It never gets easier, you just go faster

Jefferson Cup

2009-04-06T20:04:00.000-07:00

I'll quickly post about Jeff cup just to put them in correct order. To be honest, serious training for me started only a number of weeks prior to this race. We had a number of Coppi members in the race that I figured were in better shape than I and my goal was to help them when needed and sprint at the end if I had it.

Our race was 4 laps of a 10 mile closed course loop. The loop had 3 turns and a decent hill directly after turn 1. It was a moderately windy day to boot. Long story short, each lap I was slowly worn down. I made sure I stayed in the top 20 for almost the entire race. Lap 4 really sucked for me but I hung on. I tried to go for the sprint but knew I didn't have it and sat up for a pack finish. Yes that's not like me, I know. I beat myself up a little afterwards about it and didn't really tell anyone. Will make sure not to do that next time. 48th? ew. =)

Giro Del Cielo - CAT 4/5 (7/13/08)

2008-07-14T14:55:00.001-07:00

I drove up to NJ this past weekend to spend some time with my sister, brother in law, and nephews. It turned out to be the perfect weekend, except for the massive amounts of driving both days.

My friend Tim Magee (ex Temple U cyclist) and I decided to do this race months ago together. We get to the race and Tim introduces me to 5 other ex Temple cyclists of which 4 are in the same club now. This race was stage 3 of the Giro and two of the Temple guys were in 2nd and 3rd in the overall classification. We decided to offer assistance where possible but I think both parties understood that the sprint was every man for themselves (unless we were in a break and it would give them the overall classification).

The race course was very rolling with most of the hills on the back half of the 5.5 mile lap. We had to complete 5 laps of the course and we were informed there was a preem after lap 1 but you would only get overall classification points.

The race started and it went out pretty hard. I'd say I stuck around the middle of the pack feeling out some of the riders and the course and realizing that I wouldn't be sprinting for the preem on lap 1. Most of the entire lap was fast. After the first lap, during the regroup 3 riders went off the front. The pack let them go and I was in no position to hop on. Over the course of the next 2 the break was kept at about 15 seconds up the road with various people trying to bridge unsucessfully. The pace altered back and forth between an almost outright sprint to an easy training ride. At one point two of the guys from Temple tried to go up the road with a 3rd guy behind them. Once they realized they would be caught by the peleton (the guy in 1st overall had a workhorse who chased this break down) the guy in 3rd took off and noone seemed to care.
I made my way to the front of the peleton just before the end of the 3rd lap and climbed a hill at a moderate pace sitting behind some guy who I could tell wasn't that strong. The peleton slowly let us go about 5-10 seconds up the road but I wasn't about to start working for this kid who was already dead tired. I just took my time and let the pack catch me over the next 400 meters. I was kinda hoping one or two of the Temple guys would sprint up to me and we could take off but it didn't happen. No worries.

The 4th lap was slower than any of the others. Noone wanted to work. It wasn't incredibly slow but it was pretty easy and everyone was bunched up the entire time almost. We come around for the final lap and the gap had grown to 45 seconds for the 4 riders up the road. Things picked up and I moved from near the back of the peleton to the top ten within the last two miles before the final 1/2 mile. The last 1/2 mile was a right turn followed by a fast dip down and a hill up with a false flat up the finish line. I was boxed in going down the hill and as we went back up it slowly opened. I couldn't grab any wheel because I was to the left and all were taken. I just started sprinting and finished 6th in the field sprint. Only one guy passed me once I started sprinting (the overall race leader). I should have sat on him, bah! 10th overall. Not too bad I suppose for a 4/5 race. Although, I don't think NJ 4/5's are as hard as VA/MD ones. Maybe I'm just getting stronger =)

JD Wilmington Classic (woops long overdue!)

2008-07-14T14:30:00.000-07:00

On 6/15/08, I drove to Wilmington, DE to compete in the JD Wilmington Classic. The humidity was quite high that day and I was dripping by the time I ended my warmup on the trainer. The course was set in downtown Wilmington within 10 city blocks. It was somewhat in the shape of the a figure 8 with 3 city blocks on the back portion and only 1 on the front. Two streets were moderate uphills as well. The course was almost a mile and we had to do 24 laps. 8 turns total. Turn 6 coming off the double downhill section was extremely tight and there was even some sand that apparently just collected there that morning on the inside of the turn.

