sucked into the blog black hole

2008-09-08T12:29:00.000-07:00

Weekend Race Reports

2007-08-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

8/17/07 - Dunnigan

Some great racing by the Specialized Sierra Nevada boys today. We had really good representation in a bunch of races. Rick Burns got 2nd and Bob Montuori took 4th in the 45 4/5s and we heard Peter Allen got 3rd in the 45 123s – frickin’ awesome guys! Here’s lil recount of the 123s.

Good conditions with very light wind and not too hot. Funny thing is I was not gonna do this race cause my longest ride since May has been about 50 miles – no joke. We had a good field with some notables missing and no AMD (must be tunin’ up for worlds & others winding it down). First of two laps was pretty boring really and not much to talk about – almost like an easy training ride really and good for my lack of endurance training. Lap two would bring some action with three going off the front then another four and two. DB got in the mix and clawed his way in there and that group eventually came together. I think he said it took 45 minutes – ouch that’s a long bridge! One Safeway (Ma) flatted out of the break, but got back in the main group. We passed the 4s and then got re-passed. The big teams were represented and things literally slowed to 18 mph or so at points. Not quite your typical 123 race and a bit bizarre. In fact, it was much easier than last year. Thanks to DB who did a ton of work and letting the rest of us kind of hang out and cover anyone gettin’ frisky. DB had a concussion earlier in the week from takin’ on bad guy criminals – he’s one tough dude. Steve, John and Lance took the coverage role and I pretty much sat in the “lazy boy” and saved it – ummm thanks guys. We chatted and were comfortable with DB up front and that he’d get a good placing and thank goodness he and a couple others caught the first three off – that’s where a radio would be really cool.

Maybe a bit before the midway point on lap two things picked up then slowed down then picked up – kind like a yo-yo. Steve called it like going from intensity level 3 to 11 and back (on a scale of 10). A crash happened, the field slowed and some stopped. Unfortunately it brought down Michael Hernandez our beloved blog king, which really sucks cause he's a good guy. Steve turned around and John slowed looking to turn around as well as many guys wanted to give Michael respect, which he certainly deserves. I thought for sure the race was over with the break out front and we’d just cruise after that, but not everybody stopped as guys were saying "go neutral" and "soft pedal" and it was kind of a cluster fuck. I would have been fine with a soft pedal back. Seeing that two of my mates turned around others stopping and others that weren’t stopping, I kept rolling slow as out team had a couple that turned around– somethin’ told me we needed someone up there in case someone attacked. Well it is bike racing and sure enough it broke loose on the following right hander. In my book that was a crappy place to start driving an attack whoever started it. I had to put in a HARD effort to bridge that crap. Once the race, remnants thereof, was rolling, EMC was not content with two in the break, so Parks unleashed a series of attacks on the rollers that were relentless. I came around once or twice at the top of roller and even attacked Parks and Phipps once to see if we could split the remaining group and increase our odds, but there was enough gas left in others where that was not going to happen. Frickin’ no one else rolled through, so yeah guys I sat the rest of the race and proud of it. Parks must have attacked at least ten or 15 times and maybe more. I was kind of curious why they weren’t happy with the odds and Holtz said it was due to the Cal Cup standings and they wanted Nathan to get points. Makes sense if that's their Team goal I suppose, but I wasn’t going to help if they wanted to bring their own guys back and bring up their best sprinter. Guess I’m a little less dumber than last year :)

Making the turn down the last long stretch against the freeway, the moto hooked up and we were only 30 seconds back and confirmed what we thought. EMC had Holtz and three or four others – superior numbers. Drank the last of my four bottles and kept a watch on Parks & Holtz and really was not concerned about anyone else at this point. An EMC and Oly Club attacked and got about 15 seconds. Dan and I hedged that the others wouldn’t let go and sure enough that gamble paid off and we came back together. Started to get some goose bumps and leg muscle twinges with about 2k or 3K to go - was that nerves about the finish, dehydration or both? Ah there’s the 1K sign – nice....go to drops.

Came around the final turn before the short lil steep freeway bump about 4th wheel and 500m to go thinkin' that was maybe a bit too far up front. Holtz and Parks attacked and I followed and caught, so being in front worked out ok. We still had about 400m to go so the move kind of surprised me. Put it in the 11 and quickly decided that gear was not gonna turn today and needed leg speed so dropped to the 13. With about 300 to go EMC slowed again and Morgan Stanley (Coates) attacked. Fortunately EMC followed and I waited having the perfect set up and no one else really in contention. With about 75 to 100 to go EMC slowed again and looked spent, we looked at each and then I just burried the sprint and took it for the V! Good teamwork and a strange turn of events today.

Suisun Crit – 35+ 123

Nice temp and some decent wind. The Fairbanks and Dunlaps made it a family affair and Shelby slept all the way down and back. She and Sarah are both doing awesome and had fun getting out of the house - next trip is to mom's next weekend down in the East Bay and no mas bike races for this guy (...this season) except maybe one more crit.

Despite a middle of the night fussy feeding, my legs felt surprisingly good today. Went full gas from the start and was going to stay up front and ride aggressively. This was a short race, but due to the wind, one where a break could easily stick. Was in front for most of it and when I took a little breather maybe 10 or 15 laps in a four man move went up the road. Well SSN, Safeway, EMC and CVC All fell asleep at the wheel, hit the snooze button and missed it. Clark tried to bridge and got stuck in no man’s land. Fbanks tried to help me bridge, but they had a good gap. Oliveiri from EMC and Kyle from Safeway were on board in our Chase 1. Oliveiri pulled for a lap or so, Kyle pulled for two then I did my job and pulled hard for two and we were not gaining – the break had the pedal down full throttle too. We had one other who was worthless and couldn’t take a pull and was soon shed. Well I was certainly not content racing for 5^th and Bosch tacked on so we gave it a whirl. EMC sat to kill the break for Park’s Cal Cup points, which I suppose you can't argue with and all is fair. If you actually look at the point standings though and the fact that crits are 15 and RRs are 20, there’s no way I’d catch him with Challenge and University IF I were to even race the rest of the series. Little secret - I am not going to do so - season is pretty much over for moi. We shed Kyle (too much wine at DM’s wedding and I appreciate your comments after), so Bosch and I traded pulls for about ½ the race. At one point we got it within maybe 10-12 seconds, but we either stalled and or they pulled away – I don’t really remember that detail of why - crap. Two dropped off the lead break and we were racing for third. I fell asleep and missed Oliveiri’s attack with ½ lap to go and got gapped behind one of the guys that fell off the break...duh. Oh well, fifth vs. third no biggie for this lil race (I think it was like 5 buck sor something…) and it was an awesome weekend. John took 9^th (3^rd in the field sprint) and JBee was 13^th. Congrats to Joel for winning – he drove that break frickin’ hard and deserved it.

http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?userid=khphotos&gallery_id=806326&image_id=0

District Crit

2007-07-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

Got a hall pass for one day, which was so cool of the wifey. Little Shelby was going to get her first road trip, but she acted up and stayed up just about ALL night fussing....and it might be a bit early for that long a trip. Anyway, it was close enough to get up and back without burning the entire day, so I got baby duty later.

