The Final Sprint @ Monthly Cours
(18/06/2023)

TL;DR, 📝📝
Insane vibe @crankmeister 🙌🙌🙌
Meticulous planning by @shaurya @ashwin and team
Adrenaline through the roof

TS;WM 📝📝
After the end of Round 1, Vikram suggested I build the momentum into the start the of the sprint. I asked Venky if I could get a countdown for 38 seconds, as that was my Round 1 Sprint timing.
Low on fuel (thanks to Imaad for the bar), I expected to have a worse timing than R1. 🥲

Good start with momentum, I wanted to do 5 second on(off the saddle) and 5 second off but my mind had zoned out and I couldn’t synchronise with Venky’s voice 😴

The familiar mind-chatter of

• you are empty on fuel
• you are competing against a stronger rider
• there’s always a next race. save your legs for that
  🤮🤮

During school, whenever there was a sprint and it was close I used to shout my lungs out and it always gave me that edge to push through.

Back to the race, I shifted to a higher gear and screamed through a couple of strokes and tried to maintain the momentum till the end.
I couldn’t hear Shrinidhi’s shouts of “drops and sprint”, else I could have gone all out in the last 10 seconds off the saddle and end up with a better timing.

All in all, a great sprint. A huge confidence booster. 😄

TL;DR,

I’m a huge admirer of Venky – the longevity in the sport , the sheer amount of content he pushes out (blogs before and podcasts now)
and the legacy he’s been steadily building with Bangalore Amatuer Racing (11th year now). 🙌🙌🙌

A great coach helping out with building up my base, fine tuning for target-race performance; race & pacing strategies, post race analysis and
nutrition tips and also helping out with equipment when needed. ♥️♥️

The calls we meet up is just truckload of information. 📝📝

If I had to describe Venky’s coaching style in one line, it would be “simplicity and fortitude” (haikyuu)
Lot more races coming up in July. Lot more potential to bring out of myself.
Cheers to Coach! 💪💪

TS;WM

“Without structured training, you’re just spinning your wheels.” – Greg LeMond

I’ve been riding a bike since end of 2016, started with community rides, then a 200 BRM, then a SR series, then another and a bit of racing mixed in between with @HyderabadRacingCircuit and Ending with a Paris Brest Paris finish in Aug’2019.
From COVID until Oct’2022, I spent very little amount of time with the bike but that changed after the time at Telagana States 2022. The adrenaline rush and the community pulled me back again.

After recovering from the crash, I got myself a indoor trainer at the coolest bike shop in Bangalore @VeloStudio. Spent the whole of January with random but consistent rides and finally went on my first group ride in Bangalore at the end of Jan 2023.

Meet coach BikeyVenky.

Post ride, hopped on Venky’s website. Booked an appointment.
Had a good long call about background and goals. We started working together since Feb, 2023.

“The key to structured training is consistency.” – Alberto Contador

BAR ITT in Feb was the base check. BBCH IIT was a bit of a mixed feeling. did it Merckx. might have finished on the podium with TT bars but felt a bit risky as I was not used to it. Good base building in Feb, Mar and April ending with Ooty trip.

BBCH Hasan express was the most fun I’ve had in a road race. Felt super strong on the bike but a hub issue prevented me from a standing sprint in the finish. June was the most eventful with 2 podiums. One @TheMonthlyCours and one at @BAR Criterium. Finishing up with my 1st Nandi climb at Namma Nandi 2023.

At the end of 150 days, we come to the BAR ITT which was the event we started with 🙂

With the main race approaching, focus is on being sharp on that particular day mentally and physically!

If I had to advice, one of the best things you could do at the start of your endurance journey is prioritise working with a coach than worry about
equipment and purchases.

#trust-the-process

#journey-over-destination