They start the race and people are just gunning it from the get go. I am in the back half of the group and attempt to move up where possible. The race is going along fine I'm hurting a little bit as the pace was incredibly quick but I wasn't going to get dropped. About halfway through the race, a big Artemis guy takes turn 6 incredibly tight and WHOOSH, the bike flies out under him. I can't say I'm surprised because he hadn't been that safe going through a bunch of the previous turns either. He wouldn't hold his line and would cut people off so others were adjusting to him which made him a very unsafe rider. I wasn't about to say too much though as he was ripped and about 250lbs and I'm sure could take me. A big Rhino riding a bike comes to mind. I'm sure he was nice however. So, the Artemis guy goes down and naturally he had cut me off on the previous two turns so I was behind him. I was on the outside and in order to avoid him, I had to take the turn extra wide into the caution tape. It eventually broke and I didn't go down but the pack was already a block ahead and by the time I got up to speed they were two blocks ahead. One other rider had been in the mess as well and we started working to catch back up. I could tell he was hurting bad and figured let him use a little extra juice before I would take my pull. After a lap or two he was gone. Up ahead two more riders went down on the straightaway and 3 more riders were slowed. I made it a goal to slowly tempo them all back. They had been riding somewhat together and I slowly picked them off over the next 10 or so laps. With 2 and a half to go, I caught them. I then pulled the majority of the next lap and moved to the back for the final lap to rest for the sprint. I figured they wouldn't expect me to pull and I would have pretty decent position. Of the 3 other guys, I could tell 1 wasn't too interested in the sprint at all. Looked like he was lacking some competitiveness. We go up the short 1 block hill and have 3 blocks of false flat to the finish. I'm currently on the second wheel and I get lucky because the guy in front decides to lead me out! Wow, how nice. The guy behind me is some young kid but I could tell he would give me a run for my money. I wait and wait for the last possible moment so I don't give the kid behind me a chance to draft me expecting to see his wheel at any moment. At the last possible moment, I go and the kid goes too but it's too late, I beat the riders from our little group.

I guess that makes up for losing the peleton from the crash and I'm quite glad I wasn't actually in the crash this time! hehe. Lesson learned: When you find a rider you don't feel is safe, do not ride behind him. The race was crazy fast as well. =)

Upgraded!!! I'm a CAT 4!

2008-06-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

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!

Ride Sally Ride (CAT 5)

2008-06-10T12:19:00.001-07:00

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!

Murad RR: Crash! Oh Noes!

2008-06-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

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!

WWVC Race Report - RFK CAT5

2008-05-30T09:54:00.000-07:00

So after speaking with a friend in WWVC he sent me a blurb of a race report of one of his teammates Michael Alhers who was 4th in my race. Although I have not yet met Michael, I have a feeling we'll have plenty to talk about. Below is a small piece of his RR.

"...The bell lap was fast, furious, and I was full of energy. There were some attacks and I held position, but avoided stepping out of line until the blistering-fast back stretch. Taking advantage of how sheepish most riders were through the corners, I snuck up several positions for the last sprint. We all took off and I was surfing wheels like a champ all the way up to sixth. At that point, two riders just popped and fell back fast, but I hesitated just a bit. Too much. Fourth was secured but straight ahead was a rider from Coppi. I kicked things up a notch but it was just not enough to overcome him. I lost the podium by less than half a bike length. SHIT!! Beat by a Coppi... and he had reflectors in his spokes. Reflectors!! I am disgraced..."

Needless to say, I took care of them before my next ride. haha. I guess that goes to show just how new I am to this sport. Still learning but definitely not performing bad with my lack of knowledge.

RR: RFK Crit - CAT5 (May 25) THIRD PLACE!

2008-05-25T20:09:00.000-07:00

RFK Critirium
CAT5 Race - 8am
15 miles total (9 laps I think)
Course: around the RFK parking lot, 100% flat, lots of turns formula 1 style!
Results: http://www.hubracing.com/criterium/rfk2008/2008_results.htm

RR:
I get to the race about 45 mins prior to the start. A little late for me, but I did not want to get outta bed in the morning! I register and hop on the course quickly meeting up with two NCVC riders. Hey, I figure they must know the course right? I ride a bunch of the lines around the turns figuring out if there were any shady spots but really only saw some dirt on turn 3 (hard right) but it wasn't going anywhere so it would be fine. I do some tempo to get the HR up about 20 minutes prior to the race and shed my gear with 5-10 mins to go. Get over to the line and get a front spot. Lots of teams in the field with very few unattached riders. The most dominant team is NCVC being the only team with over 3-4 guys. Prior to the start, I notice a guy from Latitude (green and blue?) that won the Junior race the day before. Figure he should be a good wheel to ride.

