The Pedal Log

Race Report 07/09/2016: BTR Criterium  The week after Nationals is a magical thing, the legs feel simultaneously tired and relieved from the heavy load of high stress training. Its like waking up from a good night’s sleep, still groggy, but filled with energy for the day ahead.  Racing this weekend was phenomenal.  The BTR criterium was a cut and dry fast fest. With the race’s signature cross winds in full effect, I was prepared to see the win go to a breakaway. I was also planning to be in that breakaway, and as a result spent the first 45 minutes of the race on or off the front trying to secure a spot in what I though would be the winning move; no such luck.  With six Laps to go the pack was still together, and I could see it was coming down to a sprint finish. After this realization I began riding in the shadows, trying to save energy for the inevitable mass finish. Bouncing from wheel to wheel, I stayed in a top ten position for the final lap, eventually...

When the curtain drops, the show is over. Translated into performance nutrition terms, if your glycogen stores are depleted, you are done racing. That was a hard lesson to learn at a race as important to me as Barry Roubaix. The first two thirds of the race went really well. I was able to match pace with the stronger riders, and I had really good legs. My plan was to follow the lead groups moves, ride in the shadows, and try to conserve energy for when it would really matter. This plan was working brilliantly, and paid off early when we hit Sager Road. The attack on that decisive section of two track was beautiful. We turned onto Sager with a group of over a hundred, and came out the other side with less than a dozen. Though the explosion of the attack was beautiful, the experience of it was brutal. Looking back on the activity file is painful. For the one-mile section of road I averaged a heart rate of 189, as we rocketed up the hills faster than cars can. It was a true test,...

Race Report – Melting Mann:   The first race of the seasons is always a mixed bag. You are excited to be back racing, but at the same time know the first is often the most painful race of the year. Cycling, like any other endurance sport, takes a fair amount of acclimation. Cold early season races can make your lungs and muscles scream! Lining up at the start for Melting Mann, I felt a little shaken. I had been thrown off schedule by factors outside of my control, and I frazzle pretty easily. My warm up had been cut short, and I was left with a feeling of not being ready. As an added facet of pre-race discomfort, I was also struggling against my breakfast which would not sit still! Thankfully, once the race started there was no time to remember my anxiousness or stomach; all I could do was pedal.     There was an unspoken agreement for the first two miles of the race. The fast riders would put in some digs at the front, and hopefully shed the slow guys as qui...

You see a tunnel of darkness, feel it closing in pain, shrieking with acceleration, and plummeting towards exhaustion. You rise against weakness, find peace in simple purpose, and your mind fills with a frenzy of speed. Going fast on a bicycle. Visting Charlotte North Carolina last weekend, I had the opportunity to join a group ride on Saturday morning. I stood out like a sore thumb for a number of reasons, chiefly, I was showing a lot of skin. The day was forecasted to hit a high of around 60 degrees, and the cloudless sky promised not to interrupt any of the sun’s warm transmissions. I dressed accordingly, at least, I dressed appropriately for a Michigander. The ten other riders were clad in head to toe winter apparel, the kind I typically save for those days laced with snow. My bare arms and exposed legs made introductions obvious “this is Jesse, he’s not from around here”. I was invited to the ride by Kyle Knott, and he introduced me to everyone in the group before we g...

A dark roast coffee with a good friend, that is the ideal way to start a day. This morning I met with Derek Dalzell, owner and head coach at  Dallzell Coaching . A friend, and fellow appreciator of the magical coffee bean. We met this morning for a typical purpose, it's a new year, and we wanted to discuss our resolutions. However, as cyclists, we express this purpose very differently. Our resolutions are specific, and often called terms such as functional threshold power, power to weight ratio, goal races, and peak fitness.  These resolutions represent our hopes for the upcoming season. As my coach, Derek had scheduled this meeting to review the plans and trajectory we will take to achieve them. As the head wizard of fitness data interpretation, Derek had transmogrified an entire season's worth of heart rate and power data to pinpoint my talents as a rider. Graphs and charts in hand, he identified my strengths and weaknesses, and shared his plan for my development. ...