Lessons Learned

It is the last lap of GDVC #2 this past Sunday. I stomp down on the right pedal as the pack begins to sprint coming out of the last corner. I begin breathing heavy as I look up and see a blue figure pulling away 4 wheels up. The lane ahead is full of riders but I can see an inside line open as I hammer down a few more pedal strokes. I can hear the hallow resonation of my wheels as I lean the bike back and forth opening up for the sprint. I begin to accelerate but the noise reminds me how hard I’m pushing the machine beneath me. The ground becomes a complete blur and my vision narrows. I being to close the sizable gap but fully realize that I’m racing for second. All I can see is the line now as my eye sight become completely useless and all that matters is the feeling. It’s a feeling of pure confidence and no weakness. Everything goes completely blank as I cross the line. I can’t explain why I remember this sprint so vividly, but I do.

My last few post have strayed from what I really want this blog to be about. I’m not sure if I’ve ever actually said the point of this blog so here it is. The point of this blog is to keep track of things I learn and to actually remember them. And if someone else can read it and learn something from my mistakes or victories, then it is even more successful. I also enjoy the challenge of writing. As many of you know, I am about as close to illiterate as you can be while still getting into a pretty good university, even if it is for engineering. But I really like writing something beautiful, so hopefully I’ve done that as well.

But now back to the action. I ended up winning the GDVC #2 crit in a pretty exciting sprint where I beat the guy celebrating to early. He realized what happened and when he rolled up to me after the race, we both shared a good laugh as he congratulated me. The race as a whole went pretty well. Our team was pretty focused on getting Tim into a break. I took a firm hold on the pack and chased everything down in the first 15 minutes. I then sat in a little and got ready to start playing games. I threw in some fake attacks, but went a little too hard and ended up getting away. The guy on my wheel wasn’t quite able to pull my pace but still rode strong. We ended up getting pulled back so I rested up again to send Tim off the front. Again, I put another fake attack and got pulled back as planned and Tim went off the front. The attack could have been done at a better time because I was caught in a tail wind section so Tim’s attack didn’t quiet have the impact it really needed, but he got away with a couple strong guys. But the chemistry didn’t seem to work. I tried blocking as best I could as well, but it didn’t seem effective.

Tim was caught and unfortunately was shot out the back. I think we did most things right, but luck was just not on our side and the legs were not there to fill the gaps. I started sitting in a resting for the sprint. I almost forgot how difficult it is to hold a good spot in the pack. But coming into the last corner I was in a pretty good spot for the sprint. If I could have done anything else better it might have been to be on the inside of the corner. As it was I was caught on the outside and couldn’t catch the advancing line on the inside which the ‘blue figure’ used to rocket out of the pack. As the pack came around that last corner a lane opened but I think that was more luck, so I really shouldn’t count on that next time.

With the exciting finish came a healthy dose of ego boosting high fives and good jobs at the finish. Something that my friends should know that I really don’t need, a bigger ego, I’m too cocky as it is. But the opposite was true the day before when I raced Leland-Kermesse (kermesse is Flemish for a bike race/carnival event, you learn something every day, eh?!)  in north central Illinois. It was a 125km race with 45km of gravel over 5 laps. They also were running the P/1/2 and the 3s together. This had no chance of not being crazy hard. I sat in for the first half a lap until the first gravel section when the group split. I ended up in the 1^st chase group which was racing for 2^nd in the cat 3s. The next 3 laps were full of getting guttered and sitting in as best I could. I was all alone with no teammates at this point, and the teams in the chase were not working together at all so the hope was to break away. On lap 4 I got away with 2 other strong riders in gravel section 1. We worked hard and picked up a few guys from the lead group who had fallen off and built a sizable gap. But I was running on empty. I didn’t start eating until lap 4 and was hitting the wall. Plus on top of that my back was starting to hurt as my whole body was falling apart from the gravel (when I say gravel, I mean small boulder). From there I was caught and shelled rolling in for 8^th in the cat 3’s and probably top 20 overall in the p/1/2/3 field.

After the race, the whole groups of guys in the car were blasted tired from the race. We all agreed, all be it lack luster, that Leland was a crazy hard race. Despite not winning, I was glad I went. I learned a lot. The lessons you learn from failure always stick better than the ones you learn from victory. On the plus side I feel as though my form and confidence in the pack is really solid. I was where I needed to be and made good moves. I think it was smart of me to not try to make the first split because riding in a P/1/2 break is probably just out of my reach. But if I had eaten more and started earlier, plus been on the front a little less I think I could have gotten a top 7 spot and picked up some upgrade points.

