ops....

This could get a bit drafty.

Power?

For once there was actually more power in my legs then the power lines during my ride saturday..

Tempo Time

After a week of snow and Ice… it will be nice to finally get outside this weekend. The last few rides have been on the trainer in the garage. This year I’ve signed up for the blockbuster version of Netflix… hopefully this will make it easier to stay out there and not get of and into the warmth of the house. Although I kind of like it cold, I hate sitting on a trainer and dripping sweat, I need a nice cool breeze to keep me going. I ridden less these last three months then I have in years. Once you get over the panic of saying that, I actually think it has helped me, and I think I am stronger for it now, especially with the virus I have been suffering of since July. Now I just need to get back into the routine of things and stop complaining about the rain and cold and ride to work..

Scuba?

I've got a ride planned for tonight... too bad if it rains. I can't control
the weather, so why should I let it ruin my evening..
I was trying to think of an outside activity where the rain wouldn't effect me...if I really was in to Scuba diving....hmmm Sun would still be nicer though, it tends to get a bit dark down there. I haven’t
been scuba diving in years and not sure if I could do this activity
without dying anymore and that is a requirement I have. The bike has
fenders and a light so how bad could it be…a few hours tops, piece of cake and I don't have to worry about any sharks or running out of air.

Real cross

Sundays cross race at Valley view middle school in Snohomish was a real NW cross experience.
The afternoon races, were on a by now well worn course and the mud was deep and sticky.
Thankfully the rain and hail let up for the start of my race. The start was fast as everyone wanted to get to the single track section first. As soon as we came of the track and on the off-camber grass section riders were going down like bowling pins. I managed to stay upright and avoid the falling riders.
The entire course was full of slippery grass and mud, and it was only a matter of time before going down or losing traction and sliding out of control.
My race however ended early because of another reason, my seat came loose and the nose tilted up by 45’…


I rode one lap like this… but as I passed the finish line for the second time, I pulled out; the prospect of another 6 laps in this position wasn’t too appealing. It was frustrating to have to pull out with a mechanical like that, clearly avoidable if I had just been more careful adjusting the seat that morning.
Maybe next time.

Grooving

Finally I was starting to feel a bit better... and what better way to find how much, then to race.
I started right at the back and slowly moved up, not as much as I wanted to, but I was happy to be feeling so much better and got in a pretty good groove, so much better in fact that during the race I remember thinking how much fun this was.
I still have lots of room to improve, the legs were still felt weak before the race, and I still need to get my pinched nerve thing figured out.




The one thing that is clear from the photo is that I’m definitely not leading the race and need a hair cut sooner then later.
After the race I plugged in my mp3 played and was grooving to 80's tunes all the way home...

Crosstober fest

Since Sundays race was only literally 2 miles from home, I had to go.
The cross course at St Edwards was a bit mountain bikeish... which at full speed turned out to be bit more technical then I could handle right now. A few years ago when I first raced cross, I had just come from mtb racing and the more technical courses were easily my strength... well not now...maybe I'm finally a roadie..
I lined up at the back so I wouldn't get in the way too much..and hopefully if capable work my way up. Well at least I was consistent... I pretty much stayed in the back the entire race...well I probably passed 6-7 people, that’s it.
It was really my first "hard" ride since the Bremerton crit early September... and I could definitely feel it.
After the race the sun finally came out, nice. I stuck around too watch the team relay race. The WOW team had an interesting costume... a shower!! (apparently a few corners were a bit hard to see).

Kriss Kross

Last night I did my first Kore Kross practice at Marymoor.
It feels a bit strange to go to a big organized workout like that, but I guess it’s really no different then Seward park but for cross. If nothing else it makes you go out and do something, and after just one night I have probably got off and on my bike more times then I would en entire cross season. I rode my cross bike down to Marymoor, 15 miles on a cross bike with low inflated tires… yeah it wasn’t quite as efficient as a road bike. Two eMurdincy’s later, where I managed to snap my brand new chain and have my seat tilt way no far backwards it was time to head home.
I avoided any blood, at least my own… so the night was a success. Maybe now I will be ready to race Sunday.

Supersonic

Supersonic, but grounded and locked behind a chain link fence...just like my legs this time of year.

Back on the bike

I finally went for a lunch ride… it’s probably been since before race season.
I’ve been completely of the bike for nearly 2 weeks, it was nice to finally ride again. It was a short ride, down to the ocean and back up the stair step road from Mukilteo… I went pretty hard and it felt better then in months…maybe this rest thing was a good idea.

The hard part will be getting ready for cross racing… time for some short intense workouts.

No Feeding?

Apparently this maneuver turned out to be illegal, despite the nearly 80'F weather... that's not natural for a Cross race.

Early

This dosen't happen much... could be the first time. Kele and I show up for the team ride, and we are the first ones there. No Garage riders in sight.....

Nice Ride

Do you think they spent too much money on the Car and bikes?...maybe the matching cloths put them over the top... a bike rack might be a good idea.



Hopefully the bikes won't fly out when they hit the speed bumps down the road.

I was feeling pretty good before the uphill TT on Saturday, well rested and pretty strong actually. It was the first time doing it with a power, so everything should go great….wrong. I started right at my target power, actually had to hold back to not overdue it on the first step section. 8min in, my power dropped, and I couldn’t get it up, unless standing and really going into the red zone. Soon after this I got passed by my 30sec guy, not good. I tried to focus on being smooth, not to panic, just go as fast as I could. I got passed by my 1min rider…great… and I still had 1 ½ to go. I finally crossed the line with a time that was my slowest since my first year as a Cat4… oh well….I went as hard as I could… that all I can do…It’s been a long season, and my legs decided to give out slightly earlier this year.. oh well. My teammates placed 2 and 3ed… just enough for us to tie for 1st in the team BARR competition.

Now you would thing that after such a great performance on Saturday, maybe I should take it easy on Sunday….yeah, I probably should…. The last two year I have done the master A race in the morning and then the 1-2 in the afternoon. I wasn’t going to let Saturdays disappointment change that, + I know that even though I might not be quite as strong as I want, I’m better then that. I end up leaving home at 10am…the race starts at 11:10am… the ride there takes about 1:05 going pretty fast… maybe a bit too much of a warm up. The race worked out ok, Flavio got in a few good breaks, that should have stayed away, I try and counter a few times when they come back.. It ends up a “pack” sprint in the end, I manage to get a pretty good position and end up 4th, the race is a lot different without Kenny there.

Now it’s time for lunch.. As I’m sitting outside at the table at Perts waiting for Kele to show up, Andy Hampsten (88 giro winner and 92 Alpe d’Huez stage winner) rolls up with his brother and some friends… now I just happen to have my camera with me… they walk inside but decide it’s too busy and ride of again before I manage to get a clear shoot…


So just imagine this picture with less snow, and without the ski goggles.

(http://www.hampsten.com/Company/meetus.html#)

The second race went ok… Our only goal going in, was to make sure Jason kept his lead in the season series. Each lap was worth $5, but with the bigger picture of the season series as our goal I resisted all temptations to go for any sprints. Our only job was really to make sure Ronnie never got in a break that might stay away, which was very unlikely, and to try and help Jason stay at the front, especially for the last lap. I don’t think I’ve ever raced Seward that conservative, either had Jason.

