This blog documents my travails as an amateur a professional cyclist racing around the US world.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Circus Gorilla?
For those of you who didn't believe me when I said the neutral bike at the NVGP was too small:
Hilarious...
Hilarious...
Famous People I Know, or My Man-Crush on Gavin Melly
I may be a few thousand miles from the NorCal cycling scene right now, but some news is so big it somehow makes its way to me. He’ll probably kick my ass if he ever hears about this blog post, but I have to note the fact that my good friend Gavin Melly, the Quick Mick, G-Money-G, pulled off the double this past weekend. That’s right, folks. Two races, two wins.
I know Gavin from my Stanford days. I feel like a dipshit trying write about him, because aside from knowing his way around a bike the man is a poet and a scholar. I’ve often thought about getting him to ghostwrite this thing for me so I sound learned, but he’s got better stuff to do, like wining bike races. Anywho, Gavin, despite what he may think, is a gifted cyclist who's been looking to get out of the Cat 3s. Its hard as a collegiate cyclist, because you don’t get upgrade points for college racing, but it takes up most of the season (and almost all of your time).
Well he’s as good as gold now. I still haven’t had the pleasure of any race reports, but the way I hear it he won two field sprints (at Benicia and Burlingame), each by a large enough margin so that when people publish their photos from the weekend I’ll come back and update this blog with some victory salutes. I can’t think of anyone more deserving. Congratulations, Gavin. I can’t wait to throw some elbows at ya in the next race.
Update: I'm too cheap to purchase and too scared of copyright infringement to nab, so I'll just have to link. Gavin crushing Benicia. Thats called winning with clean wheels.
I know Gavin from my Stanford days. I feel like a dipshit trying write about him, because aside from knowing his way around a bike the man is a poet and a scholar. I’ve often thought about getting him to ghostwrite this thing for me so I sound learned, but he’s got better stuff to do, like wining bike races. Anywho, Gavin, despite what he may think, is a gifted cyclist who's been looking to get out of the Cat 3s. Its hard as a collegiate cyclist, because you don’t get upgrade points for college racing, but it takes up most of the season (and almost all of your time).
Well he’s as good as gold now. I still haven’t had the pleasure of any race reports, but the way I hear it he won two field sprints (at Benicia and Burlingame), each by a large enough margin so that when people publish their photos from the weekend I’ll come back and update this blog with some victory salutes. I can’t think of anyone more deserving. Congratulations, Gavin. I can’t wait to throw some elbows at ya in the next race.
Update: I'm too cheap to purchase and too scared of copyright infringement to nab, so I'll just have to link. Gavin crushing Benicia. Thats called winning with clean wheels.
TOAD Wrap-Up
I didn't take a lot of photos over the last few days so this will have to tide you over...
Or love success?
As for the Tour of America's Dairyland... well, it may have been the best-run sporting event I’ve ever been to. If anyone out there reading this races bikes you have to come do this series next year. The people running it are not only professional and efficient, they’re also some of the nicest people I’ve met in a long time. I hope TOAD grows to be one of the biggest events on the calendar. Its got all the ingredients: great courses, big crowds, solid pay-outs and the convenience of so many races so close together. I know I’ll be back.
The penultimate race was on the fabled Downer’s Ave course. Basically a big triangle with one tricky corner and a ton of terrible pavement, this course has been hosting races for a long time and drew the biggest crowds by far. Huge street parties rock out along the course all day, and one of them was raising funds for the “UltraPrime”, worth $5800, that they handed out in our race. No, I didn’t win. In fact, I missed the break again, and when rain caused crashes in the last few laps I got caught out and limped in for 24th. While my performance was lame, the night as a whole was awesome. Its one of the few races where the crowds are so big and so loud that you can sense their effect on the racers and the cyclists all go a little nutso. Makes for some sweet racing. We also managed to scoop up some free brews after the race, which always makes things look a little rosier.
Someone printed a big photo of me for their display. I couldn't afford the picture, but I snapped a photo with my phone:
The last race in the series was in Waukesha, about 25 miles east of Milwaukee. This thing was a little L shaped devil with one hairpin and one downhill, off-camber swooper that kept things interesting. I swore before the race that I’d leave it all on the course, but somehow a break of 4 with 2 Geargrinders got off the front in the first 2 laps and stayed away. I can’t get over how some of these teams race out here. If you do the math that’s like all but 8 guys represented in the break, yet the other 60 odd people just sat in and did nothing. I tried to bridge, but people will work just hard enough to chase me down and no harder. The exception was the Champion Porsche team, who did a hard chase, but with only 3 guys they couldn’t make it happen. They announced before the race that they were throwing out a $1000 prime at some point, and they rang they bell with 5 to go. I shot to the front, but the Porsche team had control of the front and they have two solid sprinters, then Bergman, then Hartley, then me. I figured the odds of me getting the prime were slim, but I might be able to attack after the prime and stay away. So I tried. I had a good gap, but I got marked by Nick Clayville of HB (he was only 9 points up on the GC) and we couldn’t make it stick. I tried to get back in it for the sprint, but I was too far back and pretty gassed. I managed to slip in for 20th, the last paying spot. Poor Joe Lewis got 21st for the second race in a row.
A hearty NorCal shoutout to Chris Black who took top spot on the podium in the Masters 1/2/3 race at Waukesha. He’s a fixture of California cycling and a sometime official so a lot of you from the west coast probably know him. Well, he’s been racing strong out in the Midwest against guys decades younger than him, so if you see him tell him congratulations.
I dropped a GC spot to one guy from the break, but ended up in 8th overall. Not too shabby. The only guy ahead of me without a team to support him was Sheldon Deeny of Bissell, so I ain’t complaining. I was so tired from 10 races in 11 days (and a bit bummed by the last results) that I didn’t snap any photos, sorry to say. I did manage to grab a few free brewskies and Fred and I had one last Wisconsin meal before beating feet for Chicago. We did see the strangest thing. Some guy cleaning up the course threw away a perfectly good 6-pack of bud light. You should have seen Fred’s face! He was trying to bite back his anger, but he couldn’t help yelling at the guy about how poor college kids the world over would be outraged. He would have gone dumpster diving, but Tom Schuler was right there.
We said our farewells to Patrick and all the great folks who put on the race and then nabbed a bite to eat with the Hagens Berman guys. They’re pretty good people, all told, but Clayville was drinking some sort of rose or something. I don’t know how I feel about getting beaten by someone who unwinds after a long series of racing with a rose. I guess I need to train harder. Hope to see those guys at Boise and Cascade.
Right now were just logging some miles heading east. Freds gonna go race Fitchburg (an NRC stage race) while I get some much needed R&R. I get to spend some time with my bro and the East Coast fam and I’m excited about that. I never see as much of them as I’d like so this will be a treat. Don’t know how training rides in Central Park are going to go, but I’m hoping the weather is nice and even if the training isn’t great there’ll be some cuties on roller-skates or something. Time will tell.
Headed east on the old Ryan Expressway...
Or love success?
As for the Tour of America's Dairyland... well, it may have been the best-run sporting event I’ve ever been to. If anyone out there reading this races bikes you have to come do this series next year. The people running it are not only professional and efficient, they’re also some of the nicest people I’ve met in a long time. I hope TOAD grows to be one of the biggest events on the calendar. Its got all the ingredients: great courses, big crowds, solid pay-outs and the convenience of so many races so close together. I know I’ll be back.
The penultimate race was on the fabled Downer’s Ave course. Basically a big triangle with one tricky corner and a ton of terrible pavement, this course has been hosting races for a long time and drew the biggest crowds by far. Huge street parties rock out along the course all day, and one of them was raising funds for the “UltraPrime”, worth $5800, that they handed out in our race. No, I didn’t win. In fact, I missed the break again, and when rain caused crashes in the last few laps I got caught out and limped in for 24th. While my performance was lame, the night as a whole was awesome. Its one of the few races where the crowds are so big and so loud that you can sense their effect on the racers and the cyclists all go a little nutso. Makes for some sweet racing. We also managed to scoop up some free brews after the race, which always makes things look a little rosier.
Someone printed a big photo of me for their display. I couldn't afford the picture, but I snapped a photo with my phone:
The last race in the series was in Waukesha, about 25 miles east of Milwaukee. This thing was a little L shaped devil with one hairpin and one downhill, off-camber swooper that kept things interesting. I swore before the race that I’d leave it all on the course, but somehow a break of 4 with 2 Geargrinders got off the front in the first 2 laps and stayed away. I can’t get over how some of these teams race out here. If you do the math that’s like all but 8 guys represented in the break, yet the other 60 odd people just sat in and did nothing. I tried to bridge, but people will work just hard enough to chase me down and no harder. The exception was the Champion Porsche team, who did a hard chase, but with only 3 guys they couldn’t make it happen. They announced before the race that they were throwing out a $1000 prime at some point, and they rang they bell with 5 to go. I shot to the front, but the Porsche team had control of the front and they have two solid sprinters, then Bergman, then Hartley, then me. I figured the odds of me getting the prime were slim, but I might be able to attack after the prime and stay away. So I tried. I had a good gap, but I got marked by Nick Clayville of HB (he was only 9 points up on the GC) and we couldn’t make it stick. I tried to get back in it for the sprint, but I was too far back and pretty gassed. I managed to slip in for 20th, the last paying spot. Poor Joe Lewis got 21st for the second race in a row.
A hearty NorCal shoutout to Chris Black who took top spot on the podium in the Masters 1/2/3 race at Waukesha. He’s a fixture of California cycling and a sometime official so a lot of you from the west coast probably know him. Well, he’s been racing strong out in the Midwest against guys decades younger than him, so if you see him tell him congratulations.
I dropped a GC spot to one guy from the break, but ended up in 8th overall. Not too shabby. The only guy ahead of me without a team to support him was Sheldon Deeny of Bissell, so I ain’t complaining. I was so tired from 10 races in 11 days (and a bit bummed by the last results) that I didn’t snap any photos, sorry to say. I did manage to grab a few free brewskies and Fred and I had one last Wisconsin meal before beating feet for Chicago. We did see the strangest thing. Some guy cleaning up the course threw away a perfectly good 6-pack of bud light. You should have seen Fred’s face! He was trying to bite back his anger, but he couldn’t help yelling at the guy about how poor college kids the world over would be outraged. He would have gone dumpster diving, but Tom Schuler was right there.
