Orwell Wheelers 2015 Club League Round 09: Green Sheds. Limits vs. Scratches

Long Story Short

• There was two pelotons, Limit/Semi-Limit and Semi-Scratch/Scratch.
• I got shelled 6km from the end.
• The catch was made 5km from the end.
• I finished 2nd last of the people who finished.

View the Race on Strava: Orwell Wheelers 2015 Club League Round 09: Green Sheds. Limits vs. Scratches.

Short Story Long

Build-up

On Tuesday, I got my new bike fitted via the Retul method from bikefitstudio.ie. I took the bike out on Wednesday for some Intervals. The position was a bit strange, my left quad cramped. I am a lot further forward than I am used to. I felt that my climbing was impacted.

I started eating at 16:00. I ate a John West Tuna Steam Pot, two Bananas. I went to the bathroom to raise my Watts/Kilo. I got changed into my race kit at 16:45. The weather forecast was predicting rain for my warm-up, but I didn't care, but I had packed a small towel and the Long Sleeve Jersey. Ankle Socks, Leg Warmers, Bib Shorts, Compression Vest, Arm Warmers and a Short Sleeve Jersey. I drove up to Black Bull slightly before 17:00. There was some traffic, but no idiots had crashed on the M50, so it wasn't bad. I arrived there at 17:40-ish.

Pre-Race

I got ready for a steady warm-up routine. I rode up and down the layby once. Then stretched at the car, I must've looked like Michelle Jenneke to the passers by. I cycled back down to the train line ...to unload my internal bidons. Then I started one minute intervals. This was more ambigious than usual, as I hadn't transferred my Power Meter to my Rose Xeon CW yet, so it was using heart rate. I had made a Heart Rate interval screen on my Garmin the previous day.

View the Warm-up Routine on Strava: Warm Up.

I went over to sign on. My new bike generated some interest. I have a bike buddy in the club. He told me that the Cosmics and the handling can get twitchy when transferring from the hoods to the drops when in the crosswinds.

I put the saddle bag in the car, removed the leg warmers. I ate a Power Bar Cookies and Cream bar and a Banana before the race. Garrett asked me "Are you still in Limit?" Which I understood as "Are you still slumming it in Limit with the losers?" Eugene-style banter.

There was a lot of talk between the marshals, and it was decided that the course would be the Green Sheds one. Dick had brought us around this circuit in February, so I had some knowledge about it. Limit and Semi-Limit were grouped into one peloton, with Semi-Scratch and Scratch joining forces to catch and over take. The whistle blew, we were off.

Race

Out to the Circuit

Things were a bit sketchy on the run to the top of the hill. But we started into a good rythm on the run to Batterstown and onto the roundabout. I noticed that there was a lot of people working. Even my Limit buddies, who would not usually make it to anywhere near the end of the race.

My position on the bike felt really good now. I was on the back of the saddle and the hoods when recovering. Then mid saddle and the drops on the way up to the top. When I was three riders from the front, I'd get on the nose of the saddle and make my forearms parallel to the ground with my nose really close to the top cap. I think they call this "chewing bar tape".

I also noticed that there was some people not working. They were not communicating their shameful in-action. There was not a lot of people saying "Last Man". This was creating gaps in the line of people moving up. When at the front, some guys rolling through were accelerating through, making recovery harder. There was one or two guys riding out of line, forcing the guys moving up to come around them. The guys who were doing this didn't last long, I think I seen them twice. This really needs to improve from the Limit group.

I was really lucky to be very near the front when we approached the roundabout.

Lap One

I'm pretty sure that many people got shelled at the roundabout. I had to close some gaps, and sat in to recover. I seen that Garrett had a gap, but no one wanted to close it. I noted where the finish line was when I passed it. The pace slowed after we took the first exit at the third roundabout. The aerobic load was kicking in and I was starting to suffer. I got in the group and took a sip of water. I used this time to regulate my breathing, as I was starting to get a stitch. Inhaling slowly and exhaling very slowly, this lets the muscles in your rib cage have a break. Stitches have been a real problem for my in the races this season.

