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Speed play: fast, easy, and fun

Two   Series,   Too   Fun

4/24/2019

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CRANDIC   TT   &   Night   at   the   Oval

CRANDIC Racing Club is thrilled to present two bike racing series over the summer of 2019, the CRANDIC Time Trial Series at Big Grove Solon and Night at the Oval at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids. Two very different races that we love dearly.
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Thanks for photos from Joanne Konrath McKillip, Angy Snoop, and Matt Hartman.
At first glance these races couldn't seem more different: the time trial is "the race of truth," just you against the clock, while Night at the Oval is track-inspired pack racing at its finest; the TT in Solon is along Sutliff Road, one of the most beautiful and bike-friendly spots in the Corridor, while NatO is in industrial Cedar Rapids at Hawkeye Downs, a race track typically reserved for cars, go-cart, semi trailers, and the like. Despite their differences, a closer look at these two races reveals both their similarities and the reasons that we love them so.
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A great place to start
In their own ways both races are perfect for  beginners. Hawkeye Downs is a big, wide track without so much as a corner, so NatO riders have all the space they could want as they practice pack riding and racing techniques. On the other hand, in a TT riders start at set intervals, nearing each other only to pass, so beginners can go all out without worrying about bumping elbows or touching wheels.

CRANDIC   TT   
on   Facebook
Night   at   the   Oval 
on   FaceBook
Just as important, both series are mid-week, informal events that are welcoming to beginners but hard enough to challenged even seasoned racers.
Simple, but never easy
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Every wanna-be racer has ridden a time trial. The minute we feel competitive on a bike we test our strength on a set course by timing ourselves. A time trial, simple as that. What makes it hard is concentrating, pacing, and wanting to go faster next time.
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While at Night at the Oval each race is different, they mostly come down to a sprint. But the nuances of drafting other riders, finding the right position, and timing the jump to perfection make every sprint different, and every sprint a challenge.

Hit the road
It may not be the sexiest thing out there these days, but road cycling is the basis of all bike racing. Navigating a cyclocross start is all but impossible without pack riding skills. In the right conditions drafting features even in gravel or mtb racing. Pacing well is essential to any race. And all bike racing disciplines reward fitness won on the road.

​Bike racing came from the road. Its most essential skills are still right at home there.
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Two series, too fun
CRANDIC is committed to making these races fun for everyone. For the crusty old roadie that's not hard at all: Yell "go" and they're happy, and they'll find plenty of competition at either of these races. For beginners – whether they're new to the road, or to bike racing in general – we say welcome, ride hard and have fun, and let us know if we can help.
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We're CRANDIC Racing Club. We love to race.


TT:   Do   a   Fast   Ride
Nato:   Pack   Riding   101
The CRANDIC Time Trial Series begins Wednesday, May 1. Night at the Oval begins Tuesday, May 14. Find more info on both at CRANDICRacing.com.
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On   the   Road   Again

4/18/2019

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Ready or not, bike racing season is upon us. It seems late this year, especially after a cold, long winter and with the absence of a few early season favorites like Kent Park and the Hills Spring Classic. Of course, we never stopped racing – with fat bike craziness, gravel races and trail runs, even an early mtb race at Sylvan Island – ​but now we're getting into the heart of bike racing season, also known as the slow build-up to cyclocross.
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Justin Torner Photography
Iowa City Cycling Club's Chris Lillig Memorial Cup is just a week away, featuring the Iowa City Road Race and the Old Capital Criterium. It will be interesting to see if this year the traditional "I'm not in shape yet" finally gives way to legions of Zwift zombies soft-pedalling into the sunlight. But even for those of us who hibernate through winter instead, there's no good reason not to toe the line in an effort to race into shape.
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Justin Torner Photography
The Iowa City Road Race is actually south of town in Kalona, the heart of Amish country. The race stages at the Fairview Mennonite Church, then rolls through one to four hilly 13-mile laps of beautiful farmland. Manure can be a road hazard, especially in wet weather. And races are neutralized for passing horses and buggies, as even the steadiest workhorse can be spooked by large packs of riders. Two waves of races, from 9 and 11:30am, allow for fields of every category and age group, from juniors to masters (including masters women 40+/50+/60+!). This road race is a favorite for a reason, and as long as the weather is good it should not be missed – ​Just ask those who have raced it in 40˚ rain!
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Justin Torner Photography
The Old Capital Criterium is a .8-mile six-corner loop around downtown Iowa City's Pentacrest. Each lap – whether 8 or 10 for beginners or 40 for the open race – the 50-foot climb feels steeper, and the subsequent descent faster, until someone gets away or the whole pack sprints to the finish. The day includes a full slate of juniors development races, as well as free kids' races at midday for those 9 and under. Now in it's 42nd year, the Old Capital Crit is still a great rush for racers and spectators alike. 
Sign up to race, or sign up to help out. But definitely make it downtown for this classic Iowa City day of bike racing.
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Special thanks to Justin Torner Photography for all the retro race photos.
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Championship   Road   Race   &   Time   Trial   Next   Weekend

