Strawbuger's Racing Log

[mikesbytes]

Really great riding Strawbuger. I see you continuing to get stronger and stronger. Last year you roughly matched me, a solid step up from the previous year. This year I see myself struggling to hold your wheel

[mikesbytes]

Was just chatting with the M2 race winner, he says it was smooth and slow (despite been 42kph ave). What I'm reading from this was there was a significant rubberband effect if you were on the rear ???

[Strawburger]

Really great riding Strawbuger. I see you continuing to get stronger and stronger. Last year you roughly matched me, a solid step up from the previous year. This year I see myself struggling to hold your wheel

Dunno about that Mike. You've recently bagged some medals on the track and could have got the win on the weekend if not for the puncture even when sick!!!

Was just chatting with the M2 race winner, he says it was smooth and slow (despite been 42kph ave). What I'm reading from this was there was a significant rubberband effect if you were on the rear ???

Yes, spending most of the race near or at the rear there was rubber banding out of the corners but none on the straights hence why he thought it was slow and smooth.

[Strawburger]

Date: 20 April 13
Venue: NSW Hillclimb Championships, Mt Panorama Bathurst
Conditions: Sun was shining, slightly cold for warmups
Grade: MMAS2
Result: 1st
Report:

With approximately 5 months of preparation for this race, I couldn’t really say I was underdone! Last year’s taste of the hillclimb got me thinking how to improve and do better this year so I based the first half of the season towards this. Fortunately there really isn’t anything for me racing wise before this so it works out pretty well.

I got there pretty early to assemble the bike and have enough time for decent warmup. With 15mins before the start a rear flat had the heart racing. I quickly got back down to the car and got the bike going again with 7 mins remaining. A quick limbering up and a nervous pee and I was onto the start line. Good to see a familiar face on the start line: Kev365428 (aka Kev90210) on official duties!

I was off and racing. The first 1.2kms I tried not to overcook myself so I was constantly looking down to check my numbers. On approach to the first bend there was a bit of confusion as the gates were locked. Fortunately some of the earlier riders were pointing out the way up. Just after the gate I passed the rider in front. I wondered if I had gone out too quick. Too late to change things though! I saw a few other riders up ahead and kept to my plan. About 2kms in I passed the next rider just as the road pitches up at about 10%. I was feeling great. The next guy in front looked to be struggling. I jumped out of the saddle and put the power down and passed him. I kept going all out until the end of the steep bit. I sat back, got down low and drove for the next 1km. With 300m left I was spent. The mind was starting to make deals with my legs but I got back out of the saddle and sprinted as best as I could over the line. I just held my brekky down and looked down at the clock. Approx 10:20-10:40 (didn’t see the lap time). I rolled down to the pits and waited for the results…. And waited and waited. 1 hr had past and no sign of presentations or results. I asked around, apparently there were problems with the timing system. I thought the time wasn’t good enough for the podium so I took off back to Millthorpe for lunch with the wife.

During lunch I had a quick moment to check Facebook and the results were announced. Somehow I didn’t just podium, I won! It took a few good hours for it to sink in, and I’m still shocked.

dist - 4.2kms
time - 10min 33sec (official time 10:33:46)
speed - 24.0km/hr avg
cadence - 86 avg
heart rate - 181 HR avg (189 max)
Power - a lot more than i was expecting

[Strawburger]

Date: 21 April 13
Venue: Blayney to Bathurst
Conditions: Nice, cool, sunny
Grade: 110kms, 40+ wave
Result: 209th out of 970 odd
Report:

Nothing could come close to yesterday’s result, but I did feel like I had the legs to hang in with the big boys for some distance. Unfortunately the opportunity never came. On the front of the start line there were a lot of non-affiliated riders and riders not up to speed. Within the neutral zone riders were dropped and large gaps opened up. Finding myself midway back, I bridged gap after gap (six in total I think) dragging a few with me. I was getting closer to the tail of the peloton however a crash about 10km in slowed the tail so I watched the peloton vanish over the rolling hills. Race over.

