BrianRoche.net

Please excuse the lateness of this race report, unfortunately life is very busy right now and I don’t have as much disoposable time as I did in the past.

Sunday started out windy, very windy. Enough to make me very nervous. I recall Tweeting on Twitter that I wouldn’t be breaking any speed records if indeed I had a shot at the finish line (little did I know). The wind was a considerable factor for me going into the race because it brought back horrible memories of a race 4 weeks prior, where I died a slow death in a strong head wind due to over training. It’s the reason I have only one race this year where I didn’t make it onto the podium.

Sunday’s race saw myself, Dan and Bill riding for NEBC. Other teams (BU) had strong representation also. There were some Cat 4 men racing with us warming up for their race which helped give the race some noticable energy despite the strong head wind.

The first 7 laps of the race were littered with primes. I spent the first 7 laps on autopilot, yet still working. There were lots of breaks but it was predictable and I was able to cover them all. Lap 5 saw me bridge the breakaway as I miscalculated the remaining laps, thinking the race official was yelling 2 to go. While it was wasted energy, it did give me an indication of what it would be like to sprint up the finishing straight with the strong wind if and when it mattered.

The final 2 laps were fast, like they always are. Attacks left and right. Coming through the finish line for the pinultimate time a one man break went clear with a gap of about 4 or 5 bike lenghts. I had thoughts of soloing to the finish but it was still too early for me to do that. Half a lap to go the lone break was dangling at 3 bike lenghts. The field started to bunch a little too much for my taste at the front. Knowing I had the legs I popped off the front left side of the field and bridged to the lone break.

I was now almost full on as I grabbed his wheel. Down in the drops, shifter under my finger I took a few deep breaths. I looked back and could still see the gap between us and the rest of the field. I knew my lead out man was close to cooked and didn’t even wait for him to slow as we lined up for the finish line, I kicked it up a gear, shot left and kicked in the after burners. The rest is history.

My final top end sprint ended up being 32.5 (approx) which is the fastest I’ve registered all year long, even with the head wind. I was extremely happy with the win. It felt good to be strong enough to drop the field and then sprint to the finish, especially given how fast the race had been up to that point.

In hind sight, I worked far too hard on Saturday, I did way too many squats, clean and jerks etc. My legs were sore but my lower back totally wasted. Crossing the finish line my entire body hurt. I need to remember not to do a ton of weights the day before a race.

I’m still riding with my brains but when I need to, the legs and the strength are there now (finally). Given where I was a month ago, I’m very happy to have recovered and am strong enough to be winning races again. The only question is, will I do 3 in a row this weekend?! Race results so far this year, 5 podium finishes out of 6 races. 3 x 3rd places and 2 x 1st places. The season is going well I’d say!

Here’s an excellent video of Lance training. Enjoy.

You know you’re getting old when you line up at the start line and your teammates tell you they feel horrible, yet they ride a fantastic race.

I lined up for Wells Ave this morning, a little nervous, but feeling a little good. During warm-up I felt incredible. Really powerful. I felt rested, energetic and ready to do battle. While winning wasn’t foremost in my mind, it did feel like it was going to be a competitive race.

From the start, there were plenty of attacks. Many of which I thought were going to work, but none of them did. Plenty of guys were strong, just like two weeks ago, but none seemed capable of making it work. Approximately half way through the race a break went and it looked like it would stick, from nowhere I attacked and bridged 500 meters. This is something I’ve NEVER done or been able to do in any race. I knew, I was on a good morning. A quick recovery and a quick lap later, we were all back together.

3 laps to go, I told my teammates that a break would win today, everyone was cooked. We covered and covered, but everyone was tired and no one had legs towards the end. I would guess the first really warm day of the year made the full field more fatigued than usual. Not to mention the constant attacking.

As we approached the penultimate finish line, Conor from NEBC attacked hard. Leaving the field behind. We rounded the first corner, he was gone! So, I did what any good teammate would do, I sat up and got in line to slow the race down. I was passed and they chased. Half a lap to go he now had about 15 bike lengths. I was sitting in second place in the line as we rounded the final corner into the finish. Blisteringly fast, it all felt so familiar, it’s that moment when everything turns to slow motion.

