Mike's Bike Blog

This was the final race in the 1379 Kids Tri series for Jack and the 1st triathlon for Zeb and Ethan. Zeb competed in the 5-6 year old division and Ethan was in the 9-10 year old division with Jack. The Hill Country Tri also has a parent division as well where the parents time is added to the kids time to form a team. Initially the plan was for Jennifer to compete since she's been swimming and running on a consistent basis again since coming back from a lingering ITB injury.

Two weeks before the race she pulled a muscle in her shoulder and wasn't able to get into the pool and the possibility of competing wasn't looking good. I stepped in to save the day. In the 2 weeks leading up to the race I got into the pool twice just to make sure I could still float and I ran 1/2 mile that first week. I had hoped to get a little more training in but with birthday's and work deadlines I wasn't able to get more in, thus I was a bit worried, mainly for the swim.

The race was in Kyle, TX and had a 5:30am check-in time for a 7am start, thus we had a 3:00 am wake up call. We got marked, picked up chips and set up in the transition. It was here that I learned that Zeb's run was longer than what I had thought. The 5-6 year olds were running the same course as his brothers, a .6 mile run. I had thought it was a 600 meter run for some reason. Zeb was in the first wave of kids and did a good job on the swim and got through the transition and headed out on the bike for a 1/2 mile out and back. The first half is on a slight uphill.

He quickly returned and was onto the run. He started out like a firecracker. Jennifer yelled at him to slow down and pace himself as it looked like he would fizzle out at the pace he was setting. He crossed the finish line in 16:12.81, for a 4th place finish.

While Zeb was out on the running course I ran over to watch Jack enter the pool to start his race. He looked really strong in the swim and I could tell his endurance from swimming all summer had paid off. He improved his swim time and also improved his transition time as well. Both Jack and Ethan had to do 1 lap of the course which was 2.6 miles long. Jack road a personal best for any of the other Tri's he'd done, beating his speed by 2 mph.

With Jack out on the bike course and Zeb done it was Ethan's turn in his 1st triathlon. He got through the swim, not the fastest but that was to be expected as he just this summer passed through the Nitro swimming lessons and just got on the Nitro swim team. As he was getting on the bike course the volunteer wouldn't let him out on the course and fiddled with the straps to his helmet. I was surprised at this as beforehand I double checked the fit of his helmet. I had him bend over, there was no slippage and when he came back up it stayed in place. The chin strap looked good as well, there was a little clearance, about a finger and a half. Well the volunteer would grab it and pull it up and I guess he didn't like it so he messed with it for 2-3 minutes. In the end I don't think he made any adjustments before letting him proceed out onto the bike course. Once Ethan got through the bike course he was off on the run and onto completing his first triathlon!

There was 1 more wave of kids between me and my first triathlon. The time came way too fast, luckily I was seeded next to last so I figured I wouldn't have too many people passing me. There was only 1 other person behind me by the numbers, but there were a few other competitors that didn't feel comfortable with their starting position and moved to the back.

Finally the time of reckoning I got the go signal and took off and jumped into the water and started my swim. I actually caught and passed a few other swimmers. About 1/2 way through as I got to the end of a lane I needed to pass the person in front of me. She ducked under the lane line as I pushed off and attempted to streamline under the lane line to come out ahead of her in the other lane. I didn't quite make it and whacked my head pretty hard on the lane line. I finally made it through the swim, now I knew the likelihood of finishing the tri was at 98%.

I ran to my bike and started my transition to the bike. This included putting on socks and my bike shoes along with my number and helmet. As I was attempting to put on my socks my legs were wobbly. This made putting on my socks and shoes difficult.

As I got out onto the course I saw a guy in a Joe's Pro skin suit, I heard him telling someone that he had the fastest bike leg in last years race. I figured he would be a good rabbit. My plan was to average about 95% of my RunFar power, which is 107% of my FTP. The course had 2 roundabouts to negotiate which normally wouldn't be a big deal, but getting around them with other people weaving through the road I braked more than I would normally to get around them. After the first turnaround I caught and passed the Joe' s Pro rider. After the next turn around with my average power now at 110% of my FTP I decided I better hold back a little so I have something left for the run. On the 2nd and final lap the section with the roundabouts was pretty clear so I didn't have to slow up. I think I scared the volunteers as I entered the roundabouts at over 20 mph as I don't think most people carried that much speed thru.

