10 days to the Hotter than Hell

Been training a lot and had a great pre-race test at the Goatneck. I did 67 miles with an average speed of over 21mph. Kevin pulled incredibly strong all day and we both put out HUGE amounts of effort. I felt unstoppable until I beurnt a little too hard with 5 miles to go. either way my legs are primed for the HH100. 100 mile road race that will be my biggest test yet. I'll stay towards the front and hopefully won't have to cover any breaks since I'm the only Mirage guy racing. I've been training hard and feeling good. A friend Kevin has been really helping me with nutrition, recovery and newly implemented tri training. I'm thinking about putting an ironman on the calendar but will have to have a lot of coaching. I'll keep the training schedule up and make sure my nutrition and hydration keeps on par. I'll update after tomorrows crit.

Matrix Challenge-Day 1

I trained off and on in June and have felt the wrath of that yesterday. Cat 4 technical crit and I actually pulled out of the race. The first time ever I've been in that position. My lungs were on fire, my legs had no punch and I went out the night before and had a few drinks which I know subtracted from my performance but none the less, playtime is over. It's amazing how fast you can lose your legs and I have effectively lost them. I can ride the long club rides with the greatest of ease and just haven't been training enough, just riding. I'm off to race again today so I may not get the best results but it will definitely kick up my training. I'm off.

Dead legs

Wow, I felt good Saturday, decent Sunday and just spun around a little on Monday but when I raced Tuesday....ouch. I was gasping for breath, legs felt like they were running on empty and just didn't have any kick. I took fifth after one of the sketchy dudes rubbed my forks trying to jump back into the pack. My sprint is okay but my carry speed seems to be tough right now. I'm not sure what's going on but I'll get it figured out. I wasn't too upset with my 5th considering some of the guys ahead of me are fairly strong but I always want to do a little better. Anyway, I'm just going to train a lot of intervals and sprints for Memorial weekend since I have 3 races that weekend. Here's a pic of us coming up the last stretch. Unfortunately there were 3 guys off the front that the pack decided not to chase down last night. I didn't do the work since I ended up pulling the entire pack with me on a bridge last week. I have to remember to do a flyer off the side instead of just grinding from the front to the lead group. Hope everyone is doing well.

Another weekly crit

After my Sunday crit I was mad about my strategy so I was just looking for a race that wasn't so serious. I started on the front as usual and saw a oouple of guys I hung out with from another team Sunday so we talked and warmed up together Tuesday. I was jumping off one of the corners just to mix it up but after a couple of laps of no one taking off with me I just pulled up and let the pack take the lead. About halfway into the race we're all pretty tight and some dude in front of me actually locks up his rear wheel. Accordion ensues and I about rammed the guy and of course I probably would have lost that battle. I ended up getting around the guy and with about 4 laps left a couple of guys get off the front. We reel them in and I bridge the group up about a 5 second gap. I was spent after that since we were flying at that point. Well we bridge successfully and I have no real recovery going. I see a few people moving up on the last lap and we're strung out in single file. Around the last corner I start diving into the corner and as the lead group of about 10 or so goes a little wide due to speed and the sprint ensues. I power up the diesel and stroke it to the line. As I'm hammering I'm picking people up one by one and I see a guy on a Tarmac that is Hammering the sprint. he's my only real threat on this day. I'm maintaining my sprint and can not squeeze the turbo any tighter. I'm making ground up on the power Tarmac as this guy is laying it down and we both pick off everyone. I know the line is coming and this guy isn't getting any weaker but I'm strong in the sprint and we're grinding it. Up to the line, I see the officials and with a throw of the bike, I knew I lost it and came in even with his back wheel. Dammit!!! I'm happy with the finish since I was out of position and impressed with my sprint and this other guys. I'll watch him from now on. As we coast from the sprint I of course catch the guy, slap him on his shoulder and say, "great finish, strong sprint" and he returns the compliment as we cool down. Had a great ride today in the wind and dropped everyone except a Cat 4 kid that works at the shop and he put the afterburners on with 5 miles to go and I'm not going to lie, I tried to stay with him but he hammered me off his wheel. 60 miles tomorrow and I'll update with the results from Tuesday. I'd like to score some more points this week and am looking forward to Memorial day weekend since I'll have 3 days of racing.