We said our farewells to Patrick and all the great folks who put on the race and then nabbed a bite to eat with the Hagens Berman guys. They’re pretty good people, all told, but Clayville was drinking some sort of rose or something. I don’t know how I feel about getting beaten by someone who unwinds after a long series of racing with a rose. I guess I need to train harder. Hope to see those guys at Boise and Cascade.
Right now were just logging some miles heading east. Freds gonna go race Fitchburg (an NRC stage race) while I get some much needed R&R. I get to spend some time with my bro and the East Coast fam and I’m excited about that. I never see as much of them as I’d like so this will be a treat. Don’t know how training rides in Central Park are going to go, but I’m hoping the weather is nice and even if the training isn’t great there’ll be some cuties on roller-skates or something. Time will tell.
Headed east on the old Ryan Expressway...
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Greenbush and Beyond
A few more photos:
Patrick (In Team Extreme blue) owning the podium at Sheboygan:
Luring them to the booth:
Don't know if you can see, but there is a cover band rocking out right behind the tent. Prime real estate:
One for the sponsors:
I'm constantly impressed by this series of racing and I don't think I've mentioned it enough. The courses they have are incredible, the announcers are great, and they have started every single race on time down to the minute. The results are posted almost immediately after the race and I haven't heard a single complaint from any other racer. That would be a feat just for a single race, but to have put on 8 so far and not had a single foul-up... well thats just short of miraculous. I know its a long way to come to race and that most people have jobs or something, but if you race bikes you should come check out this series next year.
But what was I saying about incredible courses? Well, Greenbush takes the cake. A ten mile loop, it rolls out on a ~3% grade on a shaded road through a park, then has a rolling exposed section with some wind to mix things up and a few fast, sweeping, banked turns and then it goes through forest again over a set of short power climbs (nothing more than a minute or so) and some really fun fast descents. The finish was on a downhill after two short punchy climbs.
I am pretty much cooked by now from so much racing and when the early break went I didn't even consider trying to make it. I was focussed on drinking enough to finish the race. Fred did a yeoman service today. He's still a bit achy from his crash at Elkhorn and instead spending a day relaxing by the pool and spinning his legs he came out and did hand-ups during the race for me and some of the Rio guys. It wasn't as hot as Fond du Lac, but it was still damn hot, and without getting feeds there's just no way you'd finish a race like this. Hero for the day: Fred!
We caught the break with 2 or 3 to go (I can't even remember) and when it came back 4 more people got away, including Sheldon. I should have gone, but I just wasn't sure the legs could take the effort. Long story short: they stayed away and the group stayed together for the bunch sprint. I went hard on the last climb and had good position, but I was a bit out of it and instead of taking off over the summit I tagged onto the wheel of a guy who's been sprinting really well, but we were too far back. I saw Ben Raby run some guy totally off the road, which was exciting, and then it was all over and I was pissed. Its hard to ride 80 miles and then screw things up in the last 300 meters. Oh well. I got 11th, which ain't bad and kept me in 6th overall. I've had a few finishes where I could have done better, but to be sitting 6th having been racing all by myself ain't too shabby.
We went to Brat Fest 2009, but I was too tired to rock out. Its been a long time since I've seen a party like that. An incredible spread of food, booze and beer and, being the midwest, a whole host of treats all made with bacon, including chocolate covered bacon and bacon cookies. God Bless you Midwest.
My butt is so sore from all this racing that I might just have to attack out of that saddle for the rest of the weekend. I'll let you know how that turns out.
Patrick (In Team Extreme blue) owning the podium at Sheboygan:
Luring them to the booth:
Don't know if you can see, but there is a cover band rocking out right behind the tent. Prime real estate:
One for the sponsors:
I'm constantly impressed by this series of racing and I don't think I've mentioned it enough. The courses they have are incredible, the announcers are great, and they have started every single race on time down to the minute. The results are posted almost immediately after the race and I haven't heard a single complaint from any other racer. That would be a feat just for a single race, but to have put on 8 so far and not had a single foul-up... well thats just short of miraculous. I know its a long way to come to race and that most people have jobs or something, but if you race bikes you should come check out this series next year.
But what was I saying about incredible courses? Well, Greenbush takes the cake. A ten mile loop, it rolls out on a ~3% grade on a shaded road through a park, then has a rolling exposed section with some wind to mix things up and a few fast, sweeping, banked turns and then it goes through forest again over a set of short power climbs (nothing more than a minute or so) and some really fun fast descents. The finish was on a downhill after two short punchy climbs.
I am pretty much cooked by now from so much racing and when the early break went I didn't even consider trying to make it. I was focussed on drinking enough to finish the race. Fred did a yeoman service today. He's still a bit achy from his crash at Elkhorn and instead spending a day relaxing by the pool and spinning his legs he came out and did hand-ups during the race for me and some of the Rio guys. It wasn't as hot as Fond du Lac, but it was still damn hot, and without getting feeds there's just no way you'd finish a race like this. Hero for the day: Fred!
We caught the break with 2 or 3 to go (I can't even remember) and when it came back 4 more people got away, including Sheldon. I should have gone, but I just wasn't sure the legs could take the effort. Long story short: they stayed away and the group stayed together for the bunch sprint. I went hard on the last climb and had good position, but I was a bit out of it and instead of taking off over the summit I tagged onto the wheel of a guy who's been sprinting really well, but we were too far back. I saw Ben Raby run some guy totally off the road, which was exciting, and then it was all over and I was pissed. Its hard to ride 80 miles and then screw things up in the last 300 meters. Oh well. I got 11th, which ain't bad and kept me in 6th overall. I've had a few finishes where I could have done better, but to be sitting 6th having been racing all by myself ain't too shabby.
We went to Brat Fest 2009, but I was too tired to rock out. Its been a long time since I've seen a party like that. An incredible spread of food, booze and beer and, being the midwest, a whole host of treats all made with bacon, including chocolate covered bacon and bacon cookies. God Bless you Midwest.
My butt is so sore from all this racing that I might just have to attack out of that saddle for the rest of the weekend. I'll let you know how that turns out.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Sheboygan
Just got back from yet another crit. Flat and four corners. It was hot, but not as hot as it had been. Not too much notable except that there was something in the third corner that started causing flats about halfway through. I was right inside the guy who had the first one and, boy howdy, did he go down hard! Then there were a couple more in the same spot throughout the race, right in the turn going fast as hell.
I think all the racing is finally catching up with me and I felt pretty cooked right from the gun. A lot of people in the field were pretty toasted too and you could tell. The whole pack was just dogging it today. So, realizing everyone else was a burnt as I was I figured I'd try an attack, but apparently they had enough left in the tank to stick with me. Nothing stayed away and it came down to a pretty sketchy bunch sprint. I attacked with 3 to go just to get to the front and then settled in not too far back when they caught me. I was towards the front, but not far enough and almost got taken down on the back straight on the last lap. I went left as they fell right. Really lucky. Then it was just elbows, screams and flashes of spandex as people went totally nuts, flatting and flying around like lunatics. I was too far back, again, and I had to hit the breaks and then restart my sprint to get around some numbskulls who sat up. I managed to slot in for 16th. In the money, but pretty mediocre.
Todays highlight came after the race. I've been hanging out and seeing the same people every day at these races, and Fred makes friends faster than anyone I've ever known. So as we were packing up after the race the organizers invited us out to dinner with them. We went to some huge place right on the river and sat outside with them and all the volunteers (like 30 people in all) drinkin beers and yukking it up while the sun set on the river. Jack (the executive director) is a young Cat 2 who's been working his butt off since October to get this thing going. He's awesome, and can really make tracks driving the pace car. Bill is also a big wig organizer and a heck of a nice guy. He keeps asking me when I'm gonna win again. Anywho we all just rocked out for a while, had a great time and then when the bill came they picked up the whole shebang. When you're on the road trying to stretch your budget a great night out is sweet, but a great night out where someone else picks up the tab is about the best thing in the world.
Fred and I also got introduced to Tom Schuler which was sweet. Aside from organizing the race Tom is also the GM for Team Type 1. He strikes me as a guy who's just genuinely fired up about cycling. He's elated that the series is going so well, and when he heard that we were staying with a rider from Team Extreme (a local club of mostly cat 4/5 racers) it put him over the top. He did a training camp for them earlier this year and he was still fired up about all the newer racers making progress in the sport. Very cool. So he invited us over to party at his house tomorrow night for BratFest 2009 and we're definitely going. Too bad we'll still have two days of racing so we won't be able to really show him how to party, but it should be a good time all the same. We'll certainly have earned a few brats after 80 hilly miles in this heat.
I lied. Dinner was nice, but the biggest highlight of the day was Patrick's race (he's the guy we're staying with). He's suffered form some bum luck this series, breaking a shifter during his hometown race and then getting run off the road during the sprint in the RR. Well, today it finally worked out for him. He came flying past us going like a bat out of hell to take the field sprint. There was just one guy up the road so the extreme effort by the Brocket nabbed him a rock solid second place. I think it might have been his first podium as a cat 4 and he was pretty stoked. He should be. He earned it.
I'm going to bed. I'll do my best to get some photos up tomorrow so this blog isn't just a big page of stupid words.
Fred is actually on Twitter (yes, thats like a hundred times worse than blogging) but you should check it out nevertheless. Also, it turns out a few people are actually reading this thing, and to those of you who are and went out of your way to leave a comment or just say you're out there: thanks!
