as any wheelsucker would do, was on Nat in a flash. The trouble is that Nat is young, strong, fit, and has been riding a LOT with a pro team. The wheelsucker took the tow up to Ace, but then decided enough was enough, as Nat kept accelerating and went right on by Ace. This created a predicament for the wheelsucker, as there were no more wheels to suck, and Ace was having none of it, and was on the wheelsucker’s wheel. With exhortations from Ace in his ear, the wheelsucker put in a nominal pull and rotated off to let someone else (the peleton had caught up) take a turn. Nat was soon reeled in (no thanks to the wheelsucker) and the peleton continued down Bayard. The wheelsucker was leading at the turn onto Sands, but sat up immediately to let the paceline go by, so he could wheelsuck at the back. The group continued up Sands, with the wheelsucker taking short pulls when he had to, and conserving his limited strength to cover attacks.
The boys gather round to tell stories after the ride


But then a possible opportunity presented itself. As you know the wheelsucker’s sprint is less than impressive, so the wheelsucker hopes to “thin the herd” and make the break smaller, so he can finish something like 6th instead of something like 9th. So when the rider leading the paceline pulled off just before one of the Sands road rollers (Rule #7, NEVER pull off just before, or on a climb, as you will struggle to get back on and are vulnerable to the next guy pushing the pace!), the wheelsucker pulled through, stood and just HAMMERED (well, hammered for the wheelsucker) up the short hill. A quick glance under his arm revealed that people were on his wheel, so the give-it-everything-you-have burst from the wheelsucker had not shaken much loose, EXCEPT for the poor guy who had just pulled off. The wheelsucker’s victim was Aaron Canale, who had been riding hard despite not feeling 100%. So once again age and treachery do in youth and strength.

Hammering up the hill took it out of the wheelsucker, so he promptly pulled off and caught on the back of the paceline and caught his breath.

The wheelsucker AGAIN found himself leading going down the dip before the "T" where Sands ends at Patuxent, but carefully coasted and then pedaled easily encouraging the next rider to pull through as soon as possible. The wheelsucker was able to grab on the back (though it was a near thing) and was still attached at the top of the climb.

And then a random car turning left from Patuxent onto Sands forced the group to slow right down, giving the wheelsucker the break he needed. Ace was the first onto Patuxent, with two riders on his wheel. The wheelsucker briefly thought about closing the gap himself, but then saw Nat to his left, and decided to let Nat do it (with the wheelsucker on his wheel). Up the wheelsucker’s favorite climb things were looking good, except that the wheelsucker’s burning legs refused to accelerate as fast as the riders in front, and the wheelsucker was very nearly gapped, but somehow struggled back on. The light at 214 turned red just as the break arrived, so it sat up, looked both ways, waited for the green light (No WAY!!! It looked both ways and crossed). But then a funny thing happened; everyone sat up while Ace was having a conversation with another rider. This suited an aging and tired wheelsucker very well, so he did nothing to disturb the relaxed pace. One of the non Latitude riders asked if that was it for the ride, and the wheelsucker reassured him we still has about 12 minutes to go, and it would probably get fast again. Then Steve Owens ramped it up a little, and the wheelsucker reluctantly grabbed his wheel rather than let him go. The respite was over, and soon the group was hammering again. The group was reasonably large, so there was lots of recovery time, but the pace was fairly high when Ace or Nat were pulling, and there was still a risk of being gapped on the hills. The wheelsucker actually lit it up HARD (hard for the wheelsucker) on one of the climbs, opened a gap, and then realized that no one in the group was worried about it, knowing the wheelsucker would come back quickly. The wheelsucker sheepishly sat up and caught on the back again.
more 'revisionist history' about the ride


As the group approached the finish line, Ace asked the wheelsucker if he wanted to sprint. The wheelsucker was tired, winded, sore and not feeling super strong (even for the wheelsucker), but having Ace as a leadout man was tempting, so the wheelsucker said "YES!" and sucked Ace’s wheel in the paceline. Going down the hill, Nat went early with Steve Owens trying to hold his wheel. The gap behind Nat opened. But without appearing to be working hard, Ace’s speed was increasing, with the wheelsucker desperately trying to stay on his wheel. As Ace passed Steve, the wheelsucker found himself without quite enough room to stay on Ace’s wheel -- he was forced over to the left -- and found himself working MUCH harder than he wanted to, to stay on Ace’s wheel, and then, as Ace’s speed continued to increase, the gap started to open, and the wheelsucker lost the draft, and howled in misery to Ace that he was off. Unencumbered by having to wait for the wheelsucker, Ace turned on the afterburners and reeled in Nat, going by him so fast that Nat sat up. The wheelsucker in turn passed Nat, just as Stu rolled by him easily at a higher speed. So Ace won easily wth Stu second and the wheelsucker 3rd.

Stu assures the wheelsucker that "it's only money!", and that he should buy Bill's SRM Pro

The wheelsucker is enjoying freedom from the tyranny of the Powertap (and the additional weight in the rear hub), so had no data for the ride.
Despite not feeling 100%, Aaron rode hard



But others did: 23.6 mph average from the Park & Ride to the finish line, and a ride of about 28 miles.
Tom rode strong, and was first back to 424


Ace cannot BELIEVE that the wheelsucker could not stay on his wheel at the sprint

Tuesday October 7th Training Ride: The Wheelsucker Report

A few months ago the wheelsucker followed a link in an e-mail and found an amusing cycling blog. One of the posts that have stuck in the wheelsucker's memory was something like:

All roadies know they are supposed to have an off-season to rest and recuperate. For most roadies it was last Sunday, at 4:00PM

Being new to the sport (this is the wheelsucker's second year of racing and being a Latitude/ABRT member), the wheelsucker has heard many references to the "off season", but is confused as to when it occurs, how long it lasts, and what about one's cycling changes, during the off season.

Since the last MABRA race was this past Saturday, and some of the die-hards have switched to cyclecross, and the wheelsucker's coach has stopped giving him workouts and told him to do whatever he wants, the wheelsucker could perhaps be excused for concluding that we were in the off season. He even left his primary race bike at home and took out the ultra light but twitchy Scott CR1 SL (and it IS superlight), and left all instrumentation off. The sense that it was off season and was going to be an easy ride continued when, early in the ride, the peleton caught up with Doug Milliken who was riding a cross bike. So Doug thought it was off season, too!

