Westlake "B" Worlds #4

Tuesday Night was the Westlake Crit Series Race #4. Team SBR only had 4 riders in the "B" Group with a few teammates going up to the "A's". Dave, Ian, Matt and myself rolled out to contend the 13 laps, 26 mile race.

Things started well with Matt rolling off the front in the first few laps to claim prime #1. The rest of the race comprised of a lot of work being done by a few riders in the group, especially by Matt and myself. Ian was riding strong in the front when he flatted late in the race. In the closing laps, I was watching a few riders and where they went, I went. Our initial finish was waved off and we had to do an extra lap. With the extra lap, some teams were able to move some riders up to help. Once again, I pegged the same three riders . Unfortunately, I got caught on the inside by a lead-out rider and had to slow up to get around. With that said, I was unable to make-up ground on the three riders I begged and finished 4th.

Great job by my teammates. We fell one placing short but won the one prime.

Time = 1:14:44
Miles = 28
Avg mph = 22.9

Researching a New Wheelset...Comments from the Companies.

I've been talking about getting a new wheelset for weeks now and with the extra $250 I won at work, I'm ready to make it a reality. I've been doing some online research reading reviews, talking to teammates and fellow riders, and have narrowed my decision down to 3 different wheelsets. I've been focusing on weight and of course, price. I'm planning on purchasing a new bike this winter and want to save the serious coin for that.

So with all this mind, I thought it would be a good idea to email the makers of the three wheelsets to get their opinions and recommendations. I sent the same email to each of the three and got a pretty interesting response back. Take a look:

My email to them: "I'm wanting to get your opinion on which of your wheelsets would suit me the best. I'm 5'10" and 192lbs. I'm a Cat. 4 road racer and race in weekly criteriums as well. As my skills are increasing, I'm wanting to upgrade from my stock Shimano R550 wheelset. I'm turning into a good sprinter for my team and would like something that will be able to handle my weight and sprinting abilities." - pretty generic, but looking for something geared toward performance.

This is what I got back:

Company #1 - "either would be fine. The #!$ wheels are the best deal I have ever offered. They don’t come with skewers but you can use your current ones. The #!$ Aero wheels look cooler." - Did not answer my question at all, but the AERO's look cooler? (How About faster?) Do you want me to buy your product? I think not.

Company #2 - "Thanks for the email. Either wheel will work for you, but if it were I buying the wheel I would go with the #@!$ $%. The #@!$ is a bite lighter, which doesn't really matter too much for your weight, but it has the 30mm deep rim. For a sprinter like yourself it is more adventageous to go with the deeper dish. They excellerate well and look sweet. They hold up well for training too. I just spoke with $#@! and he said we have plenty of riders at your weight racing on them. The $#@!% are about 90 grams heavier and are built with Pillar spokes instead of Dt and have a different hub then the #@. Big price difference between the two. We have a lot of pro riders actually racing on the $#@!%. I hope I didn't confuse you. I just want you to have info on both and make your own mind up. Let me know if I can do anything else for you. Thanks again for the email" - A little better response, but once again, is looking sweet a performance benefit? (Oh btw...the more expensive one is better!)

So with these two responses back, I decide to email a friend with years of racing experience under his belt and this is what I got - "Most noticeable weight savings are the rotating mass parts of the bike - wheels, crank, pedals, shoes, etc. You will notice faster acceleration with lighter parts, especially over longer distances. The 100g savings is not huge .22lb (1/4 pound, but probably noticeable, especially if it is at the rear wheel. $220 is very reasonable for a wheelset. These are not the lightest around, but good for a heavier rider and with an aero profile will be great on the flat and downhill. You can always get lighter, but at a bigger cost, and you have to consider if the lighter wheels will handle your weight for the conditions you want to ride. Train on a heavy, older set of wheels and race on your good ones." - Just what I was looking for. This is the information I needed to sway my decision. My friend should sell wheelsets!

News Flash...after doing all this research, I find out that I have a new wheelset arriving this week as a gift. Hmmmmm...Now I get to research tires and a new cassette....JV
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Sunday's almost done!

Since there was no cycling in the forecast today for me, let's talk about what my day focused on...life. Today was my girlfriend's daughter's First Communion. As it turned out, not too bad of a day. First off, I had to go to church with my two kids in tow. I don't attend church services regularly and was really wondering how my two kids were going to react. Well...as I walked into the church, the rafters didn't shake or shutter and I knew I was going to be safe. To my surprise my kids were actually well behaved and we survived the service portion of today. "Praying in church does work!"

Next came the Communion Party at the party room in my apartment building. There I got to meet a lot of people I've never met but heard a lot about or just their name in conversation. Since my girlfriend has an ex, I got to meet the other side as well and to my surprise, no issues. I actually got to meet the ex and will reserve the phrase "no comment" on that one. I do have some worth while comments but since today was about the First Communion, I'll reserve my comments for a later date.

So...as I type this and the day is winding down, I have a few thoughts to ponder for this week. First, I need to decide on a new wheelset. My original and current Shimano R550's are 1845g and need to be upgraded. I'm down to three different choices and just need to pull the trigger. Second thought to ponder is how I'm going to lose the extra 10 lbs I want to lose. The 10lbs, plus the new wheelset, will definitely make me faster. Any SBR teammates want to trade for a small skinsuit to give me motivation?

After my second post, I'm actually getting into this blogging thing. I'm trying to stay nice so far but looking forward to just saying what I want to in the future...

Shall we Begin?

Well...After a lot of encouragement from my fellow SBR teammate's and existing bloggers, I've decided to take the first step and start my own blog. So with that in mind, I'll need to get things set up properly and then the blogging shall begin...