Group Riding - The Category 6

I have just started racing bikes competitively this year. I was very intimidated by the idea of Criterium Racing, which is essentially grand prix type of racing. There is an approximately 1-mile loop with four 90-degree corners and speeds average about 25 mph, with sprints in the mid-upper 30s. I have upgraded from Category 5 to Category 4 in about 2 months time.

I joined up with a team, and have begun riding and training with guys that have serious racing chops. The best part about this is that I have a better perspective on group riding. To begin with, a novice racer competes in a Category 5 or Citizen race class. After racing a certain number of times and competing well, you can upgrade to the next category.

My new perspective applies to group rides, with guys that qualify as a weekend warrior. These are the Category 6 riders. Cat 6 riders are the guys that hold a loose line, standup on their bike without announcing it, sit-in in the draft, and generally like to go fast. These go-fast riders haven't developed core cycling form and etiquitte. Several things are necessary to ride well in and amongst other riders because at speeds of 25 mph you become responsible for others' safety. Rear wheels are stable, front wheels are not...A front tire colliding with a rear tire is often a recipe for a wreck...this is why you are reponsible for those behind you. Below are select items of importance:

1) HIGH CADENCE - A smooth, high cadence (85-100 RPM) will allow you to keep a straight line without too much lateral motion of the bike. This will also allow the rider to match accelerations of the group.
2)BRAKES - Stay clear of the brakes. It is more important to learn how to control your bike speed using wind resistance. Sitting taller on the bike will get the wind to slow your speed, or drifting slightly off of a draft will do the same. This allows for fine-tune adjustment of your speed. Hitting the brakes results in rapid speed loss that is amplified through the remaining followers in the group. This can be dangerours, and put riders into road hazards that the pace setters of the group were able to avoid. Unless you are avoiding a severe hazard, or coming to a complete stop, it is best to feather your front brake if you use your brakes at all. A following rider that sees your rear brake move may take evasive action (as they should, if they are riding with an otherwise experienced group)
3)STANDING?? SHOUT IT OUT - Announce if you are going to stand on a climb. When you stand on a bike, the bike move back approximately 1-2 feet compared to the rider that did not stand. Typical follow distances may be as close as 2" and typically 6"-1'. The following rider is likely to collide with the standing rider and lose control.
4)YOU DON'T HAVE TO PULL - This is my own peeve...If you can only go a certain speed in the draft, and you are unable to create that same speed on your own without the draft for at least several minutes, you create a hazard. The hazard is not imminent, but will manifest when the pace line encounters a hill. When the grade overcomes the wind resistance, the weaker rider will not be able to hang onto the pace, over-exert, crack/become dead weight/drop-anchor, and create an obstacle for the others. If you can only hang in the draft, then stay in the back of the group, and periodically try to get into the wind to feel what kind of effort the pace setters are putting out. Do this enough, and you will be able to take your pulls in front of the group after improving your conditioning.

I call this Category 6 because people would often talk about how dangerous Category 5 bike races can be. I have found that the group rides are more dangerous than the Cat 5 races, and therefore deserve their own designation.

Weight Weinies and Power Weinies

There are two thinks that road cyclists focus on more than any other. Those are bike weight and power output. The expensive gear is billed to save weight and eliminate power loss. It is compelling from an engineering perspective that ceramic bearings and titanium components are available to the masses (with a lot of money to spend). The masses, however, are better served to hit the weight room, do strength training, and focus on a periodization training schedule. Don't get me wrong, there are critical areas where choice components are critical. Shedding rotational weight from your wheels and crank are a good start. And getting really stiff cranks that do not bend under force are also critical for power transfer. But, saving 1 to 3 watts by purchasing $200 derailler puller bearings is reserved for the pros.

I take some satisfaction is pushing my ten year old bike faster than other's $5,000 Colnago with aero wheels.

--Hauser Diet Update---
I have now lost 51 lbs. and I weigh less than when I got married, yet I am significantly stronger. I have not been at this weight at this time of year for about seven years and it feels great. I am super pumped about doing bike racing and completing some triathlons this year.