Frankly the first part of the ride met the above description. With Doetsch yelling encouragement from the back (the wheelsucker does wonder why Doetsch rides at the back at lot early in a ride) about "single file!" and "car back!", the ride was steady, smooth and even relatively easy. Feeling relaxed and not worried about being dropped, the wheelsucker took a couple of good (well, good for the wheelsucker) pulls, and was rewarded for his efforts with Doetsch telling him, "that was a wussy pull!" Actually, that is not quite the wording Doetsch used, but it was similar sounding and rhymes. Now the wheelsucker knows that Doetsch usually only rags on the people he likes, so took this as a compliment, though he did have his doubts.

On his next pulls the wheelsucker went a little harder just to be sure he was not being a "rhymes with 'wussy' ", but the peleton simply let him roll off the front and kept its smooth steady pace. The second time this happened (soon after going through the circle and turning onto Bayard) the wheelsucker concluded the group simply did not want to go any faster and sat up to wait. But then there was a WOOOSH as Doetsch went by grinning, towing another two or three riders at a high rate of speed. The wheelsucker gave it everything he had and managed to latch on the back and wheelsuck for all he was worth. But Doetsch eased up, and the remains of the peleton (which was shrinking fast) caught back on, and the rest of ride down Bayard was fast, but not crazy. Doetsch was still leading as the peleton stayed straight on Bayard, skipping the right turn on to South Polling House. Then Ace hit it HARD at the turn onto Sands doing an 800 meter sprint out of the corner, with one rider (Steve Owens?) trying to stay on his wheel. The wheelsucker was at the back, but noticed that Doetsch was organizing a chase and made sure he was wheelsucking on the correct wheels and took the tow up. It took a little while for everyone to line up after the corner to start the pursuit, and Doetsch waited for the chase to form, while drafting the amazing Amanda Wu. The amazing Amanda Wu simply does not know that she is not supposed to be able to catch Ace by herself when he jumps (very few riders in MABRA can), and was trying to do just that, rather than get to the back of the line and recover for the chase. This effort must have been so far beyond what she could sustain, that when Doetsch got the chase moving, she went OTB. How fast was the chase going? The wheelsucker rides an 11-26 on his CAAD9 and has a 12-25 on his Scott CR1 SL. And he normally time trials with a cadence of 95-99, so is comfortable with a high cadence. But once Doetsch got going, the wheelsucker was riding at the back of the chase, spinning out in his 53-12 gear, and wishing he had an 11 or smaller! Ace was soon caught by the Doetsch-led chase. But the peleton was shrinking fast as more and more riders were OTB, typically in pairs.

The next attack, a team effort from Doetsch and Ace, had a couple of other riders (including the wheelsucker) bridge up, but was quickly countered by some of the chase, though it took a fair bit of work by the stronger chasers to bring them back, and the effort tired out the wheelsucker, who was at the front of Doetsch and Ace's paceline slowing up so someone else could pull through, when it was caught. Doetsch and Ace quickly rotated to the back, and a careless wheelsucker (still not quite realizing that the ride had completely changed) was taking a decent pull when WOOOSH!!... Ace and Doetsch went by at a VERY high rate of speed. The wheelsucker learned later that the two had started scheming as soon as they got to the back with Doetsch urging Ace to "hit them again!" Having been pulling for a little while after bridging up to Ace and Doetsch, the wheelsucker was in no condition to respond (the normal response would be to accelerate hard and either lead the chase or catch a wheel and go with them) and was left yelling S...! (expletive deleted) and then pulling off so someone fresher could start a chase. He nearly went OTB as the chase accelerated, but somehow stayed on the back. Ace and Doetsch were going hard, but were not very far ahead as the chase tried to organize itself. The chase had Steve Owens, Matt Albanese, Rick Paukstitus, Tom Aga, Aaron Canale and the wheelsucker (and perhaps one or two more), so working together pulling them back WAS possible. But the chase did not fully organize, and the rotations were not happening quickly enough, and the chase was tiring, and Ace and Doetsch were not coming back. The wheelsucker saw all this from the back of the chase (where he was wheelsucking HARD and trying to catch his breath), and then, just as Ace and Doetsch were part way up a roller, and the chase was slowing down as it started to climb it at the bottom, the wheelsucker saw Matt Albanese pull out of the middle of the line and HAMMER! The wheelsucker wishes he could jump and sprint like Matt. The wheelsucker, in a doomed-before-it-started attempt to catch Matt's wheel, launched a monster (by wheelsucker standards) sprint up the hill, and was rewarded by seeing Matt open the distance between them only slowly. Matt caught Ace and Doetsch not long after the top of the roller. It took the wheelsucker rather longer but he somehow made it up and grabbed a wheel, just as Ace pulled off and rotated back. A spent wheelsucker managed to mumble "skip" loud enough for Ace to understand, and Ace graciously pulled back in, in front of the wheelsucker. Hoping for a few more seconds to catch his breath, the wheelsucker tried again as the next rider rotated back, but this rider was Doetsch, who in response to the wheelsucker's plea, yelled "GET UP THERE!!", and then pushed the wheelsucker forward. The wheelsucker wobbled but did not fall, and accelerated just enough to keep his place in the rotation, take a pretend pull at the front, and rotate off. Ace and Doetsch were still keeping the hammer down, and the wheelsucker's effort to stay with them was so great that various wheelsucker body functions were starting to shut down, presumably so the oxygen the wheelsucker was extracting from air with his desperate gasps could be dedicated to the wheelsucker's quads. All the wheelsucker could think of was staying on a wheel, taking the shortest pretend pulls he could, and rotating back and grabbing a wheel. Given the very limited oxygen reaching his brain, it is perhaps understandable that the wheelsucker did not see what happened to Matt; at some point the wheelsucker realized he was gone, and the wheelsucker was by himself, trying to stay with two of the strongest riders in the region.

Ace pulled off shortly before the last dip before Sands rises to the Patuxent Parkway intersection, and the wheelsucker found himself leading down the dip, and up the other side. "This is it", thought the wheelsucker, "this is where I will be slowly, painfully, inexorably, unable to keep the small gap to the wheel in front of me, and the gap will open and I will struggle manfully for a few more seconds, go off the back, sit up, and the pain will end." But though the gap opened a little near the top, the wheelsucker was somehow able to stay on.