From there it was about getting to the finish in a reasonable time. A group of about 20 formed and we started rolling through well. The group increased to about 30 and the pace decreased. Riders decided to not pull turns so it was left up to about 8 riders to do all the work. Within the bunch we had a team Suzuki, flying kangaroo & and unknown all racing for points, thus the lack of work. This continued on until 80kms. A few times I was barked at and asked to slow down; unfortunately I was riding well within myself. Once we got to Cow Flat, I decided to go off the front to test the climbing legs. One other bridged the gap and gave me a carrot to chase. We got over together and descended clear roads. We kept the pace going but a small group behind worked well to close the gap. I sat up and waited then we rejoined the rolling paceline and kept a great pace (where was this pace before???) to about 5km to go. We caught another group in front and kept it going to the approach to Mt Panorama. Some attacks happened and I followed them all. Coming into the pits I attacked and held the group off.


dist - 109.9kms
time - 2hrs 59min 46sec (official time 3:00:25)
speed - 36.6km/hr avg
cadence - 89 avg
heart rate - 163 HR avg (186 max)
Power - 186 avg

[vander]

For the hill climb did you have a powermeter? If you did what did you put out?

[Strawburger]

For the hill climb did you have a powermeter? If you did what did you put out?

Yeah I did have a power meter. I'll pm you the actual number, it was over 310w. My previous best 5min power was 311w so I was a bit suprised but not overly. Before anyone asks, yes it was calibrated and yes, I do suck at motivation for indoor trainer intervals

[ldrcycles]

Result: 1st

You beauty!

[mikesbytes]

You were climbing pretty good at the end of the 2012 road season

[Strawburger]

You were climbing pretty good at the end of the 2012 road season

Yeah, been working on climbing the last 18 months on climbing. The hard bit now is to keep up with strong guys like yourself on the flats and rolling hills!

[mikesbytes]

Not an advantage at Killer-john, Lap 1, I made it about 3/4 way up the hill and spent the entire lap chasing, got back on only to blow up second time up the hill. While you were able to capitalise on the bunch, due to your climbing skills.

[toolonglegs]

Nice work on the hill climb!

[ft_critical]

Congratulations.

[Strawburger]

Date: 26 May 2013
Venue: Ken Dinnerville - Dapto
Conditions: Sunny! not much wind. wheel breaking roads
Grade: Limit + 14 mins (scratch - 16 mins)
Result: 29th out of 170 odd
Report:

The first handicap event this year for me so it would be a good test of how well the newish training has been going. Starting off a few mins better (ie quicker bunch) than last year, i still reckon i had a chance with finishing in the bunch. Forgot my short gloves and it was way to hot for the longs, so i summoned the Haussler courage of going bare handed.

We rolled out, soon got settled into a rolling paceline. We had a sizeable bunch or approx 25 riders with approximately 10 of those wanting to do the work. Typically, the Illawarra riders sat at the back and sucked wheel, some of the stronger female riders did some work and the weaker ones sat on, plus a handful of DHBC riders sharing the load with handful of other Sydney based riders. The first lap was pretty quick, averaging around 39km/hr. no signs of being caught nor catching the group in front yet.

Second lap and we were passing some dropped riders from the limit bunch. The limit was blown away pretty quickly by all accounts. We were fast approaching the group in front and by the half way point we had some more riders in our group. Not long after that point we were at the head of the race.

Onto the money lap. The red and black of DHBC was driving the pace up front, a great spectacle as the orange and black of Illawarra were saving their legs We hadn't been caught by the bunch behind so we were leading the race coming into the KOM. I turned to one of our guys and asked if he was up for the KOM. A nod of approval meant my job was to lead out. 100m before the start we had a good 20m gap between us and the peloton. I drove the pace pretty high until i popped at the steep point and our teammate headed for the cash! My race was done, i was pedalling squares until about 30 sec after popping they came good again. A very bizarre sensation. I latched on to the tail of the peloton and started passing dropping riders and charged back into the lead bunch again. Our lad was still out in front but they sat up with about 10km to go. The inexperienced DH riders were driving the pace at the front and closed them down. Bugger! Our teammate also missed the KOM by a half wheel, double bugger!

