I'm in the process of writing up a piece about this weekend, but until I find some free time in my ever hectic schedule (HA!) I figured I'd jot some quick notes about the uglier side of cycling-crashes.
Crashes happen. I always say that crashing on a training ride is stupid, but crashing during a race is just part of the game. That said, I've done my fair share of crashing both in and out of races. In fact, I nearly plastered myself on the front of a car today. Normally I wouldn't be worried because I'm built like a brick shithouse, but this was a volvo and they have an even better frontal crash rating than I do.
Anyway, I'm writing about crashing now for two reasons. First, I saw a particularly well-written New York Times article about crashing in general, and more specifically about how full rehabilitation of a racer is as much mental as physical. They focus specifically on Jens Voigt and how he rebounded from a horrible crash in last year's Tour de France (including video). He's a rider that I respect a great deal, and the article just strengthens that feeling. Anyway, I think the article is pretty spot on. I've taken some diggers that resulted in only minor cuts and bruises, but left my confidence seriously shaken. It can be really difficult to overcome the fear after a fall. Its the strangest thing too. You can be riding the same bike, with the same tires on the same road that you were on before a spill, but everything feels different after you've hit the deck. I think it would be like watching video of a roller-coaster fly off the tracks right before you went to an amusement park. If you hadn't seen that video you'd probably feel totally comfortable, but just knowing the possibility of an accident exists, no matter how unlikely, would make that same ride feel unsafe, or worse yet, terrifying. Its the same thing on the bike. I've been really lucky to escape serious injury given the inherent dangers of cycling, but I do know firsthand how difficult it can be to tuck my fears, often pretty rational fears, aside and get on with the dirty business of bike racing.
The second reason I've been ruminating on diggers of late is that my friend and former teammate Fabrice had a terrible crash in Sunday's race. For those of you who don't know him Fabrice is a hard man on loan from France and one the most talented cyclists in California. He's a no nonsense, man of steel and I've seen him put the hurt on some of the top professionals in the country. There's not a doubt in my mind that he'd be racing professionally in the US if not for the UCI age rule (ask me about that some other time). He can ride with incredible fury, and yet I've never seen anyone cooler in a race. I can be flogging myself to the very limit and look over at Fabrice and it seems he's not even breathing. Sometimes I think he was chosen by France to take out an entire country's anger with Lance on a hapless NorCal peloton. Fabrice hit a pole at 35 mph and broke his femur. Rand has more details on his blog, as well as a place to leave a message for Fabrice. All you cyclists out there, and anyone else for that matter, should take a moment and write some kind words. Fabrice is strong both mentally and physically, and I'm sure he's on track for a Jens-like, full recovery.
So ride smart, stay safe, think happy thoughts, and for the love of Pete please wear a helmet!
This blog documents my travails as an amateur a professional cyclist racing around the US world.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Mother's Day Present from the Mooney Monster
This guy is out of control. Just when I thought I was hot shit for winning back to back races against Cat 3s, Phil comes out and does the double on hard courses against stacked fields. I'm not kidding when I say stacked. The Berkeley Hills road race is not only a tough course, but our field included some serious pros prepping for the Tour of California next week: Lucas Euser, Jackson Stewart, and Scott Swizanski. If you think I'm kidding just look them up and prepare to be awed. They're the real deal. Which is why its that much more impressive that after handily winning the 1st annual PG&E Criterium on Saturday Phil was able to snag his second win of the weekend against them. Not to be outdone, Tyler "T-Rex" Dibble, so named for his frightening leg:arm ratio, slammed his way home for third, beating out the aforementioned pros and a whole host of other strong riders. I'm sure they were coming off of pretty big training weeks, but I still think its awesome. And kudos to Nate English(Echelon Grand Fondo) for riding like moto to a strong seconds place. God help us if he ever learns any tactics because no one else would ever win a road race.
Where was I when all this was occurring? I was licking my wounds and a melty Muscle Milk bar (or six) on the side of the road. I think I dug a bit too deep again last week, and after trying to do some work in the first lap my legs pretty much gave up on me. The mind was willing, but the flesh was spongy and bruised. I stopped for a breather in the feed zone on lap 2 of 5 and barely had enough gas to make it back to the start. Ouch. I don't think it was a total waste. The guy Phil beat in the sprint was the one chasing me on lap one, so I feel like I played some small part. Very small.