The wheelsucker was leading again down the last hill before the sweeping right at the low point that often floods and the wheelsucker's favorite climb, doing his best. He continued pulling around the sweeping right and part way up before rotating off and grabbing a wheel. "This is it", thought the wheelsucker, "this is where I will be slowly, painfully, inexorably, unable to keep the small gap to the wheel in front of me, and the gap will open and I will struggle manfully for a few more seconds, go off the back, sit up, and the pain will end." Sure enough the wheelsucker could not stay with Ace and Doetsch at the top where it gets steeper before starting to level off, and he muttered "So long, boys" as they accelerated off the top. But Ace and Doetsch decided to be merciful -- or maybe they were enjoying the wheelsucker's suffering and wanted to continue it -- and slowed up a little, forcing the wheelsucker -- who had pretty much given up -- to stand and accelerate as hard as he could and get back on. They took it easy on him for awhile, and then hearing the gasping rate slow slightly, ramped it back up. The three caught the green light at 214 and hammered across. The wheelsucker was taking only token pulls, and was feeling bad from the effort. It seemed like more body functions were shutting down; one second the wheelsucker was expecting to "toss his cookies", the next he was wondering if he really needed to stop NOW and run for the trees to go to the bathroom. Several more times the wheelsucker thought "This is it; this is where I will be slowly, painfully, inexorably, unable to keep the small gap to the wheel in front of me, and gap will open and I will struggle briefly, go off the back, sit up, and the pain will end, and I will run for the trees." But each time Doetsch and Ace slowed just enough, and yelled at the wheelsucker to get back on.

All the wheelsucker remembers of the ride from 214 to the finish is back wheels and jerseys from the back; it was all he could do to hang on; his token pulls were probably ten seconds long. Then, on the last flat before the dip and the sprint, a miracle happened. NO, not the "I can suddenly sustain 1300 watts for 30 seconds miracle", which the wheelsucker has often hoped for, but the miracle where Ace sits up, turns to the wheelsucker and says "lets go back and pick up the others." Given that the alternative would have been to try to close a gap to Doetsch and then sprint against him, the wheelsucker gratefully accepted Ace's offer, and rode slowly back towards 214 with him, seeing first the chase group charging by, then some stragglers, and then turning to ride in with two of the last stragglers.

Later that evening, as the wheelsucker poured himself his preferred recovery drink -- hot skim milk with chai tea powder and Goslings rum -- the wheelsucker wondered how fast he had been going, how many watts he had put out, and more. But this was an off season ride, and the wheelsucker had no instrumentation at all on the bike. So it will just have to go down as an epic ride, and the wheelsucker will just have to make something up about the numbers... How fast are you doing when you spin out with a 53-12?

Tuesday September 30th Training Ride: A "Sort of" Wheelsucker Report

The wheelsucker works hard at recovery. He is an old man and even putting out the limited maximum watts he can, does tax him. The wheelsucker's coach is aware of this and schedules the wheelsucker's workouts with that in mind. So in the week before the last event of the season offering MABRA BAR Points -- the rescheduled Deep Blue TT -- the wheelsucker has very easy workouts. And they very clearly do NOT include giving it 110% to desperately stay on Ace or Keith or Doetsch or whoever’s wheel, even if that is what the wheelsucker does best. So no Tuesday (or Thursday) training ride for the wheelsucker this week.

But the wheelsucker does hear a few things from time to time... so here goes with the Tuesday September 30th Training Ride report.

An aggressive Stu Waring attacked VICIOUSLY on route 2; waiting until after Doetsch took a long hard pull, and barely waiting for Doetsch to hook on the back before launching. Stu went clear, but Ace caught him alone, leaving Doetsch in the chase pack.

After catching his breath a very determined Doetsch put his dead down and went so hard he shed the entire pack and closed the gap solo.

"I killed myself to catch him and Ace after my pull", said Doetsch. "It took me one mile to get on -- and I managed to drop everyone ... in the process. The whole time I was chasing I was thinking ... deleted ... deleted ... deleted.... LOL"

The three stayed away together, though Stu faltered on the long climb coming out of the flood area, before 214, and Doetsch was more than happy to drop him. But a mellowing Ace (is he feeling OK?, who would call Ace mellow?) convinced Doetsch to slow up just long enough for Stu to catch back on. Stu hung on until just before the sprint.

Thursday September 18 Training Ride: The Wheelsucker Report

The wheelsucker is an old man and needs his sleep, but his current employment conspires to limit it. The wheelsucker was a tired, frustrated and stressed IT worker after being woken up for a work call at 12:30AM and working for two hours before going back to bed, and then putting in a full day at the office. One would think that working during the night would be a) exceptional and b) entitle one to take a few hours off the next day. Neither appears to be true.

In any case, a tired, and stressed wheelsucker was very much looking forward to the Thursday training ride, IF he could get off work in time.

