back from a lazy break

Yeah it's been awhile.
And at a time when a lot has been going on.

One word: LAZY

Knee arthroscopy went extremly well. No pain whatsoever and was back on the bike rehabbing it 2 days later. 4 days after surgery i rode outside with the dogs for a half hour.
At the follow up visit, 10 days later, the doctor told me the torn meniscus was pretty extensive and was surprised that I lasted so long with it that way. He was pretty impressed by my recovery so far. Determination
I couldn't have picked a better day week to be off after surgery. The snow pushed in and dumped a few inches. The next day 70 mph winds carried all the snow to Nebraska. It was pretty impressive watching it from my front windows.
winter looks to have finally made it to the area. It's been unseasonably warm. I can't remember being able to ride in 50 degree temps in Decembers past. Like today, before the canadian cold front came, I was hitting the trails at 7000' with the dogs in 45 degree sunny weather.
Unfortunately the snow looks like it will pass me without the predicted 2-4". The temps will be around a high of 10 tomorrow though.
I dislike cold without the snow. It just doesn't make any sense.

kinnigits!

I don't buy to many DVDs anymore after I realized that i normally only watch them once or twice. But Monty Python and the Holy Grail is one of my favorites that I have watched countless times. So imagine my distraught when I found the disc cracked in half. Not sure what happened to it but I shall now have to seek out a new one. Lucky for me youtube has all the highlights.

Just over a week till knee surgery. The weather here has been fairly nice (excluding monday's high of 32) I got in a couple hours of riding. The wind was a reasonable 15-20MPH. With highs in the 50s this week I'll get a few lunch time rides in. Got to keep up the leg strength for the post-op rehab.
The vet recently gave all my animals their shots and health checkups. She said my dogs are some of the fittest she has seen. 2-8 miles running per day will do that to them. My eldest Cat Peja may need some teeth cleaning unless I can get him to brush his teeth.
Work is slow. Working in a bike shop in the winter time is not something that is fun. A whole day could go by and you might see 3 customers (in addition to the regular daily visitors that just want to hang out).
Thanksgiving is next week, maybe I can take off Friday and head out for a round of flyfishing if the weather cooperates.
That's all for now.

Pain in the Knee

Well, you know it's time to put something here when your sister gets on you about how you haven't posted in a while.
So here it goes.
After my last cyclocross race I took a day of rest and played with the dogs instead of riding my bike. This "play" time stressed my nagging knee pain to the breaking point sending me into pain level 10 with a following trip to the e-room as I could barely walk. 3 weeks later, an MRI and subsequent trip to an Orthopedic doctor I finally have my results.

Drum roll please......

A torn meniscus! and as a secondary result of the MRI, the doc also found some arthritis in the knee.
Arthroscopic surgery to be scheduled.
On another note, Dogs are enjoying their last days going for walks and runs under warm conditions. Winter is coming fast. We dodged a bullet last week when the storm hit to the north. Lows lately have been in the low 30s and we have already had our first 50+ mph winds of the Fall season. Stay tuned for more exciting stuff.

Found this picture of me from the race last Saturday. That mud was thick and rutted. I had just passed the guy behind me and was in the process of pouring it on. The look on my face says it all.

And this is the mud track

CX XILINX

I cyclocrossed today in Longmont at the Xilinx campus. It's one of my favorite venues and the cold was not going to deter me. I think it topped out around 45 degrees. It was a cold 45 because of a slight drizzel and overcast skies. The course which my teammate described to me 2 days ago was bumpy and hardpack no mud. The off and on rain and 4 or 5 races before me softened up the dirt enough and turned one section into a veritable mud bog. I didn't get too much of a warmup as I had a flat tire after 1/2 a practice lap and was forced to do a tire/tube change 15 minutes before the start. I didn't have a great start, starting near the back, and was unprepared for the 0-60 start that is the norm for these races. I just kept it real and did my best not to be last. 1/3 a lap in, my teammate who was in the singlespeed division starting 1 minute behind me comes flying past me. Soon after that, it seemed like the entire singlespeed category had passed me. Whoa, this is going to be a long race I thought. About halfway through the 45 minute ordeal I started to feel better and actually caught and passed some riders. I was relieved when I crossed the line with 1 lap to go. It's almost over. Of course there has to be someone making a last minute dig to pass the next rider up. So I had a battle on my hands and I wasn't going to let him catch or pass me. Everything was clicking on the last lap. No bobbles, slips, or errors. Not sure were I finished but it makes no difference when you are having fun.
Of course all the mud took a toll on the bike and clothes. No pictures unfortunately, but it took me an hour to clean the bike and hose off my shoes. I'll probably have to disassemble the freehub and bottom bracket as they sound horrible.
Snow is forecasted to fall tonight so I should wake up to a white Sunday.
The Pellet stove is kicking out some great heat drying my shoes, clothes, and bike. Even on low it maintains a nice temperature of over 70 degrees in the living areas. here is a video of cross, not the race I did.