Overall, it was another solid weekend, racing bikes and living the dream. Next week is the Whitnal park race and a White Water road race. I’ll be racing Saturday, but might take Sunday off to mountain bike in preparation for Iola the weekend after. That’s it for now, see you around!

Brand New Mountain Bike!

As many of you know I love to ride bikes, road, cyclocross, whatever. My true love with biking really started with mountain bikes. Every year my focus is always off-road, but I’ve been on the same aluminum for about 6 years and it was starting to get all sloppy. I was fortunate enough to finally get a new rig through Trek and let’s just say it’s a big upgrade.

This year I’ll be riding a brand new Trek Elite 9.9. Haters are going to hate,  but it’s a hard tail 26” bike, so it’s basically a rocket ship with pedals. It has a full XTR group, XXX Carbon wheels, and a Fox fork among other goodies. Check it out!

I gotten 3 or 4 rides on the bike and have finally formed my opinion. It almost doesn't feel like a mountain bike to me, but this is a good thing. It is a world better than the alloy rig I was on last year, to the point were I can't even compare. So I think of it like a road bike, it's that stiff. The 26" wheels allow the bike to be thrown around, but it has the stability of a bigger wheel thanks to a longer wheel base. It handles really well on the big open stuff, but when I first rode it I noticed it didn't like the tight stuff as much as I was used to. After looking into I found that the steeper head tube angle is the difference and I was able to get some of the handling back by moving the saddle back.

Beyond that the shifting and brakes blow me away. I am still getting used to the braking power and I had to forcefully switch to one finger braking. The Bontrager components are solid and reassuring, even though they are carbon. I am a little disturbed by the white grips. People with acute OCD should never have white grips  because I clean them constantly. I put some XTR pedals on which I am also very happy with. They really lock you foot in, but are still easy to unclip. They do have trouble with mud, but i never unclip in races anyways...hopefully.

Next thing on the list is to get her set up tubeless and ride a lot. I'm looking forward to Iola where I hope to make a serious impression on the established top of the field. This new bike is a big leap towards that goal!

3 out of 3 women on spring break agreed, this bike is sexy looking. They also agreed it was less sexy when I was on it, but what do they know.

It comes with a full XTR drivetain and brakes. The stock 11-36 cassette is way too big, but it was nice to have out in NC.

The front shifting is incredible. this is due to a crazy stiff crank and close gearing ratios. I basically treat front shift like I do rear shifting.

The Fox Factory series fork has the Kashima coating which makes a noticeable difference in performance. I have to run the setup a little stiffer to accommodate.

XXX wheels with the stock XR0 tires. A solid race day combo

XTR brakes were another thing I had to get used to. The extra stopping power has actually changed the way I ride.

The best part of the whole bike.

Racing begins with a bang

It’s been a fun late winter and early spring. I’ve gotten a lot of miles in and tons of training and good rides with good friends. I honestly really miss collegiate racing. Every weekend hearing of shenanigans, triumph and all the drama, how can someone not feel a little left out? Feels like something is missing this year, but in the long run I think the break from college and collegiate racing has been good to me. My head is sitting squarely on my shoulders, which is in stark contrast to previous years. Hopefully I’ll return to collegiate road in spring 2013 and make it really count.

But that phase is over now. The base miles are in, possibly some more to come. I’m still looking to get a coach and like I said before, I’m not sure where exactly to go from here with my training. One thing is for sure, racing is starting up and it’s time to show everyone just how hard I have been working.

The plans for this past weekend were promising for it to be an excellent weekend.  We had a KS/TW ride on Saturday to get to know each other better and hang out, then a MTB race on Sunday. The ride on Saturday was all it promised. The weather was perfect and I always have a good time with my teammates. One rider I hadn’t spent a ton of time with was Julio. I knew him from UW-Cycling, but not very well. He has a wealth of experience and a  want to share it. He took the time to show me some pointers as well as get the team to do some organized sprints. Then he gave me some personal help on improving my sprint. He’s not the strongest rider, but he’s very smart and that’s how he does so well even out of shape. That’s the kind of stuff I’m really looking for. I have a rough idea of how to get faster, but it’s all the little things that make the big difference.

We met up and cooked dinner. I was bummed to hear that my ride to the Iowa MTB race was not going, so neither was I. I decided to race the GDVC race with everyone else instead. But after dinner we hit the bars. I took it easy, only had one drink and went home early. Between normally going to bed at 10:30 and having a race the next day, I left at midnight, rode home in the pouring rain and got some sleep.