I think all the racing is finally catching up with me and I felt pretty cooked right from the gun. A lot of people in the field were pretty toasted too and you could tell. The whole pack was just dogging it today. So, realizing everyone else was a burnt as I was I figured I'd try an attack, but apparently they had enough left in the tank to stick with me. Nothing stayed away and it came down to a pretty sketchy bunch sprint. I attacked with 3 to go just to get to the front and then settled in not too far back when they caught me. I was towards the front, but not far enough and almost got taken down on the back straight on the last lap. I went left as they fell right. Really lucky. Then it was just elbows, screams and flashes of spandex as people went totally nuts, flatting and flying around like lunatics. I was too far back, again, and I had to hit the breaks and then restart my sprint to get around some numbskulls who sat up. I managed to slot in for 16th. In the money, but pretty mediocre.
Todays highlight came after the race. I've been hanging out and seeing the same people every day at these races, and Fred makes friends faster than anyone I've ever known. So as we were packing up after the race the organizers invited us out to dinner with them. We went to some huge place right on the river and sat outside with them and all the volunteers (like 30 people in all) drinkin beers and yukking it up while the sun set on the river. Jack (the executive director) is a young Cat 2 who's been working his butt off since October to get this thing going. He's awesome, and can really make tracks driving the pace car. Bill is also a big wig organizer and a heck of a nice guy. He keeps asking me when I'm gonna win again. Anywho we all just rocked out for a while, had a great time and then when the bill came they picked up the whole shebang. When you're on the road trying to stretch your budget a great night out is sweet, but a great night out where someone else picks up the tab is about the best thing in the world.
Fred and I also got introduced to Tom Schuler which was sweet. Aside from organizing the race Tom is also the GM for Team Type 1. He strikes me as a guy who's just genuinely fired up about cycling. He's elated that the series is going so well, and when he heard that we were staying with a rider from Team Extreme (a local club of mostly cat 4/5 racers) it put him over the top. He did a training camp for them earlier this year and he was still fired up about all the newer racers making progress in the sport. Very cool. So he invited us over to party at his house tomorrow night for BratFest 2009 and we're definitely going. Too bad we'll still have two days of racing so we won't be able to really show him how to party, but it should be a good time all the same. We'll certainly have earned a few brats after 80 hilly miles in this heat.
I lied. Dinner was nice, but the biggest highlight of the day was Patrick's race (he's the guy we're staying with). He's suffered form some bum luck this series, breaking a shifter during his hometown race and then getting run off the road during the sprint in the RR. Well, today it finally worked out for him. He came flying past us going like a bat out of hell to take the field sprint. There was just one guy up the road so the extreme effort by the Brocket nabbed him a rock solid second place. I think it might have been his first podium as a cat 4 and he was pretty stoked. He should be. He earned it.
I'm going to bed. I'll do my best to get some photos up tomorrow so this blog isn't just a big page of stupid words.
Fred is actually on Twitter (yes, thats like a hundred times worse than blogging) but you should check it out nevertheless. Also, it turns out a few people are actually reading this thing, and to those of you who are and went out of your way to leave a comment or just say you're out there: thanks!
Fond du Lac Reporter
Little ditty from the local paper. I didn't know that Williams made steel wheels. Ha! She was an awfully nice lady, but the accuracy of her quoting leaves a bit to be desired. Oh well, its just nice to see my name in print.
Cycling Gods Frown on Hairy Legs
Yesterday at the Fond Du Lac Criterium I was overwhelmed with a strange mix of feelings: Elation from the win, exhaustion from the 1.7 hours of sleep (had to pick Fred up at 4:40am), and discomfort from the insane heat and the Denny's breakfast that felt like it was trying to exact revenge for waking it up so early. Tired, sick and hot is not normally the best way to go into a race, but you'd be surprised how much that bit of elation can even out the mix.
Wisconsin sunrise picking up Fred:
I know I've said it already, but it is hot here. Fred had the right idea and immediately stripped down to his board shorts and took a nap in the shade. The sun would move and maybe a quarter sized shaft of light would hit him and that would be enough to wake him and force him to move. We spent the whole day cooking, or being cooked I should say; the first way makes it sound like we were having a delightful barbecue. Manning the Williams Wheels booth is an interesting experience because you get such a wide variety of people, from serious racers to weekend warriors to the best and worst of local color. Every now and then you get people who don't really look like they're ever ridden a bike in their lives. They're more interested in finding anyone to talk to them than Williams Wheels, but Freddo and I are representing the company and you just have to chat it up. Its nice to have Fred here finally because he has the gift of gab and can take over when my enthusiasm might be flagging a bit. Yesterday he chatted for a long time with a man who must have been 280lbs and had literally one tooth left. Fred was kind, courteous and helpful the whole time, but when he left Fred looked at me and said, "Well, at least he's got one thing goin' for him." Cracked me up.
Fred, post-nap:
The race itself wasn't much to speak of. Flat four corners. Pretty standard. I threw in a few digs early in the race and was surprised to feel half decent, but I couldn't get anything going and figured I'd sit in for a bit. Bad choice. Somehow a group of 11 guys trickled up the road in 2s and 3s and I completely missed the boat. Keith! Where are you with the race radio?! I didn't really know that was the case until too late so I just settled in for the sprint. It was all looking good with one to go as I had tacked myself onto Frank Pipps wheel and he had Sheldon to lead him out, but when Frank yelled go Sheldon didn't light it up (no room maybe?) and we got swarmed before the first corner. I lost a lot of spots and though I found the wind on the backside to make a move I was on the outside and couldn't get a good line through the last two corners going that fast. The finishes to these crits are weird too. Even though some of the roads are really wide, they use barriers to narrow it down to less than two lanes wide for this finishing banner. Not so sweet. Meh. So be it.
They almost forgot to do the podium for the road race, but Lisa and Jack (organizers and really nice people) saw my face and made it happen. I must of looked like a kid who'd been told there'd be no Christmas this year. Everything worked out and Miss Wisconsin and Miss Teen Wisconsin (thinking of you here, Rand) presented me with the ceremonial cow-print stage winners jersey. Awesome.
Ceremonial Chocolate Milk:
Wisconsin sunrise picking up Fred:
I know I've said it already, but it is hot here. Fred had the right idea and immediately stripped down to his board shorts and took a nap in the shade. The sun would move and maybe a quarter sized shaft of light would hit him and that would be enough to wake him and force him to move. We spent the whole day cooking, or being cooked I should say; the first way makes it sound like we were having a delightful barbecue. Manning the Williams Wheels booth is an interesting experience because you get such a wide variety of people, from serious racers to weekend warriors to the best and worst of local color. Every now and then you get people who don't really look like they're ever ridden a bike in their lives. They're more interested in finding anyone to talk to them than Williams Wheels, but Freddo and I are representing the company and you just have to chat it up. Its nice to have Fred here finally because he has the gift of gab and can take over when my enthusiasm might be flagging a bit. Yesterday he chatted for a long time with a man who must have been 280lbs and had literally one tooth left. Fred was kind, courteous and helpful the whole time, but when he left Fred looked at me and said, "Well, at least he's got one thing goin' for him." Cracked me up.
Fred, post-nap:
The race itself wasn't much to speak of. Flat four corners. Pretty standard. I threw in a few digs early in the race and was surprised to feel half decent, but I couldn't get anything going and figured I'd sit in for a bit. Bad choice. Somehow a group of 11 guys trickled up the road in 2s and 3s and I completely missed the boat. Keith! Where are you with the race radio?! I didn't really know that was the case until too late so I just settled in for the sprint. It was all looking good with one to go as I had tacked myself onto Frank Pipps wheel and he had Sheldon to lead him out, but when Frank yelled go Sheldon didn't light it up (no room maybe?) and we got swarmed before the first corner. I lost a lot of spots and though I found the wind on the backside to make a move I was on the outside and couldn't get a good line through the last two corners going that fast. The finishes to these crits are weird too. Even though some of the roads are really wide, they use barriers to narrow it down to less than two lanes wide for this finishing banner. Not so sweet. Meh. So be it.
They almost forgot to do the podium for the road race, but Lisa and Jack (organizers and really nice people) saw my face and made it happen. I must of looked like a kid who'd been told there'd be no Christmas this year. Everything worked out and Miss Wisconsin and Miss Teen Wisconsin (thinking of you here, Rand) presented me with the ceremonial cow-print stage winners jersey. Awesome.
Ceremonial Chocolate Milk:
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Boom
I finally got one! Stage 5 of the ToAD, the Fond du Lac Road Race, is in the books. Mark it a W. I've felt like my legs have been getting better and better and today things finally came together. This is how it went down.
It was a hot day. How hot? This hot. So hot it melted the road. Literally. Throw in some ridiculous humidity and you get maybe the hottest race of my life. I was late getting to the course because I made three different stops for coffee, breakfast and ice and I was running around franticly mixing bottles and getting things prepped to race. I had just enough time for three cute women to throw water on me before the start (true). Its probably good I didn't have time to slow down, because if I had I might have realized how ridiculous it was to be racing 80 miles in this ungodly heat. Perhaps not thinking was the theme of the day because when someone attacked less than a mile into the race I just jumped on it and away we went.
We were a group of 4 briefly before the break swelled to 8. And it was a good group. Eight people, all from different teams, including Sheldon Deeny from Bissell and Cole House from BMC. We were rolling along pretty well and got the gap up to 4 and a half minutes, but Aaron (Hagens Berman) and Cole were skipping a lot of pulls. Normally you get pissed and start yelling to keep things rolling smoothly, but in this kind of heat you had to button your lip, feel sorry and just pull through. Cole had no teammates and was just looking out for himself and Aaron was suffering just to keep his team represented.
In the break.
The laps were 10 mile, mostly flat squares with just a few short steep pitches and little wind. We would hit pockets of still air and it felt like someone had aimed a space heater at us. For the next 60 miles it was basically smooth sailing. I gotta give a shout out to Corey Carlson of Team Rio Grande from Colorado. He's the coach for DU where my sister goes, a solid bike racer and nice enough guy to feed for his team and sling me a few bottles today. When he offered to feed me before the race I didn't know there was no neutral feed. If it hadn't been for him I'd have been passed out on the side of the road after about 20 miles. I started with three big bottles and kept taking on at least one each lap.
Screaming for water like my life depended on it.
