Tuesday night was weekly worlds. I felt good that night but couldn't get better than 5th in a field sprint for 5th place. More like a drag race from 5 miles out....felt like a tracker pull to me. It was a super fast night on the oval for the A group (29.8mph).
We had a pro bowler out bowling with all us amateur bowlers. I followed him about 15 minutes into the race when he took off. I dropped back to about 6th after being on his wheel. It was HR 160 to 200 in under a minute following him. I thought I was behind a motorcycle after about 1:20. Looking at my HR monitor post race I had to go 37mph then 32-34mph to stay with the breakaway group. He stood up and no one wanted to work. I should have just punched it but I looked at my HR of 195 and it scared me. I am taping over my HR from now on.
Louder got away again solo and all us amateur bowlers worked together to bring him back. I actually was at the front and someone got pissed because once I got to second position the guy in front of me picked it up and I limped back to the comfort of the draft. I was ready to do my 20 seconds of work at the front but this guy picked it up and I was toast.
It was all together coming down to the end but at about 8 minutes to go Louder got to the front again and took off up the track. Everyone was yelling but no one had energy? to follow him. I didn't want to ride around for 8 minutes at HR 200 so I stayed put. I was in perfect position right on his wheel when he jumped.
3 guys (Ryan Littlefield, Cameron Hoffman and Sean Hoover?) jumped and bridged up to Louder. The main field was hot the rest of the way in. Tough night when your final sprint is slower than a speed you reached earlier in the race just going with a move (36.8 final sprint). I felt like a punch drunk fighter who had gone 15 rounds by the end of this race. Good time though and great speed work.
Wed night was the DMV weekly race series.. I felt great for 30 minutes and was in the moves. This course is hard as you go up the "West Valley Wall" 25 times or so. After 30 minutes someone turned off the power going up the 45 foot steep hill. I had been working out in the mornings skating Short Track so it's just another workout. I have been surprised how good I actually feel because speedskating and cycling is like mixing oil and water for cycling. Last year I lost alot of fitness by November since the Weekly Worlds stop at the end of Sept. I rode around and only finished a lap down. It was funny just as I got dropped Vicky and Ryan Bedford pulled in the lot and them cheering me on kept me going. Ryan is training hard with the National Short Track team and doing RMR and DMV when he can.
No TT on Thursday. Felt better than last Thursday after doing the doubles of skating and bike racing at night. Skated friday and then the State TT was Saturday.
I signed up late for this as the thought of riding as fast as you can for 24.8 miles isn't super exciting to me. I've never been a great long TT guy but I am getting better.
I like the vibe at a Time Trial. People are friendlier and more layed back it seems to me. It's you against the clock and sort of pure. No hiding but it might as well be tennis as compared to RRs and Criteriums. It is like doing a different sport in a way but if you do stage races it's part of the deal. I'm not exactly the best stage racer but getting better.
It was a beautiful day Saturday and Elberta, UT is pretty. I wish I took more pics for this blog but I just type away and it's for me anyways. I'm going to try to take more pics of my travels. Anyways, State TT I was the 1st guy off in the Cat 3s. I didn't have speed on my bike but tried to keep my cadence at 100. I hadn't been on my TT bike in weeks and didn't have high hopes. I did want to shatter my time from two years ago and I did beat it by 1:35. I was hoping to get into the 56 minute range but no dice. I didn't really taper for this or prepare. Also, I just have regular wheels no disks. It was like an arms race out there with some of the equipment I saw. Enough excuses for now. One other thing I found out is that you should ride in the right side of the lane where the passenger side wheel travels. I was riding mostly to the right of the white line because I don't trust any of these Utah drivers. I hit some dirt a couple of times but the road was semi closed and anyone on it should know there were bikers. All my TTs at Salt Air I just hug the right side since I am always scared of getting hit from behind by some jackass going 80mph.
I got outta there pretty quick and rode the Alpine Loop on the way home. Went hiking on Sunday and have some great pics of that in the next post.
