Off To See The Wizard: The Road to Snelling Part 1

Meet Rob "The Wizard" Kopitzke of Body Concepts (right). Meet "RavenWing" Matt's bike (right below me).

A couple of weeks ago, when I got the news that my frame was cracked, my brand new racing world was thrown to the asphalt. Before racing I was living in black and white, life was rich and textured like “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” or “Metropolis” and at the same time constrained to a monochrome existence.  But once I pinned the numbers to my side life exploded into techno-color and Toto was chasing me down the yellow-brick road towards the Emerald City. (Does anyone remember having to twist a dial on your TV to try and tune in a channel? Color wasn’t an option, just trying to get a clear signal was a victory, and then we had color TV and going back was out of the question.) The idea that I wasn’t going to be able to race in Snelling was a sentence of returning to a pallid life of a working stiff; go to work come home, eat dinner, pay bills, help with homework, change a diaper or two and off to bed to start the next work day: I felt as if I was returning to a life half lived.

That initial wave of despair washed over me and I admit that I wallowed in it for a day or two. Then it was time to shake it off and figure something out. My wife always says that, “We’ll figure something out.” So I dusted off my old Allez and hit the trails training on it for the next week. God, it was miserable week. Cold, gray and pretty darn near colorless were those days trying to train for a race on a piece of equipment I knew just wouldn’t cut it. I shared my pain with the few intrepid souls who would hear my mewling cries and Matt –one of my Body Concepts teammates- came to my rescue offering his raven-wing carbon beauty as a loaner for me to use while I figured out how to replace my own steed.  Yes, it was black, but have you ever seen a raven’s wing in the sunlight, it shimmers with a rainbow of colors. Glenda the Good Witch had arrived in the form of a tall, lean insurance guru from Gold River.

The joy in having a carbon-embodied splash of color return to my world was tempered by the knowledge that I had less than a week to accustom myself to the new (to me) bike and it felt awkward and strange. This is where the wizard comes in. (When you are not sure how to get where you’re going, you always have to visit the wizard.) In this case, the Wizard was Rob Kopitzke from Body Concepts and the magic he wielded was in the form of a bike fitting.

I’ve never had a bike fitting before and my primitive idea of fitting a bike was making sure the seat and handle bars didn’t make me look like I was riding a low-riding bmx. What happened within the glass enclosed confines of the Body Concepts headquarters was something much more than I had ever imagined.  The effortless flow and efficient movement as Rob took me through the paces of fitting Matt’s bike to my optimal use was like watching a sorcerer weave a graceful, powerful spell. I surrendered myself to the cadence of Rob’s guidance, mystified by it all and yet feeling like something really good was taking form. If you want to truly know what happened during the fitting, you would have to ask Rob -or schedule a fitting for yourself, you will never see your bike or even yourself the same again- what I can tell you is yet another layer of color had returned to my world and Snelling was once again in my sites.

To Be Continued...

Jax trying for an internship at Body Concepts.

My First Time (Racing) - Part 2 of 2

The race begins and the road grit flies! The Cal Aggie Criterium had plenty of racers and tight quarters.

As we got started off the line I had a slight delay as I missed my first attempt to click my left foot into the pedal.  I have never been good at the road pedals, dating back to when they first came out in the late 80’s (when they were a lot harder to get out of and I fell a lot more). Anyway…  I quickly recovered and caught up to Patrick.  Everything was going fine on that first lap until we hit the first big turn.  According to John, a fellow BC racer, that first left turn is 120 degrees followed by an immediate 90 degree right turn.  With the course being wet and oily, it was tricky to slam on the brakes and negotiate the turn while trying to spring out of the turns as fast as possible.  A mistake I would make more than once going into these turns is that I would forget to shift to an easier gear.  This left me trying to accelerate hard out of a turn while trying to push a gear that was too hard to pedal.  Still, I managed to get out of the turn fast enough to maintain my position behind Patrick, all was well. 




Pushing to rejoin the pack after the crash.