Hauser Diet, Part III

I have now been on the Hauser Diet for approxiamtely eight weeks. The results have been evident. Granted, I am on a pretty regular exercise regimen that consists of the following:

1. Cycling for approxmately 100+ miles/week (6-8 hours/week)
2. Swimming for approximately 1.5 hours/week
3. Strength training for approximately 2 hours/week

I have dropped a total of 40 pounds. 15 pounds over 9 weeks before starting the Hauser Diet, and 25 pounds over 8 weeks after starting the Hauser Diet. Also, I am up 10 lbs of lean body mass.

mmmmm....bacon...

According to this CNN article, there were several pork barrel spending items attached to the $700Billion bailout package.

Transportation fringe benefit to bicycle commuters: The measure would allow employers to provide benefits to employees who commute to work via bicycle, such as help purchasing and maintaining a bicycle. The measure would cost taxpayers $10 million

This is good salty pork worth savoring.

Hauser Diet, Part II

Caring Medical is the name of Dr. Ross Hauser and Dr. Marion Hauser's practice. At this website you can take a diet typing quiz that likens your responses to a particular animal (Lion, Otter, Bear, Monkey, or Giraffe). Based on the result of those responses, they suggest you adjust your diet accordingly. My weight loss approach has always been the following:
1) Watch what I eat (count calories)
2) Cut fat from my diet
3) Increase exercise.
Something that I have always struggled with are intense cravings for sugary foods and salty/crunchy foods. The diet type that I followed was similar to the Hauser Monkey Diet. However, when I took the quiz, I profiled as a Hauser Otter. I immediately began cutting carbs and incresing protein/fat intake. The remarkable aspect is that I have lost my cravings for sugary foods and the salty/crunchy foods. It was quite simple for me to walk past the Friday doughnuts available in my office for the past two weeks. This had previously been a serious personal battle. Since embracing my inner otter, I have felt much more relaxed, and not nearly as edgy as normal.

Anyhow, I invested in the diet typing protocol at Caring Medical. A lot of bloodwork is performed and the data should corroborate the Hauer Otter profile or another animal. The book "The Hauser Diet" is one of the best nutrition books I have looked at since the "Perspectives in Nutrition" book used in my college nutrition course.

Also, I started at 270lbs, and was hovering at about 258 after approximately 9 weeks of restricted calories and appproximatley 9-10hours/week of excercise. Since beginning the Hauser Otter Diet, I have lost an additional 12 pounds in two weeks, and I am down to 246lbs. Time will tell if this is a sustainable option for me. If it is, then the investment in this service is worth its weight in gold.

Hauser Diet (Part 1)

I have struggled with my weight since as far back as I can remember. Recently, I have tried to follow the recipe for success that I followed in 1998 when I lost 135 lbs. I have been less and less successful with each iteration of weight loss. Most recenlty me weight oscillated as follows:
2006 - Max 270lbs, Min 222lbs
2007 - Max 280lbs, Min 245lbs
2008 - Max 270lbs, Min TBD.
I think most people can spot a trend developing with these numbers. Anyway, I started my work out routine by cutting calories and fat from my diet and increasing excercise. I was dissappointed after about 9 weeks that there were no appreciable results. I focused on continuing my regimen, and during a recent ride with my cycling group, someone commented that my riding would be helped if I lost weight. Well, thank you for the valuable insight, my friend!

In response to this comment, I sent the following post to my cycling group:

It was nice to return to riding with the group yesterday. I really appreciate David Pilotto reeling me in after I fell off the back of the group in some hills. After fielding a comment from another rider, I thought I would take the time to outline my history and my goals and plan for the coming months/years. At one period I weighed over 310 pounds, and during college I was able to lose 135 pounds and bring my weight to 175. I did this in a self-guided manner by weight lifting and cycling. The year after losing that weight, I rode my bike from Minneapolis, MN to Daytona Beach, FL with a college roommate. We carried all of our gear in B.O.B. trailers and travelled approximately 100 miles/day for a period of 18 days of cycling and 25 days total. My goal with this trip was to explore the new abilities that my new body afforded me. After that trip, I enjoyed a profound strength in my legs and I covered a 70 mile loop, solo, in less than 2.5 hours. I was never competitive while cycling, I just liked to punish my legs so I can go as fast and as long as I can manage. Since that time I got married and began focusing on my career. Unfortunately that equated to a lack of exercise and increase in weight. My weight had cycled up to 270 pounds in 2005, at which time I began bicycling more consistently and brought my weight down to 222 pounds in the summer of 2006. From April 2006 to August 2006, I met many of you in the Lake and Harlem Group. I discovered I would be a father July 4, 2006. At that time, my mentality drifted away from the focus on health and cycling. I quickly ballooned to 280 pounds. I was able to manage some cycling in 2007, but quickly fell into old, bad habits. I dropped to 245 pounds in 2007, only to arrive at 270 pounds in 2008. My weight of 270 pounds occurred this year after I was struck by a car while riding and I took approximately eight weeks off of the bike.I recently discovered that my wife is pregnant with yet another addition to our family. I love the form of cycling that involves two-wheels, not the form that includes personal weight highs and lows. Given that I stopped cycling and gained a lot of weight during my wife's last pregnancy, I am committed to maintaining cycling while losing weight during this second pregnancy and thereafter.Despite a fairly regular cycling schedule over the past eight weeks, I am not losing weight nearly as quickly as I had during previous weight loss periods. Perhaps a good thing, but not necessarily encouraging. I presently commute to work 4-days-a-week and swim for ½ hour 3 days-a-week. I presently weigh 255 pounds. My goal is run a triathlon or two next year and enter some cycling events like the Horribly Hilly Hundreds and the Wright Stuff Century, and perhaps some Crits. I have experience running while heavy, and it is not pleasant. I anticipate incorporating running into my training next spring, at which time I hope to weigh less than 200 pounds. I am a driven when I am focused on a goal. However, as demonstrated in the above paragraphs, my emphasis on health and cycling is the first to go when other disruptors enter the picture. The members of this group have been great and supportive. I am early in my plans, I struggle daily with my weight. I plan to achieve my above stated goals in-part with the support of the L&H Group.Also, I am looking for member(s) of L&H to train with, help me maintain my focus, and be accountable to in the months to come. I welcome any responses to the group, directly, or by phone.The comment that prompted this epic email was this: "No offense, but I think it would help if you lost some weight". No offense taken, but a comment that is responded to in total here.

After posting this to the group website, I received some very encouraging and supportive feedback. Several people directed me to Dr. Ross Hauser, a rider in the group.

More drilling anyone?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/23/mississippi.spill/index.html
As an environmental engineer, accidents like this keep the profession prospering. If we begin more domestic oil production, there will more jobs for environmental professionals...

The timing of this accident could not be better (or worse) depending on you political persuasion regarding opening ANWR or other coastal areas for "exploration" for oil. This is an exclamation point on why alternatives should be the next step in energy evolutions.
Wood--->Coal--->Fuel Oil--->Natural Gas--->...the Next Step??

No more carbon density can be obtained and the next step should not be adding more oil to the mix. Oil is a FINITE RESOURCE and more drilling postpones the inevitable. The transition from carbon based fuels to alternatives must be acted on while there are enough resources to limit the burden of cost of that transition.

Incentive Enough?

That's Right - $4.49/gallon I took this photo on July 8th. There really isn't much more incentive than that to begin chosing other forms of transporation...even at $3.50 a gallon, it makes sense to commute by bicycle.

Recently, while I have been commuting to work, I have been noticing significantly more cyclists on the road that in the past. Whereas, I would see maybe on or two cyclists (if any), I am now seeing five to ten a day.

The amount of money that I save because I now drive a gas sucking manly-van (...aka mini-van) has increased substantially from my former and beloved hybrid.

Each day I commute to work, I save more than a gallon of gas (1.136 gallons to be precise). At the current gas price, I have saved over $35 during my last two weeks of commuting to work. At least it defrays the increased cost of groceries.