It worked out ok, Jason got 4th and increased his lead over Ronnie to 5points.

Good and bad

It’s been a while since I went for a team ride round the lake and out May Valley. Although it required getting up a 7am on Saturday, it was worth it. As usual I was a bit late leaving home, not enough requiring the “Murdin time trial” the 16miles to Leshi, but late enough that I wouldn’t have time to enjoy a cup of coffee once getting there. I hadn’t really planned on going for a longer ride, maybe just the south end and back across I-90, I did have a race planned for Sunday. Somehow I ended going east and by the time I got home had 80+ miles…it amazing how quick the miles add up when you go for a team ride, especially when it’s 32miles to the meeting place and back home.
It was a nice day for a ride though, and I really didn’t mind it a bit
.
The race in Woodland turned out to be harder then expected. Although flat for the first 55miles, the wind was a factor. After a flurry of attacks and blazing speeds small group get of pretty fast. After recovering slightly I make my way up front to try and help the chase. Although flat right now, the finish line is atop of a brutal climb. If I could help Nathan (or the pack in this case) get there as close as possible to the break, he would have a got chance of placing. I pull though a few times into the headwind. Considering how I’ve been feeling the last few weeks, probably a bit too hard. As we make a turn a crosswind section I get shot to the back, and after hanging on for dear life and jumping around a few rides leaving gaps I’m at my limit.
A few miles later not quite recovered yet, and in another crosswind I get gapped of right as we turn into a tailwind.….before you know it the pack flying down the road away from me….yeah, maybe I shouldn’t have worked quite so hard at the front.. I get in a small group for the rest of the race and continue at a pretty hard pace.. good steady hard effort.
Nathan takes top 10, the break of five stayed away…
Although not the best race of mine, I’m actually pretty happy with the effort I put out, 2:30 hours 260W average… I’m starting to come around and I’m feeling better and stronger everyday… although at the top of the climb at the steepest point I was going 6mph at 50rpm… yeah at that point I was dead

Still Summer

Summer is still hanging in there, which it should since it still only mid august. The forecast for this weekend is the mid 90’s… yeah it’s going to be hot. My legs are starting to feel better, but will it be enough. I’m looking forward to a nice easy ride on Saturday around the lake with the team, and then a new race on Sunday

Team time trial

On Sunday we had the state team time trial, four man teams, 32miles and
flat. This year the added challenge was the 3 sections of gravel that was left
after some kind of road work. There was talk of changing the course, shorter, adding some climbs and descents...all which would make the essential part of a team time trial less a factor, smooth, synchronized and steady team.
In the end, the flat road with gravel was kept, which I preferred, but
it turned out to be our downfall, as one of our teammates ends up
flatting, only 6 miles into the race. The rule is that you have to
finish with at least 3 people and that it's the third rider across the
line that stops the time.
After the flat, we just had to keep going. We now all had to take longer
pulls into the wind, with less rest in-between. We still had 26miles to
go!... oh this was going to be fun!!!!
I was now riding with two of the fastest guys in the state, which is
good news, but it also meant that I was due for some pain and suffering.
Our pace-line was going smooth. Our team training had paid of, and there
was never any gaps or surging causing any problems. Pretty fast though I was taking shorter pulls. I wanted to try and keep the pace high when I was at the front, but to do this I could only stay there for a short while, before drifting back and making sure I got on. Nathan and Flavio did a great job. Luckily for us Flavio was having a good day after suffering form food poison all week. Up until a few miles into the race he didn't know how he was going to respond. And Nathan is always strong. After battling fatigue the last few weeks, I was pretty happy with my
performance, not quite up to par, and clearly the weaker link, but I
managed to dig deep and hang in there, focus and push though the pain.
Stopping wasn't an option, it was a team event, and there was no way I
could let myself drop of, it simply wasn't an option. All I could do was
suffer and get though it.In the end though it was not quite enough, as we ended up losing by less then 1sec a kilometer. 40sec back from the winners. An extra riders
would most likely made all the difference. Oh well... what can you do.. we did the best we could with what we had.

Tired legs

Legs are strange…what is up with them being so tired and sluggish…with the rest of me still feeling ok.
Ever since the State TT and the road race the following day in the 105’F+ heat…I’ve been really hurting.
Any effort more then a 20-30 seconds causes pain/fatigue that shouldn’t be there before at least 7-8-9 minute repeated full efforts. Strange how one day I feel fine and then the next..
All this should obviously conclude me to rest, really rest… but it’s hard to … there is always a little race to do… Seward..”ah, it’s just Seward…I’ll sit in most of the time”—yeah that never happens… sitting in is a waist of time and just boring. Or the LWV Circuits races … “they are short and flat…no problem”.. well that isn’t always true…but if they are, they are fast instead.
This weekend I did the new Gig Harbour race.. I can only remember one other race when I lined up with such heavy and tired legs, and that was day 5 in a stage race, after weeks of hard racing…
I managed ok, but I had hardly any acceleration and really suffered the multiple times up the short climb.
Between the climbs I did ok, but felt like I had bags of sand tied to my legs every time I tried to surge or close a gap.
Well now it’s time to recover.. after track last night, where I also was really sluggish, but managed to win a few races and move up to Wednesdays (track goal completed)..I can afford, and need some rest before the two races this weekend. The final circuit race on Saturday, should be a good opener for the State team time trial on Sunday…
I feel like going out and riding hard…there is still plenty to train for… but even though my mind is ready I have to pay attention to my body… can’t have one lagging behind..

Track

Just what I needed, another thing to spend my time/money on. I’ve been slightly intrigued by track for a while, but have managed to pretty much stay away. I like small hills and rollers, this is where I feel like my strengths are, and the track has none of these. It’s pretty much flat, so ok there is a banking, but nobody launches an attack up it, it’s used to pull up from a pace line or recover. Ok, so you do attack down the “hill”… but that is nowhere close to my strength. Kele has really got in to the track the last year or so, so maybe I should give it a try. If I can race on Wednesdays, it shouldn’t be too bad… far enough away from the weekend, and maybe I can use it as a short intense workout, because god knows there is a lot of sitting around.
Going to a track event always reminds me of back in college when I used to run stadiums, and the track and field sprinters were working out on the track. Here I would be running/jumping up and down the stairs and I’d see the sprinters every ten minuets or so, do a 50 yard dash, 10 sec high knees or jump a few hurdles, the rest of the time whey would walk back and forth with a strange stride or stretch. After an hour or so of this they would retire to get ultrasound or what ever else happened in the training room under the stadium. Sure they were training for a different sport, but it just looked too easy…come on.. there has to be willpower and a pain barrier, something to push though and overcome, something that would build character.
Thank god track racing on a bike is actually more like the 800m, 1600m running events…lots of willpower and pain, but with a lot more tactics and pace changes.
Since I am new to the track I have to start on Monday nights, to get used to idea and not kill anybody important. I was surprisingly nervous before my first event, 8laps with a point available every 2 laps. Once we got started and avoided the near crash right in front of me on the first lap, it went fine.
Two things I noticed right away, 1: you are never in the right gear, to heavy for riding, but too light once the sprints start, 2: everything kind of happens slow, and you have to start the sprint earlier, because it takes a bit longer to accelerate.
Since I was there to get used to riding and racing a track bike, I didn’t necessary want to solo of the front just to try and win, so after each sprint I would sit up and get back in the pack. After one attack though I had such a big gap, and there was only 3 ½ laps to go, I thought I might as well go for it. With a lap to go I had a pretty big lead, and might have eased up slightly + I was getting tired. As I was coming onto the final straight two riders were apparently closing in very fast, a lot faster then I would have thought. On the road I don’t think this would have happened the same way, another thing I have to pay attention to…anyway, I held on and won by ½ a wheel… I still don’t think I slowed down that much!
But I’m still alive and I’ll give it another try next week.