 On the second lap we came to the big left turn again.  Everything seemed to be going fine when a racer to the front left of Patrick went down.  Initially I didn’t think anything of it and thought we were going to miss him.  Then Patrick started to go down in front of me.  I didn’t want to do a big swerve because I didn’t know who was beside me so I did more of a subtle shift to the right and tried to pass as quickly as possible. I remember bracing myself, hoping that I could glide by without getting caught up in the crash. I eked by and found myself upright and my thoughts went back to the race.  I took a quick peripheral glance to my left to make sure I could proceed through the turn without running into anyone.  I saw some riders down, but I couldn’t make out the details.  All I knew was that the path was clear and I had to catch up.  After finishing the turns I got low on the bike, shifted to my fastest gear, and started cranking.  Shortly after passing the start/finish line I was back with the group. 

Now was the really frustrating part of the race.  How do I close back in on John and Randy?  With the slick roads slowing everyone down in the turns, the group wasn’t strung out yet.  During each straight, I would get within range of John and Randy and would back off thinking that I should conserve energy and I could slowly work my way up the last few bike lengths.  However, that backfired because every time we hit the big left turn, the group would bunch up and I would lose the progress I made coming out of the turns.  I tried the right side and then I tried the left side with the same results every time.  This was getting old and even more frustrating is that I thought it would be pretty obvious how many laps were left, but I could never find the person holding the sign.  Maybe I was suffering from “first race tunnel vision”? 

I also did not realize that the bell ringing indicated the primes or the final lap.  From dabbling in mountain bike racing a few times last year, where everyone was ringing some sort of bell on every lap, I just assumed that it was the crowd cheering on the racers.  Most of the final lap was uneventful because I didn’t know it was happening until we came out of the turns for the final straightaway.  All of the other racers jumped out of their saddles and started sprinting.  At this point, it was too late for me to try and counter with a sprint of my own so I just worked on maintaining my position within the group and bringing my first race to a safe finish. I was hit by the wall of anti-climax, my first race was over somehow and my body felt as if it had not yet even begun.



What? The race is over???

 I was left with mixed feelings.  I was happy to have participated in and finish my first race, better yet that I was still in one piece.  However I was also frustrated because, other than making up ground after the crash, I never worked hard during the race.  I had all that energy bundled up, ready to explode, but nothing happened.  If there was another category I could have raced in immediately after, I would have done it. As it was my racing was done for the day.


I did a cool down lap with John and Randy and we talked about the race for a bit.  Randy gave me some tips -I should work the middle more and to try and make up ground between the sets of turns.

My wife -in my big day-glo jacket- and I talk after the race.

At the end of the cool down lap I saw my wife with the camera.  I was happy to see her and pulled over to tell her about the race. As we walked she told me how she had been puzzled that I never looked as if I was attacking, she told me I looked as if I was just sitting back almost the entire race.  I explained the issues I encountered and she pointed out that I needed to trust my strength more. We agreed that next time I need to attack more and not worry about the possibility of burning out and getting left behind.  She could tell that I had not even touched my reserves of strength and stamina. She told me that I was absolutely buzzing with unspent energy.

Jax is not quite sure what to think of my new paint job. "Daddy? That you?"

 We rejoined the rest of the family and I rescued my 15 month old from the stroller only to have him give my road grime covered face a strange look. I think it took him a minute to even realize it was me under my new paint job. After spending a few more minutes with the family I met up with John to talk more about the race and we checked in with Patrick to see how he was doing after the crash.
 

Patrick showed off his war wound but when my wife asked him if he needed medical attention he shrugged it off, showing a lot more concern for any damage that may have been taken by his bike.  I am not sure where Randy went; last I saw he was talking to some other racers that he knew.

I packed up my family and we talked about the race all the way home and it has been our main topic of conversation ever since. My wife found that she enjoyed her day at the races and that she couldn’t be prouder of me for working so hard and finally making it to where I wanted to be.





In retrospect, I am happy I did the race and I can’t wait for the next one. I may have felt unsatisfied at first but now that I think about it, that one race taught me a lot. More than I ever could have learned from a book or from sitting around listening to someone else talk about it. Nope, I had finally stopped talking about racing. Now I am doing it!

Cal Aggie Criterium: First Race Anticipation

This weekend will be my first road race at the Cal Aggie Criterium in Sacramento.  Up until Monday, I knew the race was coming, but I didn’t think much of it.  Then it hit me.  OMG, I am racing this week!  I am both nervous and excited. 

I am nervous for several reasons.  The race is a crit, and crits can be a dangerous.  Will I perform well?  Am I going to do something stupid?  While I am still nervous I have managed to settle a lot of the nerves by thinking about team strategies, visualizing how those strategies might play out in a crit, and imagining myself in different roles in that strategy.