Ft. Worth Crit

Very cool race with a closed circuit of 1.8 miles a little rolling elevation and lots of primes. I won a sprint for $25 was very close on two others and let the train out for the finish. (not on purpose)I just realized this is the wrong pic but whatever, it's a pic. Averaged 24mph for the crit with my top speed sprint of 34.3 mph for the prime and some odd events. On the second lap I throw the chain and did the ol' small ring to big ring zing and got the chain back on track. The group left me and gained about 5 seconds as this happened. I jumped the gap and was back up for the prime lap. After leading a teammate out for a prime sprint which we lost, i was grabbing my water bottle and as I was tight on his wheel didn't see when you moved over as he passed a lapped rider. I bailed into the grass and passed the guy in the grass but got back on with no event. I got blocked on the inside but quickly passed the guy literally in the gutter which scared him and he made room for me as I came by. As I think of it, I took a lot of chances in his race and felt pretty strong the whole race. Well, other than when I attacked and got a 7 second gap that was eaten up through a headwind in about 500m. It's amazing how fast the pack can close a gap in the wind. The results: th on the day, 1 prime and barely missed out on two others. met a lot of the guys I see at the weekly crit and had tons of fun. Hopefully, the weather will hold out since my Tuesday nighter has been rained out for the last two weeks.

Tuesday Nighter and I met Floyd Landis

So last Tuesday I had a great race and JDP went off the front to bridge to a twosome that had about 5 seconds on the group. I hesitated and had to bridge later. Well me and one of the guys that races for Hooters are bridging nicely with 3 to go and PSSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTT, I flat on a high speed corner. Pissed. Well, JDP won and I guess I was happy to see that. On my way to the race last night, I stopped by RBM to get some Gu's and a tube before my race. I had tons of energy so I went over to the shop early to help burn off some nervous energy and see if we were going to race since it had been lightly raining all day. As I walk in I see the parking lot is packed and there's all kinds of suits, kids and extra staff walking around. Well, I'm at the check out and I look up to see Floyd on the stand. I scooted over to one of the guys I know and ask them if I could get in to say hi and for a small donation to Floyd's Fairness Fund I got a chance to say hi, get a picture taken and tell him that he's still the champ to us and to keep fighting. I'm not one to go out of my way to meet people (other than Gretzky and Messier) but it was kind of cool to meet the guy and hear what he had to say. As you can see, he's not a very big guy but he seemed to interact with the people and the crowd much better than he does on TV. He said that the conflict between he and Lance was just two strong personalities and that Floyd wanted to be more than just a domestique. For all of you wattage guys/gals Floyd also said that he averaged about 435w/kg on a time trial when he was "in shape" oh and that is for an hour. Pretty impressive no matter what. Floyd fielded a lot of questions and an interesting one to me was about the diet of the tour riders. He said they get sick of eating the sponsor bars all the time so they mix in pb&j's, trade bars and have their own favorites in their feed bags. The average breakfast was usually an omelet with rice or pasta and by the middle of the tour they don't have an appetite but only force themselves to eat for the mechanics of it. Oh, the crit was a rain out.

Spring has sprung yet it may snow this weekend

If anyone can tell me why my blog is pancaked to the left side please tell me how to get it centered again. Ah, the heat of the southwest is upon us again, not!!! It's freakin' April and it may snow in Dallas over the weekend. Feels more like I'm back in Montana or NY than in Texas. Either way, hopefully some guys will opt out of their normal training this weekend and I can get some miles in. Nothing serious tomorrow just the local LBS ride of 34 or 46 at a decent clip and then a long Sunday ride of 55 or so with some hills and intervals mixed in. I love the Sunday loop, it provides a ton of opportunity for some repeats, sprints and interval work. Not to mention ending at the lake so I can grab a run after the ride. First Tuesday nighter and I had a great race. Plenty of power to stay up front and cover anything that was attempted. I admittedly screwed up and stayed up front too long and lost the race but stayed in the front sprint group to finish about 7th. There were a couple of very sketchy dudes in the the corner and one guy that was jerking his bike in all directions on the bell lap. I jumped around him as well did a few other guys. I'll try not to cover so much in the front next week and sit in a little more so I can be part of the final move next week. My legs were fresh for the entire race and I had plenty in the tank just bad strategy since I was afraid of losing someone off the front. Better luck next week. Here are a couple of pics. I'm sitting in 3rd (white kit) on one pic and sitting in the group on the corner. I'll update with next weeks points. Happy trails.