But back to Phil. He's actually winning so much its angering the authorities:
Here's a little post-race with Phil and Tyler. Phil is so tired he can't stand up, which is a real shame because those sparkling white shorts will never be the same.
Okay, being as this post is already rife with video, here's one more for ya. It's Phil, ever the gentleman, honoring the YCT's adopted mother (and Evan's biological mother) Lorry Huffman. It seems like she's out there every weekend giving feeds and generally taking care of us misfits. She is truly incredible. I felt pretty good having called my darling mother on Sunday, but Phil just had to one up me again:
Okay, we all get it. Phil Mooney is pretty cool. But apparently his influence reaches all the way to the highest levels of professional cycling. You see, when we all thought Phil had made a shameful mistake by losing one of his shoes in transition at the Escape From Alcatraz TRIATHLON, we should have realized it was a calculated move aimed at innovating cycling fashion. Despite pretty much everyone's claims to the contrary, the mismatch look is in, and it is cool! Here's a picture of Mooney's stylish new footwear:
And here's a picture of Tyler Farrar winning stage 2 of the Giro d'Italia. I'm not saying it's a 100% guaranteed that Phil's cutting edge style was the inspiration for that win, but I'm pretty certain it was. Either that or they've both been taking cues from Adageo.
Can you believe that?! They've even got the right colors on the right feet. Personally, I'm willing to do anything legal to win a bike race including making an ass of myself (this is well documented), so I only have two questions for you, Phil: does it really matter which color goes on which foot, and can you loan me some black spray paint?
Phil, its all in good fun and you're a certified crusher. Don't forget me when you're famous.
Where was I when all this was occurring? I was licking my wounds and a melty Muscle Milk bar (or six) on the side of the road. I think I dug a bit too deep again last week, and after trying to do some work in the first lap my legs pretty much gave up on me. The mind was willing, but the flesh was spongy and bruised. I stopped for a breather in the feed zone on lap 2 of 5 and barely had enough gas to make it back to the start. Ouch. I don't think it was a total waste. The guy Phil beat in the sprint was the one chasing me on lap one, so I feel like I played some small part. Very small.
But back to Phil. He's actually winning so much its angering the authorities:
Here's a little post-race with Phil and Tyler. Phil is so tired he can't stand up, which is a real shame because those sparkling white shorts will never be the same.
Okay, being as this post is already rife with video, here's one more for ya. It's Phil, ever the gentleman, honoring the YCT's adopted mother (and Evan's biological mother) Lorry Huffman. It seems like she's out there every weekend giving feeds and generally taking care of us misfits. She is truly incredible. I felt pretty good having called my darling mother on Sunday, but Phil just had to one up me again:
Okay, we all get it. Phil Mooney is pretty cool. But apparently his influence reaches all the way to the highest levels of professional cycling. You see, when we all thought Phil had made a shameful mistake by losing one of his shoes in transition at the Escape From Alcatraz TRIATHLON, we should have realized it was a calculated move aimed at innovating cycling fashion. Despite pretty much everyone's claims to the contrary, the mismatch look is in, and it is cool! Here's a picture of Mooney's stylish new footwear:
And here's a picture of Tyler Farrar winning stage 2 of the Giro d'Italia. I'm not saying it's a 100% guaranteed that Phil's cutting edge style was the inspiration for that win, but I'm pretty certain it was. Either that or they've both been taking cues from Adageo.
Can you believe that?! They've even got the right colors on the right feet. Personally, I'm willing to do anything legal to win a bike race including making an ass of myself (this is well documented), so I only have two questions for you, Phil: does it really matter which color goes on which foot, and can you loan me some black spray paint?
Phil, its all in good fun and you're a certified crusher. Don't forget me when you're famous.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Ryan's Radical Return to Bikes and Blogging
I wrote earlier that I was pretty laid up after my crash at Redlands. It turns out I was in a worse way than I thought. I couldn't ride at all, I mean not even five minutes to the grocery store, for two weeks. Dark times. Dark times, indeed. The body took it all pretty hard, but I think it was worse for the mind. Not being able to ride felt like being trapped in my own body and I just sat there getting fat and losing fitness. It feels incredible to be back on the bike, but I've been battling some nagging worries about my fitness and training. I still don't think my legs are all that great right now, but great courses, good timing and some slightly Gila-softened fields helped net me my first wins of the season.
