Indiana Flat 50 in the books

paco1961

paco1961

Zen MBB Master
Excellent event and fantastic day. 20-30 miles east of Indianapolis mostly flat w a few small rollers. An amazing 55 degrees start temp. Ended around 70F. Ken podiumed (second I believe) while my result was mixed. Jeff Rogers ended up about 35th on his new V after only recently moving up from his Q.

First off, a mile in somebody dropped 2 water bottles just before a turn east into a relentless 15mph head wind. By the time the dust settled the lead group had about 100 yards on me and riding solo in that wind there was no catching them. There was nobody else around to group up w so time trial time.

25 miles of windy solo riding later and feeling pretty demoralized by the breeze I finally found 2 young stragglers at a reasonable pace. Unfortunately pace line was an entirely unfamiliar concept so I spent the next miles tutoring them.

We finally hit a nice rhythm and we’re picking off stragglers one at a time when the fun started. At mile 42 I had just rotated off the front when we came to an intersection at about 28mph. Either the lead rider didn’t see it or the turn was not well marked but either way he locked up front and rear. Rider 2 did the same and they both went down hard. Somehow I managed to stay up and weave to a safe stop

Both riders were banged up and road rashed but after about 10 minutes we got them back up. Rode with them for half a mile to make sure they were ok before hitting the last 8 miles hard to catch some of those who passed us while stopped. Managed to pick off about 6 or 8 but it was all head wind to the finish.


Based on the published results I was probably sitting in 3rd in the 55-59 group and around 18th overall at the time of the crash. Ended up 6th and 42nd overall and happy to finish sans rash and broken bones!

Highly recommended ride for anyone in the area. Good news is my goal was to finish at 21mph overall and ended up 20.8 w about 33 miles solo in a pretty good wind. Second plus is that I now know I can lock up the rear wheel at near 30mph and maintain some semblance of control.

Congrats to Ken. 68D37492-2237-4AD0-87B4-2D45EE7C0BA5.jpeg 27AD18DF-ECFF-48B9-8DC7-6CD202D385E3.jpeg 2F3258CE-9C1B-479C-893B-9E3FDD6521E2.jpeg
 
C

cpml123

Zen MBB Master
paco1961 said:
Excellent event and fantastic day. 20-30 miles east of Indianapolis mostly flat w a few small rollers. An amazing 55 degrees start temp. Ended around 70F. Ken podiumed (second I believe) while my result was mixed. Jeff Rogers ended up about 35th on his new V after only recently moving up from his Q.

First off, a mile in somebody dropped 2 water bottles just before a turn east into a relentless 15mph head wind. By the time the dust settled the lead group had about 100 yards on me and riding solo in that wind there was no catching them. There was nobody else around to group up w so time trial time.

25 miles of windy solo riding later and feeling pretty demoralized by the breeze I finally found 2 young stragglers at a reasonable pace. Unfortunately pace line was an entirely unfamiliar concept so I spent the next miles tutoring them.

We finally hit a nice rhythm and we’re picking off stragglers one at a time when the fun started. At mile 42 I had just rotated off the front when we came to an intersection at about 28mph. Either the lead rider didn’t see it or the turn was not well marked but either way he locked up front and rear. Rider 2 did the same and they both went down hard. Somehow I managed to stay up and weave to a safe stop

Both riders were banged up and road rashed but after about 10 minutes we got them back up. Rode with them for half a mile to make sure they were ok before hitting the last 8 miles hard to catch some of those who passed us while stopped. Managed to pick off about 6 or 8 but it was all head wind to the finish.


Based on the published results I was probably sitting in 3rd in the 55-59 group and around 18th overall at the time of the crash. Ended up 6th and 42nd overall and happy to finish sans rash and broken bones!

Highly recommended ride for anyone in the area. Good news is my goal was to finish at 21mph overall and ended up 20.8 w about 33 miles solo in a pretty good wind. Second plus is that I now know I can lock up the rear wheel at near 30mph and maintain some semblance of control.

Congrats to Ken. View attachment 8280 View attachment 8279 View attachment 8281
Click to expand...
What kind of brake do you have in the back? I have TRP Sypre with Truckerco sintered pads and still can't lock up back wheel.
 
paco1961

paco1961

Zen MBB Master
Mechanical TRP Spyre w Truckerco pads as well. Mild panic always adds a little umph to any mechanical system!
 
3bs

3bs

whereabouts unknown
i so need to come ride with you guys. its just not that far from my house across the northern border
 
paco1961

paco1961

Zen MBB Master
You do indeed. With a little support on Saturday I might have been able to see the back of Ken's bike for more than the first 6 or 8 or so miles!
 
CruzLike

CruzLike

Guru
Here's my version of it.

This ride I’ve been looking forward to for almost 11 months. Last year I was lucky enough to win the race / ride. I was anxious to compete again on the local roads.

This year for me has been a little off. Rides that were planned got scratched for one reason. Other rides that I have done in the past, I just didn’t sign up.

