Today was the Lakefront road race here on Lake Michigan in downtown Milwaukee. One of the longer stages at 150k (about 90 miles). It had 2 climbs on the course, one twisty descent, and one bike path jaunt.

Pretty cool course right up against the beaches of Lake Michigan. The start was very very slow. Plenty of relaxing time in the first couple of laps for Zack and I to make the entire group laugh as we screamed at one-another from opposite sides of the peloton. 2 or 3 laps in the attacks were taken seriously, and the leaders would gutter the entire field after the twisty descent, before the second climb. Like clockwork, everyone would sit up 400m before the climbs and everyone would catch back on, or so I thought. I kept assuming I was near the back, though I never heard the follow moto. When I did go to the back with only 2 laps left I was shocked to see we had a very very small pack. Did everyone quit when all the money rode away? No training?

I sat in most of the first half of the race. Joseph followed attacks like a mad-man. With 10 to go he was in a big chase group trying to close on the 13 leaders who would never be caught. Adam told me I was on. So on the descent, I tucked and zoomed up to the front, easily. Once I was there though, the easy-ness ceased. Attacks kept coming and I jumped on as much as I could. Another group developed between the 1st chase and the main pack and I was on the front of the pack motoring to the second chase group who had just a few seconds. The yellow and red jersey were both in that group. If you had told me 2 years ago (or even at the beginning of this year), that I would be on the front of the peloton at Superweek, guttering it and holding a group with the leader jerseys at bay, I would have told you that you're f'ing NUTS. Somehow both Monday and yesterday I started feeling good right around the hour and a half or 2 hour mark. So maybe I have better form than I think.

The two chase groups got swallowed up at the end of that lap. I sat in 10 guys back behind the Garnaeu guys. Tim Johnson (who was rocking his 'cross shoes and pedals!) attacked going off the bike path. Joseph was all over him and those two were clear. The red jersey leader, waved at me and yelled something in German as I sat up after he pulled off the front. I retorted with, "I aint chasin' that! Tim motha-f***'n Johnson is up there!" Plus Joseph, who I was really blocking for. I coasted on the front till we hit the first climb again, Menzies attacked, Cole House the red jersey, and a few others followed, and we all sat up. That was it. With 4 laps to go we chattin' it up. I was pretty blown from all the jumping I did in a 3 lap time frame so I was just happy to sit in till the finish. Of course Hack didn't want to just sit in, but I couldn't sprint him yesterday as I did not have my massive sprinter's stem on my bike, and I snap everything else so I just finished in the group.

It's been pouring all morning so we're debating to race or not to race today. IMAX sounds more appealing after yesterday.

The vortex which is Superweek has begun. Now, every day will consist of coffee, easy spin, coffee, spin home, lunch, internet/movie, maybe coffee, more food, get to race, sit around, play with phone, talk about the women's race, gossip, change, talk about warming up, laugh at those doing it, race, still more food, drive back to host house, internet, and finally sleep.

 Its done in this order, every day. Typically with more gossiping than any other activity. Between that and the banter between teammates, friends, and enemies, no one is safe. None of the friendly rivalries are any better than the one between myself and Zack Allison. Today he 'thought' (we'll tell that tale later) that all of the payout places were well up the road today so he sits up mid pack and proclaims says, "I quit." Rolls back, sees I'm still in the race and jumps on my wheel.I see him there a lap later and he says "couldn't quit, not with you still in the race." Wow. Well, I still did a decent lead out and beat him the sprint.

 The race today was fairly anti climactic. I did nothing but sit in until 20 miles to go. Then, I felt pretty good, so I stayed attentive. A group of 12 was already up the road the road, but half of the peloton thought that 22 were up the road, leaving only 3 paying spots left theoretically. I felt good, but no, top 3 in an uphill field sprint, good. So with just under 2 laps to go I was on the front, with Joseph Schmalz a few positions behind me. I strung it out until 1 to keep the pace steady. Fuzzy and Ian Burnett jumped around me going up the hill and I couldn't go so I wheel surfed until the finish. Fuzzy tought the 1 to go bell was the end of the race, so he shot himself in the foot. Joseph took 3rd in the field sprint, 17th overall. I was 40th which is not awesome, but a good opener for the week we have ahead.

I am really impressed by the Zambikes organization!  This group was started about 3 years ago by two seniors from Azusa Pacific College in southern CA.  On the ground in Zambia, it is a for-profit organization and sells bikes to the locals with a small markup from the parts cost.  However, its supporting structure is a missions group based in the USA that covers the costs of the logistics.  Daryl Funk (Denver-based handmade titanium bike builder) is their bike designer.  He's designed a very heavy duty cargo-carrying bike that is manufactured in bulk.  Zambikes orders bikes 3000 at a time and has them delivered in cargo containers.  They also build a Zambulance using square steel tubing and really nice wheels with cartridge bearings and wide BMX tires that act as the suspension when run at low compression.

 

Locals build and manage every aspect of putting together and selling bikes.  It provides employment for many who would otherwise be out of work.  The bikes are sold at a very reasonable cost that can be paid for with microloans.  They are used to carry farm goods to market, clothes to buyers, eggs, wood, and many others too numerous to list here.  These bikes make the local economy more efficient and help the whole community.  I encourage everyone to have a look around their website.  The business model is easily expanded into other countries.

