Mopac « Bike Noob

But sometimes the rabbit is you!

June 7, 2009 at 11:23 am | In Rides, training | 3 Comments
Tags: Mopac, Rides, training

Just a day after gloating about beating some poor guy who didn’t even know he was racing, I was brought back to reality. Out again on Mopac for an easy ride with Pat, I thought I would spin up the hills and wait for her at the top. It was another beautiful morning, and the best time to be out, because the afternoon would be uncomfortably hot.

What I had forgotten was that Saturday mornings are when the T3 team does its practice rides. They’re one of several triathlon teams in Austin, and we could see some of them heading north on Mopac when we reached the road and turned south. I didn’t think much about them as I pulled away from Pat on a slight downhill section.

I concentrated on my cadence as I hit a small hill, shifted into an easier gear, and started spinning at about 90 rpm. The effort brought the first drops of sweat to my brow, and I started to breathe in a measured, but faster, rhythm.

Swish! Two of the T3 guys glided by me, gaining speed as they went uphill. All right, this could be fun. Maybe I could hang with them on the next hill, then wait for Pat at the top.

As I watched them widen the distance between us, I realized it would take everything I had to close the gap. I wasn’t pushing yet, but I was moving a bit faster than I usually do on this part of the route. Then, two more T3s sailed past. One, a young woman, was tiny — but she led the guy who was with her without effort. I reached the base of the biggest hill on the course and kept a close eye on my cadence. By the time I reached the top, all four of them were out of sight in the distance ahead.

Pat has an arthritic hip, and was struggling today. I decided I would take it easy, and not get too far ahead of her. That worked until we reached the big downhill on the way back. I was pulled over in a cutout for a yet-to-be-built cross street, waiting for her to catch me. She went by, and urged me to get moving. I shifted into the big ring and passed her, quickly gathering speed as the grade steepened.

But the wind was from the southeast again, and it hit me in the right front. I pumped hard, trying to get above 30 mph. At the base of the hill, where I always register my fastest speed — two more T3s cruised past. These guys weren’t even breathing hard. They were down on their aero bars, coasting along, while I sat up, gasped for air, and settled into an easy effort.

At the end of the course, we were stopped at a red light when another T3 rider, a young woman, pulled up next to us in the left turn lane.

“How many of you are out this morning?” I asked.

“About 30,” she said. “We’re out here every weekend.”

“I’ve been passed by you all all morning long.”

“Heh-heh.”

So today, I was the rabbit. If nothing else, it keeps me humble, and realistic about my cycling abilities, while at the same time, giving others the boost of confidence I felt on Friday. Glad I could help, folks.

Smoked by a smart gal

March 16, 2009 at 9:00 pm | In Rides, Technique, training | 6 Comments
Tags: Mopac, Rides, Smoked, Technique, training

I took advantage of the first day of Spring Break and the first really nice weather day in Austin in some time, to get in some real bike mileage this morning. I went out to Mopac, planning to do a few loops. Since I have the week off, I plan to be riding every day (well, almost — golf tomorrow) and beef up my mileage and endurance.

On my second loop of the eight-mile route, I saw a biker pull out onto the road about a half-mile ahead of me. Aha, I thought — here’s a chance to see if I have what it takes to catch him. I picked up the pace a little.

It was going to reach a high in the mid-80s(F) today, but at the time of the ride, it was still in the 50s. I was nicely warmed up, but didn’t plan to push too hard to catch the rabbit — just a bit more than my usual pace. When I rounded the turn at Route 1826 for the return leg, the other biker was out of sight. But I soon saw him emerge from a swale in the road. It looked like my chances of catching him were pretty good.

Several hills mark this stretch of the route. Not big hills, but enough to make you work. The other biker was not pumping very hard, but keeping a steady, even pace. I was closing the gap.

Toward the end of the eastbound leg, there’s a nice downhill that lets me exceed speeds of 30 mph. Not so today, with a southeast wind blowing in my face. I got up only to 30, but was still gaining. I expected to catch him on the level ground at the bottom of the hill.

It was then that I realized — the other biker was female! (That’s fine — one of the strongest riders in my bike club, who regularly leaves most of the guys behind, is a female.) And since she was obviously younger than me, she was probably stronger than me, if she’d had any kind of experience on a bike. Heck, I was pleased to be able to catch anybody.

“On your left,” I called, as I closed on her. She barely gave her bike a flick over to let me by. I passed, still gaining speed, and gradually eased over into the center of the paved shoulder. The road was approaching a sweeping left that would turn us north, and up another series of moderate hills. I kept up the same pace I’d been riding, and attacked the first hill.

My legs must be getting stronger. I actually gained speed going uphill, at least for a bit. I felt good — what a great day to be out on a bike ride! Then I heard a telltale click.