Well Specialized Sierra Nevada finally got it's first crit win with some great teamwork. Race played out perfect if you had a team. Griffo made the break with a few sprinters. Even though we did not like the odds one bit, John and I kept careful watch over the gap and followed moves that tried to bridge and stayed patient. The break eventually broke up a bit and John wisely bridged. I took over following wheels and watching for dangerous moves. All the solo and non represented guys burned themselves up chasing and launching attacks at the wrong times (IMO) after everything came back together. John and I got 2nd and 3rd wheel behind Safeway's leadout (Nevitt?) going into the chicane, which was perfect. John drilled it for the win and we held off Derdenger for a one-two punch. Sucks about the crash(es) cause or main friendly foes were out. Heal up fast.

Meet Shelby Suzanne

2007-07-26T19:57:00.001-07:00

Born on July 18 at 2:27PM. Everything went well - Shelby and mom are doing just great and we are blessed.

Carrera D’ San Rafael

2007-07-08T15:43:00.000-07:00

Mst. 35+ 123

Standing room only for spectators at this very cool event in San Rafael. You gotta love these downtown races that shut down so we can duke it out in lycra. Kudos to this promoter for a well run race. Banks sent me a great description and race strategy, which was dead on except the part about resting and recovering on the backstretch downhill….. we had the wind nazi that laughed and said no rest for you.

On the start line they announced two former Olympians and Priority Health Rider and “McKinley who is so good they named a mountain after him.” Very cool to be racing with high such high caliber folks.....blah, blah blah. Where’s my frickin' elephant gun? AMD and EMC had four each, Safeway had three who all raced Coyote in the morning and some other usual suspects. AMD hit it hard with Innes and McKinley trading attacks (thinks that's who it was). It was strung out and fast from lap one. Sarah said we were clocking about ~ 1 minute laps the first five laps - ouch. We got a bit of breather, but the attacks and counters ensued, which were aggressive and viscous. I stayed close to the front, followed wheels and hit the hill hard a couple times. This race did not feel like there was going to be a field sprint as that pace and attacks were gonna kill some folks and we had wind. So about halfway through a group of five got away with Holtz from EMC, Innes from AMD and three others (I think Derdenger and another sprinter) so it was dangerous, especially since the field was tiring and two big teams were represented one of which is their best sprinter. Safeway did some work to pull it in cause they were not represented, but it was sporatic and I was concerned as they all raced earlier and didn't pull it back at Davis either. Pasco pulled for about a lap and a half hard and EMC was second wheel. Pasco looked for someone else to pull and EMC said “sorry Robert.” I felt bad, and was going come around, but he pulled for another half lap with no help from his mates. A few of us came by and helped a bit but nothing got too organized. I pulled a bit and did some work along with a few other lone rangers.

My strategy is usually the same riding solo with no teamies - to work off the bigger teams and stay positioned. The gap was about 10 seconds or so. With no one looking to commit further and guys getting tired, I decided to bridge solo and attacked. I would have been happy with one other of course to share the pain. It took a lap or so to bridge kind of like Burlingame and I made it. Unfortunately, the pack must not have like it and they chased hard and also caught not too far behind. Knowing there would be a counter I watched for a wheel to come and follow, but none came and three got back off the front – Holtz, Innes and unattached Barlow(don't know the guy but he must have a good engine). Needing a breather from burning about half my matchbook on the bridge, I paused thinking no way three would get away after already being in the break. The whole pack must have been thinking the same cause the gap grew and EMC did a great job of protecting and covering at the front the rest of the race – schooling everyone. There were flurries of mini attacks throughout the rest of the race, but nothing solid and the gap grew to 20 seconds and I think even greater than that by the end of the race.

On the last lap I was 2^nd or 3^rd around turn 2 in good position then a huge acceleration from McKinley came around and spoiled the being first into turn 3 plan. I tried to match and got out of the saddle on that backstretch, but the string of a few guys hit it a bit harder and forced me to get in line and ended up 10^th – out of the single digits for the time being. Holtz took the win and McKinley won the field sprint.

Vacaville Grand Prix

2007-07-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

Vacaville Grand Prix

Masters 35+ 123

Small but potent field of about 35 for today’s race. Nolan and a few AMD mates, Safeway had about 6 sans Hernandez, Bubba, EMC with about 4, Fonseca, Gaver, Reaney, Bosch and mates, and some others. We didn’t really need a bigger field.

Good course with some technical turns and a nice little hill to burn the quads. We did 16 laps up that little bugger and I’ll have to say the team’s Tuesday ride is perfect training for it. We were fortunate enough to have the temp in the high 80s vs. 100, however the wind was brisk and wore on the legs. As usual, there were lots of attacks – some on the hill were just down right vicious. With no mates I just kept an eye on the players, stayed aggressive near the front and went with what looked like dangerous attacks (Nolan, Bubba, etc.). Missed a move with about 7 in it that grew from a couple, but they were not gaining and it was missing some key guys so I was not too worried. Reaney worked a lot to pull it back and I did help a bit - fair enough amount for one guy and no mates. Spun up the hill in the small ring most of the time and switched to big ring toward the end cause you can’t get lost on the accelerations on this course or you’re dead (memories of last year).