 

The next series of articles will describe Tom Ritchey's Project Rwanda and Craig Calfee's Bamboosero projects.

After 5 days, 10 hours, and 48 minutes of riding across the country Team Type 1 crossed the finish line in Annapolis, MD on Friday morning at 4:21 am.  Although we didn't get the record, all of the riders and crew worked very hard to help us be the first riders across the line, finishing 5 hours ahead of the second place team!  Overall we traveled 3,017 miles with an average speed of 22.97 mph. 

Along the way TT1 had to overcome various obstacles.  We had a a rider crash, a fork break, a cleat break, some flat tires, and stomach flu, to name a few!  However, one challenge that each rider had to deal with on a daily basis was his blood sugar, especially since every rider on TT1 has type 1 diabetes.  This means that we have to constantly check our blood to make sure our blood sugar doesn't drop too low or go to high.  Usually I do about 10 blood sugar tests a day, but during this race I checked my blood a total of 264 times over 5 days.  That averages to 50 times a day!  Each athlete on our team also averaged over 20o blood tests.  It was very important for each of us to stay on top of what was happening with our bodies.  

In the end, I'd have to say that this was such a great life experience!  Not only did I get to travel across the country and see new places, but I also got to meet a lot of interesting people.  I also formed some incredible lifelong friendships!  I couldn't imagine doing this with a different set of people...we had such an amazing team and crew.  Everyone was so supportive and encouraging!

It's hard to believe that this journey is already over....but I'm ready for some rest and relaxation!! 

I'd also like to give a special thanks to everyone who supported us and followed us online as we crossed the United States!  

The past 12 hours have been filled with ups and downs, and I don't just mean hills!  To start, last night (Wednesday) one of our rider vans got stuck in the mud!  It took a few hours but we did make it out ok.  Although during that time one of our riders was out on the road solo for about 3o miles, but overall he did an awesome job keeping up the pace!  On a happier note, I am pleased to report that we just passed Jure Robic, the lead solo rider.  This means that TT1 will be the first riders to Annapolis!   

We are now hitting the hills of WV, PA, and MD and averaging about 23.3 mph.  TT1 is in the homestretch with 300 miles to go, and we should be crossing the finish line in about 15 hours!

Thanks to all the supporters and followers!  

Be sure to check out www.raceacrossamerica.com for more information about the race.

 

 

Shortly after entering Illinois we hit a few road blocks.  A crash (rider is ok!), a broken fork, and a flat tire led to some momentary chaos, but all's well now!  Our team did a great job pushing through these minor hiccups and really pulled together to get us through Illinois and into Indiana.  Even with all the heat and humidity in the midwest, our last exchange clocked an average speed of 24.8 mph, which keeps our overall average at 23.5 mph and still on course for a new record! 

Thanks for following and check us out at www.raceacrossamerica.org!

Team Type 1 has been making some amazing progress recently.  Tuesday evening we entered "The Show Me State" and by Wednesday morning (approx 7:30 am (CT)) we made our way across "The Mighty Mississippi"  into southern Illinois.  I am happy to report that our team is still on course to break the record!  We are currently averaging 23.5 mph with our energy and spirits staying high!

More updates to follow and be sure check out www.raceacrossamerica.org

At approximately 9:00 am (CT) Team Type 1 crossed the half-way point!!  We are now in the middle of Kansas and still averaging around 24 MPH.  It's nice to be done with the climbs in the Rockies and now into the flats of the plains.  Hopefully the wind and weather will cooperate here in the mid-west.

Thanks to all the followers and supporters and be sure to check back for more updates.  You can also follow us on www.raceacrossamerica.org.

The past 7 hours have been very productive for TT1 with a lot of progress being made through the night.  Between TS 12 and 13 we were able to put 22 minutes on our closest competitor, with an additional 12 minutes between TS 13 and 14.  We now have about 2,000 miles to go and we're traveling at an average pace of 23.1 MPH. 

Keep following our progress on www.raceacrossamerica.org.

More updates to follow.

At approximately 10:15 pm (PT) on Saturday, June 12th the first exchange was made in Arizona.  The first group of riders (myself included) averaged a speed of 24.7 miles/hour, which keeps us on track to finish in record time!  The second group of riders will ride for the next 8 hours and then I will be back on the road with the first group. 

More updates to follow.  

 You can also track the race on an animated map at www.raceacrossamerica.org

So everyone may not know but I am racing across the country.  I leave for California Thursday at 10:30am with the race starting Saturday at 2:00.  During this race I will try to update this blog with new and cool things like where we are and how fast we are going.  I will be racing with TEAM TYPE 1 and this year we are attempting to set a new course record for the eight man teams.  Last year the team finished the race in 5 days 9 hrs and 13 mins.  Our goul this year is 5 days and 2 hrs, which will give us an average speed of 24 mph across the whole country.  I may not have pictures to start but I may have a few at the finish of this event.  If anyone would like to follow us on our journey then go to http://www.raceacrossamerica.org and you will find me on TEAM TYPE 1. THANKS TO ALL OF THE FOLLOWERS.

