Western Canada Games Camp

[Quinn Middleton]

Here is my report for the camp that I participated in on Thursday and Friday. I decided it would be a perfect opportunity to get some experience and to ride with the other juniors.

Day 1: I woke up and was surprised that my fit test was at 46 which is the highest I have ever gotten. My dad drove me down to the Velodrome in Burnaby and I was fitted with a indoor track bike that had fixed gears! At first I was feeling a little nervous about riding on such a steep track but once I got going I had a blast. We got to partake in a learn to ride track session coached by Jeff Ain and got on and off track training on the bikes. After lunch we headed out to the hill up SFU for our hill climb TT this included a 20 - 30 minute warm-up plus a 3km TT. During the climb I felt great and the temperature was perfect. I managed to keep my HR below 146 bpm for the entire climb. We started 30 seconds apart and I managed to stay ahead of the guy behind me until the last 300 meters when he darted ahead. We then continued our ride as a group back to the Velodrome and this was our last activity of the day.

Day 2: I got to sleep in a little longer today as we do not have to meet until 10:15 and I definitely enjoyed the extra hour of sleep. I took my fit test and was again surprised by my result as I got another 46. I felt well rested from the day before and I could tell my legs were ready to go. We met at the Esso in Pit Meadows and we could see  dark  clouds forming overhead. First on the schedule was an individual 13km TT that consisted of a 20-30 minute warm-up plus a 13km out and back TT. During the warm-up it began to rain and my feet became soaked. I was still relatively warm except for my feet but had no choice but to start the race in wet gear. We started 30 seconds apart once again and this time I was not passed and kept a good cadence for the majority of the race. I finished the race soaking wet and was glad to have the support of my dad and his nice warm truck as I was quite cold at the end.

I haven't received my time for either event but I hope to get them soon.
Overall it was a great race and I was glad to get some  race experience under my belt. I also enjoyed watching the other Balance Point Juniors kick butt!! Congrats to Scott and Gord on a great two days of racing.
 

[Andrew]

Quinn,

I am really proud of your efforts, and am looking forward to watching you race next week-end, when a very large contingent of BPR crew will be present for the next event at the Spring Series.

I know there were races this week-end, but have not heard whether any of you were planning to stay down and take part. If you did...I hope it was as successful as the camp. If not, I hope you are safe and sound back home, and ready for some more training in prep for the first BIG race of the year next week-end!

I have received short notes from Gord and Scott, but won't spoil the surprise for those interested in reading their reports here.

I have heard there is the expectation for Juniors to race with the B Group next week, which is a 109km road race on fairly flat roads. This will be a HUGE challenge for the Juniors who have not experienced this distance before, and will likely be a showcase for some of the stronger BPR riders looking for upgrade points to Cat II. So, I expect it will be a VERY challenging race. We may decide that it is more prudent for our Juniors to race the 63km Group C event, but will make the final decision after discussing the results with Jeff Ain from Cycling BC.

[GinnySellars]

Hey Quinn!

Thanks for the report. That camp sounds like a blast! So cool that you got to try out some track riding. Is that the only track in BC?

Were you one of the younger riders? Keep us posted on your results.

Did you do the TT on your regular road bike? Need clip on aero bars? I think we have a pair you could borrow.

[GordM]

Congrats to Scott and Quinn on a good weekend of riding!

Day 1 we met at the velodrome and did a ride. It was a blast to ride the velodrome! Its the only indoor velodrome in BC. That was almost the highlight of the camp. It's quite addicting...

Then we left the velodrome and did a "warm-up" to the start of the hill climb. I had been feeling pretty good up to the start of the hill climb. Start the hill climb, caught one guy, one guy caught me, and now lets play guess gordon's heart rate... anyone guess 200? YOU WIN! I have never had a HR that high and that consistent before. After the race, my dreaded cough would not leave me alone. (Thank you, Mexico, for the 3-week flu!) At this point, I'm not feeling as sure as I was at the beginning, and I'm very curious to see the results...