It was a bike changing gears, and it wasn’t mine. I looked back, and there she was — inches behind my rear wheel! She’d grabbed a draft right after I passed her. That gave her a chance to recharge her batteries.

I saw her wheel pull up on my left side. We crested a hill, and started down. She pulled in behind me again. At the base of the hill, I downshifted and applied more power. Again the click just off my ear. And then, that nice silver Merlin with the rider in the purple and white jersey slid by me.

I figured I’d use her tactic, and grab her wheel. But I was losing ground climbing the hill, and she was pulling away. By the time we reached the top, she was out of reach.

I’ve been smoked by old guys, smoked by young gals, smoked by mountain bikes, and now I was smoked by someone who really knew what she was doing. Good for her, and good for me — I learned something today. I learned that I’m not as young as I feel, and I learned that I still have a way to go conditioning-wise (as if I didn’t know that already).

I finished another loop of the Mopac route, then headed home. Good average speed today — almost 16 mph. It’s going to be nice for the rest of the week. I hope I have several repeats of today’s ride. But this time, I’ll grab the other rider’s wheel and save my strength for when it counts.

Use it or lose it

January 19, 2009 at 9:25 pm | In Rides, training | 1 Comment
Tags: hills, Mopac, Rides, SW Parkway, training

Joe Friel would not be happy with my latest ride. Instead of a moderate increase over my recent average workouts, I decided to go for a long ride with some real hills.

Mrs. Noob wanted to get in a ride, too, so we headed out together for Mopac. But before we got there, she discovered that she had forgotten her cell phone, and told me I couldn’t take off like I usually do when we ride together — that I had to stay closer to her this time. That’s hard to do. Her hybrid (yes, she’s still riding the hybrid — we never did get her a new bike) is heavy and slow, and I worked hard to keep my speed down.

Mostly, that wasn’t too bad. I spun a lot in the small chainring, and waited for her more frequently than I usually do when we’re out together. She just keeps plugging away, and although she will never be a fast rider, she is a much stronger rider than she was a year ago.

We had a nice tailwind as we hit my favorite downhill stretch on Mopac. I coasted the entire length, instead of hammering to see just how fast I could go. Today I managed 33 mph without turning the pedals once. Resting and speeding at the same time — nice.

Pat headed home after one loop around Mopac. That’s 13 miles, and is farther than she’s been riding lately. I decided to stay out, and headed for Southwest Parkway, which has some decent hills.

A hill winds for about a mile and a half past some apartments and a semiconductor plant to reach Southwest Parkway. I realized just how out of shape I’d let myself get over the past two months (see “Junk Miles“). While there was never any danger of me stopping on the way up, the ride which is relatively easy in late summer was a struggle this time.

I finally made it to the top, and stopped for a gulp of Heed and a Lara Bar. From here it’s another two-mile downhill, hitting 34 mph without much effort on my part. Then a swing through a four-mile circle loop through a nice residential neighborhood, the road always sloping slightly up, and in some places getting hilly.

Just before the end of this loop and the turn back onto Southwest Parkway, I make a rest stop. It’s at about the 24-mile point on the ride, and I was ready for a break. My heart rate was elevated, but I wasn’t breathing too hard. I chugged down some more Heed, and discovered that my new seat post-mounted water bottle cage had come loose. A quick tightening job, and I was ready to go again.

On this leg, I have to climb up the two-mile hill that I’d gone 34 mph on coming down. In late summer, I did it in the large chainring. This time, it was the small one, with an easy gear. Yech. I decided to make a slight modification to the route. Instead of climbing all the way to the top of the hill, then flying downhill toward home, I took a cutoff that eliminated both the uphill and the downhill.

Total ride time was two hours, eight minutes. Distance 28.7 miles. The 13.6 mph average speed was mostly attributable to the first leg of the trip, when I was slowing down for Mrs. Noob, but to be honest, those uphills in the SW Parkway leg probably took their toll, too. OK, I overreached. I tried to add too much mileage and intensity all at once, without ramping up to it. If nothing else, I now have a benchmark from where I’m starting for the coming year’s riding. Time to HTFU.

Measuring improvement

July 2, 2008 at 9:42 pm | In Rides, training | 6 Comments
Tags: avg. speed, improvement, mileage, Mopac

I got out for a short ride today — a bit of a treat, because I rarely get to ride two days in a row — and a bit of a downer, because I had to cut the ride short. But as I was mumbling to myself about what rotten luck I had that limited me to only a 13-mile ride, it occurred to me that I could put this ride to good use.

The ride was one loop of my Mopac route, one that’s popular around here not because it’s scenic, or challenging, but because it’s convenient. It has enough hills to make you work a bit, and there’s one downhill section where you can easily top 30 mph. There’s usually enough wind to add to your effort. By the way, the road is called the Mopac Expressway because farther north in Austin, the Union Pacific railroad tracks run between the northbound and southbound lanes. Before Union Pacific took it over the line was the Missouri Pacific, or Mopac.