One last thing. My avg was 25.8482 mph. Check out this great calculator to figure out speed. Jessi Gordon had the fastest time and his speed was 28.6521 mph. Two years ago Richard Feldman lit up the 24.8 mile course with a mind boggling (for me) time of 48:34 and 30.6382 mph!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
The Oval and Butt Cream
I started skating this week and forgot how much that hurts. It's all good and was fun. It was like I never left the rink. Saw both National teams (Long Track and Short Track). Everyone is there getting their training in....even Apolo. I thought he would be doing some Hollywood movies or something. Chad was there as well as most everyone else except Chris Needham. Congrats on getting married! Ice is very early and good once you are done. Didn't really get a chance to talk to anyone but it's good to be back on the ice. Jennifer Rodriguez was there Wednesday when the Sprint LT team skated with Mike Kooreman's group. Great stuff.
Looks like my butt cream has some competition from DZNuts.
Looks like my butt cream has some competition from DZNuts.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Some fun and seriousness
Biff from Back to the Future.
Evolution of Dance
I was saddened to hear of the Senior Senator from Massachusetts diagnosis. I guess Lance was as well.
In tribute to the Kennedy family one of my favorite bands. I saw their incarnation as "The Zulus" over 60 times in the late 80s and early 90s.
Evolution of Dance
I was saddened to hear of the Senior Senator from Massachusetts diagnosis. I guess Lance was as well.
In tribute to the Kennedy family one of my favorite bands. I saw their incarnation as "The Zulus" over 60 times in the late 80s and early 90s.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
DNFs and THE JACKASS
Ok so the last 3 races I've done I've DNF'd (Did not finish). State Criterium Cat 3 race, Bear Lake Cat 3 race and now the RMR A race tonite. Mechanicals, mechanicals and lack of concentration. First race my seat post fell (actually Mark Chrysler's bike), next race at Bear Lake after about 80-85 miles my cleat fell off (not good). This was from putting on new cleats at 12:30am the night before a race. I was on call for work and worked late (11:30pm) the night before then was up at 5 to get on the road at 5:45 to drive upto Bear Lake.
We got there super early before 8am for a 8:45 start. After waiting in line for my pre registered number and then waiting to take a PBD (personal best dump) I had about 8 minutes to get ready. Figured my cleats were ok but it obviously was loose. I didn't warmup and we shot out of the gate at 30mph for a 100 mile race. It was so fast that we were actually catching the Pro/1/2s on the North side of the lake. After about 10 miles I made a big dig to follow SBO's super TT/strongman Aaron Olson to a move. I thought it looked good but the pack chased it right down. My HR was 190 on that one pretty early but it woke me up from the drive up and lack of sleep.
It's funny how I thought for sure that no breaks would work but apparently in the Cat 3s the group of 3 that were 1,2,3 stayed away. I've done this race 4 years and they start to blur together. This was the 1st year that the wind wasn't really blowing super hard. It seemed to pick up at the end of the race. Damn I was feeling good for the run in. It's a whole different world trying to sprint after 100 miles vs an hour crit.
After I dropped my cleat. I stopped and rode back around the other way to find my friend Rich who I drove up with. He was riding around the lake the oppposite way solo. It was a good ride to see the cows grazing and what God created up there in the Bear Lake area. In the race it was hard to see the scenary as there were some sketchiness and you had to be on your toes. One guy had a loud brake would grind on his carbon wheels really loud everytime he hit his brakes. It scared me everytime I heard it because it sounded like a crash. Unfortunately the times I have been around crashes I usually hear them in front of me b4 I see them so I was a little jumpy. I moved out of the asshole zone and was in the front 5 or 6 a bunch of times and some guy almost took me out swerving in like 4th position???
Tonite at RMR it was pretty funny. We rode around somewhat hard. There was a break of 3. We passed the B pack on their last lap then we slowed. We let them finish and slowed. It was hot out there and I had cotton mouth since it was pretty hard most of the time. I took the opportunaty to get a drink. Of course I just lost concentration for a second and hit that stupid pot hole and flatted. It was funny because one of my bike buddies said to me after the race "who was that jackass that hit that pothole after we rode by it for an hour". I was like are you joking. I was like dude that was ME.....LOL!
We got there super early before 8am for a 8:45 start. After waiting in line for my pre registered number and then waiting to take a PBD (personal best dump) I had about 8 minutes to get ready. Figured my cleats were ok but it obviously was loose. I didn't warmup and we shot out of the gate at 30mph for a 100 mile race. It was so fast that we were actually catching the Pro/1/2s on the North side of the lake. After about 10 miles I made a big dig to follow SBO's super TT/strongman Aaron Olson to a move. I thought it looked good but the pack chased it right down. My HR was 190 on that one pretty early but it woke me up from the drive up and lack of sleep.