Heat

During the last two months I’ve been in three countries, both side of the Atlantic and I still can’t get away from the heat. I think it all got to me this weekend, two races in over 100’F weather, with nowhere close to having enough water in either, is enough to get anyone a bit tired of it all. Ever since Mt Hood in early June has the heat been following me around. Not that I mind the heat that much, it’s so much better then the alternative, especially when it is accompanied with s lots of daylight.
I’m just happy I don’t live in Phoenix, or somewhere else where it actually gets like this all summer, and 100’F is considerd a cool day. I’m sure I’ll change my mind in a few months, I’ll be asking for some heat in March-May… but for now I guess I’ll just have to live with it

Goodwood.& Eelmore

I showed up to the Goodwood circuit race on Tuesday night for some much needed intensity. It’s a race much like SIR, completely flat, but about 3 times as long and we more curves.
The field was pretty small (70 total, maybe), maybe it was due to the World Cup England-Sweden game that night.
It was nice night, no rain, a bit windy, well really windy. As normal in mid week training races the pace started fast, and never slowed down. Right of the bat I get into a four man break, that lasts until about a lap later when 12 or so more guys bridge up.
Attack after attack goes off, we pull through and bring them all back. More annoying is that when some of us continuously pull though, others keep attacking and breaking up the chase. I’m at 100% just about the entire hour and a half. The pace is so high, and the attacks and splits so frequent that there is hardly ever any breathing room. No if I could just do this every week, I would get strong. With about 4 laps to go I can tell that some riders are getting tired, as the pace drops slightly between attacking. There are a lot of really fast riders, but maybe they don’t all have the endurance to keep it up much longer.
At some point 4 riders slip of the front, and which them working together without attacking each other they mange to stay away. With a lap to go 2 more guys slip of, I’m sure they come back as I sit on the strongest rider, and wait for the sprint. Well riders I’m sitting is either bluffing, just got really tired, because he does nothing to get it back, he sits second wheel the last mile or so… well I guess we are sprinting for 7th. My group is now probably nine riders big, with several guys sitting on the last few laps.
I consider starting my sprint early, but hold back because of the strong wind, and the fact that I have no clue how these guys can sprint. My misstake though, when the sprint starts I’m in fourth position, and end up forth…closing in but to late… oh well 10th for the night not too bad. It’s been a few weeks since I’d done any intensity like this, and it went ok.
Wednesday night I find another race( Eelmore). This course is only 5miles from the hotel…sweet… I ride there and back. This course is considerably shorter and even flatter.
This event is much smaller and only about 25 riders line up in the E-2 category.
I race a bit smarter, and don’t waste too much energy early. Once again though, a few riders split of the front in the tail wind section. I’m not used to racing against complete unknowns, it’s hard not knowing who can stay away and who you know will come back.
With two laps two go, a attack my group and bridge up to a group of 6, with still 3 more of the front. I manage 4th in the windy sprint again….
After two days of long full out efforts and wind… I’m tired… it was fun to race again… but it sure is different then just riding around the country side.

The next weekend I try to find a regular road race, but everyone I can find the fields are long filed… oh well, next time I’ll have to sign up a few weeks in advance.

Summer in England

Farnham

The day after Mt Hood I was of to England.
It took a week to recover from the last few weeks of racing and get over the cold I had at MT Hood, and it got worse before it got better....

I've been riding everyday, mostly easy rides, to get me back into the swing, of things. The first few days I really had the heavy leg feeling, I struggled on all the rollers.
After a week of easy riding, 30-40 miles a time, I took a day of compleatly. The next day I was really supprised how good I felt, my body had clealy needed some rest to recover and get over the final cold.
I went for a 40 mile rolling ride, pushing hard the entire time...it felt good, I had some acceleration and I could keep the speed up over the rollers and small hills....it felt great.

I've been working second shift the entire time so far, so no mid week racing, wich was actually probably good for me. Next week though I've manged to switch...Tuseday I'm of to Goodwood, and hopefully race Sean Yates...I'm already looking forward to it. Wednesday a local crit series.... too bad I can't find a good road race, it looks like they suffer from the same thing we do back in Seattle...Crit summer. Well there is a 5 day stage race that starts friday...maybe if I could sneak into that...I could probably do the friday TT, and then race both saturday and Sunday, before simply skipping the last two stages.
Well back to work...

Mt Hood

Well my previous mentioned plan worked a bit too good.
This weekend at Mt Hood, the last big (and biggest) race for me before I head of to England for a month ended early. I wasn't feeling too good on Monday and Tuesday.. but Hey I might get better. The first day we only had a 3 mile TT, hey I can do that, no problem. I started ok, but ran out of energy about 2min too early and slugged my way up the last hill. My body was aching and I had a fever...well I get a day of rest and tomorrows stage shouldn't be so bad.
Well it was worse then it looked. My legs were empty all day, I swear I had a dragging hub, brake or both. Something was not right.
I stayed in mostly but was working way too hard, it just didn't feel right.
If that wasn't enough, with about 5k to go as we came down the hill and made the sharp right turn my back wheel just about went out from under me...sweet... I had a slow leak and I was down low and fishtailing around the corners...the fact that it was a tubular saved me… the last few K were fast and curvy…if I stopped for a new wheel I knew I would never gat back on and loose time, so I kept my weight forward and buried my self to stay on the best I could. Finally at 1k I lost contact as the pack speed up for the sprint…I lost 15sec, which considering wasn’t that bad…. But I worked way too hard to do it, I was dead.
That evening and especially next morning I wasn’t feeling good at all, my fever was flaring up and I was feeling weak. If I could get by the first two stages, the third would be very different, 94miles and 9000ft of climbing. It was raining, but not too cold.
First lap started ok, but right before the KOM my legs gave out, suddenly I had nothing…it was a weird feeling. It was close enough to the top though, so I got back on as soon as we started to descend.
Next lap, my legs went earlier…I moved up front with about ½ mile before the right turn to the copper spur, then in an instant as the grade changed slightly I went straight back though the pack, by the time we actually made the turn I only had 2 riders behind me.. My legs felt like jelly, I had nothing… I was going as hard as I could and my HR would not go over 160…yeah I was in trouble. As I crossed the top, I knew I could probably catch back on, but what for?, I would only get dropped earlier next lap…and I really wasn’t feeling good. I pulled the plug and stepped of. It was a harder decision then it might seam. In all my years of racing I have never quit a race, never. But this time it would be stupid to continue.
The rest of the weekend went kind of slow, sure if was fun to watch the crit and try and help my teammates and friends in the feed zone…but it was hard not being out there.
Monday, and I’m sicker then I’ve been in a long time, so it was probably good I didn’t keep pushing it.
I’m off in a few hours, I’ll bring my bike and slowly get back into riding and racing… the summer is here and by no means am I done…