It was a near-thing, but the wheelsucker made it before the smallish peleton rolled out of the Park & Ride. Being careful, the wheelsucker ALWAYS considers who is on the ride to assess how hard it will be and what the risks might be. This ride looked OK, as the obvious “strong men” were Ace McDermott, and Matt from AABC. While warming up, the group discussed keeping the group together by riding easy when necessary, so stragglers were not left by themselves as dark fell. This was sounding promising to the wheelsucker! None-the-less, the wheelsucker rode at the back, warmed up slowly and conserved energy as best he could. The trouble with riding at the back is that sometimes “the devil takes the hindmost”, and sure enough, at the left from Patuxent Parkway onto Queen Anne Bridge Road, an oncoming right-of-way car caused Stu Waring and the wheelsucker to slow to wait for the car to pass, while the peleton rolled up QABR.. But this was a both aware and friendly driver -- apparently quite rare in these parts -- and he waved them across. The wheelsucker decided that he needed to move up on the peleton, and surged forward catching and then passing the main group and then catching a group of three slightly off the front, just as QABR pitched up a little. For a brief moment the wheelsucker was in danger of actually LEADING the peleton, but he quickly established himself behind Ted Harris, who pulled all the way up QABR, and pulled off at the turn onto Wayson Road, leaving the wheelsucker at the front unprotected. While you may be concerned with the wheelsucker’s predicament, the wheelsucker was not, because knowing the Tuesday/Thursday route VERY well, he knew that pulling downhill on Wayson Road was about the easiest part of the ride. The trick is to not be tired and out of breath when you get to the two rollers! So the wheelsucker did his fast-but-easy pull all the way to the rollers, and even led up the first roller, before Matt from AABC went hammering by. “Damn all young and stronger riders!”, thought the wheelsucker to himself. Then several more riders went by including some who were older than the wheelsucker. The wheelsucker did what wheelsuckers do best, grabbed a wheel and hung on. The second roller is easier, and the wheelsucker was still near the front of the group at the top, with AABC Matt slightly off the front. It turns out that the wheelsucker and his lightest CAAD9-in-the-world go downhill quite well, and the wheelsucker coasted past a couple of riders before slowing for the turn onto Harwood. The pressure was off, as the group had caught Matt. The climb up Harwood was looking good for a conservative wheelsucker until Matt went AGAIN. Now if there is one thing the wheelsucker cannot stand it is … well, maybe if there are TWO things the wheelsucker cannot stand, they are a) being dropped and b) someone from another team beating up on a Tuesday/Thursday training ride. The wheelsucker would be DAMNED if the only rider not wearing Latitude kit was going to ride off the front…. The wheelsucker grabbed a wheel after the top of Harwood, caught his breath, and then when it was his turn to pull he PUT THE HAMMER DOWN! Well, put the hammer down for the wheelsucker; you may not have actually noticed. But slowly, imperceptibly, the wheelsucker’s pace increased, along with the group behind him, and they reeled in the offending Matt shortly before route 2. The pace was fast down route 2, and at the false flat a couple or riders finally shook loose, but the peleton slowed after turning onto Harwood so they could catch back on. Steve Owens was riding his TT bike and was taking LOOOONG pulls. Matt went AGAIN on one of the rollers on Bayard, but Steve stepped it up and the group caught him. Matt has an annoying habit of falling back and then just riding alongside instead of grabbing a wheel. The wheelsucker wishes he were strong enough to do that. Matt’s move made the wheelsucker remember the workout description from his coach.

Group ride. Ride how you feel today: If tired, sit in at CP90-CP180; if fresh, ride race effort. Be smart.

The wheelsucker thought it would be smart to attack on a hill, now that Steve had been pulling for at least 5 minutes and had had to chase Matt down, and the pace was slowing. So the wheelsucker jumped hard at the bottom of the next climb, stood in the pedals, and HAMMERED (well, hammered for the wheelsucker) to the top of the hill, and then breathing hard, pushed hard down the other side. The wheelsucker was just starting to enjoy his mental image of him off the front, when to his shock, surprise and horror, he realized:

a) he was spent
b) Ace, Aaron, Matt, Steve and Tom had caught him and were on his wheel
c) that they were doing 36 mph and there was no way the wheelsucker was going to catch the last wheel!

The wheelsucker watched them roll away and looked around for help. The next two riders went by too fast for him to get on, but he managed to speed it up, gradually catch one of them, and then as the leaders sat up, caught on. It was a near thing!

What was impressive was that most of the riders, including the amazing Amanda Wu, Alex Pline and Ted Harris, were sticking with the lead group.

After lots of wheelsucking for the last bit of Bayard and most of Sands road (with one good pull on a false flat that the wheelsucker was quite proud of), the group came to the dip and climb before the left turn onto Pautuxtent Parkway. Having quite forgotten what happened the last time he went, the wheelsucker drafted down the hill and part way up the other side while Matt exerted himself at the front. Then the wheelsucker jumped HARD (well, hard for the wheelsucker) and sprinted for the top of the hill. He won the sprint (probably because no one else was sprinting) and then slowed for the left turn, while Ace and Matt cut the corner and started hammering down Patuxent Parkway. A frustrated wheelsucker coasted down the hill as the gap opened, waiting for help. And help finally arrived when the strong and youthful (well, youthful compared to the wheelsucker) Stu Waring decided he was going to heroically close the gap to the leaders, which he did, with the wheelsucker glued to his rear wheel. The wheelsucker cut inside Stu at the right turn at the bottom of the hill and then passed Ace and Matt when Ace sat up. Thinking he was being given a gift, the wheelsucker tried to pace himself up the climb, was doing fine, and then stood for the steeper part at the top. Just about then Ace with, whoa, WTF? Alex Pline, stuck on his wheel, pushed the pace, and the wheelsucker could not get on, and watched as more of the group flew by. Once again looking for help the wheelsucker found a wheel, hung on, and then let himself be towed up to the leaders. The light at 214 turned green as the lead group approached and they all hammered through. The wheelsucker carefully sat up and got to the back of the line. The pace was high from 214 to the finish, and the wheelsucker was unable to avoid taking a pull or two, so did his usual short-and-fast pull.

Shortly before the finish Ace took a pull and as he was sliding back on the left, motioned to the wheelsucker to open a gap so Ace could jump in. Always ready to let a strong rider in ahead of him, the wheelsucker agreeably opened a gap. Ace motioned to his rear wheel. Any wheelsucker understands an invitation to grab a wheel, so the wheelsucker clamped himself remora-like to Ace’s rear wheel. Ace was third wheel on the last dip, behind the hard working duo of Stu Waring and Alex Pline, and at the start of the false flat/climb to the finish with the wheelsucker still clamped to his rear wheel. Stu and Alex's leadout work done, Ace shifted into a bigger gear and did that amazing Ace move of inexorably accelerating in a big gear. The wheelsucker was spinning hard to stay on his wheel and then realized to his horror that he was going to lose Ace’s wheel! The wheelsucker, desperate to hold on, stood up and pedaled HARD (well, hard for the wheelsucker) and somehow stayed on Ace’s wheel, while Ace checked now and then to make sure he had not lost the wheelsucker. Meanwhile Matt, the only one on the ride not in Latitude kit, was on the wheelsucker’s wheel. Ace was going 30mph (as reported later) toward the finish with the wheelsucker holding on for grim death. No one else could hold the pace, so the three sped for the line by themselves. Then just before the line, Ace flicked his elbow and pulled off, and to make sure the wheelsucker could get by before the line, sat up and probably braked. The wheelsucker was giving it all the 450 watts or so he had and slid by, while Matt tried to go around him, and Ace yelling encouragement to the wheelsucker. Matt was now overlapped to the left and gaining fast, but Ace had timed it perfectly and Matt did not have the time or distance to go by. The wheelsucker did his best imitation of throwing his bike across the line like the real pro sprinters do, and crossed first, with Matt half a bike length back.

