Palace 20th May 2008

[kieran]

well he came 4th last week in the E/1/2 and 8th the week before that, also in the E/1/2
and won the opening night 3/4 th race so would be surprised if he was lapped?

Quite a rapid progression!

[Phil L]

Getting better, but not sure how much more there is in me to improve. Congratulations to Hal and Wal (Mike) for their 2nd and 3rd places, and also Steve the Shadow and Toks who made it in the top 10. So an ACC domination at the front as well as the back of the field (well just me at the back ).

Like last week, I managed to hang on to the group for the first two laps at a very painful (for me) average of around 23mph each lap, then dropped off and left on my own in last place (I think) averaging a pathetic 20 to 20.5 mph.

The E/1/2s lapped me on my 5th lap, and the 3/4s on my 7th. On my 9th lap, I managed to tag onto a trailing group with Andrew and Richard on board where I found a second wind, probably because I had recovered from the mad first two laps and now nicely warmed up, and this picked my average back up to something a bit more respectful - 21.6 to 22 mph each lap. Whilst in this group, I got lapped again on the 14th, at which point I couldn't hang on any longer to Andrew's wheel, and knowing that I could only do another two laps before I was obliged to leave the circuit, I retired feeling a lot better about myself compared to last week.

My next target (not for next week mind) is to be able to hang on to the group for at least 6 laps or until the trailing groups start to break off and stick with them. But that means keeping up an average of at least 23mph , and somehow managing to keep the pace up on that dreaded back hill. I can feel the fat burning off me now as I write this, so if I can get a bit more skinny, then it might be possible. I am certainly feeling a "training" benefit from last nights race, so still scope for improvement at the moment.

[Toks]

[quote="Phil L"] Whilst in this group, I got lapped again on the 14th, at which point I couldn't hang on any longer to Andrew's wheel, and knowing that I could only do another two laps before I was obliged to leave the circuit, I retired feeling a lot better about myself compared to last week.

[-Adam-]

[quote="kieran"]well he came 4th last week in the E/1/2 and 8th the week before that, also in the E/1/2
and won the opening night 3/4 th race so would be surprised if he was lapped?

Quite a rapid progression!

[kieran]

indeed, but you could probably do with a few fashion tips from me, drop me an email My previous successful clients include Paul H and Stu.

[Toks]

[color=#0000BF]Here's a Dulwich Paragon's report on last nights race. Despite it being a good report I've had to do some editing cause some of his facts are highly questionable. Ok here we go I've just finished two pretty depressing 'speech and language assessments' so lets have some fun!![/color]

Once again Tuesday was upon us and time for another quick spin around the park. There weren't the numbers of last week, a cold wind and dark clouds overhead probably put off a few. Dulwich had a good turnout, though there were a few notable absentees!, but with less riders there was less chance of more confusion. It was good to see that the commissaires had taken some measures to help prevent the same thing happen again. The women's race was ended a lap earlier and the 3/4 would have a siren instead of a bell to indicate the last lap which worked well.

I got a good start and was in about 10th after the hairpin. I worked up to about 5th wheel and settled in for the ride. The pace was slightly slower tonight with Addiscombe trying to control things up front and get someone up the road. [color=#0000BF]Er.. yep thats right and we succeeded too [/color]
Despite the reduced numbers there was some suspect riding with people trying ridiculous moves down the inside into both the hairpin and the bottom bends forcing others onto the grass and a few touched wheels. The slower pace kept a few inexperienced riders in the front bunch and it seemed to be these riders who were making the dodgy moves.
[color=#0000FF]Wasn't it one of your guys that caused the crash?[/color]

On about the 5th lap going into the hairpin I was on the front when nearly taken out by a flash of light blue... a Dulwich rider! [color=#0000BF]told yaI [/color]don't know who the guy was, it's not someone that I recognised and I wasn't that impressed with the way he nearly took me out. Having lost my momentum coming out of the hairpin I was getting nailed by those behind and just managed to tuck in behind Simon in about 8th. We'd both worked our way up to the front by the next lap and were now sitting right behind this mystery Dulwich rider on the front. Richie was just behind as well so we were looking good to get an attack going with numbers. But going into the bottom bend our mystery DP'er ran out of talent, lost the rear and then his front and went down hard right in front of Simon who just managed to avoid going down too. I was right behind Simon and just managed to go right and across the grass while Richie had had a little more time to react and came past on my left. A few who'd not been held up by the crash tried to get clear of the main bunch and attacked, Richie was on the back of this group and I just managed to get on his wheel before the climb and stay in the front group. Fortunately no one else went down in the crash but Simon's race was over there and then as he'd had to stop. By the time he got going again he was about half a lap off the back.

