Tour of California Bike Race

[Chris Padilla]

http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/

Anyone watch this?

My boss and I took the train to downtown San Jose yesterday and spent most of the afternoon at the finish line for Stage 3 of the race. Very cool!

Looks like Stage 4 is a soggy ride down the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway or California State Highway 1) to SLO (San Luis Obispo) today.

[Mike Cutler]

Levi has a nice lead, but that TT in Solvang could be his undoing. The short TT works for him and against him.
He's a great rider against the clock, but it Millar's speciality. Cancellara's good against the clock also. The rest of the stages left don't have enough climbing to unsettle the Euro's. Some of the US riders may have some trouble though.

Dave Zabriske and Christian VanDeVelde may hold back due to Millar being higher up the GC. depends on tactics though. TSL is in a very good position, but with Horner backing up Levi..... Horner can be flat out scary. The boy can fly!!

Not too familiar with Gesink

Dang it Chris!

I did this for 25+ years, and here ya' got me thinkin' about putting my bike back on the rollers.:eek: I'd probably launch myself into the refrigerator again.:o

God, I miss racing.

[Chris Padilla]

Hey Mike!

I'm just now getting into bike racing and learning all about it. My boss is a HUGE fan and has roped me right into it. I've biked quite a bit in my life and the last two years I've commuted 28 miles per day to work and back pretty much every workday that I possibly can but that is the extent of my biking.

It is great to support Levi, a local boy. If he can win the Tour, it would be too cool! It is too bad the French won't let him ride....

Go rub the rust off the bike, Mike...grease those hubs, lube that chain, pump up them tires! Trust me...when you get back on it...you'll feel 25 again! ;)

[Rob Russell]

Trust me...when you get back on it...you'll feel 25 again! ;)

For some of us, it's like you need to lose 25 ... :rolleyes:

[Lee DeRaud]

I still think the bravest (and/or most trusting) people on the planet are those poor guys that ride on the back of a motorcycle, facing backwards with a video camera in their hands, filming bicycle races.

[Mark Stutz]

Trust me...when you get back on it...you'll feel 25 again! ;)


Well, you might feel 25 again...someday, but not after that first ride!

My brother got LOML interested in cycling a few years ago. No racing, just recreational riding. I'm usually glued to the TV (actually TIVO) during July!

Spent the day at the finish line for last summer's Tour of Missouri. This was a 10 mile circuit...I'm still amazed at the speed these guys ride...faster than I can go...downhill!

[Mike Cutler]

I still think the bravest (and/or most trusting) people on the planet are those poor guys that ride on the back of a motorcycle, facing backwards with a video camera in their hands, filming bicycle races.

There also some of the nicest people you would ever want to meet.
Sometimes the bikes and the motorcycles get a little "tangled up" No harm, No foul, just everyone doing their job.

They make a great draft, if you can afford the drafting penalty, or don't get caught.:D,;)

[Mike Cutler]

I'm still amazed at the speed these guys ride...faster than I can go...downhill!

Mark

Everyone is soooo fast these days. Everyone is pushing a 53/11 top end gear set. With a good draft you can get a bike over 45 mph on a flat road in this gear.

On the last group rides I was on, if you couldn't hold 28-30 mph, and accelerate to 38 mph, you were cooked and off the back.
My last individual time trial, 3 years ago, was a flat 15Km at 31+ mph. I wasn't even in the top 10.:(

[Chris Padilla]

And they're off!! Noon start here on the West Coast. :)

[Mark Stutz]

Mike,
Who did you ride for?

I think Paul Sherwin said someone was using a 56/12 in the Prologue TT! I just can't imagine. 30 MPH, downhill, is as fast as I've ever been!

Mark

[Chris Padilla]

Levi takes Stage 5!!! Whoo-hoo!!! He's kickin' butt and takin' names! :)

[Mike Cutler]

Mike,
Who did you ride for?

I think Paul Sherwin said someone was using a 56/12 in the Prologue TT! I just can't imagine. 30 MPH, downhill, is as fast as I've ever been!

Mark

Mark

I rode with different teams in the Northeast, and upstate NY. Local amateur stuff. I wasn't a pro. Those guys are unbelievable!!! I've ridden with a number of them through the years. Men and women.

Paul's right about the gearing. I was turning a 55/11 at the max with 180 mm cranks. I usually feathered it between the 13 and the 14 on the flats to stay on top of the gear.
My primary purpose though was too bridge the gaps in races and soften the climbers in the flats of possible, and hopefully have enough gas left to lead out.

I'd start about 3 or 4 km from the finish and just up the tempo to try and drop riders out of the sprint. By the one kilometer mark you're riding blind and just trying to swing off and get out of the way of the sprint.
It's an amazing ballet when it works, when not you just have to console yourself that you did your best.

It's an expensive game though. I have frames that cost more than a Sawstop, and wheelsets that could be traded for a 1/2 dozen new LN planes.
Pushing that big gear in time trials finally took it's toll on my back. For about 18 months after I quit, I couldn't bend over at the waist, and the pain in my back finally stopped after 2 years.
Still. I wouldn't trade my experience on the bike for anything. I met a lot of nice people racing. We'd try to kill each other on the road,and then share food and water at the finish.


Chris

Levi is truly one of the good guys. He took a hard road when he went to europe to ride, and he made it. He was always rated really high as a GC favorite in europe which is a remarkable feat for a US rider.
You've actually got a few famous rider from NorCal. LeMond, Mount, Roll and some more that escape me. Old timer from the 70's and early 80's. We have Tom Danielson though. ;) Nice kid from Lyme Connecticut.