With 5 to go, I was losing steam big time on the hill – that or the accelerations were harder. It was just a fast race. Dropped back and recovered for a couple laps and told myself to get the heck back up there. That's the point in the race where you gotta draw on the reserves and stay mentally tough - eveyone else is tired too. Saw Bosch just sitting in the back with 3 to go and figured he would be moving up. He got about half way to front and must have been saving it for the P1/2 race. Lucky break came with two to go where it slowed before the chicane and seized the opportunity to claw my way back to the top 10 by being agressive.

Last lap was fast and Bubba attacked well before the last climb. I was sitting about 6th wheel just where I wanted to be. Told myself no matter what to stay with the accelerations on the hill as that would be the race. We drilled it, caught Bubba then Wire launched. I got 4th wheel at the top of the hill with Poulsen yelling “Go Chris”. Was able to push my way to 2nd wheel and Wire jumped again with about 450-500(?) to go and into the wind. I started to sprint to catch (and was darned tired). Wire got a gap (others thought I let it open up - sorry guys was not intentional) and I sat down thinking that a hard spin with a lower aero body position would get me back on his wheel then I could jump again (hellllooooo McFly). Well I guess that is the learning experience for today, cause I totally blew the finish and sitting down at that point was stupid as we only had about 250 to 300 left and he kept the gap open. Reaney came by first and then Nolan in the chicane. I had one more gear and slammed it in the 11 and gave it everything for the last 150. Just missed Nolan at the line by a few inches and took 4th. Wire held it for the win. Good news - was in the right spot at the right time and just need some more finishing practice.

Pacific State Bank GP

2007-06-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

OK this up in reverse order from BG:

Stockton is a fun course and one of my favorite races as the course is a little technical with some tight turns and a nice stretch for the sprint finish. The wind picked up a bit so I was looking for a break to go. The interesting thing though is that the P12 race stayed together and had that in mind. With no teammates, J Bee got the flu this week, had to use bullets wisely and follow threats only. We had a field of about 50 or so with a lot of the usual suspects missing and some of the guys worn down from the P12 (skipped that one). We did have Poulsen, Glerum & Ma (Bagboys), Bosch (CVC), Granshaw (MS), Gile (VOS), Juarez (ML), a Cal Giant guy, a few EMC, locals Max Mack and Steve McCaw and a smattering of others I never saw.

The first part of the race was uneventful with a couple minor attacks and nothing sticking. I hung out for about five laps then moved up and rode toward the front. Glerum clipped a pedal in turn 2 - he recovered nicely and things were jittery just for a bit. EMC finally threw down and Loogman went up the road solo for a long time. Juarez, who I’ve only read about on the blogs, went to bridge and Loogman wisely dropped to let him catch so they could work together. I just held position up front and did some work, but only took short pulls when others took much longer ones. Let the two guys kill themselves, no way we were letting them get past 10-15 seconds. Goal was to use the other teams and force them to do the work, however I did stay aggressive with keeping position. No mates can be real tough sometimes. I kept it at threshold only when I did pull through and did not use the big armor piercing hardware.

The gap stayed at 10-15 seconds for a long time with a few mini attacks. I pulled through a few times. I only responded when Poulsen went up the road or an attack or two from Gils. Brain fart was that I completely forgot about Bosch, who just stayed put and waited it out. Things were nice and strung out so I figured staying near the front was fine. The promoters called out double primes in that they would be back to back – death for the two man break. I kept my eye on Parks (EMC) cause I was about 100% sure he would counter when they were brought in. I just stayed near the front and tried to give the appearance of doing work (well it wasn’t exactly easy). Some Form Fitness guy attacked and went off for a few laps solo – ouch. With about 8 to go I went with Poulsen and a couple others that looked like it might be a good selection. We had a slight gap coming out of turn 1 and Poulsen hit it. I came around and asked if he had anything left. He said yeah a little so we traded a couple pulls and the others poofed and the break died. Well gave it the college try. We pulled in FF and then a few more attacks went. I stayed up front but forced the other teams to cover - only so many bullets

Granshaw (at least I think that’s who it was from MS) drilled it hard with two to go and we had a couple guys that could have stayed off, but no go again. Two to go has been my nemesis a couple times in the past. This time I told myself to find a way to WIN and told myself I felt good – I actually felt OK and the pace was high but manageable. Tim Creswell gave me some good advice an said first wheel around the corner might be best as we had a tail wind sprint. Poulsen led it from about 500 and I managed to get second wheel. He went a little wide out of the corner so I could not get my sprint rolling until after the apex (wanted to go earlier). He gave a great lead and I came around with maybe 30 to 50 meters to go thinking I may have it. Even gave a loud grunt and threw the bike back and forth –hard as I could. Unfortunately Bosch spoiled the party and screamed by on the right so I took 2^nd. That's the third 2nd place this year, so now I'm gettin' real hungry for a V !!!

Burlingame

2007-06-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

Burlingame Crit

Masters 123

Teammates – Peter Allen & John Fairbanks

We embarked on a lil trip to the Peninsula. Peter was fired up for this one like a kid in a candy store. By the way he’s won the race several time, knows the course well and was able to give John and I the full run down. We were determined to ride aggressive and gun for a win. We got there early and Peter got us into the sweet stealth secret parking spot real close to reg – nice.