Now all I had to do was run the 1.2 miles. The first .3 miles of course are on a slight grade. The first lap was the hardest, my legs didn't want to cooperate. When I returned to the start the boys were there to cheer me on and run with me. I turned around for the 2nd lap while the boys ran with me. Not sure if my legs finally opened up or it was the fact that the boys were watching that kept me going and not walking. The final bit the boys ran with me egging me on with the promise of shaved ice afterwards.

I got my shaved ice and we waited for the results to be posted and the awards ceremony. When results went up my overall wasn't that great and figured we were out of contention for a family award. I did place 4th in the bike, 1 minute and 20 some seconds behind Kevin Livingston. Not too shabby, but wish I wouldn't had held back. Upon looking back I don't think I could have ran any slower so I should have went harder on the bike.

When Zeb and me didn't win in the 5-6 year old parent category I figured Jack and I wouldn't win anything. I was totally surprised to hear our team being called for the 9-10 year old parent category for 3rd place.

Everybody had a good time and the boys are raring to do more races, me on the other hand I didn't get bit by the tri bug. I could see doing another family tri as they are short enough that I don't have to train for the swim or the run. If I was going to do a full on triathlon I wouldn't mind doing a relay where all I had to do was the bike portion.

I'm not sure if this is a written rule but crashes usually happen in 3's, celebrity deaths happen in 3s. My last 3 rides fell to this pearl:

Sunday
First thing in the morning Jack and I got out for an hour of pace line work and decending drills. After that I was going to ride for another hour. I headed out on Limecreek Road towards Volente Beach. 2 Miles into it I hear a loud pop and the hiss of the air being released from my back tire. Upon inspection my tire had a severe blowout. I booted the tire with a dollar bill and changed the flat and rode home. That evening at the boys' soccer practice I changed out the tires with a set of Hutchinson Fusion tires I've had for awhile and got a 20 minute ride in.

Monday
This day will probably be remembered as Chaingate from the Tour de France. The day Andy Schleck lost the yellow jersey when his chain came off. I had my own chain issue. I had the TT bike and was planning on doing a 45 minute Sweet Spot interval (SST) which starts at the base of Courtyard and up City Park Road and down to Emma Long Park and then back up City Park and finally up the backside of Courtyard and finishes at the top. I was making my way up and was on the final part where it kicks up to around 20% grade when I hear a click and see the shifter for the rear derailleur move! Since I was out of the saddle when this happened the unexpected shift caused me to fall forward a bit. In the mealy I didn't realize the chain had came off so when I sat back down and started to peddle I got 3 or 4 spins in until I realized what the lack of resistance meant. By the time I realized the chain was off I didn't have time to unclip and braced myself for impact. There was no support vehicles for a bike swap nor any fans to give me a push so I had to go down a little on the hill and go back up. With the phantom shifting I decided not go up City Park cause if it happened again I didn't want to risk rolling into traffic and getting run over.

Tuesday
Still had the TT bike and was going to get a full 40 minute SST workout in but was going to play it safe and doing 40 minutes of down and backs on a 1 mile stretch of road on Rivercrest Dr. For this type of workout I'll usually do Bunny Run Road, which also runs parallel to Capitol of Texas Hwy and is right behind BreakingPoint Systems.  The nice thing about Rivercrest is it's a little flatter then Bunny Run and offers more shade. The downside is the road is much narrower and on some days there's too much day worker traffic (landscapers/construction, etc). I usually give it a ride as a warmup to gauge the amount of traffic and if it's light will ride it or go back up Hillbilly to Bunny Run. Today, the traffic was really light and was a perfect setting for a 40 minute SST interval. 10 minutes into it as I was approaching the turnaround point a truck that was parked on the left side of the road, facing the wrong direction starts to make a Uturn. I'm approaching at 23 mph and see the impending collision and hit the breaks. There's no way to swerve around him. I'm still not sure how I was able to stop as fast as I did. Instead of hitting him straight on I turned right a bit. I grabbed his big side mirror with my left hand and my bike came to a stop with a small thud against his passenger door. The left side of the handle bars are the only part of the bike that made contact with the truck. The left bar end shifter left a small dent and a scratch. There was surprisingly no damage to the bike, luckily all that happened was the impact caused the front derailleur to shift.