Day 2 we did the TT. 13km out and back in cold rainy pitt meadows. No aero bars or TT bikes allowed. Again, I was feeling OK at start but average HR was above 190. Again, I passed one guy, one guy in a SKIN SUIT (crazy fast) caught me. There is definitely some good competition. haha. I wasn't feeling great after, but it felt like an OK race.

I'm dreading this paragraph... After the camp, it was clear I was not fully recovered from this Flu that I have, but scott wanted to do the spring series race. Me and scott drove down together, so I went with him to the spring series race, and before I know it, I am also on the start line... not my original plan, but I have this problem with the word "no". It wasnt even ONE KILOMETER in when some guy ahead of me ran into a very clearly marked, bright orange pylon cone! Three of us went down, got our bikes apart after the guy took his sweet time getting up... I am so angry just typing this. The group is picking up pace and a few hundred meters ahead, so I work extra hard to get caught up again, and it never did happen... I can't believe I never caught up to the group again. I kept my pace up, but was riding solo... At the start of the second lap I was not feeling well, and was having troubles keeping my cough under control. SO i finished the second lap and dropped off. First DNF in the record book... I might just get off the computer and find the punching bag in the basement...

Me and scott went to the meeting for the junior team... heres what they said: Junior guys will be racing B Group, and points are awarded for the top 10 juniors in each race. The points from all 10? events will be added, and the top three people with the most points are automatically on the team. the other two spots are selected by committee. You can still be in the running for the team if you did not attend the camp, but you will be behind the rest of the group in points (the hill climb and TT were the 'first events')

I am anxious to see results from the camp... good job quinn and scott! Next weekend should be interesting...

[Andrew]

Just to clarify... The original post from Jeff Ains states that 8 of the 11 events will count for points, so there is still the opportunity to make up points.

Gord, Sorry to hear about the crash, but glad you were all right. And maybe the best thing to happen given your recent infectious disease. Take some time to rest now. Next weekend is lots of racing with the crit, tt and 109km road race. It will be very interesting to see if any of the juniors can keep pace with the lead group over that distance against some very strong cat III riders. Especially given the plans for dominance by the Quail and the Horn.

[GordM]

I'm looking forward to it.

I know that is what Jeff had originally said, but in the meeting, i was under the impression that this had been changed to be all the points at all the events combined... Someone had asked that question. I guess they are really emphasizing attendance?

I would suggest sending him an email for anyone needing clarification.

[StephenU]

Nice efforts boys!  You have the Quails support and please ask me any questions that you may have regarding these crazy races.  Remember this, it's much easier to be near the front of the pack than near the back.  You won't get the slingshot effect of have having to sprint through corners to catch back up and you can keep your speed through corners as well.  Also, it's much safer!!  I know it's sounds easier than it really is but consistency will pay off over the years and you have many, many races ahead of you to learn.  I've always been a little bit cautious and aware of sketchy bike handlers around me and stayed upright most of the time.

Hope to see the youngsters this weekend!

Quail

[Quinn Middleton]

I noticed I made an error on my HR. My max HR on the climb was not 146 bpm that was my max for the track session. My actual max HR for the climb was 183 bpm.

I believe the youngest rider there was 13 or 14. There is a lot of good competition for our juniors.

[kiwichris]

Really great to hear about all of the experiences of the juniors down on the coast! Sounds like a lot of learning occurred with a whole bunch of fun thrown in too.

Gord - bummer about the crash mate - is the body OK? Never let that Scott guy talk you in to anything - he did that to me down in JT and it never worked out well.

I am finding it hard to believe that the selection process for the team has changed - it really goes to show that cycling BC is all about the coastal development of riders - often neglecting the impact that travelling so often has on the purse strings of juniors from further afield.

Stephens point about learning as you go is so true - every race is a learning opportunity and I hope that this weekend goes well for all of the team.

Chris

[ScottH]

Selection Camp and Spring Series ( Mar. 24-26)

Driving down with Gord I felt more excited than nervous for the selection races. Having them both be time trials makes things simple as all I had to do was hall butt. End of story. Being competitive the only part I was nervous about was how I would compare, but I'm sure everyone at the camp was thinking the same.

