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2007-2008 UCLA Cycling Team
Team Blog
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(gotta push that burger off the main page...)
So with Sara living on Catalina island for the summer, I've been out there a few times. The riding is... different. First of all, there is no pavement. Maybe there is within .5 mile of Avalon, but what good is that? I started on the other side of the island at two harbors. (which was quite popular on labor day weekend)
All the roads are fire-road, which is perfect for my new cx bike,
I'm running Maxis Raze tires at about 45psi and it's perfect. There is very, very little traffic, only the "safari bus" that runs from the airport to avalon, two harbors and back. I've never considered a desert island a safari, but who am I to judge? It rumbles by about once every 3 hours. Anyway, whenever there's any kind of human establishment, they tend to plant palms:
It's not a great place to ride easy. The hills tend to be hills. I wish I had a gps on some of them because I swear it must be 14-15%. I had a 34x32 (compact front + mtn cassette), and at 250W I was at 50 cadence in (many) places. Descending is a joy as the above mentioned bus is driven rather aggressively, leaving wash-boarding the size of your head through every turn,
But, it's not so bad if you take it easy (or had suspension). As far as my route goes, I left two harbors, went over the hill to the campground of little harbor, and then followed the coast towards Avalon.
I turned around about 2/3 of the way there, making my ride about 2 hours and 40 min. At some point if I'm in the right mood I'm going to make it to Avalon and back. But this weekend I was mostly interested in easy riding, relaxing, and enjoying the view. It was a great change of pace and very different then riding on the "mainland".
 Labels: catalina, cyclocross
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Result: Crushed
How it unfolded: 2hours, normalized to 300W, 1800kJ
Lap1: 325W (5:20)
Lap2: 382W (4:40)
Lap3: 370W (4:45)
Lap4: 368W (4:50)
Lap5: 315 (5:20) - this is where I imploded.
Lap6: 310W
Lap7: 300W
Lap8: 343W
Lap9: 310W
Lap10: 330W
Lap11: 338W
Lap12: 300W
Lap13: 315W
Lap14: 295W
You can see from the power numbers how the race went. First lap was easy, heading into 3rd lap, I knew it would start to pick up. I moved to the front and got on Binder's wheel - he does have 20 points towards cat 2, so I knew he'd be strong. Although, he isn't known for is race tactics, so it was a bit risky.
Anyhow, we attacked on lap 2 (actually 3rd time up hill) and made some people suffer. I felt good, and we sat up a bit just before the steep section. The next time up, same thing, there were 3 or 4 of us at the front setting a hard pace. Felt ok. Finally 4th lap, Binder and some other dude attacked again through the feed zone - I was there, but they had a small gap. Some guy behind me yelled at me to close the gap. I dug pretty deep, got back on the wheel, and then it happened...I got eaten alive on the steep power climb, and then had to pedal a bit to get back on the back. The next few laps I was able to regroup at the bottom of the climb, but got gapped towards the top and was playing the chase game with about 4 others.
The remaining group of about 20 riders were so close...yet so far. I got sick of my company and hammered out a 343W effort and somehow managed to get back into the lead group. Of course, surprise, I got dropped again. Maybe because I was pedaling every descent? Or maybe because I am an out of shape fatty.
Anyhow, while I didn't do nearly as well as I wanted, I completely destroyed my power numbers from the UCSC race here in March - so at least there is some proof that I am a bit faster. Just no points.
the UCSC numbers went like this for me:
1: 330W
2. 365W
3. 315W - dropped
4. 320W
5. 305W
6. 324W
7. 300W
8. 300W
9. 308W...more of the same...
Anyhow, here's a pic from Panoche Road near Tres Pinos, part of the Stanford Road Race.
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I'm heading up to UCSC for the road race this weekend. 15 laps of misery. Hopefully I'm in good enough shape to not get crushed. Luckily, my mom got me some new shoes for my birthday! We'll see how many watts they add.
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The UCLA Cycling Team is a resource for both the competitive and
recreational cyclist. Whether you road or mountain bike, do BMX
or trials, want to participate in a fun ride or compete in a multi-day
stage race, do it with others who share your passion. Cycling is
also a great, low-impact way to cross-train for other sports. The
team consistently ranks among the top schools in our conference,
won a National Championship in 2001, and counts several pro cyclists
as alumni.
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