2011, Part 1: 2010

Finals week was a complete killer, I can’t believe is all over. I was staying up night after night until 2 or 3 in the morning. The end result was that I did pretty well on all my finals, and I think I nailed my projects too. My professional development presentation went really well, 97%! Besides the good news on that front, my body is trashed. All the late nights screwed up my sleep schedule, and I’m having trouble getting good sleep and going to bed before 1 in the morning. But the work is done for a few days, so I think things will work themselves out.

I’m really looking forward to seeing my family for Christmas; it feels like it’s been months since I’ve seen them. Plus the 4 days of rest and food and merriment will be good for my soul. I’ve had the chance to get on the trainer a few times since my training officially began Sunday, and rode a few times over the previous weekend. I’ve also taken skiing up a bit more than usual, which is an excellent workout. It helps there are some nice trails 20 minutes away by bike, got to love Madison.

Work was pretty awesome today. For those of you that don’t know, I’m an engineering intern at Saris cycling. I have been doing work on the new Powertap hub, which is going to change the world! But today I helped out with some Joule software update testing. I basically rode my bike for 3-4 hours and got paid. It was really awesome. I had to learn to use the Joule, everyone kind of assumed I knew how to, so that was not great, but I got the hang of it. Plus I got to leave at 3 instead of 5 for the holidays, super awesome.

I’m hoping to get on the bike tonight for an hour or two and spin the legs out, and then get some nice sleep tonight. My dad is bringing me home tomorrow, but we are going skiing first, pretty excited about that. But I also want to bring my trainer, road bike, and MTB bike home. Ride the trainer a bunch, and maybe go to Ray’s if it’s open. I am heading to Connecticut on the 30^th for a few days to see some family. It will be a nice rest and a good way to relax, plus I love my family with all my heart. It will be nice.

As for this coming year, I’m planning on some pretty big things. As of now my first goal is to help my freshman teammate on UW cycling, Alex Meyer, win the collegiate road national title. He’s a super-fast kid and I figure if I can ride a bunch with him, I’ll get fast and he will win. Once road is done, I will set my sights on mountain bikes. My major goal is to take the national collegiate title. The race will be in the north east, so it’s closer and more similar to where I’m at right now. This is a pretty steep goal, but I’m confident. If I can make the same kind of gain I made last year, I’ll be unstoppable. After MTB nats in September I’m hoping to cool things down a bit with cross, and then race cross nats in January. They are in madison this year, so if I don’t race, I will cry. Overall, I’m hoping to have a real break out year. I know that outside my small group of friends and maybe UW cycling, I’m not really known, and not known as a fast guy to many people. I want them to know who I am, and how fast I really can be.

It’s going to be an awesome year. So awesome in fact, that it has already begun.

Taking some rest

The season is over for me. About a week ago there would have been a finally added in there, but since then, I have already had a hard time staying off the bike. I had my Wisdom teeth out on Monday, and not even that is stopping me. The season went really well, but I defiantly got burned out toward the end.  I learned a lot about myself, my body, and what I want to live like for the rest of my life.  I never stop running though; I’m already looking to next year.

Last Sunday was the Wisconsin State Cyclocross championship race in hales corners. I did not plan my year around cyclocross at all this year, and it had been showing for a while now, but last weekend was a reminder of my poor planning. I was feeling alright, but the competition in the pro/1/2 race was stiff. Tristen was there, and Isaac seemed determined to go down swinging.  This made for a really fast pace, and a hyped up Joe thinking he could take it. I couldn’t. I rode pretty well though, felt really good, but started to fade a bit faster than everyone around me.  I was also really lacking in pop. I didn’t have any fire in my legs. But I held on for 12^th, so I wasn’t too sad.

I got my wisdom teeth removed on Monday, I would love to tell everyone all about it, but I really don’t remember much. I went to the doctor and woke up 2 days later missing 4 teeth and my mouth hurt. I kinda felt like the horse in Charlie the unicorn at the end. But I didn’t miss them all that much. I healed quickly, so I was almost able to eat Thanksgiving dinner to my full enjoyment. But my mouth got tired, that was new to me.