Somewhere on the 8th lap, after hearing that the chase was only 40 seconds back, a Gear Grinder rider put in a little effort up the biggest kicker and we lost two of the riders, bringing us down to 6. At that point it was just me, Sheldon, and the GG guy taking pulls and I was not at all confident that I could beat the others after pulling them all around the course, so I took off. Did I mention it was really hot? I got a good gap right off the bat, but after a mile or two I could see that the chase had caught them and that the new larger group was gaining on me, so I sat up. 2 to go. At this point I started sitting on for the most part. I'd pull through every now and then, but I was pretty cooked and was mostly just catching a ride.
Things started picking up with 1 to go and then with half a lap left even more people bridged up. There were now 3 GG riders, a couple of Texas Roadhouse, multiple Hagens Berman and a smattering of other riders. Attacks were coming frequently, but with a diverse group like that nothing was getting away. With just a few miles to go Sheldon jumped hard and I got on his wheel, but I couldn't really pull through and we didn't have much of a gap.
Then it happened. Its funny how bike racing goes down. You can be in the winning move a dozen times and not get the win. In those final few miles of a race it has as much to do with luck as it does with fitness. Guys like Chris Hipp have hammered home the fact that experience is priceless, and you have to be fit, but you also just have to pick the right move at the right moment. Today, I lucked out. The GG guys had been taking turns attacking, but after catching one of the attacks the break slowed up and when the next guy went with about a mile and a half I had a clear lane to follow. I chased hard to get on his wheel and then pulled through after seeing we had a bit of a gap. He sat on for a little bit after I flicked him through and then he attacked the hell out of me. It took an effort to get back on his wheel, and may or may not have called him a dick. When he motioned me through we had a brief exchange:
Me: "What, are you gonna attack me again?"
Him, looking back at the chasing field: "We're gonna have to sprint this one out."
Me: "YES YES YES YES"
Okay, I didn't actually say that out loud, but I was screaming it in my head. He was leaner than I am (like everyone else in cycling) and we still had to get over the feed zone rise before the line, but after being able to cover his accelerations I liked my odds in the sprint. I pulled up the rise to keep my speed up and then let him come around. He started to go from maybe 250 meters and I was able to get onto his wheel. At this point I was kinda freakin' out. To be on this wiry guys wheel with 200 meters to go and the rest of the field too far back I finally let myself believe that I could take it. And take it I did. I left it really late, down to 100 meters, before I started my sprint because I was afraid I would cramp ruin everything. When I came around him I felt like I was flying.
Its been a long time since I've taken a win and let me tell you it feels even better than I remember. Not much time to celebrate as I made a bee-line for the kiddie pool I had spotted and pretty much collapsed into it. They put off the podium until tomorrow (not many people hanging around in the parking lot in that kind of heat) and its actually kind of nice. Its like getting to celebrate Christmas and Chanukah.
I'm back at the ranch now after going out for little celebratory dinner with Patrick, the guy who's putting me up. Fingers are tired after tapping away and I'm going to try to catch 40 winks before I have to go pick up the inimitable Stamm Dance at the airport at 5am. Yep, I like Freddo so much that I will drag myself out of bed at 4:30 in the morning to collect him. So off to bed I go. I hear they give you a cow print jersey for a stage win. If thats true I'll be sure to get a photo!
A few local news outlets covered the race:
Video 1
Video 2
It was a hot day. How hot? This hot. So hot it melted the road. Literally. Throw in some ridiculous humidity and you get maybe the hottest race of my life. I was late getting to the course because I made three different stops for coffee, breakfast and ice and I was running around franticly mixing bottles and getting things prepped to race. I had just enough time for three cute women to throw water on me before the start (true). Its probably good I didn't have time to slow down, because if I had I might have realized how ridiculous it was to be racing 80 miles in this ungodly heat. Perhaps not thinking was the theme of the day because when someone attacked less than a mile into the race I just jumped on it and away we went.
We were a group of 4 briefly before the break swelled to 8. And it was a good group. Eight people, all from different teams, including Sheldon Deeny from Bissell and Cole House from BMC. We were rolling along pretty well and got the gap up to 4 and a half minutes, but Aaron (Hagens Berman) and Cole were skipping a lot of pulls. Normally you get pissed and start yelling to keep things rolling smoothly, but in this kind of heat you had to button your lip, feel sorry and just pull through. Cole had no teammates and was just looking out for himself and Aaron was suffering just to keep his team represented.
In the break.
The laps were 10 mile, mostly flat squares with just a few short steep pitches and little wind. We would hit pockets of still air and it felt like someone had aimed a space heater at us. For the next 60 miles it was basically smooth sailing. I gotta give a shout out to Corey Carlson of Team Rio Grande from Colorado. He's the coach for DU where my sister goes, a solid bike racer and nice enough guy to feed for his team and sling me a few bottles today. When he offered to feed me before the race I didn't know there was no neutral feed. If it hadn't been for him I'd have been passed out on the side of the road after about 20 miles. I started with three big bottles and kept taking on at least one each lap.
Screaming for water like my life depended on it.
Somewhere on the 8th lap, after hearing that the chase was only 40 seconds back, a Gear Grinder rider put in a little effort up the biggest kicker and we lost two of the riders, bringing us down to 6. At that point it was just me, Sheldon, and the GG guy taking pulls and I was not at all confident that I could beat the others after pulling them all around the course, so I took off. Did I mention it was really hot? I got a good gap right off the bat, but after a mile or two I could see that the chase had caught them and that the new larger group was gaining on me, so I sat up. 2 to go. At this point I started sitting on for the most part. I'd pull through every now and then, but I was pretty cooked and was mostly just catching a ride.
Things started picking up with 1 to go and then with half a lap left even more people bridged up. There were now 3 GG riders, a couple of Texas Roadhouse, multiple Hagens Berman and a smattering of other riders. Attacks were coming frequently, but with a diverse group like that nothing was getting away. With just a few miles to go Sheldon jumped hard and I got on his wheel, but I couldn't really pull through and we didn't have much of a gap.
Then it happened. Its funny how bike racing goes down. You can be in the winning move a dozen times and not get the win. In those final few miles of a race it has as much to do with luck as it does with fitness. Guys like Chris Hipp have hammered home the fact that experience is priceless, and you have to be fit, but you also just have to pick the right move at the right moment. Today, I lucked out. The GG guys had been taking turns attacking, but after catching one of the attacks the break slowed up and when the next guy went with about a mile and a half I had a clear lane to follow. I chased hard to get on his wheel and then pulled through after seeing we had a bit of a gap. He sat on for a little bit after I flicked him through and then he attacked the hell out of me. It took an effort to get back on his wheel, and may or may not have called him a dick. When he motioned me through we had a brief exchange:
Me: "What, are you gonna attack me again?"
Him, looking back at the chasing field: "We're gonna have to sprint this one out."
Me: "YES YES YES YES"
Okay, I didn't actually say that out loud, but I was screaming it in my head. He was leaner than I am (like everyone else in cycling) and we still had to get over the feed zone rise before the line, but after being able to cover his accelerations I liked my odds in the sprint. I pulled up the rise to keep my speed up and then let him come around. He started to go from maybe 250 meters and I was able to get onto his wheel. At this point I was kinda freakin' out. To be on this wiry guys wheel with 200 meters to go and the rest of the field too far back I finally let myself believe that I could take it. And take it I did. I left it really late, down to 100 meters, before I started my sprint because I was afraid I would cramp ruin everything. When I came around him I felt like I was flying.
Its been a long time since I've taken a win and let me tell you it feels even better than I remember. Not much time to celebrate as I made a bee-line for the kiddie pool I had spotted and pretty much collapsed into it. They put off the podium until tomorrow (not many people hanging around in the parking lot in that kind of heat) and its actually kind of nice. Its like getting to celebrate Christmas and Chanukah.
I'm back at the ranch now after going out for little celebratory dinner with Patrick, the guy who's putting me up. Fingers are tired after tapping away and I'm going to try to catch 40 winks before I have to go pick up the inimitable Stamm Dance at the airport at 5am. Yep, I like Freddo so much that I will drag myself out of bed at 4:30 in the morning to collect him. So off to bed I go. I hear they give you a cow print jersey for a stage win. If thats true I'll be sure to get a photo!
A few local news outlets covered the race:
Video 1
Video 2
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Shout-out
Someone wrote a few kind words about me on the norcalcyclingnews blog. Yes, I assure you its there. If you keep reading past the part about how Shelly Olds is pretty much the undisputed queen of smackdown there's a nice note on my good TT at Nature Valley. Never mind that I didn't have another good ride that whole race (nor have I since, for that matter). Its still nice to know someone somewhere cares.
While I'm at it I should throw out two more links. This one is the main site for the Tour of America's Dairyland & this one is the cyclingnews (the real cyclingnews) coverage of the race.
One more. Here's the coverage of the Tour de Nez, a recent omnium in Reno. Little old norcal mixing it up with the big boys. I'm still waiting on the full results but it sounds like some of my Webcor teammates held their own, and Amber Rais (an old teammate from my college days) wrecked house and took 2 stage wins on the way to her overall victory. I have a few theories on how she pulled off such a strong ride. It was either the fact that Tour de Nez is her hometown race, inspiration from triumphant return of David Pierce (Amber's fiancee and something of a legend), or the fact that she's a naturally gifted athlete and one hell of a bike racer.
While I'm at it I should throw out two more links. This one is the main site for the Tour of America's Dairyland & this one is the cyclingnews (the real cyclingnews) coverage of the race.
One more. Here's the coverage of the Tour de Nez, a recent omnium in Reno. Little old norcal mixing it up with the big boys. I'm still waiting on the full results but it sounds like some of my Webcor teammates held their own, and Amber Rais (an old teammate from my college days) wrecked house and took 2 stage wins on the way to her overall victory. I have a few theories on how she pulled off such a strong ride. It was either the fact that Tour de Nez is her hometown race, inspiration from triumphant return of David Pierce (Amber's fiancee and something of a legend), or the fact that she's a naturally gifted athlete and one hell of a bike racer.