Saturday was the Cat's Hill Classic, which is probably my favorite race in California. Its a 75 minute crit on treacherously bad pavement with a brutal 23% climb and a descent into the final turn that would make the Cyclone feel like a maglev train. I love the race for its ludicrous course, but also for its long history. Every year they inscribe the trophy with the winner's name and there have been some pretty impressive winners. I came devastatingly close to winning two years ago, but Victor Rapinski and (now teammate) Tyler Dibble blew fearlessly past me on the final descent. Last year I felt like I had the legs to go the distance until I was crashed out with 10 to go which smashed up my chances of winning and parts of my body. It was novel in that I had never had road rash in my armpit before.
This year I did not feel particularly strong or overwhelmingly confident. What I did feel was a burning, near feverish desire to win that had me so worked up I was shaking before the start. I don't usually get that way, but it was so bad that in lieu of a good warmup I opted to just sit for a few minutes and try to calm myself down.
I don't know what to say about the race itself. I wasn't keeping count, but we must have smashed ourselves up that wall more than 30 times. Having a strong team really takes the pressure off. Unlike years past when I would be constantly on edge about missing moves or wasting energy following too many attacks I was able to sit pretty most of the race. Patrick Briggs rode out of his gourd on Saturday, attacking on the first lap and not really slowing down the whole race. All my teammates were on and I never felt worried that Yahoo! Cycling would miss a move. With ten to go Briggs initiated a move that ended up swelling to eight or ten guys including Phil Mooney and some of the real threats in the race. Those guys worked it, making sure they did just enough work to keep things moving while saving it for the finale.
I was back in the pack sitting near the front until I missed a shift with three to go and thought my race was over. I got stuck in the big ring and was so bogged down that I went from 2nd wheel to 20th and almost had to get off the bike and run it over the crest of the hill. I thought I had lost my race there. We caught the break on the last lap and again I got stuck in my big ring. I was frantic and my internal monologue was a string of words that I can't write here. I was somewhere around 13th across the top of the course, waaayyyyyy too far back, but I went for it anyway, attacking down the hill with everything I had. I managed to get through the turn first out of the group and carry that speed past a lone rider and on to one of the most aesthetically ugly, yet satisfying victories of my career. Chris Stastny, an impetuous young pup riding for Cal Giant, came far too close wrecking my day. He's strong as an ox and he gets wilier every race. He's awesome, and he's going to win races this year.
Here's a side by side of the 2008 and 2010 Cat's Hill Podiums. Its nice to be the guy holding the trophy, but it really makes me miss my flowing mane...
On the ladies side Jasmin "Jazzy" Hurikino took out the women's P/1/2 race in style, smashing it downhill and holding it from the final corner to the line against strong sprinter Lauren Hecht. In fact, I should thank Jazzy not just for being an inspirational rock star, but for showing me the winning tactics. Rounding out the women's podium was Anne Fulton. That's a monster ride for her and I have to concur with Rand Miller who claimed this was the best podium he'd ever seen. Hernandez has a few pics and a nice writeup on his NorCal Cycling News blog.
Feeling like I had a new lease on life I went out Sunday to the Joseph Mendes Criterium. The race could not have been more different from Cat's Hill with almost no technical features and buttery smooth pavement. Again my teammates were strong and after 25 minutes of doomed attacks I got off the front with my teammate Brian Bosch, the human freight train, and Kevin Metcalfe of Specialized and we never saw the field again. Bosch let me take out the win and he slammed home for second, while Briggs jumped out of a chase group to grab 4th. All in all, two pretty successful racs
I can keep it all in perspective. Some people say a result is only as good as the people you beat and I think there's some truth to that. So its not that impressive that the only professional rider all weekend was Holloway at Cat's Hill. Still, while these races may not have had NRC caliber fields everyone who shows up is there to race. It feels damn good to win, it feels even better to win back to back, and better still to win back to back after coming through some tough times after crashing.