As for the excitement, there is nothing I can do about that but embrace it.  I have been enjoying being a part of the Body Concepts Race Team and I can’t wait to get out there with the rest of the team and start racing!

2011 Cal Aggie Crit Course Map

The Cal Aggie Criterium will be held –Rain or shine!- at William Land Park in Sacramento in January 29, 2011. Registration will be located at the south end of the course near the end of Sutterville and Freeport. The morning of registration will open at 7 am and will close about 15 minutes before each race. USAC license is required and they will be available at the race. One-Day licenses will be available for Cat 5 men and Cat 4 women.

If you want to see who is racing (Yep, I’m on the list!): https://www.sportsbaseonline.com/events/tools/registered-athletes/index.xhtml?categoryId=37135&conversationId=959448

If you want to see how a favorite racer fared (God, please don’t search me! My first race won’t be pretty…), then check out this link: http://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2011-

Official Race Flyer: http://ncnca.org/sites/default/files/01/07/2011%20-%207:55pm/cal%20aggie%20crit%20flyer%202011.pdf

This Is What Cycling Is All About: Folsom High Cycling Team



Here I am with the littlest GroveTribe member before I had to get to work scoring the practice races.



The Folsom High MTB Team met at Willow Creek Reservoir to do a simulated race on a short track that will be used during race season.  Parents and ride leaders were invited to see what their kids were up to along with helping out if needed.

We came to check it out thinking that we would be able to sit back and enjoy the racing on what was supposed to be a relatively warm and sunny day (for January).   Well…  The forecast was wrong.  The sun never came out and it was bitterly cold.  The family stayed for a bit, but it was much too cold for my youngest to be hanging out for any length of time. The coach asked that I help with scoring, so I swung by the house to drop the family off in a warm house, and headed back out to the meet.  I also grabbed my helmet, gloves, and shoes just in case I needed to hop on a bike for any reason.  

One of the parent volunteers and his son supporting the older brother.

There were two simulated races that day which were being used to get an idea of where the kids stood in relation to the other kids so that, on race day, they would have a better idea of how to divide the kids into categories.  The first race was primarily for the newer riders who did two laps on the course.  The new riders did really well and as they came around for their lap, parents and volunteers would yell out encouragement to them.  I was really impressed by the friendly environment.  Parents weren’t yelling at each other.   No one was admonished or pressured about their performance.  This is an example of how sports should be for kids.

First batch heads out for warm-ups.  (I was too busy
scoring the race to take more action photos.)

The next race was a much larger group of the more advanced riders who did three laps of the course.  There was spirited competition as the riders battled it out for their place on the lap.  Scoring individual riders as they jockeyed for position was a challenge. Numbers, bodies and bikes sped by in a chaotic blur of teen spirit. Thankfully, I had two people helping me spot the numbers so that all I had to do was to write down the order the numbers were relayed to me.



I had a great time out there in the freezing cold and the eager performances of many of the riders were great to see -we have some real potential “Armstrongs” out there- but even better to see was the support of so many of their family members. There were parents, siblings, volunteers like myself and friends all coming out to make a cheering crowd; fighting the chill with the warmth of their support and encouragement. It was joyful and uplifting to experience and that is what cycling is all about.

 

Body Concepts Race Team

Chris MTB racing during TBF race series

Being born to a cyclist I've been a cyclist for all my life. I've wanted to race for as long as I can remember but there's always an excuse not to do it. After listening to me talking about racing for years, last spring my wife told me to get out there and just do it. Stop talking, start racing.

I experimented with mountain bike racing and had a blast. I decided to continue to train to get into road racing. I still want to mountain bike so I just became a ride leader for the Folsom High School Cycling Team (but that's another blog entry).

Finding a compatible team to ride with was harder than I thought and teams form in the fall. I ended up spending the rest of the year getting stronger and researching riding groups and teams while I waited for signs ups to roll around again.  I was lucky enough to stumble upon a great riding group at work. In a few short months riding with these guys my skills, speed and endurance went through the roof.  A good friend from the group told me that Body Concepts was a great team for people interested in getting into racing so I decided to give it a shot. Waiting several weeks for the first team meeting and sign-up was tough and it was all I could think about. 

Members of the Body Concepts Race Team
Photo Credit: Body Concepts Inc.


