Attacks and chases June 29

[Lister Farrar]

Great to see so many keeners on the drills today. Also great to see the alternative for those who don't want the drills. How'd the c group go?

In the b2 group, the women had a great attack into the corner onto blenkinsop and got a gap quickly. Corners are a good place to attack because the chasers have to hesitate as they corner. But they did forget to make sure Louise knew what they were doing and left her trapped on the wrong side of the bunch. She tried to catch them but ended up halfway between the groups. Also, they didn't look back much so were caught by surprise when we caught them. A good habit is to look back when you come off the front; you have to ease off then anyway. Then you can tell your break mates what you see as you fall back.

The main thing when getting caught is to make sure you ease off in time to recover enough to jump on the group as they catch you. Nothing more ignominious than going straight from the break, to dropped.

David, Duncan and Jimmy had a nice tight group for their attack and got away cleanly. And we didn't catch them before the stop at the top of ash. But right after, David said he couldn't do another. No kidding! The idea is to rest up before the next one. Make sure you're out of the wind when you're waiting your turn. It might take several minutes, but you will feel better.

David did one attack more that got caught just before caddy bay, so he didn't have time to recover before the climb, got cooked and slid off the back. Some things you can do in his situation: shorten or stop your turns before a climb if you are not the strongest in the break. Tell your break mates you will work after the climb. They will probably let you. Or, wait for the bunch so you can start the climb on the front, and slide back through the group, but stay in contact by the top.

As chasers we were not that efficient. Lots of gaps left, and riders not waiting for the leader to finish their pull. This means two riders are gunning it, so lots of wasted effort. Stronger riders should do longer pulls, so let them. If they are too slow, say 'short pulls'.

We got David back on and I forced him to sit on. You really need to try this if you havent to know the recovery you can get. With a couple of reminders, he did this, then hung on to the bitter-jam-to-end trying to catch Duncan jimmy and rolf. And then he won the sprint! After trying to quit the ride after the marina. It's magic, for you reckless types that feel compelled to pull till you pop every time. (David, Paul, looking right at you. )

[Lister Farrar]

A couple of thoughts on refining the drill.

How about asking late comers to be chasers? The drill doesn't work if the break is too much stronger than the chase. Maybe show up on time if you want the attacker role?

And shall we keep score? The Tuesday leadout seems to work because there is an obvious reward if your team does it right; your sprinter wins. With attacks and chases the main goal is a very hard effort in a small group to get a gap. It's not to stay way for 20 minutes. We're already pretty good at that kind of long jam. It's getting a gap I think we need work on.

We could do 5 minute limit to the break. Or a 'race' to geographical points. Maybe one break to the end of blenkinsop, the next to top of ash, next to top of Gordon head rd. climb, top of caddy bay, top of king George. If the break gets there first they get a point, if they get caught the chasers do. Still spot the break 10 seconds, still try to keep the chase organized and not individual.

Winners get extra coffee? .

Im alsohearing that we might need an alternative b group with no drills. Personally I think even the most steady state keener can get that in the chase role, but we might want that for people who just doesn't want it. And to avoid the C group getting too fast.

Thoughts?

[barton bourassa]

Good C ride this morning. We went around Blenkinsop for a change hoping to avoid being passed by too many riders once the break and chase is in full swing and trying to make sure we were out of the way. Also, on such a beautiful morning, that is a very nice area to ride.

We had 7 of us, a couple are recovering from Sunday's efforts, me in particular, so tired still! We did a very good pace line down Dallas, keeping the pulls to a maximum 20 revolutions. We have found that when the stronger riders pull longer, they spread the line out quite nicely. The idea for us it get practice and experience pulling and coming back on and riding at high effort even in the draft and practicing keeping everyone together at least until Beacon Hill where things can and should get a little crazy.

One thing we talk about each time we do Dallas and approach Beacon is that if riders are approaching Dallas on our right from the park, we stay hard left, watching for vehicle traffic behind us of course, and let the group coming off Beacon onto Dallas thru then we move over tight right up as close to the gutter as we can get and stay there! This works well and keeps us from interferring or being interferred with!

If you are tired from hammering every ride over a two or three week period and it is too nice a morning to stay inside, consider a slower paced C ride. Come on out and ride with new folks and maybe folks that don't have as much experience as you do. It is a great way to stretch tired legs and get the blood flowing without being tempted to redline!

If you are new to TS or have never ridden with a group before and want to find out what it is like, come on out and ride C a few times and see what it is like. There is a C group every Tuesday and Friday. The worst that can happpen is that we tell you to slow down!! Nobody EVER gets left behind. See you Tuesday!