Interbike revisited

With all the information overload I was unable to post anything lately. I've since recovered enough to add to to the last post.
Fun, saw lots of people, saw a few friends that I hadn't seen in 20 years, made new friends, saw a ton of new products, drank Fat Tire and a bunch of esspressos, watched a Tim Johnson Cyclocross season documentary, raced a cross race, watched Lance Armstrong race a cross race, took home a bunch of food and product samples, unpacked 10 new waterbottles 7 bottle openers, 2 carbon clothes hangers, titanium cross frame, carbon cross fork, new shoes, 35 business cards, 1 t-shirt, countless decals, 5 posters, 3 beer glasses (one signed by Phil Liggett), enjoyed the warm evenings riding with the dogs, saw some retired european pros (Eddy Merckx, Maurizio Fondriest, Johann Museeuw) as well as many current pros. Made it back home in one piece.

US National Cyclocross champion Tim Johnson telling us he doesn't run for cross training


He's crazy. He's always been crazy. And what on EARTH is he doing?

made it through Interbike with nary a scratch

what a week. The industries biggest N American week ended today and I had the (mis)fortune of closing it down waiting for my turn to get my new Shimano high end shoes properly fitted. i got to meet a lot of great people and many of whom I've only seen on tv or read about in magazines.

The first day of the indoor I'm standing in the Sinclair Imports booth (Ridley Bikes importer) and the next booth over is the Merckx booth with Eddie Merckx himself unveiling his latest creation.

I shook his hand and thanked him for the first 2 race bikes I ever owned.

a lot of running around and then all too soon it was back to the truck to drive north to pick up the cross bike and dogs for Cross Vegas. Traffic was horrible and I forgot my map to the venue. I was working off of 5 day old memories of the street names. Traffic was so bad that I thought I'd be watching my race from the sidelines.

I ended up driving past the venue, did an illegal U turn, drove over a curb and grass field, and blasted across a dirt lot to make it to a part of the parking area where I (already dressed from changing while I drove) jumped out grabbed bike and helmet and sprinted over to the sign-in. less than 15 minutes later I was lining up for the race. 30 minutes was fun but I wished it was longer. I ended up getting sick again afterwards and instead of going to the best party of interbike I headed back to the home base for some sore throat medicine (Ice cream) and rest. Day 2 was crazy. I started late since I didn't feel like getting up and ended up straight in the Shimano line. $100 for their top end road or mountain shoes. An hour later I had my shoes and an appointment for 5:30 pm the next day. I checked out the LeMond booth where he and Phil Liggett were signing autograghs. 2 Icons of the sport.

I guess I know who Greg is voting for.

did more schmoozing and cruising the floor for many hours and then headed down to see the premier of the 9 ball diaries. It was a documentary that chronicled cyclocross star Tim Johnson's 2007 season. fun and commical. very entertaining. I attended a clinic on tuesday that Tim taught and learned a few CX tricks. I'm now a TJ fan.

I usually get back late and when I do the dogs need their excercising. So this night I suited up and did cyclocross drills across at the nearby hospital parking area under the parking lights.

day 3 commenced, and I was there early for all the last minute swag. The coolest item was given to me when I came across Allen Lim, team physiologist for the Garmin Chipotle proffessional cycling team, at the Saris cycling booth. I use their power meters for training and he is one of the gurus of power based training. I was talking to him about some of the things he has written and he tells me to hold that thought. He pops into the private area and comes out with a pint glass with Phil Liggett sayings on it. Cool, thanks Allen. He then got a phone call and we parted ways. It wasn't until later when I realized it was hand signed by Phil himself. real cool!

I did end up going over budget picking up a Lynskey titanium cyclocross frame and then getting the Alpha Q guy to sell me one of the show special forks at the show and not wait the 2 weeks.
for delivery. I'll have this ride ready for the next cross race.

It's packing time and then I'm off driving for the next couple of days. Work awaits.

interbike demo swag

Day 1 of the outdoor demo day of InterBike was fun. Fun that is after I made it through the mess that is Vegas traffic/construction. The dogs accompanied me for the first day as I visited as many booths as possible asking questions about stuff that only a bike geek/mechanic would think of. Saw some pretty cool stuff at Shimano. The new 7900 group in both regular and electronic. I also decided on a aero bar for my TT bike after checking one out on an Orbea Ordu. The PRO carbon bar with chicane extensions, it's pretty sweet. Nikki and Axel were a big hit as they were 2 of only a few dogs that made the expo, and the only 2 brought by a retailer. They had plenty of kisses to give out to everyone that wanted one. With the expo comes the swag. As many samples of power bars, Camelback Elixer, Nuun tablets, Hammer Gel, Cytomax, and New Belgium brewery ale as one can eat/drink. You can also pick up water bottles and other samples that are offered.

Here is part of day ones small haul

Vegas

well, me and the dogs made the trip down to Las Vegas and arrived today. It's hot here. the AC has been running in the airstream since I plugged into power here at the Desert Eagle campground at Nellis AFB. At $19 per day and at a safe and secure location, I can't argue. I wanted to get out and check out the Strip but I have this killer head cold that is nagging me. I went for a run with the dogs (who are crashed out) and it sapped everything I had. Drugs evry 4 hours and fluids constantly hopefully will clear me up. Tomorrow is the Interbike Outdoor Demo. I'll have some new pics from that tomorrow.