Panic City

Work has been panic the last few days... getting ready for a wind tunnel test is a nightmare, especially the last few days before.
Plus it dosn't help that I'm of to Moab in a few hours, then when I get back, one day of work before MT Hood. The day after Hood I'm of to England for a month...maybe then it will settle down a bit...it better.
I raced SIR this week.(I still call it SIR although it has now changed names to PIR...but to me that is Portland).. My leggs were tired..but I wanted to have a go anyway. It was a small pack, how many times have I said that this year?
Nathan was agressive early, as well as Hone, but that is normal. At the end I managed to roll of the front break and hold on for the win, thats been a while and it felt good. To tell the truth, I might have "rolled" of, but after that there wasn't much rolling involved. It was a perfect situation were nathan was back in the break and everybody was looking at each other way too long... I was pretty sure nathan could beat them all pretty easy going up the slight hill for the finish...so this way we got 1st and 2nd.
I had planned to race Seward this week also, but as Kele and I opened the garage to leave it was raining hard...neither of us felt like spending the evening wet and cold...and to tell the truch we had way too much to do.
It's still hard to let go, you have this nagging feling that you are missing something good...

My plan

My goal of wearing my self out is working to perfection…ahh, what beauty when a well executed plan comes together. I’ve just about done every race this season, with the knowledge that I would be gone for the entire month of June. The plan was to race hard all spring, finish it all of with hopefully surviving Mt Hood and then of to England for a month of work, and easy rides through the county side.
This year I have been a lot better of resting during the week and therefore doing better on the weekends, when it really counts. The last two weeks though have been hard. Wenatchee, yeah that climb is a bit too long for me, Enumclaw…well I should have done better there…but after being 29th after the first two stages there was no point of being conservative and finish maybe in the low 20’s… no I threw caution to the wind and tried to bridge up to a three man break up the road. The fellow bridging rider and I never made it, we got close , but then suddenly as we came around corner they were gone…strange!
We got caught 1/3 the way up the climb, It took everything I had to hang on…but that was all my matches as they say. Next lap as soon as the road was thinking about going up I was of..just like that. I hung in there and finally after riding the reminder of the race solo finished 7min or so behind the main group..
The three man break we nearly caught was joined by another three and stayed away… oh well…maybe next time.
So back to my original plan… SIR and Seward this week…I still have something left in those legs.

Oh yeah...

Yeah... and I do this for fun.... what was I thinking........














Last weekend was another stage race....they are starting to blur together..
The highlights of the weekend was my team mates (Nathan) 3top ten placings and a 9th overall. A very strong ride to get 5th in the road race, hanging with the fastest climbers around...very impressive..
Red10's win in the cat 3 crit was very nice to. Finally, after killing us all winter, he has most likely started a winning spree that could go on for a very long time..

Longbranch

I've been saying all year that this is the good course for me...
The climbs are step but not long…I believe I have the power to get over these shorter climbs with the best.
A false flat after the climb to get separation, and finally a slight uphill sprint. Sunday’s field was considerably smaller then Saturday, maybe it was the rain that scared people of. All morning the rain was pouring down and it didn’t look good for us. 10 min before it was still raining, it wasn’t until 5min in, heading up the long gentle climb that we noticed blue skies ahead…and the rest of the race was all in sunshine…how did we get so lucky.
Early on lap two a break went up the road, not all that dangerous… but as Kenny attacked, to bridge followed my Emde I knew I had to go. If those two got up there, there would be nobody back here to chase… Kenny was going hard in full TT mode, when Emde and I finally managed to latch on a few hundred feet later we had a big gap back to the pack. As we started up the hill Kenny went hard but Emde and I stayed on. As we climbed the rest at a reasonable tempo, I was surprised at the crest when suddenly the bunch of riders countered our move. I managed to accelerate and hang on, Emde went back to the back group though. We were now seven riders. As we neared the top of the false flat Kenny attacks from the back and eventually bridges up to the front break. BRI and First rate now had riders in the break, and the ones in our group made it clear that they were passenger from here on… Axley had two riders (three when Emde caught back on ½ lap later) ,Tony from Broadmark and I were the only ones chasing.
During the following few laps we eventually caught and dropped most of the breakaway except Kenny who kept going. Axley did a good job chasing, making sure nothing else went of the front..
It came down to a 7 person sprint for 2nd… I did ok and ended up 3ed overall. I’ve noticed a slight drop in sprint speed this year… that is something I will have to work on…
But I was very happy, walking away with a medal, one better the last year, for the second day in a row.
I’ve now done this race the last three years, 5th the first, then 4th last year and 3ed this year… if this continues. …
This would have been a great weekend if it wasn’t for the fact that I lost my SRM head unit. This is a rather expensive piece of equipment. I took it of my bike for the drive home(so I wouldn’t loose it)…yeah that worked great…oh well… my theory at this point is that I put it on the roof of the car as I was lifting the bike up on the rack…and left it there.

Next weekend is the third “W” of the year, and it’s the hardest one. This year we have had stage races in Walla Walla, Winthrop and now Wenatchee. Wenatchee is the state stage race championship…a very important race, but sadly way too hard for me, climbs that last 30min….yeah not my cup of tea against good climbers… but I’ll sure do my best

One better

This weekend we had both the senior and master state championship road races.
On Saturday the 86mile now well known Elma course, and on Sunday for us older (how can that be me.?... I don’t how that happened… I was just 24 the other day). I think having sporting careers in several sports takes time… when I was younger it was soccer, then in high school, Under water rugby. In college I spent 4 years training twice a day, rowing, traveling all over the country. When that suddenly ended at graduation, I took up mountain biking for a few years during grad school…. So by the time I started road riding I was already older then most retired pros… I guess that’s how… it still amazes me though…Masters…no that can’t be right…oh well it could be worse...

Saturday a big field showed up to a sunny although slightly cold day. Although some of the regions strong riders were out of town, there was still plenty of talent present. I don’t know how many times I’ve done this course before, but it’s getting up there…this time though it played out like no other. Maybe it was the head wind on the climb, lack of a long cross wind section, …for some reason at basically stayed together the entire race, no breaks got more then 10-15sec…not one.

Lap 3 and on I expected something to go on the climb, well at least splits, so I got to the front to make sure I wouldn’t miss it… apart for some smaller splits, that eventually came back… …There were some unfortunate crashes, not big ones, but the injuries were a lot worse then expected. One rider broke a collarbone and ribs as he went down by himself. Another rider had a compound fracture to his ankle as he clipped out to avoid a crash…very very unlucky. … On the farm road with 2 to go, I had a front flat, as I looked back I couldn’t even see the wheel car, as it was still behind the split…I finally get a new wheel as two of my teammates catch up, they had caught on right before the crash, and then got gapped off again…but it was nice having them here now to help me chase back on.

