Got my first bike race in sight.

kmwest · 01-19-2009, 09:11 PM

http://camppendletonraces.com/bike.html

26-mile race, Feb 28. Then there's a duathlon on March 28.

Should be interesting!

Mark57 · 01-20-2009, 10:19 AM

That looks pretty sweet. Do you have access to the course to practice?

Good luck. Remember Fish's sig.

kmwest · 01-20-2009, 10:35 AM

Should be able to. I don't know what I should aim for, time-wise. I'm guessing a practice run would give me a better idea of the time I can hit.

kmwest · 01-25-2009, 06:37 PM

Figured I'd put this here instead of starting a new thread:

I just bought a 100% polyester bike jersey through the Internet. The tag says to hand wash in cold water and hang to air dry. Is it essential to treat this jersey like a newborn child, or can I just put it in the washer/dryer with the rest of my clothes? Also, should I expect it to shrink? It's fairly tight now but has a little bit of breathing room.

Mark57 · 01-25-2009, 07:21 PM

I wash mine in cold water with just a little detergent, no bleach or fabric softener, on the delicate/hand wash cycle, and hang dry. You could throw them in with your other clothes, but not if you want them to last for more than a few months.

kmwest · 01-25-2009, 07:27 PM

Thanks - for $60 I want this to last well into the 2020s.

Mark57 · 02-01-2009, 03:26 PM

Curious if you've had an opportunity to ride the course yet, and if so what kind of time you came up with?

kmwest · 02-02-2009, 07:58 PM

No not yet - I'll let you guys know when/if I do.

kmwest · 02-28-2009, 03:22 PM

OK, did it.

Bulldog Bike Race
Camp Pendleton, CA
26mi
1:28:48.2 (17.6mph avg)

Went ok. Lots of hills. I came in 9th out of 11 in my age group (one dude kicked it and crossed the finish line .2s ahead of me). I stayed with the main pack for a while, but they lost me on the first real hill, and the ride became significantly more difficult as I did not have 40+ guys to draft off of. Certainly taught me a lot about how to race.

Going into the race, a guy at the bike shop told me three things:
1) Don't try to win.
2) Let the "hot dogs" do their thing.
3) Don't crash.

I followed all three rules and overall I think it was a success. There's a 12-mile TT next weekend I'm thinking about (perfectly flat, thankfully!)

Pman · 02-28-2009, 06:29 PM

Not bad for a first race! Sounds like you learned quite a bit.

You do realize you won't be able to to draft at the TT either?

FlipAAA · 03-05-2009, 09:39 AM

Just keep up the training...lots of chipotle mexican grill after rides!!!!!!!!!!