What a TRIUMPH this was, but not really for the wheelsucker. It was Ace’s triumph for setting it up and pulling off so late Matt did not have time to go around the wheelsucker.

The wheelsucker was so spent he was barely able to stay on his bike and pedal up the bump to the Governor Bridge road intersection.

Matt quickly caught his breath and pounded his way up the hill towards 424, while the wheelsucker working with Tom Aga and Steve Owens tried to reel him back. Just before reaching 424, the wheelsucker (riding third wheel most of the way up) went around them and managed to catch Matt who was now coasting down 424 to the Park & Ride.

From first crossing the start line back to the finish line: 01:01:51, 212 watts, 24.36 mph, 144bpm.

Tuesday September 16 Training Ride: The Wheelsucker Report

The wheelsucker has been told that alcohol is not good for cyclists. Some of the riders on the Tuesday/Thursday claim to not drink at all, or to drink very rarely. While the wheelsucker vehemently denies being an alcoholic (realizing that some people claim denial is a symptom), he is known to enjoy a glass or two of wine, or some dark rum, preferably Goslings Black Seal. At the wheelsucker’s advanced age it seems to be easier to resist this sort of temptation, and the wheelsucker claims he rarely drinks too much. But there are exceptions. Monday night was such an exception, without going into details, the wheelsucker drank more than normal, crashed on a friends couch, and did not sleep well. The next day went fine with assistance from extra shots of espresso in the latte, but sitting in an office working is not quite as demanding as riding the Tuesday Kill or be Killed (KOBK) training ride, so the wheelsucker was worried.

Sure enough, the wheelsucker realized he was struggling as soon as the peleton turned onto Rossback road going DOWNHILL towards the turn where Rossback becomes Patuxent Parkway. Not long after that the wheelsucker started to wonder if he was going to toss his cookies, then he started to wonder if he would feel worse or better if he did. The wheelsucker seriously considered turning around and going home, but it occurred to him that the increase in HR and metabolic rate from the exercise would probably clean out the remaining hangover effects, and tossing his cookies might not be the end of the world.

The wheelsucker struggled on, initially riding at the back and wheelsucking, later taking a few short lame jumps and eventually feeling a little better and even taking some pulls.

It was a small group. The Doetsch turned up, but went off on his own doing monster TT intervals, so Ace was the only strong man on the ride. An AABC’er named Matt (I think) was jumping every now and then. The wheelsucker was not going to accept the one guy on the ride NOT in Latitude colors riding off the front, so had to ramp it up and pull the group back to him. A few riders had been dropped from the group, and we were down to about nine riders, including the amazing Amanda Wu.

Shortly before crossing 214, as we closed in on the finish, Super Sue joined; apparently we had left the Park & Ride just a few minutes before she arrived, so she rode around and then jumped in as we came by.

Matt jumped at least one more time between 214 and the finish, but was reeled in. Then at the bottom of the penultimate (that means the one before the last one) dip, the wheelsucker was riding second wheel behind Steve Owens, and Matt had finished his pull and was trying to hook up at the back of the lead pack. The wheelsucker, recalling doing this move on an earlier Tuesday ride and splitting the pack jumped HARD at the bottom and HAMMERED up the little hill and HARD off the top. OK, for context, that was HARD by wheelsucker standards… to the wheelsucker’s great surprise and disappointment, when he looked back, he could see wheels on his. It turns out he DID shake loose the back of the lead pack, including Matt, but not Ace, Chris, Tom Aga, or even Steve Owens. This group did a few rotations and then, inexplicably, slowed down enough coming into the sprint that Matt CAUGHT BACK ON!!!! Ace was taking a pull and Matt jumped again, the wheelsucker figured Ace would catch him before the finish and stayed glued to Ace’s wheel, with others behind him. Sure enough Ace caught Matt easily enough (Matt was somewhere between dead and dying) and then instead of going by, slowed down to ride his wheel. So the wheelsucker had to slow down, so everyone riding behind the wheelsucker had to slow down. So the entire group, with Matt leading, is now going up the false flat to the finish IN SLOW MOTION. Finally Chris jumped and Ace jumped and the wheelsucker was immediately gapped, but giving it everything he had (too damned little!) but went by Matt who was basically road kill at this point. Ace won the sprint, Chris second, wheelsucker third.

Numbers (the interval is from the Park & Ride all the way back to the finish line)
Average speed 22.97mph, HR 141bpm (max as 170, nearly the aging wheelsucker’s actual max), average power 197 watts.

Lance Armstrong May Sign With Latitude

For Immediate Release:

Annapolis MD: Latitude/ABRT announced that discussions with Lance Armstrong regarding his joining Latitude/ABRT are progressing well. Armstrong is to race major events including the Tour de Frace in Latitude colors, backed by the Latitude/ABRT elite team.

Latitude/ABRT team president Doug Shapter announced today that negotiations with seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong were proceeding very well, and that Latitude was about to apply for a wild card berth in the Tour de France for the Latitude team, with Lance Armstrong as team captain. "Latitude has been in a rebuilding mode for the last two years", said Shapter. "We had the sprinters, the leadout riders, the time trialists and the domestiques, we just didn't have the right rider to be a GC contender." The addition of Armstrong to the team is expected to not only vault Latitude/ABRT to the top of the MABRA BAR standings, but take the team all the way to the podium in Paris.

Existing Latitude riders were enthusiastic about racing with Armstrong. "I am very much looking forward to riding with Lance and learning from his experience", said Latitude junior star Tom MacKay, while 40+ ace Keith Reeder said, "I expect we'll be able to send riders off the front and still control the front of the peleton when we need to." "I could use a good lead out man for next year", said 30+ strong man Lance Lacy. But not all Latitude riders were as impressed, "Sure he can time trial and he can climb with the best in the world, making him a favorite in the grand tours." said 50+ star Art Brown, "but you have to be a sprinter to win in MABRA."