It's funny how I thought for sure that no breaks would work but apparently in the Cat 3s the group of 3 that were 1,2,3 stayed away. I've done this race 4 years and they start to blur together. This was the 1st year that the wind wasn't really blowing super hard. It seemed to pick up at the end of the race. Damn I was feeling good for the run in. It's a whole different world trying to sprint after 100 miles vs an hour crit.
After I dropped my cleat. I stopped and rode back around the other way to find my friend Rich who I drove up with. He was riding around the lake the oppposite way solo. It was a good ride to see the cows grazing and what God created up there in the Bear Lake area. In the race it was hard to see the scenary as there were some sketchiness and you had to be on your toes. One guy had a loud brake would grind on his carbon wheels really loud everytime he hit his brakes. It scared me everytime I heard it because it sounded like a crash. Unfortunately the times I have been around crashes I usually hear them in front of me b4 I see them so I was a little jumpy. I moved out of the asshole zone and was in the front 5 or 6 a bunch of times and some guy almost took me out swerving in like 4th position???
Tonite at RMR it was pretty funny. We rode around somewhat hard. There was a break of 3. We passed the B pack on their last lap then we slowed. We let them finish and slowed. It was hot out there and I had cotton mouth since it was pretty hard most of the time. I took the opportunaty to get a drink. Of course I just lost concentration for a second and hit that stupid pot hole and flatted. It was funny because one of my bike buddies said to me after the race "who was that jackass that hit that pothole after we rode by it for an hour". I was like are you joking. I was like dude that was ME.....LOL!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Horrible Crash & State Crit
Saw this on cyclingnews and Toyota United site. If you read the bottom you will see that Fausto Muñoz Esparza was paralyzed from the waist down at Tour of the Gila. I am going to send this guy some $$$ and you should too as he has a wife and 3kids that he was supporting racing his bike.
Private donations are also welcome and may be submitted to
Wells Fargo Bank,
Attn: Fausto Muñoz Esparza Donation Fund,
1201 N. Pope Street, Silver City, NM 88061 USA.
Letters of support may be sent to C/O Thomason Hospital, Patient: Fausto Esparza, ICU/12, 4815 Alameda Avenue, El Paso, TX 79905 USA.
State Crit-
Still haven't seen any results on this race. Saw Turbo won the 1/2s. Don't know who won the Cat 3s cause I didn't stick around. I had fun in the Master 35 race. It was hard and fast. Thanks to my teammate Mark for lending me a bike for the races Sat. My bike broke after Tuesday's RMR. Did I mention that Tuesday night we avg'd 29.7mph. Yes you read that right 29.7. I couldn't believe it. That's probably why i was shaking after the race on the sidelines. It was an epic effort for me. It was fast. Funniest thing during the race Bill Demong was like what's up Brian while we were in the break. He was talking like you would at a coffee shop or something. All I could do was nod and sound like a blowfish trying to hang on. That guy wins World cups and a couple time Olympic Nordic Combined and has a VO Max of 90 something. Great guy too bad I couldn't talk to him. There are alot of talented bike riders here in this valley.
I was just riding around after the race after doing a couple of laps on the State Crit course at RMR. Somehow my rear derailleur was sucked into my wheels. The rear hanger bent bad and the frame is toast. $3000 bummer right there. That Scott frame was very comfortable for me. The Cannondale Super Six that Mark lent me felt great on Sat though. Lots of pressure riding in a crit with someone else's bike. I tried not to think about it though.
Chris Best, Chris Best, Chris Best got the W in the Master 35+ race on Saturday from Team DARE. Way to go Chris. This guy just came out for like his 2nd race of the year. He's a beast. He's a track guy and said it felt just like the track race out there. Lot's of jockeying and banging bars those last couple of laps. I was on the outside on the 2nd to last turn and the guy in front of me moved outside a bit forcing me onto the dirt. I opted to go straight instead of turning and was out of the race at that point. I was probably sitting 8th or 9th wheel at that point but you had to be at the front 3 to have any hope of winning. Chris led them coming out of the last turn and powered to the W.
