Fiesta Time

It seems that in San Antonio instead of Eater there is just a big Fiesta! LOL ok maybe not completely but it is Fiesta time there and this year they brought back what I was informed used to be a big time Texas race … the Fiesta Grande. So D’go was planning to go with me to this but found out his grandmother was coming in town for Easter so rightfully so he bail to spend time with his grandma. This left me with a last minute attempt to get a travel companion. My attempts to get people to travel with me to these far away races have never worked. In vain I sent my e-mail out and lo and behold I get a response from Daniel Wisner. It seemed that he and his fiancé were planning on going to this race but they were sick the week before and she had to reschedule a med school exam to the Monday after the race. We got organized and decided to leave around 5:30 the Friday before Easter.

We arrived in San Antonio early in the afternoon and we went to Daniel’s hotel room. Daniel wasn’t able to cancel the room because he used some online website to book it. The plan was that he was going to chill in the Hotel room and I was going to still stay with my friend that recently left NOLA and lives just outside of San Antonio. Since we were there about 3 hours early Daniel checked in and I took the opportunity to grab some sleep before the evenings TT.

TT….

We got there early to register and check out the course. I’m not great at TT’s but wanted to get some good numbers off of the SRM. After registering I had enough time to take my time getting ready, restroom, dressed, and a little pre-ride of the course. It’s a good thing I did the last of these three things. The course was 2 laps of a five mile circuit and had a headwind sections followed by a wicked fast tailwind then 3-4 technical turns. The course was on the military base in San Antonio and it was kinda cool because some of the military families stepped outside of their houses and would cheer as you came by. The TT was being timed by the officials and by the chips that were attached to our left ankles. This was a first for me. LAMBRA has talked about chips but it’s pretty expensive and as far as I know the best way to attach the chips are on the fork of the bike. Who knows it was cool regardless and the results were pretty timely (which almost never happens at local races). This weekend was being conducted as an omnium and it showed in the results. Only the TT studs showed up for the TT. I ended up being 24th of 25. I was passed by 2 riders – the rider that passed me before the first turn got third place on the day. My numbers for the SRM were a personal best and the best of the season so far.
Additionally I was pretty happy with my pacing. This is probably hung over from my days MTBikning. My second lap was only 10 seconds slower than the first … in all a good effort.

After the TT I dropped Daniel off and was on my way to meet Mer and her parents for dinner. After a shower that evening I tried to watch a movie with Mer but lasted about 15 minutes before I turned in; the morning would come early.

Crit…

My crit wasn’t until the afternoon so I usually try to sleep as long as possible. Unfortunately Daniels Crit was in the morning so I ate and with Mer with me we went to pick up Daniel and go to the Crit. His Crit was a CAT3/4 race and he was only a CAT 4. I told him it would be a victory to finish in the group with these guys. He got his victory riding in with the main pack.

P/1/2 Crits are always fast but usually are scripted. Attack, Attack, Attack, Break Goes, Tempo, Tempo, Break Comes Back, Attack, Attack, Tempo, Sprint. These guys must have lost there scripts at home. It was so windy and I swear the first 20 minutes were the easiest of the race. From Minute 20 on it was single file line. I got popped at 55 min in the 70 min crit – they were still single file.

That evening we went to the Gristmill to eat. The last time I was there was at Matt Thomas’s wedding back in 2005 before Katrina. It was great food! Daniel and I both had the baby back ribs – they were AWESOME!!! I’ve wanted more ribs ever since.

RR…
Well we get there and find out that the start’s been postponed. Then my race got shortened. We roll out and almost immediately the field screws up (this happens more times then you might think. Road Racers aren’t real good about knowing courses and most of the time just likes to follow the little motorcycles. Well they didn’t follow the little motorcycle and unfortunately about 20 riders made an unnecessary turn. The field was polite and waited for everyone to regroup, and then they started attacking. The wind was the main factor again. We were single file line more often than not and I ended up being behind some idiot that sat up on a climb. Off the back I went never to see the race again.

I did get back to the Start/Finish in time to see Daniel finish and for the second day in a row he got his victory and finished safely in the group. He seemed a little don that he didn’t finish better but I don’t think he realizes how well he actually did.

On the way back we stopped at Buckee’s the most amazing gas station in the world!!! and then continued on back to NOLA. We made great time and were in at a reasonable time! It was a good weekend of fast training! Next weekend MS Grand Prix.

Tour de ……….

Well Saturday’s Crit was Tour de Crazy and Sunday was Tour de Freezing but together they were the Tour de Tuscaloosa.

Saturday:

Get picked up by Chase and Ali at 7:35 (they were 10 min late)

4.5 hour drive to Tuscaloosa

Get kitted up and spin around with Ali and Chase (Chase was warming up for his 2pm race)

Chase races and does a great job! He comes in 7^th in a hard Crit!

We decide to get a hotel instead of crashing with Eric. (A Big thanks for the offer! Next Time Buddy. Thanks!)

Chase gets cleaned up after the race while Ali and I nap before ours.

Ali goes to the race and finishes with the pack (it’s the first time he’s finished with the pack in a 4’s Crit)

Chase comes back and picks me up from the hotel and shuttles me to the race

Warm up for the Night Time Crit.

Line Up

The peleton gets harassed by the officials for number placement, lineing up without wanting to take a lap and we wait while they “try” to light the course with car lights.

We start by racing down the hill going 40+ with no lights!

I decide the Hill with no Lights is “Stupid Dangerous” and pull out at the end of lap 2.

Watch the finish

Go to Hooter’s Get the BIG DADDY Beer!

Chat with our waitress Becca, hoola hoop with a couple girls on the way out!

Back at the Hotel we crash – it’ll be an early morning

Sunday

Wake Up 6:45, Shower, Eat Pack!