I could feel the warm air pass over my legs, the sun beaming down. The pack, thinned out in a long line as we rounded the corner. That sixth sense, or ability to see left and right at the same time, but no one was there. We came around the corner and I thought, “this is it” ——— and then time stood still and I sprinted for the line.

Conor looked back and you could see the terror on his face, “Oh shit, Brian’s coming” he later told me went through his mind. Bridging the gap and coming within a wheel’s length of the line, we crossed together. Me with my hands on the handle bars, still sprinting, Conor with his arms high in the air in celebration. I would have been happy with NEBC 1 and 2, knowing I was the best of the sprinters today and on my way back again, except Conor was disqualified for putting his hands in the air. Rules stipulate, hands on the handle bars at all times.

Conor was pissed as I took first place. I don’t blame him, I’ve been victim of such antics in the past. His first win, sometimes you can’t help but celebrate. He left immediately and went to his car. I took the 1st place prize and gave it to him. After all, he rode his heart out, he stayed away for an entire lap when the hammer was down and he even held me off while we sprinted. He DA man!

So, while the score board says 1st, I know it was second, but I know it was the best of the bunch, and that’s alright with me.

Check out this video, it’s insane!

Sawer is a vintage modeling synthesizer, that cuts through the mix to deliver precisely articulated and punchy sounds. If you’re a Trance producer, you absolutely want to check this synth out. It has some pretty nasty Square wave reproductions, judging by the demos, and I’m pretty sure you’ll be satisfied.

Sawer pays homage to the envelopes and filters of a rare 1980’s Soviet analog synthesizer, Polivoks. Maxx has devoted meticulous attention to the detail of Sawer’s filter and envelope designs, ensuring Sawer delivers a unique sonic character reminiscent of the Polivoks hardware. But Polivoks, like all analog synthesizers, wasn’t without its problems. Keeping the oscillators stable and in tune has been likened to ‘moving a pile of live frogs, by wheelbarrow’, impossible! As Sawer is algorithmic, this solves the problems of tuning and stability, however, in the same way electrical component instability makes analog gear unique (if not cranky), Sawer benefits from the 21st century equivalent, a coding error.

While programming the SAW oscillator, Maxx accidentally set some incorrect variables and immediately the sound gained bass, acquired some light but pleasing noise on the attack and an overall richer sonic spectra. Maxx realized this was no mistake but a discovery and built on this, adding some frequency modulation to give it a touch of analog authenticity and so ‘Sawer’ was born.

I dunno, for $99 I may just need to check it out, even if I am done with the whole Trance sound …

What Now?

Didactic Records is proud to announce the release of our fifth single, ‘What Now?’. ‘What Now?’ is the fifth single to be released from Brian Roche’s forthcoming album, ‘Rubric’. According to iTunes, the song should officially be available on or before May 26th.

Below, you can find all of the details you need to locate and purchase the song globally.

Title: What Now?
Artist: Brian Roche

Label: Didactic Records
Genres: Electronic, Dance

Release Date: 14-Apr-2009
Original Release Year: 2009

ID Number: X158472
UPC: 859701604303

Projected go-live on or before: 26-May-2009

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to use Operator more effectively and in doing so, learn how to create one of the most famous bass sounds from last year, then check out the video below:

MAMS Generator was created by Robert Henke, the Ableton Live architect. Robert Henke (aka Monolake) regularly prototypes new software ideas in Max, and long before Live was released, was well known in the Max community as a patcher.

Robert later decided to release MAMS Generator to the general public as a freeware app for use with Sampler. You can also use it with Simpler by exporting single sample files. If you use Live for sound design, head over to http://monolake.de/technology/download_software.html for a copy. It’s an indispensable resource, especially for making exotic metallic and formant sounds.

Timofey is an artist that recreates a lot of popular songs in Ableton Live to show people that technology is not the barrier, your imagination is.

Anyway, this is his new song, Time Laps. It’s pretty good, check it out below.

Fantastic article on granular synthesis in Ableton Live from Will Kuhn. Check it out, here.