8/5/2018

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It's finally starting to feel like cyclocross season: days are shorter, I'm nearly recovered from RAGBRAI, and we're counting down with just weeks to go. But before you mothball your road bikes, remember that this coming weekend are Iowa's state championships for both road racing and time trialing. Both of these races are worth the trip just south of Iowa City.
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Justin Torner Photography, www.justintorner.com
Iowa State Road Race Championship
Saturday is the State Road Race Championship starting and finishing in Riverside. Racers compete over one, two, or three 32 mile laps -- up to 96 miles -- of an exposed and sometimes hilly course.

Each lap offers 600 feet of climbing, with much of that in three 100+foot hills lumped from miles 3 to 13. A few shorter pitches of 3 or 4% pop up in the last few miles before a mile-long descent toward Riverside sets up a flat, then a rise to the sprint finish.
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Justin Torner Photography, www.justintorner.com
It's easy to imagine an attack breaking away on those early hills, but it'll take a very strong climber to hold off the pack and avoid a sprint finish in Riverside.


LuAnne Lefler Memorial
Iowa State Time Trial Championship

Sunday is the State Time Trial Championship in Nichols. A flat 40K course  -- 20K for Juniors, Hand Cyclists, and Masters Women 55+ and Men 65+ -- takes Highway 70 essentially straight south through Conesville and to the edge of Columbus Junction. This is a pretty ride any day, but Sunday it will be a particularly painful one.

Forty kilometers is a classic distance for time trialing, about 24.8 miles, and this course can make for very fast times. On the other hand, if the wind picks up all bets are off, as riders are exposed for pretty much the entire route.
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Justin Torner Photography, www.justintorner.com
The route seems flat, with just two noticeable pitches of about 15 feet -- a rise at about 3 miles in and a drop down to the river just before the turnaround. This could fool you, though, as the entire course is gradually downhill, dropping about 45 feet by the turnaround as the route nears the confluence of the Iowa and Cedar rivers. Mess up that negative split and you'll feel that 45 feet of climbing getting home.
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Justin Torner Photography, www.justintorner.com
Hope for light winds and pace yourself. Can you go under an hour?
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As always, thanks to the Iowa City Cycling Club for these two great events!
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Last   2018   Night   at   the   oval   is   tuesday,   July   10

7/8/2018

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(photo by Joanne Konrath McKillip)
Ryan Bimson, CRCX

"The latest NatO was Cam's first and he really liked it. He loved how each race was a bit different and really liked the race that started on the big oval for a lap then the mid oval and then the small oval." [Larry Howe's "Spiral of Death." Ew.]
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"I enjoyed watching all the races but the last one [the 'Granny Gear Race'] with everyone in their easiest gear for the one lap race was my favorite. That was funny!
"We are excited to be there this Tuesday and this time I will race too. See ya Tuesday!"

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Kat Porter, Twisted Spokes

"Love the Oval - I have been going for years. The different race formats are fun and make you think and get your strategy going.

"My favorites are the 'C Race' and points races. NatO gives folks an opportunity to ‘road race’ at a lowered risk level and practice drafting and lead out skills."