7:40 leave for race, 8:10 arrive at race – 8:30 start its 45 degrees out!

Wait on starting line shivering.

Race starts and …..

ATTACK from the gun (this is more of a function of trying to get warm than actually getting away!

Draft Draft Draft

Attack, get caught, attack on next hill, never get a good gap, down the wicked fast hill full speed with turn at bottom, ATTACK, caught, attack, sitting out in front being strung along = sit up and back in the group, Counter attack, they get 30 seconds, I attack to bridge up!, get to feed zone hill and no power, a group of 4-5 bridge up to me and I can’t hang on, peloton comes by, no cigar, off the back and race over.

Then I take pictures (see below)

Finally ride home 5 hours (a lot of Po Po were out)

NEW GOAL

GOAL: Finish in the pack of a P/1/2 race with more than 50 riders with an avg power less than 200w and a NP of less than 220 - 230.

Chrismas in March!!!

We should get this stuff in our hands next week! Thanks to Bill Marshall, Jeph Blanchard, and Hector Mendoza. Most importantly a big thanks to our clothing sponsor for 2009 VERGE!!!

THANKS & MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Moto

I think motor pacing is just as much an exercise in teamwork and patience as it is cycling fitness training. Last night I did the lakefront circuit behind the moto. It’s always mixed feelings when doing this but I definitely felt better than I remember it being last year. After the first 15 min I was thinking “this is a little too hard” as I was pushing up the bridge. Looking down I realized I had a flat front tire L. I put in another tube and then continued to pinch the tube flattening it too! I hadn’t done this in years (got a pinch flat while changing tires / tubes). I rode to the Triathlete area and didn’t recognize anyone. They sure do have a lot of new triathletes; I’m hoping we can convert some to road racers after the Ironman is over. I used to be able to pull up in the triathlete group and know at least half of them. Anyway, I saw Julie Ardoin climbing out of the lake in her wet suit. I asked if she had an extra tube in her car and she was nice enough to help, giving me a 650 tube that she had in her car! The tube stretched after some working at it and fit and I was off to the motor again. (I know Julie from back in the day when I used to do adventure racing. She stayed with the adventure racing and I kept progressing with more aggressive racing and fields – first MTB racing and now Road Racing. Julie’s a stud and has done Primal Quest, Florida Coast to Coast and even a race in Southern Africa.) I finished up the motor pacing and headed home to download and e-mail the data. Today I get off while I prep for the race this weekend. Back on the bike tomorrow.

RR’s cont. cont. ……

So the week immediately before the first “real” race of the season I was busy trying to get all the ducks in a row. Get food ready, train, sleep, eat, work, then there is the bike stuff which is a week in itself. New cassette, chain, clean bikes, new bottom bracket, install SRM on TT bike, switch pedals, tune up bikes, swap out wheels, check tires, etc….

I left on Friday after lunch and drove to Houston through some not too nice traffic / construction in between Lake Charles and Beaumont. Once in Houston I met up with Chris, Justin, Matt, and Becca. We all went to eat pizza and because Chris knew the waitress we ended up getting some free beer (always a good thing). We kept telling Chris he should take her out on a date – she was a cute girl and definitely looked like she could be fun to hang out with. Back at Chris’ house I crashed and with a wake up time of 5:30 am there was no time to waste.

Saturday and Sunday went by in a blur!

Saturday
Wake up
Drive to Race
Packet Pick-up
Team meeting
Road Race (65 miles)
Drive to Hotel
Eat / Sleep
Drive to Race
Warm up
Time Trial (6 miles)
Drive to Hotel
Eat /Sleep

Sunday
Eat
Drive to Race
Race (95 miles)
Drive back to NOLA (eat while driving :-)

Saturday and Sunday Highlights!
Saturday was the first time that I finished with the pack, in a regional road race. My numbers were pretty high too: 257 NP, 200w avg., finish time 2:48. I still need to improve in the TT. I did a 16:20 and that was one of the slower times. I did hit the marks on my power goals for the TT so I was happy about that. Sunday I got dropped in the road race at mile 80 of 95. I think it was more of bad positioning than not having the strength. I also got to hang with some teammates. Here are some points of interest!

TEAMMATES
Kolt’s a verified stud and riding super well!
Scott thinks he’s Lance and as such twitter’s nearly every time you look at him.
Adrian has big feet (Thank Scott for pointing that out)
Bill if he’s ever on a good day will tear the legs off of everyone (he rode all weekend with Diarrhea!)

Until next time….

RR’s cont.

After the Rouge Roubaix (RR) road race (rr) I was scheduled for an off day which by Wednesday progressed into some unscheduled rest and relaxation (R&R) to try and get better. At first I thought I had some bad food and had food poisoning. 36 hours later liquid was still coming out where it shouldn’t and medicine was quickly taken. The medicine helped and I was able to sit on my bike longer than 45 min again. But now I was only about a week away from the first team race weekend that I would be going to this year. I was prescribed some intervals over the weekend and in the rain on both Saturday and Sunday (I’m going to count that as rr too!) I went out and nailed it. I felt better about going into the race but still a little apprehensive; after all the races in Texas are always pretty hardcore! We would also have a maxed out field of 100 and included a handful of Pro’s. To be continued …….

a couple of RR's

Well, The first races of the season are done. A couple weeks ago was the Rouge Roubaix. I've determined that this is not a real race even though I think it is one of the most beautiful races ever. The race was on from the gun with a rider attacking in the neutral roll out and the official doing a poor job of making him come back to the group - he should have been DQ'd. I pre-rode the course a week before and before the first dirt section I noticed a road that climbed steadily for a while and while only 3-4% it was chip and seal which made it feel like 5-6%. I said - "This would be a perfect place to attack if it were closer to the finish." I was right this is wear the first real attacks came and where the first break of the day was formed. I was going to just follow the lead group until after the third dirt section - at least that was the plan. I ended up not making it through the first dirt section with them. I'm even more determined to do well at this race next year but the competition every year seems to get harder - and if the reviews this years race got doesn't push it to the next level nothing will. Check out the link .... http://velonews.tv/?articleID=2639 I'm actually in the video too! See if you can find me in the Mercy Kit!.