Neil and Flavio pull though a few pacing me back up.
A few miles later I reintegrate with the pack, a bit tired but still feeling very good.
As we approach the farm road again, we gat stopped for about 5min to let an ambulance pass with a crash victim. This is weird, only 7miles to go, 30-40 riders left and here we all sit chatting…finish line at the top of the climb…. All the strong riders are still here, we have 5guys left…this will be interesting..
Valley keeps the pace up on the rollers before the feed zone. Is anybody brave enough to go for it? Nikos gives it a try, doesn’t get too fat though. This is a good finish for me…slight uphill finish, not too long…I know the final move must go 100m or so before the sharp right turn at the top over the “wall”. After getting squeezed out though the feed zone with 1km to go, I maneuver around the left, I know I’m too far back, so I have to get into the wind to move up front. Nathan is sitting 30feet or so in front of the pack; this could be a good move…if the pack waits too long…maybe.
I can feel the jump about to happen and I anticipate it and go, hard, over the wall, we pass Nathan who is on the inside ,I can sense two riders right next to me, Morgan and Ian…both trying to find a better gear as the road flattens out. Only three rides ahead of me…Kenny and Campbell are too far away…but I’m inching closer to Morgan……..the line comes to soon…4th..
Nathan holds on for 10th, Jason 12th…
One better then last year…

Track

Track racing… I don’t know about that.. I like freewheeling too much.
Since I live pretty close the velodrome I thought I might give it a try this year. Not that I really need something else fill up my time with, but I thought it might be a good rest day activity. Now I’m pretty sure I’ll find out really quick that there is plenty of very high intensity followed by a lot of sitting around.
Anyway, I took the required track class a few years ago, and haven’t been on a track bike since. The last two Thursdays, in avoiding Seward park, and what I know will be too much intensity before the weekend I have been going to the beginners track training session. I hard part I noticed right away isn’t going fast, but slowing down… Once I’ve done my sprint of closed the gap to the rider in front, the hard part is not overrunning them, everything has to be planned ahead.. hopefully this won’t cause to many issues.
I don’t know when I will actually get out there and race…maybe once before I head of to England for June, otherwise I will have to wait all the way to July.

SIR

I haven’t raced at the Pacific raceways(SIR) in a while, so I thought I’d give it a try on Tuesday.
I was still really tired from last weekend, still need to catch up on my sleep and rest my legs.
The weather was great, good course that tuned out to me my favorite direction and still plenty of time to rest up for the weekend…why wouldn’t I?
Since I moved up north, the drive down there is a major hassle, I have to get though the worst traffic clog of the region, taking anywhere from 1h to 1:30h at best. I used to live 20min away, and it was a standard Tuesday night ride, now it involves planning and dedication.
I got there late and didn’t have tome for a warm up, except roll around for 5min…well the first lap would take care of that. I’m not sure what I was thinking, but I went hard the first two laps, a bit too hard maybe..I just wanted to get it going and make sure people were hurting in the back. It’s a bit different basically doing a road race in an hour. It plays out like the first hour of an aggressive road race with a final sprint before you know it…fun fun.
I stayed up front all race and made sure I got in all the front splits that looked even remotely dangerous. Pruit was really aggressive and probably started most of those…
My legs were not feeling especially good all, heavy and very slow, I didn’t have much of acceleration and I could swear that my back wheel was rubbing, I actually had to check twice…it was just too heavy. I guess this why I probably should have rested…oh well…as long as I rest the remainder of the week I’ll be ok….. I hope. I wanted to try and help my teammate Patrick to get some points and told him to stay on my wheel and do no work the last two laps. I tried to stay smooth and glued on Richter’s wheel.
½ lap to go I had to accelerate though a gap and lost Patrick. I was certain he could get back up, there was still plenty time, especially going down the S-curves. As we were exciting the bottom turn, Patrick come flying by and goes to the front, hmmm, not the best idea with ¼ to go…He keeps going and now I know he’s not going to make it and switch plans to go for it myself…maybe next time…don’t panic, stay focused and follow wheels. The finish line is about 200m on a false flat after cresting the small hill. You can’t afford to loose any positions going up, but it’s a bit too early to start sprinting. Just as we are about to crest, I’m still on Richter’s wheel, the sprint starts, two riders get a slight jump on the right and manage to stay ahead all the way to the line. I finish fourth,,, a bit disappointed… I should have done better…I just waited a bit too long , and my legs were just a bit too heavy to accelerate on that kind of finish..
Maybe next time I won’t go so hard in the beginning.
It was a fun night, I haven’t done that course in nearly 2 years… I forgot how much fun it can be.

Still at it...

Winthrop

Another stage race. I raced in Walla Walla last weekend, and this weekend I'm in another small Washington town, this one squeezed in a mountain valley. One thing I like about bike racing is all the places you travel, if it wasn't for racing I would never visit small towns like this. When I first started racing back in Kansas, I always loved heading to small towns, which often combined a city celebration of some kind with either a mountain bike race or a criterium.
Although maybe I don't do much sightseeing or lounging around that fully immersing into the town would require, oh well

This was a new race this year, unfortunately the turnout was very low. The low turnout I believe was a combination of weeks of back to back racing, the two stage races the previous weekend.. and the local racing that could be enjoyed without having to do the 4.5 hour drive both ways, and get back home 10pm or later Sunday night. Too bad though because it tuned out to be some great racing with nice weather.

We started with a 10mile TT. It was a good rolling course with some hard hills, well in a TT after going full speed they were hard. I felt better and more comfortable on my TT bike then I have in a while, so that was good news. I still would like to be a bit faster. don't we all though. I managed to mentally stay pretty focused throughout.. still room for some killer instinct though, that I believe I had when I first started and have somehow lost. Time trials are determined so much by attitude and focus and less by strength and aerodynamics. Nathan took 3ed.. with an excellent TT, Jason and I were in the top 10.

The Crit in Twisp was a windy one, with dust everywhere. The biggest trouble of the night as trying to find some coffee, as all the stores closed at 3pm, we finally found a bakery/coffee shop with a London trained pastry maker, although tempted, I resisted to get anything before the race.
The small field and blustery wind made this an extremely hard crit, the first 25min were just about as hard as any crit I've ever done gaps opened up everywhere, every lap it seamed like I had to jump around riders to get across the pack. Jason got in the winning break pretty early and ended up 5th. For pride more then anything I jumped with two corners to go, but could not make it hold and got passed by two rides right at the line for 10th. Next time maybe this will be for the win I can't sprint with the best, so this is my best chance.
That night we were treated to a dinner at Kevin Ruf's dad house were we staying. We were very happy to see food, as we stumbled in with soar legs.