 

I was excited to finally go to my first team meaning but being a dad with kids -including a one-year-old who misses me during the week- can make it hard to get out the door. I ended up showing up a few minutes late -thankfully not the last to show up- which had me worried. When I walked in the door I was greeted with a warm and amiable atmosphere and I immediately felt comfortable. Later in the meeting, Rob (coach, team leader and owner of Body Concepts) gave us a friendly heads-up that rides started on time "when a ride starts at 8, we leave at 8" and I made a mental note to plan to arrive at rides and meetings 20 minutes early (so that on “baby time” I should just about make it there on time). We started the morning going over the team packet that explains rules, how to represent your team and your sponsors, goals and so on. We discussed team goals and rankings as well as individual goals. Some members listed their personal goal as finishing in the top five. At this point, my individual goal is to be a supportive member of the team and to help further the team’s ranking.

GEAR
One of the highlights was when Nike Vision and VSP were introduced as some of our sponsors. Nike had three samples of their glasses. All three models were light-weight, comfortable, felt like they would be durable and they had transition lenses which is great for year-round riding. I get tired of swapping out lenses all the time.

Next we tried on team gear to get an order ready. The gear was from Sugoi and it seemed very comfortable and well-made. (I already have a pair of Sugoi compression tights and a favorite jersey that I have had for years.) I am still having a hard time figuring out what I am going to order because I need a lot of winter gear but I am on a very tight budget. (How does one stay warm while still representing your sponsors on rides?) I am thinking of getting a thermal vest with arm warmers and shoe covers but that may change. I was told to double up on arm warmers and use a vest and that usually works pretty well for staying warm in our area. I also thought about getting a pair of shoe covers to keep my feet warm and help match the team colors. Who knows? I still have a few days to decide.

TECHNIQUES
When it came time to ride, the weather was looking ominous but everyone anxious to get out and practice skills so we braved the elements and mounted up. We found a quiet road off the American River Bike Trail and started working on a series racing techniques. We worked on:

Shoulder Bumps - As another rider may start crowding you off of your line, you may end up bumping shoulders.  Avoid the natural reaction to swing out an elbow and turn your head towards the other rider as each reaction will cause you to loose stability on the bike.  Keep your head forward, lean over (while keeping your bike upright), and put your shoulder into the shoulder of the other ride.  Remember that this isn't football; don't knock over the other rider.  The goal is to protect your line and to keep from getting run over.   Another reason to keep your bike upright is to reduce the chance of your handle bars from locking together.

Shoulder to Hip Bumps – This is the same idea as shoulder bumps.  The main difference is that you might be in a position where the other rider doesn’t know you are there so you end up bumping their hip instead of their shoulder. 

Taps – Once again, someone may be crossing into your line and you need to let them know you are there.  You can do some firm taps or a firm (without knocking the person over) push to keep the other rider from crashing into you.

Man in the Middle Pushes – The man in the middle tries to stay on the center line of the road while riders on each side exercises the three previous techniques.  Stay focused looking forward.  Keep your hands in the drop outs to prevent handlebars from locking together.

Paceline – Riders are taking advantage of drafting to achieve a higher average speed then what you can do on your own.  Each rider is about a foot behind the rider in front of them.  The lead rider spends about 30 to 60 seconds at the lead of the paceline and then rotates off the front to the back of the line.  The people drafting save about 25-35 percent power.  The more riders you have, the less overall work you have to do to cover the same distance.  It is extremely important that the new ride leader keeps the same pace as the previous leader.  It is tempting when you get the lead to ride hard.  However that will create gaps in the line and reduce the paceline advantage.

Continuously Rotating Paceline – The lead rider is only at the front of the line long enough for the previous leader to drop back far enough for the new leader to pull off.  On TV, this looks so fluid and easy watching the professional teams do it.  This is actually pretty hard to coordinate everything! 

Echelon – This is useful when there is a crosswind.  Instead of following in a straight line you form a diagonal.  This formation is difficult because there isn’t typically enough width in the road for a long line of riders. 

We wrapped the day up with a whiteboard session describing how all of the drafting techniques are applied during training rides and races. 

At the end of the session I was excited to be a part of the team and I am looking forward to doing a lot of racing.  Everyone on Body Concepts was great to work with during the drills. I am excited to see what the future holds.   After all of these years I have finally realized one of my biggest goals, I am now a part of a racing team.