Whistle blows and it's off. I sit in the top 10 or 15 for almost the entire race. The first lap we take the turns pretty slowly to make sure all the guys can actually turn and surprisingly no one had any trouble. This is seriously the best I've seen CAT5 riders handle in the turns. Even the CAT4/5 races I goto have some sketchy riders. Maybe too because I was near the front, I avoided some of that as well. I notice that a lot of the other riders are not taking the inside lines of most of the turns hard and use this as a way to hop a spot here and there when the peleton is all stretched out. I had decided to do very little work today and see what I had for a sprint or to get in a breakaway group. So many riders seemed willing to control the pace so whenever I kinda got thrown to the front I would just grab a drink and look over my shoulder to hop on the wheel of the guys coming up the sides. I also made sure I was close to the Latitude guy for most of the race. He seemed to respond to most moves and I could just sit on his wheel no prob.

Last two laps things start to ram up a bit. A few new guys come to the front and try to hammer. I find myself in about 20th with 1/2 a lap to go. I almost clip a cone on the inside of the S turn in the back but move up hopping on another wheel. Coming down the backstretch I move up the inside to about 10th, take the turn on the inside hard and pop out of the turn hopping on a wheel in about 6th. I get pulled up to 4th and pass them both .. now only about 50 yards left and I'm 1/2 wheel behind an NCVC guy. Grit my teeth and pass the guy to get 3rd behind the Latitude guy and a purple guy. Wow, my first place! woohoo! I'm stoked and although a win would be awesome, 3rd isn't crappy!

The only thing I would change is that I missed hopping on the Latitude guy's wheel with 3/4 of a lap to go because I was on the wrong side of a wheel. He moved up into the top 5 whereas I got pushed back to 20th. Had I held his wheel, I could have perhaps given him a run for it. Ah well. Next time. After talking to him after the race, he mentions that Jim McNeely comes to his shop every now and then. Very overconfident kid. He said something along the lines of "I knew I could pull half that race and still win today if I had to". Seemed nice though. =)

RR: BikeJam - CAT5 (May 24)

2008-05-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

BikeJam
Location: Some park in Baltimore
Saturday May 24, 2008
Laps 10 (1 mile loop)
Course: 1 mile loop with two traffic circles to ride 3/4 way around. The second, 2/3 of the way through the loop has a hairpin turn coming out of the circle followed by a hill up to the finish line. Perfect for attacking and blocking

RR:
I got up to the race early. If it was only a 10 mile race, I knew I'd need to be warmed up plus I wasn't sure of the traffic possibility driving all the way to Baltimore so I left with plenty of time. Got a nice parking spot on the back stretch right next to the park and was one of the first in the CAT5 race to register. I got my things in hand and started doing laps on the course to get familiar with it. Guys were out there with brooms and leaf blowers cleaning the entire course which was pretty nice to know. I met up with Roger and Johnathan (Coppi guys) prior to the race and rode a few laps with them. We didn't really make any race plans but if I saw them out there I had planned on working with them.

The race started out pretty hard like I thought it would. After the first 4-5 laps, we had dropped 10-15 of the riders. I noticed my two Coppi teammates weren't in the main pack but didn't really know what happened to them (I later saw Roger near the finish cheering me on so I knew he was okay). I had been sitting near the front the entire race because I had decided I wouldn't get stuck near the back around that hairpin turn and get gapped on a break up the hill. I was sitting in 10th just past the finish line when Ted (big guy from Evo that rides the RBC rides with me) went off the front. He pretty much stayed 50 yards in front of the peleton but noone responded and I wasn't in position to hop on his wheel at the time. I had been riding his teammates wheel most of the morning and picked the wrong wheel. After a lap or two a Trails End guy bridged the gap and the two of them began working together. I knew the peleton would hafta pick it up if we wanted to catch them both. I tried to start to bridge with 4 laps to go hoping someone would hop on my wheel and we could chase but it wasn't happening. Noone in the peleton wanted to do any work. Richard (WWVC), some NCVC guy and I were the only guys that wanted to chase it seemed. Final lap, the two of them still off the front 50 yards I went from the inside and attacked the peleton on the backstretch. I had them blocking the crosswind as we turned into the tailwind section I shot ahead of the peleton. I could only cut about 2/3 of the gap and was cooked. I kept going and was caught by the traffic circle. Hopped on the middle but I didn't have anything left. The peleton steamed up the hill and I was left hanging on the back not involved in the sprint.