Shoes, tires and other crap

Lance Armstrong-The Greatest

Posted to Bicycling on February 05, 2007

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First off, I have had a case of the flats lately. Last Saturday, 7 miles into the group ride PSSSSSSSSST. 130psi to about 6psi in 1 second flat so I pull off, fix it and HAMMER for 10 miles to catch up to the group. Okay, I cheated and took about a mile short cut but none-the-less I TT'd it and made up some huge time. Tuesday riding with a buddy and I do a quick 5mph since I'm there early and come back to the meeting spot and blow out the side wall of my tire. Same tire as before so it's probably due to rolling on the rim earlier that week. A couple new tubes and a few new Ultra Race Conti's for training and the Saturday shop ride again. We're 11 miles into the ride and starting to pick up the pace, yep. Pssssssssssssst. this time I was being an ass and passing a few riders in the middle and hit a pothole. TT'd about 23 miles but ended up having a great workout and ave'd over 20-solo. Logged a few hours of trainer time this week due to some hectic work stuff but am averaging about 7-9 hours/week so the legs should be ready for the Criterium series that starts in a couple of weeks. SHOES-------- Nike has custom shoes so of course, I had to order the most obnoxious orange, red, green and gold metallic shoes that have my name across the back in silver lettering. Have I ever mentioned that I was a fairly "confident" kid? The shoes aren't as bad as Ben Johnson's but they are definitely noticeable. I'll post pics when they get here.

bike tuned/upgraded this week-low mileage week

next centruy ride. Rich Corinthian leather!!

Haven't been on the bike since Tuesday and my bike is in the shop getting some upgraded components and a much overdue tune up. a mere 425 bucks later it should be a smooth riding machine. -->picked the bike up and man does it shift smooth and I love the new brakes, the extra gearing (went from 8spd to a 10) and upgraded so I am now running a DA/105 mix.

The next race is the Balterra Hill Circuit race in Austin, TX and it looks like a great little circuit. 1.8m loop with a 15.1% incline which is only about a 200ft climb but it's also only about .25 miles long. Should be a good pack splitter so I'm going to work on intervals for the next couple of weeks as there should be a lot of gaps to bridge and definitely some surges to try to stay with the pack.

Windburg Classic

Wind with gusts up to 40mph made for a brutal day. I had a good race set up till I got a little over zealous and tried to bridge a gap that left me in the middle of no man's land, in the middle of a dust storm that literally had mud on one side of my body from the dirt sticking to sweat. Yuk. I lost about 10 positions due to my arrogance in my strength which, as it turns out, wasn't based on anything of substance on this day. Bikes were being ridden at 45 degree angles and those that opted for deep aero wheels were being blown all the way across the road. I finally hooked up with a group of 5 guys and quickly jumped into the rotation to prove I wasn't sitting on and we worked for the last 5-6 miles directly into the wind. I got 2nd in the group at the finish after we'd gathered up about 10 riders and it literally was everything I had to increase speed at the end.

I met a lot of the guys from Mirage and they're all pretty good guys or at least it seems like it from the way the said, "hello." I don't think my fitness was an issue but my intervals need some work and I have to be more patient and actually work with some groups.

I wish I would have stayed down there for Pace Bend but work calls. Overall, a great race even if I finished poorly, I just love racing, maybe not as fun as racing supersport since that engine never seems to lack speed and the wheelies, braking, cornering intensity is wild, the cycling is pretty satisfying. Time for breakfast.

Walburg Classic, I'm not sure what's so classic

Been awhile since I've posted anything but have been training a little and getting ready for the first race of the year Saturday. I'm tuning my own bike these days so we'll see how that works. I may be on the start line with a bucket of bolts. The race is a short 22 or 24 miles that should be fairly fast considering its so short but with a lot of new racers I'll be hoping to stay up front and out of any calamity. I only have 5 Cat 5 races left until I upgrade so I need to get boogying.

I've kept my diet up and am right at or under 200lbs which is pretty good for me. Remember, I'm also 6'2" and have a diet that consists of meat and potatos. I am a righteous supporter of PETA though. Yes, People Eating Tasty Animals!!!

I'm going to be riding with a couple of the Mirage guys that I haven't met so if they're really strong I'll do what I can to help but don't see much team tactics since it should be a bunch start and finish. I wish cyclists had to race BMX or MX so they could understand bottlenecking, according flows and cornering but it only takes one fall to learn.

The Tour of California is going on right now and its fun to see those guys do what I try to do. Pretty similar to why I still salivate when I watch hockey even though those guys still don't have anything on me. Okay, maybe a better dental plan.