It's nice to see folks watching a race. A lot of Americans don't really understand the subtleties of the race. There's a lot going on that goes un-noticed.

Here's a little cycling history test for you.
What was the purpose of the Original Madison Square Garden? ;)

[Chris Padilla]

Chris

Levi is truly one of the good guys. He took a hard road when he went to europe to ride, and he made it. He was always rated really high as a GC favorite in europe which is a remarkable feat for a US rider.
You've actually got a few famous rider from NorCal. LeMond, Mount, Roll and some more that escape me. Old timer from the 70's and early 80's. We have Tom Danielson though. ;) Nice kid from Lyme Connecticut.

It's nice to see folks watching a race. A lot of Americans don't really understand the subtleties of the race. There's a lot going on that goes un-noticed.

Here's a little cycling history test for you.
What was the purpose of the Original Madison Square Garden? ;)

Well, I'm one of those learning the subtleties of bike racing and it truly is a chess match out there! Pretty cool! Levi's still got his lead of nearly a minute and looks strong, strong, strong!

I've biked quite a bit in my life but only recreationally and for going to work but I can see myself doing some long tours here in the future. I think it would be cool to take a few weeks and bike all over Europe. My boss is influencing me quite a bit; we're both daily commuters to work.

I have no clue about the purpose of the OMSG but I'm guessing it has something to do with bike racing? ;) A quick glance via Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison_Square_Garden) didn't show that, however, but I could have easily missed it.

[Vic Damone]

Eight or nine years ago I thought I was getting my legs back. While riding up Snake Road above Montclair in Oakland, all Mapi/Colnago Freddie Rodriguez blows by me and casually asks, "are you OK". I was so bonked I had just enough wind to reply, "just fine," (yeah sure, I thought to myself, I'm dyeing over here). I was so overcome at the sight of seeing him disappear so quickly that I just pulled over and hung my head. His speed put a whole new perspective on what I thought was fast.

Vic

[Mike Cutler]

Eight or nine years ago I thought I was getting my legs back. While riding up Snake Road above Montclair in Oakland, all Mapi/Colnago Freddie Rodriguez blows by me and casually asks, "are you OK". I was so bonked I had just enough wind to reply, "just fine," (yeah sure, I thought to myself, I'm dyeing over here). I was so overcome at the sight of seeing him disappear so quickly that I just pulled over and hung my head. His speed put a whole new perspective on what I thought was fast.

Vic

Just remember, Freddie is a sprinter, he's "supposed to suck" on the climbs.
Doesn't work out that way though. Malcom Elliiot disproved the "sprinter and hills Myth "when he came to the US to ride
Freddie is another class act. He's been crashed out of a few races and never whined about it. Got back up, worked for his team, and came back the next week.
Tom Danielson did the same thing to me and some others guys on a group ride about when he was still with Saturn. We all rolled out on a steady climb and just kept uping the tempo, dropping riders out the back. We're all changing gears, and standing to accelerate, as the speed increased, and I looked over at Tom and he was spinning a 53/17 and never changed gears!
He dropped us like yesterdays news, and never changed gears, or stood up! All off of his pedaling dynamics. Amazing! Nice guy though. he waited at the top of the hill for the whole group to get back together.

Chris
At the turn of the century, and up to the depression,bicycle racing was the sport of kings. Top riders were making more per year than Babe Ruth.
Madison Square Garden was built for match sprints, and Six Day races. Literally a race that last 6 days, and went for 24 hours a day.
At that time New Jersey/ New York were the center of all racing. We have a very rich history in the US of bicycle racing,and still do. It's just kinda underground now.

28 miles/day is a very good base, don't downplay the significance of it. It's a very respectable weekly total.
Now though it's time to put the speed component in to your training. The more comfortable you become with speed, the less panic there will be when the speed hits your legs.
Start with 400 meter "speed play" roll outs on a nice flat road. Concentrate on picking up the trailing leg, while the forward leg is pushing down. Pedal in circles, not squares. Keep your pedal cadence at 105-120 rpm. Normal pedal cadence should be 95-100 RPM.
This drill reinforces two critical components of cycling.
First, it gets your pedal mechanics fluid so that the maximum of power is transmitted to the pedals, with the least effort.
Secondly, it teaches you to "change speed with your legs, and not your hands". Us "old timers" that raced with friction shifters on the down tube, had a huge advantage when index shifting from the brake hoods came along.:D,;)
A typical criterium sprint will finish at pedal cadences of 150 rpm+. Mine used to be close to 175

If you can, pick up a book titled "Hearts of Lions", by Peter Nye. Excellent read fo an insight into the history of cycling in the US.

[Chris Padilla]

Well it was great to see Levi take the ToC for the 2nd year in a row...he KILLED in the TT and rode the peloton to victory after that!

Well, as far as me doing any racing, I kinda doubt it. My commuter bike is a MTB! :) I changed out the cassette to 28/12 to get some better speed on the road but I really like the control and feel of an MTB on the road and while most of my trail is paved, I do hit a little bit of hard-pack and slippery mud after storms.

I commute for the fun, the challenge, the health of me and the planet but I kinda doubt I would go much further than that. Weekends are packed working on the house and shuttling the kid around to her various activities. I grew up in Colorado and perhaps built up my lungs there but 10 years in the BA at sea level has probably taken care of that. Still, I've dropped about 15 lbs. over those two years and am probably in the best shape of my life! :D :D :D