I need to start getting dressed for my ride to the course for tonight's race, but I'm going to write this out pretty quick as I don't have much to say about last night.

 This course is notoriously sketchy and lining up 4 rows back didn't give me warm, fuzzy feelings about the race. A year ago, I would have been full-throttle flying into the turns and staying as far up as possible, but right now I'm just happy to be racing. 

After taking over a month off of training all together I'm not getting much jump in my legs.The race started pretty fast and I maintained a good position, but when the pace slowed, I got swarmed and I guess being out of practice in these types of races makes you get soft. I slipped too far back. I witnessed 2 good crashes, and got caught in the 3rd. I didn't go down, but when I slammed on my brakes and endo'd my knee clocked the tops of my bars perdy good. It hurt real bad. At first I thought about taking a free lap, but I knew that I wasn't going to be any better off doing that.

 I pulled the plug. Sucks watching half of the race you should be in. Nobody to blame but myself on this one. Should have been further up. So tonight, I told everyone earlier that if they see me outside of the top 25 to start screaming some real demeaning stuff at me until I move back up. So hopefully I'll see some better results tonight.

Having completed a handful of ~40-mile rides this year over the same roads as the Rist Canyon Hill Climb, it is time to graduate.  I've signed up for the citizens' ride for this Saturday, 6/5/2010.  The personal milestones will be:

 

• First organized community ride - I'm ready to come out in public with my closet hobby.
• First time to cross the 8000 ft. peak of Rist Canyon - in front of hundreds of fans and supporters.
• First time using an aid station.  I've volunteered at aid stations but never been a user.

 

Reviewing the 2009 times, my personal goal is to beat at least one Cat 1 Pro.  That may sound like an impossible feat, but I get a 2 hr 20 minute head start.  Add 1:20 to a 9:50 start, and the first Cat 1 Pro will be arriving at 11:10 which gives me 3 hrs 40 minutes after my 7:30am start.  Slow and Steady will get us to the top!

 

Setting a goal, no matter how small, gives us a little push to improve and reach that goal.  A Turtle's first goal may be to make it up a short steep road section without putting a foot down, or to ride three ten-mile rides within a week.  For myself, I don't have a "big picture" goal aside from better health.  Each time I ride I try to be a little better, a little faster, or ride a little further than the previous time - then we'll see where it leads.  Get out and ride and inevitably you'll come across people with a similar goal and fitness level.

The human people all want the same thing; they want to be what they weren't meant to be. We want to live forever, we want to swim like fish, and we want to fly. Humans have been trying to recreate these phenomenons with little luck.

 

For me, bombing Rist Canyon, aiming at a curve while the outside edges are lined with a wall of rock, and just barely hanging on is the closest feeling I have to flying.

 

We all do the same thing; tighter tuck, check the speedo, drop your head. There it is, 55mph. My thoughts are now overtaken by another voice. That voice that used to tell me to skate right at an opponent and just hope I don’t hit my head, or my knee, or my back in the wrong way. That same voice that these days tells me to shoot the gap in the last lap and sprint for 10^th instead of settling for 12^th. 

 

 Here comes the turn grab the brake, no too much. "Let it go, let it go!" Why won’t my fingers listen to the little voice on my shoulder? He keeps coaching me in my ear, “you can go faster, you can get closer to that feeling that the ‘Big Guy’ never wanted you to have. Listen to me, I’ll take you there.”  And I do listen and the feeling of flying takes me. I rail the turn, the rear tire skips on a tiny pebble, but I’m good I’m already 100 feet past it. There’s the voice again “Forget about that, this section is even faster.” No tight corners, just fast flowing bliss. My tires rub back and forth across my lane, not because I fear the oncoming traffic that I can clearly see is not present, but because keeping this in one lane makes it that much more challenging. That much more divine. I maintain all of my speed through the curves. I sit back on the saddle and readjust for what’s next.

 

Another turn coming up, this time the voice is screaming as I squeeze those little paddles of carbon beneath my fingers. I give in, I let go, I grab again, I let go. Screw it, I switch my hand positions. Can’t get at the brakes now. I can make this. “Yes you can make this, swing out… Now cut it!” I take it too wide, I squeeze the brakes, now even the little guy is panicking. Tires scraping the chat on the outside of the lane. I regain my balance and I’m back on to the road.

 

Last two turns, back-to-back and I’m down. Better make these count. Doing 40 down the yellow line. I buzz a school bus, and it gives off a draft slowing me drastically. “Kick it. Come on kid. Kick it.” I jump out of the saddle 3 quick pedal strokes, nope one too many, 2 strokes. Back into the saddle, switch pedals and plant all my weight on that left foot. Two more quick spins. Cut the last turn at mach 1 and it opens up after the apex.

 

Its over. My brain is functioning again, after not processing anything for the last 15 minutes. What was that voice? Its probably the same voice that was is that reptile that told Adam that he would be way cooler if he ate that funky apple in the garden (if you believe in that sort of thing). These days its known as the voice of competitiveness. I think we all have it. Its just a matter of what your own little devil wants you to achieve. Money, fame, godlyness, it doesn't matter. Every devil is unique as the person who's shoulder they post-up on.