I was getting pretty annoyed at the guys who were sitting on and not working. The guy who was sitting directly on my wheel was Romano, more on him later. They were on the receiving end of abuse every time I went to the back. I took a passive-aggressive stance on the "Last Man" calls, preferring "Last Man, who'll do any work". When the road started going uphill, I was going backwards, but because I was near the front I had the sliding room.

Lap Two

The start of lap two was a bit of a blur. I wanted to be in a good position for the roundabouts. I was mid-pack for them, so not as bad as it could've been. I think that many people got shelled and 17, or 19, people remained. Garrett did the counting. Romano was still sitting on the back. I realised that my abuse was not going to motivate/guilt him into working.

There was one absence from the Brittas race. The constant shouting of "Tidy", "Keep working" and other standard sayings designed to illict a response. I could only hear the guy on the Canyon Ultimate SLX saying "We're working well". Jules said he was shouting too, but I didn't hear him.

About 6km from the line, Aideen Keenan, who we picked up in our group after she punctured, attacked. She was not going to contest the finish, but everyone followed her. I had just done a turn at the front, so I was in the red. I could not respond. A small gap formed and there was a crash at the back. I looked behind to see what happened, a rookie thing to do, but I knew I was last on the road. It stops being fun when people are properly hurt, not just lactic acid burning your legs off hurting. I knew the group in front was gone a bit up the road, my race was over. I think I was one of the last Limit riders to be shelled from the joint Limit/Semi-Limit group. So a good performance from me.

I didn't want to leave people lying in the middle of the road. I slowed, but I didn't stop. I seen the Scratch groups coming. I wanted to get out of their way. So I let them pass on a T-Junction, by riding wide. Jules was involved in the crash with Diarmuid. I waited for Jules, catch up to me and I rolled in with him. Another guy, my bike buddy (he has a Lava Red Xeon CW), passed us. I presumed that he was the guy who crashed with Jules. So I taught that everyone was up the road, this was an incorrect assumption on my part.

I tried to tempt Jules into a Sprint finish, for pride. I got a massive gap on him. His rear brake was rubbing pretty hard. I finished the race really strong, so maybe I could've lasted in the main group had I been able to respond to the attack.

The groups joined 5km from the line. Brian Mc had won the race. My new friend, Romano had finished 3rd. Clever racing from him. He had his strategy and stuck to it. I would've cracked had the roles been reversed. I felt like a bit of an asshole for hurling so much abuse his way. He did win one competition, the prestigious "Most abused by Luke" award. :P

Here's the finish, in Slow Motion, fast forward to 28 seconds.

Post-Race

I would've like the Limit groups to have stayed away. I was happy with my evening's work.

I offered Jules a lift home. After the crash, it's better to inspect a carbon bike before riding it again. Jules and I discussed the race as I dropped him home. He heaped a bit of pressure on me for the upcoming Time Trial. He reckoned that there's not many strong riders left in Limit after the upgrades from the Brittas and Corkagh races. Time to buy some TT bars. I'll be up against Barry's TT Rig.

Re-watching the race on the Strava Fly-By, with Garett, Brian Mc and myself enabled, was fun. Les Pelotons Scratches really paced their effort well to make the catch.

I was sickened that I didn't have my Power Data to analyse for training input. But I spent a full hour at threshold heart rate zone.

What Was Learned

• I need to get back to proper training, short sharp intervals and longer ones too. This will enable me to respond to attacks and move up in the line better. My work schedule is getting easier now, as I just finished the project that I was working on.
• My strategy to prevent the stitches was better this week, but I may not get a convenient lull in the pace to do so in the future. Regulating my breathing will need to be prioritised early in future races.
• That session with Dick was really useful for the course recon it provided.