Today I went to a Badger game with my Dad, I had a blast! Not only did the Badgers kill Northwestern, but they did it looking good. Here we come rose bowl! I really did have a lot more fun than I thought. It was good, it showed me how much fun things besides biking can be, and made me second guess bikes a little, which is good I think.  The rest of the weekend is homework. It will be nice to get back to getting things done after a week of lying around. I feel rested and ready to go!

But without fail, my brain turns to next season already!

Next year should be a lot of fun; I plan on involving myself more with the cycling club here in Madison. I want to race a lot more collegiate next year, because I feel that although the competition isn’t as good, I will be able to showcase my fitness on a bigger stage than what I do now, and possibly get noticed for some bigger opportunities in the coming years. My plan is to race a nearly full collegiate road race season with just a few Wisconsin state races peppered in, in addition to ToaD. My team for next year wants to make a bid for an GC win next year, and I know I’m not going to be the guy, but I think I will be an important player in making it happen. I want to race as many collegiate races as possible though, to help my teammate win the national road race. He is a strong freshman and I think with a good team he could win, and beyond that I bet he could clean house no problem.

For my own exploits, I was in a personal struggle. I really do love cross, and nationals will be here in Madison next year. I was thinking of making cyclocross my priority and trying to win the national cyclocross collegiate race next year. After thinking about it, although I think I can still make a serious attempt, I don’t think it’s in the cards yet for me. I think that a national mountain bike collegiate title could be possible though. MTB are my first love in cycling, and I am much better off road with fat tires than with skinny ones.  My plan is to have a small peak for road season and then really hit it hard and peak again for the mountain bike championship. As I see it, I will still be strong after MTBs and I can make a strong showing at cross nats. Good to get this down, I’m done with bikes for a few weeks!

PICTURES!!!!

One step closer to turkey

This weekend was the Sun Prairie Cyclocross race at Sheehan Park. I have to say right off the bat that was an amazing course! It was a little long, but on a fast dry day, it would have been crazy fast and not even close to how hard it was. My Dad came out to Madison that morning and drove me up there. It was really good to see him; he is getting in cyclocross, which is fun to see. He was really getting into the race on Sunday. I don’t know if anyone else’s dad is crazy about football, but when he watches football, he gets really loud. Well, apparently he does the same for cyclocross. He was going insane, not just for me either. He was cheering everyone one. This surprised me, because I know him as a quiet guy.

The race was a lot of fun, I felt pretty good, until the start, my buddy Isaac was there too. He took off like a bat outta hell at the start, strung the field out really long. I was able to make some of the selections, but ended up with a smaller 3-5 man group that was third on course. I felt in control during the race, which usually only happens when I’m in shape, so it was a welcome felling. I ended up making some passes and got myself in a good position with 2 laps to go. I passed a guy at the bell, and was closing in on the next guy on course. As I closed in to make the pass on a run up, my pedals didn’t unclip, and I ate shit. I landed on the top of my head after doing a half front flip. My head started hurting I slipped back, but managed to stay in the top ten my head continued to hurt the rest of the day, but I’m fine now.

I need to do a quick homework rant. I have been getting things done all over the place. But every time I get something done, it seems like there is another crisis. I know, welcome to college, but man, it does get old. Thanksgiving is coming up, so I get a break.

I will try to write again before Thanksgiving, but if I don’t, I want to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving. Eat much turkey, enjoy family and friends, be merry!

Bleeding Lightning from the EYES!!!

This weekend was Iceman, and I didn’t go L. I had been talking to Dalas Fowler, getting a ride and getting a place to stay, but when the time came, homework got the best of me. I could have seen a lot of things getting the way of me racing Iceman, but not homework! But I made what I will say was the right decision for my future? I don’t really know, from looking at the pictures and video on Cyclingdirt.org, I wish I was there. I’ll just have to go next year.

So instead of racing Icaman, I went to Milwaukee’s Estabrook Park, to race WCA cross. The course was really good, very flat, will one downhill, followed by a steep run up with a log in front of it. I was there early, and got a chance to pre-ride the course. I especially enjoyed the death spiral, and the two sets of barriers in quick succession, very challenging.

