It’s more than just a sprint
August 5, 2016 § 10 Comments
I’ve been riding with Josh for about a year now. We are teammates, but we first met at the Tuttle Creek Road Race out in Nowheresville, CA this February. It was a hard race and neither of us won.
Since that time he’s been an occasional attendee on the Thursday Flog Ride. I won’t bore you with how hard the ride is; I’m sure yours is harder.
One thing is pretty clear, though. Most people do the Flog once, maybe twice, and you never see them again. And another thing. Everyone who’s done it regularly since November has stood on a podium this year.
The ride goes around the PV Golf Course six times. It’s a 6-minute interval, then you descend to the starting point and do another loop. The intervals are hard (redundant) and they’re also strategic because at the top of the loop you sprint. Whatever kind of game you have, this ride improves it.
Last week Josh was making some hard efforts but in all the wrong places. I hate to give advice to anyone other than, “Keep your fuggin’ head up.” My philosophy is that any advice worth knowing can and will be used against me.
However, after one particularly disappointing lap (for Josh), where he had attacked on the first section of the golf course, then gotten caught and dropped, I coached him against my better instincts. “Dude,” I said. “You’re not strong enough to attack there and hold it to the end.”
“But I have to try,” he said.
“Yeah,” I agreed, “but don’t try there.”
“Where do I try then?”
“Suck wheel until the last hundred yards then sprint like a bastard.”
“But that’s wheelsucking.”
“Fight the battle with the weapons you have, not the weapons you wish you had.”
This morning the first two Flog laps were, well, hard. EA Sports, Inc. took the first two sprints in typical dominating fashion. On the third lap as we made the right-hander for the final leg to the finish, I looked back. It was just Josh. “He’ll attack about now,” I thought. “Way too early.”
But he didn’t.
With a hundred yards to go I got ready to launch, but no sooner had I clenched the drops than Josh came rocketing by. He didn’t just win it, he owned it.
As we circled in the parking lot waiting for the re-group, he was smiling. “Good job,” I said.
“Thanks,” he said. “I feel good today.”
END
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Cycling in the South Bay 
This isn’t the first time you’ve given good advice to riders on the Flog! 🙂
Uh-oh!! I’m sure it was unintentional and/or unknowing.
The FLOG is the greatest training ride out there. Telo and the Donut are ball breakers, with everyone very serious about the results. The FLOG is just plain torture, but everyone is in it together, with no crazy testosterone fueling the results. I learn so much every time doing it, and it has drastically improved my riding. It is not easy to win a lap, but when you do, it’s such a reward. Hopefully, I can turn it into a podium. If not, it’s still the best! Thanks, Seth!!!
Nice riding, Josh. That fuggin’ hurt.
Awesome guy with a ton of potential. Great to see strong riders like josh getting better and better. Bad part is I cant keep up with them anymore, haha!
Go Picklejuice!
Thanks, Dan. You “older guys” don’t realize what an inspiration you are to us less experienced riders. We can only dream of accomplishing half of those achievements. If you guys keep teaching us, the torch will be passed to good hands.
As you burn our eyes out with it.
Exactly. It’s why good advice should never be given.
I remember 10 years ago when you would ALWAYS attack, very predictably, too early. Great work out for you and great lead out for someone else, but not great for getting good results yourself. I’ve noticed that over the years you have learned so much. I suspect partly by realizing that doing the same thing and expecting different results, doesn’t work and partly you’ve had some nice mentors yourself. At this point, if you make recommendations, they are probably worth listening to. It’s great to see you pass on what you’ve learned.
I need to make it to the flog sometime. It’s so hard after a late track night to get up that early!
If I’ve improved, it’s by mistake.