SBR Utopia ---- Permanently OPEN!! (Page 74)

Totally agree with this.  I hardly ever ride with more than 1-2 people, but we always "attack" each other form time to time which is fun.

Sounds like a reasonable thing to do.

Jay - that is all 100% spot-on good observations and advice. That all mirrors my experience as well. Besides doing some legit work at the front, I have found another good way to earn some points (and suits most triathletes skills) is to move up toward the front before the hills and attacks, and then slide out and back a bit through the group. Keep an eye on the back, and if folks start to slip off then you can drift back and get them back on. That is always appreciated. Also, I'll never be a sprinter, but I have learned how to pace a good long lead-out that can hurt some folks a little - that is always appreciated by the the really good sprinters - makes 'em feel like pros!

Finally back on the bike this weekend and… sheared off my left aerobar at 35mph.  Luckily, there must be a post internally or some such, as it didn't "flop" down and I could finish up the first part of the ride as I was only a couple miles from meeting the family for a 5k.  

(Aside: paced all 3 kids to PR's and my daughter ran so hard - on her own - that she puked about 100m from the finish… and still finished strong!  Kim won her AG and PR'd, too.  Good times).  

Anyhow, happy not to have come to grief on the bike - and I get a new cockpit out of it!  So, y'all have any favorites?  My bike is a P2C (2009).  What say you, Utopians?  As they're less pricey than a new bike (and the P2C fits me well), I'm going to go for a niiiiiiiice one and keep the bike rather than buy a new bike (which I would hope would have been the first suggestion anyone made).    Kim actually called me out on that one almost as quickly as she got "Are you OK" out of her mouth!

Matt

ETA:  I know fit is king, but I'm wondering if you have any suggestions for high quality sets with which to start.  Thanks!
M

Awesome result Fred, congratulations!  Nice to see all your hard work in the pool paid off.  

Hey Matt - seems like we have the "run the kids until they puke" thing in common! Sounds like a good day for the family all around - congratulations!

Very glad you didn't get hurt when your aerobar came apart on you - I had a Profile bar (on my P2) come unbonded at a seam a number of years ago and almost did not end well for me when it came off in my hand while I was in the aerobars.... I haven't done enough research on current cockpits to make a specific suggestion, but I would definitely get one that pedestals correctly - having the base bar and extensions separate from each other lets you set them up both in the position that is optimum for each rather than having them tied together like a more traditional setup.

Absolutely - fantastic work, Fred! I agree that it is nice to see direct payoff from the swim focus over the winter. I raced an OLY yesterday as well and had good results as well, also keying off a good swim. Bike was OK (The group of us at the front got stopped by a train - good thing I ride Sufferfest "The Hunted" to prepare for that....) and run was good but a couple of other dudes in the AG ran about a minute better, but with my swim I was able to hold them off. 10th OA/1st AG.

I am about to hit the hay as I am getting up early tomorrow morning  to ride Mt. Mitchell, which is an awesome climb in North Carolina. It is a chip-timed organized ride that leaves out of Spartanburg, SC and heads due north into North Carolina. the first 75 miles have about 6500' of rollers, and then it gets serious with 5500 more feet in the last 28 miles to the top of Mt. Mitchell. They run it on Monday as it is the only way they can get the permit to close down the Blue Ridge Parkway and Summit Approach Road so 1000 riders can get to the top. If you ever find yourself in the South East in May this is a definite must-do. 

While not cheap, you might want to check out the tririg aerobar setup.  Supposedly designed with maximum adjustability and aerodynamics in mind.

Fred & Rusty - way to tear it up!  Glad to hear that the swim focus is paying out (and hoping that's generalizable!).  Very impressive results.

Rusty and Jason, thanks for the suggestions.  I'm going to pop in on the LBS (tri specific one) today with a tray of coffees and see if they'll have mercy, and the suggestions you've made will help me at least start the conversation with a good question or two!

Matt

Rusty, that's an awesome race result and the ride today sounds incredible!

Ha!  Thought maybe you'd hit the wrong button…  

Bike update:  Went to the (awesome) LBS - called and explained and he said to just come on in. Talked through options and then looked at wicked expensive stuff (it's all pricey).  Then watched him root through a box of junk and come out with a replacement bar (unbelievable).  Now getting the bike back, TUNED, on Thursday without spending a fortuna.  

And THAT is why it's good to patronize your LBS - they're there when you need them.  FastSplits ROCKS!

That is all.  

Matt

Hey, anyone know what the tri scene is like in Austin, TX?

Thanks for any experience/input.

Matt

Well, to be fair, you, Rudy, and Sally all kinda make me want to be a bike racer....