I took the bike into Southwest Cycle Sport and the culprit for the phantom shifting was more than likely a bent derailleur hanger. Peter made some other adjustments and I should be as good as new again. I rarely ever get into the small chain ring on the TT bike but hopefully the next time I try to go up a hill like Courtyard it won't fail me again. Now I'm ready for some good luck after getting the last 3 days out of the way.

Those were the words I heard coming from behind me yesterday as I took Jack out on Parmer for the first time. We drove out to the Parmer & 3405 intersection and parked. I picked this location to get out of traffic, plus with the wind coming from the South we could ride South towards Hwy 29 into the wind to start and have a tail wind on the way back.

The headwind made it a little rough, I kept telling him to stay as close to me as possible to draft off of me, but he would fall off the back every once in awhile. The place he really excels is on the hills, his light 70 lb. body is made for climbing. I have to keep an eye on him on the hills and counter his attacks. The hill between 3405 & 29 was the longest he's ridden. I could hear him breathing heavy behind me and I asked him 3/4 the way up if he wanted to stop and rest. He just kept going to the top.

At Hwy 29 we stopped again for a quick break, as we were taking in some fluids a group of 4 riders passed us, I heard some comments as they did a double take when they realized a 9 year old was partaking in a Parmer ride. We saddled up and headed North with the wind at our back. The group of 4 were up the road a little bit, I asked Jack if he wanted to go catch em. On cue he said "Yes! Let's go." I picked up the pace to 18mph and I quickly heard "Faster Dad!" coming from behind me. That lasted a few seconds until I heard another "Faster!" so I accelerated again to 20 mph. We were quickly closing the gap and we had them in our crosshairs. However one of the riders in the group had a flat and they pulled over so that took a little wind out of our sails when we caught them. Jack did point out that we would have caught them anyway.

We were passed by a couple riders and once again Jack wanted to chase them down and I was more than happy to oblige. I set the pace at 20 mph and once again I go the "Faster Dad!" comment. It wasn't until I hit the 24 mph mark till I was able to pull away from him.  We gave chase to a few other cyclists not catching any of them, but just like Fishing it's not necessary the joy of catching a fish, but the joy of the experience.

I'm inching closer to my new goal of 27 mph in this installment of the RunFar Time Trial on my first loop I averaged 25.7mph. The first obstacle will be the 26 mph barrier. The ride was almost flawless, there was one hiccup however, when I turned around to head back in on MoPac there was a car that turned onto Mopac as well and when I looked back to check for cars I saw them. I think they knew I wanted to move over to the right so slowed up but I didn't want to cross and have them speed up. So I waited until they passed. But looking back a few times cost a little bit of time.

I was happy to see my results actually come out this time. I didn't mention it but the last time I did the TT there was some type of malfunction with the timer boxes and my start didn't get recognized and I ended up with an erroneous time of 34 minutes with a 14.1 mph average. According to my Garmin I did it in 18:44.

 I have been wanting to take part in the 2nd loop competition that is part of the Time Trial the last few times I've been out there. The 2nd loop is a separate category for those that go out for seconds on the course. When I got done with the first effort I rode back down to the veloway entrance to catch my breath before going out for seconds. My plan for loop 2 was to keep my power at my Sweet Spot level. Figured by doing that I wouldn't blow up on the course. This time I had trouble getting over to the left hand shoulder as I approached the turnaround point with all the traffic. I kept looking back checking for an opening adequate before froggering it across the lane. As it turned out the opening wasn't as big as I thought, I made it across fine but it was a lot closer than I would have liked.

The only noteworthy point on the 2nd loop was on the back stretch, that was into the wind I had some yahoo drafting off of me for a good mile or so. I finally had enough of this so pulled up to let him pass. He dangled in front of me and made a good carrot, but with 2 miles left I passed him for good.

