DARREN COPE

Yesterday was the OBC Grand Prix.  Since I am a big fan of suffering in hills, this race is one of my favourites, and since it’s close by, I made it a ‘target’ race this season.  Here’s my race report on how things went down this year in the Senior 3 race (after all, Tales Don’t Tell Themselves…)

I woke up at the ungodly hour of 4:15am, and loaded the car for the 1:15 drive into Old Chelsea to pick up my race kit (numbers and timing chip).  Since no sane person was on the road at this hour, the trip was smooth sailing the entire way.  I was treated to a phenomenal sunrise after turning on to the 417, and took it as a good sign of things to come.  I flashed my race licence, signed my life away and picked up my race kit, and was out the door in less than 10 minutes including a pit stop.  Very well organized!

Drove in to P9, and parked, pinned my numbers, and got dressed.  I had timed things so I had plenty of time for a warmup, since I think I’ve been lacking in this department, and hoped a good long warmup would help my race.  I took a spin up to Camp Fortune (not all the way up the climb, but up to the gate to the ski chalet), did a few sprints to open up the legs, and then stayed mostly on the flat stuff–no sense in blowing up my climbing legs before the race started :)  I found Keli walking to the feed zone, so rolled along and chatted with her for a few minutes.  I arrived at the Start line with ~10mins to start time, and found a spot in the second row.  This year, Juniors and Senior 3 were actually separated instead of co-mingled, so I had a good look at who was in my group (larger than last year, with 82 starting, and 71 finishing).  The race started on time (as always with the GP) and the group took off at a reasonable pace.

The course goes uphill almost immediately after the start, with the base of Fortune Climb coming only 1.5km from the start.  The climb gains 135m in approximately 4.3km, with an average grade of 4%, and a max of 8%.  Nothing crazy, but painful enough!  Thanks to the wonders of adrenaline, the pace on the first lap climb seemed quite sane (27km/hr on the steep stuff, averaging 32.7km/hr on the entire climb).  I was fairly comfortable (as much as is possible in this situation) sitting in the front half of the pack and just riding at my own pace.  A spectator 3/4 of the way up the climb had a sign saying “If you can read this, you’re going too slow.” The remainder of the first lap was very uneventful, with a few screaming descents with speeds in the mid to high 70s (I maxed out at 77.)  I’m a ‘tentative’ descender, so often ended up at the back of the group by the bottom, but never far enough back to get gapped.

The second lap was a bit more eventful.  I decided to come to the front through the start/finish in order to be at the head of the group on the climb.  I put in a big effort to move up to 4th wheel coming through the start/finish, and most of the way to the base of the climb.  This turned out to be a bad idea, as I was soon suffering on the climb and losing ground quickly.  The sign this lap read “30km/hr up Fortune?  It’s as easy as your last girlfriend!” which at least brought a chuckle to the pain-filled climb.  The pace seemed much higher this lap (review of the numbers post-race disagrees, but it sure felt faster at the time!) and a good portion of the main group (myself included) was gapped and a break formed.  I realized this was NOT good at this point!  The newly formed ‘chase group’ rode the remainder of the climb at our own pace, but then got together to chase back.  It took us ~8km to catch the lead group, and I took a big pull for the last 500m or so to close the final gap on a hill.  At this point I had been in the ‘red zone’ since the start/finish to ~half way through the lap, so I was VERY thankful to catch back up to the group and then have a bit of a rest on the descents and a larger group to draft for the rest of the lap.  I didn’t recognize anyone in the ‘chase group’ but I’d like to say thanks to the guys who put in the efforts to help close the gap!

The third lap went by very uneventfully, and I actually began to feel GOOD as I noticed others really suffering.  The pace on the climb was very manageable this time, and instead of trying to get to the front or do anything ‘fancy,’ I just rode my own pace the entire time, which put me in the first quarter of the group by the top, exactly where I wanted to be.  The sign this time up read “Show me your Schleck!” and one of the riders had the energy (somehow?!?) to yell “Frank or Andy?” as we passed by.  I figured either would win the race no problem (yes, even Frank with his shattered collarbone), so it wasn’t really a useful question ;)  I should mention that throughout the race there would be a couple of guys dangling off the front here and there, but never far ahead, and no chase was ever formed to bring them back.  They would always get absorbed back into the group, so no one seemed too worried.  I’m sure there were also guys getting spit out the back on the climbs, but for the most part the group was sticking together.