As Amber Neben said, "the worst words for an athlete to hear are 'in-season, forced rest."

 With that the case, the best words to hear are probably, "I could have you racing next weekend." Which is exactly what Rodrigo of Diamond Peak Physical Therapy said to me yesterday while he was pulling, cracking, and forcing my body beyond its limits. 

 I can honestly say that was the first time I left a PT's office better than I did when I went in an hour before.  I'll be seeing him again on Monday and Wednesday. Hopefully, I'll be back to some full-on training by this time next week and I'll still be able to ride Superior Morgul Classic. 

 I was super excited about how well the session went, I was even more excited to learn that Adam Wisseman had gotten second at the Collegiate National Road Race. He's had an amazing few years, considering he just started racing 2 or 3 years ago. My boys will be doing the crit today, and I think that we may have one of the strongest leadout trains and one of the most talented sprinters. Wish I were them with them, but I'll be stuck here on the Front Range, studying, but when 6pm rolls around, no one will be looking for race updates and coverage as much as me.

Turtles - Our first foray into the world of civilized cycling will be this Saturday, May 1, at the Wellington Warmup.  This is the ride where we finally get to flex these new muscles and lungs that are the result of  our winter training!  43 miles of relatively flat roads, supported with 3 aid stations, commemorative t-shirt is included as long as supplies last with the $25 registration fee.  Show up at 7am in Wellington at the Main Street Market to register.  The 43 mile ride begins at 7:30am.  29 and 15 mile routes are also available.

 

An interesting learning experience: I recently sold my old man road bike (upright position, flat bars, low gearing, etc) which meant I had to switch to the mountain bike for a couple of weeks.  Reproducing the HTT course (13.8 miles Masonville loop) and logging everything with a GPS, I found that my overall time of just over an hour wasn't significantly different between the old man bike and mountain bike with slicks on it.  I also tried a real road bike with Large and Larger front chainrings over the same route and it wasn't any fun at all.  I don't have the strength to keep an 80 rpm cadence on that bike up those hills.  The difference is being able to spin the pedals at a decent rate without blowing a gasket.  Using Sheldon Brown's online gear calculator, I found that 1st gear on the road bike is equivalent to 8th gear on the mountain bike!  I figure that with a more efficient and lightweight road bike, I could pull most hills using the equivalent of 4th or 5th mountain bike gearing but certainly not 8th.  Conclusion: my first real road bike is going to have triple 30/42/52 chainrings up front and a 12-27 wide range rear cassette.

I read a tweet by Adam Myerson this past weekend, “Sometimes bike racing is like a future ex-wife. You do everything it asks, and it still kicks you in the nuts and makes you feel like s**t.”

 

That is how I feel after this weekend. Broken and mangled by something that I work hard to succeed at. Myerson’s update was published after he got dropped out of the Tour of the Battenkill, on a 40 degree and raining day. Which is weather not too unlike our crit on Saturday at USAFA except we only raced for an hour, not 5.

 

My crit lasted less than an hour though. With the freezing temps and not bringing any good rain-racing, warm clothes I was left cold and wet. The race started, I jumped hard to try and warm up in the first couple of laps. I chased down an early break on the long uphill and then I started to feel it. The pain, not coming from my hamstrings, but shooting down my IT band and across my knee. My fingers started going numb and amidst all the pain, I sat up, drifted out of the tail end of the race and quit. Normally, on a rainy day I’m more psyched than a 5^th grade girl at the American Girl store, but Saturday was not my day.

 

This knee pain started in January. 4 months ago in Tucson I started getting shoots of pain that wrap across the front of my knee and stop my pedaling all together. I had hoped that it would heel quickly and I wouldn’t be dealing with it very long. Well, 17 weeks have gone by since the pain started and its only mildly better than it was.

 

Now I’m in this hole, unable to see a way out. In the road race yesterday I felt awesome! I was on the front riding tempo on the false flats to the first climb and then chasing down the solo FLC rider with Dylan and Fuzzy, still feeling good.  Then I missed a shift, gears skipped and my knee slipped. That was it. The pain shot through my knee and that was the end of my day. I soft pedaled to the car trying not to push it anymore than I had to and I quit again.

 

I have no one to blame, but myself.  I should have taken more time off. I should have stretched 3 times a day. I shoulda woulda coulda. I don’t see myself racing anytime soon. Riding will consist of going so easy moms pulling both of their toddlers in a Burley will pass me. But I’ll come back stronger and smarter.

I have been on a bit of a hiatus from the blogosphere (sp?). Anyway, I shouldn't even be typing right now. I should be finishing my warm-up for the CO School of Mines criterium. Alas, I'm sick and not racing today in favor of an additional 3 hours of sleep and maybe some quiet time in celebration of the holiday of the rabbit... or is it the colored egg, I always forget.