The road the following morning race was on a rolling loop that we would do six times.
It was a good course, but once again the small field make it impossible to hide. The fireworks started early and by the 3ed lap the main break was established, 6rides from 3teams. Jason and Nathan both made it. I missed out as I hesitated, why I don't know, for a second. I didn't was to pull the other riders up, so I sat on an rivalry rider and wouldn't pull though for the next few miles. Nikos and I than started to roll though, but not really helping the chase. I was hoping we would stay kind of close, and then at the opportune moment try and bridge acrossÂ…. It never really appeared.
The next few laps I tried to analyze the situation, two of the riders in this group where ahead of me in the overall standing. I need to beat them at the finish. I was feeling great and noticed that just about all the other riders looked like they were suffering a bit. With slightly more then one lap to go I went hard up the first hill, settled down slightly to look were everybody was. I saw that I had a gap and the riders were all strung out with big gaps, so I surged again and took of. Half way though the last lap I passed Nathan who was riding with a front flat. I though about stopping and giving him my front but we were essentially on the same points after the two first stages, and stopping would only result in loosing the lead I had on the group behind me. I was going flat out. I came screaming down though town for the last time, started up the last hill with about 1mile to go, I didn't let up until I was at 100m to go. I crossed the line for what tuned out to be 6th place. 5 min later Nikos came in taking the sprint for 6th,perfect, he had been able to sit on while the other had tried to chase me down; this is one way teammates help in a individual sport like cycling.
Jason ended up 5th overall, I was 7th, Nikos 8th, Nathan who had started the weekend so good was unlucky again, and ended up 11th in the RR and overall

Walla Walla

Anybody thirsty....


At the top of the climb during the first "hot" climb all year, 65miles into a 98 mile race.... yeah some water would be nice.

oh well

oh my god my legs are tired...what did I do....and I will not repeat my mistake.
I was actually feeling ok before the race on Saturday... but then on lap one I just imploded....couldn't believe that I could feel this bad so early in...
I really though I was going to get dropped, and quitting crossed my mind several times... what is the point if I feel this bad with 65 miles to go?...
But I've never quit a race..and I couldn't start now.
I decided to race more consevative, and hung in there. I was actually starting to feel better a few laps later, but I still had no acceleration at all.
Half way through the second to last lap a spoke in my back wheel broke and I came to a skidding stop as the wheel seized up... If I had been feeling great, or been in the lead group I would have been upset, but as it was.. oh well.
The problem was that I was stuck out in nowhere, 6 miles from the parking lot, a long walk in bike shoes...so there I was for an hour before I got a ride back...and I was starting to get really cold.... oh well, next week is what counts.

1st Seward Park.

Why do I always go too hard at Seward, no matter how tired I am, or how good my intention is to take it easy. Last night the Thursday night criterium series had it’s kick of, and with great weather that we are starting to get used to, maybe a bit too much.
I got of work hurried home, had something to eat and rode the 20 miles down there, a bit too fast as I didn’t realize that my watch was 15min too fast.
Tuesday and Wednesday had been pretty hard training and my legs were tired, and the weekend racing is going to be hard, so in the back of my mind I had decided not to kill myself. Well those thoughts pretty much stayed at the back. Lap two I decide to pick the pace up and the following few laps, I’m doing my best to wear some people out. Pretty soon a group of 6 riders have a gap, by now I’m a bit tired and have to struggle to stay on the split I created… yeah that wasn’t so smart..
A lap or so later it’s all back together… now my common sense kicks in and I decide to chill out for a few laps, as we still have at least 25 to go. At the first preem 3 riders get of, and quickly have 30sec on us… one by one though they come back as the new local pro Todd Herriot relentlessly pushes the pace.
I ended up in a chase group of four, that just barley stayed away to the finish. My teammate rolled of the front with just a few hundred meters to go, while the other rides were watching me, just perfect.
As we got to the final sprint, I tried to jump a bit early and take 3ed, but got passed just before the line. Still 2nd and 4th, pretty good team result. Now what ever happened to taking it easy…
I rode the 20 miles back home in the dark…slow.

Rest day

Some times you can't wait to get on your bike and go for a hard ride, sometimes you just want to do nothing. Today is one of those.
Ahh, to put my legs up, rest and do nothing, maybe if I'm feeling energetic I'll watch some TV...maybe not.
Last week I decided it was time for some hard training, no races on the weekend ahead so no need to be fresh. Really what i learnt most from this week is what not do to do if I had a race. I was more tired Sunday than the last two weeks when I raced both Saturday and Sunday.
Maybe I'm extra sore today because I took my new bike out yesterday, 80miles on a ever so slightly different position has made me hurt all over...
It didn't help that team mates keept pushing the pace over the hills...thanks...
As long as I rest now, I should be stronger beacuse of all this...

Race at Swede hall

After a week of being sick I was a bit nervous for the weekends racing. Well I did ride once last week, Thursday and after 35min of tempo riding my legs suddenly lost all power…I eased of for a few minuets and continues my ride home. I took Friday of also, although I had initially planned a short ride to test my legs, but by the time I got home I decided it was better to rest.

Saturdays race was new course, which is always fun. When we arrive we lean that there are “two” hills on each lap…oh…I have to be careful… My goal was to hang is as long as possible, and don’t do anything crazy…to last to the end. I told myself that the goal of the race was to last as long as possible, and that getting dropped would be ok, if that was the best I could do. Deep down I know, that if I finish in anything but at least the main pack would be disappointed. No matter how sick or tired I am, I can’t relinquish the fact that I need to finish. Setting a team mate up for a good result would be perfectly ok, If I could make a difference to help somebody finish high up in the results that would be an acceptable goal. For our team to have a good chance, it would either be get a rider up in the break, or once our sprinter got over the last climb help get the pace up and take him to the front.
80 miles with 8 climbs… well I’d better start carefully and see how I feel. First climb came only a few miles into the race… it was fast, but not too bad I was ok… on the descent I somehow managed to drift to the back..(on a new decent and my first ride since September on my carbon rims).. when I suddenly realize that I’ve been here before…two years ago we had our training camp here…once I realize this, I remember the descent and the fact that there were no sharp hidden corners… and I’m a lot more comfortable and bomb down the rest.
A few brakes go up the road, Nathan is in a few but nothing wants to stay. I somehow get in a move or two…not on purpose really I just happen to be in the right spot and instinct takes over.
Second time up the big hill, I drift all the way back…ops…that’s not good, we have long way to go. I get over the shorter climb ok. Third time up I’m nervous, I make sure I start the climb right up front…. I do fine..and crest mid pack or so.. five riders are of the front as this point, but with the way I’m feeling I’m happy to fight it out for 6th. Going onto the final lap my legs are like jelly…I’m sure I’m not going to make it. I push those thoughts out as I start the climb in 5th wheel. I concentrate and try to relax, half way up a small group of six riders have a slight gap, I look up and decide that this could be it, I put everything aside, shift a gear and stand up, I surge up to the group and proceed in leading them over the top…I look back we have slight gap. Now being more comfortable on the descent I hit the front and go down it as fast as I can.
I’m slightly shocked…how did I do that?…go from being sure I wasn’t going to make it, to leading the split over top. Your worst enemy id self doubt. Nobody really wants to keep pushing it, we slow down . A little while later our group swells as most people catch back on. Pete is here, if he can just get over the last climb coming up in 10miles or so, we have a great chance of taking out the sprint.
Going into the climb I’m too far back, but my biggest misstate was I wasn’t committed to a plan. I told Pete I’d wait for him at the top, in doing this I hesitated slightly and let 12 rides or so get a gap at the top. I think I could have got up to them at the crest, but I hesitated because I didn’t want to get too far ahead of Pete… he would need all the help he could get to get back on. Over the top we (7 of us) are only a few seconds back… I drift to the back and look for Pete…halfway down there is no sign of him…I look ahead…the group ahead isn’t getting closer…They are going flat out to keep us from catching. We have a rival sprinter in our group and they don’t want to let him back on. The next five miles we are going as hard as we can, but just can’t close the gap. Only 4 of us are actively chasing, some more then others…with two miles to go I realize that it’s not going to happen… I attack to tray and shake some of the guys just sitting on. Finally we sprint in for 17th, I get passed by two riders and end up 19th.
I’m a bit frustrated at myself, I made a big mistake by not committing to either wait, or make sure I got with the front group….getting stuck in the middle was no use to anybody. Turns our Pete was cramping and me staying back to help pull him up probably wouldn’t have worked anyway…. This is why a clear plan is so important, or if I would have know early in the climb that Pete was cramping and there was no chance for him, maybe, just maybe I could have made it.