Kaden Snoops

"I recommend NatO to anyone, whether you've done any sort of crit or pack racing or not. This is a really good event to learn skills about road racing since it's a closed course, and it's nothing too serious."
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(photo by Angie Snoop)
Mario Czarnomski, ICCC

"The Night at the Oval is a fantastic race-like workout that preps you for crits and sprints. Get a good warm up because the intensity is high from the GO!"


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Steve Tygrett,
​CRANDIC Racing Club

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"Nato has quickly become my favorite road race.  It's great for beginners like me because it allows you to practice riding in a pack at race speed, with relatively low risk of crashes.  
The races mainly take place on the 1/2 mile oval, so the terrain is flat and predictable, allowing you to just focus on staying with the pack, and timing your sprint.

​"
At NatO there are multiple races in a night, which gives you the chance to try out different strategies.  If you mess up  your first race, just wait 10 minutes and go at it again with a new strategy.

"The best part is the relaxed and friendly atmosphere.  While it is competitive, everyone is there to have a good time on their bikes on a Tuesday
 night."

Erik Bandy,
Johnson County Flyers


“Night at the Oval is a great atmosphere to practice sprint finishes and team tactics without the fear of being dropped miles from the finish.”

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photo by Angie Snoop

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(photo by Angie Snoop)
Keith Snoop

"My favorite race is the 'Big C' as it requires technical skills to get through the tight corners. NatO is a great racing experience for beginners as it is low key and low pressure. It is also a great way to get in some interval training on a Tuesday night."

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Victor, Youth Off Road Riders & Goosetown Racing/New Pioneer Food Coop

"It's a great opportunity for kids to get to know their community and to meet new people and share new experiences with them. Especially those that mountain bike often but are trying to get into road racing.

My favorite race is the "Miss and Out," because it's very tense at times and relaxed at other times. I enjoy having to sprint often."


Wayne Fett, Goosetown Racing/New Pioneer Food Coop

"The Oval races help everyone with their race skills no matter how long they've been racing.  It also provides an excellent interval or sprint workout."

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"I started racing 10 or so years ago. I've done NatO every time since...when I'm in town. I've been leading out Karl 'The Sprinter' Rosenberg when we were both at HBA, then New Pi and now CRANDIC." (photo by Angie Snoop)
Rob McKillip, CRANDIC Racing Club

​"NatO is the Cliff Notes of bike racing ... just the important bits, none of the long, boring miles. It's a unique chance to try out the strategies you normally only ready about, or see on TV.

"Just try out different strategies, be bold ... if it didn't work, who cares, try something different in the next race, ten minutes later. It's an awesome workout. You will get to hear rates you'll just never see in your basement ... and have way more fun doing it!

'There's an A and B group, so don't have to worry about being slow. Besides, everybody is nice. Also, it's fan friendly -- you can see the entire race, so bring your family. There is no better way to learn to race.

"Come challenge the Snoops in the Granny Gear Race, or Rob in the Big Gear Race ..."

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Night   at   the   oval   on   facebook

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Boondoggles   and   marathons

5/30/2018

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​I tried several years to make it to the Fat Tire Frenzy at Beverly Park in Cedar Rapids. I'm not much of a mountain bike racer – I only started riding MTB a few years ago – but Beverly's trails are local favorites so racing there would be almost as familiar as Sugar Bottom. (From Iowa City Beverly Park is only five minutes further away, and its sandy soils often dry out days before Sugar Bottom's.) Having been foiled previously by nagging injuries or conflicting events, this year I was really looking forward to racing at Beverly...when the Fat Tire Frenzy suddenly disappeared.
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photo by Angy Snoop, https://angysnoop.smugmug.com/
The schedule for the Iowa Mountain Bike Championship Series (IMBCS) appeared in March without a race listed for Beverly Park. Weeks later a new race was added, the Beverly Boondoggle, with the ominous tag "Marathon MTB Only." What? Again, I'm not much on a mountain bike, so working up the nerve to race trails at all can be a challenge, but a marathon? What was going on? 
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I decided to ask around. It turns out several factors led to the new Beverly Boondoggle, mostly very positive developments, and in hearing about them I learned about the growing trend toward MTB Marathon as well.