My good buddy Paul Terry took a flyer with a few laps to go and had a pretty good gap. I just remember sitting in the middle of the group coming up the fast homestretch and seeing a RED dot off in the distance with a few laps to go and realized it was Paul tearing it up out there. I was hurting in the draft and could only imagine what it felt to be out in the wind solo off the front. We avg'd almost 26 on this course....there were a few times where we just were going like 16mph after some fireworks. I was off the front for a bit with McKone and that hurt. I know Rodney Smith from Contender pulled back one dangerous move early with a huge effort. Also, I heard Sean Hoover pulling a move back at one point in the race. It was good to see Scott Martin out there racing after hearing he had twins. I don't know how father's find the time to train. Especially self proclaimed Mr Mom.
Saw skaters Ignacio Lopez and Andrew Love there as well Saturday. Andrew placed 4th in the Cat 4s and Ignacio was 2nd in the Cat 5s.
Cat 3 race was a huge disappointment as I had a problem with my seatpost. It sunk down and I looked like I was speedskating out there with the knee bend that I had riding around. KK (Kirsten Kotval) said what's up with your bike. I was like it's not mine and my post slipped. Always tighten those things after you adjust them I learned that day. I debated for a few laps on whether or not i could stop and get a free lap. I figured I couldn't but KK said I would problably hurt my knees riding like that or I could stand for another 45 minutes. I stopped and Gary said I could jump back in but I would be a lap down. I adjusted my seat quick but now it was too high. I was going to ride but would have hurt myself with that setup so I just packed up and headed home. I was so bummed. I went to Contender to get my bike lined up from the fit I had there. Then I went to park near the Old Mill buildings near Big Cottonwood and I rode up Big Cottonwood to get out my disappointment. Worse things could have happened as I heard there was big crash in the 1/2 race. I made it up Big cottonwood in record time (for me). The wind blowing up the canyon I'm sure that helped. It was nice and scenic and pretty warm at the top. I rewarded myself with a huge Garlic Burger from the Cotton Bottom post ride. That made me feel alot better! :)
Private donations are also welcome and may be submitted to
Wells Fargo Bank,
Attn: Fausto Muñoz Esparza Donation Fund,
1201 N. Pope Street, Silver City, NM 88061 USA.
Letters of support may be sent to C/O Thomason Hospital, Patient: Fausto Esparza, ICU/12, 4815 Alameda Avenue, El Paso, TX 79905 USA.
State Crit-
Still haven't seen any results on this race. Saw Turbo won the 1/2s. Don't know who won the Cat 3s cause I didn't stick around. I had fun in the Master 35 race. It was hard and fast. Thanks to my teammate Mark for lending me a bike for the races Sat. My bike broke after Tuesday's RMR. Did I mention that Tuesday night we avg'd 29.7mph. Yes you read that right 29.7. I couldn't believe it. That's probably why i was shaking after the race on the sidelines. It was an epic effort for me. It was fast. Funniest thing during the race Bill Demong was like what's up Brian while we were in the break. He was talking like you would at a coffee shop or something. All I could do was nod and sound like a blowfish trying to hang on. That guy wins World cups and a couple time Olympic Nordic Combined and has a VO Max of 90 something. Great guy too bad I couldn't talk to him. There are alot of talented bike riders here in this valley.
I was just riding around after the race after doing a couple of laps on the State Crit course at RMR. Somehow my rear derailleur was sucked into my wheels. The rear hanger bent bad and the frame is toast. $3000 bummer right there. That Scott frame was very comfortable for me. The Cannondale Super Six that Mark lent me felt great on Sat though. Lots of pressure riding in a crit with someone else's bike. I tried not to think about it though.
Chris Best, Chris Best, Chris Best got the W in the Master 35+ race on Saturday from Team DARE. Way to go Chris. This guy just came out for like his 2nd race of the year. He's a beast. He's a track guy and said it felt just like the track race out there. Lot's of jockeying and banging bars those last couple of laps. I was on the outside on the 2nd to last turn and the guy in front of me moved outside a bit forcing me onto the dirt. I opted to go straight instead of turning and was out of the race at that point. I was probably sitting 8th or 9th wheel at that point but you had to be at the front 3 to have any hope of winning. Chris led them coming out of the last turn and powered to the W.