Me Riding the run up. From looking at pictures, I was one of the few that were doing it

 All rights reserved by djonnymac

To be honest, I didn’t feel great at the start, just don’t have that pop in my legs that I love oh so much during the season when I’m really fast. The plan was to be consistent. To try and stick with the lead group, but ride my own race. Now sticking with the lead group was a tall order with Mark Lalonde leading the group out. It was a small victory in itself to be able to race with those guys, made me realize I’m getting fast, for whatever that is worth.

I was able to stick with them for only a few laps, but rode about 5 laps all alone, with a chase group hot on my heels. The leaders broke up, so I had some carrots out in front of me to chase, but never caught any. I did unfortunately get caught by the chasing group, that had a Velo Trocadero, a My Wife Inc, and Ron Stawicki, all big deals as they were all guys I look to as fast. I was able to hold on to them as they made the catch, and sat on for about 1.5 laps. Coming into the death spiral on the last lap, I was able to keep things tight. The first set of barriers, I could tell they were tired, as was I, but I made some ground, and ron missed his pedals. I knew things were getting sloppy. I attached through the second set of barriers that followed, and found myself and the trocadero guys going away from the other two. I blasted as hard as I could to get some distance, but I couldn’t shake the trocadero guy off. I was in front though, and I knew that I could ride the run up, and he couldn’t. I got about 5 seconds on him at the run up, and gave the last quarter mile everything I had. He was able to catch me for the finish, but our battle blew up Ron and the My Wife inc guy.

Riding the run up, struggling a little more as the race went on. 

 All rights reserved by djonnymac

After the dust had settled, I ended up 10^th. I was extremely happy with this, as not only was it a tougher field, but I am not in great shape right now, so seeing that I can still hang in there when I feel slow, mean I might make some waves next year! I haven’t completely shifted my focus to next year yet though. I still have the state championships, followed by the excommunication of my wisdom teeth, should be fun, haha, not. I am getting excited for a break though. I need it. I plan on taking a few weeks off, then starting with some easy spinning either outside, or inside depending on weather. I will have some pictures from this weekend that my mom and friends took, I'll get those asap.

Sweet pictures from USGP in Sun Praire

Just a sweet picture of me kicking some ass!

I fell on this really tight downhill turn, and had to run up the other side, still bad-ass theough

This was fun technical off camber corner

In action, not falling on the hill this time

I'm so PRO, I sprinted for the finish even though i had at least 10 seconds on the guy behind me.

Oink Oink

This weekend was bound to be awesome from Wednesday night on. I checked the weather that night and saw that rain was possible for the weekend. To be honest, it was mixed emotions. I was applying for an upgrade to cat 2 in cyclocross, and already didn’t know what to expect. Mud and rain would just make it worse! Turns out it rained, not too bad on Friday night though.  I checked my email late on Friday, and holy shit, I got the upgrade, kind of exciting, but nervous at the same time. I had my sister come and get me, as I wasn’t racing until 2:15, so the hour drive was nothing. We got to my home in Milwaukee, and grabbed a few things. To my surprise, my sister seemed not only willing to go, but enthusiastic about it. I was a bit shocked, but wasn’t about to complain.

We got to the race about 1pm, and the place was somewhat muddy, but to be honest, I was expecting a bit more mud. I was happy it wasn’t too bad though, again I was not sure what was going to happen to me in the pro/1/2 race. The course was awesome. My sister and I walked around and checked it out and I told her where cool pictures might be. There was a guy giving out little party noise makers, and my sister got one. She had just got her wisdom teeth out, and her checks were still somewhat puffy. When she tried to make some noise, she couldn’t close her month and the air just blew right through her lips, hilarious. I went back to the car and got ready, warmed up, and headed over to start. The start was pretty good, although I was expecting more of a sprint. I ended up seeding about 6^th or so, and ended up stepping on the third corner, losing a few spots. The really fun was the run up, absolutely murdered me! Ended up top ten though, so all that worrying about cat was for nothing. I think my sis got some sweet pictures. Ill post as soon as I have them.

