Collegiate Road Nats wrap up

So to recap, I had just finished 9^th in the crit and was riding pretty high after that finish. While you always want to win, there are some finishes that just get you pumped and ready to go for more. And that’s exactly how I was feeling. Even better than that was we all seemed pretty pumped and focused for the next job. I think it was nervousness going into the crit, but after the race and that night everyone seemed chilled out and ready for the RR.

Cycling has an illness and sadly the cure is not more cowbell.

So instead of finishing off my story about nationals today, I’ve decided to write about something else. Something that came from reading this article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324767004578485194028851214?mg=reno64-wsj.html?dsk=y

To summarize, the article talks about the change in cycling culture happening from the Armstrong fallout. It goes on to look into it a little deeper and examines the cycling culture; mostly based on internet sites and interviews with industry reps.

Collegiate Nationals: An end to a pre-season with success.

A few weekends ago was the collegiate national weekend out in Ogden Utah. I was lucky enough to have the UW team send me out there along with some good company, Alex Martin, Skip, and a new woman on the team Maddie Pape. There was an ITT Friday, Crit on Saturday and the big Road race Sunday.

Things started out pretty bad, I’ll be honest. A week before we were set to leave, I was coughing and wheezing with a headache. I was getting sick. I did the best I could to quarantine myself in my room and get better as fast as possible. I had to skip a few workouts but not too many as I was scheduled for some rest going into the weekend anyways. But with the cold, I wasn’t getting the best rest. But as the Monday before we set off came around I was starting to feel the sickness subside, so I was able to get things packed up and have some hope for a normal weekend.

The Anatomy of a Crash

This past weekend, I didn’t have lady luck on my side. Saturday was a tough day as I was trailing off the back of the 3^rd group on the road, yo-yoing a lot. I was eventually able to get back into the group and get somewhat comfortable, but the universe wasn’t pleased because that was quickly followed by some crossed wheels and a crash. Drew Dillman came across the road to follow an attack and I wasn’t completely aware of it. We came together and locked up, sliding to an almost stop, then got run over by a third participant. Not too bad, I was having a crappy day anyways. I was frustrated, but I was that before the crash.

Bring Some Wisconsin in your Suitcase

Not exactly what I mean, but certainly something on my packing list.

Week number 2 of the MWCCC collegiate road season stopped in Greencastle, IN for Depauw. The general hope of MWCCC racing is that despite it starting in March, we begin racing in the south and move north as it gets warmer. Well, it doesn’t always work like that. This weekend was a prime example.