J
Joseph Santaniello
Guest
Hi Everyone,
I thought I'd share this for fun.
I'm 34 years old and I used to be reasonably active Cat 3 rider (in the
USA) when I was younger, but I haven't ridden seriously for many years.
There were periods where I went more than a year without riding at all!
My weight has gone up considerably and fitness way down. It was getting
a bit depressing and I decided that I needed to prioritize my life to be
able to do the things I love. You only live once, as far as I know. So I
have been riding 3 times per week for the last month and I'm getting my
groove back!
So I decided to have a go at a local race to see how I rate, and just to
have fun and get back into it. I settled on an easy 10 km time-trial to
start with. No mass-start races yet. For one I wouldn't be able to hang
on, and two, until I'm confident of my pack-riding skills and those of
the other riders around here, I'll stick to ITT's. (I used to be a bike
messenger in NYC using a track-bike, so I just need to get my nerve back...)
So I showed up for the race, got signed up and went to scout out the
course. It was rolling hills with 2 pretty big ascents each about 1.5 km
long. Not good for me! I'm still in poor shape and I weigh 105 kg (230
lb.). But I have been training on similar terrain near my house and was
pretty confident that if I kept my heart-rate between 160 and 170 I
would be able to be pretty consistent with my power-output and since
none of the ascents were particularly steep, my 42x21 seemed like it
would suffice. So I set my goal of not being last!
Milling around the start area people were very interested in my
"vintage" bike and some of the older guys made good natured jokes about
the "good old days" etc. I have a Tommasini with Columbus SPX and full
Campy Nuovo Record with tubulars. And of course 6 speed with friction
shifters on the down-tube. Very 80's. No TT bars, but I do have clipless-
pedals, and I knew enough not to wear one of my wool jerseys...
It was hot 32 C (90 F) and I had a good warm-up and felt very calm as I
shifted to my 53x15 as I rolled up to the start. The starter grabbed my
seat-post and I could tell he was straining to keep my upright during
the count down. At 193 cm (6' 3") and 105 kg (230 lb.) I was the largest
person he was to hold up that day. When the start came, I slowly built
speed to ease my heart-rate up and settled in to my 53x13 as the start
of the course was slightly down-hill. Throughout the race I concentrated
on keeping my heart-rate in the target zone and keeping a high-ish
cadence. I used to be a gear masher with my 180 cranks back in the days
when I was muscular, but now I figure spinning is the way to go. It was
looking good for the first leg, and after the turn-around the course (
while still rolling) began to go more up hill. At times I had to drop to
the 42x21 but for the most part I was able to push higher gears. And
that is when people started passing me. Mostly on the steeper sections.
They were passing my like I was standing still. Flying by in 53x17 and
stuff like that while I was struggling with a 42x17. Oh well. I kept in
my target zone and managed to finish in 20:41. The top 3 places were all
under 14 minutes, and otherwise pretty evenly spread from 14 to 18
minutes. And one person behind me.
So I accomplished my goal. Not being last. Same goal for next week.
j
I thought I'd share this for fun.
I'm 34 years old and I used to be reasonably active Cat 3 rider (in the
USA) when I was younger, but I haven't ridden seriously for many years.
There were periods where I went more than a year without riding at all!
My weight has gone up considerably and fitness way down. It was getting
a bit depressing and I decided that I needed to prioritize my life to be
able to do the things I love. You only live once, as far as I know. So I
have been riding 3 times per week for the last month and I'm getting my
groove back!
So I decided to have a go at a local race to see how I rate, and just to
have fun and get back into it. I settled on an easy 10 km time-trial to
start with. No mass-start races yet. For one I wouldn't be able to hang
on, and two, until I'm confident of my pack-riding skills and those of
the other riders around here, I'll stick to ITT's. (I used to be a bike
messenger in NYC using a track-bike, so I just need to get my nerve back...)
So I showed up for the race, got signed up and went to scout out the
course. It was rolling hills with 2 pretty big ascents each about 1.5 km
long. Not good for me! I'm still in poor shape and I weigh 105 kg (230
lb.). But I have been training on similar terrain near my house and was
pretty confident that if I kept my heart-rate between 160 and 170 I
would be able to be pretty consistent with my power-output and since
none of the ascents were particularly steep, my 42x21 seemed like it
would suffice. So I set my goal of not being last!
Milling around the start area people were very interested in my
"vintage" bike and some of the older guys made good natured jokes about
the "good old days" etc. I have a Tommasini with Columbus SPX and full
Campy Nuovo Record with tubulars. And of course 6 speed with friction
shifters on the down-tube. Very 80's. No TT bars, but I do have clipless-
pedals, and I knew enough not to wear one of my wool jerseys...
It was hot 32 C (90 F) and I had a good warm-up and felt very calm as I
shifted to my 53x15 as I rolled up to the start. The starter grabbed my
seat-post and I could tell he was straining to keep my upright during
the count down. At 193 cm (6' 3") and 105 kg (230 lb.) I was the largest
person he was to hold up that day. When the start came, I slowly built
speed to ease my heart-rate up and settled in to my 53x13 as the start
of the course was slightly down-hill. Throughout the race I concentrated
on keeping my heart-rate in the target zone and keeping a high-ish
cadence. I used to be a gear masher with my 180 cranks back in the days
when I was muscular, but now I figure spinning is the way to go. It was
looking good for the first leg, and after the turn-around the course (
while still rolling) began to go more up hill. At times I had to drop to
the 42x21 but for the most part I was able to push higher gears. And
that is when people started passing me. Mostly on the steeper sections.
They were passing my like I was standing still. Flying by in 53x17 and
stuff like that while I was struggling with a 42x17. Oh well. I kept in
my target zone and managed to finish in 20:41. The top 3 places were all
under 14 minutes, and otherwise pretty evenly spread from 14 to 18
minutes. And one person behind me.
So I accomplished my goal. Not being last. Same goal for next week.
j