More later - Take Care

It's been a while....

Since I've written anything here. I have thought about it - then just didn't. I've had a lot to say. So We might play catch up for a while. Well for about 10 days leading to the first race of the season then we'll get back on track with what I created this for - to talk about racing etc. I think I'm going to throw in some random pictures from last year and we'll see ow it goes. So for today - just some random pics and tomorrow will be a new day.
Christmas in NOLA 2007 - taken at the Christmas in the Oaks 2 mile run.

Taken at Mercy Team Camp 2008 - Scott Barnes this is for you - go Razorbacks!!!

Taking refuge behind a garbage can during a torrential rain storm on Chef Hwy, NOLA. The wind and rain was so bad I was leaning at 50-60 degree angles keeping the bike upright!

That's it for today folks we'll have more tomorrow.

Post – G

What a loaded title. At first I felt a little pride in the cunning of the words and there meaning but today it doesn’t seem to feel as smart. I also thought this would be a long post but I think its getting shorter by the minute. But I will get to the point since a lot has happened since my last entry (a full two weeks ago).

Gateway Cup

This was supposed to be a success I was to go and finish all the races and take the next step to racing at this level. It’s amazing that the steps that you think will be impossible you can achieve and the steps that you think achievable the impossible. At.Gateway there was 4 days of racing and I’ll give the overview of each for me and the team:

Friday, August 29, 2008 - Lafayette Square
This race I was a little nervous for. It is a night time crit and a straight up 4 corner crit 0.9 miles and 140 rider (maxed out) field. Well I got to the line up front (maybe in the 3rd row which was up front). We started out and a crash in front of me not 15 feet into the race. I got back into the field and about 5-6 laps in another crash in the center of the road going into the start finish. Well we were going all out the 5-6 laps prior to the crash and then having to go another all out effort to catch back on after being held up by the crash – I didn’t have it. I chased for a while and then was chased for a while. After being caught and passed I sat on the back for the most of the rest of the race. BTW there was another crash on the last lap that I got caught behind. Chad was pulling out the stops on the race and got 6th in the sprint.

Saturday, August 30, 2008 – Downtown Criterium
This race was hard with what seemed like 3/4th’s of the course going uphill. Unfortunately it was just too hard for me. I had bad positioning from the beginning and could never move up really well. Again Chad pulled it out with 4th on the day.

Sunday, August 31, 2008 – The Hill
This was one of the coolest races that I have done this year. The crowds were great and I managed to get good positioning in the beginning and keep it. I could see all of my teammates were I was sitting in the field. The temps were real high and we were all cooking. I went to unzip my jersey and ran over a hard cut in the road which knocked my remaining hand off of the handlebars and down I went at 30 mph. I got up and got back into the race but didn’t last but another 20 minutes as my hip was really bothering me and in pain. Chad and the team finished out the race and again Chad pulled in another 4th.

Monday, September 1, 2008 – U-City
After yesterday’s crash I needed to get back on the horse so to speak and trust me that’s not always easy. I didn’t feel great, to begin with my hip still hurt. Once racing I was too tense and with every jolt I just remembered the prior day. I tried to get over this but even with mental fortitude my hip and glut had pain every time we went up the hill. I hung on through the pain as long as I could and was done. Shortly after I came off so did Bill and Kolt. Chad was still fighting though and pulled out a weekend best 2nd on the day clinching 3rd for the weekend.

The weekend for the Team was good but for me not so well. I hope that next year I’ll be there with Matt, Bill, and Kolt; if I’m lucky in a few years maybe up there with Chad.

Gustuv

Almost 3 years to the day after Katrina, Gustuv ripped through Louisiana. New Orleans seemed to be spared for the most part but maybe only because of a mandatory evacuation that had close to 2 million people leave in preparations for the storm. We have widespread power outages that is quite possibly the worst ever encountered in LA. I would love to see a satellite photo or aerial shot of the week before Gustuv and the day afterwards. From New Orleans to Alexandria power was out for a majority of people. Fortunately I didn’t per say evacuate sine I was going to be out of town anyway but I was forced to leave nonetheless. Even more importantly I was left in St. Louis with no immediate home to return to and really no place to go. I met up with Jessica P. when she evacuated up to St. Louis (Jessica went to the University of Washington in St. Louis for her masters and thus had friends there). I met up with Jessica at my race on Sunday and she was watching when I crashed. Monday after racing we met up and she took me to Ted Drew‘s which I was told was going to be the highpoint of my trip. As instructed I got the Great Pumpkin Custard and it was good. The next day we met up and went to the zoo and accompanying museums that were all free. I met a poor (intellectually poor) guy at Chipotle that thought we were still evacuated from Katrina. Tuesday night I stayed with Jessica’s friends Jill and Wayne who were great hosts. We decided Tuesday afternoon to make the trip back to New Orleans. The reports were that the city would open up to people at 12:01 am on Thurs. morning. I was hoping to get there around 11:00 pm and hope that they would le us in being so close to the re-entry. We were trying to avoid the traffic of 2 million evacuees.

We ended up getting back to New Orleans at 12:10 am Thursday morning. They actually started letting people re-enter earlier in the day although it didn’t seem like it. The streets were that of ghost towns; the only life on the streets were camouflaged figures carrying M-16’s. My power was out so I once again met up with Jessica and we again found ourselves staying together.