Since my last entry  I have been racing, reporting, and studying. Unfortunately my racing, if you would like to call it that, has taken a bit of a hit due to illness injury and life. Fortunately, I reminded myself at the Oval Criterium two weeks ago that I can still race my bike. I gave Zack a stellar lead out that resulted in him taking the field sprint. To be honest I thought for sure he was going to lose it as I lead the entire last lap and Zack had to jump around me with 300+ meters still to go. It really wasn't a stellar lead out either, but good enough, since it was me for the entire last lap. Hopefully, this is a sign that he, and myself, can still put in a solid effort with Collegiate nationals quickly approaching.

I raced yesterday too, for a short while anyway. I did the Koppenberg circuit race down in Superior, CO. The wind was crazy. No it was crazy! This stuff was ridiculous, maybe even by Kansas standards. Port-a-potties blowing over, crazy. I sat in for the first bit and attacked the first time up the climb. In hopes of creating a more selective group, but once over the top noone would work. I lead the next lap as well, but took a bad line and eventually fell over into a dirt pile. After leap-frogging every chase group and a few un-suspecting pedestrians' cars I was back in the first group. Once, back in the group I couldn't catch my breath, even with the sub-leisurely pace, I couldn't stop coughing. Bad stuff, and I eventually got popped the next time up the climb. Short race. Rolled around for another hour and was amazed at how many of those "pro" guys had dropped out of their races too. Must have been their tires. Should have gone with Challenge.

 So here I sit wondering if I could have stuck it out in the crit today. Probably could have. Probably wouldn't have done my immune system any good. So, I'll get ready for the CC criterium (because Zack "really wants to win") and the Boulder Roubaix. Laters

Schedule

• Tuesday 4pm - road, leave from JJ's, ~20-30 miles, no drop.  We always do hills and will eventually work our way up Rist Canyon.

• Wednesday 2pm - mountain unless trails are not dry, ~20 miles, intermediate skill level. Wednesday rides will be all over the local area.  You'll need to be on the email list to keep track of where we'll be.

• Saturday 9:30am - road, leave from JJ's, ~30-40 miles, drop - but we'll all meet for lunch in Loveland so people have a chance to catch up.

• Sunday 2:30pm - mountain, easy intro ride, usually starts at Soderberg trailhead and does the Lory Loop ~11 miles.  Very beginner riders can do the shorter 5-mile loop.  If no beginners, we may do the big loop twice or Towers Road.

Join the email list (reply to this article) if you want to be notified whether we're really riding on particular days, otherwise just show up!  Assume that the ride is OFF if rain or snow is forecast.

So I've written two separate pieces about last weekend's racing already. One in VeloNews: impartial, moderately concise, but lacking a whole lot of color (I'll see about adding more of that later...) and one for this site and 303cycling.com which was focused on the triumphs and tribulations of the CSU Rams Cycling Team as a whole. Some of 303cycling's readers didn't seem to get that the second article was never intended to be impartial nor particularly professional, but I digress.

 

My point is that I am yet to write about my actual race. I got to put my name in the VN article once, but did not describe my races in any detail. Women's B's get as much space as the Men's A's, and I have a word limit. So here is my race report, about my race, written by me about me, because this is my damn blog! So here goes nothin:

 

Saturday, 4:35 am. Alarm goes off. I inaudibly curse the C-men and their 8am start time, roll out of bed, make my awesome breakfast burritos, put the loaner bike (see previous posts for why I was on a loaner bike...) on the car, and head over to the Moby parking lot to meet up with the rest of the team at 5:15. Drive to Denver's City Park, arrive by 6:45, herd C-men cats all over the place, teach their clinic, watch them and the rest of our riders of every category totally kill it, and finally at 10am start to think about my own race at 11:30. 

 

First race of the season is always a big question mark. This season especially, since I'll be in Base (capital B) mode for another two weeks. I know I have the hours, endurance will not be a problem. But the high intensity stuff is, of course, lacking.

 

Turns out, it's all good. 

 

So I line up late, about 10 yards behind the field. Official says GO, I start riding as the back line fumbles around with their pedals, I look for gap, and pop into the top 10 by the second corner. Well done me! That worked well.

 

First 15 minutes are fast, but not crazy. I notice how my higher threshold this year is enabling me to just chill, or even recover, while others seem to be in a bit of difficulty. That's very cool. I

 throw down an attack, take a prime, then remember that I haven't really spent much time over threshold in 5 months, and return to the field with my tail between my legs. Alister goes off the front, followed by Zack and some new CU guy. With CU, FLC and us all up the road, the chase shuts down. On the front, I'm hangin out watching the birds and marveling at the weather. From what I hear the back still kind of sucked due to the nature of the course (somewhat technical), but up front was pretty dandy.  The smaller teams spent about 15 minutes trying to bridge, but we jumped on everything so nothing was even close to successful. After they gave up things got even slower, and I got bored. Threw in a few more little efforts, again did not really get anywhere (CU wasn't too keen on me or anyone else getting anywhere). 

