Title 167

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="02c285a1erlcgo.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>REI Austin Cycling Team</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="REI Austin Cycling Team"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> back to  <A HREF="id164.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Race and Ride Reports"><U><B>Race and Ride Reports</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="02ad2c00dkelyh.gif"> <div> <A HREF="id164.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Race and Ride Reports"><U><IMG SRC="03b0e0e0.gif" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>   <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14">     <A HREF="id180.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Title 167"><U><IMG SRC="02f0e0e0.gif" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>  <A HREF="id178.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Title 167"><U><IMG SRC="0300e0e0.gif" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> <B>Superweek #3</B></div> <div> <B>...David James</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Friends,</div> <bR> <div> I've got nothing great to report -- luck hasn't been on my side lately. The</div> <div> speeds at Superweek are much faster than I've experienced before, so</div> <div> cornering becomes much more important. I have improved my cornering by</div> <div> carrying more speed through the corners and by counter steering into the</div> <div> turns harder.</div> <bR> <div> However, one thing I haven't learned is the fine art of when to pedal after</div> <div> the turn. Pedal too late and you can open up a gap to the rider ahead.</div> <div> Pedal too soon, and... well, on Sunday (yesterday) I managed to clip a pedal</div> <div> again. Before I knew what was happening, my feet popped out of both pedals</div> <div> and were on the pavement. I wouldn't be surprised if my Speedplay cleats</div> <div> were making sparks as they grinded along the pavement. I looked down and</div> <div> saw that my chain had popped off, too. So I stopped, fixed things up, and</div> <div> got going. If I would have crashed I would have gotten a free lap -- but</div> <div> don't like crashing too much.</div> <bR> <div> The problem now was that I was off the back. I chased hard onto a group of</div> <div> about 4 stragglers, but couldn't catch the main pack. After 20 minutes</div> <div> total of racing, we were pulled off the course because we were probably 50</div> <div> seconds off the leaders. That was perhaps the 2nd most humiliating moment</div> <div> I've had in a bike race.</div> <bR> <div> Anyhow, I originally hesitated in writing this report. I didn't want to</div> <div> send yet another disappointing report. However, I think its more important</div> <div> to let you guys know what's going on up here than to only send "good" news.</div> <div> Eric, my traveling companion, told me that learning mental toughness is one</div> <div> of the hardest aspects of racing. I'd agree -- you have to transform</div> <div> disappointments into learning opportunities and look forward, not backward.</div> <div> The frustration from yesterday has worn off -- it has shown me that I need</div> <div> to practice cornering more. I'm looking forward to the rest of the week to</div> <div> improve my technical skills. As I improve on the smaller details of my</div> <div> cycling, I know that bigger results will follow.</div> <bR> <div> Today is a rest day for me, followed by a road race tomorrow. Thanks for</div> <div> reading!</div> <bR> <div> Take care,</div> <div> David</div> <bR> <div> The Brief Version:</div> <div> ------------------</div> <div> Race: Bensenville Criterium</div> <div> Location: Bensenville, IL (suburb of Chicago)</div> <div> Date: 7/21/2002</div> <div> Distance: 30 laps (approx 32 mi)</div> <div> Course: About 0.8 mi per lap. 6 corners. Flatter than Houston.</div> <div> Temperature: 95-98 F and humid (VERY hot for Wisconsin)</div> <div> Duration: approx. 80 minutes</div> <div> Riders starting: 70+</div> <div> Riders finishing: approx. 40??</div> <div> My placing: DNF</div> <div> Notes: I clipped a pedal after 4 laps! I bridged up to a chasing group, but</div> <div> we were out of contention and pulled off the course.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> After about 4 laps, I made a mistake in a turn. Both of my pedals managed</div> <div> to come unclipped after exiting a turn today. I suppose I clipped a</div> <div> pedal -- it all happened so fast. Before I knew what was happened I had</div> <div> both feet on the ground, sliding along like an ice skater. I stayed</div> <div> upright, though. I braked and stopped and found out that my chain was off,</div> <div> too. By the time I got it back on, I was dropped.</div> <bR> <div> I chased really hard back onto one group. However, the front group was too</div> <div> far ahead. I was with that group for 2 or 3 laps, and our group was pulled</div> <div> because we were out of contention. After only 20 minutes of racing I was</div> <div> pulled! I was pretty angry.</div> <bR> <div> The good thing is that what know what I'm doing wrong and why I've been</div> <div> doing it. Lately I have been cornering much faster, and I use counter</div> <div> steering more. That means that I'm leaning into corners more than I have</div> <div> previously. So I think my old habit of pedaling through corners that worked</div> <div> fine before needs to be adjusted for my new & improved cornering.</div> <bR> <div> David</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>