...except on the ride today some jack-wagon that was riding like an idiot took one of my buddies out, and almost me around mile 60, which meant I had to solo for the remaining 25 miles to the toe of the climb. But other than that, the ride today was beyond good. I posted a 17:30 Pr over the 102 miles, most of it coming in the last 21 miles/5200' where I got a 11:32 PR at within-the-margin-of-error  same power and HR as last year. That is the difference of -30 pounds. A REAL eye-opener for me. My right quad did try to go south on me with about 4 miles/1400' to go - that is really the first time I felt Saturdays race. And I felt it pretty good. It was about there that I rode into a female X-Terra pro (I gotta use me some Google Fu to try and remember her name) and she rode me the rest of the way up. Her quads were about the size of my chest. We rode the bus together on the way down, and she told me she was training for Ironman Canada this year, so that is why she did this ride on her tri-bike (A TRI-BIKE!?!?!?!?!??!?) I didn't want to tell her, but I think she needs a new coach.....

I will try and do a little write up, but right now I am a little tired. I did have a martini and a nice steak dinner though, so life is pretty good!

Nice work all!!!!   podiums and climbs and female pros.....

Thanks for the advice on group rides.  Still intimidated, but Saturday's TOC ride helpoed, as there were a lot of strong riders there.  I started with the medium fast group, then fell into a small fast group, then everyone burst apart as the climbs started.  Lots of people that took off in the rollers, I saw again on the two KOM climbs as I came by, I wasn't fast, just patient.  Most passed me again on the descent as I am a wuss, especially on chip seal.  Near the bottom a lot of us came together again, and on the little section just prior to the three loops the pros did, everyone turned it up.  We came on three guys that wound it up a bit, and I got in front to bridge the gap, as I looked down to see 755 on the old powermeter.  OK, now I'm done....

At any rate, group riding question.  During the rollers at about 30 miles in, a small train came by, I and a couple others latched on.  i was moving up through it, holding my own, but looking ahead saw a bit of a climb, I wasn't sure I could stay in, and wanted to conserve some matches for the real climbs later.  I turned to the girl behind me and told her she may want to sneak in next to me as I thought I'd probably gap on the climb.  She did, and the couple guys behind here, but the guy that took the next pull (on a tri bike...) slowed way down, and I could hav stayed with it.  But I let the group go as I didn't want to be "that guy" just sitting in, never getting to the front and doing any work, looking like i was sneaking back to the back every time I got near the front.  But I also didn't want to be "that other guy" that causes a huge gap and a split if I couldn't hang

What to do in that situation?  Stay in as long as I could and let those behind me deal with it? 

I can't speak for everyone, but what you did was what I would want others to do if they were in your situation.  Communicate to others your intentions and ride in a way that keeps the flow of the group going.  The guy that went to the front and slowed the pace down...while it is a noble effort to try and do work at the front, IMHO, it just causes a change of pace within the group, and usually means that the next guy at the front goes too hard...causing the flow to get even more out of whack.

I don't have a problem with people sitting in so long as they don't create gaps for others or constantly make people go around them.  If there is a rider that doesn't want to spend time at the front, I would want him to do one of two things.

1.  Rotate through the line normally, but just peel off as if you were taking a very short pull.  You probably need to make a clear visual signal (big elbow flick) so the rider behind you knows...as they probably will lock on to your wheel and may follow your wheel as you're pulling off not knowing your intentions.

2.  Stay at the back and let riders coming off the front back into the line in front of you.  This is usually the best solution as it keeps the line flowing naturally...as if you weren't even there.  Again...just make sure the person off the front knows your intentions.  Usually just coming off the line and getting onto his back wheel is a good indication that you want him to fold in in front of you.

IMHO, other riders really don't have a right to get upset at others who are just trying to sit in if they do one of the two things above as it shouldn't impact their ride.  Doing these things basically makes it as if you weren't even there.  Give them some compliments like "great pull," or "thanks for kicking my azz" and it should be all good.  Sprinting past them for a KOM would be a serious no-no though.  

Ironman Texas was this weekend and I had a number of friends racing, so I headed up there to watch.  While people were out on the bike, I snuck in a quick 50 mile ride -- I'm happy to say that my cycling legs are finally coming back to me!

Watching IMTX was a ton of fun.  We hung around and went to the finish line at 11:30 to watch the last finishers come in....absolutely amazing to feel the energy and see the expressions/emotions on the faces of those finishers.  That said, I still do NOT have the IM bug

maybe not yet but I sense the beginning....  

Meh, though LC Worlds is still sitting back there.

Thanks Jason, the complicating factor somewhat is that I didn't know any of these folks, and they didn't know me.  Some knew each other, etc...  So I was a little more hesitant about the whole situation, as in our normal groups we tend to be able to read our friends better and can predict what they are going to do.

I always knew it, but that ride really cemented in my mind that the group I currently ride with has no group riding skills whatsoever.  It's like 3-6 people all just doing their own ride.  And they never get much better.