 

At six to go, Trevor came up the front and started pulling. I believe his intention was to start up a leadout, but I was the only guy up front at that point so I just sat behind him for three laps in second wheel. Very weird. He pulled off, I scooted back a couple spots. CU took over for the last 

few laps, Chris came up with me as did Logan. I had a little lapse in concentration and fell to about 10th with one to go, but used the chicane and following acceleration to move back up to about seventh wheel.  Kept that through the next roundabout, moved up again in the next stretch to fifth (Chris was first or second at this point). Came into the last roundabout in that position, idiot in front of me lost a bunch of ground in the corner, so I came out with maybe 8m to make up on Chris, who was now leading. Started sprinting, caught and passed the CU guys who were up front and the FLC guy who screwed me on the last corner, got up next to Fuzzy and came across the line a hair behind him to take 2nd in the field. So CSU was one and two in the field sprint, plus Zack pulled 2nd up the road, and Logan put in a good last lap effort to hold onto 9th. Four guys in the top ten, three in the top five, when we only had 7 in the whole race - not too shabby! 

 

The numbers:

1:01

AvWatts: 246 (3.92w/kg) <-- nothing impressive there.

Normalized: 291 in GC, 314 in PowerAgent. I like the higher number personally. But both are a bit bogus.

Best 5s: 1317 (21.36w/kg). Actually had pretty good 15s numbers too. Sprint never seems to go away. The w/kg number is why I like uphills sprints so much...

 

Overall impression of form: definitely not in race shape, but the threshold work and massive base made up for it. Plus the fact that I stayed up front kept the accelerations to a minimum. I would not have been a happy camper tailgunning on Saturday. So I'm pretty pleased with where I am right now, for the most part. I have a natural physiological inclination towards the high intensity stuff, rather than threshold, so it should all come back quickly once I move out of Base season. 

 

What I'd really like to do is win something in the next few weekends so I can just work for others for a while. Logan and Adam both work super hard for the team, and in the races,  and deserve some glory. I would like nothing more than help either of them pull off a W. 

 

Quick Metro TT recap: so I didn't really think I'd be a factor (I rarely am in time trials), but I guess the the whole big volume base stuff really has worked because I rode a somewhat mediocre race and pulled off 3rd. I honestly felt like I was dragging a brick up the only real climb on course. But hey, I'll take it!  

 

Next weekend is CU, where I have crashed two years in a row despite it being the lamest, least technical course imaginable, and UNC which is on a brand new course. Should be a good time! 

 

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Who Are We ?

The Turtles' cycling group is for the type of rider who really needs to get out on a regular basis and Do Something or they'll quickly succumb to the reality of geezerhood.  This person knows that a change of attitude is what is needed - that one must learn to enjoy exercise so that bike rides are eagerly anticipated.  We love being outdoors all the time and really have no idea what is on TV anymore.  We'll be more offroad when the trails dry out (mid April?).

 

Weekly Rides

Our Saturday ride will be pure fitness.  We'll target 2 hours of riding, with the faster riders repeating hills and encouraging the slower riders to make it to the top.  The total length of the ride will depend on who shows up.  We'll discuss the ride prior to setting out.  Saturday road rides will usually start at JJ's (Harmony and Taft) around 9:30am.

 

The Sunday afternoon ride will be on a relaxed pace and is the place for people to connect with the group.  Most of us will also ride during the week and will coordinate with other riders as the opportunities present themselves.

 

Turtles have a well-founded fear of traffic!  We'll avoid roads as much as possible, eventually moving offroad when the trail conditions are acceptable.

Races and Community Rides

The Laramie MTB Series that starts mid-June and runs every other week Tuesday 6pm through the summer has a Beginner category where anyone is welcome.  It is the most fun that you've  ever had on a bike!  Several of us will make the trip to Laramie for all 6 races and we always have room for another bike in the truck.

 

Road options include: Elephant Rock (June 5),  Bike MS (7/26), Rist Canyon Citizen's Ride (8/8).

 

Favorite Local Rides

• JJ's over Centennial Road (east side of Horsetooth Lake) or to Masonville - hills, hills, hills!  Get those legs and lungs in shape early so you can have more fun in the summer.
• Soderberg/Blue Sky trails - can be as challenging or as easy as you want it to be.
• Bobcat Ridge
• Soapstone - when it dries out.  Otherwise it can be a muddy mess on Pronghorn Loop.
• Hewett's Gulch - walk the rock garden, but ride the rest of it.
• Old Flowers Road/Pingree Loop - haven't done it yet but it is high on the list!

Bike Selection

In my personal opinion, the initial bike for a 45+ beginning rider should be a mountain bike with road tires on it.  Mountain bikes have much lower gearing than road bikes which is a requirement for many of us to have a prayer of making it up Stadium Hill.  The high gearing of a road bike is nearly impossible for a beginner on a steep hill. A decent mountain bike is an OK road bike with proper tires on it, but a road bike is a terrible mountain bike.  If you're only going to have one bike, choose a mountain bike!  We'll spend most of our time on trails after they dry out.

 

Support

If I drive to the start of the ride, I'll have most tools and chain lube in my truck.  I carry supplies to fix a single flat.  A bike stand and tools are available for more serious mechanical issues.  We do know how to adjust your brakes and gearing.  You will not rattle along with misadjusted bike gearing very long because it drives some of us nuts and we'll force you to the side of the road and make the adjustments without your permission.