My good buddy Paul Terry took a flyer with a few laps to go and had a pretty good gap. I just remember sitting in the middle of the group coming up the fast homestretch and seeing a RED dot off in the distance with a few laps to go and realized it was Paul tearing it up out there. I was hurting in the draft and could only imagine what it felt to be out in the wind solo off the front. We avg'd almost 26 on this course....there were a few times where we just were going like 16mph after some fireworks. I was off the front for a bit with McKone and that hurt. I know Rodney Smith from Contender pulled back one dangerous move early with a huge effort. Also, I heard Sean Hoover pulling a move back at one point in the race. It was good to see Scott Martin out there racing after hearing he had twins. I don't know how father's find the time to train. Especially self proclaimed Mr Mom.
Saw skaters Ignacio Lopez and Andrew Love there as well Saturday. Andrew placed 4th in the Cat 4s and Ignacio was 2nd in the Cat 5s.
Cat 3 race was a huge disappointment as I had a problem with my seatpost. It sunk down and I looked like I was speedskating out there with the knee bend that I had riding around. KK (Kirsten Kotval) said what's up with your bike. I was like it's not mine and my post slipped. Always tighten those things after you adjust them I learned that day. I debated for a few laps on whether or not i could stop and get a free lap. I figured I couldn't but KK said I would problably hurt my knees riding like that or I could stand for another 45 minutes. I stopped and Gary said I could jump back in but I would be a lap down. I adjusted my seat quick but now it was too high. I was going to ride but would have hurt myself with that setup so I just packed up and headed home. I was so bummed. I went to Contender to get my bike lined up from the fit I had there. Then I went to park near the Old Mill buildings near Big Cottonwood and I rode up Big Cottonwood to get out my disappointment. Worse things could have happened as I heard there was big crash in the 1/2 race. I made it up Big cottonwood in record time (for me). The wind blowing up the canyon I'm sure that helped. It was nice and scenic and pretty warm at the top. I rewarded myself with a huge Garlic Burger from the Cotton Bottom post ride. That made me feel alot better! :)
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Ogden race
May 1st was last Thursday and everyone around the world started their first day of training for the 2008-2009 skating season. I went for a ride out to Salt Air. I'm still just riding my bike for fun and not too motivated to start skate training yet. It's funny last year I really didn't do any skate training till August 1st so I'm ahead of schedule so far.
Now to IAAB....it's all about Brian as one of my "coaches" like to let me know. Ogden One organized a sweet race on Saturday with some of the best prizes I've gotten so far and I didn't win. The course was awesome. The start/finish straightaway was beautifully tree lined. I don't understand why we only had 15 Masters and 20 Cat 3s at this one. The climbers here I guess don't like crits? I was in Boston for East Canyon. Don't think I missed much cause I can't get over the wall. There's a plot to a crit and usually a couple of sub plots as well. Some people don't know how to read the program. Crits teach you how to race and how to get FAST. I remember Burke (name dropping) telling me last year that he hated crits when he started. He's obviously not a crit rider but he can read the program and GET Er Done for an ace climber. You get a feel for how a race is unfolding and what to do next. Team tactics make it even better. What makes it fun is that sometimes the plot takes an unexpected twist at the end.
Their was an unfortunate accident in my 1st race and I hope Jon Gardner heals up fast. It was good to see Clint out there and unfortunately this shit is part of the deal. Had a good conversation with the CLAW. I have alot of respect for that guy. He knows how to race hard. It was a stressful day doing what should be fun so I'm just going to leave it at that. I don't get paid enough money for this shit to be stressful. Crashes suck but are what we sign up for. Remind me of that when some jackass chops my wheel like a few years back at the E Center Crit when I hurt my shoulder bad and had some good road rash. Congrats to Gary Swain on his W in the Cat 3s. Pretty fast guy for an old man as is Sam Moore.
Jess Dear of RMCC lead out the sprint till the corner with about 300m to go. Sam Moore jumped early? (maybe before the corner?) and had a gap. I had to thread the needle between two guys to start sprinting. I don't know what guys are doing at the front 220 meters from the line going backwards??? It was a little dangerous then I thought I just had to catch Sam. I killed myself to get to Sam and barely passed him when I looked to my left and saw Gary surge right at the line and get me by a hair. Sprinting is a crap shoot and Gary was in the right position. Positioning is the name of the game in sprinting unless you can just blow people away. I got upto 36.9 in that one and it was all me since I didn't get on Sam's wheel and seemed like some headwind.