The bunch behind caught us and it was a semi mega bunch. Next to no chance of winning from here so i sat on and carefully observed the nervousness of the peloton. With 5km to go a crash next to me brought a third of the group to a stop, and another with 3km to go had the same impact. I remained upright and decided to sit on for the sprint finish, driven by our mates in the orange and black funnily enough. Rolled over in the top 30. By far my best finish in a handicap, especially this one! The hands were pretty blistered and legs sore.

On a sad note, it was the last time i saw my dad (sitting at the KOM point) before he passed away on Tuesday morning.

dist - 86.9kms
time - 2hrs 16min 39sec (official time 2:16:36)
speed - 38.2km/hr avg
cadence - 90 avg
heart rate - 174 HR avg (196 max)
Power - 200 avg

[foo on patrol]

Date: 26 May 2013
Venue: Ken Dinnerville - Dapto
Conditions: Sunny! not much wind. wheel breaking roads
Grade: Limit + 14 mins (scratch - 16 mins)
Result: 29th out of 170 odd
Report:

The first handicap event this year for me so it would be a good test of how well the newish training has been going. Starting off a few mins better (ie quicker bunch) than last year, i still reckon i had a chance with finishing in the bunch. Forgot my short gloves and it was way to hot for the longs, so i summoned the Haussler courage of going bare handed.

We rolled out, soon got settled into a rolling paceline. We had a sizeable bunch or approx 25 riders with approximately 10 of those wanting to do the work. Typically, the Illawarra riders sat at the back and sucked wheel, some of the stronger female riders did some work and the weaker ones sat on, plus a handful of DHBC riders sharing the load with handful of other Sydney based riders. The first lap was pretty quick, averaging around 39km/hr. no signs of being caught nor catching the group in front yet.

Second lap and we were passing some dropped riders from the limit bunch. The limit was blown away pretty quickly by all accounts. We were fast approaching the group in front and by the half way point we had some more riders in our group. Not long after that point we were at the head of the race.

Onto the money lap. The red and black of DHBC was driving the pace up front, a great spectacle as the orange and black of Illawarra were saving their legs We hadn't been caught by the bunch behind so we were leading the race coming into the KOM. I turned to one of our guys and asked if he was up for the KOM. A nod of approval meant my job was to lead out. 100m before the start we had a good 20m gap between us and the peloton. I drove the pace pretty high until i popped at the steep point and our teammate headed for the cash! My race was done, i was pedalling squares until about 30 sec after popping they came good again. A very bizarre sensation. I latched on to the tail of the peloton and started passing dropping riders and charged back into the lead bunch again. Our lad was still out in front but they sat up with about 10km to go. The inexperienced DH riders were driving the pace at the front and closed them down. Bugger! Our teammate also missed the KOM by a half wheel, double bugger!

The bunch behind caught us and it was a semi mega bunch. Next to no chance of winning from here so i sat on and carefully observed the nervousness of the peloton. With 5km to go a crash next to me brought a third of the group to a stop, and another with 3km to go had the same impact. I remained upright and decided to sit on for the sprint finish, driven by our mates in the orange and black funnily enough. Rolled over in the top 30. By far my best finish in a handicap, especially this one! The hands were pretty blistered and legs sore.

On a sad note, it was the last time i saw my dad (sitting at the KOM point) before he passed away on Tuesday morning.

dist - 86.9kms
time - 2hrs 16min 39sec (official time 2:16:36)
speed - 38.2km/hr avg
cadence - 90 avg
heart rate - 174 HR avg (196 max)
Power - 200 avg

Very sad to read this Strawburger condolences to you and your family.

Foo

[toolonglegs]

Sorry to hear about your Dad as well.

[ldrcycles]

Commiserations strawburger. Lovely that he was there to see you race though.

[mikesbytes]

Simon, I'm really sorry to hear the news

My photographer took this picture, in which Simon's father at the top of the hill waiting for his son to claim KOM

[vander]

Commiserations mate.

