After a lackluster time trial I was determined to be in the break in the road race. The course was really tough a fast(50+ mph) decent on passing the start/ finish, the anouncer said it was a 70+mph decent and I’m calling BS. He also pointed out that I’m not cooler than Henk Vogels. The course was 92 miles of rolling hill on the back side with a couple that called for the small ring. Moving up to the feed zone there was a ~500m long hill probably averaging 10%. The race ended on a 3k climb that was pretty mellow near the bottom and steeper near the top. The pace was super hard from the gun, and with 120 guys it made moving up super tough. I was in a couple of small moves in the beginning but the break got up the road without me and will and the leaders them seemed content on controlling the race, so we sat back and hung out. After 6 laps the course really started to wear on me, and I started to just sit in. The break came back with about a lap and a half to go and metlife didn’t have the gas to control the race any longer and a group of 7 rolled away through the feed zone. I was near the front when they rolled away but everybody in the field was sitting up. By the time I got out to try to get accross they were too far for me to bridge and I only got halfway accross, plus my legs were pretty beat. I was pretty toast on the last lap and sat in and gave up position until I was on the back going through the feedzone the last time, I knew I should have been farther up leading into the climb. On the final 3k climb I was too far back but picked up ~40 guys leading up the climb and finished like 60th out of 120. The road race was definatly harder than any pro 1/2 race I’ve done before.
July 10, 2008
July 4, 2008
Sometimes your form sucks
Some times your legs feel awesome and sometimes they feel like shit. After taking a week off with leg problems then getting two weeks of training in, then crashing and not riding for four days, then sitting in a car for two I’m here in Fitchburg. My biggest race of the year and probably my worst form of the year.
The time trial course was awesome except for the terrible NE roads, mostly climbing and suited me perfectly. I ended up just out of the eighteen minute range. Will on the other hand is super fast right now and after convincing himself he had a terrible ride ended up with a 17:30ish, he should be the top ten, we’re super stoked on it.
Rome GA Cup
Last weekend me and Boykin went down to Rome GA for the Georgia Cup omnium. We ended up deciding to race the 2/3 race to have a little fun and get a result. The courses fit both of us with the crit having a nice little hill in it and the road race ending in a three mile climb.
The crit course was awesome with a long hill on the front stretch and a rolling down hill on the back. From the start I felt terrible, my legs just didn’t have it, but I hadn’t raced for three weeks and hadn’t really ridden since my crash last week. On the other hand I couldn’t believe how easy two three racing was, they will just let you take their wheel and I could always go faster than them through a corner. Halfway through the race I felt super light headed and sick and pulled out.
Our plans of splitting a hotel with some friends for the night didn’t pan out but luckily Boykin had brought some sleeping bags. We ended up finding this awesome hay ride at this barn near the Sunday race course and camping out. We couldn’t have found a more awesome place to sleep.
The road race was two 26 miles laps with a 3 mile climb at the end of each lap. The group stayed together to the first climb then it split on the climb. My legs felt really heavy on the climb and I couldn’t climb with the leaders towards the top where it got steep. Knowing I wasn’t going to have that quick acceleration on the climb I knew I needed to get into a break and get some time on the field before the climb came up again, thinking this would also take some pressure off Boykin who was with the leaders on the climb. There was already one guy twenty seconds up the road by himself and I kept trying to bridge, after almost ten attacks the field finally let me go. After a five minute bridge I got across to the leader. We worked together in the last twenty miles to get up to a minute and a half. The time gap was whittled down to 50 seconds at the base of the climb. When we hit the climb I knew I didn’t have it and after a mile of climbing the guy with me rode off. I thought I had second locked up but going around a bend with two kilometers to go I saw the field.
It sucks when you crash and your legs feel like shit.
June 26, 2008
Crashing locally
Tuesday night at our local practice training race there was quite a little debacle with me and the local Cartel boys being at the center of it. In the opening laps I was coming back solo from being up the road, and as the field was coming past me Boykin gave me a push to help me get back in line. Unfortunately when he did this Will was moving right and I was forced onto Will’s wheel. Washing out my front wheel causing me and Boykin went down, with a calamity behind. All in all about ten racers went down including Meredith Moore (a frequent face at Black Sheep Cycles). Meredith hit her head pretty badly and had to get a couple of staples in the back of her head. The next morning we sent her some flowers and fixed her bike at the shop.
I’m stoked to hear she plans on being back out at Orr rd as soon as she can.
June 21, 2008
Lose the Training Wheels
This week the cartel came out to support a local charity, lose the training wheels. The charity works with special needs children to teach them how to ride a bike. The charity is really cool, they have bikes set up with rollers in the rear instead of a wheel, and handles for the volunteers to help ’spot’ the riders. Monday I worked with Hunter, a five year old who went from being really frustrated at the beginning to speeding around three full laps of the arena at the end of the day. Monday I worked with Sam who was simply flying on a bike, Pip and I were taking turns spotting him because we were running full pace behind him. To be honest, I think he thought it was funny to see us out of breath and whining about our shins hurting. Wednesday and Thursday me and Steve(head mech @ BSC) worked to build and install brakes on forty-five bikes. It was worth it though to see the kids get their bikes. The charity was a awesome run event and were stoked to participate in it next year.
