DAN'S PRE-SEASON CRIT #2

All photos courtesy of Phil Lee, Team Florida

Cycle-Logic SHOWED UP this weekend!!
What a great race for the team. CL attendance was up this week in the B race, our youngest member held his own while providing no draft in the women's race while Scott was left to fend for him self in the A's.

First, the A race:
Scott Pfaff, once again tried his luck with the Pro1,2,3's, and faired much better than last week. Finding last week that working on the front of the Pro1,2,3s may not have been a great idea (you gotta hand it to him for trying, though), Scott chose to take a little different approach this weekend. Mr. Pfaff did a great job of staying protected, and limited his work in the wind to 'when absolutely necessary'. A few breaks formed early in the race, and it ended with two groups finishing before the main group. we were all happy to see Scott finish with the group this time. He seemed pleased with his efforts, and we were all impressed with his accomplishment. Congratulations Scott!!

The Juniors/Womens Race
Young Justin Pfaff makes history as the youngest rider to ever compete in "Dan's Bring it on Crit Series". Justin wowed the crowd with his determination and speed. By far the loudest cheers of the day took place as Justin sprinted for the line at the end of the race which was won by the reigning U23 womans national time trial champion...tough competition for Justin, but he's looking for some podiums this season against other 10 year olds from across the state. Great job Justin!!!!
Young Pfaff during his impressive ride at the Bring it On crit this past Saturday in Alachua, Florida.


Now, the B's:
Starting in the B's, we had:
Myself (James Penrod)
Mr. 'Art Guru' Paul Messal
Mr. 'I finished with the A's last weekend' Anthony 'Moose' Musalo
Mr. Ron 'Baldy-Locks' Palsgrove
Mr. Steve 'my first road race, I'd rather be in the dirt' DeRoche
Mr. John 'Time Trialer' Duggan

Even before the race, we were all excited to have 6 guys representing Cycle-Logic in the same race, but seeing as how most of us were just getting off of a cold, and others had just gotten on the bike after a long winter hiatus, we were kind of all pointing fingers at who we should be working for.

The early stages of the B's race sees Cycle Logic stringing it out with Moose on the front followed by James, Ron and Paul (7th wheel).
The race began with a two man breakaway, that stuck until the last lap. The remaining Cycle-Logic riders were on the front immediately with at least one man for the rest of the race, and our faces were visible in the front of the group for the entire race. Anthony Musalo has to be thanked for his efforts, as he was on the front the whole race, and was probably mostly responsible for us catching the break. One JRC racer was content to sit on the front and let the break get away, and unfortunately, most of the riders behind him were either unaware, or just didn't want to pull. After many conversations with the gentlemen on the front, the pack started to work a little more consistently to catch the break. Ron went off the front a few times, sometimes with other Cycle-Logic riders, and sometimes by himself. I attempeted the same, but my endurance wouldn't let me hold any kind of gap. Steve DeRoche was in the front, and although being inexperienced with road racing, did a great job of pulling through, and putting out an effort that assisted in 'the catch'. Paul did a great job of positioning, staying in the front of the pack, and doing his share of work. At the end, the break was caught and a group sprint ensued. I and Paul tried our best to give our last bit of energy to Moose coming out of the next to last corner. I didn't see the finish, but I hope we helped.

Unfortunately John Duggan was taken out by a falling cyclist in the first few laps. His injuries seemed minor (to his body), but his brand new wheel got banged up pretty bad. We're wishing you a speedy recovery John.
Ron, Moose and James off the front of the B's race.
Ron Palsgrove looking over his shoulder to see if his break attempt is working.
Anthony Musalo marking a Team Florida rider at the front of the field.
Steve DeRoche getting a feel during his first crack at racing on the hard, smooth stuff. Although Steve is hanging towards the back of the field in this photo, that's not where he ended up as he finished as the highest placing Cycle Logic rider!
Paul Messal creating plenty of draft for those behind him during the B's race.




The race ended with the following results:
Steve DeRoche - 6th
Anthony 'Moos' Musalo - 7th
Ron palsgrove - Won 1 preem: Dan's Summer Sausage
James Penrod - Won 1 preem: Valentine's candy (for Vern)

I would like to say the front of the pack was dominated with orange and grey Cycle Logic Jerseys, but unfortunately we are still riding incognito until the kits arrive in mid-February. If this race was any indication of what the season will be like, then it is going to be an EXCITING year!!

Thank you all for your valiant efforts, congratulations to all that attended, and thank you for the friends, family, and teammates that were there to chear us all on.

See you next week at the races.

Racing Season has Begun!!!

Well, the first race of the season is now out of the way, and those that attended, all survived!!
Cycle Logic representation was a little low, but we had team members in both the A & B races last weekend.

Moose (Anthony Musalo) and Scott Pfaff both participated in the A race, and appeared to take totally opposite approaches.

Scott worked a bit on the front of the group throughout the race, while Anthony looked like he felt content sitting in and seeing what the pace was going to do (remember, we can't see what's going on throughout the rest of the course, so Anthony could have been working his butt off back there). Both did a great job, and represented well.

