Mark D'Avino at Cross-Worlds

This blog, believe or not, doesn't really have a large travel budget.  By not large, I mean that it doesn't have one at all.  I lucked out though.  Cadence's newest killer mechanic, Mark D'Avino, decided to head to cross worlds on his own dime to take in the event as a rabid fan and amateur cross racer.  I asked Mark to pretend Off the Rivet was his post race psychiatrist and lie down and talk about his feelings about what he saw on that snowy day in Louisville.  This is what he gave me, stellar stuff:

"Deciding to travel to Louisville, Kentucky for the first UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships ever held in the U.S. is one of the best decisions I will ever make as a cycling fan. The streets of this seemingly quiet mid-western city came alive with cycling’s global culture. For those of you unfamiliar with cyclo-cross, quite simply, the Belgians rule the sport. Both on the track and off, they came to Louisville in full force. 

What to Watch Out for in 2013: Part 1

2013 is shaping up to be quite a year in cycling and endurance sports.  There are no shortages of great story lines, product releases, and epic races poised to play out while we all watch.  Believe it or not, early season racing is already getting started down under, and the pedal-to-the-metal mud-fests that are cyclocross are about to culminate at a fever pitch in the next few weeks.  A 2013 Buyer’s Guide from Velonews arrived this weekend at the shop, a harbinger of all the great tech innovations this year will offer.  So divide and conquer we must.  There is simply too much to cover in one epic post.  We’ll start with the race calendar. 

Kris-Kross Will Make You Dismount, Run, and Remount. Or You Can Just Jump.

Kids these days with their video games and camera phones, backwards hats and baggy pants.  They are even riding fat tire road bikes now!  Back in my day we sent telegrams and took Daguerreotypes, and all of our road bikes had 21c tires.  We certainly didn’t ride them off road, let alone with beer hand-ups, dollar grabs, and cowbells.  What is this cyclocross all the kids are doing these days?  And why do their brakes never work well?

Let’s face it.  Cyclocross is blowing up, nay, has already blown completely and is now expanding like the post big bang universe in which we ride.  People everywhere are adopting wide knobby tires and complaining about their brakes.  Racing drop-bar bikes on the grass and mud in the mucky mid-Atlantic autumn is a lesson in toughness.  Cyclocross is far from an American phenomenon, though.  Like almost everything cycling related, its roots lie in Europe. 

Winter is Coming or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Fall

I came to a realization this past week.  I dug out my warmers, after months of easy wardrobe decisions, of simply throwing bibs and a jersey.  It wasn’t easy.  As I sat, assembling my ensemble for my morning commute, I had to be honest with myself.  This season is in its last throws.  As Ned Stark aptly warned, brace yourselves. Winter is coming. 

You needn’t worry like our friends of Winterfell though.  Luckily, Philadelphia off seasons are manageable—if you have the right equipment.  Like commuting, cold season riding can be miserable or wonderful depending on your preparation.  This week I’ll give you five oft forgotten things to get you through this transition to cold weather. 

Power Demands of Cyclocross Racing: Part 1

For the past couple weekends, coach Mike Kuhn and I have had the pleasure of going to some cyclocross races at Lehigh Valley, Fogelsville, Fair Hill and then yesterday at Spring Mountain. Cadence has partnered with CycleOps for these events and CycleOps has generously provided 10 Fluid trainers for riders to warm up on as well as 2 wireless PowerTap demo wheels for riders to use. We have encouraged riders to ride and race on these wheels. Many have never used a power meter before and are curious about what to expect. Others would like to test the durability of the PowerTap wheel in some of the harshest conditions imaginable. Personally, I look at it as a great opportunity to collect data. Though power meters are very common on the road, you don't see too many in cross races so naturally there isn't much out there in the way of literature on training and racing with a power meter for cyclocross racing. Here are some basic stats on some of the riders that rode Sunday's race at Spring Mountain:

Woody: 2nd place in Men's B race
Weight: 175 lbs
Background: Cat. 3 road racer, former messenger
Duration: 44:48
Avg. Power: 271
Avg. Speed: 12.1 mph
Avg. Cadence: 80 rpm
Normalized Power: 297 watts

Johann: 3rd place in Men's B race.
Weight: 200 lbs
Background: Cat. 2 road racer
Duration: 44:53
Avg. Power: 286 watts
Avg. HR: 186 bpm
Avg. Speed: 12.0 mph
Avg. Cadence: 79 rpm
Normalized Power: 316 watts

Chris: 7th place in Men's B race
Weight: 180 lbs
Background: Cat. 4 road racer, Ex-BMXer
Duration: 45:59
Avg. Power: 253 watts
Avg. HR: 180 bpm
Avg. Speed: 11.7 mph
Avg. Cadence: 70 rpm
Normalized Power: 275 watts

Kyle: 3rd place in Men's A race
Weight: 134 lbs
Background: Pro Mountain Biker
Duration: 34:36 (the data recorded is for the beginning of the race... Kyle had a mechanical and had to take a bike change)
Avg. Power: 234 watts
Avg. HR: 182 bpm
Avg. Speed: 12.7 mph
Avg. Cadence: 76 rpm
Normalized Power: 260 watts

John: 4th place in Men's A race
Weight: 160 lbs
Background: Cat. 1 Road Racer
Duration: 1:05:56
Avg. Power: 227 watts
Avg. HR: 175 bpm
Avg. Speed: 12.2 mph
Avg. Cadence: 74 rpm
Normalized Power: 250 watts

Colin: 5th place in Men's A race
Weight: 170 lbs
Background: Cat. 1 road racer
Duration: 1:06:59
Avg. Power: 245 watts
Avg. HR: 187 bpm
Avg. Speed: 12.1 mph
Avg. Cadence: 67 rpm
Normalized Power: 269 watts

Erik: 10th place in Men's A race (also raced in B race)
Weight: 185 lbs
Background: Cat. 4/espoir road racer/track racer
Duration: 1:02:54
Avg. Power: 203 watts
Avg. HR: 187 bpm
Avg. Speed: 10.1 mph
Avg. Cadence: 76 rpm
Normalized Power: 240 watts

For a definition of these terms, look at my last entry on this blog. The first thing that stands out to me about these files is how low the power is. Every one of these riders is capable of producing more power than they did here but the technical sections make it difficult to use that power. A good technical rider will spend more of the time pedaling and less time coasting. Kyle is certainly the most technically proficient of these riders and he is able to come much closer to actually producing the power he is capable of producing. However, it is important to remember that most riders will fade in the later laps of the race so with only 35 minutes of data, Kyle's numbers are most likely a bit high.

The other thing that stands out about these files, at least compared to a road race or criterium is how low the cadence is. This is primarily because a lot of time is spent coasting, usually just before obstacles or technical sections. However, cadence will be lower even when pedaling during cyclocross because a bigger gear will generally make it less likely that the rider will lose traction.

More to come later on how we can use these files to better identify riders' strengths and weaknesses and design individualized workouts and training plans that can help maximize their potential.

Mike and I plan on being at a lot of cross races in the upcoming weeks, so if you are there feel free to stop by, warm up on the CycleOps trainer and demo one of the wheels. Here's the schedule:

November 10th: Beacon Cyclocross, Bridgton, NJ
November 11th: Highland Park Cyclocross, Highland Park, NJ
November 17th: Mercer Cup Cyclocross #1 (USGP #3), Trenton, NJ
November 18th: Mercer Cup Cyclocross #2 (USGP #4), Trenton, NJ
November 25th: MABRA Championships, Taneytown, MD (tentative)
December 1st: Carlisle Cross Classic (MAC #5), Carlisle, PA
December 2nd: Capitol Cross Classic (MAC #6), Reston, VA

See you there!