This post is inspired by a similar one by Aki of Sprinter Della Casa. Hope it's helpful. 

 

Remember "The Damn Dirty Truth About Road Racing" post I put up here not too long ago? Well, I wasn't lying. Road racing is hard, and it punishes small mistakes. The reality is that no amount of reading about racing can ever prepare you for it, you just have to jump in head first and hope the pool is deep enough. Regardless, there are certain things which I wish I had been told before my first road races (some of them are in that old post). So here's a quick run through a first crit, and what you should be doing at various points. I'll post another one up for a first road race sometime soon.

 

This is tailored for collegiate racing, where C's race for only 25 minutes in their crits. But most of it applies to any normal length crit.

 

1) START: Line up early so you can start near the front. Get in your frickin' pedals! This is worth practicing beforehand. Try to clip in without looking down, so you don't run into the guy in front of you. Yes, I've seen it happen. You need to get off the line quickly. Do not lose the wheel in front of you! Start in the big ring, and stay there. You will never need your little ring in 99% of crits.

2) FIRST TEN MINUTES:  Keep rules #4 and 5 in mind. Chill out. The more technical the crit, the closer you should be to the front. For a crit like DU's City Park (coming up this weekend), or

 the Oval, you want to be in the top 15-20 the entire time. If there are more experienced riders in the race, keep an eye on what they are doing in terms of gear selection, position, standing/sitting, etc. Remember, letting a small gap open in front of you is all it takes to END YOUR RACE. You have to stay vigilant, concentrate, and make sure you aren't letting gaps open up. You may be able to close them the first few times, but you won't be able to for long. Just don't let them open in the first place.

3) HALF WAY THROUGH: If you're feeling comfortable sitting in the field (comfortable is relative here...), try moving around in the field a bit. The best opportunity to move up is always when the pack slows a bit - take advantage of these moments to move up as much as possible without wasting any energy. Holding your line (or staying in your "lane" is another way to think of it) is always important in racing, but is even more important as you are moving up. The optimal line is not the outside-inside-outside you would do solo, it's the line that keeps everyone upright. 

If you're feeling really good, now is the time to try an attack or two. DO NOT attack numerous times just because you feel like you can (been there, done that). Either attack once, and put your full effort into it to make it stick, or save all that energy for the last few laps. 

4) 5 LAPS TO GO: Game time! You've successfully made  it through most of the race, and now you need to start thinking about the finish. It is absolutely vital that you stay near the front at this point, preferably top 10. You don't want to lead the pack, just stay up front. You should try to hold your top 10 position until the bell, indicating one lap to go. Go with every surge directly in front of you, and go with any side surges (guys coming up the outside) if you can get into a gap behind them. Following other riders up is always better than moving up by yourself. 

Sometimes attacking during these 5 laps works. Most of the time it doesn't. Don't attack early just because you don't think you're a sprinter - at this point you have no idea. Really. I didn't realize I could sprint until I'd be racing for years. DO NOT assume your strengths and weaknesses off of your body type, you will learn them with time. So try different types of finishes - go early sometimes, try for the field sprint at others. For this first race, I highly recommend staying in the pack until the end. 

5) 1 LAP TO GO: Ring ring ring! The officials will ring a bell at the beginning of the last lap. At this point you have to do whatever is necessary to maintain your top 10 position. This includes getting out into the wind to pass other riders. Of course you still want to maintain or better your position with the least possible energy, but at this point expending some energy to stay up there is worth it. 

The position you want to be in at the last corner depends on the distance from the last corner to the finish line. At the DU City Park crit, you want to be in the top 3. Leading through the last roundabout is fine. 2nd is ideal. At the Oval crit, you want to be 2nd-4th coming onto the Oval the last time, and first or second coming out of the bottom corner. Keep in mind that your position heading into the last corner of almost any crit will be about your position at the finish, plus or minus a few spots. 

6) THE SPRINT:  Time to leave it all on course. On your course pre-ride, you should have picked a spot that you want to sprint from. Ideally you start your sprint there, go flying by the one or two guys in front of you, and take the win. Of course, racing rarely goes as planned, particularly in the lower categories. So you will likely just have to sprint when everyone else does.

Remember, while you may be hauling ass, others might be (and likely are) going even faster. So once you start your sprint, STAY ON YOUR LINE. Swerving all over is not only slower, but you're likely to cause a high-speed crash.  Sprint from the drops, and keep your head up. 

At DU, the sprint will start the moment you exit the last roundabout. Sometimes there is even a sprint for position into the roundabout. So go into that roundabout in a gear you know you can accelerate quickly upon exit. Stand up, and go all out!

At the Oval Crit, the sprint tends to start about half way through the final corner, down at the bottom of the oval. You will likely have to come around the outside, which is actually the fastest line due to a slight undulation of the road. If you are on the inside, make sure there is space to come out if you have to pass someone. Again, hold your line!

 

More important that everything above is HAVE FUN. That's the whole point. Set attainable goals (not getting dropped is a great one to start) and do your best to accomplish them. Do you best to pedal and think at the same time.