Photo Update
Here ya go, a few pics:
Hosts in West Bend making me feel welcome
Best part of doing a race sponsored by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board? All the chocolate milk you can drink
Masters 1-2-3 race heading through the finish with a few to go
Me at the booth in Grafton before my race.
Hosts in West Bend making me feel welcome
Best part of doing a race sponsored by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board? All the chocolate milk you can drink
Masters 1-2-3 race heading through the finish with a few to go
Me at the booth in Grafton before my race.
Giro d’Grafton
After a long day of manning the Williams booth and taking in the sweet tones of the Midwestern accent I finally donned the Webcor kit and started rolling around. It was a hot day, but not too humid as many of the days here have been. This course was a wide open 6 turn crit with all pedaling turns except for the last one. The final turn was a hard, tighter-than-90 right after a short downhill that led into the long finishing straight.
I haven’t been riding crits very well lately. They used to be my bread and butter, but after a crash or two and some poor finishes I’ve had a hard time getting into the groove. Well today I finally turned it around. I was up at the front for the start of the race and feeling pretty good. Everything finally just seemed to click. I was moving through the pack much better than I have been and it just seemed like the lines were opening up for me. About halfway through the race they called a $200 merch prime while I was sitting 5th wheel and I figured I’d give it a go. On the backside of the course with 2 turns to go a Rio rider jumped for it and got a gap on me but I lit out after him and managed to catch and pass him with about 300 meters to go with no one on my wheel. Nice.
There was a big break up the road and although we were keeping our speed up the gap was hovering at about 30 seconds. Then then Bissel put in some good work and started bringing it down a bit. The organizers had done a silent auction for a Trek hybrid and they put the proceeds into a super prime of $1000. They told us that they’d be ringing the bell for the super prime in 3 laps and we picked up speed as the break started to get tactical with each other. We had them in sight for the prime lap, but no one wanted to be the one to bring it all the way back.
I was busting my butt to stay up front, railing the corners and feeling pretty good as the laps ticked down. With one to go I was a little farther back than I wanted to be but still sitting in decent position. As we flew into the last tricky corner someone moved way off their line and although no one hit the deck things got a little whacky. I managed to pick my way through, latch onto Freys wheel and stay seated until about 100 meters. One man's take on that corner here. Frank Pipp came around me, but I hung in there for 6th. Okay okay, 6th ain’t even on the podium, but it’s the best finish I’ve had in a while and even more important than prime and a small check was the feeling of being back in the groove. Hopefully it’s a sign of good things to come.
I should also say that the people giving me host housing, Patrick and Sarah, were kind enough to hang around for hours and cheer me on. Its such a treat to be 2000 miles from home and still have someone cheering your name during a race. I’m forever blown away by the hospitality of people who welcome total strangers into their homes and treat them with such kindness.
Looking forward to some more good racing!
I haven’t been riding crits very well lately. They used to be my bread and butter, but after a crash or two and some poor finishes I’ve had a hard time getting into the groove. Well today I finally turned it around. I was up at the front for the start of the race and feeling pretty good. Everything finally just seemed to click. I was moving through the pack much better than I have been and it just seemed like the lines were opening up for me. About halfway through the race they called a $200 merch prime while I was sitting 5th wheel and I figured I’d give it a go. On the backside of the course with 2 turns to go a Rio rider jumped for it and got a gap on me but I lit out after him and managed to catch and pass him with about 300 meters to go with no one on my wheel. Nice.
There was a big break up the road and although we were keeping our speed up the gap was hovering at about 30 seconds. Then then Bissel put in some good work and started bringing it down a bit. The organizers had done a silent auction for a Trek hybrid and they put the proceeds into a super prime of $1000. They told us that they’d be ringing the bell for the super prime in 3 laps and we picked up speed as the break started to get tactical with each other. We had them in sight for the prime lap, but no one wanted to be the one to bring it all the way back.
I was busting my butt to stay up front, railing the corners and feeling pretty good as the laps ticked down. With one to go I was a little farther back than I wanted to be but still sitting in decent position. As we flew into the last tricky corner someone moved way off their line and although no one hit the deck things got a little whacky. I managed to pick my way through, latch onto Freys wheel and stay seated until about 100 meters. One man's take on that corner here. Frank Pipp came around me, but I hung in there for 6th. Okay okay, 6th ain’t even on the podium, but it’s the best finish I’ve had in a while and even more important than prime and a small check was the feeling of being back in the groove. Hopefully it’s a sign of good things to come.
I should also say that the people giving me host housing, Patrick and Sarah, were kind enough to hang around for hours and cheer me on. Its such a treat to be 2000 miles from home and still have someone cheering your name during a race. I’m forever blown away by the hospitality of people who welcome total strangers into their homes and treat them with such kindness.
Looking forward to some more good racing!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Waterloo Criterium
I showed up a little late to the course and the racing was already underway. This was something less than ideal as the expo area was inside the course and they wouldn’t let me drive the van over, even though it was between races. So I had to lug the whole display a block and a half to the expo area. I’m not as strong as I used to be and that left me pretty tuckered. They also told me I couldn’t set the display up on level ground because we were in a police lot and they needed the parking. Well, sure enough, no more than an hour after I got everything put together some guys drives up across the course and sets up his display on the flat ground. Dammit! So I suppose he had some pull because he was the Wisconsin Cheese Display and they’re the title sponsor. Eh, whaddyagonnado?
The course was a sweet and reminded me a lot of a Belgian Kermis. 1.6 miles with 3 long straights and then a back stretch that wound slightly uphill through a park as it narrowed to one lane before heading into a technical left, right, left that spit you back onto the finishing straight: 600 meters into a headwind.
As we lined up the announcers told us to look behind us. A huge wall of dark threatening clouds was towering into the sky and slowly creeping towards us. There was a prolonged hiss as almost all the riders let some air out of their tires. Although the course was still dry, everyone knew the rain was coming, and with the possibility of having the race called early everyone was itching to get off the front. One break after another would jump away only to be brought back. I was riding near the front trying to be aggressive despite having pretty bad legs. I managed to get into a move or two and then made a really bad choice. Something got away that looked threatening and I tried to jump across by myself. I had it pinned for almost a full lap and never could get across. It didn’t matter, as the field never let me get that far and pulled them back before too long. I was pretty shot and ended up being the caboose for a few laps.
I finally managed to recover and get back into the thick of things. With about 30 minutes left of the 90 minute race the skies finally opened up and the course got really, really slick. There was a lot of pain in the turns and when that stuff gets wet its like riding on ice. Don’t believe me? Ask Denis Menchov, who crashed in the final TT of the Giro on flat straight road when he hit some paint. One other thing that happens in the rain is that anyone riding carbon rims loses almost all their braking ability. I’d say you’re looking at like 1/5th to 1/10th of the braking you’d have under normal conditions. Yikes. Things were rippin pretty fast, but staying safe through the corners as the pack slowly reeled in a two man break as the laps ticked down. With 2 to go people started to get aggressive through the corners which is just a recipe for disaster. I hung back a little bit, unwilling to put too much on the line with things so dicey.
Sure enough there was a big crash in the second corner of the last lap. I could see it coming a mile away and managed to ride around it and sprint back onto the back of the field. I should have charged straight up to the front and pinned it, but I hesitated and that sunk me. When things pinched down before the technical section I was too far back and after being spit out onto the final straight strung out single file I could only make up a few spots in the sprint. I’m certainly not feeling my best, but I had the legs to go top ten easily, had I not hesitated on that last lap. Oh well. I was in the money and if I just get a little better every day I’ll be rolling well before long.
The course was a sweet and reminded me a lot of a Belgian Kermis. 1.6 miles with 3 long straights and then a back stretch that wound slightly uphill through a park as it narrowed to one lane before heading into a technical left, right, left that spit you back onto the finishing straight: 600 meters into a headwind.
As we lined up the announcers told us to look behind us. A huge wall of dark threatening clouds was towering into the sky and slowly creeping towards us. There was a prolonged hiss as almost all the riders let some air out of their tires. Although the course was still dry, everyone knew the rain was coming, and with the possibility of having the race called early everyone was itching to get off the front. One break after another would jump away only to be brought back. I was riding near the front trying to be aggressive despite having pretty bad legs. I managed to get into a move or two and then made a really bad choice. Something got away that looked threatening and I tried to jump across by myself. I had it pinned for almost a full lap and never could get across. It didn’t matter, as the field never let me get that far and pulled them back before too long. I was pretty shot and ended up being the caboose for a few laps.
I finally managed to recover and get back into the thick of things. With about 30 minutes left of the 90 minute race the skies finally opened up and the course got really, really slick. There was a lot of pain in the turns and when that stuff gets wet its like riding on ice. Don’t believe me? Ask Denis Menchov, who crashed in the final TT of the Giro on flat straight road when he hit some paint. One other thing that happens in the rain is that anyone riding carbon rims loses almost all their braking ability. I’d say you’re looking at like 1/5th to 1/10th of the braking you’d have under normal conditions. Yikes. Things were rippin pretty fast, but staying safe through the corners as the pack slowly reeled in a two man break as the laps ticked down. With 2 to go people started to get aggressive through the corners which is just a recipe for disaster. I hung back a little bit, unwilling to put too much on the line with things so dicey.
Sure enough there was a big crash in the second corner of the last lap. I could see it coming a mile away and managed to ride around it and sprint back onto the back of the field. I should have charged straight up to the front and pinned it, but I hesitated and that sunk me. When things pinched down before the technical section I was too far back and after being spit out onto the final straight strung out single file I could only make up a few spots in the sprint. I’m certainly not feeling my best, but I had the legs to go top ten easily, had I not hesitated on that last lap. Oh well. I was in the money and if I just get a little better every day I’ll be rolling well before long.
Helloooooo Wisconsin
I’ve been sick. Yep. Sore throat, oodles of phlegm, the whole deal. Lame. I was hoping to get some good fitness from Nature Valley, but it looks like I dug a little too deep and now I’m paying the price.
I mostly just lay around for the few days after the race until Wednesday when I struck out for Wisconsin. After one night in a hotel I lit out bright and early for the first stage of the ToAD (Tour of America’s Dairyland). Sick and tired is no way to start a 10 day series, least of all when the first stage is a 90 mile road race with a ton of climbing. I would have happily skipped the race and slept in, but you have to do all the races to be considered for the omnium so I headed out there.