For the first loop I ended up 22nd overall and 4th in my age group. For the second loop I ended up winning with my 25 mph average. NOTE: When the results were first posted today I was sitting 20th overall and 3rd in my age group. At least I'm still 1st for the second loop.

This past Sunday saw me compete in the Fredericksburg Road Race for the first time. I'd heard good things about the course, that it was hilly and challenging. Oh and for the record it's not in Fredericksburg, but 23 miles outside of town in Doss. We had a full field in the 35+ 4/5 with 72 preregistered for the race. The course is billed as hilly with cattle guards and low water crossings and a rolling enclosure. So as long as you stayed between the follow car and the wheel truck you had the whole lane to race, which is good cause most of the roads were quite narrow.

I was looking forward to this race as it would be the first time to race with fellow Southwest Cycle Sport teammate Jeremy Humble. He's a very strong rider, last years State TT champion. The course was on a 22 mile loop and we were doing it 2 times so we'd get to enjoy the King of the Mountain (KOM) hill twice, but unfortunately in our race there was no KOM points like there was in the Pro 1/2 race. Our's was just for bragging rights I suppose. Of all the low water crossings there was 1 that had water and we got the warnings on it. As we got started we left at a mellow pace, even after the neutral roll out. Not sure what people were thinking, we might have had too many city boys up front because when we would come to a cattle guard we'd almost come to a stop. This was very nerve-racking as I heard someone say there were 31 cattle guards on the route. I didn't verify that number but I'd say that it is probably right.

As we hit the KOM I was still up near the front so I felt good at my positioning till I looked to see who was near me and noticed that I was boxed in by big guys. These were the guys that rushed up to the front in the hopes of not getting dropped by the time they slid off the back of the hill. I quickly shot through openings and got clear of them as not to slide down the KOM with them as they were shot out the back. The pace up the KOM wasn't bad at all. Near the top however, my back tire started to feel weighted down and spongey. At the top I asked the guy riding behind me if my tire was flat and he confirmed what I was afraid of, I was in the beginning stages of a flat.

Luckily there was neutral wheels as I didn't bring my backups as I don't have a usable cassette for them. I pulled to the side, sipped some water. Shifted to the 11 cog, looked back for the wheel truck. Took the rear wheel off, waited for what seemed like an eternity as the last of the clydesdales crested the KOM and the wheel truck finally got there. The tire change was real fast once they got there, but I was about 4 minutes down on the leaders as I found myself DFL.

I quickly caught the first group of clydesdales lumbering up the rollers as my goal now was to see if I could Time Trial my way back to the main group. I mean why let my good form go to waste. Which I should point out this was a B race for me, so I did do a mini taper for it, so I had high hopes on a good finish. I was flying in most cases hitting 28 or 29 mph and only the rollers would slow me down.  The nice thing about being solo was I didn't have to slow down for the cattle guards. On the first lap I passed a former Discovery Channel rider, but I blew by him and all I could make out was he was in a Team Discovery jersey. With 3 miles to go on the first lap was the big hazard on the course, the low water crossing with water. There was only about 2 inches of water in it, but we were warned it was fairly slick even though it had been scrubbed to get the algae off several times. As I flew down the hill leading up to it volunteers gave the universal sign to slow down by pushing their hands down. I could see one rider on the ground with officials around him. He wasn't getting up, I later heard that 1 rider was taken away by ambulance with a broken leg. There was quite a pileup when he went down. This wasn't my first water crossing so I knew what to expect as I went through it and more importantly how to pedal out when I had cleared the water.