There are two last little things to clear up. First, I tweeted that I was 2 for 2. I'm actually more like 2 for 30 this year. I am, however, 2 for 2 since Nair-ing my arms. Booyah! Secondly, I shouldn't complain about some piddling, crash-related setbacks. Some riders deal with much, much worse.
Saturday was the Cat's Hill Classic, which is probably my favorite race in California. Its a 75 minute crit on treacherously bad pavement with a brutal 23% climb and a descent into the final turn that would make the Cyclone feel like a maglev train. I love the race for its ludicrous course, but also for its long history. Every year they inscribe the trophy with the winner's name and there have been some pretty impressive winners. I came devastatingly close to winning two years ago, but Victor Rapinski and (now teammate) Tyler Dibble blew fearlessly past me on the final descent. Last year I felt like I had the legs to go the distance until I was crashed out with 10 to go which smashed up my chances of winning and parts of my body. It was novel in that I had never had road rash in my armpit before.
This year I did not feel particularly strong or overwhelmingly confident. What I did feel was a burning, near feverish desire to win that had me so worked up I was shaking before the start. I don't usually get that way, but it was so bad that in lieu of a good warmup I opted to just sit for a few minutes and try to calm myself down.
I don't know what to say about the race itself. I wasn't keeping count, but we must have smashed ourselves up that wall more than 30 times. Having a strong team really takes the pressure off. Unlike years past when I would be constantly on edge about missing moves or wasting energy following too many attacks I was able to sit pretty most of the race. Patrick Briggs rode out of his gourd on Saturday, attacking on the first lap and not really slowing down the whole race. All my teammates were on and I never felt worried that Yahoo! Cycling would miss a move. With ten to go Briggs initiated a move that ended up swelling to eight or ten guys including Phil Mooney and some of the real threats in the race. Those guys worked it, making sure they did just enough work to keep things moving while saving it for the finale.
I was back in the pack sitting near the front until I missed a shift with three to go and thought my race was over. I got stuck in the big ring and was so bogged down that I went from 2nd wheel to 20th and almost had to get off the bike and run it over the crest of the hill. I thought I had lost my race there. We caught the break on the last lap and again I got stuck in my big ring. I was frantic and my internal monologue was a string of words that I can't write here. I was somewhere around 13th across the top of the course, waaayyyyyy too far back, but I went for it anyway, attacking down the hill with everything I had. I managed to get through the turn first out of the group and carry that speed past a lone rider and on to one of the most aesthetically ugly, yet satisfying victories of my career. Chris Stastny, an impetuous young pup riding for Cal Giant, came far too close wrecking my day. He's strong as an ox and he gets wilier every race. He's awesome, and he's going to win races this year.
Here's a side by side of the 2008 and 2010 Cat's Hill Podiums. Its nice to be the guy holding the trophy, but it really makes me miss my flowing mane...
On the ladies side Jasmin "Jazzy" Hurikino took out the women's P/1/2 race in style, smashing it downhill and holding it from the final corner to the line against strong sprinter Lauren Hecht. In fact, I should thank Jazzy not just for being an inspirational rock star, but for showing me the winning tactics. Rounding out the women's podium was Anne Fulton. That's a monster ride for her and I have to concur with Rand Miller who claimed this was the best podium he'd ever seen. Hernandez has a few pics and a nice writeup on his NorCal Cycling News blog.
Feeling like I had a new lease on life I went out Sunday to the Joseph Mendes Criterium. The race could not have been more different from Cat's Hill with almost no technical features and buttery smooth pavement. Again my teammates were strong and after 25 minutes of doomed attacks I got off the front with my teammate Brian Bosch, the human freight train, and Kevin Metcalfe of Specialized and we never saw the field again. Bosch let me take out the win and he slammed home for second, while Briggs jumped out of a chase group to grab 4th. All in all, two pretty successful racs
There are two last little things to clear up. First, I tweeted that I was 2 for 2. I'm actually more like 2 for 30 this year. I am, however, 2 for 2 since Nair-ing my arms. Booyah! Secondly, I shouldn't complain about some piddling, crash-related setbacks. Some riders deal with much, much worse.
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