As I looked at the calendar, I thought at 7 weeks out, I should start whipping my legs into shape. For 7 weeks I trained using TrainerRoad workouts on Zwift. I felt pretty good about my condition that I “crammed” for.

Race Day was finally here. I was a little nervous on what the next 2 hour ride might bring. Will it be a ride like last year or will there be 10 new guys show up and clean my clock. I picked up my registration packet with my number in it. It made me a little more nervous because they gave me the number 1. Oh good. I’m a marked man.

Prior to the ride, a fellow Crubiker Paco1961, we met talked for a few minutes. He’s an interesting guy.

9 o’clock rolls around and ride begins. I ride the first couple miles keeping an eye on the front. Making sure that I keep them in sight and without gaps in the riding group. At 10 miles in, I noticed 3 riders off the front of our group. They were about 200 ft ahead of our group. Initially I thought they were riders on another ride. This part of the route over lapped with another ride. When the riders turned where we were to turn, I became a little concerned. The race was getting away from me. The pace of the group I was in was erratic. I thought I might do better pushing the pace, even if I was on my own. It was much earlier than I hade planned to push the pace. Off I went.

I chased down one of the 3 riders and passed him. The other 2 riders became phantom riders I was chasing. I thought I would see them ¾ a mile ahead, off and on. Then mostly off. From 13 mile to 35 miles I was alone. I did have a group slowly over those 20 miles get larger in my mirror.

I had the feeling that the group was playing with me. They stayed close to me but didn’t pass till the 40-mile mark. I was averaging about 25 mph while out front. Shortly after they passed me, on the left of course, they slowed to 23. I was pinned to the white line and waited for the group to pass before I could press on. I had hopped for a 25 mph average I could not stay with this group.

For the next 4 miles I either had a gap on them or they were in my draft.

We slowed for a 4 way stop. When I began to put the power down again my legs rebelled. For 15 seconds I fought off mild leg cramps. They subsided without anyone in the group taking off. We were getting down to 4 miles to go. I expected there to be some sort of push to the finish at any minute. I elevated the pace a little and one other came with me. We gapped the pack only to get stuck at a traffic light. I’m not one of the fastest people off the line at a green light. The group surrounded me like before and I had to go to the end and pass on the left. By that time. A couple of riders, one that was with me, had gapped the group. In a mile I chased them down. I rolled by them at 300 watts and began setting my sights on the other stop light on the course. I got lucky and made it through this one. All that was left was one turn and .3 of a mile. It seemed endless. I had already given everything on the road behind me. I was ready for the ride to end. I crossed the line taking third pace at 2:06 and change. The two ahead of me rolled in about 3 minutes before.

My wife Lisa greeted me after the race. It was a nice surprise.

I had a good time. I got what I hoped for. I wanted a ride that I could let it all hang out. It would have been nice to ride with the leaders. I may need to spend more time on my bike, as they have, in order to keep pace with them.

Post-race I got to talk to Jeff Rogers. He is cutting his teeth on his V. He had a successful ride.

Strava page: https://www.strava.com/activities/2648523083
 
paco1961

paco1961

Zen MBB Master
Remarkably similar ride shakeout albeit with you running a few mph faster. My training has not been there either. Work and family obligations seem to have hit at the worst time for training to make much progress. In fact I didn’t get in a single ride the week leading up to the race/ride. My 7 week training plan never materialized.

Still, it was a good experience. And after all, I wasn’t in anyone’s crosshairs as bib # 1. I will definitely put it on next year’s list with a goal to best this year’s effort and keep you in view a bit longer.

See you at the CB Retreat!
 
paco1961

paco1961

Zen MBB Master
One more bit to add . . .

On my ride back to my hotel after the ride, a hopped up little nitro car pulled up slowly to my left and paced me for a few secs. The blacked out passenger window rolled down and a 20-something guy in a muscle shirt 2 sizes too small and with about a dozen gold chains around his neck peered out at me. After a few secs he said,”you race on that thing today?” “yup” I responded. He looked the bike up and down and then said, “that’s the sickest, most m-f-ing awesome rig on the road.” Gave me a thumbs up, rolled up the window and slowly pulled away. The only thing I can think is that he didn’t see Ken out on the course on his V!
 
trplay

trplay

Zen MBB Master
Ken (and anyone else) consider joining us in tomorrows World Tactical Racing League TTT. We are racing under the Herd of Coyotes and currently have 6 riders leaving room for two more.
 
CruzLike

CruzLike

Guru
Hi Seth
I'm not sure of the problem you are having. I can duplicate your issue. I can create another. When I click on the link, I have to log in to see the ride. I expected it would take me to the ride page directly. Seth maybe you should try again.
 
Seth Cooper

Seth Cooper

Well-Known Member
I guess I had to "follow" you to see your activity. Strava does not provide a meaningful error message at all for that, I would have expected a "you need to follow this person to see their activity" not "the activity could not be found"
 
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