Had a full field of 100 and some major big guns. Safeway had a skeleton crew vs. the usual armada. AMD had a tough crew sans Nolan who’s apparently out with broken ribs from Nez. Started out and got kinda stuck behind some folks that could not find their pedals. John made it to the front and single handedly covered the first 1/3 of the race. I slowly moved up and got close cause he needed some help – it was fast, windy and just frickin hard to move up. Made yesterday look easy IMO. Finally found a nice wheel who pulled me up which was critical as there was a break of seven or so up the road, we were not in it and AMD had two (at least it looked like two). The timing worked out well. I went to front and pulled through the turns. It was strung out and a spine guy let a gap form behind me so I gassed it and tried to bridge. Gave a look under the arm and no one was following. Potential no mans land......Heard John yell GO! I was committed, gave it some more gas and buried myself. It took almost a full lap to catch and hurt – they were flying. The break had Joel Robertson, Andrew Barlow, Dirk Copeland (Cal Giant), Markus Roccareo, Brian Bosch , Max Mack, and Craig Roemer(AMD) (I think?) and Dean LaBerge (AMD) no Morgan, Safeway, Lombardi, Alto Velo or EMCs made it. AMD took hard pulls as did Bosch, and Copeland. We got to about 20 seconds on the pack at one point - at least thats what I heard from the sidelines. With 8 laps to go LaBerge mixed it up with one other (?) and crashed – just heard the crunching carbon. La Berge took a free lap and got back in. According to Peter and John they covered the front well with the other AMD guys (McKinley and Casey) and stayed in striking distance should the break die. Perfect execution and teamwork. The field got ancy and Gaver from Spiney took a two-lap pull and got it close according to J & P. With the field strung out John found an opportunity to attack and tried to bridge. Unfortunately, he did not make it. Bosch and Roemer absolutely drilled their pulls as did Copeland. I drilled it too, just not as long as the others with the Hernandez's golden rule in mind – “never, ever get dropped from the break.” Learned my lesson at Golden State with Dan Martin. Also wanted the break to be successful as that is so satisfying. The pack was within 5 seconds with 3 to go – not good at all. Bosch almost ripped everyone up with a monster pull – a few of us traded and LaBerge tucked back. Strategically thought about where and when to be in the rotation and with two to go drilled the corners from turn 1 to 3 and did my job to help cement the break figuring that was the best odds. Think we brought the gap up a bit but with a hard charging field. Now the tricky part – how do I win! Well I tried to set myself up behind LaBerge and he went with Copeland with about 400 to go. Thought about going early at 1K, however the wind would have sapped me, so I rolled the dice. Got squeezed a bit and had to go to the left with Bosch, which caused the death pause – gave it full throttle, err whatever gas I had left, and ended up 4^th. I’m stoked because the team rode great and we pulled in a top placing in a very tough race.

John placed 15^th in the P12, which had about 100. I almost puked after the first race and was just going to sit in. Well after 15 minutes or so I decided to actually get in the race and slowly picked off positions till I found myself at the front for some sponsor time. Was actually having a great race until 25 minutes to go or thereabouts when someone took me out in a corner. Got back in the race, but the legs were toast after stopping and kind of seized up. Another crash split a few of us and I was too tired to chase and called it a day. Kudos to John for finishing that one and getting us some lunch money.

Golden State Pain

2007-05-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

Cat 3 race
Martin Tam and Jeff Schomacker and me were there. Jeff and Martin covered attacks, made good counters and positioned well. Jeff is new to the team and a great addition. I attacked with about a third of the way through to test the field and see if we could get some action. Only had one serious taker from Spine. Two or three bridged, a couple sat on and the break died after a few laps. There were lots of attacks for a 3s race, which made it more fun. Ended up with a field sprint and I took third. Waited just a little too long a couple guys got an early jump and were able to hold on.

M123 race (2nd race)
John F, Peter, Roy, Jason B, Brian C and Moi.
Strategy was for Jason B, moi and Brian to cover the first half of the race and then attack near the end, if possible, and leave the finish to John & Peter. With a few laps in or so there was an opportune time to roll of the front. Took a little solo flyer for two laps and hopefully made some folks chase. Jason B's frame cracked and he was out. Held off the pack for a prime but they recorded the wrong # and I was too tired to argue. Stayed positioned up front when Chris Baker (EMC) went off for a couple laps. After Chris was pulled in, I noted to Brian that Safeway, uncharacteristically, had not attacked yet and to stay tuned. Dan almost always attacks early in the crits, which makes for a tough race. I was hoping they were a little tired from BH, and the 80 min P12 race....Delusions of grandeur. Stepped back a few places and found Dan Martin the Taz man who looked ready for some action despite soloing about 10 laps in the P12 then attacking and getting 3rd. Got on Dan's wheel and within a half a lap he attacked and I followed (we were less than 10 laps into the race). The next 30-40 minutes were just sheer pain as we established the break and held it. Gerald Roberts from Pac. Coast caught on and we eventually pushed the gap to 20 seconds. I was really hoping we would have 4 or 5 in the break, which would have been much better odds. Did everything I could to take good pulls (it hurt bad to pull through after a couple laps). Dan is just an animal and could have dropped us both at any time, but needed us to make the break successful. I made it to either 5 or 6 to go on the lap cards and fell off on one of Dan's pulls. Tried everything I could mentally and physically down the back side to get back on, but the legs just gave out and "he’s cracked" as Mr. Ligget would say. In hindsight it might have been better to sit on when startin to hit the explode zone, but that's not how I roll. Have no idea what happened the last five laps, except John ended up 6th and DM held off the pack for the win – a well deserved one.

Madera

2007-04-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

Only one way to describe this weekend - TEAMWORK. Everyone worked well together and raced smart.

We had some ups and downs this weekend. Steve had a mishap in the crit and has some pretty bad road rash. We think his back wheel may have come dislodged and sent him OTB. He was treated and released from the hospital, back home and in pretty good spirits all things considered. From what we know now no broken bones, but some pretty bad road rash. He was sitting 7th on GC after the TT and crit. Get better Steve.

For the Sr. 3s we had Steve, Andrew, Rick B and me. We were not quite sure who had the best TT, but we did know I was up on Steve by about 10 seconds and at least 3 others with better TT times. It was pretty hot and windy out there and by the time the crit came around it was 95. We worked really well together with the guys covering and rotating and Rick trying to speed things up - it was the slowest crit I've ever done. With 3 to go Steve took some flyers and set a good pace to finally string things out. With one to go I was not so happy sitting in 15th and some guys were lolly gaggin' so I moved up to 6th wheel with two turns to go. Andrew said he was right behind me, but I was just focused on positioning around the last corner and following Peter’s sprint tips. I took the inside(protected) and Andrew swung to the outside. Guys started the sprint immediately and I waited a bit not wanting to go too early into the wind. The jumps looked pretty good and forced me to commit. Drilled it all the way in for the win and a 20 second time bonus. Andrew was right there for 2^nd and a one two punch. It was bittersweet with Steve’s crash though.