The fourth (and final) lap I knew would be interesting.  I was expecting attacks on the climb, and perhaps some craziness near the finish.  I was mostly right on both counts.  As we rolled to the base of the climb, you could tell a few guys were really gunning to get positioned near the front.  I sat in the first quarter of the (by now much smaller) group and hoped I could match any attacks if they came.  Turns out there weren’t really any individual attacks (which would likely be suicidal anyway, with the climb so far from the finish), but there was a significant acceleration by the lead group at one point when we hit a particularly steep stretch. I was able to match the acceleration, and stuck with the lead group.  I’m sure quite a number of riders were shelled here, but I wasn’t looking back to find out!

With 3km to go, I was sitting ~12th or so, and heard the sickening sound of crushing carbon and crashing bodies.  Just ahead and to my right the group started to topple.  I swung left (almost onto the grass) and narrowly missed being hit by the bike of one of the riders that went down as it ‘kicked’ out towards me.  From the look of a photo I saw, it looks like at least 6 riders went down, and a significant portion of the group got caught behind them.  I looked around enough to realize that with 3km to go, there were perhaps only ~20 riders left upright and not significantly gapped.  Others noticed the same, and the pace went up immediately as we flew into the last descent.  Coming up to the finish, I was hurting, but knew that I had one more kick in the legs (although how significant that kick would be was questionable…)  I grabbed the wheel in front of me with 300 m to go, and suddenly he simply sat straight up and stopped pedaling!  I had to slow dramatically to avoid hitting him (while yelling some choice words if I recall correctly), since I was fully boxed in with no room to maneuver.  Sprint over for me!  As I crossed the line, I did a quick scan of riders ahead of me, coming up with a count of 25 or so :(

I rolled back to the car for my recovery chocolate milk and to refill my water, then back to the finish area to see if I could find Monica.  No such luck, so back to the car to get my cell phone and see if I could track her down.  Rolled slowly back to the start/finish, and finally spotted her close to the finish line.  I crossed, and joined her to watch the end of the other races.  Matteo had a huge win in the Senior 1-2 race; congrats Matteo!)  I was hurting, (legs were cramping standing in one spot…) so we spun back to the car veeery slowly.

A couple hours later, I received a text from Matt congratulating me on my sixth place finish.  I of course immediately called him to say that he must be wrong, since I had counted ~25 people in front of me.  He assured me that SportStats.ca had me listed as 6th and the conclusion was that “SportStats doesn’t lie.”  Monica pulled up the results on her iPhone, and in fact it DID show me as 6th!  I still have no idea how this is possible, but I’ll go with it.  I guess the people I counted ahead of me were from a different group that we caught up to at the finish?  Who knows!  I clearly wasn’t thinking clearly enough to know at that point.  I’ll take the 6th place!  Rod came in second after a huge effort, chasing back after being caught behind the crash.  I knew I should have tried to stay on his wheel in the last few kms…but didn’t.  I guess I shouldn’t second-guess these things!  Well done Rod!

Things to work on?  Better positioning in the final few hundred meters.  I should NOT have allowed myself to get boxed in (or behind the sketchy guy that’s going to sit up with 200m to the line!)  I think I still need a better warmup (not longer in this case, since I had a full hour of warmup, but perhaps of a different intensity?) as I still didn’t start to feel really ‘good’ until half way through the race.  This seems to be a common trend.. I also should not have come through to the front on the second lap.  I have no real need to start the climb at the front of the group; I can just ride at my pace and if I’m feeling well, will work myself up to the front naturally.  Working hard on the flats to get to the front just wastes the energy I’ll need on the climbs.  Thanks to Karen, I had positive thoughts as the sprint approached, and if I hadn’t been boxed in, perhaps would have even had something to show for it.  I guess now that I can picture myself as a sprinter, I’ll have to ride like one in the final km and not get boxed in!  Time will tell how that theory plays out!

Some photos here and here.  All for now!  Back to ‘reality’- I need to catch up on what happend in le Tour! :)

Ontario Bill 74 passed its first reading in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on May 18th, 2010.  The private member’s bill, introduced by Parkdale-High Park MPP Cheri DiNovo, is intended to make Ontario’s roadways safer for cyclists by requiring motorists to give cyclists a wide berth when passing (between 3 and 5 feet depending on the motorist’s speed).  Fines for motorists breaking this law would range from $310 to $750

Please sign the electronic petition to support this bill – we need to make this law!

http://bill74.epetitions.net/

Please pass this on to all of your friends as well–the more signatures the better!