On the 2nd time up the KOM  I caught and passed big George Hincapie in his full BMC kit. I wasn't attacking the KOM hill, I was going at a moderate pace, in fact I couldn't attack, it seemed whenever I'd stand to attack the cassette and chain would slip. Remember I'm not using my own wheel because of the wheel change so my chain and the cassette aren't use to each other. So all I could do was sit and spin my way up. I didn't seem to have any big issues when I was in the 53T and pushing the higher gears. That left only 1 other rider I needed to beat and that was either Chris Horner or Levi Leipheimer wearing their full Team Radio Shack kit. Low and behold off in the distance I could see 2 riders working together and one in a bright red kit. I suspected this was indeed the Radio Shack rider, one problem the 2 seemed to be working well together and I couldn't reel them in as quickly as I had hoped. It took awhile but I closed the gap and at the low water crossing I knew they were mine. Especially when the non Radio Shack rider got off his bike to walk through the water. And yet again there was a rider down in the water, well I suspect he went down, he might have just decided to take a break from the heat and humidity. I pass the Radio Shack rider on the hill coming out of the low water crossing, but I still can't stand and power up the hill. This lets him stay in contact with me on the final 3 miles.

When we make the left turn for the final approach to the finish, I now believe it was Levi as I think Chris is racing in Europe, so Levi passes me. I grab his wheel. He's pretty big and seems like he has a much better finishing sprint than I do. So my strategy is to get him to start his sprinter further out. With about 800 meters to go I act like I'm winding it up and pull to the outside and act like I'm going to go. He takes the bate and starts his sprint, I get back into his draft. With about 150 to go, I come out of his draft as he starts to slow and start my pounce. Only as I look up a truck pulling a horse trailer that has been stopped by the officials decides he's had enough and pulls around the cars stopped at the finish line and proceeds to take 1/2 of our lane! Since I was going on the outside this was directly in my path, not wanting to be a splatter on his bug guard I pulled up and moved over to the right. So I lost a spot to Levi Leipheimer, instead of 40th I got 41st out of 63 finishers.

My placing wasn't where I wanted it to be, but I had good legs and felt fine on my 41 mile solo effort. Next time I might have to try a solo effort again, but instead of going solo off the back I think I'll go solo off the front. The other great joy I had in the race was to see a steaming fresh cow patty in the middle of the road with bike tires through it. I saw a couple of these and especially the first one, really made my day as I pictured the peloton rolling through that. I wonder who got it worse the guy who rolled through it with his $2400 wheels or the rider directly behind him.

Here's some links I found interesting this week. The majority of them deal with sports nutrition and gluten free. About 2 months ago I started changing my diet, I started to cut out gluten, I wasn't planning on going 100% gluten free. This meant no bread or cereal. The bread part wouldn't be that big of deal as I had maybe a sandwich once or twice a week for lunch. Cereal on the other hand would be harder as that's what I typically ate for breakfast. I found great alternatives with grits and quinoa, in fact I created a creamy quinoa pudding recipe that has become a hit at our house. I make a batch of it the night before and it lasts for a couple breakfasts.

Going gluten free wasn't a big jump for us, although Jennifer might have a different opinion on that. It has meant added work for her as she has to make bread and tortillas on a daily basis. Since we typically ate healthy anyway it was easier on us to make the switch. I was discussing gluten free at Ethan's Cub Scout party as they were partaking in a pizza party, Ethan ate beforehand and we brought an apple/walnut salad and gluten free brownies. They were quizzing me on how hard it was and kept asking me what I eat when I go out to eat, to restaurants and fast food. They couldn't grasp the concept that we rarely eat out and do NOT eat at fast food establishments. If/when we do eat out it's typically a sit down restaurant and it's usually mexican, so when we cross that bridge we'll have to see.

I'll be covering this a bit more so if anybody has any specific questions on a gluten free sports nutrition angle post away or if you have good gluten free links I should know about send them as well.

Eat Like a Pro With a Low Gluten Diet
Protein Carbs and Endurance Performance Finding the Right Balance
gluten free whey protein miracle
science of bike fitting
core training for cyclists

The Dillo has a special place in my heart, it was my first century ride and each year the family gets out for the Kids & Family ride (2009 report). It's a great value for $15 the entire family rides and gets the t-shirts and goodie bags. The only downside is that it's in Bertram, which is a little further than the regular start of Liberty Hill. This year it was going to be only Jack & Ethan accompanying me, Zeb had a soccer game so Jennifer would take him to his game while we rode.