The course was really a beauty. Gorgeous rolling roads with a couple short steep climbs and one longer steep drag and a finishing circuit up to a park at the top of Blue Mounds. If Chicago gets the 2016 olympics this is the course they’ll use for the RR and it would sure make for an interesting dynamic race. Long story short, I got dropped during the neutral rollout and did one lap to stretch the legs and see the course.
For the last two nights I’ve been Staying in Madison thanks to Jenny Meyer. Jenny is my good friend and former teammate Rob’s sister. Rob is working for Specialized and is also coming onto some killer form, honing his TT skills in preparation for a run at Track Nationals and putting the hurt on norcal in the process. Jenny is one hell of an athlete in her own right and was off the do a half Ironman on Saturday. That kind of effort blows me away. If I ran to catch a bus I’d be sore for days and I swim like a penguin flies. Hopefully if goes well for her.
Jenny helped me find a place in Madison and I’m pretty impressed with the town. I stayed on the isthmus and it was a pretty hip scene, some kind of mix between hipsters, crunchy granola types, grad-school ghetto and some families. Really nice. The first night I got there Jenny was nice enough to take me over to a friends where she made some stellar risotto and a fresh salad. Home-cooked meals are a real treat.
Later that night the weather took a turn for the worse. A big storm rolled in and right when I was trying to get to bed things really got crazy. I’m a western wuss and I’m not yet accustomed to these Midwestern storms. It blew me away (no, not literally, thank goodness). Tornado warnings preceded the most intense lightning I have ever seen. I saw more lightning that night than I had in the entirety of my life to that point. I have some video of the storm that I’ll try to upload, but there was easily a strike every second, and this constant flashing would be punctuated by these incredible strikes that stretched across the sky and sent thunder that shook my bones. Truly wild
I did not get the best nights sleep of my life, but I managed to drag myself out of bed and head out to the Waterloo Criterium, race number 2 of the ToAD.
Here's a highlight reel from the storm. This is taken from just 3 minutes of video so you get the idea...
I mostly just lay around for the few days after the race until Wednesday when I struck out for Wisconsin. After one night in a hotel I lit out bright and early for the first stage of the ToAD (Tour of America’s Dairyland). Sick and tired is no way to start a 10 day series, least of all when the first stage is a 90 mile road race with a ton of climbing. I would have happily skipped the race and slept in, but you have to do all the races to be considered for the omnium so I headed out there.
The course was really a beauty. Gorgeous rolling roads with a couple short steep climbs and one longer steep drag and a finishing circuit up to a park at the top of Blue Mounds. If Chicago gets the 2016 olympics this is the course they’ll use for the RR and it would sure make for an interesting dynamic race. Long story short, I got dropped during the neutral rollout and did one lap to stretch the legs and see the course.
For the last two nights I’ve been Staying in Madison thanks to Jenny Meyer. Jenny is my good friend and former teammate Rob’s sister. Rob is working for Specialized and is also coming onto some killer form, honing his TT skills in preparation for a run at Track Nationals and putting the hurt on norcal in the process. Jenny is one hell of an athlete in her own right and was off the do a half Ironman on Saturday. That kind of effort blows me away. If I ran to catch a bus I’d be sore for days and I swim like a penguin flies. Hopefully if goes well for her.
Jenny helped me find a place in Madison and I’m pretty impressed with the town. I stayed on the isthmus and it was a pretty hip scene, some kind of mix between hipsters, crunchy granola types, grad-school ghetto and some families. Really nice. The first night I got there Jenny was nice enough to take me over to a friends where she made some stellar risotto and a fresh salad. Home-cooked meals are a real treat.
Later that night the weather took a turn for the worse. A big storm rolled in and right when I was trying to get to bed things really got crazy. I’m a western wuss and I’m not yet accustomed to these Midwestern storms. It blew me away (no, not literally, thank goodness). Tornado warnings preceded the most intense lightning I have ever seen. I saw more lightning that night than I had in the entirety of my life to that point. I have some video of the storm that I’ll try to upload, but there was easily a strike every second, and this constant flashing would be punctuated by these incredible strikes that stretched across the sky and sent thunder that shook my bones. Truly wild
I did not get the best nights sleep of my life, but I managed to drag myself out of bed and head out to the Waterloo Criterium, race number 2 of the ToAD.
Here's a highlight reel from the storm. This is taken from just 3 minutes of video so you get the idea...
Stage 6: Stillwater Criterium
Madness. Absolute Madness. I’ve never seen a course like this in my life. Its like Cat’s Hill and the Nevada City Classic had a bastard child. The photo does not do it justice. Right from the gun you run smack dab into Chilkoot hill, which averages 18% for what seems like an eternity. After a bit of rolling across the top you climb another moderate grade before a few fast downhill turns and then an all-out, eye-watering descent into two off camber corners. The last turn had a sharp bump in the pavement right at the apex of the turn which forced you out of the saddle right at the craziest, fastest part.
I had to be up at 4:30 am to do a TV appearance on the local news and it was not the best preparation for the gnarliest race of my life. I rode to the line early for good position feeling drained from the ridiculous wakeup call and the long week of racing. My legs were screaming at me the first time up, and that is not a good sign. I only had 20 laps of the 1.4 mile course, but in the shape I was in it might as well have been 200. You only had to make 5 laps to get a pro-rated time, but I was determined to go as long as my legs would hold out.
I suffered through sheer agony for 10 laps, and then I lost contact. I would stick it on the climb, giving it everything I had, and then just grit my teeth and try to hang on over the flats and second climb until I could rest for a second on the downhill before starting it all over. With 10 to go I got gapped off on the flats after the climb (behind Nick Frey… again.) and we chased for a whole lap, but when we couldn’t catch them by the beginning of the climb it was all over. We noodled for a bit before Chad Gerlach, who had also been dropped, came by with a group and we rolled in with them.
We got whistled off and exited the course past the official who was taking down numbers. I rode right in front of him, told him my number, and yet he somehow didn’t list me. As a result I got DNFed for the stage and subsequently for the whole race. As I write this I’m still pissed. Well, pissed and so, so sad. I really busted myself up trying to have a good race this week, and after being derailed by some bad officiating on the first day I had my entire effort erased in the books because someone was too careless to take down my number. They won’t change results after 15 minutes and I didn’t see what had happened until we checked the results later that night. Frustrating beyond belief and really, really disheartening. I guess sometimes that’s just the way it goes.
The officiating may not have been the best I’ve ever seen, but the organization of the Nature Valley Pro Ride was awesome. We had a team mechanic, Tyson, which is a luxury I’ve never known before. Its such a treat to have someone so great to rely on. When you’re racing your butt off every day and worrying about the GC, courses, nutrition and transfers it’s a huge advantage to be able to just drop the bike off and not have to worry about it again until its ready, all cleaned and tuned, waiting for you at the beginning of the next stage. Pictured below from the left are 3 of the people who made the Pro Ride possible: Matt, who organized the whole thing (travel, racing, sponsorship and everything else for 12 people from all over the country), Tyson, mechanic extraordinaire (without him I’d have been totally lost), and Pat, the owner of Penn Cycle and Fitness who sponsored the team. They provided everything from a truck to haul all the bikes, Tyson and a full mechanics station, to drink mix and chairs. Truly awesome. My sincere thanks to all of them.
I suppose I should also give thanks to Nature Valley. Without them there wouldn’t be a race or a Pro Ride. This is a really unique program and I don’t know of another like it in the country. To give a bunch of amateurs from around the nation a shot at a big race like this is just awesome, and Nature Valley should be proud to be the sponsor of something so wonderful.
Josh went above and beyond and let me crash at his place for an extra few days before I head out to the Tour of America’s Dairyland. We’ll see how Wisconsin stacks up next to Minnesota, where the only thing more impressive than the racing is the hospitality.
The Williams booth at Stillwater:
Also, this cute girl made sure no one walked off with any wheels while I was racing. Plus she gave me some delicious iced coffee. I think she may have been an angel.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Stage 5: Mankato Road Race
Historically this stage has made the entire race. The winds are usually howling and with a number of turns the winds will typically echelon the field and then split it apart. However, today was hot, clear and calm. The course is roughly 84 miles with four laps of a two mile circuit to end the day. The circuit featured a real brute of a climb: over 200 vertical feet on a cruel grade somewhere around or above 15%. Four times up that doesn’t sound that bad, but doing it all out after 80-some miles was going to be torture.
I was asleep most of the two hour transfer to the course and had a hard time getting fired up for the race. A few shots of espresso and the demands of pre-race preparation brought me around. I was voicing my apprehension to Matt, who’s organizing the Pro Ride, and he gave me some pretty good words of advice. He reminded me that I’m out there on their dime at one of the most prestigious races on the NRC calendar racing against and amazing field, and that if I can’t just race my ass off and enjoy the experience then I shouldn’t be here anyway. Whew. Good point, Matt! That put my head right and I set off in much better spirits.
There was a flurry of attacks in the first few miles of the race and eventually a break of maybe 15 got away. I was torn between trying to get in an early move and conserving for the finish, but with my eye still on the GC and thinking of those finishing circuits I decided to sit back. And sit back we did! In what seemed like the blink of an eye the break was up to 7 minutes as the field lollygagged and riders marked their territory along Minnesota’s country roads.
Things never really picked up that much, but somehow we had the gap down to a few minutes as we were nearing the circuits. There was a nasty crash on some bad pavement as we descended into town, but my teammates and I all stayed safe and we hammered into the final four laps of the day. I fought for some pretty good position and was in the top 30 as we hit the climb absolutely flying. Well, the field was flying and I was out of the saddle flogging myself and still losing a bit of ground. There was a crash on the turn into the base of the climb that strung out and broke up the field and some people never recovered.
