Eric S booked us space at the Oak Bay grade 8 open house, where prospective students for next year have a look around the school and listen to the sales pitch. We borrowed a computrainer, had two trainers connected to a computer, and had any interested students race each other over a 1 km course. The students could see how far ahead or behind they were, and it calculated average power over the 1 km (everything from 360 watts to 55.). We were very busy, and put as many students through as we could in the 60 minutes or so they weren't tied up on tours or in the auditorium listening to the speakers. About 20 students raced, and lots more stopped by to watch and pick up an info sheet.
(many thanks to Bob Gebbie of Tristars Training who loaned, and set-up the equipment, including the computer.) Thanks to Eric for booking, and Eric, Alex, Evan, Duncan and Bow who came out and chatted up the new recruits, er, students.
Friday Ride With Erinne Willock
Erinne keeps in touch and has offered to ride with the kids when her training allows. On her sugggestion, Friday we rode easy to Beacon Hill Park, did shoulder bumping drills in the parking lot, then did lead out sprints, then recovered and did a fast paceline back to the school; sorta reverse TS route.
Some key points she made were:
- If you hook bars (ie a rider slightly behind gets their bars inside yours, try to hold them up with your shoulder while they get untangled, and pedal to pull yourself away. The back rider should slow and try to back out. Both need to keep cool, or both go down.
If you want placings and wins, learn to sprint (Erinne said she wished she sprinted better; even climbers want to beat the other climbers at the finish.)
On easy rides, ride easy, especially on hills, if it's talking pace on the flat, it should be on the hills too. (Conversely, if it's an intensity ride like hills, go hard in the worksections, very easy in the rest.)
When pulling through in a pace line (ie. a group that you want to work together), and you want to pick up the pace, only accelerate when you think the previous leader has had time to get on the back, and then do it gradually.
Hartland ride, (Regional, old payoff, Torpedo run (twice for Evan, he did the walk up while waiting for the others), then walk up, south ridge, fun trail, say ahhh, N trail, Madonna, shock treatment.) Longer than previous rides, but not exhausting for the quickly progressing kids. Special thanks to Ben, a a former Teen Speed rider who is now a student teacher at Oak Bay, and can ride anything. I have a soft spot for his older steel hardtail, which made my relatively modern dual suspension look like no help at all.
Parent Complaints
Alex's dad had a complaint though. He went for a road ride this week with Alex and she dropped him on Mt Tolmie.