Grandma

On Thursday morning after a couple hours cleaning debris off of the road in front of my condo I got 8-9 missed phone calls and messages from my mom the one of which caught me the most was 911! I thought Mr. Wayne may be hurt or having trouble without electricity. I called her back and in tears she told me that grandma had fell sometime during the night and my uncle found her early Thursday morning, she was unconscious, not responding but said she had a strong HR. I tried to calm my mom down telling her that we would have to wait and see what the doctors said and that it was early to get all upset about it yet; we would have to wait and see. The next time I spoke to my mom about 2 hours later she told me that after running some tests that grandma was considered brain dead and that they were going to pull the breathing machine off of her; she told e they didn’t know whether it would be hours or days that she had left. I told her that we would leave soon to try to see grandma. I left my condo shortly after that and was driving back to Jessica’s when I got another phone call not 15 minutes after the first call. Grandma had passed.

I’m now sitting in the funeral home while the wake is just getting underway. I’m supposed to be typing up obituary that my mom has been slaving over the past few days, but I just can’t bring myself to write it just now. I loved my grandma, she was a friend, a protector and a mother to me in addition to being a grandma. Last night we were going through some stuff to get things together for today such as pictures and such. With every box that I opened there was a picture of me as a boy or something I had given her. When we moved to Louisiana and experienced Mardi Gras we brought her some beads to show her what a small part of Mardi Gras was like. After that, she would ask us for new pretty beads when we came to visit. In her closet she must have had every bead we had ever given her; I found toys of mine from when I lived with my grandparents; just like I left them. I loved my grandmother. This is the wake for my Grandma; tomorrow will be the services and the burial. Grandma always did have good timing; tomorrow is her and my Grandpa’s wedding anniversary; Nearly 10 years after he passed she’ll be re-joining him. This is the grandmother I will remember – a picture taken only 3 months ago.

MotorPacing

8/21/08

Today I wasn’t able to scratch the third check mark off of my list but we were close! And considering that my driver (who is awesome) was pacing me for the first time we did a good job and it was a good workout. My coach was satisfied and so was I. Thanks again to my driver for being fabulous!!!

Check TWO - The 5 min test

I’ve done a lot of racing this year. Out of all the racing and training I was more nervous about 5 minutes this morning than any race this year. 5 minutes as fast as you can go – sounds simple, yeah right! Go too hard at the beginning you die at the end, too easy you don’t leave everything out there. What made this one even harder was the implications. Nail the 5 minutes with avg. of 5.25 watts/kg and I go to Gateway; fail and I stay home training! I focused so much on it the night before I mapped out the entire 5 min sec by sec in Excel. 450 for 30 sec, 330 for 120 sec, 320 for 10 sec, 330 for 30 sec 340 for 30 sec. 350 for 30 sec, 360 for 30 sec, and finally 450 for 20 sec = ~ avg of 360.

So with my plan in mind I started off after a 30 minute warm up. Executing is always harder than the plan. When it was all said and done I avg’d 352; 5.6 watts/kg. Check two!!!


_X_ Finish Bayou Circuit Crit
_X_ 5 min @ 5.25 w/kg
___ motorpace avg 27mph
___ Finish National Level races
___ Top Ten in Bayou Circuit Race

Check

_X_ Finish Bayou Circuit Crit
___ 5 min @ 5.25 w/kg
___ motorpace avg 27mph
___ Finish National Level races
___ Top Ten in Bayou Circuit Race

Last weekend was the Merridian / Cuba Omnium. I always like this race as the Crit is fairly technical on the first half and with a down hill sweeping turn at FG on the second half this course doesn’t leave room for too many errors. I changed my warm up for this race and actually think I liked it better. I rode for 45 min in the morning before driving to the race then only spun around before the race for about 20 min with a could 30 sec. FG efforts. The warm up wasn’t too taxing but was enough. I may try to do warm ups like this in the future. The Crit was fast from the Gun with attacks one after another through the 30 minute mark. This was a 60 min Crit so I guess that people started looking more toward the finish after the halfway point as the attacks were still present just not as frequent. With 4 to go the pace was staying steady and I stood up and what was seemingly easy rode up to position myself in the top 10 (keep in mind this effort took about 350 – 400 watts to do it just felt easier than the watts indicated). For the remaining 4 laps I rode in between 5th and 10th place and felt good about my position going into the last lap. During that last lap on the 2 turn of the course some morons decided they would try to move up on the most technical section of the course. This cause some people to touch wheels and the peloton to shift left pushing me out of my position heading into the next turn. On that next turn I had to take the turn sharp on the inside and lost about 10 position (this left turn heads right into a short uphill section and you need momentum to maintain position; by being out of position I lost my momentum and thus the positions). I ended up finishing the Crit in 17th position.

The Road Race was 3 laps on what I view as the second hardest course on the LAMBRA series (second to Rouge Roubaix). In the spring they run this course as a solo road race and we do 4 laps at 88 miles, however, with the August heat and the Crit the night before the organizers reduce the road race in the fall to 3 laps. In the spring I crashed on the first lap and spent a lap chasing before abandoning (this is the crash in which it broke my front wheel and hurt my shoulder). I was exited to get back on the course to see what I could do and in a way get over what happened in the spring. Evidently while I like this race it doesn’t like me. About 5 miles into the race a few guys touched wheels again and went down. I got tangled up in the after math and fell (softly) to the ground. The damage was still done. I twisted my seat post, bent my rear derailleur hanger, and bent my rear wheel just enough to rub my brakes. So I got a wheel change and tried to get everything back in order to mount a chaise. I chased and chased. The wheel truck was great and came up one me and got me back to the group but all in all it was about 20 minutes that I was out there either solo or behind the truck. I finally got back in the group and thought I wouldn’t make it to the finish after the effort I just put in. My shifting was all over the place making the climbs twice as hard and my speed magnet shifted so I was no longer reading speed and had sketchy readings from my SRM. We finished the first lap and I got my hand up of an ice sock and two bottles as planned. The second lap was filled with attacks as the break was within sight and everyone was trying to bridge. I was just playing the game moving to the front when it slowed down and drifting back during the attacks and hills. The third lap was steady as everyone was looking for a couple of people to make the move that never came. We came into the last 5k pretty slow and it only picked up at the 1k to go mark. I once again had good position (in the top ten) and was sprinting toward the finish. At 100m to go my race virtually ended. My chain flew off of my bike in mid sprint. I managed to keep it up but had to ride my top tube to do so. I ended up walking across the line last .