Here is where things get fun. Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! Cam rock was on Sunday. Let me tell you, It rained like hell Saturday night. Shit, it rained like hell on Sunday morning. I got a ride out to the course in the morning with papa Grady, a guy from the uw club. He was racing 4’s, and I was happy to cheer all day. Getting there, the first thing we see is a giant mud puddle in the grass to get to some of the parking. We ended up getting a sweet spot right by the start. IT WAS CRAZY MUDDY!!! The juniors, the women, the 4s and 3s all had the craziest race. I cheered and yelled for Grady, while myself and Alex, another uw guy walked the course.  Good times, cheering for cross is almost as fun as racing! I was going nuts for the 3s too. I had a buddy from uw racing, he had just upgraded, and just suffering. Plus my teammate matt was racing; he was smiling way too much. Out race was pretty muddy, but things dried out a bit, but only a bit. It was possible the most epic thing to ever occur. My bike seriously weighed like 40 pounds. The grass and mud, the bike just soaked it up like a sponge. Ended up 6^th I think. Alex and a few other friends didn’t finish, which goes to show, just finishing that race was something to be proud of.

Good times!

Busy Saturday

I have been looking forward to this weekend for a while. I only had one race, and it was in Verona, so I was able to have some fun on Saturday night for the badger game. I raced at Badger Prairie in Verona, for the WCA #4 cross race. I raced the 3s again, and had a blast, the course was really fast, suited me well. I was able to pull out a win, after making a pass in the barriers about half was through the race. I got a small gap, and just pounded out a mean pace. I put everything I had into the effort, and I guess it paid off, but I really was painful. I ended up sticking around for the cat 1/2/ pro race, and watched my teammates. I was surprised to see my teammate Isaac just take off at the start again, and lead Brian Matter for the first couple of laps. But he thought he might overcook himself. He did, ended up having a tough last half of the race. Our team leader also had a tough race after having two wrecks, he was in pain, and bloodied up pretty good. I should have some sweet pictures soon.

Then I got home to find the house swarming with football fans. I quickly showered and changed, so I could join in the fun. We came up with this fun variation of flip cup, where after drinking and flipping, you have to run and tag your next person. It was a blast. Once the game got underway, some friends and I went upstairs and had a few more drink, then attempted to make our way to a game watching party on Langdon; we made it about half way through the game. As we were watching the game, we had some more shots, sometimes when we would make a big play, sometimes just for the hell of it. But I ended up getting far drunker than I wanted to. I don’t remember a lot, but I am sure I had a lot of fun.

So there are two races next weekend, one in Milwaukee, then back to Madison for Cam Rock Park. I am looking forward to it. I also applied for an upgrade from 3 to 2, so I’ll have to see how that goes. If I get the upgrade, I think I’ll be ok, because a lot of the guys a practice with are 2s and 1s.

Cross in Grafton and MTB in Sheboygan, I am beyond Tired

This was an awesome weekend of racing; the heat was really out there. I decided to go home to Milwaukee on Friday night so I could sleep late on Saturday morning. I got up and headed out to Grafton to for the pumpkin cross race at Lime Kiln Park. When I got there I met up with my teammates from Unwin Chiropractic and Wellness, and just chilled for a while before my race. I was racing cat 3, which started at 11:15, so I was lucky the heat wasn’t too bad by then. It was a 45 minute race, but things were really fast. I had a few friends racing, including Matt Yerke from my team, and Neil Swanson, who I know from working at Saris.