One down. I tried to recover and move up as much as I could on the all out descent and the few fast corners through town and before I wanted to be I was back on the climb again. I tried to stay seated and breathe deeply, but its hard to keep it together when the pack is exploding itself on a climb like that. But somehow I made it. 2 down, 2 to go. I was pushing it through town, but couldn’t make up as many spots as I wanted and when we hit the climb the third time I wasn’t as far forward as I needed to be. A gap started forming a few riders in front of me two thirds of the way up, but I was behind Nick Frey in the Best Amateur Jersey and he had two teammates with him so I figured I’d be safe. My teammate Chris Winn dug deep and pulled himself across the gap, and he ended up being the last guy to get across.
Nick never did get back across and although we could almost reach out and touch the front group after chasing on the descent and through town we couldn’t get back up and I finished near the front of the second group.
Its always tough to watch the race roll away from you. Moments of indecision like that on the hill can haunt you. Still, I always feel like I’m defying the odds when I can drag my nearly 200lbs of man-meat up a climb like that. Its tough to smash yourself into pieces for nothing more than a pack finish, but I just keep trying to remind myself that it’s a darn strong field and I’m lucky just to be here racing.
One more day to see some fireworks. Tomorrow is supposed to be hell on wheels so wish me luck!
I was asleep most of the two hour transfer to the course and had a hard time getting fired up for the race. A few shots of espresso and the demands of pre-race preparation brought me around. I was voicing my apprehension to Matt, who’s organizing the Pro Ride, and he gave me some pretty good words of advice. He reminded me that I’m out there on their dime at one of the most prestigious races on the NRC calendar racing against and amazing field, and that if I can’t just race my ass off and enjoy the experience then I shouldn’t be here anyway. Whew. Good point, Matt! That put my head right and I set off in much better spirits.
There was a flurry of attacks in the first few miles of the race and eventually a break of maybe 15 got away. I was torn between trying to get in an early move and conserving for the finish, but with my eye still on the GC and thinking of those finishing circuits I decided to sit back. And sit back we did! In what seemed like the blink of an eye the break was up to 7 minutes as the field lollygagged and riders marked their territory along Minnesota’s country roads.
Things never really picked up that much, but somehow we had the gap down to a few minutes as we were nearing the circuits. There was a nasty crash on some bad pavement as we descended into town, but my teammates and I all stayed safe and we hammered into the final four laps of the day. I fought for some pretty good position and was in the top 30 as we hit the climb absolutely flying. Well, the field was flying and I was out of the saddle flogging myself and still losing a bit of ground. There was a crash on the turn into the base of the climb that strung out and broke up the field and some people never recovered.
One down. I tried to recover and move up as much as I could on the all out descent and the few fast corners through town and before I wanted to be I was back on the climb again. I tried to stay seated and breathe deeply, but its hard to keep it together when the pack is exploding itself on a climb like that. But somehow I made it. 2 down, 2 to go. I was pushing it through town, but couldn’t make up as many spots as I wanted and when we hit the climb the third time I wasn’t as far forward as I needed to be. A gap started forming a few riders in front of me two thirds of the way up, but I was behind Nick Frey in the Best Amateur Jersey and he had two teammates with him so I figured I’d be safe. My teammate Chris Winn dug deep and pulled himself across the gap, and he ended up being the last guy to get across.
Nick never did get back across and although we could almost reach out and touch the front group after chasing on the descent and through town we couldn’t get back up and I finished near the front of the second group.
Its always tough to watch the race roll away from you. Moments of indecision like that on the hill can haunt you. Still, I always feel like I’m defying the odds when I can drag my nearly 200lbs of man-meat up a climb like that. Its tough to smash yourself into pieces for nothing more than a pack finish, but I just keep trying to remind myself that it’s a darn strong field and I’m lucky just to be here racing.
One more day to see some fireworks. Tomorrow is supposed to be hell on wheels so wish me luck!
Stage 4: Uptown Minneapolis Criterium.
This is your typical L-shaped 6 corner crit. The first and second turn were really open, sweeping beauties, but the road narrowed to one lane after the third and the fourth was slightly off camber and had a little median sticking out at the apex that narrowed it down.
My mental game has been a little off since that debacle of a first day. To have them forget my call up leaving me to get crashed on the first corner and then to sprint around the whole race on terribly fit bike left by body stiff and sore and my spirits dampened. Before the stage I was doing my best to convince myself that I really am a crit rider, but I wasn’t quite succeeding. Add to that the lore that the race is won and lost on the last two stages and I was fighting the mindset that I was just in this race to sit in and hang on.
I did my best to get a good spot at the start line and had decent position for the first part of the race. It took me a while to figure out the good lines and I saw some pretty sketchy riding and a few close calls, mostly thanks to the other amateurs in the race. Have I mentioned yet that there are way more amateurs than I expected? I think roughly half the field is amateurs, and this really shows in way the pack behaves. The amateurs are all a little sketchier than the pros, and the pros in turn feel justified in pushing the amateurs around. A bit strange to be sure.
I missed a few crashes during the race, but when things heated up in the last laps I was too far back and got caught behind a crash in the 4th corner that split the field. We never could close the gap and I lost some more time in the GC. Not my finest race, to be sure.
There were a few highlights from this stage. Our team was set up in the expo area right next to radio Disney and we got some primo entertainment during our warm-ups, including a man who was a bit too old and not quite talented enough to pull off the dance moves he was attempting. Its also nice to see friends that I’ve met over a few years racing. Amber Rais stopped to say hi, even though it was right before her race and I’m sure she needed to be doing something else. She’s about the nicest person ever and one hell of a bike racer. Also, my mom and sis took me out for some killer Italian food post-race to raise my spirits.
Hoping for some better things to come in these last two nasty days.
My mental game has been a little off since that debacle of a first day. To have them forget my call up leaving me to get crashed on the first corner and then to sprint around the whole race on terribly fit bike left by body stiff and sore and my spirits dampened. Before the stage I was doing my best to convince myself that I really am a crit rider, but I wasn’t quite succeeding. Add to that the lore that the race is won and lost on the last two stages and I was fighting the mindset that I was just in this race to sit in and hang on.
I did my best to get a good spot at the start line and had decent position for the first part of the race. It took me a while to figure out the good lines and I saw some pretty sketchy riding and a few close calls, mostly thanks to the other amateurs in the race. Have I mentioned yet that there are way more amateurs than I expected? I think roughly half the field is amateurs, and this really shows in way the pack behaves. The amateurs are all a little sketchier than the pros, and the pros in turn feel justified in pushing the amateurs around. A bit strange to be sure.
I missed a few crashes during the race, but when things heated up in the last laps I was too far back and got caught behind a crash in the 4th corner that split the field. We never could close the gap and I lost some more time in the GC. Not my finest race, to be sure.
There were a few highlights from this stage. Our team was set up in the expo area right next to radio Disney and we got some primo entertainment during our warm-ups, including a man who was a bit too old and not quite talented enough to pull off the dance moves he was attempting. Its also nice to see friends that I’ve met over a few years racing. Amber Rais stopped to say hi, even though it was right before her race and I’m sure she needed to be doing something else. She’s about the nicest person ever and one hell of a bike racer. Also, my mom and sis took me out for some killer Italian food post-race to raise my spirits.
Hoping for some better things to come in these last two nasty days.
Stage Three
Stage 3: Cannon Falls Road Race.
At only 66 miles this course isn’t much to look at, but the finishing circuit and the run-in to it make this a real mother of a stage, even without the notorious Midwestern winds. After ~55 miles on rolling Minnesota roads the course comes back into town via dirt road that funnels you onto a one lane descent into town that has some of the worst pavement I’ve ever seen. This spits you out to do 5 laps of a 2 mile circuit that put the fear in me. It features a bunch of tricky turns including my personal favorite, a downhill off camber chicane. Absolute madness.
I started the stage still feeling a little banged up from the crash the night before and with the first KOM only 3.6 miles into the stage I was a bit worried. But my sis did a little recon and let me know that that first KOM was the worst climb of the stage so that put my mind at ease.
We lit out at a pretty good pace and kept a decent clip for most of the race. There were constantly moves going off the front, but everyone was fired up so nothing really got any time on the field. At one point I was off the front with Chad Gerlach and we got a little gap, but there aren’t really any turns or hills or anything so we couldn’t get out of sight. After he yelled for a while about no one bridging up we got reeled in. He eventually got away by himself and snagged himself the most aggressive rider jersey after a couple dozen miles solo off the front.
The only bit of real excitement during the stage was when some numb-nuts slammed on his brakes while everyone was eating and there was a big pileup. I got caught behind but didn’t go down and it all came back together. When we were nearing the circuit our man Josh got on the radio and told us to move up before the gravel. I swung wide, got up a good head of steam and managed to get into the gravel very first. I led it for a little ways, but the Ouch train came around right as we were passing the cyclingnews photog. Curses! The top of my helmet is prominently featured sitting 5th wheel.
The circuits were, in my estimation, insane. People were taking some big chances and really hauling around the course, and I was swarmed and spat backwards to a position not to my liking. So be it. With a few days left to race I wasn’t willing to lay it all on the line quite yet. I rolled it in with all my skin still on my body and no time gaps to speak of.
NVGP Stage 2: Downtown St. Paul Criterium
In a word: Lame. When I went to sign in my name was highlighted so I asked an official what that was all about and they said I'd be getting a call up. Awesome. The team director assured me that was the case as well. So I hung out at the back of the field as everyone lined up as they had made a path through the middle for callups. They do they call ups, and I never get called. So I'm in a bad state of mind and stuck behind 144 guys on a crit course where its notoriously hard to move up.
I go ape shit from the gun and try to get as many spots as I can as soon as I can, but I guess other people had the same idea and were a bit too aggressive about it. They stack it hard in the third corner of the first f-ing lap and I go down. Not hard, but hard enough and I snap my bars and bounce on the ground a little bit. Let us simply say I was in poor sorts as I headed for the pit. SHimano put me on a neutral bike, but for some reason they put me on a 57. I will reuse this phrase and tell you that it was like riding a squirrell on meth. I had to ride with my elbows out so I could get my knees through the pedal stroke.
