Tree

There I was, riding down the tail, minding my own business, and out of nowhere this tree jumped at me.
The tree didn’t so much jump at me, more like actually just stood there, not moving at all… but it’s all relative.
The race had originally been scheduled for a much different course, with much less trees, and definitely less aggressive ones at that.
Well here I was, on the first lap mind you giving this perfectly healthy tree a perfect tackle, I guess should have known, that I didn’t really have a chance, me against the tree, there was no other outcome, then me being on the short end of the stick.

It all happened during the first lap of the 3ed race of the Seattle cross series on Sunday.
We all know the first lap is a bit hectic to say the least. On a right hand corner my front tire slipped for just a split second, changing my path just enough, sending me into the corner tighter then I wanted. There it was, and there was no avoiding it… damm!! my right collar bone took the hit, sending me cart wheeling into the bushes.
I got up, checked my bike, shoulder hurt bad, waited until the trail was clear and got back on my bike. Racing down the trail again I was slightly upset to why I had waited so long to get going, the racer in me was more angry about lossing time then beeing hurt. I came to a section that required me to pull on the handlebar, and I was quickly reminded of the encounter with the tree. I still keep going, but finally came to my senses as I plowed through the deep sand, pushing the heavy gear and trying maintainin my momentum, it hurt like the...... By the end of the sand pit I came to a slow stop and got off the bike, the race was over for today.

As I walked my bike down to the infield the shoulder pain was intensifying, and I knew I had made the right decision. Now I instead started worrying about having broken or torn something. This is not at all a good plan for the rest of the cross season.

After slowly loading the car I drove the emergency room. X-rays and the doctor confirmed that I hadn’t broken anything but had suffered a separated shoulder. I hadn’t completely torn my ligaments so that’s good… but it will definitely take a while to heal, It just hurts and even minor things are hard to do.

If it wasn’t cross, maybe I could be back racing in a few weeks… cross though is a bit tough on the shoulder with all the bumps and jarring, not to mention lifting the bike over barriers and shouldering the bike for the Knapp run-up… yeah… don’t think so.

I was getting over my cold, training was going good, I was feeling strong... this is always when you get injured...

I still slightly optimistic…we will see…

I now have a great opertunity to practise doing everything with my left hand..

Evergreen

For the First race of the Seattle series, the weather could not have been better.
After last weeks rain and mud, we now had to deal with dry grass and sandy corners.
After a pretty good start, I once again had a misshap, from where i spent the entire race trying to recover from.

On the first 180 turn of the race, we all quickly slowed to a crawl, what I didn't notice at the time, was that when the rider from behind ran into me, they actually ran into my skewer, partially opening it. A lap later my rear wheel came to a screeching halt as the wheel came out. Why i had closed it with the lever pointing backwards I don't know?... another thing to think about for cross.

I really didn't loose to much time, it was more the fact that I got passed by just about the entire field, as I figured out what was wrong, and got my wheel back in.
I spent a lot of time getting stuck behind and trying to get around riders.
The longer the race went, the faster I making up spots... road season fitness is helping a bit.
I eked out a top 10, so i am happy with that... one of these days it will all work out.

Cross is On

Cyclocross season just started again... why didn't anybody remind me how painful it is??

First Star-crossed in Redmond on Saturday..




Then after suffering from a mechanical, Rad GrandPrix on Sunday





cool sky.......

Track

After only racing on the track, twice the last few summers, this year I managed three...and was promptly upgraded, to a cat 3. So last Friday Kele and I both showed up to race.
There where enough riders there for two heats, and they split us up, so we wouldn't cooperate... and I who needed some help……..
Track you would think would be simple, since there is only one gear... but not quite so... now you have to spend all this time deciding what gear to run, depending on the race, other riders tactics, and ones own strengths. No matter what you do, you are invariably going to have the wrong gear, for at least part of the race.
First race I picked a slightly bigger gear then I was used to… turned out it was ok at speed, but accelerating was a bit harder, and my legs were just about shoot after that. Second race I went smaller to a 49x15… pretty small, but now I was better of with the small accelerations… but just could not go fast enough during the sprint for the line. (All in all though, I think a better gear for me)..

For the third race I should have gone up again. The race would be a lot more consistent in speed, no intermediate sprints or funny stuff…I ended up of the front a few times… and the high cadence I had to keep with that gear just wore me down… and I was caught. During the final sprint to the line I was feeling good, on a great wheel and between corner 3 and 4 I was flying over the top of the pack to the front. As we are about to exit the corner a rider pulls up, the rider on my inside who I’m passing reacts my going up, then the rookie as I am, I over react even more and even “stop” pedaling for a split second… I promptly settle down, but have now lost my wheel and inertia, so I back of and pull out of the sprint… what a rookie mistake… The riders wheel I was on ends up winning the sprint, I would like to think I would have been right up there, and not back practically coasting across the line.
Well I’m a rookie on the track, I didn’t go down… I will learn..
and I did win $10 in my second race… more then enough for a Blizzard, so really not a bad night after all.