The track session was super duper fun. I did find it tricky to not go too hard though. It was my second time on a track and my first time riding in a group. I wish we had one closer to home to practice on. Was pretty funny watching many of the riders doing sprints and what not, and Jeff telling me to give it some gas like every lap, two hours before the hill climb.

The hill climb was un eventful. "Warm up" was interesting as it was up hill out of the parking lot, and super sketchy through the roads of Van. Through the climb I felt I maintained a steady pace, not too hard, not too slow. Wish I knew the course a bit better so I could've known when to really put the hurt on at the finish. So I learned to familiarize myself with the course especially on such a short effort. Congrats to Quinn as he started in front of me and ripped it the whole way.

The flat 13km TT that we did on Friday was probably the coldest I've ever been on a bike. I felt I performed well for that event. One of my better TT's, but time trialing is something I want to work on and learn exactly how hard I can go for how ever long.


At the camp it was apparent that many of coast riders are really really strong. Luckily, almost everyone is super nice and didn't have a huge ego. It will be interesting to see how the K-town kids rank against some of the best. Seeing how strong some of the riders were and hearing some of their times really motivated me to get to that level of riding, and hopefully soon, beat them.

Then there was the Spring Series..... Worst race of my life!! I seeded myself in the C group as I heard that would be plenty fast for me. In fact that day I considered riding B as the selection coach said that’s what the juniors would have to race the next weekend to gain points for the selection. After discussing with Andrew I started with C. The first of the six laps felt fast but okay. I couldn’t find Gord though and didn’t have the freedom to move around the group looking for him. On the second lap the group had really picked up the pace chasing this one guy out in front. Suddenly I found myself slowly sliding back from the front on the hills.  It seemed no matter how hard I pushed the pedals, the group was leaving me, even though I did my best to conserve energy. Back about a hundred meters I joined a group of 6. About two minutes later 2 of the group went ahead. 2 fell off the back. Then there was the 3 of us. It began to turn silly as it wasn’t even a race anymore. It was more of a Sunday ride thing. In that group I didn’t feel TOO bad because there was 2 other juniors. In a huff and a puff I asked why the hell we were so slow, or the group was so fast. He said he won it last weekend, and I’ve beaten him in the few races I’ve done.  In the middle of the fourth lap (35km) my wheels turned square and I found myself alone and pissed. Why I felt so poorly I'm not really sure. It may have been the two max efforts before, maybe not eating right. But I mostly think i just need more training time. To continue the race didn’t make sense as it would add to my recovery time, I was not gaining race experience, and it was only a small race on the importance scale, and Gord had also stopped. 40km in, I pulled off, met with Gord, exchanged a few curses and left for home.

 That race hurt the confidence for sure, especially to see half of the kids spinning past me in the B group. In the end I see it as a learning experience and super motivated to not get my butt kicked. I have faith that my training will allow me to stick with that group and ride smooth.

Looking forward to riding as a team with the whole crew next weekend(Peter O cough cough). Great riding Quinn and Gord.

Scott

[Peter O'Brien]

Sorry to hear of the crashes! Wish I was there! And yes, I will be there this weekend for sure (and every other race possible)! This week was part of my balance, which means I can spend all summer RACING!

I sure know how it feels to get dropped by the pelaton (A group crits last year, YIKES). But either way you guys gave it your all and got stronger from it! Way to go juniors!!!

I guess I'm out for the "selection process" but that doesn't mean all races are out!

Oh... And Scott, that would be "worst race of your life, so far"

Peter

[kiwichris]

Great report Scott - sounds like you and Gord had a good old time down on the coast! Seems like those coastal boys have got some wheels - looking at the TT results it is apparent that there is some work to do for sure.

Fill us in on the fueling for your road race. Heart rates, bio-marker feelings etc... - lets try and get to the bottom of your wheels turning square.

Chris