Things were starting to get a bit twitchy now and I had a couple of occasions when I was nearly taken out by people clipping my rear wheel or cutting across in front going into corners. On the climb 4 attacked and got a gap,
[color=#000080]er.. you were obviously too far back to notice. Two riders had already gone clear a lap before (Mike and another guy), then on the climb Hal launched himself across to the break [/color]
and went clear for about a lap but then we were closing them down again when the E/1/2's came through to lap us. Instead of using the cut-through, the officials had decided to try neutralising our race while they came past and then restart us when there was a 100m gap. This was when the 4 away had a lucky break as we were all made to sit up and cruise round while they kept going and soon they were over half a lap in front and there was no chance of catching them again.
[color=#0000BF]Rubbish!! no one really sat up but there was some great blocking going on prior to that - you must have missed it [/color] A few tried to do the same thing as last week and tuck in with the E/1/2 race to get away, though the commissaires could see what was happening and had noted their numbers.

Once we got going again, it was Addiscombe who came back to the front to try and control things.
[color=#0000BF]Thats right, whatd'ya mean trying; we did control things [/color]The pace fluctuated over the last few laps with a few people trying to attack but everything was closed down. As we took the 'siren' lap there was an attack from one of the Addiscombe guys but we easily stayed with the attack.
[color=#0000BF]There you go truth-stretching again (have you fessed up about those stolen points from race 1 yet? )there was no attack, I rode a little faster, aero-tucked on the descent and cruised quite quickly around left hand bend[/color]
Going up the hill for the last time I tried to go just before the crest of the climb, I got a small gap and kept it going as we came round towards the line. I could see one of the breakaway had blown and was struggling to make it to the finish, he saw us closing him down tough and tired to sprint. As I got closer to the line I saw a wheel creeping past on my right and then another two on my left. I threw my bike at the line and managed to stay ahead of one of the ones on my left, just! In the end I think I went a little too soon, still I got 3rd in the bunch sprint (the escapee just got across the line before us), and 7th overall as there were still 3 away.
So, another good result though I'm sure the break would never have stayed away if it wasn't for their lucky timing.
[color=#0000BF]Oh dear, shall I tell him next week [/color] Having the main bunch cruise round in a state of neutral while we waited for the E/1/2's to clear us gave them such an advantage that it was simply impossible to have caught them again.
[color=#0000BF]Wow! what do them grapes taste like?[/color]
On the whole though the changes have certainly helped to cure a lot of the lap related confusion and it was nice to get some more points and some prize money as well!

[-Adam-]

[quote="kieran"]indeed, but you could probably do with a few fashion tips from me, drop me an email My previous successful clients include Paul H and Stu.

[Andrew G]

Me chatting Ant, surely some mistake .

Good fun last night. When I got there it was just Mike waiting at the time so we did a few practice laps. Straight away I thought "he's not going to have any problems!" Flying up the hill whilst seemingly soft tapping, and the speed round the hairpin was amazing. I'm non too shabby round a bend but Mike whipped it (his beautiful bike which Stu and I were in awe of it's weight - or lack of) round at a pace that would have Mr. Spence looking on admiringly .

I didn't start too well and only lasted 10 minutes before starting to slide on the hill, I don't know how many laps gone as I can never keep count of them. I'd stayed up towards the front up until then but all of a sudden people were coming by on the hill. Brian and Richard came passed and kept hold of the group.

The pace was definitely slower this week, even before the ACC blocking so I was a bit miffed to slide off so early, but I got in to a rhythm very quickly and they didn't disappear. I picked off a few riders and collected a Mozzie and a Glendene rider for company. We worked together and caught Richard who joined our group and we now had a little four man train which was working pretty smoothly.

We were all doing our turns and rotating through so the pace stayed higher than any of us could've managed on our tod. The Mozzie seemed to be suffering a bit more as his turns didn't seem as quick or long but he wasn't shirking and giving the rest of us a breather.

We kept our rhythm and picked riders off all the time, catching, dropping, and lapping. I'd wondered what had happened Bri as we passed you at one point on the hill and it looked like your legs had fallen off, and you'd been going so well earlier. Another lap and as we were about to lap Phil I told him to jump on the group and grab a tow and a breather, glad it helped Phil as it's sooo much harder slogging round on your tod. This is the first time I've got myself in a decent working group for ages and it made life much nicer. It really was pleasant and I could do nearly a lap turn and then sit on for a couple, and after the first of those I felt fully recovered so was nice and fresh (relatively) each time it was my go.

I'll confess to exchanging the odd word with the Glendene rider but it was only the odd word here and there, we both seemed to have the same attitude to it - We know were not going to be up the front but we'll give it as much as we can, and most importantly have fun. It is amateur racing after all. Speaking of which some of the E/1/2s don't always seem to realise this. When they pass some of the calls as to which side they are passing on are so late that you have no time to react to them, then get a load of verbal for not getting out the way or even if you have moved to the edge of the circuit. When passing at the hairpin or in to the bottom bend we (3/4s) slow right down and hold a very tight line, but there is no way we should have to come to a complete stop or chuck ourselves in the bushes to make way. It's amateur racing there's no pro tour contract waiting on the line .

