So yesterday afternoon I submitted my request and resume (races and results) to USA Cycling to get an upgrade to CAT 4. I was told it normally takes about 3-4 weeks to process. 1.5 days later, I'm a CAT 4!
My resume must have been pretty badass. Ha! I doubt it, but that definitely made my evening. No no, made my weekend! Now I get to race with actual teammates.
Back when I was in high school, I would always get interviewed after my races and get little blurbs in the local paper. The columnist for the paper.. well he was inept. Let's just leave it at that. I pickup the paper the morning after a race and there's a quote of me saying "I can't run any less hard". What the ef! I thought back to the interview and I didn't even say that. Naturally my friends laminated it and put it up in the locker room with that line highlighted and it pretty much stuck the rest of the season. Since they couldn't beat me on the track they had to talk a big game =). Anyways, getting to the point of this. I was thinking of changing the quote of my blog to "I can't cycle any less hard". Thoughts? Tacky?
What are you doing reading this?! Get a few extra miles in on the bike!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Ride Sally Ride (CAT 5)
Ride Sally Ride Crit hosted by Whole Wheel Velo Club (WWVC)
Course: 1k Triangular loop (CAT 5 Race = 15 miles)
June 7, 2008
Prerace:
Holy crap it's going to be a hot day! The forecast says high of 97/98. Luckily, my race is at 8:45am. I drive over to the race partly because I'm not sure how my knee will respond since it had been hurting the day or two prior to the race and also because I want my trainer and extra fluids easily accessible. I sign in, do a lap or two on the course just to see how the turns look and go warm up on the trainer.
Race:
I line up on the inside behind the WWVC guys. Mike Davis (Coppi) lines up next to me. Prior to the start, I notice the lap counter only says 23, I guess we're doing 24 laps instead of 25! I know I'm going to need to mark some of the WWVC guys, Ted from Evo, and Mike(tri) of Endurance (I think). The first 200 meters doesn't go so well as I get stuck behind someone who couldn't clip in but I quickly move up to the top 15 just after the first turn. It feels like Ted and Mike(tri) are flip flopping attacks trying to get free with Ted being the most aggressive. I get on Mike(tri)'s wheel a few times and notice he accelerates very quickly and it's hard to hold his wheel. I make sure I'm not the only one responding to the attacks but that I be a part of the break if it gets away. Ted makes an attack about 10 laps into the race and Mike(tri) responds. At the time I was right on Mike(tri)'s wheel but I couldn't hold it. Mike from WWVC was on Ted's wheel at the time and was able to make the break as well. I'm kicking myself that I wasn't able to hop on. Sooo pissed.
Mike (Coppi) comes and sits near the front and I decide to try and pull the break back. After 2 laps, Mike (WWVC) pops and is dropped from the break. I continue to work hard at the front pulling. I figure I'll try to get in a small group that bridges to the break or at least catch them so Mike can win the sprint. I swear it felt like noone else wanted to bring the break back. I must have been pulling almost half the time. At least I was getting a good workout. The break went from 20 seconds down to 11 to 8 to 6 to 5 over the last few laps but it was just too late. By the time we got to the last lap, I was cooked and just hanging on the back of the peleton. Mike won the field sprint to get 3rd but we were unable to catch the lead break which sucks because we knew exactly how the race would go down and couldn't stop it from happening.
A big congrats to the 8 NCVC riders in the race who did.. hmm well nothing. 6 of them were never in the top 20 the entire race and 2 of them surged to the front for one corner and then went back to join their buddies. In hindsight, I should have jut sat up with 3-4 laps to go and rested, then I would have had lots of options for the last lap. I could have tried to gap the peleton and made them work to catch me while Mike did nothing or I could have led Mike out to guarentee he got 3rd a little better. I guess it all goes hand in hand with race experience. I know I was one of the top 5 guys in the race, yet my results don't show it. I also realized there was no way to catch Ted/Mike(tri) without a couple of the big dogs in the peleton doing work. Lesson learned. Although, I must say, that if 2 more guys in the peleton actually worked with me, we would have caught the break no problem. Ah well.