More early season racing

Another weekend a two more races.
This is the best spring for racing since I moved to Seattle in 2000.
It’s unheard of to race the entire Mason lake series without once getting rained on. I don’t even think I’ve made it without seeing snow. Saturday was a pretty good race, I tried with all my might to get in a break… but to no avail… 3 of our riders got gapped by a crash with 3 laps to go. With only two of us left and the fact that we already done more then our share at the front made it so much harder. When the break finally went I was exactly at the right spot, but made the conscious decision not to go with that attack. Obviously I made the wrong choice, how could I have known, all I knew was that my legs knew very well that they didn’t want to go. A few miles later a two man bridge attempt took of, once again I was right there, but not ready. One rider made it, so they were now three up the road….and they all just happened to be some of the best time trailers around… we were now fighting for 4th… I managed to take 5th in the pack sprint, finishing 8th for the day and 4th in the series.

Sunday, a new day and new race…The sun was out and it was probably the best weather I’ve ridden in since last fall. It was borderline but I decided to race with no legwarmers. The first ride in months without something over your knees, that always a great feeling, finally summer is here!..(well maybe not quite yet).
An early break got of. Too early to commit our team to chase quite yet. When we did start chasing our team did a great job, with several rides sacrificing their chances to give me a better chance.
On the final lap there is only one rider left of the front, and just like yesterday it’s down to a pack sprint for 2nd… After all that work from my teammates I mess it up slightly by being too far back when the sprint starts… I still manage 10th, but can only image what could have happened if I’d been a bit more aggressive the last mile…. The team rode a lot better then I managed to finish it of, oh well. We did a good job in chasing the break back, but we had some communication problems as we couldn’t reach each other to organize a solid combined effort….for once race radios would really have helped.

A weekend with great weather and two top 10’s… I can’t be greedy…

Sucess

On Saturday my cycling team and I personally had a very successful race.
Our goal was to be aggressive and always have somebody up the road, if not we would chase immediately. It started of with Jason going of the front, during the first lap. Now this was domed from the start, solo was no way to ride the 72 miles…but we were hoping for a few riders to bridge up, for some reason this never happened. As soon as he was back Nathan our new rider gets of with Ian Tubs. This had a lot better chance of working. Although two riders would still l have a hard time succeeding at this point. I spent next 30-40 min at the front, trying to slow the pack down, disrupt the chase enough to allow the gap to grow. I would jump on the back of a few bridging attempts and allow me to get pulled up to Nathan if they succeeded, but never actually pulled through myself. Despite all this it was all together with about 2 laps to go. Over the next few miles our team did a great job in attacking and staying close to the front. With about 16 miles to go, Jason goes with an acceleration of the front, it really doesn’t go anywhere. I’m right up front and right as it is caught I launch an attack up the next roller. I instantly get a gap….thankfully after a few minuets I’m joined by one of the strongest riders in the field; I jump on as he comes by.
As we pass the finish line with one lap to go, we have less than a 200m lead. Every time James pulls though I’m digging deep to get back on, every time I pull though I digging deeper to keep the speed up. To stay away with one lap to go, you can’t save anything, its full speed or don’t even try. A few miles later we have a follow car and we are told we have a minute lead. At the far corner we find out there is a chase group of six riders at 30 seconds. The pack might slow up, there is sometimes a hesitation, who is going to pull, who is going to take the responsibility to lead their sprinter out, this is what makes it possible for a few riders to stay of the front, the pack going slow. With a chase group of 6 riders there would be no such thing, all these riders unless teammates of James and I would be working flat out to catch us. After 65miles of racing we could only hope that they were just as tired or more so then James and I… to tell the truth if they were any more tired then I, they wouldn’t be a threat at all. I was digging deep pushing through the pain as much as possible. With 2 miles to go as I pulled of the front, expecting James to come around for his turn, he accelerated slightly…. It wasn’t that much, but enough to cause a gap that I couldn’t close. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but now after working so hard for so long it was too much. If I wanted to at least finish second I now had to really push though to finish ahead of the chasing group. There were only a few small hills left…if I could just make it over those, then at 1km to go there was a downhill where I should be able to keep my gap. James wasn’t that far ahead… I could always see him up there…but now I was more worried what was coming up from behind. As I got to 300m I was starting to feel a lot safer, but this last part was on a slight uphill, which normal is barely noticeable, but now…it a mountain. Finally as I reached the last 100m I felt safe, I could see the group behind, coming around the last corner at about 300m…. It was a nice feeling…finally, the pain and effort was worth it.

The last few miles I fought the urge to lessen the pain and let up, but something kept me going.
Maybe it was the realization that anything but my best effort, no matter how it turned out would be a lot worse then the physical pain, knowing that I let of would haunt me a lot longer then anything my body could come up with. I can’t control who is fast, who wins, who is lucky all I can do I my best with what I have at the moment…and take it as far as I can.
After, I can go back and analyze why or why not it worked, and try and change next time.
I ended up second…which is a really good result for me, but what could I do to get first next time.

First race of 2006

The first race this season happened on Saturday. It’s as 12mile loop around a lake, mostly flat but with some short hills. Usually these first few races of the season draw a very big crowd.
There are several groups of people who show up for there races.
1:Riders who have been training gradually all winter and are ready to get going with a new season.
2: People who have been training for a later peak and have no expectations..
3 The few who have been doing hard intervals all February targeting these March races… “might as well peak for something I have a chance at”. These riders usually last until mid to late April when the rest of the field catches up. This is how we like to label all the riders who do good… secretly we hope they will all burn out and fade away… but sometimes these riders just are group 1’s and are simply just very well prepared.
4: And then there is the group that sits in the back trying to get into shape after spending all winter skiing.
It’s an interesting mix. During the race even though the peloton can he huge, only a limited few actually stray away from there early positions in the pack. The fit generally stay up front, attacking and getting a race going, the big majority will sit behind and maybe once and a while hit the front of follow something, the unfit or late starters in or off the back. There are a few exceptions, a certain Broadmark rider no matter what kind of shape he is in will continuously attack and shoot of the front more times than you can count. No matter what you think about this tactic you have to admire his ability to recover and go again. And more then not he makes the break and either finishes the race in the front group or in the right at the back.