We did not get any GC data until the morning – I was 6^th, Andrew in 18^th or so and Rick down a little further. Eastside was 1&2. 5^th place had a mechanical on lap 1, so I moved up to 5^th. Andrew and Rick put it on the line with Rick riding very aggressive and then Andrew and Rick going on a break on lap 2. I moved up and tried to ride 2^nd and 3^rd wheel on the rough section (worse than Copper IMO) while Eastside and one other team chased – perfect. It was just as easy to ride there than further back….and safer. At a minimum, holding 5^th would be no problem as I felt good (5thGC had a mechanical or flat). I was calculating the entire race when to attack as I really needed the 20 second bonus for first and another 11 seconds for the GC win. The rollers were described well as being like English Colony – again perfect as we train that a lot. At the end of the rough section on lap 3 of 4, my seat broke…%$#&! Had to ride the rollers out of the saddle at the end of lap 3, which really took a lot out of me. The seat was not going back on. Andrew had some difficulty with the heat and offered me his bike – that’s what teamwork is all about. Unfortunately, he rides a monster 58 with a Tom Boonen type set up where I’d be lucky to even reach the pedals. He’s also got Looks vs. my DA so I kept rolling (thanks for the offer Andrew). I was off the back and the field started drilling it – crap. I tried to chase and it hurt bad. Rick dropped back and pulled me back on then the field let up. Whew. I told Rick it was now his stage and to go for it. I was going to make an effort to keep the GC placing. Things went ok and I made it through the rough section …..remember with no dang seat – only the rails or standing. When we hit the rollers I was cooked and got dropped – all that out of the saddle took its toll and when I did sit on the rails, it was tough to generate power and fricking hurt. I lost at least a minute and maybe more and felt demoralized as I watched the field pass the finish line up the road. Rick stayed in the lead group and drilled it hard to the line and took second place, so that was huge after all the work he did earlier in the race. Way to go Rick!

In the 35+ 4/5s, Ken Todd drilled it for Wilson a lot of the race, Wilson stayed patient and took second place and we think 6^th on GC. Not sure how Brian did in the 123s – it looked pretty brutal when we drove by and saw the break off by about 2 minutes or so.

The winning GC guys and team in our races did not place in the top spots for the RR and crit – we need to work on the TT some more. All said and done, we had 3 seconds and a win, so despite the difficulties we did very well as a team.

Back in business

2007-03-27T21:52:00.000-07:00

So lately its been a series of setbacks. Very frustrating considering the transition from last season to this season was about the best I’ve ever had. Played the game of backing off to get rest, but not too much better than any prior year. I also think last season in the M123s helped in that regard.

This season after a great start and awesome power numbers for me, I came back from a small cold only to get the damn nasty flu bug a months later that wiped me out for a solid week or so. I'd been really carefull about not pusing too hard, but to no avail. Then the dreaded dustbowl allergies strike again. I’ve been diagnosed with exercise/allergy induced asthma. The asthma condition developed last year and I stubbornly pushed through it, did not go to the doc and had a miserable March/April with things starting to come around in May. This year same thing – cough from the allergies and pounding headaches. Got dropped on the team ride on Sat., hacked my guts out, puked and had to ride back solo half way around Folsom Lake with a pounding headache and pure frustration. Rode a pathetic 1.5 hours coughing my guts out on the TT set up on Sunday. Lookin’ down at my wheels you could see a yellow film – nasty! So the confidence was way down with riding and wondering if another shitty April is in store. Well at least everything else in my life is awesome right now and its just stupid bike racing. Made it to the doc on Monday and got some pharma stuff to take care of this crap. Enter the team Tuesday ride…..errr race. Not sure how things would go, but I was determined to ride hard and inflict some pain – what are friends for? Well it ended up being a strong ride for me, and definitely a boost of confidence that I needed. I did go into a cough attack halfway at the store and puked again after I went solo and made it there first. Hmm – maybe they let me hang out there……nah . This time I took advil before the ride so no headache. Then I drilled it again on the next lil climb and had some more fun riding with pure determination to not let this allergy shit get me down. Watts are almost back to where they were and a level that I like, so just need a couple more weeks of training n racin and we’re good for the A race. Peter was also kind enough to throw down some sprinty knowledge that I was clueless about and never read about, so now its time for some more practice with a few things to work on. IM BACK!

Ode to the night ride

2007-03-06T22:00:00.000-08:00

This mornings' post got me motivated to do a little night ride and here's
a little summation of my ride on the American River Bike Trail tonight:

darkness turned bright

in the still of the night

light shining bright

the river reflecting the lights

crickets chirpin

frogs ribbetin

deer scramblin

bunnies hoppin

coyotes laughin

rattlers still hybernatin

mountain lions a hidin

gears churnin

legs burnin

breathins a laborin

home without any scrapin

Springin Forward Earlier

2007-03-06T07:13:00.000-08:00

Almost out of winter and we've got a little treat with an early Daylight Saving change. Have no idea if we really save energy or not, but I sure as heck am looking forward to more light after work. The Nightrider's only been used once this year - pathethic considering I used to go out with it on the mtb all the time. So don't forget to change the clock on Sunday and get that patch for the PC.

that's racing

2007-02-26T10:12:00.000-08:00

Not sure I even want to post on this but hey a top 10's not all that bad considering a big field of 100 guys all with their six shooters drawn. I think some guys had machine guns. We had ten guys in the field and ended up being pretty much decimated. Two crashes, a flat and a couple hitting the eject button early made for a tough day, but hey In N Out afterwards made it all better.
Head was in the sand most of the race and maybe focused a bit too much on being patient as that's been my biggest weakness among others. Fact is that by lap three it was just as hard to be in the gutter in the back of the pack vs. the front. I know that shit from the river ride - oh well. By lap four I was still just hanging and dropped back to give a teamie some food - had and extra Enervittene for backup. I always stock one of my bottles with CarboPro and Cytomax for enough calories for the whole race. Plus it does not litter up the course with gu or gel packs and its easy to digest. There is one notable team that I've seen litter in just about every race with those things, which does not help the racer's cause.
I was too far back to be a part of the second break, which looked like it had one certain angry rider, two Safeway and maybe one other. The only thing left to do was either attack or just hang out for the field sprint. Many guys hit the eject button on that lap and parachutes were flyin' everywhere. Got positioned up toward the front on the last stretch and was ready to take a pull or two if necessary to stay positioned. Luckily I ended up on the very left and last spot of the echelon the whole way. I was able to stay put, block the gutter and keep position. Pab was just to my right and CVC did a great lead. With only about 1K to go or so, the leadout gapped the rest of the field, which actually made it nice and safe. Now for the sprint timing. Two CVCs peeled and had done their job with their sprinter left at 200 to go or so - maybe it was 300? I think the mistake here was coming along side CID, not committing and then backing off just a bit thinking it was just a bit early. That killed my momentum just enough when the CVC guy (Bosch?) jumped and they got me by a bike length or so. Good news is that positioning was good down the bumpy stretch and my confidence is a lot better than last year at this time when it was my first race as Cat 3. Merco's gonna be an even tougher field with some SoCal dudes and most likely a better contingent of AMD guys - bring it on!