And the man himself? "I don't need the money, I just want to race bikes, and I am happy to have found a team like Latitude/ABRT which supports my primary mission of beating cancer", said Lance Armstrong.

For further information contact:
Latitude/ABRT President Doug Shapter: dshapter@gmail.com

Tuesday September 9th Training Ride: The Wheelsucker Report

While the forecast was for rain (60% chance for late afternoon and evening) a check of the weather radar at http://www.wunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?zoommode=zoom&num=6&delay=15&scale=0.250&noclutter=0&ID=LWX&type=N0R&lat=39.00437927&lon=-76.50714111&label=Annapolis,%20MD&showstorms=10&map.x=392&map.y=246¢erx=46¢ery=248&lightning=0 suggested we would be fine.

A smaller group including Ace and Doetsch rolled out of the Park & Ride shortly after 6:00PM. The pace was civilized early, but then Doetsch had a quiet word with Ace near the front of hte line, shortly before route 2. He rolled to the front, grabbed the aero bars (yes, Doetschman had AERO bars on his Motobecane), and pulled to route 2 and all the way down route 2, most of it at 30+ mph. The wheelsucker was suspicious of what might be going on (the wheelsucker is ALWAYS suspicious when the strong guys have brief discussions during the ride), and decided that Doetsch might be setting Ace up for a counterattack, but when Doetsch finally pulled off, Ace was still back in the paceline. It turns out that Doetsch is apparently trying to transition from a big jump kind of rider to a long pull kind of rider.

Shortly after the right turn onto South Polling House, Tom Aga flatted. This was a huge win for the wheelsucker, who is suffering from old-age-induced lower back pain. A tuesday morning session with PT Debbie Dudas at a Severna Park bonecracker's office had left him a little less tight, but even more sore. Ms. Dudas' advice had been to skip the training ride, or failing that, go easy. And Tom's flat opened the possibility of an easier ride. So the wheelsucker vociferously exclaimed that some riders should wait for Tom.. and lo and behold, Doetsch, Ace, Stu, the amazing Amanda Wu and our new junior phenom Aaron (a.k.a mini Doetsch), and the wheelsucker, all waited for Tom to pull the glass out of his Michelin Pro Race 2 Lite tire and put in a new tube.

The pace was even more civilized after that, with Doetsch taking one more I'm-in-training-for-a-TT monstor pull down Bayard and onto Sands. The wheelsucker was enjoying the ride, but at his favorite hill (long fast downhill to sweeping right, to false flat and then climb, shortly before route 2), mini-Doetsch was setting a fast pace, and the wheelsucker could not resist, and went into his high-cadence climbing mode. This was enough to spin past mini-Doetsch, but unfortunately also sparked Stu (I-need-to-prove-I-am-a-strong-climber) to go hard. The wheelsucker watched him go by, and decided that his goal of a relatively easy ride was incompatible with chasing Stu up the last of the hill (The wheelsucker's age, and age-induced back pain may have influenced him in this decision), and shut it down. Mini-Doetsch rolled past, and all of a sudden mini-Doetsch and Stu were off the front of the small group. This was more than the wheelsucker could take, so he jumped medium-hard on the next roller, and easily caught on the back. Doetsch, Ace and Tom were being gentlemen, and declined to jump and abandon the amazing Amanda Wu, so the three rolled off the front. As they rolled up to 214, the light was red, but someone noticed the yellow going the otherway, and all three sprinted for the short green, and MADE IT! Doetsch, Ace, Tom and Amanada were left unclipped waiting for the next green. The wheelsucker, claiming advanced age, avoided a few pulls, while mini-Doetsch and Stu were hammering to stay away. At the last descent before the sprint, a relatively fresh wheelsucker pushed hard as the rider in front pulled off and opened up a gap of several bike lengths... Thinking it was better to leave it at that, rather than actually sprint and risk being passed, the wheelsucker sat up and let mini-Doetsch work his ass off to sprint by, while Stu sat up and relaxed. A hard-breathing Doetsch was not far behind, having chased with Ace and the others, and then left them to try to bridge on his own.

The wheelsucker's numbers (from first cross of finish line back to the finish line) were: average speed 23.68 mph, average HR 146 bpm (high was 173, which is the wheelsucker's max), average power 195 watts.

Tuesday September 2nd Training Ride: The Wheelsucker Report

It was another beautiful day, not too humid, not a cloud in the sky, and no haze; why can't all days be like this? The weather probably encouraged the large turnout.

What a great ride! Ace, Keith, Ryan, Matt, Eric and Young Tom were not there, but with Doetsch and Nat "Invincible Nat" Thompson one knew before we left the Park & Ride that it would not be an easy ride. The group was well-behaved at first. The wheelsucker was trying to follow his coach’s workout instructions:

Group ride. Treat parts of this as a race. Ride aggressively. Experiment with race strategies and test yourself.

And after considering that he was riding the world's lightest Cannondale CAAD9, the wheelsucker punched it on the first of the two rollers shortly before Harwood Hill. The "plan" was to ride away on the rollers, rest on the fast downhill and sweeping right, roll through the left turn (assuming no cars were there) and push up Harwood Hill and see if he could still go fast off the top. The plan appeared to be working, as the wheelsucker went up Harwood Hill by himself. But no plan survives contact with the enemy... There was a sudden WHOOSSHHHH and Doetsch HAMMERED up the hill past the wheelsucker, followed a couple of seconds later by a slightly less loud whoosh, as Nat went by in pursuit. The wheelsucker supposes the textbook move at this point would be to jump hard, grab Nat's wheel, take the tow up to Doetsch, and then quietly congratulate himself as Doetsch and Nat pull the wheelsucker well clear and the three ride in a fast break for the rest of the ride. Unfortunately the aging wheelsucker had nothing left to jump for Nat's wheel, burnt a matchstick or two trying to accelerate and staggered to the top of Harwood Hill well behind, and with the pack closing from behind. The wheelsucker sat up and waited for help, then grabbed a wheel and rested. While the peleton did not appear to have riders equal to Doetsch and Nat, it did have Steve "did I bring my A legs" Owens, an aggressive Rick Paukstitus, newly returned to the team cat 3 Dave, Tom Aga, the amazing Amanda Wu, and some other strong riders. It was too early in the ride to give up, and the chase got into a rotating paceline (with the wheelsucker repeatedly yelling for short pulls). The curves meant that Doetsch and Nat were out of site up the road, but once on route 2 they could be seen ahead. With grim determination the chase slowly ground them down. This became a little easier when Doetsch rode clear (maybe even dropped?) Nat on route 2. The wheelsucker took his turns with the other riders in the chase and shortly after the South Polling House turn, the chase caught Nat, and then continued up South Polling House and eventually caught Doetsch. The wheelsucker kept his sigh of relief to himself.