Team Pursuit

This weekend I did my first team pursuit at the FSA challenge race at Marymoore.
It was also probably my shortest race ever, less then 5 min.
Considering that this was new to all of us, with only a few training sessions, never done more then 2 1/2 laps at full effort prior to this, it went pretty good.

I think all of us agreed that we could improve our time considerably.
We rode pretty conservatively, not quite knowing how to pace it... I think we all finished with plenty left in the tank.

We only missed 3ed by less than a second, and second by 4...

I'm tired

Too much racing in too few days....sure it was fun...
but I'm paying for it now..

Just too bad more people didn't show up for the Omnium in Bellingham...

I felt great all weekend, and even managed to take the crowd preem of $100+ in the crit..

I shared it with Brian V from Carter though, as we were working together good, trying to hold of the pack for the finish.
We didn't quite make it.
Getting caught at the last corner with 200m to go, I tried to sprint but faded to 10th...
It was a good effort though.

W in W

Off to the 3ed “W” stage race of the year.
First one was Walla Walla, in April…I haven’t updated the blog since…
Second was the State Stage race in Wenatchee and the third will be this weekend in Winthrop..

The first two did not go so well.

Walla Walla had a very big field with some very strong riders. Wind was a factor as well. For the first time in a while a was more then happy to just hang on, and that was hard enough.


I’ve like so many others, have been fighting colds and sickness all spring. I was, and am still trying to get over and recover from a virus. I could have picked it up on my India trip in late December, or maybe just as likely the Starbucks at JFK during my return trip,,, The virus has been leaving me weak and tried. I was having problem with my digestion system, I was not able to absorb enough nutrients… finally though after numerous tests and doctor visits, I am now on a daily viral suppressive medicine…and the last few weeks I have been feeling a lot better.

I still have a hard time recovering from efforts, and the trick now is to make sure I don’t overdue it and make sure I get enough rest. Better being over rested then over trained anytime.

Anyway Wenatchee was hot and windy. The Crit was harder then I liked. Muscle weakness and repeated high intensity efforts in a crit is not a good mix.

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The long climb in the road race was very hot. Even before the second time over I was dead. Just pushing the pedals down at all was just barley possible. I don’t think I could have climbed any slower.


Even though I struggled at lot of the races this year, I really tried to enjoy the process instead… it’s not all about wining and just setting different goals. At a few races I have felt great, others not so much… but It’s all been “fun”…

One advantage with having a power meter on my bike is that I can quantify a big part of the symptoms. My power is down 5% across the board, from sprint to TT efforts. 5% does not seem like a lot… but I can assure you that it is quite noticeable.

So now I’m getting ready for the third W, the Methow Valley Stage race in Wintrop.
Hopefully can do a bit better this time.

But no matter what happens I will make sure I have a good time…

80'F

How nice was the 80’s on Saturday?..

After have been suffering from some kind of post sickness fatigue the last week or so, I finally began to feel a lot better on Friday.
Since the race on Saturday was only a 14 mile ride from home, and with a start time at early afternoon, it meant a possibility to catch up on some sleep, have a relaxing morning and then leisurely cruising over to Volunteer Park, doesn’t get much better then that..
And did I mention it was 80’… only my 3ed ride with out leg warmers all year, (the 2nd was on a short lunch ride Friday).
Dalai Lama is in town all week, and with a Baseball game also going on, it was nice being able to park the car for the entire weekend, avoiding all traffic.
I haven’t done this race since 2004. I think it was cancelled last year, and the other years it was later in the summer when I was usually gone in England for wind tunnel testing.
This would be my first criterium of the year, although I consider this a non-crit crit, because of its simple course…
One big round loop, It’s just like Seward Park, but twice as big. Flat section by the Start/ finish, long fast downhill followed by an uphill that you can coast up halfway (especially in the slip stream of the pack) before a sharp right turn into the last 200m. This is always easier then a flat multi corner course, where you have no downhill to ‘recover”. On the other hand, a solo move is definitely harder, you have to work up and down to maintain your lead.
The race it went ok. You could tell that it was the first crit of the year for a lot of people, both by the feeling I got in the corners, and the fatigue you could see set in after a few laps.


I tried a move or two, bridged up to a short lasting two man break ½ though.. but nothing would stay away. Well, Clayville did have about a 12 sec lead the last 10 laps, only to get caught at 200m. With 1lap to go I was a bit too far back, and going around the tower, I managed to loose a few more spots… I definitely wasn’t “aggressive enough”.. coming around the last corner I started to sprint, and once I realized I wasn’t gaining much on anybody, I rolled across in 14th .. Teufel was up there and took 6th I think.
After the race I had nice ride home in the gorgeous weather… if it would only last, but rain and cold was forecasted for Sunday.