 

You'll love it, I promise. 

 

I had a great ride on Thursday. Got out for a bit over two hours north and east of town, and found a cool unpopulated development to do crit practice with the CSU crew. I cruised home though old town, enjoying the relative warmth and simply being on my bike. Until suddenly, I wasn't.

 

Not by choice mind you. A sedan reversed out of a diagonal parking spot and broad-sided me as I rode past, ejecting me off my bike and onto the ground. I laid on my back as the guy got out of his car, hands out in front of me as I described "WTF" in greater detail, and volume. 

 

 The guy was very sorry, and far more concerned about my well being that I was. I did a quick pain check, which came up negative other than a sore thumb, and moved straight to inspecting my bike. Of course, I hadn't cleaned it in about a month and couldn't really see the actual frame, so the initial quick inspection didn't reveal anything. So I got the guy's info, told him I'd give him a call if I found anything, and rode home.

 

Upon cleaning and looking over my frame more carefully, I did find something. First of all, the small clearcoat hit on my top tube from my handlebars in a previous crash was now a large soft spot I could push my finger into. On top of that, there appeared to be some hairline fractures down by my bottom bracket, an extra scratch or crack on the top tube, and some marks on the right rear chainstay. The right shifter and rear derailleur were scratched up a bit, but seemed functional. The frame was no longer rideable, though everything else appeared to be ok. Glad I got the guy's info!

 

On Friday, I went to CSU Student Legal Services to ask about my next course of action. They were, of course, useless. Made me an appointment for Tuesday rather than just answer my questions. There were three lawyers sitting there with nothing to do, and yet I had to wait until Tuesday. Sweet. 

 

So I just figured it out on my own. Filed a police report, dropped my bike off with the good guys at Lee's to get a damage estimate, and filed a claim with the guy's insurance. The driver isn't disputing fault, so I can't see any reason why the claim will be denied (although insurance companies are probably more creative than I am when it comes to that sort of thing). Fingers crossed that everything works out.

 

Until it does, I'm riding my 1998 Cannondale Cad 3 cross bike, complete with broken shifters, rusty chain and an 8spd cassette made out of old worn out cassettes. Every cog is worn differently. It's awesome, in a terrible sort of way. It lives its life as a commuter bike most of the time, and it's a tank, well over 20lbs. I feel like I'm pedaling a brick with a parachute attached.  

Did the Oval on it yesterday and even though I wasn't pulling any more than I usually do, by the time we got to Carter I was pretty much done. The fact that I crashed for a second time in two days after someone crossed wheels up front (I ran over your bike, hope it's ok) probably didn't help. In a fun little bit of irony, the rest of the guys that went down were all my new CSU cycling teammates, who I had told to get up to the front so they could hang on over the wall. You would think you're safe sitting 3rd wheel, but in the pro/1/2/3/4/5/women's/open/junior race that is the Oval, you'd be wrong. At least they got their first crash out of the way before racing this weekend.

 Rolled in the rotation for the next half hour, then cruised up Carter, latched on to a decent group and rolled home pretty slow. Not that I would have wanted to go any faster, really. Kind of a bummer of a last Oval ride actually. 

 
Here's the steed (red bike, I'm in CSU/Rio kit, talking with fellow YRG blogger Troy before Saturday's Oval):

 Photo from Jeff Kerkove

 

I never thought the bike made that much of a difference. It does. Particularly when it doesn't shift. 

 

Hopefully my new race bike will be in at Lee's soon. I don't like the idea of racing my Cannondale at DU next weekend. 

 

 Here's to a better week this week! Everyone keep the rubber side down.

Time for Recipe Round 2! French fries!

 

Well, sort of. I don't fry them. It's far easier, healthier, and safer to bake them. Large vats of very hot oil and I don't get along. We can call them French Bakes or something. 

 

Again, very easy. You're going to need:

 

1. 3 medium sized potatoes. Sweet, russet, whatever. 
2. Salt
3. Pepper
4. Spices. Oregano, basil, chipotle powder, garlic, whatever you want. Be creative. Again, it's pretty hard to screw these up. 
5. Oil of some kind. 
6. A cookie sheet or similar pan 

 

 

 Here's what you have to do:

 

1. Pre-heat over to 425Ëš
2. Cut up the potatoes into  slices. Smaller slices seem to work better, just try to keep them even and somewhat square. No need to skin the potato first.
3. Put all the slices in a big bowl. 
4. Add 2 tbs of oil
5. Add some salt, and a good dash of pepper
6. Add whatever other spices you want. Pick a theme - Italian spices, Indian spices, Mexican spices, etc. That way you're unlikely get horrible clashing flavors. I'm a huge fan of some Italian spices, and lots of garlic. Sweet potatoes should probably get some more 'desserty' spices.
7. Toss everything in the bowl until all the potato slices are nicely coated
8. Put it all on your cookie sheet, attempting to get all the slices to lay flat. 
9. Throw it in the oven. After 10 minutes, take them out, flip all the slices over, put them back in.
10. Keep an eye on them after 15-20 minutes. Pull one out, try it, you'll know quickly whether its done.