This weekend was successful though. The goal was to finish with the group on both races and that I had done. It does suck that I think I could have done better but I don’t feel disappointed. Wednesday I have a 5 min field test that will determine if I go to Gateway Cup or not so it’s recovery from now until then.

4 x 1:00m (in)

This afternoon while I was sitting next to my co worker slugging away I looked out the window and said “I hope this rain stops” It was coming down in sheets. I really wasn’t looking forward to doing tonight’s workout anyway but to do 3 sets of 4x1 min intervals Full Gas in rain seemed worse. I started the workout in the rain and it eventually cleared but not before I got all wet and got a flat to go with it.

Last night I saw maybe the most spectacular race I can remember! The USA beat the French in the 4x100m team relay. Amazing you really needed to see it to believe it.

This weekend I have the Meridian/Cuba Omnium. Hopefully I will be going well for it. I felt fine tonight but now the legs are cooked with motor pacing in the morning!

Well I guess there is only one direction to go J

ToKC

Well, maybe not. I messed the dates up on my calendar and while I thought ToKC was next week, it's actually this weekend. After looking at things at work and talking to the coach and my directors I decided to nix this off of the race list. It's hard because I love racing and it's been too long since racing with the team. I'm going to refocus my calendar and instead do the Merridian/Cuba Omnium next weekend and then the Gateway Cup. My coach has set up a super hard training block to get me to Gateway prepared and all I can do is give it my all and hope that the body responds.

Goals for the next month:

1. Race Smart at the Merridian/Cuba Race and at the very least finish both the Crit and the RR with the main field
2. Avg. Speed of 47k in my Motorpacing Sessions
3. Avg. 5.25 watts/kg in my 5 minute efforts

Then to Gateway Cup

CHI – OLINA

It’s been a week and tomorrow I’ll be back to the same old routine. Over the past week I’ve learned how to be a super accountant, how to live like a bike racer, and how to lose like an amateur.

I left New Orleans with a rocky start arriving a t the airport late and with a bike box that was too heavy (80lbs). I took some stuff out and re-weighed it and the lady said it was too late to check it in! WTF. So I settle on leaving with 2 carry-on’s and o straight to the plane. Between New Orleans and Chi Town (Chicago) my mom and I worked out a plan to have the bike shipped to Chicago and that afternoon the bike was on its way.

At the O’Hare airport I met up with Alle (Alli), Vinnie, and Lisa from Rochester, NY. They got there a bit early so I didn’t have to wait that long. Unfortunately their bags didn’t come with them so they were not happy campers on the train ride into D-town Chicago. Once downtown we met up with Alli (from NOLA) at the hotel and we all went to meet the others at Giordano’s Pizza.

As usual we ordered too much pizza (same thing happened last year) and after dinner we walked around Chicago and gave our leftover pizza to homeless people. Unlike NOLA homeless people who would have thrown it away or insisted on money, the homeless in Chicago are actually thankful and eat it. The rest of the afternoon we did the standard for us which was the guys getting dragged to multiple shopping venues. We were able to get a na in before going to Navy Pier and partaking in the evenings festivities.

So we ate dinner at Navy pier and had some “golden libations” (i.e. Beer). During dinner fireworks started to go off and I enjoyed the long and colorful display while most of my counterparts were not interested at all. They did liven up when we left the Navy Pier to go to a local bar; RockBottom! Allison, Matt, and I decided to get the sampler as this was a micro brewery and we could get 4 ounces of each of the 7 different kinds of beer for 7.50. Somehow this turned into a contest between Matt and Alli and they were taking the beer sampler like shots! They quickly finished and decided to get a pitcher, each. They then continued to see how fast they could finish the pitcher. It was around the time that Alli gave it to Matt like a Bi-atch by finishing off the pitcher first that Natalie and I decided it would be a good time to make our exit. We walked back to the hotel and were in bed by 1 am. The others got in around 5.

The next day was rough for the rest of the crew. I was able to get some personal things done before everyone woke up and after we all ate breakfast in what was the most part silence we split up to our own ways. Alli was meeting friends and ended up at the zoo; Natalie, Matt, Juli, and Emily were headed to the conference hotel to take a nap and I was off to see the inaugural Chicago Criterium around Millennium Park. At te race I was a litte surprised to see Stefan and Chad from my team as they were just as surprised to see me. Stefan rode like a pro getting off of the front 2-3 times before finally bridging up to the final break. He ended up getting 17th which was a good result. I had to leave the race early to make my way out to the conference and to build Tiki Huts.
This year AGN designed a whole bunch of group activities for us and us being from NOLA we took all of these to the extreme:

SUNDAY NIGHT
Build Tiki Huts and Make sangria
Followed by beach volleyball with lots of beer
Then to Vinnie’s room for drinking games with a handle of Vodka and a Handle of Bacardi Mojito
Bed Time ~3 am (very drunk – I passed out and am not quite sure how I made it on my bed the last thing I remember was going to the restroom in my room!)

MONDAY NIGHT
Dinner at an Italian Restaurant
Pick up beer at Liquor Store
More Drunken Beach Volley Ball
Bed Time ~12:30 for me and ~1:30 for everyone else.