On a side note, I miss the bars too, haha. Probably not healthy, but who cares. Working at Saris is really cool and I really love training, but I’ve definitely been missing out on the social life a little. But I digress.

The day before all the talk was about the rain and how it would factor into the race. But when I woke up it was starting to dry out and the forecast had rain staying away until after the race. I packed up and rode with Alex Martin, a new teammate and fellow UW rider, to the crit.

When we got there the wind was taking center stage as the dominant factor. It was blowing hard and gusty from the south west. I thought it would be a day for sitting in, I thought. The race started up and we took the first lap pretty chill. We came around for the second lap and the attacks started, but nothing too tough or threatening. We did about 4 laps at a good pace with attacks trying to get away, but nothing could. On lap 5 a guy from Platteville who I knew from collegiate MTBing went off the front. I saw this as a good wheel to follow so I did. Immediately we had a gap after we traded a hard pull. We talked and decided this was going to stick so we set to work taking half a lap pulls keeping the pace high. After a few laps the gap was pretty huge at about 50 seconds. We settled into a slightly easier pace as we began to think about the finish. Just then I flatted in the straight before the last corner, but was able to get a wheel and get back in. I felt bad because Mike, the Platteville guy had to do a full lap himself, so when I got back in I made a point of pulling a whole lap to give him the needed extra rest. We came around with 4 to go. There was a 4 man chase 45 seconds back and the pack was just in sight ahead. I told Mike that we could catch them so we pushed on. We saw 3 to go and Mike seemed to ease off a little, obviously thinking of the finish. As we came around the lap again still trading pulls the field was getting closer in sight as they were obviously thinking of the sprint as well. I took a long pull and let Mike come through. I sat on his wheel for a lap and attacked him very hard in the headwind section and gunned it. I was able to catch the field in about half a lap as I got the bell, although no bell was actually rung. I think the officials were a bit confused as was everyone in the pack. I rallied the troops and got them to keep the pace high so Mike couldn’t catch on. I came through mid-pack with my hand up. Win #1 in the bag.

The GDVC crit was by no means a big race, so the win there doesn’t really show that my form is blistering or that I’m a crafty racer. Admittedly, I won in a dominating fashion, but with the help from an equally strong rider. But the confidence that I got from winning is really the most important outcome. Julio was telling me how upgrading without any wins can almost make you afraid of winning. He was right. I was nervous about the race, much more than I should have been. I was nervous because I knew I had to form to crush it, but having been in that situation before and lost, I knew it was possible to lose. Putting it all together and coming out with the win really only motivates me more for the season. I’m not only strong, but tactically smart now. Knowing I can win was very critical.

On the flip side, I still wish I could have raced my MTB this weekend.  I’ve got a few more weekends of road then Iola in 3 weeks! I can’t wait!

Thanks for reading

Spring Break part 2, the exciting conclusion(?)

To bring you back into the position I was in on Thursday night. I hadn’t taken a rest day and I was feeling pretty tired, like having a hard time with stairs tired. But I felt like I hadn’t really been riding that hard at the time. In Hindsight, it made sense that I was starting to get tired. Looking at the numbers, at that point in the week I was just about to tick over 20 hours in the mountains. I woke up not having the same pop as earlier in the week and kitted up like a blind man walking towards a wall. About 10 miles in and I was hurting. I wasn’t hitting the wall, or even really falling off the back too bad, but I was struggling in a way I hadn’t before. I was numb and wasn’t enjoying it save the scenery. I wasn’t familiar with the feeling so I decided to call it a day and was out of breath the whole way home. I was a little concerning, but I felt ok the next day on a nice little 50 mile excursion up Stecoah Gap. I didn’t understand it at the time, but I made the right call.

After packing up I made the trip back with little sleep and am still in the process of getting everything settled. Good news, I’m caught up on all the work, pretty much at least. So I had some time to reflect on the year so far, where I’m at and where I’m going.

I’ve done a butt load of miles this year already. I think Strava has me a 3,500 km or something and I haven’t even pinned a number yet. But it’s all gone by very fast. I think that’s because I’ve been enjoying it combined with the hurricane that surrounds you when you are focused on something like this. The results of this it seems to me is that I’m riding extremely strong and will hold this without difficulty because it isn’t taxing me, I’m not tired, I haven’t done an interval yet. But I worry that because I’m on such good form that I’ll get burn out soon.