While some riders had been dropped by this point, we still had a large lead pack, with the leading 8-10 taking turns, and the rest hanging on behind. The "groupo compacto" charged up Sands road, with Doetsch and the wheelsucker exchanging insults each time they passed, with one rotating back and the other rotating foward, in the paceline. The wheelsucker started to feel better and then demonstrating his ability to forget what had happened earlier (perhaps due to oxygen debt?) the wheelsucker and his ultra-light CAAD9 could not resist punching it up the wheelsucker's favorite hill, the one after the downhill and sweeping right hand turn, shortly before 214. The wheelsucker got clear again part way up the hill, and was harboring delusions about getting to 214 off the front when there was another WHOOSSHHHH and Doetsch HAMMERED by just before the steep section at the top, doing 30 mph. This was once again followed by a slightly less loud whoosh, as Nat went by in pursuit. The wheelsucker gave it what little he had left, while looking around for help. Steve Owens went by at the top, and caught Nat's wheel, with the wheelsucker hyperventilating on Steve's wheel. These three caught Doetsch (or maybe Doetsch sat up) about the time the remains of the peleton caught the three... so "groupo compacto" once again. But then cat 3 Dave decided to jump, and this time no one went after him. The wheelsucker had time to reflect on the basic unfairness of this, while Dave rolled off the front with no one in pursuit, and Doetsch saying "let him hang out there!".

The wheelsucker’s views on the basic unfairness of Doetsch and Nat chasing the wheelsucker down when he jumped, but letting someone else go, was reinforced when Dave rolled through 214 on a green light, and the chase, led by Doetsch, Steve and the wheelsucker did not make it and had to stop. "Why can't this ever happen to me!", thought the wheelsucker, as Dave rode away up the road, and the "groupo compacto" unclipped at the light. Of course testosterone overruled safety, and Doetsch, the wheelsucker and Steve Owens jumped the light after the first car or two had rolled through and there was a big gap. The wheelsucker never looked back to see what the rest of the group did, but with Doetsch taking monster pulls, the wheelsucker taking his usual short fast pulls, and Steve pushing a big gear, they had what looked like an ABRT 3TTT going. Part way to the finish Dave was in range. Doetsch pulled the three up close, then pulled off and encouraged the wheelsucker to hammer by. The wheelsucker was just as eager to drop Dave as Doetsch was and did his best hammer, but Dave had other ideas and caught on the back. The pace stayed high (or maybe the wheelsucker was just tired out) and the lead four rolled up to the last flat fast. Doetsch pulled off, the wheelsucker did not have enough left to take a pull and soft pedaled and everyone looked at everyone else. Doetsch jumped, Dave went after him with Steve trying for Dave's wheel, and the wheelsucker wondering why he need bother sprinting at all, made a half hearted attempt to stay on Steve's wheel. Dave put out a very impressive sprint and was very close to Doetsch at the line, with Steve a distant third and the wheelsucker (gasping for air and thinking he was too old for this) rolling across fourth, well behind, but well clear of the chase pack.

The wheelsucker’s averages were: 24.51 mph, 218 watts, HR 158 (and a high max HR).

Thursday August 28th Training Ride: The Wheelsucker Report

The overcast sky and forecast of rain reduced the turnout, and the start was delayed while Sue Estes and Lance Lacy handed out our new team helmets. These look WAAY COOL with the team colors and "Latitude" and "ABRT" stickers on them. AWESOME! I put mine on and wore if for the ride. Thanks very much to Sue Estes, Lance and Lance's sister for putting the deal together and getting team stickers on the helmets.

Invincible Nat (Nat Thompson) was back from Colorado and wearing Latitude kit. There was some confusion and delay while Nat selected which bike to ride (the choices were a CAAD9 or a Scott Addict, the old Raleigh is no longer a good option). Team Cyclelife rider (and past ABRT/Latitude president) Wendy Ulmer was also out for the ride, as was the amazing Amanda Wu (1st, crash, 2nd in her first three races).

The wheelsucker was supposed to be doing intervals as per his coach. But it was more fun to start with the ride and use the first part as a warm up. Or at least that's the wheelsucker's story and he is sticking to it! To be honest, I'm not sure what attacking on the second hill (still well before 214) and rolling off the front has to do with warming up. Too bad the wheelsucker missed the last of the green light by just a few seconds and the pack easily caught him while he waited for the light to change back to green.

For some reason, the Doetsch was taking long pulls. The wheelsucker saw some gaps opening as second wheel could not stay with Doetsch on the climbs (eg Harwood hill), but as every decent wheelsucker knows, why close a gap yourself if you can get someone else to close it by just waiting. So the wheelsucker waited at the back of the chase group for somone else to make the effort and bring the chase back to Doetsch. And it worked every time!

By the time the peleton reached route 2, there were riders off the back and the wheelsucker needed to start his intervals (six five-minute VO2 max power range intervals, with five minutes rest) or else he would run out of time and course, so he dropped off the back, waved on Nat, Keith and Wendy as they worked to catch back on, rested for five minutes and started his intervals.

After skipping the South Polling House turn to stay on flatter roads (easier to maintain steady power numbers) and then backtracking on Bayard back to the circle to get more time and distance, the wheelsucker skipped the South Polling House turn for a second time, and was doing the rest interval after the second VO2Max interval, when he saw the group ahead of him on Bayard as he approached the Polling House intersection.

He waited for the rest interval to end, waited a few more seconds so as to start the interval AFTER the turn onto Sands, and then did a hard five minute VO2Max interval. To the wheelsucker's GREAT satisfaction his pace was enough to catch the peleton from some distance back, ride up along it, and then roll off the front by himself. See ya later!