Neil started out strong, but I was able to get the hole shot. I went really hard in the beginning so I slowed a little and let the others set the pace. I was having trouble hanging on, but I was still in it. Neil was really putting the hurt on the front for the first 3 or 4 laps, but started to drop back, sounded like chain problems, because he ended up breaking a chain. That guy breaks just about anything and everything. There was a lot of movement in the top 5 for the good part of the race. But with 2 laps to go, I was able to get on the wheel of the leader, with clear trail behind me. This guy I later found out was only 15, but he had some crazy power. A lap and a half left to go he shot off like a bullet from a gun, leaving me in the dust. I followed as best I could, but really went to the edge just to keep within sight. On the last lap, the big hill on the course came up. I had been making time up all race on that hill, as I was just not suffering as much as the other guys on it. I was able to make up most of my time, but still sat in 2^nd. Coming into the last half of the course, there was a single barrier, and a set of two. Two guys had been bunny hoping the single all day. Coming into it, one of the guys came around with a bunny hop, and the forth place guy also made a pass on the barrier. I was able to catch those two on the double set, and coming into the last 180 degree turn, dug really deep on the inside, and passed to take 3rd as he went too wide. I sprinted with everything left around a right hander, and ended up in third. I then topped of the day with the best tasting butter burger ever, plus a build your own Sunday.

My teammate Issac ripped up the Cat 1 race, he's an animal!

Then Today was the Wigwam WORS race in Sheboygan. it was a warm one, and with my race at 1:30, I didn’t escape the heat. Lucky for me I had my parents there, so I was getting hand ups all day. I played some good tactics on the start to grab the hole shot sprint, nabbing $20, very nice. I decided to just keep the rhythm going and gave it all I had in an attempt to just get a break. To my delight, I was feeling great, even after Grafton. I rode a hard race, and felt really good, that course is one of the best I have every ridden. I went absolutely as fast as I could, and thought I was going to win overall, even gave a little victory salute at the finish. But a few guys in the wave behind me grabbed 1^st and 2^nd. So I won my age class, with Tim having a great race only 45 sec off the pace. And topped off with a third overall, should put me in third overall for the series, so I’m stoked. My dad was giving my hand ups all day, and he was really getting into it. It good to see him enjoying the support role, because he usually likes  to race, so I’m glad he had fun, and super glad to have the support. My mom got some sweet picture, I’ll have them soon. Got to say thanks to my folks for supporting me, I love you guys with everything in my heart, thanks for the support.

Badger Prairie cross race next weekend, and a Sunday to myself! Should be a good time.

A little mid week update

This week has been crazy with the school work. I had an exam last Friday, and rushed to Missouri after that and “forgot” to work on homework all weekend. I got a little behind. I haven’t had much of a chance to ride at all this week, but in some ways I think that’s good for me. Have been riding really hard for the last couple months and was starting to get burned out. So I suppose school came at the right time.

Today I was able to get out to cross practice. The course was set up to mimic the Grafton course, which I plan on racing this weekend.  This included a lot of off camber corners and a sand pit. I rode through the sand pit a few times, but man that thing was deep. I ended up just running through it most of the time, to keep the bike nice. I still have some kick though, I was happy to see that. I was able to keep up with the faster guys, but my buddy Isaac was killing it, and I think nobody could hang with him. I didn’t feel so bad when he dropped me. But despite not really riding outside of racing, I’m happy to still have my speed and fitness.

So this weekend is the Grafton Cross race, which should be fun. I haven’t done any of the WCA cross races yet, so it will be nice to not be racing against the crazy fast people. I might have a chance to win even. Then Sunday is the last WORS race of the year, in Sheboygan.  I love the heck out of this race, the course is fun, but what makes it special is the competition. Fast people show up, and even people I race with all the time seem to challenge me more. Plus the crowd and the money makes it fun for races and spectators. Should be a good time.

Collegiate Regional MTB race @ Mizzou

This weekend was the collegiate regional race down in Missouri. There were only 4 of us Badgers going, the other two left at around 1 on Friday, but I had an exam, so Alex and I ended up leaving at like 6. The drive was surprisingly nice; Alex is a really cool kid. Plus he’s way faster than i am, so i had some questions about training and things, and he had some questions about mountain biking. Unfortunately my best advice was close your eyes and don't touch the brakes. Luckily he didn't take any of my advice during the race. I was really nice we didn't get lost once on the way down, but got there at 1:30. With a race the next morning at 9:30am, i sighed and figured that was pretty standard for UW cycling. We got there in the morning and it was cold. Now of course in my hastened packing, I brought shorts and a thin jersey. The first good news of the weekend came with sun, and it warmed up just fine before the race. I was really stupid this year in not buying my collegiate license until Thursday, and I realized a bit late that I was a B. I asked the officials to upgrade me at the race, but they didn't have any of it. And frankly, in their position, i would have done the same.