TUESDAY NIGHT
Dinner at a BAD ASS Mongolia restaurant
Drinks at a nearby bar
Back to Vinnie’s Room for more drinking games.
Bed Time ~ 11 for me everyone else between 11 and 3.

Wednesday, we finished out training and were off to the airport. I was heading to Charlotte, NC for the remaining Cross Road Classics (a series of 9 Crits over 10 days). I got into my hotel room near the airport ~ 12 am and turned in. The next day I hooked up with Reed. Reed rides for the Hincapie Barkley Elite team and was kind enough o pick me up from the hotel and let me hang with him until the race that night.

The races the following three days were blistering fast. I need to be around this type of racing more often as doing it 5-6 times a year just isn’t cutting it. Below is a short recap of the races

Thursday – Salisbury
Figure Eight Course; hard from the gun with a lot of Pro team’s warming up for the BOA Crit on Saturday Evening. I lasted about 10 min in the field.

Friday – Statesville
An L – shaped course; again hard from the gun but not like the night before. Rock Racing showed up and Rashad Bahatti made it look easy lapping the field and then taking the sprint like he was doing an average day of training. Time in field ~ 15 minutes. Although I rode out a little longer and sat a little on the back of the field in subsequent laps.

Saturday – Harrisburg
This was the most technical of the courses and had 5 corners of which were a little tighter than the previous days. I was hoping for an easier day as most of the pro’s would be racing that evening and saving their legs. I was wrong. Most of the pro’s were saving their legs but the pro’s who were left off of the start list of one of the richest prize crits in America were pissed and racing against pissed off pro’s isn’t too fun. Time in field ~10 minutes. This was the easiest day but unfortunately I was pretty burnt and didn’t have much left.

Tonight I am staying with my cousin that I haven’t spoke to or seen in years. She’s a sweetheart and its good to see her and her family. Tomorrow she is going to be kind enough to wake up at 4 am to take me to the airport in Charlotte.

UPDATE:
I’m back in New Orleans now and back to the standard day to day. Yesterday was Kate’s B-day so I got to see her a bit and relax by Jessica’s pool with some burgers and beer. I fell asleep rather early at 7:00 and didn’t budge until 8 am this morning. Today I have another day off of the bike before hitting it again hard tomorrow!

Only 2 weeks until Tour of Kansas City!!!

TOP 5 - Revisited

Yea this has nothing to do with my first post on the top 5 but I cleverly have decided to use the same name....lol. This one will be short and sweet as I have already written about for my next post.

LA/MS State Crit Champs:

1. Scott Kuppersmith - Herring Gas Cycling Team
2. Chris Alexander - Herring Gas Cycling Team
3. Timothy Regan - Herring Gas Cycling Team
4. Bain Foote - Herring Gas Cycling Team
5. Frank Moak - Herring Gas Cycling Team

Other Facts: Total 1/2's 11 riders; Total Herring Riders 7; Chance of pulling home the win 1% (I did the math and there was a chance that a crash would happen in the lead group that would cut down the total Herring Riders to 2 or 3....lol)

Meanwhile It looks like my teammates in AR are up to much of the same action:

AR State Road Race:

1. Lance Hughey - Mercy Cycling Team
2. Scott Barnes - Mercy Cycling Team
3. Carl Sundquist - Mercy Cycling Team
4. Zach Martin - Mercy Cycling Team

Next Up: Crossroads Classic after some good times in Chi Town

Today's Top 5

So many things have changed in the last 24 hours that’s amazing me. Here is the countdown of the top 5

5. Last night there were two crashes at a little informal training for the crit this weekend. This resulted in 1 kit pretty cut up; 1 broken collarbone. (Chase go faster in that turn you have it; Jenn we wish you the best and a speedy recovery)

4. A guy I used to coach will be doing the Crit this weekend. He’s a good MTBiker but refused to try road racing when I was coaching him (I was encouraging him to use it as prep/filler for MTB races). Good Luck!

3. There is a chance that our Dept. Director will be participating in his first road race (well really a crit but still a road discipline). I’m not sure if he’ll go through with it but if he does best of wishes. I think he’ll have a whole new understanding for what we do out there after trying it.

2. A good friend of mine is hurt after her and her b/f (not best friend) decided to split. She’s a strong girl so she’ll be fine but I still wish her the best and have a shoulder if she need’s it.

1. The Cobra test positive. Riccardo Ricco (known as The Cobra) tested positive today for a new form of EPO. It is quite disappointing. He is only 24 years old and has quite a temper (he threw his $5,000 bike in the air after being crashed out in a race earlier this year). What’s even more revealing is that he always wanted to be like his Idol – Marco Pantani (the Pirate). So far to date he’s doing a good job, bot being amazing rider’s; both climbers from Italy, and both being caught doping. I’m reading a book on Pantani now and hope that Ricco can come back clean and win.

On a bit of an exciting note I will be going to see The Dark Knight tonight at Midnight (the first showing) Since I have a day off tomorrow (training) I’m pretty excited I can do it. Then prep time for Sunday!!!

New Training

This is my first week working with my new coach. To say the least it’s been a tough week and I haven’t trained this hard in some time. The week before this I had an informal week with a few goals including 15 hours and some wattage/kJ goals. This week has been much more intense culminating with 18 hours for the week by the end of the day tomorrow. Not only have they been long hours but they’ve been hard hours. Today in the group ride I had close to 1,600 kJ by the 2 hour mark (which is pretty high for me). I’m pretty excited about the new coach and new direction; with the training this hard I have to get better!

The State Crit Champ’s are next weekend. I’m really looking forward to racing again and especially in a Crit. I’m sure it will be a hard day since a lot of riders will be gunning for it with at least three full teams that will be represented. Last year a break went early and stayed off. I doubt we’ll have the same situation this year. But as Frank say’s “Brains off, Balls Out” or something like that.