I decided to do the early race Sunday, trying to avoid the rain that was surly on its way.
When I showed up I was surprised by the small fields in all the races. Tom, Alex and I lined up for the A race. I could definitely feel some fatigue from Saturday, and I noticed that I didn’t have much of any acceleration coming out of the corners, or trying to get of the front. Tom and Alex did a good job covering, or making sure no move got of the front. Halfway though, the rain came, but all throughout race it never really got worse then a light mist. With 2 1/2 laps to go, I got seriously cut of in corner two, I had to slam on my brakes, lift my right foot to avoiding the curb and lost 20 spots. Now I didn’t have much time to get back up front. Going up the back side on the last lap I had managed to get back up to 5th, but when the three front riders surged and opened up a gap ahead of the 4th placed rider, I was too fatigued to respond right away…. And that was that.

I came around the last corner 5th, and then got passed by Erik Anderson, before the line as he sprinted by me …. Oh well, It could have been worse... Alex was right behind me somewhere in the last corner, but was taken wide and came out of his pedal, luckily he didn’t go down, but it didn’t help his finishing order for sure.
Now it started raining, and I decided to skip the last race and ride home before I got too wet and cold, especially as I had forgot to bring my legwarmers and raincoat. By the time I got home it was raining pretty hard, and I was happy with my decision, but there was still a part of me that wanted to race.

Independence Valley

Ok, at some point I will have to mention that we raced in miserable rain, and I was wet and cold, but not yet….
Saturday the Sun was out once again, it was slightly cold, still a bit too cold for bare legs, but it was a close call.
A big field this week, over 70 riders, several pro’s were at hand for some training, 3 Bissell riders, Ian (BMC), Doug (Rock Racing) Mountain Biker Jason Sager, and plenty local strong guys from both Washington and Oregon. First time up the first hill we were steady, at 450W mind you… at least it was only 3min. Once on the back side, the pace slowed way down. A few miles later, attacks started going, right before the second hill Ian, Dan and Morgan get a gap, and it balloons pretty quick. I don’t think the fact that out chase wasn’t the best made much of a difference with those guys up there; the gap was going up no matter what. Chris flatted, so we didn’t help much with chase until he got back, then just as we were coming up to the climb he got DQ for crossing the centerline…
Second time up was probably just as fast, but ok. On the back side Kevin and I helped with the chase so did Joe Holmes, but that was it (Carter had already spent most of there guys)… what was the point…. We quickly realized that this was futile….Kevin attacked and went away solo. Campbell tried to bridge but never made it up there. By the top of the second climb Kevin came back.
Next time up the main hill was going to be decisive, we all knew it. I attacked and countered to many moves, and spent too much energy to try and get in a small group before the climb, nothing stayed for very long. Then as I momentarily drifted back to the 3ed row, Strangelove and someone gets of the front, and then Hone and Ian attack at the same time and are also “let go”. These four get a gap before anything else happens, just enough it turns out. Another split rolls of, but this one is chased down right before the corner. Then less than a mile before the hill Ian gets of again, but gets caught ¼ way up, got to be the worst place.
The surge happens right at the bottom, Doug, Omer all come flying around on my left. I try and surge but after all the attacking my legs are toast…halfway up I finally start to close in on a group of riders right in front, but I needed to stand and surge a lot more to catch the main group…5 sec late at the top, is just too much, that was that.
This was one of those moments you have to realize, when it happens, that the race is over unless you do something now. Put away all thoughts of pain and simply shift, stand, and do what ever you have to do, to catch back up. You have to be willing to suffer more then you ever have, ignore the logic and thoughts of being in control… this is the race, and if you want to be a part of it.. go.
I didn’t realize this, until it was too late, maybe it was denial, or maybe I was just too preoccupied with the pain right now, and not the race at hand.

The small break with Hone and Strangelove got absorbed on the way up, but made it over the top.
The race was now for 15th.. and some good training I guess. Shawn missed the split, not sure how, but was now trying to pull us all back.
An hour later we sprinted in for 15th, Campbell taking the Sprint. I had a go at it but, somehow found myself squeezed across the yellow line with 300m to go and sprinted from the back, with what it felt like two flat tires..

March racing with no rain

Total riding time actually drops quite a lot for me during racing season, and time in the car goes up accordingly. Saturday rides from the front door are numbered for a while. Stops at Pert’s after the ride, for a cup of coffee and lunch are going to suffer. Well, at least I now have good reason to stop for a DQ blizzard on the drive home.