I guess I took a gamble because I wanted a shot at winning the race and want to fight for 3rd with 20+ other guys. If I were to race it again, there are plenty of things I would have done differently but that's what I get. I'm still new, I need to learn what my body can and can not do vs the field in a race.

Looking forward to RFK the next day!

RR: CIRCUITO de EVESHAM - 4/5 (May 18)

2008-05-25T19:44:00.000-07:00

CIRCUITO de EVESHAM

Location: Evesham, NJ

Sunday May 18, 2008

CAT 4/5 Race

Weather: 60's Partly Cloudy

Laps: 20 (1 mile per lap approx)

I warmed up for the race fairly lightly until about 30 mins prior to race start. Worked my way up doing short 400meter bursts so get the muscles warmed up and flood flowing. Since my spedometer got rained on, it hasn't been working properly so I went into the race without it (no big deal). The course was set up like the letter D with the finish along the straightaway but with all parts of the course slowly winding back and forth. The two corners were fine most laps, but there were 2 other pinch points on the outside at about 600meters and 1500meters into the loop. Since I only rode the loop once slowly prior to the race (there were races on it when I arrived in the morning)

So the field for this was approximately 50-60. I started off in the middle of the pack.. sitting on some peoples wheels. At this point in the race, I discovered that I need to work on my ability to hug a wheel of people I don't trust. I notice that if I give them a little room, someone behind me in the pack will fill it and I end up getting pushed to the back. I then use energy to work up the outside drafting someone else wanting to move up. With 12 laps to go 3 guys go off the front. I'm in the middle of the pack at the time and couldn't respond. Everyone seemed content just letting them sit off the front. We can still see them 2-3 times during each lap. With approx 10 laps to go, someone on the outside gets pinched into the curb at the 600meter pinch point (I was nowhere near them because I saw a problem there after 2-3 laps) and approx 10 people in the field were taken out. 3 flipped over the guy. It looked pretty nasty but no ambulance was needed so I'm glad everyone was okay. After this, I decided I needed better position. I moved into the top 10 of the peleton and remained in this position for the next 4 laps doing no work. Two guys seemed like they wanted to bridge or do some work to cover the gap with 6 laps to go and I hopped on their wheel. They decided against it shortly after. Similar thing happened with 4 laps to go. I think I wasted some energy both times that I shouldn't have. With 2 laps to go the peleton finally started picking it up. I was tired at this point and drafting near the back of the peleton. I just hung onto them and tried to pickoff whoever I could by the line. Pretty uneventful finish for me but I did learn a bunch and I didn't wreck! Overheard a guy mention the race avg was 26mph. Not bad I guess.

Looking back at the race. I should have been in the top 10 in the beginning of the race to so I could have perhaps hopped on the breakaway group. Racing alone, you either need to get on those breakaways or do no peleton work. I also wasted energy throughout the race not holding my spots and energy used with 6 and 4 laps to go that would have been better used to out sprint the peleton. Overall, as a CAT5.. I'm fairly pleased with my race. Especially since I hadn't ridden in over a week because of being sick.

Next race! Waitlist RFK and top waitlist spot BikeJam next weekend! I get to finally race with some Coppi's!

TdS - Day 2

2008-05-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

I woke up tired on day 2. Didn't even hear the alarm go off actually. Must have been really out of it. Took a bit to get ready and finally headed down to breakfast. Had an english muffin and cereal but really should have eaten more as find out later on. Went back to the room and started getting my things packed. As I was dropping off my bag in the SAG, a big crew was heading out. Orton, Matias, Katie, Craig, Scott, etc were all rolling out together so I decided to quickly get my things together and roll out with them. Wasn't sure where Kunkel was or even what room he was in.

The ride started with a longg uphill. I noticed my speedometer wasn't working, must have been from the rain the day before. Within 5 miles I was unzipping everything and even taking my hat off. It was hot and only 8:30am! The first 20 miles, most of us rode together with breaks and gaps here and there but we'd always group back up. The SAGs were doing a great job (I'm pretty sure I would have been happy with any support as I didn't have much the day before). We then hit a patch of fog with about 15 miles to go before lunch along with a nice uphill. A few miles later, I was thrown off the back and felt completely dead tired. I had no energy. Must have been from the light(er) breakfast and dinner. I must have burned a ton of calories the day before between the ride and shivering. Riding solo in the cold with the fog with no energy pretty much sucked. With about 5 miles to go before lunch, a familiar face caught me. Orton! "C'mon Nate, hop on" he says. Mentally that turned me around 100% and I hopped on his wheel. I'm not sure I had enough energy to help pull at the time. but I could ride faster with someone for sure. We climbed a hill, caught Dan and another guy and strolled into lunch. Because of the fog, Orton rolled right past the stop and ended up riding a few extra mile or two. Woops!

