Opinions Please!

As many of you know I have a goal of promoting upto 5 races next year.  My goal for the races are to keep the entry fee low and to not over work the officials and volunteers.  So I am thinking that we will hold just catagory races and not age graded races (with the exception of Juniors).  I have my eye on some new courses and some courses that have not been used in many years. 

Please post your opinions on my proposed schedule for all crits in the series.  This is a chance to feed me your opinion before it is set in stone.  I know I have heard a lot of talk about moving Juniors to middle of the day and I like the idea of having a mid day break for the officials and volunteers to eat lunch and to allow the course to be open for riding.  Here's my schedule:

9:00             Cat 5                           45 minutes
   
10:00           Cat 3/4                       1 hour

11:15           Women’s Open          1 hour

12:15 to 12:45    break                   open course

12:45          Juniors 10-14              30 minutes

1:30            Juniors 15-18              45 minutes

2:30            Pro 1/2/3                     90 minutes
4pm race over


By not having age graded races we can increase the length of the races and potentially increase the prize money per event (of course thats not what its about right?).

Opinions Please!

Some Workouts May Be Harmful To Your Training

On Sunday, at the fire station we went to the Town Center in Virginia Beach to climb the stairs of the Armada Hoffler building. We do this every weekend. When we work Saturdays we just go up in workout gear. On Sundays we dress out in full firefighting gear with air pack and tools. It is probably an extra 50-60 pounds carried up.

This past Sunday I started off fast. I started by taking two steps at once. I began to pull away from the rest of my crew (who are very fit and young). So the competitive nature of mine made me go even harder. By the end of the 23 1/2 floors I was pretty spent. It only took me under 5 minutes to get to the top and I finished an whole floor and half ahead of the other guys. Then came the hard part...going down. The eccentric contractions of your legs hurt and they are what will make you sore the next day, or three.


Later on that night we had a fire in which we all worked really hard. By the next morning I had a hard time just walking. So I skipped my easy ride.

Tuesday I still had a hard time walking. My calves were tight and very painful. So I skipped my intervals and the Trashmore cyclocross practice.

On Wednesday I was back at work and my calves were still sore. So I skipped my strength training.

Here it Thursday, they are a little better but still tight. I will force myself to do my workout today. Unfortunately it is riding and running hill sprints. That will probably put me back into the category of too sore to move.

So even though I thought going fast up the stairs was great cross training, I have concluded that it hurt my program. I will take it slower next time.

The Maiden Voyage

James just got his brand new Trek XO2 cyclocross bike from All About Bikes. It was time for its maiden voyage. Any chance we could get that white bar tape dirty?



You could say some of the bikes got mud. Dam Neck was pretty muddy, but somehow James manage to pick up the least amount of mud. I think his bike has super mud shedding powers.


Our ride once again was about 3 hours and took us through Seashore, the Oceanfront and Dam Neck trails. It was a good time.
Very hot out. Luckily we have mapped out refueling places along the way.

The riders in today's cross ride was:

Me...Joshua Goyet
James Goyet
Tim Shockley
Jon Nisbet
Kevin Hupp

Kevin didn't hold anything back in Seashore. My heart rate elevated pretty high back there. Other than that it wasn't too bad. Probably a little bit harder then we had planned. I think James enjoyed cross riding. He's been recovering from a cold or something and wasn't feeling great but it was a good time.

What I've been up to.

Busy it seems.  Since I have been back on shift work it seems like I have had more time to ride.  So I have been out on the cross bike lately just riding easy trying to rebuild a good base.  Next week I will throw intervals back in.  Here is a quick look at some of the stuff I have been busy doing:

• Setting up Velocity training for the fall and winter.  Spots are still open for anyone who wants to join us.  Last year VBW, Tripower and All About Bikes had riders working out there.
• Trying to find a course in Virginia Beach to hold a cyclocross race.  I think I have found 2 sites.  The city seems to be working well with me.  Let's see if I can get everything in place in time.  Here's a question:  Would you want a Virginia Beach race weekend having a race on Saturday somewhere in VB and then the Trashmore race on Sunday...or would you rather spread the racing out over a couple of weekends only having one race per weekend here?  Let me know.

I've been riding some at Dam Neck and Ipswitch.  I am amazed at the number of spider webs in those woods this time of year.  I hope webs are high in fiber because I have eaten a lot lately.

Labor Day Cyclocross

It has been about a year since most of the Virginia Beach Wheelmen got our cyclocross bikes. Last year on labor day we met at Ipswich for a ride. It was apparently cooler last year.

After that first holiday we started to do around the city holiday rides. That is what we did this year. Mike, Tim and I met at Redmill to begin the ride. The ride took us through the trails at Dam Neck, the oceanfront and Seashore State Park before ending back at Red Mill. It was just shy of 3 hours but was a lot of fun. It is different to hit the trails, ride bike paths and sidewalks. Its a good change from the road season.

Virginia Beach Oceanfront

Mike refueling at Seashore

Tim refueling at Seashore

Jon Nisbet was out of town and James' bike is still on order. Next team ride should be bigger.