It turns out, years of muscle memory starting at a pedestrian speed (either for a longer time trial or with a running start before hopping on a tri bike) don't really lend themselves to the violence required for a hard and fast standing start on the track. At the CCA Regionals at Giordana Velodrome a few weeks ago I learned this the hard way.
Ignore my kilo... that would be for the best at least... as it was dishearteningly slow for the watts I invested into it.
My first lap in the 4k (as well as the kilo) was about 4 seconds off the pace of pretty much everyone else in that list. My second lap was also a little slow as I had still not got up to top speed. After that point I put down pretty good lap splits until the very end where I started to fade (it was another 1k longer than my masters races) but overall it would have looked much better if I had just done an even slightly better start.
Of other things to note, with the power I produced for the ride I went slooooowwww. Most of the calculations I ran it through spit out a 5 even or slightly under for the watts I was making... so something was/is off. Looking at the other times I suspect a big portion of it is that the track at Rock Hill is getting significantly slower at a pretty fast rate. You can feel it getting lumpier even compared to when I started a little over a year ago. It's certainly not DLV levels of bumps, but it's not smooth either.
Another thing to consider is some of my equipment. (We're going to assume my SRM was reading correctly as it was zeroed before the start) I was trying out some 3T Revo bars in hopes that they'd help with my start (seems they didn't, or perhaps it'd be bad to see what it looked like without them) - but it is definitely possible they aren't very slippery bars, there is a lot going on with them. (although I do appreciate the on the go adjustibility) My skinsuit (the new Velotec) fits really well, but It's been beaten into my head over the last 10 years that "fits comfortably" usually isn't a good thing for a skinsuit. Having shredded my BodyPaint 3.3 though, that's sort of where we're at. My rear tyre changed from a Vittoria Pista Evo to a more durable (although certainly slower) Continental Tempo2. There's also my position, which has gotten a good deal wider and higher than it has been in the past.
My experiments with width have brought out some good results in the ability to produce power within single digits of my road bike power (something I've never gotten close to before) but it's something I haven't put a ton of work into and definitely needs tuned to be optimal... if it can be optimal. I'm guessing from my Aerolab analysis that I'm giving up roughly 12-15 watts in cda to gain roughly 18-20 in power production... so a net positive but not by much. Albeit a wider position may allow me to ride a tighter line, be more comfortable, etc etc. Still, needs work.
Mostly, I think I may need to work on my head position on the track. I'll post the video below so you can see how I'm periscoping... a lot of that is because I suck at lining up the turns on the track and have to look up not to ride the red line (which I do a bit of anyways) but some of it is just how my head sits. It's possible a longer tailed helmet like the Wasp might be better than the Aerohead for me.
Still, overall everything went pretty well. I've got a lot of work to do. My short term goals are to improve my standing starts as that's where a lot of "free" time will come from, and also to bring my top end power up so that I have a bit more "punch" when I need it. That'll take up the next couple of months, then it'll be a build to bring my 4-5 minute power up while in position, while riding a tidy black line around the track. The longer scope goal is to get back to planning an attack on the Master's hour record. There have been setbacks this year, but if there is a silver lining it's that it will give me more time to become more confident in my abilities to take on the challenge and set a solid record. Time is on my side (unless some other stud breaks it first and puts it out of my reach)
As for the site/blog, I'm hoping to get things back on track this winter and return to more how to's and reviews. I've got a nice list of things built up but just haven't gotten to any of it yet.
Other things I'm going to consider (depending on how big of a job it turns out to be) is trying to build a part of the site that carries on the legacy of Aeroweenie.com where lots of data was compiled to one place where you could quickly find the white papers/data you were looking for. It's still a resource I use although it sadly isn't kept current.
Finally, I have had a lot of interest in some of my 3D printed projects. I may begin selling some of those projects for those that have interest. Mainly the "nubs" that exit out of the extensions for trackies like Bridie O'Donnell famously used in her hour attempt. (I see that the Tanfield's / Bigham also have some ends in their track bars, although a different design)
There you can see some of my prototypes, each with different amounts of stack/reach they add to the bars. It's not a certainty, but something I might do if there's the interest. I think the 3D printing place that did Bridie's was charging over $100... mine would be considerably cheaper.
Anyways, thanks for reading! I always appreciate it a ton.
- Christopher Morelock
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