Aaron Canale didn't realize the wheelsucker was doing intervals, and thought this was an attack! So Aaron jumped and bridged up to the wheelsucker, catching him must seconds before the interval ended and the wheelsucker sat up, and waved as the peleton rolled by. Sorry Aaron! Better luck next time!

That was the last the wheelsucker saw of the peleton -- they were long gone by the end of the badly-needed five minute rest interval -- so no report on who won the sprint. But the wheelsucker's money would be on Nat, with Amanda contending. Sorry Doetsh, sorry Keith.

Calling Poets and Songwriters...

I think we need a Latitude team song... and I having trouble getting Queen's "We will rock you" (read, we will DROP you!) out of my mind.

So the contest is.... write bicycle racing lyrics to the tune. Keep it simple so we can remember some of the words after drinking heavily.

Hint? See
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/q/queen/we+will+rock+you_20112546.html

John Ver Bryke Spotted?

A rider in Latitude kit was spotted on the Monday Annapolis Bike Doctor Ride. The rider resembles John Ver Bryke, albeit disguised by the appearance of carrying a few more pounds. This rider was riding a Giant TCR with weight weenie parts that looked identical to JVB's Giant. Whether this was John in disguise or not, he was a strong rider, and easily dropped most of the peleton on the hills.

Highway to Heaven Pantani Style

Before we get to the fun stuff, congratulations to all of the Team Latitude riders who rocked the Highway to Heaven time trial, notably Ali Meller (2nd 50+), Ken McDowell (1st 30+), Dave Bradshaw (3rd Cat3), Tom Mackay and Aaron Canale (1st/3rd Jr 18) and Chris Harshman (2nd Fixed Gear).

Full Results
Pictures

Now for the fun stuff...

The most expressive faces:




Climbing Pantani Style:

Tuesday August 12th Training Ride: The Wheelsucker Report

Another LARGE group started at the Park & Ride. The wheelsucker missed a lot of the action (Mr. Wu's front wheel washing out on a curve on South Polling House, and the resulting crash), as he was trying to get his average power numbers a little higher than usual, and decided to do this by going off the front early rather than the usual wheelsucking at the back while watching the strong guys intently waiting for them to move....

So the wheelsucker rolls off the front at Governor Bridge Road, but finds Steve Owens, Matt Albanese and Super Sue Estes on his wheel a little while later. OK, why not? We go with the four "man" TTT, except Super Sue is nowhere to be seen when we cross 214 ON AN OLD GREEN LIGHT, so we're doing the 3TTT.

In case you're thinking, "this could work!", let me point out the main pack included: Ace, Doetsch, young Tom, Ryan, Lance "tutu" Lacy and several other notables, so it was NOT lacking in firepower. But the 3TT group continued to roll fast, hoping they were opening up a gap, but not really believing it. Except... everytime we looked back there was no one there. We could not see a chase on route 2 or Bayard, could not see a chase on Polling House or on South Polling House. After the fat man's sprint and the climb up the hill, the wheelsucker started to think the 3TT might have a real gap. After the turn back onto Bayard he looked back across the corn field trying to see if anyone was coming up the hill, but the view was blocked by late summer corn stands. He thought no one was there!

The wheelsucker had pushed hard up the hill to avoid the embarassment of Matt or Steve rolling by him on the climb, but gratefully pulled off at the top to let someone else pull, only to hear Steve ask for the pace to slow down for a little. Fair enough, Matt pulled easily on the flat-slightly-down section on Bayard with Steve and the wheelsucker resting... Matt pulled off after the turn onto Sands, and the wheelsucker did his usual reasonably fast short-to-medium pull, accelerating the 3TT up to 26 or 27 mph. The wheelsucker had finished his pull and was about to pull off to the left when to his shock, surprise, dissapointment and fear, an evily grinning Doetsch led the chase pack by at 3-4 mph more. All the wheelsucker could do was exclaim, "Oh Sch##$&(%TTT!!!! as a large chase went by, shedding people off the back. The wheelucker jumped for a wheel, but could not get it. Matt and Steve had slightly more warning, and were slightly more rested and made it. But within seconds, the wheelsucker was out of range, out of breath, out of ideas and starting to accept the idea that he had been dropped.

Just like that, from hero to zero!

A couple of riders, Will and John, dropped by the chase's acceleration were still trying to catch back on. The wheelsucker gratefully grabbed their wheels, but just as quickly realized they were losing ground. Then Ryan Guttridge, who had apparently just finished a monster pull to set Doetsch up for the pass and then could not get back on when Doetsch jumped, started an "I'm going to make it up to them or die trying" move, and the wheelsucker abandoned his erstwhile friends and made it onto Ryan's wheel. The trouble was that Doetsch was still trying to keep his group of 10-15 going at warp 11, and a tired -- and tiring fast -- Ryan was only gaining on them slowly and then stopped gaining. Finally even the wheelsucker realized he was going to have to take a pull, and suggested Ryan grab his wheel. Ryan was nearly dead and declined. Realizing he was going to have to try and bridge the last bit by himself, the wheelsucker put his head down, shifted into a higher gear and went into his best I-can-hold-400-watts-for-a-few-seconds mode and somehow made it onto the back wheel of the lead pack. Ryan was nowhere to be seen. Gasping for air the wheelucker continued to let people in in front of him until he felt strong enough to rotate to the front and pull off immediately. Unfortunately for the wheelsucker, Doetsch was watching, and was unimpressed by the wheelsucker's non-pull, and pointed this out to the entire group. The wheelsucker was doing his best to ignore Doetsch when Doetsch changed tactics and started commenting on the wheelucker's ass. Working too hard to think, and breathing to hard to speak, the wheelsucker was unable to reply. Humiliated, he drifted to the back of the group to do what he does best, wheelsuck!

That was that. The group stayed together to the finish, with Matt doing the last pull and leadout. The wheelsucker was second wheel, and jumped to go around Matt, but was only going about 0.0001 mph faster and only JUST got his wheel in front of Matt's by the finish, while those who really could sprint went around Matt AND the wheelsucker and fought it out. The wheelsucker was so far behind, he could not tell who crossed first.