Today was my first real shot at the sub-hour 40km.  The bike was ready.  The conditions were good (sunny, not too much wind, perhaps a bit hot for my liking, but better than too cold!)  The question that remained was whether I was ready.

Yesterday was a slow easy ride on the TT bike to test out some position tweaks to the bars (wider at the forearms, and rotated slightly ‘in’ to give my thumbs a better spot to rest).  I’m sure I will continue to tweak the position, but it sure is better than the original setup!  I’m also considerably more comfortable on it than I was on Tuesday, after a few more hours riding it and getting used to how it handles.  Unfortunately, I felt terrible physically on the ride, so perhaps it wasn’t the best sign of things to come.  I had everything packed and ready for a quick getaway this morning, and was up with the alarm at 6am.

I arrived at the start (boat launch in Calabogie) and signed in before getting dressed and warmed up.  I was number 32 of 37 (I think?) on the day, so there was a very good turn-out.  This is especially true considering a few riders are in Sutton this weekend who may otherwise be TTing.

Like yesterday, I was once again feeling less than stellar during my warmup.  I had to really push hard to get the bike up to 40km/hr; not a good sign when you’re hoping to average 40 for an hour!  However, I figured that things could change quickly, so tried not to let it get to me.  I arrived at the start ready to go, and John and Bob gave me a good clean send off.

According to my very unofficial time check, I had gained ~30 seconds on my ‘minute man’ in the first 12km despite feeling fairly crappy.  I started to feel a bit better around km 13 or so, and in the next few kms I pulled in a lot of time and passed my minute man.  However, shortly after he passed me back, and stayed away for another km or so as we neared the turnaround.  I was thinking the turn around was soon, so thought it would be best to let him go through first before passing again.  I eased off just slightly to match his pace, so I wouldn’t be drafting and/or gaining on him just before the turn around.  After a couple more corners, it was evident that the turn-around wasn’t coming up just yet,  so I went by him again on a hill.  At one point, he was almost by me again, but I picked it up so he couldn’t pass.   At the turn, I was far enough ahead to not impede his turn (I am still taking the turn-arounds very slow on the TT bike!)

From the turnaround, the return leg is only 19kms, and has significantly more downhill sections, so it goes a bit quicker than the 21km first leg.  At this point, I finally started to feel fairly good, so tried to give that extra little push.  I knew from quick glances at my computer that I was not likely to break the hour mark unless I could really hammer the return leg.  I started passing some of the slower riders in front, and having the constant ‘carrot’ of the next rider always just over the next hill was a good motivator to push that little bit harder.

The last 15kms or so felt very long, with the last 3km being a complete blur. With 1km to go, I was almost completely spent, but had a rider in front to reel in to keep me motivated.

Unfortunately, but not completely unexpectedly, my time was greater than an hour.  01:01:14 was the official verdict.  Crap!  I’m not entirely unhappy, since I knew yesterday I was not feeling 100% physically, and that the bike is still new and is going to take some adjustment (both the bike itself, and my body to the new position).  However, my time was still 3:54 faster than a year ago on the same course, so there’s some noticeable improvement.  Whether that is due to the new bike, an increase in fitness, or a combination of remains to be seen.

As you can see from the graph, I was able to keep my heart rate fairly steadily in the 171-194 bpm zone (red band in graph), which is pretty much where it should be for a TT.  My average for the 40km was 174bpm, so towards the low end.  I’d like to see this a bit higher–which will come as I get more comfortable hurting myself for a solid hour.  I believe at this point that it’s a mental wall, not a physical one, so should be ‘movable.’   (Ignore the ‘greyed out’ portions of the graph outside the vertical red lines–this is my warmup/cooldown.)

For next time, I need to do a longer warmup, getting up in to zone 3 for longer to get the body awake and moving.  It took me 12km or so to start feeling decent today, and that could easily have cost me 1:14.

August 8th is the next shot at the hour mark, and I’ll be ready :)

Well!  Lots of stuff going on (as evidenced by the lack of updates to this site!)…

The 40km Project has been moving along nicely, and the bike has now been built up (thanks Shawn!) and ridden (once!)  I will continue to post updates about individual components as I have time, but we’ll skip ahead for now…

On Sunday, I helped (well, watched) as Shawn assembled the TT bike.  We got a rough fit-up done, and called it a night.  We figured since I had never ridden in the TT position before, we could spend 2 hours or 5 minutes, and still have to change it all after I rode it anyway.

