The Suitcase of Courage: Why Cycle Wednesday: Racing

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I guess the fit fits.

I raced the East Hartford/Rentschler Field crit last night and did pretty well. Ok, I'm being falsely modest. I won. But that wasn't the important thing. What I really was most interested in was how my new bike position would work.

As I discussed in my last post, my bike setup changed pretty radically. I'd been riding and racing on essentially the same setup since I think spring of 2006, right before I started racing. Ok, I flipped my stem last year, but that's it. And - except for the occasional remark about all my steering tube spacers and low seat - it was fine. I just felt a little cramped in the cockpit. And SDC mentioned that I might be able to get more power out of a different position.

He was right.

I have to admit I (not to mention my LBS) was a little shocked by HOW much the position changed. Usually these adjustments are done in millimeters. We did it centimeters at a time - seat went up 1.7cm and forward 1cm; bars got lowered 2.5cm (no more spacers) and the stem went out another 2cm. Pretty radical.

But there's no arguing with results. My non-scientific impression was that I got two additional gears, meaning I could motor along 2 gears harder for the same effort. That meant it was easier to stay near the front - and to close gaps if I needed to. Also, under race conditions, the cornering feels MUCH more stable. While I wouldn't want to try it, I do feel more confident that I could withstand a hit to my front wheel in a corner without automatically going down. The front end just feels heavier and harder to move - paradoxically making it easier to carve sharper corners at higher speeds, and make finer corrections if needed. Due to my crash earlier this season, I'm still not quite as aggressive in the corners has I had been, but I can now make up lost position more easily.

I won't attribute everything about last night's race to the bike fit though. I had new tires too(!) Ok, other than that - and at least as important as fit if not more so - was that I raced much smarter last night than I have recently. Taking some tips from the master, I figured out immediately where the wind was coming from and did what I could to stay sheltered as much as possible. Being totally alone with no teammates in the race at all, I could sit in and let the major teams chase down breaks and attack each other. If a break got down the road, I figured I'd decide then whether to try to bridge.

Fortunately, we were all back together for the final laps and I tried to figure out the best position to be in for the sprint. Of course, everybody else had the same plan. I think at this race the second-to-last corner is most critical since it's the last 90 degree corner, the actual final "corner" being more of a long curve. I was probably about 6 guys back going through the 90 and thankfully we all remained upright - it's tough to turn that sharp at the speeds we were going. I followed a couple of wheels and then launched my sprint to the outside into the wind - probably a little early since I'm still trying to determine where my optimal "jump distance" is. But it worked out - I gave it all I had and crossed the line a good bike length or so in front of anyone else.

Of course, cautious me, I still threw my bike at the line.

For those who find such things interesting (and taking some inspiration from a friend), here are the stats:

25 mph avg.
36.4 mph max
155 AHR
178 MHR
17 miles
40:47

As a friend remarked when he saw these pics . . .

"Club rider"

"Racer"

BTW, since I have a Garmin that's working now, I've been able to resume posting detailed race data under the "Races" section on the right side of the page. Last night's race as well as the Naugy crit are now posted.

*** Not that you'd think so, but the pic at the top of this post is not from our race - just a cool pic I found on the 'net, but can't remember where to credit it properly.