It was funny because Gary looked around then was like did I get it. I was like yes I think you won. He looked dumbfounded then delayed reaction started throwing his hands in the air celebrating. I don't know if I'm getting soft in my old age but I was truly happy for him. I don't like to lose no one does but I am proud of how I have reacted to getting 2nd in my last two races. More proud than winning. I read about Jack Nickalaus and how he has placed 2nd way more times than he won and he was a very gracious "loser". Congrats to my new bike buddy Gary Swain.
Oh yea I had some guy? run me off the road into the dirt in the Cat 3 race. We went past the start/finish line. I think there was a gust from the right I was on the left outside. This guy to my right moved over 1 lane. I yelled and he moved over another lane. I didn't want to bang bars again and went to the edge of the road with no curb then hit the dirt at 25+. I got back on the back of the group and was so wound up I attacked off the front about 200-300 meters. When no one would go with me I integrated baack to the field. Then Aaron Olson threw a hard attack and luckily i stuck on.
Some advice for racers reading this (myself included):
1. Don't look back. I don't think anyone can track a straight line and look back at the same time. You can look under your shoulder if you must look back. My Cat 1friend always yells at me for looking back on the oval at RMR. If you really want to see what's happening go to the side of the road away from the pack and look back. I did that in the Cat 3 race.
2. You can't change lanes without looking. You don't do it on I-15 do you. Don't do it in a bike race.
3. If there is clearly 2 or 3 lines don't be the guy making it 3 or 4 lines. I hate when guys try to fit between two lines. Don't ride on my hip pocket either? Ride to the side or behind me unless we are echeloning.
4. Watch your back wheel when you move around in the pack. I always look before I move around the pack but sometimes forget about my back wheel when passing someone. Bad habit from short track skating. Sorry to anyone i may have chopped this year.
5. Don't stand up in the middle of the pack. What happens when you do that is your back wheel goes back 6-12 inches and you give me a heart atttack. There's one guy I won't mention in the A group of RMR who does this all the time. If you do feel like doing this.....shift up 2 gears then stand up and your bike will not shoot back.
6. Don't sweep the turns. Hold your line and if you enter on the inside you exit on the inside. I had a problem on the 2nd turn of the last lap of the cat 3 race. I had too much speed and that turn had dirt. Sorry Cameron but shit happens too. Thankfully we got thru the turn ok Saturday. I like to stay to the outside on turns as I'm heavy and carry my speed better. I remember at Boise a few years back this kid who will remain nameless enters the turn on the inside (final turn). He exits the turn now on the barriers. Bob Walker had to stop because he entered the turn on the curb. I was behind Bob and I had to skid to a stop bounce off the railings and then sprint back to the group. Speaking of crazy shit. That race in the Cat 3s I saw guys going off into hay bails, hitting parking meters, guys pedals skipping in my spokes, guys shoving me to the curb....it was crazy. I had more close calls in that one race than 3 years worth of RMRs. The last turn i was back in 30th place praying that I would get thru it in one piece. We were like 5 accross with alot of guys thinking they could win and that can make things dangerous.
7. Don't break on the turns. The Masters were doing this every turn. I don't know if they just don't know how to ride or they were trying to help teammates up the road.
8. Don't sprint down the RMR oval zig zagging like you think its the Tour Day France. Just keep your head up and sprint straight. We don't get paid enough to go down at 35+.
File under aggravating things to do in a bike race:
1. You are near the front of the strung out field of the A group at RMR. You see yourself blowing up on the railing so you just slow down with 30 guys behind you. Thanks buddy you just rode 30 guys out of the race.
2. You are dropping out of the race and instead of just pulling over you just slow down and take a few more with you. Same as #1 almost.
3. You are yelling at others in the race because they are not racing the way you want them to. Keep your mouth shut and attack.
4. You race negatively to get the W. I think the negative racing frustrates everyone but it's part of the game. I heard that some guys were slowing down the field and actually punching guys who were doing that at one race this year???