Above The Clouds

This past weekend (June 26th through 29th) I spent some time in Boulder, CO. We flew up on Thursday morning and got there around noon. The weekend was great and taught me a lot about myself and my abilities.

Thursday:

The Flight
We were up before the break of dawn “K” was having a driver pick Chad and I up at Chad’s house as “K” needed to be at the airport around the same time as we did for his trip to NY, NY. I got up as planned at something ridiculous like 3:30 and threw my bags into the car. It is amazing how hungry you can be at 3:30 am. So on my way to Chad’s house I made an attempt to go to Mc Donald’s. I pull up at the drive through and was promptly informed that they were closed. They didn’t seem too humored when I asked how a 24 hour Mc Donald’s could be close; after all they’re supposed to be open 24 hours a day. So the alternative was to stop at a gas station and get a few bottles of juice and some Little Debbie’s (I know a healthy breakfast before what is going to be a long weekend).

We get at the Airport and ended up just chilling in the lobby with “K.” When it was time to go we were ushered through the front of the line at security, and seated on the plane right away – FIRST CLASS BABY – thanks Chad! I’d never been in first class before and know I understand why people work there asses off before flying. They fed me food, good food, and lots of it! There were movies, and enough space that even if you were sitting next to Big Bertha you would still feel like you had your own hotel room. So needless to say the flight up was awesome.

Arriving at the Denver airport we had some time to kill before Mark arrived on a later flight so we chilled got our baggage etc. While getting our baggage I saw about 150 Boy Scouts all in uniform getting bags etc. I talked to one of them to find out that they were on their way to Camp Philmont. We spent a few minutes talking about there trip and I reminisced about my short stint at Philmont in 2001.

I bet you we could make a killing importing Air up here

I knew I was in trouble when I was carrying my bags at the airport and breathing like I was running a marathon. From there it was a constant reminder that we were so far from home. Every task, from walking up stairs at our Hotel for Thursday night (the Boulderado) to riding our bikes, was a battle for oxygen consumption. I asked Chad at some point during the day if he thought we could get some oxygen brought up to the room for us (after all we were staying in a 5 star hotel, and they call that service right?).

So once in Boulder after a short transfer we met with Frank Overton, our guide and my soon to be coach. We had lunch then we went to put our bikes together. That afternoon the plan was for Chad to go get fit by Pruitt’s protégé (I forget his name) while Mark and I would go for a ride.

On the ride we went to Canyon Rd. and basically started climbing. Mark and I were only going to do a 2 hour ride; taking it easy knowing that the next day would be harder. Mark definitely out rode me on Thursday easily setting tempo and riding away from me at ease. If I felt this bad on my first day I was not looking forward to the rest of the trip. (On the way up to Boulder, Mark and Chad told me that I would feel the worst of day 2 or 3 of the 4 day trip.) The descent back down the mountain was pretty satisfying and we flew all the way back to Boulder. That evening we all just chatted and prepped for the next day (a 4 hour ride in the mountains with Frank Overton, coach/guide; Eric, one of Frank’s athletes from Dallas; and Frank Pipp, road race professional on the Health Net / Maxis Team).

Friday:

How do you work this thing!

Before we left New Orleans, Chad had one of his SRM’s installed on my bike to collect data from the trip and training. I had been using power for training for some time but this new system was going to take some getting used too. So riding to Frank’s house to begin our morning ride I had Chad show me how to do some stuff while I was riding. So I was riding along playing with the SRM and WHACK! I hit a temporary road sign in the middle of the road and go down. Granted I was only going about 5 or 10 mph but regardless it was fast enough to rip my derailleur hanger off of the bike. Frank was kind enough to let me borrow the Motor Scooter to go around town and try to find a Derailleur hanger for my bike. I ended up at a shop where Lucious was kind enough to help me out and find one for me. After fixing my bike I was back at the hotel room and it was 10:30 am (the ride started at 9:30). So not wanting to sit around waiting for them to get back I remembered that Frank told me that they would be coming back the way we rode out on Thursday. I got on my bike and figured I would meet up with them on their way back.

FBI Sanctuary

I got dressed again for a ride and rode out solo to the climb. It was a 10 mile climb and I seemed to be having an ok time with it. I finally got to the last 2 miles that reminded me of something I would see in Arkansas; straight up and just downright steep. I actually caught an older man on the climb right at the base of this section and he ended up just riding away from me (I think he was using a 27 tooth cassette or at least that’s the story I’m telling everyone). At the end of this 2 miles you come into this little town that the clerk at the general store at the top informed me has a population of 150 people. Along the rode sides you see burnt out and abandoned cars some dating back to the 40’s and 50’s. I got an ice cream bar and as I was getting ready to go back to Boulder Frank, Chad, Marc and Eric showed up (Pipp turned around easy because it was his easy day). So the ride was a success, I met up with the group. On the descent Frank told me that the town was a place to go if you wanted to avoid the FBI and related it to Colorado’s version of Deliverance.

The Little Kicker

Frank told us we were going to take a different way back that was a little shorter but had about a 2 mile kicker on it. We were soon to find out that a Kicker in CO means a short very steep climb! We reach the base of the climb and I take off. Mark soon bridges up to me and we played Cat and Mouse for a while. When it leveled off he would pour in the power and ride away, then it would get steeper and I ride back to him as he would stand still going upward. Fortunately for me the finishing part was pretty steep and I came around to take the sprint to the stop sign at the top. I then sat down and caught my breath while Mark continued to tell me that he could have beat me in the sprint. The rest of the ride home was good with some nice descending.

Happy Hour.