Yesterday, I figured I’d give the bike a shot at the Almonte Bicycle Club 15km TT on Tatlock Road.  Since I hadn’t ridden the bike more than around the block, I got there early for some warmup.  I put in ~20km at a decent pace, and got a basic feel for riding in the aero bars.  I probably looked like a triathlete with my serious wobbles, but I hope to improve that with some more time on the bike!

The race went surprisingly well, with my final time ending at 22:01 (so close!) and an average speed of 40.88km/hr.  This is the first time I’ve ever cracked 40 in any sort of timed event, so I am fairly pleased with the time.  However, 15km is a long way from a 40, so I’m not quite sure I’m ready for that yet!  However, the gusty headwind on the return leg of the course made things tough, so perhaps on a calmer day I would have been faster!

A few minor adjustments to the TT position are required for sure; aero bars need to come out a bit wider at the arm rests, and need to be rotated inwards a bit I think.  Other than that, I was surprised with the fit..much better than anticipated!  I’m still not used to climbing on the bike (feels completely different than the road bike) so that’s another thing to work on.

Up next (if I feel like it) is the Calabogie 40km coming up this Sunday!  Yikes!  My first real shot at the sub-hour 40.  I will be going in with lesser expectations, and hope to be pleasantly surprised!  Wish me luck!

Here’s a slightly modified version of an update I sent to a friend about the Rideau Jamie Lakes Tour  2010.  I’m too lazy to type out the story again, so this should suffice:

Friday. Day the Zero. Worked until 4pm. Booo. Walked home. Beauty day. Packed up bike and assorted random gear into car. Waited for Matt to arrive. Loaded his bike into car.  Drove ~1 hr to cottage on Bob’s Lake. Drank beer, ate food, chatted with the lads (Jamie, Steve, Carl, Dave).   Sleep.

Saturday. Day The First. Beautiful Day! Quite warm and sunny. Very nice! A bit of a stiff wind, but it was a tailwind for the first little bit. We rode 193kms at a pretty fast pace.. stopped a couple of times for food, etc. A good ride. Got to the beer tent at Queen’s.. had a few too many beers.   To the hotel, where we were in and out in less than 7 mins (we were already 10 mins late for our dinner reservation…) Got to dinner at Frankie Pesto’s where our group of 30 had already ordered.   Was joined by the lovely Lisa, and then we ordered some food/more beer (yes, good idea, I know.) Ate some kinda seafood pasta thing that I recall being quite tasty. Went for Ice Cream at White Mountain.  Theeen.. after ice cream, decided to go for another beer. Yes, we are brilliant. Eventually, called it a night and got to our room for sleep.

Sunday. Day the Second. Woke up to COLD (10 degrees), wet (raining sideways), windy conditions. YAY! We had packed only shorts and jerseys.. great! We asked around our group and rounded up a bit of warmer stuff (not much!) and then stood around for a while before a restaurant opened. Some breakfast was destroyed, then we got ready to roll. I’m pretty sure the next 3 hours were the most miserable I’ve ever been on the bike. Damn cold, soaking wet.. windy .. awesome! My hands were so cold I couldn’t shift/brake, and couldn’t even get my waterbottle out of the holder to drink! Luckily, we had a couple of shortcuts that got us back to the cottage in 75 km, and we only had one mechanical (Matt’s broken chain!) on the cottage road.   We jumped in the lake fully clothed to wash the mud off and to warm up (yeah, the water was much warmer than the air!) then got some warm dry stuff on, ate some pizza, burgers, etc.  Drove home, washed the bike, had a shower.. went to bed!

Epic? You be the judge. Entertaining? Yes.

Sounds like many people made the trip back to Ottawa aboard a bus thanks to the OBC.  Lisa managed to make it back to Perth (averaging 30; well done!) and then got a ride the rest of the way.  Smart :)

Yesterday was a GREAT ride in SF.  I was feeling fantastic, so a few sprints were in order to mess with Ashby.  Sorry dude.  Once again Ian hung in all the way, which is beyond awesome!  The SS/Fixie apparently has an abnormal sized seat tube, so Greg had to order a seat post for me.  Hope to pick it up next week!

Tonight after work Shawn and I did a little photo shoot for the eBook.  He’ll process some photos, then I will get to pick the ones I want for the book.  The last step is to lay out/format everything how I want it, and then it’s pretty much done!  Stay tuned!  Here’s a teaser shot from the shoot:

Photoshoot Teaser