So I have now started 9 races (8 finishes + 1 crash) and am hoping to get #10 this weekend. Then I can CAT up!
Course: 1k Triangular loop (CAT 5 Race = 15 miles)
June 7, 2008
Prerace:
Holy crap it's going to be a hot day! The forecast says high of 97/98. Luckily, my race is at 8:45am. I drive over to the race partly because I'm not sure how my knee will respond since it had been hurting the day or two prior to the race and also because I want my trainer and extra fluids easily accessible. I sign in, do a lap or two on the course just to see how the turns look and go warm up on the trainer.
Race:
I line up on the inside behind the WWVC guys. Mike Davis (Coppi) lines up next to me. Prior to the start, I notice the lap counter only says 23, I guess we're doing 24 laps instead of 25! I know I'm going to need to mark some of the WWVC guys, Ted from Evo, and Mike(tri) of Endurance (I think). The first 200 meters doesn't go so well as I get stuck behind someone who couldn't clip in but I quickly move up to the top 15 just after the first turn. It feels like Ted and Mike(tri) are flip flopping attacks trying to get free with Ted being the most aggressive. I get on Mike(tri)'s wheel a few times and notice he accelerates very quickly and it's hard to hold his wheel. I make sure I'm not the only one responding to the attacks but that I be a part of the break if it gets away. Ted makes an attack about 10 laps into the race and Mike(tri) responds. At the time I was right on Mike(tri)'s wheel but I couldn't hold it. Mike from WWVC was on Ted's wheel at the time and was able to make the break as well. I'm kicking myself that I wasn't able to hop on. Sooo pissed.
Mike (Coppi) comes and sits near the front and I decide to try and pull the break back. After 2 laps, Mike (WWVC) pops and is dropped from the break. I continue to work hard at the front pulling. I figure I'll try to get in a small group that bridges to the break or at least catch them so Mike can win the sprint. I swear it felt like noone else wanted to bring the break back. I must have been pulling almost half the time. At least I was getting a good workout. The break went from 20 seconds down to 11 to 8 to 6 to 5 over the last few laps but it was just too late. By the time we got to the last lap, I was cooked and just hanging on the back of the peleton. Mike won the field sprint to get 3rd but we were unable to catch the lead break which sucks because we knew exactly how the race would go down and couldn't stop it from happening.
A big congrats to the 8 NCVC riders in the race who did.. hmm well nothing. 6 of them were never in the top 20 the entire race and 2 of them surged to the front for one corner and then went back to join their buddies. In hindsight, I should have jut sat up with 3-4 laps to go and rested, then I would have had lots of options for the last lap. I could have tried to gap the peleton and made them work to catch me while Mike did nothing or I could have led Mike out to guarentee he got 3rd a little better. I guess it all goes hand in hand with race experience. I know I was one of the top 5 guys in the race, yet my results don't show it. I also realized there was no way to catch Ted/Mike(tri) without a couple of the big dogs in the peleton doing work. Lesson learned. Although, I must say, that if 2 more guys in the peleton actually worked with me, we would have caught the break no problem. Ah well.
So I have now started 9 races (8 finishes + 1 crash) and am hoping to get #10 this weekend. Then I can CAT up!
Murad RR: Crash! Oh Noes!
Murad Memorial Road Race
Location: Poolesville, MD
May 31, 2008
CAT 5 Race: 4 x 8 mile loop (32miles total)
Prerace:
I got up pretty early and popped on my things into the car. Took the bento box and saddle bag off prior to putting my bike on the back of the car. Drove an hour to Poolesville, MD. Upon getting to the race, I walked over and registered. The woman at the registration tent looked familiar. Turns out I did Tour de Skyline (TriRATS) with her and her husband some short time ago. Got my things together and headed back to the car to deal with my bike. While taking the bike off the car I noticed my bento box was hanging from the chainring. Wow! I must have put it on the trunk prior to leaving and forgot about it. I told the guy next to me and he said "Wow, that's crazy, today must be your lucky day". I smiled and got my bike ready. Warmed up on the trainer and felt pretty good.