Coming in to the last couple of laps and the Mozzie dropped off/out and Richard got blocked at the hairpin so pulled in there. The Glenedene chap and I had spotted that the 3/4 lead bunch was coming up behind us so we both went for it to try and stay clear to the end of that lap. Then we would have avoided getting lapped and would finish full race distance, unfortunately they nabbed us about 2/3rds of the way up the hill so we both just wheeled in and dropped out to let them have their sprint finish on a clear track.

Congrats to Mike (his first ever road race!), Hal, Steve, and Toks, great results. Well done Adam too, nice birthday present. You'll have to do a hard 150km race every Sunday as it obviously helps in your CP prep.

Helping at the evening 10 next week and have a couple of long TTs on Sunday's coming up so probably won't get to race Palace for a few weeks. Hope to see you up there racing by then Ant if your licence comes through.

[Wal]

I turned up for what was to be my first road race a little on the early side – so early in fact that I was the first cat 3/4 to sign up and thus was given the number ‘1’ to pin to my jersey. A few warm up laps of the circuit allayed any fears I might have had about the hairpin 1st turn; in fact I found it quite fun to really lean the bike over and use all the tarmac on the exit for maximum speed.

Due to a lack of experience I didn’t really know how to approach the race tactically, so I decided just to pedal hard from start to finish and see what happened. At the start I wasn’t entirely comfortable in the middle of the bunch, so it was a relief to be able to make my way to the front after a couple of laps and settle down at my own pace. A few of us were taking turns on the front, including Toks who put in a huge surge early on – I put in a huge effort to catch him as I thought it might become a break – and later the eventual winner, with whom I shared the effort for a lap or so before realising that we’d opened up a bit of a gap. We were joined in short order by Hal and the three of us worked well together to maintain the break. Again due to my lack of experience I thought we might be swallowed up by the bunch at any time but I figured the only thing to do was keep pedaling hard and hope for the best. Thankfully my fears were unfounded; thanks to Toks et al for being instrumental in the success of our little breakaway!

I knew the guy in red in our break had a strong sprint because he’d been quick accelerating out of the hairpin, so I figured my best chance of victory would be to try and drop my break partners on the final lap. Exiting the hairpin I stepped up the pace, flying down the hill and then digging in on the climb to try and force a gap. But it was to no avail: the other two riders were able to hold my wheel and sprint past me for the line. But I was ecstatic; 3rd place was beyond anything I’d hoped for!

Thanks to the many Agreeables who helped make it a most enjoyable evening. I’ll be back, for sure!

Mike ‘Wal’ Wallace

(I don’t know how they managed to misspell my name in the results; I wrote it down in block capitals on the entry list! Anyone know whom I should contact to get it corrected?)

Toks:
[quote]"catching them again.
Rubbish!! no one really sat up but there was some great blocking going on prior to that - you must have missed it "

[Toks]

[quote="Wal"]I turned up for what was to be my first road race...

[Toks]

[quote="kieran"]Toks:
PS. Adam, Toks can vouch for my bike cleaning abilities, I believe the dimples from the dirt acts like shark skin in water and makes for a smoother flow through the air

[Stu Merckx Man]

the winner of the e,1,2s took a lap out i think, he got a puncture mid way through.

i really enjoyed last night.

i wasnt sure how i was going to feel having not ridden since the thursday before, but after 5 laps or so i got back into it and felt good.

i took my usual place at the back , along with adam and a bloke from citi hub or something like that.

the pace was the fasted i have been in yet, 25.4 average for the first 10 laps, then going down to 25.3 there after. as usual a gentle trickle of riders were getting dropped from our group, and it would sometimes mean a bit of sprint up the hill.

there were some crazy fast moments when people were attacking up the hill, i looked at my speedo and clocked 26-27mph on a fair few occasions, and would end up changing down a gear to go down the other side!!! there was only about 2 laps when i managed to get up the hill in the saddle, all the other times i had to get out to put the power down.

bit of a funny moment when we lapped mike and hal- our group obviously thought they were dropped riders from the 3,4 race, and were shouting at the to move the 'f*ck over', and to keep to the 'f*cking left!'. mike was having none of it and gave as good as he got!

with 3 or 4 laps to go the lactic acid started to build, but the adrenalin was keeping me going, and i was about to move up to the front of the bunch when all of a sudden, i find my self going off the bank on the sweeping left hander. as i came to a halt i saw my tire was all but flat. im not sure if i got the puncture before hand, and thats whey i couldnt keep control round the bend, or if i got it going onto the grass.