I dddddddddo

2007-02-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

Fortunately there was not stuttering at crunch time. Sarah and I were so lucky to have a dry day for our Tahoe wedding and the sun even came out right during the ceremony. We both feel that was a great blessing.

The first day of our honeymoon we went for a little jaunt in the snow.

We left poor Ti here:

And then the next day we were here - Aloha:

The next exciting event is the lil bambino on the way. Lots of good life changes that Sarah and I are looking forward to.

Brinks is a bust

2007-01-22T07:49:00.000-08:00

Not sure what I was thinking getting one of these - maybe a good ole safe deposit box at the bank would be better. That way a robber can't just walk off with important docs since this thing is pretty mobile. So the stupid thing has batteries for the combo. Well I forgot and a couple years later needed something out of the box. No juice and can't remember the dang combo. OK you still have the key. Key does not work. You've got to be kidding! Try every possibility with the key and no dice. Hmmm - how do I break into this thing?

Trip downstairs to the garage and get out the trusty hammer. It's a good size 20 0z. hammer. No time to rotate the pic, but exactly two swipes and voila. Not exactly very safe.

Season Opener

2007-01-21T20:27:00.000-08:00

Shook the cobwebs out of the legs this weekend at Cal Aggie. We had a full field of 75 – huge for an early season opener. Race was boring for the first 10-15 minutes or so and slow. In typical masters fashion the attacks began and never let up. We rode very, very well as a team for our first race of the year with some new blood and covered the right people at the right times. Think it was about 4 to go an attack went with OV an EMC and one other + our own Specialized/Sierra mate John Fairbanks. CVC missed the break and had to chase allowing us to set up. With one to go a couple of us were in the front and some attacks went trying to catch and things strung out nicely. I followed Mr Pab figuring he would follow up for OV if the break failed. The break was brought in just before the last corner(except for one Mr. OV - fuck) I followed around the last corner and Pab pulled off about 300 out, maybe because he saw OV up the road and the race was over (?). It was a split second decision and a little far out, but I was already committed and we had things strung way out. Just drilled it as hard as the legs would go all the way to the finish and took second for my best finish in the masters so far and some points towards the 2 upgrade. John and Jason B. pulled a 6^th and 7^th to give us three top tens, so not bad for a little early season fling.

We also put together a good contingent for the P1/2/3 race and nothing too eventful happened – we had all put in a race already and were tired. With one to go I positioned pretty well up in the top 10 going into the last corner, but there was already a break of three (I think - things were getting blurry at that point). Came around the last corner still in good position for the field sprint and waited patiently. Well this time it was too long a pause and I got boxed in the gutter so I just sat up for ~ 20^th or so. Better to be safe.

that time of year again

2006-12-18T13:28:00.000-08:00

Well I just renewed the USAC license and holy crap it says rage age "40." Well the good news is that the body is 10lbs. lighter than last year at the same time and the power numbers are as good as March last year, so maybe I'll last one extra lap on the hilly races. Heard some rumblings that the critties are going to be faster this year as a certain team has "loaded up." Well we'll see how that plays out and I'm lookin' forward to the competition.

She Said Yes!

2006-12-11T09:04:00.000-08:00

And we are both very excited about the next step in our life journey together. Especially days like this....

SF Giro

2006-09-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

This was the last scheduled road race of the season for me. Great weather in SF and a huge turnout. Was on my own again with no teamies, but was actually looking forward to just doing whatever felt good. Had a bit too much wine the night before, but no headache or hangover. I got a good warmup and headed up to the start. Off we go. Things pretty much stayed together and it seemed like it would be a tough course for a break to stick with so much fire power. About halfway through there was a nasty crash with about 5 guys going down. I was right behind Pab (i think) when it happened and it was in front and just to the right. It was a narrow miss and I felt blessed. I kept things in check and felt pretty relaxed once the pack got fired back up. Had figured out where I could move up without burning too many matches as we got closer to the finish. With about 10 to go there was a prime and was contemplating going for it. I was right on Wire's wheel and I saw him jump. Well no point in fighting for a prime, so I found another wheel and watched for the attacks. I just kept thinking position, position and more position. With 7 to go things were heating up and an attack went off (I think it was 7). I saw the jump, but let the other teams chase cause in this race they definitely had to. Ah finally had some patience. So I get to 5 to go and I'm in good position just behind Pab and Bennet then my bike just stops. I mean a virtual frickin' grinding halt. I forgot to put my hand up and some guys yelled to get out of the way. *um sorry guys the bike wasn't moving* Double F&%# !!!! Got off to check it out and I thought the rear hub seized up. Then I realized it was the front brake was on full and totally stuck. I undid the break and went through the alley to get back in. I was waiting for the pack and heard 4 to go and realized no dice on getting back in with a free lap. The bummer part is that I was feeling really, really good at the 5 to go point. Oh well. I was baffled at trying to figure out how my brake seized when I did not touch the damned thing and we were rounding the corner at the top of the hill. Turns out that the cable housing popped out somehow and forced the brake pads on the wheel. At least it was not in a fast corner at the bottom of the course.

Here's a short little clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLiPfy1cbc4

Challenge RR

2006-09-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

Kudos to VP for scoring a great new epic course and I'd say the toughest climbing race on the calendar so far (well have not done Wards so not sure there). I debated on whether to go since it's definitely a climber's race and that's not my strength, but since I've got the hall pass why not. We had three in the race (Griff, John and me) and decided to race the 3s with a bigger field. We hit the first couple climbs hard and I felt ok. On the longer climb before the flats I got dropped and so did Griff - shit. We weren't exactly going slow. So we catch back on and I feel a little recovered. The group slowed so I just attacked figuring that was the only place on the course I could make an impact and make someone else chase while John sat. I think a team or two took the bait. No one chased so I just rode solid tempo and had a bit of a gap. I caught another guy who had gone off (oops didn't even see that happen). He looked blown so I picked it back up and drilled it for a few more miles solo. When the group caught Steve attacked and Eastside chased. We caught Steve then I attacked again. This time my legs were really feeling it and was only off a couple minutes. With the long climb coming up my job was done and just bagged it to save the legs for Monday's Giro. I've dnf'd only three races ever(one mechanical) and hate doing that, but just did not see any value in another lap and maybe 2oth place. Not really sure on the overall impact of attacks on the race, but it was fun with some good TT practice and John took fourth.