Thats all for now, I'll update Saturday to see if I have any good results. If not be ready for some good excuses. Can I blame my pit crew?

revisiting old races/rides of the year

I've decided to run the half in December and have a goal of 2 hours or better. We'll see. Yes, I'm too cheap to buy the pic for $60 but I promise I'm not a giant even though I look a foot taller than everyone else. Some great rides this year and some odd rides. Everything from a wiemereiner (whatever the grey dog) causing a 7 bike pileup with some nasty injuries and 2 firetrucks, a couple EMT vans and a couple of cops. Obviously in a small part of town. The HH100 I did with a riding buddy Jeff which turned into a great day with some blistering splits and some not so blistering speeds. We finished and the temp was about 102 or 106 depending on which guage you looked at. I had a great Jack Rabbit Classic in which I did 67 miles in almost 3 hours flat and a horrible start but good finish to the Cotton Patch Classic. Days are shorter but I've gotten to a point where I like the cool early mornings and dimly lit rides. I registered for the NYC tri in July and will do a marathon next year. I'm into a break on the bike for a couple of weeks and find myself cleaning and tuning my bike up. Looking to add some Spinergy Stealth PBO's to the stable and probably upgrade my bars and brakes. That's all for today. Oh, my little half last week was pretty much in Zone 5 so as good as I might be getting on the bike, I'll be able to keep the blog title for a while.

Nice Day to Run a Half

Started out pretty early to get a parking spot and stretch. i-Pod charged, shoes laced and knee free of it's carbon fiber/titanium contraption with too much time before the start. I've only ran that far a couple of times but never more than 3-4 without my knee brace. Too many injuries have been my excuse to not run often but I've always been of the mindset that if you believe-weak you'll be weak. Bye, bye knee braces. (except maybe for hockey) Slow start as too be expected but I started well and had a slow last 3 miles. I finished in about 2 hours but admittedly have ran about 4 times before this as I was trying to hang on to what was left of cycling season. I'm really anxious about the spring so race season will be in full swing. There was a big Harley guy with a cane that I saw 3 times at different points of the race. He was cheering everyone on so after I finished I figured I could do the same. I backtracked the course and cheered everyone on from the 12.5 mile mark. I told them the hard part was over and they did a great job. People were happy that they were almost done so I got about 50 high-fives for my efforts. After a decent showing considering my training for the event, I'm a little torqued that I didn't put in the effort and get a good finish time. I'm thinking of doing the half in December and if I do I'll train. I'd like to run about 1:45 or better so maybe I can use running to jump start the beginning of my bike training. Overall a pretty enjoyable day. I watched the highlites of the NYC marathon and saw Lance finish in just under 3 hours and some other pretty cool stories.

The Half is tomorrow

Okay, after reading a friend's blog and his story of not only running a marathon with stress fractures in his pelvis but qualifying for Boston, I feel a little bad about thinking of running the 10k or whatever the shorter distance is tomorrow. As usual my training has been all bike and a few short runs. I've swam a few times and am adding in some "stealth" training for the NYC Tri in July. I'll update tomorrow and we'll see if I run the 1/2 or chicken out and run the 10k. Either way, I'm not looking for a blistering time. I really can't wait for February when cycling season starts again.

Crap, $hi7, *&%^ing son of a 817ch!!!!!

Such a nice cool crisp morning. The stars are still out as I'm venturing off to get some early miles logged on the bike. Very cool morning as I set off just before 7 with my lights blinking, helmet strapped and i-Pod emitting the soothing tones of Slipknot or some other wildly angry band. Yes, it's a far cry from the symphony or John Legend but hey, that's for pure enjoyment and this is designed to inspire intensity and help my tired legs gather steam with the 8000 beats per bar that they tend to lay down. Okay, back on track. Decent ride, way too many runners that are literally running in the middle of the street. What's with that? Get out of the way, I run too but I know I am no match for a Lincoln. As you can sense my fury rising here comes the hills with a few cyclists already dotting my line. I fly up the hill big ringing and am feeling pretty good through my 30 miles today. So what's the cursing about? Well, I decided to get a run in as well so I could continue to enjoy the day. 2.21 miles into my run I'm eating a Gu and trying to weave my way through the Team in Training people that gather like locusts near anything resembling a watering hole. I'm not bitter, not yet. As I am moving my way through three runners are spread accross the lane. No worries, I'm faster therefore I'll just overtake them from the dirt trail that has been worn into the grass from other runner doing the same. Wait, what's that shooting pain flying up my leg? You got it, a tree root sent my ankle turning and not just slightly. My stride completed on the swoosh part of my Nike running shoes and as I pulled up lame and moved aside for the runners behind me, it started. "Ah, you've got to be F-ing kidding, Son of a b-, god damn.........." I limped around and cursed for about 5 minutes and finished my Gu while stretching my swelling ankle. Did you note the part about 2.21 miles? I did because now I had 2.79 miles to go. As luck would have it the pain subsided and I finished my run. I'll swim tonight, maybe. I'm using this as an excuse to be a bum today and watch too many bad movies on my newly installed Direct TV. Oh, Congrats Cards fans.