The race went off a few minutes late, which was fine, I was looking for every excuse for it to warm more, I was really cold. Going into the first corner I was 3^rd wheel, and trying by all means not to go to hard from the start, as I have made a fool of myself a few times doing that. Having not ridden the course, I was also a bit hesitant to ride at the front, and lead the race off course, as funny as that would have been; I wasn’t going for that kind of first impression on collegiate MTB. However I was riding behind the leader for a few miles and just felt I could go faster, so on a climb, I did. I never saw them again until the finish line. I did in the process take a few small falls, and a hand full of wrong turns. The course was well marked, but I decided to run through the tape, instead of around it like I’m supposed to. The race was only two laps, which I had voted for 3, but was out voted. I was damn happy for 2 laps when about half way through lap two; I noticed the front end was stiffening up. This was either a broken headset, or a front flat tire, and king no-thread sets don't break, right? Turns out it was a slow leak flat which rode to the finish, but not without rolling the shit out of it into some trees, it was fun.

We decided it would be a good idea to get some food, and take a nap. I felt like I was in kindergarten, and it was good! We ended up over sleeping, I was ok with that, and we then went back to the park to ride the trails some more. We only got 2 laps in, but I had a blast, and there were a few falls too. Tyler took it into the creek, and got soaked, right in front of this kid and his dad. The kid freaked out, I wasn’t sure if it was because Tyler fell, or because it was Tyler. We finished up that lap, and Alex and I took a fast lap, I wanted to see what he could do, turns out he can kick my ass on the road, but I am much faster of the road. We went back the hotel, and passed out with a few beers and Wendy’s in our bellies.

On Sunday was the short track. The course was much better than I thought, after hearing it was in a field. I figured it would be like cyclocross, and turned out to be short, but one of the better short track courses I’ve ridden. I also won this race, proving to everyone that I should have been in A’s. I think my lap times were faster than the A, which is cool, because I might have short against some of the racers next year in collegiate and WORS. I think there is more, but I tried for now, may more will come to mind soon. And maybe I’ll buy a chair for my room too (that’s right, no chair, I’m sitting on the ground baby!).

The Season Thus Far

So I decided blogging was a good idea, I guess facebook just wasn't satisfying me?

So this year I took biking a bit more seriously, and I was pleased with the results. My year started off about as well as it could. I started doing spinning with the club (UW cycling) in the winter, which was really early in the year for me. But I came out of that really strong, for Spring break. Spring break was awesome, but there was a noticeable absence of drunk women running around naked. It was mostly sober guys riding around half naked, what can you do I guess. I began racing WORS @ Iola, great race, but i didn't do all that well. I had a couple more races, but I skipped a couple because of family obligations. But even when I was racing, I wasn't killing by any means. As summer rolled around, I worked @ Willy bikes on west wash. I learned a ton of things about bikes. I was also able, somehow, to get out on rides almost every night. I must have been doing 20 hour weeks, it reminded me of spring break. It took its toll, but in a good way. I got so much faster, and learned what over training meant :(. I think the Subaru Cup marked the last race that I wasn't stupid fast. I think I have been age class winner in every race I did since then.

But now the season is coming to a close, and here is where i stand. 2nd in age class series points, and 4th overall series standings. Yea, fuckin 4th! A string of second places overall got me there. So im looking forward to racing Iceman Cometh in november, hope its not as cold as Chequamegon. I also have a bunch of cross racing to do, but I need to give the old body some rest. I feel myself getting fatigued, im starting to get burned out.

School isn't helping much though. I suppose it's really the other way around, but either way, school and biking don't always get along. I just need to learn to fuck it and ride. I think thats a sufficiently incoherent update on my life right now. I think everything will make more sense when I start blogging more regularly.

Peace