Lessons from "The Roast"

by Jon Ardell

I know many people have a great memory of a hill that once challenged
them only later to seem a breeze. Do others feel that way about
certain rides as I do about the Roast?

I can't speak to the effort at Copperopolis without acknowledging The
Roast and what its meant for my road racing. I'm pretty sure Krage
feels the same way.

This 9 am Saturday morning ride officially was called "the coffee
roastery ride" but "The Roast" has taken on a second meaning in that
its an apt description of the way you feel during and after the ride
(if not before)- roasted! On an average day I'd say about 50 people
start the ride and about 5 to 10 are usually left by the time we
return and hit White's Hill with abandon.

When I first started doing this 40 mile ride it was all I could do to
hang on to the Peloton. I pretty much hated it. I've learned to not
get dropped in the past couple years, but now for the past couple
months I've managed to finish in the top 5 every time. Its true I'm
stronger now, but I'm convinced that my tactics have been a large part
of the change as well. Krage and I are knocking at the door and have
come sooooo close to taking the outright win- I am convinced its only
a matter of time now before that happens.

So here are my top 5 lessons from The Roast:

1-get in the front. this is so critical because you not only avoid
the accordion effect of all the surges that take place you also don't
get stuck in a gap and you can anticipate the surges much better
because you see them develop a few crucial seconds sooner. It also
helps you to figure out who the instigators are and develop a healthy
relationship w/them. Alliances are absolutely necessary for victory
when riding with the big boys in the Cat 1 and 2 category. This leads
to item 2:

2- Be friendly. Being in the front helps you to learn who the leaders
are. Emulate the good ones. Take their criticism constructively if
possible (but if its all negativity return it to sender)--- yes
Roadies compared to Mountain Bikers are an arrogant and unfriendly
bunch, but from an anthropological perspective it makes sense to me
that a much greater amount of trust needs to be developed due to the
high speeds on skinny wheels and close proximity to other riders.
Getting rid of the "i hate roadies" mentality can only help, and I
know because its taken me years to get there. Now when I attack them
on the hills the best insult they can come up with is "f'ing mountain
bikers. I now see this type of comment for what it is- a compliment
and an admission of weakness.

3- Repetition repetition repetition. Simply put the only way for me
to get in to race shape is to race. What better way to do it than for
free and against many of the same people on a weekly basis. Hard
riding under race-like conditions on Saturday and Tuesday nights means
the rest of my rides are easy, breezy and fun. There is just no way
to work this hard on a training ride. Also doing the same ride every
week allows you to see progress and I swear there is a weird
subconscious "muscle memory" thing that happens where your body simply
knows what it has to do and when and the mental uncertainty and stress
disappears.

4- Know your strengths. Being 6 ft 1 in and 140 pounds has about 3
benefits in this world- i can eat anything without fear of weight
gain, I can sneak under and through small cracks (so far this has had
limited usefulness but if it gets me out of Abu Ghraib even once it
will be worth it) and I can go extremely fast uphill. I've worked
hard to get great at what I'm naturally good at and I'm at the point
in my training now where I can hardly wait for the Tam Hill Climb and
Hamilton races. I pray I haven't peaked too soon. The lesson of the
Roast is that by going in front on the climbs I put pain in the legs
of my competitors, I earn their respect and it encourages breakaways.
I no longer bother wasting energy on the sprint at the halfway point,
and its also become obvious that to get the victory its best if i get
away from my competition before the final sprint; come to think of it
its pretty much essential.