Race:
The race start was interesting. We were all at the edge of the field and had to ride over grass and rocks after they started the race. It wasn't far, just interesting. I wanted to make sure I remained in the top 15 for most of the race and had marked Ted/Collin from Evolution. The first lap and a half Ted was constantly trying to get up the road. Collin was pulling him, blocking for him, bridging for him, basically doing a ton of work for him. Such a good teammate!
On the second half of the second lap the pace got pretty slow. Noone wanted to lead and noone would let any breaks get away. We must have been going 18-20mph down River Rd. My two teammates worked their way up and rode with me at this point. Coming down the hill going into the turn for Hughes Rd, Ted and Collin from Evo take off. I seriously felt like noone else saw this coming until after the turn. You could see they had something planned when they went from 3&4 wheels to 1&2 wheels right before the turn. The punched it into the turn and blew out of it. I was sitting around 10-15 at the time, exactly where I had wanted to. Suddenly as I'm looking up the road trying to respond up the slight hill, one guy rides between two others and all 3 handlebars are instantly locked. As a whole, these 3 riders are now all over the road trying to break free. Because there was noone on the left side of the road because of the centerline rule, I figure I'll pass on the left. Just as I'm about to pass, 2 of them kick out to the left and spill all over the left side of the road. It's instantly blocked and I have nowhere to go. Not enough time to steer clear or even hop. I slam into one of the bikes and flip over the bars landing on my helmet. When I sit up I'm staring at my broken sunglasses and attempt to put them back together. I hear one guy on the left side of the road screaming as I look over at my bike thinking I need to get back up and ride on. My bike looks okay but what's all this blood all over the ground and my hands. It feels like I'm sweating a lot down the right side of my face until I realize it's blood. Thinking I should stop, I take my helmet off and put my sunglasses in them so they aren't lost. Some rider comes over to me and asks if I'm okay. I ask him about my forehead and he says I'm bleeding a lot. Tells me to lay down. I can't lay down because there are bikes in my way but he takes care of it and I'm soon on my back. Ambulance rolls up and I'm the first attended to (I guess because I was really the only one with a head wound and bleeding a ton). I'm mostly with it and able to answer all the questions asked. They put a neck brace on me and put me on a backboard. I hear some riders passing me saying encouraging words but all I can make out is my name and clearly cannot see a thing because they have me looking straight up. David Battan rolls up just before I'm put in the ambulance and I tell him how to get my things and I'm off.
Backboards are NOT very comfortable. Especially when your head is also taped to the board. I get my neck x-rayed and it's fine. Get all stitched up (7 stitches in my forhead caused by the helmet) and they let me go. Turns out I got the least amount of damage of all the guys taken to the ER. I was very fortunate.
On the way home, we stop at Davids and check out my bike. It looks like nothings happened to it. Very fortunate again! David mentions that he was directly behind me prior to the crash and was able to go left onto the grass prior to being thrown from his bike as well. Luckily he was okay and continued riding. Unfortunately he was unable to catch the peleton and decided to quit upon seeing me still on the ground the next lap. I get my keys, cell, wallet, etc and head back home. Over the next two days we finally drive back to Poolesville and manage to get my car out of the grass field. I also picked up my bike to find very little wrong with it.
The road rash has still not completely healed and my knee is still a little swollen which has definitely limited my riding as of late, but I'm very glad I was okay. It's crazy when something like that happens, you almost feel no pain because of the rush you get from the race itself. It was also so nice to see so many people send out emailed concerned about me in both Squadra Coppi and TriRATS. Love you guys!