5. One last thing. Please don't touch me to let me know where you are. I don't like being touched in a bike race unless it's by a hot chick. (my wife doesn't read this blog :)
Now to IAAB....it's all about Brian as one of my "coaches" like to let me know. Ogden One organized a sweet race on Saturday with some of the best prizes I've gotten so far and I didn't win. The course was awesome. The start/finish straightaway was beautifully tree lined. I don't understand why we only had 15 Masters and 20 Cat 3s at this one. The climbers here I guess don't like crits? I was in Boston for East Canyon. Don't think I missed much cause I can't get over the wall. There's a plot to a crit and usually a couple of sub plots as well. Some people don't know how to read the program. Crits teach you how to race and how to get FAST. I remember Burke (name dropping) telling me last year that he hated crits when he started. He's obviously not a crit rider but he can read the program and GET Er Done for an ace climber. You get a feel for how a race is unfolding and what to do next. Team tactics make it even better. What makes it fun is that sometimes the plot takes an unexpected twist at the end.
Their was an unfortunate accident in my 1st race and I hope Jon Gardner heals up fast. It was good to see Clint out there and unfortunately this shit is part of the deal. Had a good conversation with the CLAW. I have alot of respect for that guy. He knows how to race hard. It was a stressful day doing what should be fun so I'm just going to leave it at that. I don't get paid enough money for this shit to be stressful. Crashes suck but are what we sign up for. Remind me of that when some jackass chops my wheel like a few years back at the E Center Crit when I hurt my shoulder bad and had some good road rash. Congrats to Gary Swain on his W in the Cat 3s. Pretty fast guy for an old man as is Sam Moore.
Jess Dear of RMCC lead out the sprint till the corner with about 300m to go. Sam Moore jumped early? (maybe before the corner?) and had a gap. I had to thread the needle between two guys to start sprinting. I don't know what guys are doing at the front 220 meters from the line going backwards??? It was a little dangerous then I thought I just had to catch Sam. I killed myself to get to Sam and barely passed him when I looked to my left and saw Gary surge right at the line and get me by a hair. Sprinting is a crap shoot and Gary was in the right position. Positioning is the name of the game in sprinting unless you can just blow people away. I got upto 36.9 in that one and it was all me since I didn't get on Sam's wheel and seemed like some headwind.
It was funny because Gary looked around then was like did I get it. I was like yes I think you won. He looked dumbfounded then delayed reaction started throwing his hands in the air celebrating. I don't know if I'm getting soft in my old age but I was truly happy for him. I don't like to lose no one does but I am proud of how I have reacted to getting 2nd in my last two races. More proud than winning. I read about Jack Nickalaus and how he has placed 2nd way more times than he won and he was a very gracious "loser". Congrats to my new bike buddy Gary Swain.
Oh yea I had some guy? run me off the road into the dirt in the Cat 3 race. We went past the start/finish line. I think there was a gust from the right I was on the left outside. This guy to my right moved over 1 lane. I yelled and he moved over another lane. I didn't want to bang bars again and went to the edge of the road with no curb then hit the dirt at 25+. I got back on the back of the group and was so wound up I attacked off the front about 200-300 meters. When no one would go with me I integrated baack to the field. Then Aaron Olson threw a hard attack and luckily i stuck on.
Some advice for racers reading this (myself included):
1. Don't look back. I don't think anyone can track a straight line and look back at the same time. You can look under your shoulder if you must look back. My Cat 1friend always yells at me for looking back on the oval at RMR. If you really want to see what's happening go to the side of the road away from the pack and look back. I did that in the Cat 3 race.
2. You can't change lanes without looking. You don't do it on I-15 do you. Don't do it in a bike race.
3. If there is clearly 2 or 3 lines don't be the guy making it 3 or 4 lines. I hate when guys try to fit between two lines. Don't ride on my hip pocket either? Ride to the side or behind me unless we are echeloning.
4. Watch your back wheel when you move around in the pack. I always look before I move around the pack but sometimes forget about my back wheel when passing someone. Bad habit from short track skating. Sorry to anyone i may have chopped this year.
5. Don't stand up in the middle of the pack. What happens when you do that is your back wheel goes back 6-12 inches and you give me a heart atttack. There's one guy I won't mention in the A group of RMR who does this all the time. If you do feel like doing this.....shift up 2 gears then stand up and your bike will not shoot back.