it was a bit gutting seeing the group go past a few more times, and wishing i was with them. but hearing the amazing results of the 3,4s made up for any disappointment i was feeling. i miss those 3,4 races, with the A team controlling things, and getting 4-5 men in the top 10, and of course the 1,2,3 . but its great to see the next set of guys coming through, mike, hal, kieren and toks. well done guys, amazing set of results.

and well done adam for 7th, that was one of the harder ones ive raced in.

cheers
stu

[Steve B]

Well, a good night for the Addiscombe indeed

The evening started off as usual with me getting to Palace in the van at about 6.15 - plenty of time to sign on and have a warm up on the 'Addiscombe oval'. But bloody hell, it was freezing out and I was shivering queuing up for my numbers. Straight back to the van to stay warm . Arm warmers, short sleeve jersey, long sleeve jersey and a rain jacket did the trick. Crikey, it feels like Feb.

Big ACC contingent in the starting line up. This was Mike's first race at Palace. There was Brian and Phil (both back after their first efforts last week ), Hal, Kieran, Richard, Toks, Andrew an myself in the 3/4's. Tamar loved it so much last week she was back for more in the womens race . Stu and Adam in the E12's. Hope I haven't forgotten anyone- sorry if I have.

17 laps with the group was what I was aiming for, but after saturday's insane efforts on the club run, I wasn't very hopeful. Just give a go though eh.

Started in the second row this week which looked to be a perfect place to be, but I missed my pedal first time and I got shuffled back, damn . As I looked up the front after a lap or so, I saw Mike at the head of the group towing everyone along. Easy Mike I thought, there's a long way to go . He didn't need any advice though, being a really strong rider, he did what felt right. I think he was still at the front when another guy made a break up the hill. Mike went with him and the two were away. As this happened, Hal (who had been around the same position as me up till this point- 20 ish) went up the outside to make some ground. I went with him, but 5m behind. As he got to the front of the group, he just went on by and chased the 2 guys up ahead. Oh dear what do I do? I felt strong enough at that point to go with Hal, but I know I wouldn't have lasted - I was in two minds and before I knew it the chance had gone , Hal was nearly up with Mike.

Ok, next best thing then, make sure we have an Addiscombe win. Two in a three man break, there's a good chance, if they can stay away . So I sat at the front of the group, eased off the gas and watched as our guys got further and further away. I wasn't holding everyone else up, well, not much anyway It's not my job to chase down an Addiscombe breakaway is it Then the E12's went past us, and some Dulwich boys did a few laps at the front. Toks and I got to the front a couple of laps later and we did a good job of not doing any chasing again .

!5 laps gone and I was nearing the area where the previous two weeks my legs had gone. This time they didn't feel as bad, and the thought of finishing actually seemed possible. Kieran then got to the front and really wound the pace up. I could now feel the lactic build up, but just a couple of laps to go, surely i can hang on Hang on was just that. Penultimate lap and the speed increased. I'm now about 15th but I'm a good 25m from the front. Ok just see if I can hold my position, that would great.

But then that competitive, adrenalin fueled streak went 'ping' inside me, and I'm now in last lap, sprinters, all out mode . Don't ask me how it works, I don't know. I'm literally chewing bar tape one second and then chomping at the bit the next, knowing I only have to ride another few seconds. At the bottom of the hill the pace is hot, I can't keep this up, I'm dying. No, just a bit more c'mon. Half way up and I'm motoring now up the outside. I've just taken half a dozen places, but loads still in front. I pick off another, then another, then another, then Kieran and now I'm alonside Toks, who by the look on his face was balls out and motoring too. Round the top bend and I'm closing the small gap to the front group of 6 or 7. I'm now beyond where I've ever been before, physically. My whole body is screaming "THERE'S NO MORE" , but I keep going, and just before the finish line I caught the group, picking off 2 or 3 of them. I was 3rd or 4th in the sprint - 6th or 7th in the race - definately not 8th, but it doesn't really matter, I was thrilled with the effort I was able to put in

Once finished I felt really rough and just about made it off the bike. My breathing was as deep as I ever remember it and my legs were hurting badly. I sat down and stretched but the urge to lay down was so strong, so I did. After a minute or so, I sat up, but my vision was all blurry and I couldn't see properly . Sh1t, what's happened to me? As it happened, a few seconds later I was ok. I think I'd ridden so hard I had oxygen depletion . Anyway, all's well that ends well

Brilliant rides by Mike and Hal - top drawer . Also Adam in the E12's, great result. Well done Toks and everyone else who took part in another memorable Palace tuesday

Steve

[Michelle]

Brilliant result for the blokes.

Pity about your flat Stu.

Well done Maria, obviously not been chucking up beforehand this week! Guess it helps, eh.

Keep racing Tamar, it's really gonna help you in the TTs, honest.