Location: Poolesville, MD
May 31, 2008
CAT 5 Race: 4 x 8 mile loop (32miles total)
Prerace:
I got up pretty early and popped on my things into the car. Took the bento box and saddle bag off prior to putting my bike on the back of the car. Drove an hour to Poolesville, MD. Upon getting to the race, I walked over and registered. The woman at the registration tent looked familiar. Turns out I did Tour de Skyline (TriRATS) with her and her husband some short time ago. Got my things together and headed back to the car to deal with my bike. While taking the bike off the car I noticed my bento box was hanging from the chainring. Wow! I must have put it on the trunk prior to leaving and forgot about it. I told the guy next to me and he said "Wow, that's crazy, today must be your lucky day". I smiled and got my bike ready. Warmed up on the trainer and felt pretty good.
Race:
The race start was interesting. We were all at the edge of the field and had to ride over grass and rocks after they started the race. It wasn't far, just interesting. I wanted to make sure I remained in the top 15 for most of the race and had marked Ted/Collin from Evolution. The first lap and a half Ted was constantly trying to get up the road. Collin was pulling him, blocking for him, bridging for him, basically doing a ton of work for him. Such a good teammate!
On the second half of the second lap the pace got pretty slow. Noone wanted to lead and noone would let any breaks get away. We must have been going 18-20mph down River Rd. My two teammates worked their way up and rode with me at this point. Coming down the hill going into the turn for Hughes Rd, Ted and Collin from Evo take off. I seriously felt like noone else saw this coming until after the turn. You could see they had something planned when they went from 3&4 wheels to 1&2 wheels right before the turn. The punched it into the turn and blew out of it. I was sitting around 10-15 at the time, exactly where I had wanted to. Suddenly as I'm looking up the road trying to respond up the slight hill, one guy rides between two others and all 3 handlebars are instantly locked. As a whole, these 3 riders are now all over the road trying to break free. Because there was noone on the left side of the road because of the centerline rule, I figure I'll pass on the left. Just as I'm about to pass, 2 of them kick out to the left and spill all over the left side of the road. It's instantly blocked and I have nowhere to go. Not enough time to steer clear or even hop. I slam into one of the bikes and flip over the bars landing on my helmet. When I sit up I'm staring at my broken sunglasses and attempt to put them back together. I hear one guy on the left side of the road screaming as I look over at my bike thinking I need to get back up and ride on. My bike looks okay but what's all this blood all over the ground and my hands. It feels like I'm sweating a lot down the right side of my face until I realize it's blood. Thinking I should stop, I take my helmet off and put my sunglasses in them so they aren't lost. Some rider comes over to me and asks if I'm okay. I ask him about my forehead and he says I'm bleeding a lot. Tells me to lay down. I can't lay down because there are bikes in my way but he takes care of it and I'm soon on my back. Ambulance rolls up and I'm the first attended to (I guess because I was really the only one with a head wound and bleeding a ton). I'm mostly with it and able to answer all the questions asked. They put a neck brace on me and put me on a backboard. I hear some riders passing me saying encouraging words but all I can make out is my name and clearly cannot see a thing because they have me looking straight up. David Battan rolls up just before I'm put in the ambulance and I tell him how to get my things and I'm off.
Backboards are NOT very comfortable. Especially when your head is also taped to the board. I get my neck x-rayed and it's fine. Get all stitched up (7 stitches in my forhead caused by the helmet) and they let me go. Turns out I got the least amount of damage of all the guys taken to the ER. I was very fortunate.
On the way home, we stop at Davids and check out my bike. It looks like nothings happened to it. Very fortunate again! David mentions that he was directly behind me prior to the crash and was able to go left onto the grass prior to being thrown from his bike as well. Luckily he was okay and continued riding. Unfortunately he was unable to catch the peleton and decided to quit upon seeing me still on the ground the next lap. I get my keys, cell, wallet, etc and head back home. Over the next two days we finally drive back to Poolesville and manage to get my car out of the grass field. I also picked up my bike to find very little wrong with it.
The road rash has still not completely healed and my knee is still a little swollen which has definitely limited my riding as of late, but I'm very glad I was okay. It's crazy when something like that happens, you almost feel no pain because of the rush you get from the race itself. It was also so nice to see so many people send out emailed concerned about me in both Squadra Coppi and TriRATS. Love you guys!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