Babysittin's not so bad

2006-09-01T08:06:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have seen this lil 95lb. guy at the races. This is after a vet appointment and surprisingly he likes the vet. Well this weekend I get to do some babysitting with this monster. Our first adventure was to the lake last night. Check him out in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnLfz9v-UMw

El Crampo

2006-08-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

Was out of town all week on an intense project and was off the bike for 4 whole days. I think the last time that happened was when I was sick in March. So the legs had time to recover from all the knots and bashing I gave them last weekend, but doing nothing does not give the optimal physiological adaption. Got home about 9:15 on Friday and got up at 6:00 AM to roll to Dunnigan. Was really looking forward to this race and felt ok. The legs felt a little flat but woke up just fine. We had four guys in the race and a good all around team representation in different categories. Special thanks to Roy for manning the feed zones. And Clover boys – neutral or not, you don’t take a bottle from someone who has another teams’ jersey - jerko.

The top guys started firing the bullets quickly and I made sure to be in front to watch for a break. Lots of attacks, but nothing was going to stick since the wind was light. Somewhere on lap one maybe half way, Lothar went with a Spiney and one other. The group let em roll up to about a minute. We had the center-line nazi ref giving us the splits – that was very cool. They did warn us about the centerline rule and guys ignored it and got DQd. We pulled in the break and the wind picked up for lap 2. Ok I knew there were going to be some attacks again (well they never really stopped) and knew it was hard to move up in the wind and tight course. I was riding 5th wheel watching Metcalfe and I forget who else trading pulls. Martin was sitting third wheel, so something was gonna happen. Then it came from the left. I looked over and my teamie was there, except Safeway had three in an eight man break. I was a bit out of position and would have had to attack on the unprotected side to cover after a slight pause. This may have caused others to follow so I let it be and needed a bit of break since I’d been near the front the entire 1st lap +. John knows as well as anyone how to deal with a break. I was talking to Kirkpatty and figured the Navigator guy would attack at some point as that was clearly a break that was going to stick with Parks, Metcalfe, Bennet, Pasco?, Reade? and not sure who the other two were besides John. The other teams and solo guys did not get organized at all. There was plenty of horsepower if they traded pulls. One EMC almost chased his own guy for awhile till someone else reminded him that their “strongest” guy was in the break so then he just covered in the front. I stayed close as well then the Navigator guy slipped away after a failed attempt by alto velo. Noone followed which surprised me. I figured EMC or Safeway might cover but I suppose that potentially could have reduced the odds if the group did get organized. I think the break was about 1:45 or 2:00 at that point so there was no way were catching. So there were various attacks all the way and a couple slipped off our group. KP tried to bring it in but got no help. I sat trying to save for a sprint and staying near the front knowing a top ten was still out there. Unfortunately John fell out of the break and we picked him up with maybe 5 or 6 miles to go. I tried drilling the front a little but no separation and a slight bit of cramping so I backed off. I positioned near the front and into the last corner two swung way wide as if just tired and forgetting how to corner. I dropped in behind Martin who was second or third wheel figuring he was leading out Pab or would just go for it. Pab came up and then I got behind him. Ok as good a position as any. At 1K there was an attack and not sure why I grabbed it but I sucked on the wheel with a nice draft so I was working but not all out according the power meter download. We got to about 500m and I got stung by a yellow jacket in my jersey. Little fucker hurt. Then it got me again – two stings. We slowed and I lost concentration a bit, but no one else had come around. OK its 200m and uphill so I soft pedaled a little but not too much to keep momentum till someone came then I was to follow and make my attack. NOT! The group went by and my legs just died. They literally stopped functioning. “Cmon legs!…..Nooooooooooooo.” I had a good breakfast, and 1000+ calories with my salt tabs and drank 3 or 4 bottles. They still just seized and cramped and I was barely able to get across the line in like last place in the group. Oh well. I was happy to be there ready to try for that field sprint for 8th, but it was just not meant to be. Great course, good team work and pretty damn exciting for a pretty flat ride with all the attacks – oh and damned fast.

So for the techie geeks here’s the data – note the difference between avg and normalized

90.4 miles
ride time 3:40
avg. speed 24.67
Avg power 207
Normalized power 256
TSS 228
IF .8

more training & racing

2006-08-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

Another great training weekend and a race in the bag. Did some great sprints on Thursday, and a nice long 85 miler with the river ride thrown in for some pre Dunnigan practice. Had some good wind so we spread things out and had a couple fun sprints. Was heading down to my parents on Sat night so figured I would pop down for the Timpani crit on Sunday. Sarah was open too it with a Tahoe trade off for next weekend. Compromise is good thing! Me = pretty tired, especially from the vino at moms, hard ride the day before and sprints on Th. Usually I’ll do those on Tues or Wed in time to recover for the weekend but the race was sort of a last minute thing.

Looked like most of the big guns were out and I was out there on my own again. This one I just sat in for awhile and tried to stay in a decent position in case something dangerous went off. Lots of attacks and wheels a blazin’ – not to mention a strong cross wind again a la Minden. Felt like I managed not to burn too many matches except for one bridge, which was a calculated risk and well stocked with the stock boys. Well that break fizzled and ended up being a waste. Ok sit in and recover and get on some decent wheels. With about 5 to go it was getting really fast and I somehow faded out of position. OK have to get back up there and position. I moved from the back to the front with 1.5 to go or something close – again the memory gets fuzzy in these balls out crits. Had to go around a cone – ooops the pack pushed left and that was safer than running into it. I found a wheel quickly and got in position near the front and held on. OV goes off with just over 1 to go and I was riiiiiigggght there and had that split second decision knowing that could be The Move. I jumped on for the ride and we all know OV is more than capable of soloing the last lap even if sick. I debated this strategy in my head and talked it over with Sarah before the race we figured that would be as good a strategy as any. He was drilling it and I figured that would be a good risk to take and the effort behind was not too bad. We pedaled the corners hard. OV did the under the arm look and I just stayed focused on position and had no obligation to come around (and legs for that matter). He bowed out with about a half a lap left either tired or not wanting to lead out others (?). I found a wheel pretty quickly and did not give up position too much, but that wheel was tired or saving some for the P1/2 and lost momentum…..then I got swarmed and race over. No point in going for 15th so sat up and stayed safe – upright finishes are a good thing. Awesome racing and fun to watch the other team’s tactics.

how far will it spread?