Paul, Rodrigo and I raced the B race. Paul hadn't even warmed up, and seemed to brag about not being on his bike since he was a junior racer, so my expectations were that he was going to sit in, feel the pace, and just use it as a feeler to see where he needed to be fitness-wise. Surprisingly enough, he stayed in the whole time, and did a very good job of staying protected, while limiting his time at the head of the pack. I worked as little as possible, managed to bridge a few small gaps, but tried my hardest to stay out of the wind (which was in our face around the entire course). Rodrigo 'Landis' Sagastegui stayed in for 5 laps, but I think he got a feel for where he needs to be for the season. I think his plan is to do better next weekend after some interval training this week at the UF & Shands Sports Performance Institute. I was surprised to see Paul fly by me on the back stretch halfway through the last lap, trying to give me a bit of a leadout into the last two corners. Although I couldn't get onto his wheel right away, it gave me the inspiration I needed to at least improve my position into the next to last corner, and then again into the last corner. I sprinted my hardest out of the last corner, passing one, then two guys. Then, as my steam was running out, I could see the guy I just passed coming up on my left ever so slowly. So I put on some more steam, bobbed my head like the pros do, and pushed my bike at the line. If I edged him out, I got 7th, if not, then 8th. Prizes were 6 deep (it figures). Paul finished with the group (Thanks for the help at the end).

You can read about all of the races last Saturday at racelistings.com racelistings.com

Next weekend, same bat time, same bat channel.
The race flyer for all three races is attached to this post...simply click on the thumbnail in the top left-hand corner to open the full-resolution flyer...check it out if you’re interested in racing.

Take care.
See you Saturday

LT and VO2 testing

On Saturday January, 6th, members of the Cycle Logic racing team showed up at the UF & Shands Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute for some performance testing.

The UF & Shands Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute has graciously sponsored our team this year, and as a result, we have some of the most advanced performance testing equipment at our disposal to determine our lactate threshold and VO2 capabilities, establish training zones and ultimately improve our performances in races!

What exactly do I mean by VO2 and LT? I'm still fuzzy on the physiology of it, but here's the short version:

LT- The blood lactate profile is the most important predictor of endurance performance potential in steady-state events (e.g. time trials in cycling). The lactate profile test is the gold standard used by elite endurance athletes to determine optimal training intensities and is the most effective way to track the progress of training. After determining a lactate profile, they provide training zones based on both heart rate and wattage.

VO2- An excellent first evaluation, the VO2 test gives a good picture of overall fitness level and performance potential. Futhermore, from this test we can provide heart rates and power values that correlate to the athlete's ventilatory threshold (a good estimate of lactate threshold). From this value, they establish training zones and intensities for us.

We were all amazed at the facilities as we arrived bright and early. Anthony Musalo provided the bagels, but no coffee as we weren't allowed caffeine prior to testing (which did not go over too well with one Veronica Geist!)

Veronica kicked things off with a solid performance as the rest of us stood around asking questions of our highly trained and very informative exercise physiologists, Pat and Jeff.

One by one Team Cycle Logic members went through the testing process as noses were plugged, masks were worn, fingers were pricked and watts were increased. Those of us who had already tested or were waiting to be tested showed our support for each member by cheering, encouraging and sometimes a little friendly mocking of the current guinea pig.

Both Ron Palsgrove and I (Paul Messal) were unable to test on that saturday due to a migrane and a cold, respectively, but came back to the UF & Shands Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute the following thursday to subject ourselves to ~30 minutes of increasing pain. That evening, all of those who tested reconvened at the Institute (I'll shorten it to just "Institute", cause I'm getting sick of typingUF & Shands Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute) to go over our profiles and learn how they relate to our training. Pat O'Connor led the informal discussion as we all got a handle on what all of the graphs, charts and flow-sheets really meant.

All in all a very successful event for Team Cycle Logic. It's rare that an amateur cycling team in it's first year of existence is afforded the resources that we have been through our sponsorship with the Institute. Be sure to express your thanks to Pat, Kevin, and Jeff the next time you see them.

- For more pictures from the LT and VO2 testing events, click here
- For more information on the UF & Shands Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute, click here

Team Time Trials

I am excited about the Team Time Trials that are approaching. It is going to be a lot of fun, not only because it will be my first race of the season, but also because it is the first team time trial of the season. Also, it is a good way for our team to bond right off the bat. I hope that we are able to get our team kits in time to wear them at this event because it sounds like we are going to have a great turn-out of Cycle Logic members. As far as I know, there will definately be two 4-person teams there representing Cycle Logic and I hope that some others will get together in efforts to field a third 4-person team. Right now one 4-person team is out of Leesburg. That team consist of James Penrod, Veronica Geist, Ron Palsgrove, and Ed Sabol. The other 4-person team that has committed to this event is out of Ocala and it consist of Anthony Hutton, Michael Brown, Steve DeRoche, and Josh Pittman.

The reason behind the rider selection for these two teams was for training purposes. We figured since Cycle Logic is a team that is made up of riders from three counties it would be more practical for our team time trial teams to consist of riders that lived in close proximity of each other. My hopes, as it has been discussed with some of my other Cycle Logic teammates, is that we have at least three teams to represent our core team of Cycle Logic on February 24-25. In my opinion it would be ideal if some of our riders out of Gainesville fielded a team as well. I think it would make a great impression on our sponsors, competitors, and the spectators to see our colors represented well at this event.

With all that said, I am looking forward, not only to competing in February, but also having a good time with the members of Cycle Logic.

Josh Pittman

LT & VO2 Testing

For those teammates who are going to be taking advantage of our sponsorship with the UF & Shands Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute, Sports Performance Center, we will be meeting at the Institute (see map) at 8:00 am. We hope to have the first rider testing by 8:30 am.

Bring your normal riding gear, i.e. bike, shoes etc.

Anthony M. will be supplying the bagles, but if you're testing, NO CAFFEINE.

For those of you interested, we will be going on a short ride following the testing.

LT & VO2 Max Testing
UF & Shands Ortho Institute
Saturday, January 6th, 2007
8:00 am