Love rainy days

6:30 am-got to the lake and it was raining so I made the obligatory stop for bagel and coffee. I took my sweet time getting ready to ride and it was still pretty dark since it was so early and there was a lot of dark rain clouds overhead. It turned out to be a great ride although it rained pretty hard for the entire 31 miles. I could feel some wheel slippage on some corners and definitely on one of the steeper climbs out of the saddle. What's usually a very packed area with runners, walkers and cyclists I saw a total of 2 cyclists, 1 super-marathon girl that I always see and about 3 walkers in full rain slickers. Legs felt awesome and averaged 18.6 through the wind and rain even with slow corners and some cautious transitioning of pavement types. Great form of meditation, not that I'm into that stuff, but the i-Pod stayed playing and the legs didn't want to quit today. I have 3 runs for a total of 21 miles left for the week and a couple of visits to the gym and the dreaded pool. The Ironman is in a couple of weeks and I can't wait to watch it. Ever since I watched my buddy finish on the computer I've had a lust for that tattoo. Not saying I'm heading that direction anytime soon. I just ordered a new cycling movie called "Overcoming." I'll update with the reviews and everything later.

races and rides update

Last race was the Cotton Patch Classic and a buddy came along to race his first race. I was glad he came and I think he had fun. It was a neutral start that saw speeds of almost 30 before the race started. About 4 miles into the race a pretty nasty pile-up that pulled 15 riders out of the race. I ditched into the grass to avoid the tumbling cyclist in front of me and my buddy stopped and waited as I got moving again. The race turned into a 56 mile time trial as the pack kept it's speed after the crash and we had to stop and get collected. I turned in a good solo effort in brutal crosswinds that turned into a head wind for the last 20 miles at least. I picked off several riders throughout the day but really improved my horrible position in the last 20 miles. Needless to say, not my best showing of the year but it was another great day. I ended up with about 450 miles for the month of September and am off to a slow start to October because of work. I'm now racing with the Mirage team so hopefully I can post some top 15 positions and move up a Category in early spring.

Jackrabbit Stampede

Mass Start 67 mile race with a cash prize of $200 to winner. Needless to say in an open race the winner took off and finished in 2:39. I pulled in with some of the local Mirage guys at 3:06 and a pace of 21.2 mph. A great ride and a great day just outside of Dallas. The support was a little lite and it could have had better traffic control but the group I spent the last 40 miles with was pretty well organized. Structured 2 line pacing, some odd breaks and I even got some good pulls on the front. I think I could have paced above 22 but not without the group. I have a 56 mile race on Saturday so I'm guessing a pace of about 22.5 mph assuming we can get a group that doesn't attack without reason. It's Sunday so I'm off to swim.

Happy Labor Day

Monday which is suppose to be my rest day turned into a 2.5 mile run in the rain, mainly because I love running in the rain. It's official, I'm making my own arm band for the i-Pod. I swam today as well, only 700 metres but considering I'm not the most technical swimmer in the world it's a good workout. Oh, I skipped rope for about 2o minutes too. That was my day off and I'm looking forward to the Ahi tuna steak tonight that I bought from the fish market. Mmm. Had two great rides this weekend, one with the bike store and another 35 miler with a couple of guys from the Bike Mart ride Sunday. Neither ride was blistering but with my workout today my legs should be a little tight tomorrow. Cany you say massage?

Labor Day Weekend

So, I've effectively recovered from the appropriately named Hotter than Hell 103. I spun Monday to keep the legs moving and did 25 miles of hill work on Thursday. My totals miles for August only tallied up to 417 still up from my 314 effort of July. I have planned a 35 mile club ride tomorrow with a group from the local bike shop in Dallas. Monday the vampires come out (once they smell blood they start showing their teeth) in the form of the Mirage 100k. Should result in about a 100 mile weekend. Keep in mind I have a race Tuesday and a 56 mile race on Saturday. I'm ready to finish my race schedule through October and am not yet loving the idea of starting to train for my marathon in December. Pretty much holding a steady pattern till I head back to Montana (yes, you're seeing a pattern here) and load up the mountain bike, motorcycle and some fly rods to escape into my paradise for a week or so. Unfortunately that's going to have to take a back seat to London again. I should be thankful that I get to travel and be involved in these awesome deals but it's a means to the end. Maybe it's the heat talking but I'm ready to retire to Montana and just be connected to the world via satelite. Enough of my rambling, I'll post more later.