2006-08-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I spent a few hours with a client. These guy are in their 60s and huge history buffs. I'm not very well studied in history and these guys are quizzing me at lunch. It was kind of like be in a loser's consolation round of jeopardy when you should not have even qualified in the first place. "Who were the five consecutive republican presidents." Heck, the guy couldn't remember the fifth himself. So they keep mentioning that we are already in WW III and that it may be difficult for them to buy equipment (heavy trucks) for their business if we in a full scale war. At first I was thinking these guys are nuts. So I go home and actually turn on the news and realize that history often repeats itself and they have already witnessed it first hand in their lifetimes. Fast forward to today where a little spark that's been smoldering for a long time in the Middle East is turning into a fire storm - rockets raining down. Will this escalate further and will the peace talks actually go anywhere?

missing the water

2006-08-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

On the drive back from districts I was passing Silver lake on 88, which got me to thinking about water and how much I miss being on the Tique. I spent a vast majority of my 20s weekends hacking & poaching single track on the mtb and ripping it up on the water. Ah the thrill of a 60 mph pull on glass @ 28 off and launching off a big wake on the board where you feel the pop when you hit it just right. Its a rush that tingles and you feel like a God. And the agony of defeat when something goes wrong as those crashes on the water frickin' hurt........ah the eye lid peelers were all too familiar, but its that adrenaline rush that brings you back for more.

in the dust

2006-07-31T10:52:00.000-07:00

Well another good weekend of racing - this time with some altitude and well some serious attitude. I'll defer to the other blogs for the bad attitude - guess that happens in a lot of sports. RR was a slugfest and I was KO'd on lap three and just missed hanging on. Damn.....made the steep climb and fell off on the short one. Ended up almost puking trying to get a wheel, recovered and jumped on with three for for a five man pack fill group. We all took even pulls the entire way and got some rare echelon practice so all was not lost. Picked up a couple more battered bodies along the way and then we had 8. Well everyone knew we were not gaining or losing ground - well more losing ground. We did get to witness a little fun with the 40's lead break catching us with about 3K to go in their race. A forth guy latched on and we got to watch the whole last 3K - good stuff. The only problem was we still had one more lap to go. It felt like we were out there forever and the wind was even tougher on the last couple laps. So the eight of us stayed together on the climbs and we rotated evenly right into the 1K to go then we had a fun little sprint fest. 14th is how I ended up, but at least we had JF up the road for 11th. Sounded like a brutal lead break. Disappointing, but a good training day on a fun course.

Found a room in South Lake and went to play some Hold em' on the 3/6 table since it was a solo weekend. Had a couple good hands and came out a whole $7 ahead. Not such a great hourly rate, especially with a few fish at the table......they kept sucking out on the damn river. Ok get out a there before I screw up and start suckin' down suds and blow off the crit.

Next day. I was actually feeling ok for the crit and got some great sleep. Line up in the second row and the guy in front can't get his pedal in and I'm out of frickin' position from the gun. Break right off the bat just like clockwork. Finally got into position and it seemed pretty fast with the break off and attacks trying too bring em in. Up to 25 secs pretty quick. Well we've got an hour to bring em in. Tried to let the otther teams do most of the work and stay positioned. It still hurt being up there though and did my fair share for being a lone guy with no team mates - well the winner had none either and just kicked ass! The break was brought in and there was still like 20 laps to go. I made the mistake of somehow thinking we split the group up more than we actually did some chasing that I probably did not need to do. On laps 8 down to 5 or so, I sat on Clark's wheel thinking that might be a decent strategy. Then I second guess and lost his wheel in a corner. OK positioned back up with about 3 to go was sitting in a decent spot. Three go off in an attack - I could not remember who they were, but the number 4 rings in my head and the number that can be successful so I went for it and burned close to the last match getting on. Well the 3 went no where and all I did was pull up some other guys. I like the action and cant stand just sitting in. Wrong move again I suppose, but instinct just said go for it. Have learn just a little more patience. By that time I was pretty spent and things were getting crazy fast. Lost position and did not even make the top 10. Well another good training day and learning experience. Tough sport.

WADA out of control

2006-07-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

Looks like WADA is seriously considering banning altitude tents. So let's just ban living at altitude period for athletes. So what's next - ya gonna ban Thermolytes and Carbo Pro, ice packs? Wake up WADA wads - that's a waste of time & money.

Trading Season Begins

2006-07-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

Post tour depression...........shit what the hell do I do in the morning now - wait what the hell do I do period.........I watched twice daily.

Not really trading like other sports but we've some big news to chew on.

Disco signs Levi and there's rumor of a couple other additions - "Portugal's Sergio Paulinho arrives from the former Wurth squad, and Lithuanian Tomas Vaitkus arrives from AG2R." Well I think paceline jumped the gun and deleted the post, but Specialized confirmed the Levi move here http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCWhatsNewDetail.jsp?a=b&minisite=10029&refp=USHome&article=5552. Tough loss for our team's sponsor Specialized especially after Peter Reid announced retirement earlier in the year. What's wrong with that picture? Well maybe some new young blood will fill the shoes.

Burried in Phonak's site it says they resigned all 9 of the tour team yet Velonews is quoting Floyd as not having made a decision. He must have a buyout clause if he did reup for a year. Even with the fixable hip issue - I'll bet the offers are huge and he's gonna have a tough decision.

Jan is sacked ( a fuckin' fax - sheesh ..........has to be more to it) and rumor has it Basso and Riis are butting heads. So will Basso also get the kabasho?

Gonna be an exciting year in 07...............oh wait - we still have the Vuelta. Let's see what Tommie D's got!