They pushed me back in at the end of the field, and thats mostly where I stayed. The course finishes on a downhill, theres another shallower downhill section, then a long drag uphill and a flat top section. I was sprinting up the hill every time. All out. I got nowhere. I knew gaps were going to open up at the end of the race, cause it was completely strung out. Guys were already well around the next corner by the time I would get through. I do not thing that I ever even saw the front of the race. Literally.
I kept sprinting around people who were coming off in the last few laps, calves cramping and ready to hurl, but I kept contact with the field. Then sure enough two guys stack it in the downhill corner with like 3 to go and a gap formed 15 wheels in front of me. I worked my ass off and we tried as a group to close it, and when that clearly wasn't working I took off, but I just couldn't get across.
I ended up losing over half a minute and I slid down to like 50th in GC and 14th in the amateur jersey. I didn't lose much skin, but I banged my hip pretty badly. If only I could have found one more second on that TT course I'd have been i nthe jersey and gotten that callup for sure. Oh well.
THere's a lot of racing yet to do and everyone says the GC is made in the road races and at Stillwater. So I'm trying to keep my head up and figure out how I'm going to lay it down over these next few days.
Down, but not out.
I go ape shit from the gun and try to get as many spots as I can as soon as I can, but I guess other people had the same idea and were a bit too aggressive about it. They stack it hard in the third corner of the first f-ing lap and I go down. Not hard, but hard enough and I snap my bars and bounce on the ground a little bit. Let us simply say I was in poor sorts as I headed for the pit. SHimano put me on a neutral bike, but for some reason they put me on a 57. I will reuse this phrase and tell you that it was like riding a squirrell on meth. I had to ride with my elbows out so I could get my knees through the pedal stroke.
They pushed me back in at the end of the field, and thats mostly where I stayed. The course finishes on a downhill, theres another shallower downhill section, then a long drag uphill and a flat top section. I was sprinting up the hill every time. All out. I got nowhere. I knew gaps were going to open up at the end of the race, cause it was completely strung out. Guys were already well around the next corner by the time I would get through. I do not thing that I ever even saw the front of the race. Literally.
I kept sprinting around people who were coming off in the last few laps, calves cramping and ready to hurl, but I kept contact with the field. Then sure enough two guys stack it in the downhill corner with like 3 to go and a gap formed 15 wheels in front of me. I worked my ass off and we tried as a group to close it, and when that clearly wasn't working I took off, but I just couldn't get across.
I ended up losing over half a minute and I slid down to like 50th in GC and 14th in the amateur jersey. I didn't lose much skin, but I banged my hip pretty badly. If only I could have found one more second on that TT course I'd have been i nthe jersey and gotten that callup for sure. Oh well.
THere's a lot of racing yet to do and everyone says the GC is made in the road races and at Stillwater. So I'm trying to keep my head up and figure out how I'm going to lay it down over these next few days.
Down, but not out.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Stage 1: St. Paul Riverfront Time Trial
The Nature Valley Grand Prix kicked off with a 9.7 kilometer time trial. The course was pretty sweet and the only bad spot was a nasty little chicane that has some of the worst pavement I’ve ever seen. Not like a few bad potholes, but like the deeply dimpled surface of the devil’s golfball. During the warm-up laps the day before I was taking it pretty fast in the extensions, but they coned it off because riders were coming both ways and their line wasn’t as good as my line, but more on that later.
The course was mostly flat and followed the river out to a sharp turn-around in a parking lot, then came back past the start, over a small roller and through a series of turns that put you onto a short winding climb to the finish. Normally hills and I don’t get along so well, but it turned out the grade was shallow enough that I actually had a pretty good ride.
The morning was cold and wet with intermittent rain, and I was pretty out of it from the 5:30 wakeup call, so I have to give a few shoutouts to some people who turned my head around. 1st, to Tyson, the team mechanic. I had a ton of stuff to do on the bike and he took care of it all for me and left me to focus on getting myself and my head ready (he also did this for the 11 other racers here. Such a treat and absolutely amazing!). Second, to my boy Gavin Melly. G-money-G, as a one Tyler H. would often call him, loaned me his TT bike, a true silver bullet if ever I’ve seen one, as well as his slick helmet and possibly a bit of his euro style (my buddy Rand saw a photo of me from the race and swore it was really Gavin. Am I denying it? No). Lastly, I have to give huge thanks to Lauren Hecht. She’s a teammate from the Webcor Women’s Bridge team and is out here racing on a composite team. We were talking after she had raced and she told me that the course was made for me and that I’d kill it. Even though logic and reason told me she was lying to my face, those few positive words worked some kind of magic and before I knew it I was half believing I could have a decent ride.
I got up to the start ramp, feeling cold, poorly prepared and nervous as hell, but I didn’t have long to think about it and then I was on course. Jesse Moore, a great racer from NorCal riding for Cal Giant, had done the Pro Ride last year and gave me the lowdown on all the courses. The one thing he told me was to go easy through the devil chicane because you don’t make up any time there but you can lose it all. He warned me that people had crashed there last year and he had almost crashed himself. But did I listen. No. I am an idiot. I flew through there in the extensions, but because they had coned off my line from the practice run I couldn’t handle it and flew off the road, one hand still on the extensions the other trying to check my speed, and managed to miss the guardrail, a sinkhole and a plunge into the river by a few inches. Funny, but while I was careening towards serious injury and a very premature to my Nature Valley Grand Prix I was distinctly thinking about how much it was going to cost to replace all the borrowed gear. Ridiculous.
I somehow managed to ride it out and then got on with the suffering. I held myself back a little on the way out, took the turnaround like a coward after being shaken up in the chicane and tried to go a little faster on the way back. I was gaining on my 30 second man and got within spitting distance of him at the base of the climb. I think this helped me out incredibly. He basically paced me up the climb and then I gassed it in the last few hundred meters to come around him. You can see a picture of me on the hill here. Pictures these days can be decieving, but I can assure you of two things. 1) That is actually a climb, and 2) Despite the look on my face I was suffering tremendously.
I could pick out the voices of my mom and sis as I neared the line and that was really special for me. They came all the way out here to watch me race... or visit the Mall of America, but either way its nice to have them around. It didn’t feel like a great ride, but they ran up to me and told my I was sitting in 6th place. Love has been known to mess with one’s calculus so I didn’t quite believe them, but when the dust settled at the end of the day I was sitting 16th out of 144 guys. No, I didn’t crack the top ten, but I beat a lot of guys I’m proud to just be racing against. I landed only one agonizing second away from grabbing the Best Amateur Jersey, and 36 seconds off the winning time of Tom Zirbel, the only guy here bigger than me and a certifiable freak of nature. The guys is strong.
So it turns out a 16th place is one of the best results of my life. If things go my way over the next few months, hopefully I won’t have to keep saying that.
More racing you say? Bring it on…
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Minnesota
Minnesota is treating me well so far. I got into town in time to unload my stuff before heading to the meeting for the Nature Valley Pro Ride. We met at the host bike shop, Penn Velo, and I gotta say these guys have been awesome. They built and cleaned everyone’s bikes who flew in and then offered to do any work that people needed. We had a brief meeting and introduction, got dished our Nature Valley kit and then I headed out with James, the qualifier from Seattle, to go pre-ride the TT course.
The other guys are rock solid. Chris Winn is from Australia, but he lives in Denver and I’ve been riding and training with him a bit over the last month. He’s a great guy, and the only thing better than his accent is his riding. It sure was nice to show up and have a familiar face here. Well, make that two familiar faces. He also brought his girlfriend Kat, a solid racer in her own right and primo roadtripper/soigneur, and his brother Cam, fresh off the plane from Down Under. Cam also knows his way around the bike, and will surely be of tremendous help, except during the hours between 10pm and 3am when he’ll more likely be a liability. Gotta love that Aussie spirit.
I don’t know the other guys too well yet, but they are Adam, Keck, Patrick, and James. They hail from all over the country and they strike me as really nice guys who know how to race their bikes. It should be a good week of racing!
I’m beginning to think that the rumors about Midwestern kindness and hospitality may be more than rumors after all. Matt, who is running the Nature Valley Pro Ride, has been incredibly nice and accommodating, and Josh, who’s putting me (and pretty much everyone else up at his place) is just about the coolest guy you’ll ever meet. He’s opened his house to a bunch of smelly bike racers and not only does he put up with us, but he has me half convinced he’s actually enjoying it. I’ll run down the checklist MasterCard style and you tell me if this doesn’t sound like the best darn host housing in the world: Clean spacious accommodations: zero dollars. Big garage with all the bike tools you could need + host who happens to be experienced mechanic: zero dollars. Two awesome dogs (named Jake and Elwood!) and their infinite love and floor cleaning ability: zero dollars. Huge pancake breakfasts with bacon and other Midwest wonders: zero dollars. A host who’s as excited about bikes and racing as you are, can keep you laughing until it hurts, turns on the Beastie Boys first thing in the car, and who is so nice he would probably loan me a lung if there was some way to do that: Priceless.
All in all, I think its gonna be a great week. More on the actual racing as that unfolds.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Hittin the Road
I’m finally off. Hittin’ the road. I think that Colorado was dropping hints that it was time for me to skedaddle. How does a state tell you to leave? By sending tornados and golf ball sized hail. If you don’t believe me, just check out the photos. I don’t think the tornado actually touched down too close to Denver, but the man on the TV told me to stay in the basement for a bit.
Being me I left all of my packing for a two month road trip until the last day, so between gluing tubulars, doing about 10 loads of laundry, and getting everything I need for months of racing into the car I got a pretty late start. I finally did fit it all in, with not much room to spare, and struck out at noon for a 14 hr drive(bad math you say? Nay, crossing time zones). I made it a good distance, but in the end I figured it wasn’t worth driving until 3am when I was going to be racing in two days. So after another meal at subway, and a nice Iowa sunset I called it a day in Clear Lake.
I stayed in the fabulous Best Western Holiday Lodge, where the smoke was so thick on the third floor that I had to army crawl to my room to keep from passing out. I managed to fit all the wheels and my bikes into the room, and we were all very cozy for the next seven hours until we had to get on the road again.
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