[Derny Driver]

Venue: Ken Dinnerville - Dapto

...... The red and black of DHBC was driving the pace up front, a great spectacle as the orange and black of Illawarra were saving their legs

Hi Simon I was driving the lead car (white van) and the Dulwich Hill boys were driving it nicely all race, well done to them. Not sure what the ICC mob were doing, maybe waiting for their mates in the 10 minute bunch.
My brother and son were behind you, off 7 and a half and reckon their group was not working well. Rode in no mans land between your strong front group and the back markers for most of the race. We had some good riders back off 2nd and 3rd scratch, but they never got up. The middle markers were too good - lots of ex A grade riders off 10 and 12 minutes.
Hats off to the red and black.

Sorry to hear about your dad.
Cheers
DD

[mikesbytes]

Simon on the start line #117. Looking fit, looking confident

[Strawburger]

Venue: Ken Dinnerville - Dapto

...... The red and black of DHBC was driving the pace up front, a great spectacle as the orange and black of Illawarra were saving their legs

Hi Simon I was driving the lead car (white van) and the Dulwich Hill boys were driving it nicely all race, well done to them. Not sure what the ICC mob were doing, maybe waiting for their mates in the 10 minute bunch.
My brother and son were behind you, off 7 and a half and reckon their group was not working well. Rode in no mans land between your strong front group and the back markers for most of the race. We had some good riders back off 2nd and 3rd scratch, but they never got up. The middle markers were too good - lots of ex A grade riders off 10 and 12 minutes.
Hats off to the red and black.

Sorry to hear about your dad.
Cheers
DD

Funny thing was if ICC pulled turns in our bunch they didn't need to wait for their mates behind, we would have got the whole way with better odds of winning. However there must have been an agreement to sit on and wait. There was a gentleman in the semi mega bunch barking instructions for all illawarra riders to get on the front with 5km to go. It seemed planned, and at the end of the day it was effective enough to get 1-2-3 on the line!

[Strawburger]

Thanks all for the kind words, and mike for the photos.

[mikesbytes]

The ICC riders in my bunch were working hard. 3rd place comes from my bunch and he was one of the hard workers

[Strawburger]

Date: 15 June 2013
Venue: Wagga Wagga Cycling Classic 86km
Conditions: ideal, windy coming home
Grade: Limit + 8 mins (scratch - 8 mins)
Result: mid pack perhaps (no timing chips) from 150 odd
Report:

Got a pretty decent warm up in and sat on the start line. Went to calibrate the PM and hit the wrong button and i was now picking up a handful of other power meters rode off up the road but couldn't get the sync so got back to the start line just before rolling off. The pace started high, sitting on about 40km/hr for the first 30 odd minutes. We almost missed the first turn, the lead car went the wrong way. Fortunately a few riders knew what the go was!!! As it is often the case, Wagga Wagga seems to be reconstructing roads and yet again this year we had our moment of Strade Castano, rolling over the Wagga dirt roads. As was the case in previous editions i found myself ahead of the bunch by about 50m nearing the end of the dirt. I quickly resynced by PM and sat up for the bunch to catch up. Not long after, we had another cause for concern. Rolling at 45-50km/hr we had a kangaroo keeping pace with us thinking it was a game. Some nervous moments for the bunch as it jumped over numerous fences before giving up!

Our 30 odd bunch was rolling well until about 40km in when we caught the bunch in front. They wanted to join in, however in doing so unsettled the great rhythm we had. The bunch had girls racing for points and their tactics to do as little as possible ended up being the downfall as we were caught by the chasing bunch soon after.

I sat on and did turns when i could get up the front. The pace was very similar to our original bunch so i was feeling comfortable. Then with 20km to go, something happened. The pace must of ramped up and riders were getting shelled very quickly. I managed to hold on for as long as i could but the legs gave way. I waved the group goodbye and formed a mini bunch and rolled home at about 1km/hr slower than average. No results posted however strava tells me i was only 6 mins off the pace. Not too bad considering i hadn't done much since the dinnerville.

dist - 87kms
time - 2hrs 21min 31sec
speed - 36.9km/hr avg
cadence - 91 avg
heart rate - 171 HR avg (187 max)
Power - 199 avg