Jack & Ethan at the start

We got to Bertram a little early, which was good as last year we were late because of Ethan's soccer game and rode alone. Getting out and getting the bikes ready the boys quickly realized it was much colder an windier than they were expecting and wanted to get back in the car. I told them once we got going we'd quickly warm up.

After some brief bike safety tips from the Austin Cycling Association we had a full sheriff escort out of town. We were positioned at the front and were directly behind the Sheriff. As we got out of town Ethan started slowing down. He was quickly falling behind I dropped back to him to see what was going on. We started to get passed and the next thing I realize when I looked up Jack and the Sheriff were out of sight. I finally coaxed Ethan to pick up the pace and on the first hill he finally did, catching at least a few of the people that passed us. When we came to the first turn I saw the Sheriff's car and thought he was directing traffic as we had to make a left turn, then I saw a group of riders and a rider down and it was none other than Jack.

Apparently he took the turn too fast and too wide and crashed into the ditch. He was holding his leg. He had some scratches on the outside of his leg from where he went down, a bruise on his inside right leg where he probably hit the top tube and his shorts were littered with stickers and cactus. He didn't go down on the road surface he found a nice cactus patch to cushion his fall.

He has a high Jens factor as he stood up and we picked the cactus and stickers off his butt and he got back on the bike to finish off the Dillo. We kept it at a reasonable pace and told him to wait for us if he gets too far ahead.  After a mile or so he said he was 100% and I asked him and Ethan if we should kick it up a little and try to catch some of the riders that passed us that we could see in the distance. They responded with a resounding yes. We formed a paceline and brought our speed up. We caught a group of riders as they were pulling into a rest stop. After catching our breath and a shot of water we pushed on.

Ethan was riding Jack's mountain bike as it has a triple and figured he would be able to tackle any of the hills we would encounter better with it than his 1x6. I think he was thankful on the last hill to have the granny gear. He was pleased with himself when he got to the top that he made it.

We made it back without incident and the boys said they had a good time, even Jack. In fact Jack was quite happy and was proud to have his first crash. If you're going to ride and race bikes crashing is part of it. I was proud of his attitude about it, instead of giving up and not wanting to ride anymore he came to the realization that crashing can happen and not to fear it. We talked about it on the way home and came up with a plan that we'd work on his cornering more on his road bike.

The Armadillo was great again this year and can't wait to do it again next year, although the boys are starting to outgrow the 6 mile distance. I know Jack has and by next year Ethan will have as well. With the amount of riding Zeb has been doing lately he will be ready for tackling the longer distances as well. After dinner Zeb and I go out for a 3-4 mile ride so the 6 miles is well within his reach.

The course on tap for the Thursday Driveway Race Series was the notorious City Loop. You may recall from last year this was the course for my only forray into the Driveway last year and I got pulled at the end. I was going for a little redemption this time.

It just wasn't meant to be. I got clipped in quickly from the start line and was ready to go but after the first turns I found myself engulfed by the surge of riders and on the only straightaway I could see the main group slowly starting to pull away.  Small pockets were forming of riders as the field was getting strung out and there I was way in the back. For the next few laps I made my way around guys but with the number of turns that was proving difficult as they would slow so much around the corners. I finally cleared the last of the pack filler that had been shot off the back only to realize I wasn't closing the gap to the lead group. So I rode solo averaging 24.3 mph which was no picnic do to the wind. One nice thing at least with riding solo I didn't have to hit the breaks at all through the corners I could hold a smooth line and a consistent speed.

Towards the end I started to lap riders but still not making any progress on closing the gap. As I was passing a group of 4 or 5 riders at the start/finish the officials told us we were done. To say I was disappointed is an understatement, I was still maintaining 24 mph at that point and the likelihood that I was going to get caught by the field was very low. I could still see the back of them, granted I wasn't going to catch them but I wasn't going to be in the way.

On Sunday Jack competed in his 2nd Triathlon of 2010 and the 2nd in the 1379 Kid's Tri Series. Jack improved all his times in the swim, bike and run.

Swim: 2:58.7
Bike: 12.7 mph
Run: 5:13.696 (8:42.8 min/mi)
Total Time: 24:38.616 (+5:48.476)

Some fancy wheels and bikes

Jennifer, Zeb & Jack