The second Mason Lake was a bit more intense then the first week, a lot of teams showed up with full teams. The pace was always high, and I personally did a lot of work for the team, bringing back breaks. The final rider was caught at 1km, and we were barreling down for a pack sprint.
The finish was rather hazardous, riders moving up to the left of the yellow line, head and shoulder butting and wheels touching, all at 30mph. Coming around the last corner I was a bit too far back, but managed to squeeze in at 8th, closing in on the riders ahead, but still upright and alive.


Sunday morning came too early, lost an hour sleep to daylight saving. I had to make the first ferry out of Kingston to Sequim, since we and Carter were putting on the race.
After being in the follow car all morning, which is a pretty posh job actually, especially if the weather is bad, I got ready to race the afternoon race. It was actually quite a bit colder then the day before, but once again there was no rain. Quite a big field again, plenty strong teams. The pace was very fast the first two laps as usual, with attacks going continuously. Every team was trying to get their riders in the break, before they let it go. Half way through lap three a four man break went up the road. Attacks kept coming and bride attempts were still being made though, as several teams missed out, and others wanted to improve their odds. Jason was away in the four man break; Kyle and I were flying along in the 12 man chase group. Once we got together, the gap to the pack opened up, and a few laps later we had over a 3minuite lead. With one lap to go the attacks started again, most people wanted to break things up, hopefully get rid of a few of the more tired riders, and make the final surge to the line a bit smaller affair. This is when racing gets hard and fun. This is the part I enjoy the most, this is when you have to dig deep, and are motivated to do so. Over the next few miles our group split and came back together more times then I can remember. Finally, after Lang countered a move by me and his teammate Patrick, and before you know it he had just a big enough gap that it would take a very strong or combined effort to get up to. A few times he was close, and I thought we would close it down, but there were too many people sitting on, and the rest of us had no desire bringing them up for an easy sprint. Last year I was in the same position as Lang, but got caught within the last 200m, so I knew how had it was to stay out there, and how fast the gap can close down. Lang however is probably stronger than me, and he had a bigger gap going around that last corner.
Lang did a great effort and hung on for the win. I started my sprint too soon, and died a horrible death the last few seconds and got passed by two riders right before the line for 6th.

After this race I was ready for a break, these two races wore me down and I needed to rest.
Maybe it was the weekend, maybe it was the flu going around the office at work, or maybe it was a combination, but by Wednesday afternoon I was sick, real sick. Fever, headache, soar throat and body aches. I was out for two days. By Saturday I was feeling a bit better, but decided to stay home and rest one more, as I wasn’t over it yet (and by now Kele was also feeling it).

Sunday we both decided to show up and race Market Street, maybe we weren’t completely well, but we were rested. It was cold, but once again it was dry.
The race started fast again, lots of strong teams this year, and nobody wants to settle for the right break goes. I felt ok for the first lap and a half until I ran out of energy and my legs had no jump at all. I decided to be a bit more careful for a while, after having the flu for a few days; it really wasn’t a surprise that my energy level would drop of dramatically. Right then though, Flavio got of solo, and was soon joined by Hone. Not until a lap later, when another group bridged did the pack let it go. The break now had 7 riders, Clayville later bridged up solo, after a series of attacks and a great setup by Lang. They were now eight up there, and the gap went up to a few minuets.
Ongers once again proved too strong and jumped early to take the win with Hone right behind. Flavio ended up 5th. The pack sprinted for 9th , which somehow I took, more luck and timing then anything. I jumped right when the front rider swung of and the front hesitated, giving me just enough of gap to hold until the line.

Next week it’s Independence Valley, and I think we might run out of luck with the weather this time. This will be the first “hilly” race of the season, and we will see how that feels :)

Mason 1

First race of the season always brings a slight panic:, am I ready, is the bike ready..
I spent up until 10pm Friday night getting Kele's bike ready, and than managed to work some magic on my 5year old race bike, as my new tarmac isn't in for another 2weeks or so..
Even though I didn't manage to ride in the sun all week, and missed a few training days to jet lag, sickness and working on bike.. I was looking forward to the first race.



Garage has a strong team this year, even though we lost Nathan to the South East ( his climbing and stage racing will be missed). On Saturday no less the nine riders showed up, all relatively fit and ready. Even with two of our strongest missing, Robert and Flavio, I felt confident we could match any team out there.
The Race started right away, with the first break going within the first mile. Once it came back, the next break went right away, Chris got up there, I was about to join him, when I quickly glanced back, the pack was right on me, I decided to sit up and not risk bringing the whole thing back.. and that was it, by the start/finish they had 2 minuets. The rest of the race was a mix of attacking, chasing and rolling along at 14mph... several more groups got of during the following laps.
We ended up with two in the top 5 and several more finishing up there.
No one could match Shawn Ongers though.... good to see such a nice guy riding so strong and making the rest of us look slow.