I have emerged with a different outlook on things for the coming season. I was hoping for a good season, but I wasn’t expecting things to take off. I suppose I was waiting for my form to explode. Well, we’ll see what happens in the next week after racing, but I think it might have just destroyed a small town, according to those around me. I can only hope this is the case. If it is, bring it on. Like I said earlier, let’s make this dream come true. If it isn’t the case, I’ll keep plugging away in hopes that it’s just around the corner.

But to say this is easy, but to do it is another thing entirely. I stand here now with great legs after a long and enjoyed base miles period.  But from here I am a little lost. I know about what to do, but I’m afraid to mess things up. With racing starting up next weekend, I know that the intensity will come, but what should I be doing in training? I know now that I really do need a coach. I’ll keep working getting one, but I fear it’s too late. A good way to put it is that I’ve worked hard to build this fragile form, but I don’t trust myself to hold it.

Just writing about racing is literally making it difficult to sit still. I really don’t know how well it will go; who will be there and how they’ll be feeling, but I have higher and higher expectations each day.

Team Wisconsin Launch and Spring Break pt. 1

After a few weeks of not posting, I figured it was time for an update.

Going back a few weeks, the Team Wisconsin 2012 Team Launch was held in Delafield, WI. I made the journey early on Friday night thanks to my Dad to pick up the new off-road rig. More on this after I get a better chance to ride it more. One this is for sure, and all my teammates and friends agree, it very sexy looking. Huge thanks to Trek and Emery’s! That Saturday Morning I woke up early to get in a ride with the hard men in the morning before the meeting. It was a fun little 2 hour jaunt, pace was solid, but you could tell we all were looking to show our stuff. The launch went off well; I picked up tons of new gear and got the new kits. I’m really excited for them. I picked up a new size small kit and it fits so much better. Plus the Kalas Clothing is really comfortable. The post meeting ride was good as well. The elite crew took it easy apart from a tough race to the ‘finish’ at the end. Despite it being a free for all, we still worked well together, go figure. It’s a good sign for the coming year.

My blog also received quiet possibly its biggest endorsement thus far. DAVE ECKEL WANTS YOU TO READ MY BLOG. Despite all the typos, miss-spellings, and other signs of illiteracy, he says it’s a good read. I found it oddly endearing that when he mentioned it almost everyone alluded to the bad grammar and spelling. At least I know people read this stuff, and for that I thank you. I’m working on my English skills, but I make no promises.

I then had a hectic week getting ready for spring break in North Carolina. Lots of things to pack and a few things I wanted to polish off before totally checking out from the world. A few things were for sure, my beard was mighty and my legs were ready, and with that I took on the 15 hour pilgrimage to the Nantahala Outdoor Center in the Great Smokey Mountains forest area. As is traditional I got no sleep on Friday night and rode when I arrived on Saturday morning. It wasn’t going to be a hard ride, and it really didn’t seem hard, but I hammered on a few of the climbs for the fun of it. Sunday, we smacked down. The legs were on and I was able to really bring the pain to Skip. I beat him up a few tough climbs which was very gratifying. I could tell he was hurting a little that day, but still.

After getting a chance to ride the MTB on Monday, Cheroholiday was on Tuesday. The entire ride felt a lot short than in years previous. We got to the ranger station and I felt like I was only warming up. The attacks started early on the climb, and it came down to Skip, Brian Fosler and I. We dropped Fosler after an attack and Skip and I continued to set tempo after that; or his tempo until I just couldn’t hold it anymore. I slowly faded back and lost about 1 minute on him by the top. I’d like to think I gave it a good go and made him dig deep to keep me off, but I’ll never know. Due to rain we cut the ride short and only did 80 miles (only 80… I know).

I took an ‘easy day on Wednesday which turned into a nearly 3 hour ride with a few fast climbs and gravel roads. It was a lot of fun. Skip and I started out alone and ended up meeting up with two others on the ride. We explored a little bit and it was a beautiful ride. Thursday, it was time to teach the children.  Jamie Kimberly and I rode out with some of the more promising newer members and did a back side of Wayah Road which is a very steep 2-3 miles climb. We focused on riding well as a group. While a few were pretty bad in the group setting, the majority was really good. Then when we hit the gas hard on the climb it was good to see that everyone stayed together pretty well until the really steep parts. The Plan for Friday was to do an epic Georgia boarder run which would be 112 miles with a lot of climbing. Thursday night I questioned my ability to do it not having taken a day off yet, but committed to it anyways. I think I’m going to cut it short there too keep the post short. Look out for the exciting conclusion soon!