Lunch was amazing. I went straight for the bathroom so I could stand by that warm heater and dry off/warm up. I must have stood there for 15-20 minutes. I think my hunger eventually took over as I headed over to find some grub. On the way over, I saw Eric and Kunkel roll up to the lunch stop. I think they left 20-30 minutes behind us so they most likely rode a similar pace. I quickly sat down, ordered hot chocolate, bowl of soup, some kinda chicken pot pie and a side salad. I also ate a powerbar. I noticed Craig and Scott rolling out and had to pass because I knew I had to refuel. I was seriously thinking of stopping because the lunch stop was once again miserable and the first 50 miles were miserable on day 1. After eating I recovered some of my energy and decided I'd roll out and see how I felt. Besides I didn't think there was much room in the SAGs for me anyways.

I try to plan to roll out with Kevin and Eric and 1 or 2 others but hafta hit the loo first. Upon getting back, they are just rolling out and I scramble to get my things on and packed up back in the SAG before sprinting out of the lunch stop chasing them. It took me a few miles to catch them. I was still cold, feeling average now but definitely much better than before lunch. After so many miles of riding, I'm not sure who I rode with during every second of the ride but at some point Matias caught me and we rode 10 miles together. It was a nice opportunity to get to know him as well because we both have a running background. Kevin and Eric were up the rode together but Kevin had to stop for a restroom break (one of a trillion) and rejoined us around mile post 27. We all strolled in together at the rest stop around mp 23 right before the toughest climb of the day.

Upon arriving at the rest stop we grouped back up with a slew of people. Maybe 10-12 of us total. I quickly refilled one of my water bottles (I had been pretty low) and took a cliff gel (GU Vanilla Bean is 100x better than Cliff Vanilla). As I was sitting there Kunkel took off alone up the road. I watched everyone else who seemed content waiting for a few more minutes. I was ready and decided I'd go chase him as I was feeling the best I had all day. I could see Kunkel up the road the entire climb. I'd say Kunkel had 1-2 mins on me and I had 1-2 mins on the rest of the group but both of us were pulling away slowly. As I was climbing the 3 mile hill, I noticed a team car with a number of bikes on the roof roll past and wondered who else was out here. Periodically I would look back and see noone behind me until I looked back and saw 2 or 3 riders about a min back. It seemed like 30 seconds later but it must have been a few minutes because I looked back again and they were 50 yards back! Holy crap, I was gonna get caught just before the top of the hill. I decided to pick it up and managed to roll over the apex before getting caught. No looking back I hopped in my big gear and took off down the hill. I was going to make it tough to catch me. After a few minutes of steaming down the hill I looked back and saw noone. I then reached the second climb and started my way up the 2 mile hill alone again. Approximately 1/4 way up the hill I found myself closer to Kunkel than I had been since the early part of the first hill. I must have gained a ton on the downhill. Halfway up the second hill Matias caught me (turns out Matias and a pro rider were the two guys chasing me up the first hill. Matias hopped on his wheel as they were doing repeats up JUST that hill and hadn't ridden 80+ miles like the rest of us). We talked a little as we slowly started pulling Kevin back. He decided to bridge faster and took off up the hill chasing him. Over the apex of the second hill, Matias had not caught Kevin yet and I was now chasing them both. The Bonzai SAG had been trailing me near the top of the second climb and rolled past over the apex. I pretty much hopped on behind another car and flew down the mountain determined to catch Kevin and Matias. At the bottom of the hill I flew by the SAG as it got caught up behind another rider. Soon after I caught both Kevin and Matias and ended up riding the last few miles with them. Naturally I made them chase me down the next hill as I had been chasing them most of the afternoon. =)

It turns out that I passed Stacy somewhere along the latter part of the ride. I guess I had been so focused on catching Kevin/Matias that I didn't even notice her or hear her say hi. Lol. Woops! We all chatted briefly at dickey ridge and Chris Stacy and I went to the local burger place in Port Royale meeting up with a number of others. I had a great time riding even though half of the time the weather was pretty miserable. Descending in the fog isn't really much fun. Especially when you're cold and trying to avoid shaking.