Another rider leads me up a long hill on Mopac on a recent Sunday morning ride.

It’s the very first ride I logged when I realized I was going to get serious about biking last year. So that means I can compare my times on a ride of the same length over a period of months. Maybe I can learn something from this exercise. The route is 13.1 miles long.

August 8, 2007: 57 minutes, 8 seconds — avg. speed 13.65 mph.
August 15, 2007: 54:30, 14.51 mph
October 12, 2007: 49:53, 15.65 mph
November 30, ‘07: 56:04, 14.08 mph
December 31, ‘07: 55:53, 14.07 mph
February 29, 2008: 45:50, 17.15 mph
July 2, 2008, 47:08, 16.7 mph

In 11 months of riding, I have cut 10 minutes from a 13.1-mile route, and improved my average speed by just over 3 mph. These results are very gratifying.

An important factor in my improvement is my new bike. I got the Specialized Allez Elite in February, so the Feb. 29 ride was the first one on this bike. Its lightness over the old steel Raleigh is perhaps the main reason my times have improved so much. But so is conditioning. I’m only about 10 pounds lighter than at this point last year, but I’ve got more power in my legs and more endurance, and I hope I’m a more savvy rider.

Eleven months ago, a single loop on Mopac was a long ride for me. Now, as the table shows, I don’t do single loops much anymore. Usually, I’ll do two or three loops in a single ride, or I’ll combine a Mopac loop with another route.

That’s part of improvement, too — adding distance. My current shortest ride is longer than the 13-miles of Mopac. So I’ll just keep plugging away, knowing that over time, I’ll just keep getting better. I’m encouraged.

It’s a long, slow road to progress

June 22, 2008 at 11:18 pm | In Rides, training | 10 Comments
Tags: bonk, cramp, heat, Mopac, sore butt, Southwest Parkway

Today should have been a great ride. I decided to combine two rides I do often into one, and come out with about 35 miles. I did the ride as recently as last week. But today it was agony.

Things started out great. I headed out Mopac, which I’ve mentioned here before. Traffic is generally light on Sunday mornings.

The shoulder on Mopac disappears at several places. The SUV was probably moving at about 65 mph. The bikers ahead were on hybrids, and I was catching them fast.

I felt good as I finished up the Mopac loop, and headed north to pick up Southwest Parkway. Southwest Parkway is also a four-lane divided highway with (usually) generous shoulders. Traffic can be heavy, but it’s a biking favorite, because it’s fairly hilly. I took advantage of the long downhill once I hit the parkway, and reached a speed of 37.8 mph. I detoured through a pleasant residential neighborhood for a few miles, and just before the route rejoined the parkway, I stopped for a break at about 22 miles. The Larabar in my pocket was good, and I finished off one of the water bottles and took a swig from the second. I stretched a bit, walked a bit, and headed out.

I had to go back up the long hill I’d flown down, and I felt as though I lacked energy today. I got up it all right, but didn’t feel the snap to my pedaling that I do on a good day. At the top of the hill, I paused for a picture of some fabulous houses that hug a ridgeline.

These houses are along a private road that dips down into a valley. It’s popular with bikers who really like to hammer hills, because most riders start in the valley and come up along the houses.

By this time, I was getting concerned because my butt was really bothering me. I was wearing my new bibs with a generously-padded bottom, and I’ve liked my saddle since I first got it, but today I couldn’t seem to get comfortable. I was pleased that I could deal with the discomfort well enough to get up the the steepest hill on the route — slowly, but at least smoothly. From this point, it’s only about five miles to home, with some nice fast downhill stretches.

But I think the heat was getting to me. It was about 92°F (33°C) — nothing I haven’t been used to this summer, but not this far into a ride. I was slogging. The going was made worse by the fact that the city is laying new chip seal on a road near home, and it was rough and unfinished.

Just as I turned the corner to head into my own neighborhood, my left thigh cramped up — painfully. I couldn’t turn the crank, and almost had a clipless fall until I could regain control, stop, and dismount. I shook the thigh to loosen it up, while a pair of turkey vultures perched on a light standard across the street hoped I would just collapse already, so they could have lunch!

I didn’t collapse until I got home, though. I gulped down a pint of water and fell into bed. I was baffled why things finished with such difficulty today. This ride wasn’t any farther than I’ve gone a number of times before. It was on familiar roads. I carried adequate water and food, and was pretty good about drinking every 10-15 minutes. My average speed was slower than usual, but only by about a half mile per hour.

I figure the heat must have had something to do with it. It was the only variable that had changed, being hotter today than the last time I rode this route. And I must admit, I probably did push it more than I should have on the Mopac portion of the ride, when it was a bit cooler.

Still, if I’m going to increase my weekly and long ride mileage to get ready for some new biking challenges, I have to figure out why today left me with so little energy. And what’s with the sore butt?