So the first race started in the best conditions I’ve ridden in all year…sunny and relatively warm…high 40’s…low 50’s I guess. It was only my second ride on by race bike since October… and it sure felt different. I tried to line up close to the front, but showed up a bit late, but after some maneuvering snuck in at mid pack or so. Historically the first race usually ends up in an early break staying away, so I wanted at least give my self a chance of getting in it.
Only 3 rides including I from our team showed up, there were several good reasons for this low turnout. However this did make it very hard to get a rider in each early break. I managed to get up front pretty quick and went with as many of the early flurry of attacks I could, that seamed likely or at least looked like they had the possibility of staying away. Our team with only three riders could not afford to having to chase a break with most of the other teams represented, it would have worn us down and make it just that much harder to get in the next break, and if we missed that one we would have to do it all over again. I was most likely a bit to eager and should have showed a bit more constraint…did I really have to bridge to all those groups… ¾ though the first lap I jumped across to Ian Tubs and Rob Campbell, here were to riders from the two strongest teams… I though I’d better get up there quick before it goes too far. Once I bridge I immediately start working hard, and quickly realize that Rob is just sitting on…Ian and I keep at it though…soon we are joined by a few more riders, Rob still does nothing… He was waiting for one more teammate before committing to this break…Recycled get a rider up there, BRI, Broadmark now has two, soon Dan Harm and Mike Hone also join up, although Mike never leaves the back as he is hanging on for dear life, getting pulled up by Dan Harm just about killed him by the looks of it. A mile or so later Rob has his teammate as Derrick and Ian McKissick of Recycled join us. We are now 13 in the break. By now I’m a bit too tired; this was a hard first lap…5more to go…ohhhh.
As we turn out on the main road and up the hill attacks start going, Rob who is rested gets of in one with a Recycled, Broadmark…and the gap is growing fast….oh oh… now(next day) I realize my misstate, but at the time and tried to bridge, when I was 3/4 there I look back, everybody is on my wheel, I’m cooked so I swing of, now I do the rookie mistake and mess up getting back on. Derrick is the last guy…no wait it’s Hone….wait Hone is dropped…and before I know it I’m gapped off, going up the little riser….just like that I’m off….I can’t believe it…how did that happen?... I shouldn’t have worked so hard earlier, I guess it’s just the excitement of the first race. I should have let the four guys go, if I wasn’t on it right away, somebody else probably would have tried to close it, and if not fighting for 5th is better then nothing…. Oh well next time…I can tell I haven’t raced since last fall. As son as I was back in the field Jason took of and was joined by a Andrew(WOW)… the duo never managed to bridge but go close for a while and stayed away for a lap. As we passed the finish line the brake and 2min, then next lap 4, 5 it was over.. we were not strong enough to bring it back ourselves and no one else seamed willing. Since there was nothing to lose at this point I stayed aggressive and tried to get of the front or chase down moves. good training. With a few miles to go I got away with five riders, we worked good and basically went flat out. At 1 k to go the pack was getting closer though. I pulled though for the last time coming down the last hill, I was a bit worried that I would nor be stuck in front, but the two WOW riders came around. At 400m the pack was probably not more then 3 sec back, at 300 I had to go to have any chance of making it before getting caught…at 200m Justin Morgan came of my wheel and took of….I was left in my own misery. Those last 200m were pure pain, during the last 50m I had to stand up and sit down 3 times just to keep moving….
I finished just in head off Matt Quann, and the rest of the pack…. That was cutting it close.
13th overall… could/should have been better….but that’s why it’s a training race.
Next week it will most likely come down to a pack sprint, unless the “right” riders with points get in the break.

Warm weather at last....

What a difference a few days can make. Friday it was 32’F for my entire ride, and snowing.. Sunday there was blue skies and 50’F..now this is a nice day for February.
I had to work all Saturday, so on Sunday I was definitely ready for a longer ride.
I tried out a new route… headed east at first thru some small villages and then cut south down and around Petworth… I don’t know if it was the weather or the new roads but it was brilliant. My legs though were a bit worn down from the previous week..
I leave on Friday and will not touch my bike until earliest Tuesday next week…so I decided to push thou this last few days…maybe not the smartest thing…but as long as I don’t get sick, or push too hard.
Sunday afternoon I took a nap, or tired….my plan was to try and get some rest before watching the 11:30pm kickoff time for the Superbowl. I don’t watch much football anymore, but when your home team reached the final…I’ll give it a go.
At halftime around 1:30am I Seattle was down 3 to 7, and I didn’t have much desire to sit though the entire halftime show, so I went to bed. I didn’t want to waste the entire next day, I had planned to at least get a short ride in.

burrrr....ahhhhh

It’s cold. Today’s ride was at 32’F and when I stopped out I realized it was actually snowing…oh well…beats the rain they have back in Seattle. Lucky for me the ride starts with a gradual uphill for the first 18min…so plenty time to warm up.
I was feeling great, nice and warm, my only concern was how long I could make it before my toes started getting cold…1 hour later I new I would be miserable.
I had an 3hours ride planed…and the last hour was pretty cold, not just my feet but fingers to…but by them home was in sight…only 60 minuets, 45, 30…20(and 15 if I push it) I kept telling myself . Other problems included a broken stay on my front fender, but I decided to ignore that one…hopefully it won’t break of and jam into the wheel….
My water bottle started getting “slushy”.. and would freeze. I tried to shake it around and melt the mouth piece with my breath, that only worked twice…and then just as I was loosing the feeling in my toes (60min) from home the entire bottle tuned solid.
Even with the cold and icy snow cutting into my face it was a pretty good ride…Hey, I got out on my bike, in daylight..and no rain…..that’s a lot better then most this time of year.

Nipping at the bud

So I’m still in England…although it is pretty nice here..it’s been long enough…I’m ready to go home….well that won’t happen for another two weeks….
Wednesday I came down with a soar throat… I took Thursday of and rested…it did the trick and I was able no “nip it at the bud” as Kele would say… although I wasn’t feeling great on Thursday..by late afternoon I was feeling a lot better. Just to be careful I only did a short easy ride on Friday. Saturday I did some exploring and added a new loop to my set…and not s bad one either. The week or so it was been nice and dry, finally able to get back from a ride without a bike and chain covered in mud “Brilliant”… the downside to the dry weather in the mid 30’s temperatures…and very cold winds.
This week I didn’t get al the riding our hours in I wanted…but when a cold comes around you have to be able to back of and take it easy…a little time of now is better the getting sick and missing much more.

Jolly Old

So I’m not in Seattle anymore…well it’s just temporally, although some times it feels a lot longer.…I’m staying in a cabin in Tilford, a small Village in the south of England.
I’m here for work. We use the wind tunnel here as it is actually cheaper them going to a similar in the USA, if there was one… well there is one but it’s too expensive.
The flight over was ok, ok the movies were terrible, to tell the truth I can’t remember when the selection was so bad… there was only one movie I could consider wasting time on…so I ended up reading and sleeping more then normal.
At customs in London I got stopped and strip searched…well no not really they just wanted to know what I had in my bike bag..”a bike” I said and off I was.
Wednesday and Thursday I had to work 12 hours… so I only managed to get on the trainer for a little bit…it was probably good for me anyway. Finally on Friday I managed to get out for a 3hour ride…and I even missed all the rain.
Riding in England is a mixed blessing… on one hands the roads are great, they meander through the country side, hills everywhere….but on the other they are really narrow and have no shoulder what so ever… so you have to continuously watch out for cars around each bend…. The best rides involve riding on the country lanes and this means being lost most of the time… oh well, eventually you come across something that looks familiar.