Thanks Kevin for putting together such a fun weekend! I spent my entire Sunday being a zombie and couldn't focus on much of anything other than watching tv and doing nothing. haha.

Reeewind to Skyline - Day 1

2008-05-20T06:04:00.000-07:00

Building up to the TriRATS - Tour de Skyline (TdS) I felt as though I had a good base of miles. Was riding over 200 miles a week for at least a few weeks prior to the event. During the week of TdS, the weather was looking nasty. Called for rain Friday and possible rain Saturday. Lovely! A lot of what I did for this trip seemed to base my decisions off of Kevin Kunkel. I guess the only reason for this is that I know he does his research so if I wasn't gonna do mine, I'd use his =).

Friday morning comes and sure enough it's pretty gross out. Raining and getting colder the closer we get to the actual start. I drive there with Chris and Stacy. Upon arrival, it's not raining YET but it is extremely foggy out. We all procede to get ready, take a few group photos and before I know it 3/4 of the group is gone. I had already decided I was riding with Kevin and I knew he hadn't left yet so I was good. Six or seven of us decide to go down the hill to the ranger station and do the entire course. This turned out to be the reason we were never stopped by rangers and told to turn back.

Decending to the ranger station, it was extremely foggy with speckled rain here and there. I was already cold and not too excited about turning around and climbing back up this 5 mile hill. We turn around and I start cycling with Kevin and his pal Eric. We pass a woman about 30 minutes after we pass Dickey Ridge flying down a hill and wonder if she's riding with us because she would have a LONG day ahead of her if that were the case. Eventually we see Craig and Scott riding towards us who inform us the rangers are kicking people off the roads. We stop for a few minutes to discuss the possibilities and decide that we will all ride forward and play the ignorance card if they stop us. At this time I swap between riding with Eric/Kevin and Craig/Scott. Kevin keeps stopping to chat with people (What else is new?!) and Eric keeps destroying the climbs. The downhill sections are extremely fast (braking and doing 38mph) and have scattered sections of hard gravel from 3 to 50 feet. There is no visibility because of the rain/fog and a few of the times, I would just pick a line and get ready to hop if I saw a pothole last minute. We get to mile marker 51 (lunch stop) to find everyone sitting inside for the most part. A good handful of people have their post ride clothes on and others are giving away their dry clothes likes it's christmas. I happily accept a dry jersey and socks.

The lunch break was pretty long. I made sure I got some hot food to warm me up as I had been cold all morning. Hot chocolate and a bowl of soup. Followed by some sandwich. Eventually a number of people decide to call it quits for the day and others decide to ride on. Eric decides to stop (but later rejoins us). I must say that the lunch stop is positioned at the worst possible location. The weather is nasty for 10 miles in both directions but clears up after that. Kevin and I set off from lunch with.. I have no idea who else but I'm thinking Craig and Scott. I don't recall. Ten miles later, sure enough, it's gorgeous out. We can see again and it's not raining! OMG we can actually see the sun and the valley below. Another 10 miles of this and we find Eric riding towards us to rejoin our ride. The rain comes and goes pretty much in the exact opposite times that Kevin and I put our rain jackets on. Lovely timing I must say. It wouldn't rain for 20 minutes so we'd take them off and sure enough just around the bend, rain! We'd put them on, it'd stop. Repeat for the rest of the day. There are a few climbs on the second half that Eric just monsters up. Kevin and I try to stay with him but decide not to go into the red to hang on. We catch up just over the top and on the downhills. Most of the last 10+ miles is downhill and I find myself quite tired. I started to get tired after mile 90 of the 117 total for the day. Only Kevin and I did the entire park Day 1.

We arrive at the hotel and because of the off and on rain and fast downhills, I'm quite cold. All I want is a shower. I get a room key to room with Craig, grab my stuff, and park it all in the room. I think I took one of the best showers of my life. Haha. Put my clothes on the heater to dry, got my bike looked at briefly and off to dinner at the local Italian place. I sit with the Bonzai crew and order a dish plus split and app. I notice the rest of the tables are ordering pizzas on top of their meals and think I perhaps should have too. We head back to our rooms, I get a 30 minute rub down to loosen up my legs/lower back, I chitchat with Craig about road racing before bed and call it a night.

Blogging? What's that?

2008-05-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

Okay so I'm still not even sure I know what it is, but I did see this as a perfect opportunity for me to post my training, eating habits, race reports in a centralized place that could also be critiqued by others.. grr be nice!

I think I have a few race reports and things I want to post but this is just to get it started! I hope people gain something from reading my posts. =)