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Going   long:   Endurance   MTB   Events

5/30/2018

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Marathon MTB may seem more popular recently, but endurance MTB is hardly new. According to Bruce Brown, Co-Director of the Iowa Mountain Bike Championship Series, there is a long history of endurance events in mountain biking.  

"For years the big trend was 12 and 24 hour events. At some point events started being measured more in miles – ​50, 75, or 100 mile measuring sticks for endurance mountain bike races that were point to point or one large loop and became what is known as destination events. Chequamegon 40 in Wisconsin, Dakota Five-0 in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and Leadville 100 in Colorado are examples." 
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Fun for all at the Squaw Creek Enduro. (photo by Angy Snoop, https://angysnoop.smugmug.com/)

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Time   trialing:   Do   a   fast   ride

4/25/2018

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Skills for a fast time trial take practice, but will serve you well in most bike races: any time you're riding alone, of course, and in ways even riding in a pack
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Justin Torner Photography
Pace your effort
The "negative split" – a faster second half than the first – may be the hardest trick for any time trial or solo effort. Simply put, go too hard too soon and you will pay dearly for your mistake. Instead, start out slightly easier, at a pace that almost feels too easy. By mid-course that pace will start to feel more difficult, more like what you'd expect. Toward the end, though, it will feel very hard, and any energy you saved earlier will be twice as important. By the finish you should pretty much have nothing left.
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The   Pain   of   Discipline

4/24/2018

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"My worst time trials were not been my slowest, but the ones where I knew I caved and didn’t push as hard as I could for the entire distance. The pain of discipline is always less than that of regret."
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Ken Sherman, K&K Images
​"Seeing your times get faster as your fitness improves is rewarding, but for me learning to stick with a hard effort and not give up has translated to success at every distance." 
​– Sarah Cooper, ​ultra-distance cyclist

Sarah Cooper, race director of the Elkhart TT Series near Des Moines, ultra-distance cyclist, and all around badass, has inspired and informed our efforts since we first dreamt up the CRANDIC TT Series. Imagine how pleased we were when she told us she would race the first CRANDIC TT in May . . . maybe.

​This weekend, just days before our race, Sarah will return to Trans Iowa. "
A time trial after 340 miles of gravel is profoundly stupid, and I hate saying I’m going to be somewhere and then not making it. But most of my season is stupid. The State Time Trial Championship is the week after a 700 mile brevet. I’ve waved good bye to common sense for 2018. Unless I can’t walk, I should be there."
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We look forward to it, Sarah. And good luck this weekend!
Do   a   Fast   Ride
CRANDIC   TT   SERIES
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Round   and   round    –   A   Night   at   the   oval

4/21/2018

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How's your sprint? Do you even know? How many chances do you get to try different finishes when win or lose you're done until next weekend? Imagine instead sprinting every few minutes for 5 or 6 laps in a race, then resting a few minutes and going at it again. Welcome to Night at the Oval. 

Long a staple of the Hawkeye Bicycle Association in Cedar Rapids, Night at the Oval has been sorely missed the last few years. Fortunately this year Goosetown Racing Club has brought the series back to life. "We need  more beginner-friendly race opportunities, and this is a very safe and easy venue to set up," said GRC's Larry Howe. 

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Pack   Riding   101   –   a   night   at   the   oval

4/20/2018

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Riding in a group means drafting, riding close to others to save energy. It takes practice, balancing safety, comfort, and speed. But it really isn't difficult: ride smoothly and predictably, anticipate others, guard your front wheel, and relax.

Fortunately Night at the Oval offers a perfect chance to practice pack riding skills. Racers are staged in appropriate skill levels, and as CRANDIC Racing Club's Rob McKillip explains: "The track is huge. There is a ton of space. Get in the pack if you're comfortable. If not, sit at the back, or even attack and try to time trial away. Either way, it's a safe way to have fun and get a killer workout." 

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