At the top of that “Little Kicker” we met a lady who was quite possibly macking on Mark. Anyway, she invited us all to happy hour at the St. Julian. It just so happened that the St. Julian was where we would be staying that night so we agreed to meet them there. Happy hour started around 5pm and we went for a while. Now I have to say that I’m not too familiar with Boulder but this was definitely the place to stay. Not only was the St. Julian just and awesome super modern 5 start hotel but the happy hour was definitely my scene (as my co-workers might describe it back home – POSH). There were tons of beautiful girls all dressed to the nines for drinks on a Friday afternoon; while the guys were content in flip flops shorts and shirts. I didn’t drink anything but enjoyed good company and met some new friends.

Saturday:

Breakfast Sandwich and Coffee to go please.

So while all of our other rides left at 9:00 am or later Saturday was described as what was going to be an Epic ride and we would be meeting at Frank’s house at 6:00 am. So Chad didn’t sleep so well. All night we could here the remnants from happy hour stumbling around the hotel; both inside and out. Chad went down to get a bagel and I got ready for the ride. I went downstairs to get some breakfast and ended up getting a breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee. I was in the middle of eating the sandwich when Chad and Mark came down. So I stuffed the sandwich in my stuff and rode to Frank’s house coffee in hand. I ended up giving Mark half of the sandwich as I couldn’t eat all of it and he hadn’t been able to get breakfast.

Big Tom Zirbel

We had about a 45 min drive to the place where we would be starting the ride. A few other guys would be joining us there to make the trip. On the drive there we passed one of our ride companions riding his bike over to the start – Big Tom Zirbel! Zirbel is a pro riding for Team Bissel and is an impressive rider. We all ended up meeting at a little organic coffee shop and had some coffee before leaving. Chad decided that he wasn’t going to attempt this ride with us and was going to do his own thing (I tried to convince him otherwise but with no success).

Up we go!

As soon as we started riding we started climbing. At one point I guess I was pushing the pace and got a slight scolding from Frank who said I needed to mindful of everyone in the group. He said “Your stronger than you think take it easy” I thought. Yea right, I’m from -10 sea level; I’m just trying to get this done! After the first climb we had a good descent in which Zirbel showed us how to do it easily picking the pace up to 40+ mph. Before heading to Rocky Mountain National Park we stopped at a Donut Shop for a break and some refueling.

Winter Wonder Land

Leaving the Donut shop we rode to Rocky Mountain National Park where we had to pay $10 just to enter. We started climbing and I asked is this it? Frank quickly said no. So for the next 5-10 miles I would keep asking if we were on the climb yet and each time he would say no and tell me to just enjoy the ride.

Finally we did reach the climb and when we did I didn’t need to ask, you could tell. It was a 20 mile trip to the top of the range and the Visitors center. At the beginning I started climbing at my own pace which was faster than most. A few minutes later Zirbel rode up to me and we started chatting and taking turns pulling. We were riding along and he got into his zone and started picking up the pace. He ended up riding away from me easily. I just kept going at my own pace and before long I was above the tree line with snow all around me. I ended up arriving at the visitor’s center about 15 minutes before the last people in our group. Zirbel actually rode up then turned around and rode back down for the others and rode back up with them. The Visitors Center was very cool and after hanging out, looking around and getting a hot dog at the concession area we started the decent back down.

Racing Legs

After the majority of the descent and leaving the national park we cam back into the little town where we stopped to have donuts earlier. This time we stopped at a little coffee shop. Leaving the coffee shop we had another “little kicker” before descending back to where we started. We got on the climb and I punched it. Zirbel came with me and we took turns pulling up the climb. About 1k from the top we were going into a headwind and I was sitting on Zirbel’s wheel putting out over 350 watts (a huge amount for me). I couldn’t hold on but only finished about 150-200 meters behind him at the top of the climb. I waited for the rest of the group while Zirbel went on (he was going to meet his g/f. Back with the rest of the group we started rotating going downhill. I think we average 33mph back to the start. When the Start was within sight we went up a slight kick. At the top I put in a little effort and only one guy was able to come with me. He came through with a little attack and I sprinted pass him at the city limit sign. After over 6 hours of riding I was still about to take a sprint against another Cat 2 rider.

BBQ

That night we all went to Frank’s house for a BBQ which was awesome. Mark was pretty upset that we had to ride our bikes overt there as he was definitely over riding for the day. The burger’s and beer were great. After 2 beers I could feel the “altitude” and decided that 2 was enough. We rode back to the hotel and because there wasn’t enough rooms for the 3 of us and since they couldn’t put a rollout bed in the room (fire code) I made a pallet on the ground made of pillows and down comforters.

Sunday:

Relentless

I got up a little stiff from the prior days ride and from the floor but was ready to go nonetheless. Chad and Mark on the other hand were done for the weekend. I set off on a ride by myself and came across Boulder Falls. I spent some time here enjoying the view and walking on the little trail to get back to the main falls (kinda difficult with cycling cleats on). They also had people rock climbing, taking pictures, and just enjoying the area; it was all pretty cool. I got back to the hotel and finished packing and we went to Frank’s to pack our bikes for shipment back to NOLA.

Delays

On the way back my seats were coach. I was spoiled by riding first class up and was pretty restless on the way back. We flew from Denver to Houston. In Houston we found the standard delays. It seems like every time I fly through Houston we are delayed. This time our delay was like 2 hours and we ended up not getting back to NOLA until after midnight and Chad and I were both exhausted.

The trip was over but I had a great time, realized that I really do love riding my bike, and that I’m not such a bad climber after all. Back now on pancake flats I’ll have to go back to the same old thing but with a revised attitude and vision!

For another write up on the Saturday ride visit this website:
http://gunznrosenthal.blogspot.com/2008/06/trail-ridge-road-report-photo-dump.html