6. Don't sweep the turns. Hold your line and if you enter on the inside you exit on the inside. I had a problem on the 2nd turn of the last lap of the cat 3 race. I had too much speed and that turn had dirt. Sorry Cameron but shit happens too. Thankfully we got thru the turn ok Saturday. I like to stay to the outside on turns as I'm heavy and carry my speed better. I remember at Boise a few years back this kid who will remain nameless enters the turn on the inside (final turn). He exits the turn now on the barriers. Bob Walker had to stop because he entered the turn on the curb. I was behind Bob and I had to skid to a stop bounce off the railings and then sprint back to the group. Speaking of crazy shit. That race in the Cat 3s I saw guys going off into hay bails, hitting parking meters, guys pedals skipping in my spokes, guys shoving me to the curb....it was crazy. I had more close calls in that one race than 3 years worth of RMRs. The last turn i was back in 30th place praying that I would get thru it in one piece. We were like 5 accross with alot of guys thinking they could win and that can make things dangerous.
7. Don't break on the turns. The Masters were doing this every turn. I don't know if they just don't know how to ride or they were trying to help teammates up the road.
8. Don't sprint down the RMR oval zig zagging like you think its the Tour Day France. Just keep your head up and sprint straight. We don't get paid enough to go down at 35+.
File under aggravating things to do in a bike race:
1. You are near the front of the strung out field of the A group at RMR. You see yourself blowing up on the railing so you just slow down with 30 guys behind you. Thanks buddy you just rode 30 guys out of the race.
2. You are dropping out of the race and instead of just pulling over you just slow down and take a few more with you. Same as #1 almost.
3. You are yelling at others in the race because they are not racing the way you want them to. Keep your mouth shut and attack.
4. You race negatively to get the W. I think the negative racing frustrates everyone but it's part of the game. I heard that some guys were slowing down the field and actually punching guys who were doing that at one race this year???
5. One last thing. Please don't touch me to let me know where you are. I don't like being touched in a bike race unless it's by a hot chick. (my wife doesn't read this blog :)
Blogs and my blog
I woke up. Ate a bagel for breakfast. Took my vitamins and secret supplements. Went training for 3 hours. Came home. Went training again. Had recovery drink. Did intervals later. Took a nap. Did some abs then ate a big pasta dinner and went to bed.
Raced the next day. I was feeling good at the start of the race. I covered alot of moves for my teammates. I would have went up the road if I didn't do all the work for my teammates. I got unlucky when the motorcycle guy got in my way and I had to serve around him otherwise I would have made the winning move. My training was going well till yesterday when I started feeling slightly sick. I think I might have had food poisoning otherwise I would have won. Also, my legs havent' been feeling good I think I might have Epstein Barr or some other illness. Otherwise I think I would have won the race. I'm glad my teammate won otherwise I would have won if I wasn't working for him. I like to blog about my races so everyone else can know why I didn't win. Just kidding but you get the idea....that's what alot of the blogs I read sound like. Oh yea and I wonder what so and so is doing. I also let you know about how many famous and fast cyclist I know.
I'm really getting sick of reading blogs especially cycling blogs. I don't have the time or motivation to keep up this blog. This is my 60th post and possibly the last one about me. I might post some funny shit that I find as I did a few posts ago. I know Pieter D. found one of them funny.
Raced the next day. I was feeling good at the start of the race. I covered alot of moves for my teammates. I would have went up the road if I didn't do all the work for my teammates. I got unlucky when the motorcycle guy got in my way and I had to serve around him otherwise I would have made the winning move. My training was going well till yesterday when I started feeling slightly sick. I think I might have had food poisoning otherwise I would have won. Also, my legs havent' been feeling good I think I might have Epstein Barr or some other illness. Otherwise I think I would have won the race. I'm glad my teammate won otherwise I would have won if I wasn't working for him. I like to blog about my races so everyone else can know why I didn't win. Just kidding but you get the idea....that's what alot of the blogs I read sound like. Oh yea and I wonder what so and so is doing. I also let you know about how many famous and fast cyclist I know.
I'm really getting sick of reading blogs especially cycling blogs. I don't have the time or motivation to keep up this blog. This is my 60th post and possibly the last one about me. I might post some funny shit that I find as I did a few posts ago. I know Pieter D. found one of them funny.
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