Specialized Defrosters

The best thing about working at a bike shop is that I have the opportunity to pick up items that at retail pricing I would have passed up.

So today I noticed the new shoes we have in stock. Winter mtb shoes, perfect for winter commuting, training, and butt-ass cold cyclocross races in Colorado.

It won't be long before I can put these puppies to use. Morning temps have been in the low 40s.

fishing and stoves

It's been a while.


last weekend I headed up with the 'Stream and dogs to Alcova for some great fly fishing. Landed my largest ever on the N. Platte, a 22" rainbow. I landed only one fish under 17". The Tundra towed exceedlingly well for it's first time.

rods rigged, waiting by the door

after last year's ginormous propane bill, I've been planning on a pellet stove to provide some heating all summer. So I bought a stove and flue kit and spent yesterday installing it.

here it is on the hand cart before I started cutting holes in the walls for the vent and air intakes.

It wasn't that hard to install. I just hope I met all the code requirements.

I broke it in and tested it out. I think this will save me some dough this winter.

tomorrow is Monday. 2 more weeks till I leave for Vegas and InterBike.

I've been doing cyclocross training on my home course (back yard) I'll need to step it up for the Wheeler and Dealer Cross Vegas race on the 24th.

North Boulder Park Criterium

It was last year when, for whatever reason, my body shut down early in the masters 35+ race and I dropped out and entered the Pro-1-2 race. I was doing well and then was brought to a halt 20 minutes in with a separated shoulder due to a crash.

That was a year ago. Early on I said I'd never race that course again. I lied.

The course actually suits me well. Ride near the front and stay there.

Skins had 7 riders in the race. As everyone agrred later, it was nice to see teammates in front and behind you. I was not feeling that great at first and it took me a while to get into a groove. Once I did it was too late, 3 riders had gotten away. A few riders tried to bring it back but the Green Mountain men were too much for everyone. During a sprint prime lap, which I won, I kept on going to see what I could do. It was not much and I resigned myself back to the pack after one of the above team riders would not work with me, protecting their 2 rider's lead. I did cause some commotion within the peloton apparantly and one of my teammates was dropped off the back in the accelleration. He has a good excuse to be slightly out of form though as he has recently became a new dad.

All there was to do was sit back and wait for the bell lap.

The bell lap (one lap to go) came either 1 or 2 laps early depending on who you talk to and no one was ready for it. It rang early due to the impending lapping of the field by the breakaway. I went from relaxing a bit to full on anaerobic/max heart rate sprinting to near the front when I heard "one to go". I positioned myself 2 riders behind a teammate somewhere around 10th position. With 2 corners left a gap opened up and I waited for the last corner to see if the gap would close. It didn't and I turned on my hyperdrive to try and close in on the "escapers". No such luck but I wasn't passed. I finished 10th. I won a case of Mix 1 energy drink for my earlier effort.

All in all a good race. I tried my luck in the pro-1-2 race but it was about 4o minutes after this race and the repeated accellerations did my legs in quickily and I lasted 15 minutes before pulling myself from the pain house.

One more race on pavement left, it's only the Colorado Master's championships, no big deal.

Rio Grande/Vic's Espresso Prospect Criterium

With just a few road races left this season I've found some great form. Yesterday at the Rio Grande/Vic's Espresso crit in Prospect I doubled up doing the Masters 35+ race and the Pro 1-2 race 4 hours later.

Even though I was riding strong near the front during the Masters race I and a few others missed out on a breakaway that rolled off during a prime lap. A few moves to pull back the 7 riders were attempted but unsuccesful. I rolled off the front at one point and was later told I was gaining on the riders every lap. Lack of long interval training proved my downfall as I was eventually swept up again by the pack which again slowed their pace. Had the breakaway not softpedaled the last few laps they would have lapped us. I managed to finish 12th.

With such a big break between races I leashed my 2 dogs up and went over to the Two Dog Diner which serves breakfast all day. With the grilled prawn omelete standing out to me I tied the dogs to the table and sat down for a great omelete. It was a good lunch that came with a side of home fried potatoes and my choice of bread (I ordered rye but it looked and tasted more like wheat) A quick check of my watch told me that I was eating a bit later than I ought to. Luckily I was able to get most of it digested before the next race.

The Elite mens race went fast from the gun. I somehow have been always to find my way to the front in these races even when I start at the back. Must be all those years of experience. We were quickly single file as all those fresh legs started to stretch. We were just ripping through the course and those not lucky enough were shelled off the back early. I sat up near the front figuring to stay away from the back where the most of the weaker riders would open up gaps making the race harder to stay in it. All the bike commuting must be paying dividends. Because, although it was super fast, I never felt in difficulty.
Here is a YouTube video of the first corner of the race. Easily the fastest corner as it comes after a slight downhill straightaway. I come through the corner about 21st. If you listen hard enough you can hear someone yell my name. I believe this video was taken before the 3 man breakaway happened.




Early on in the race an automatic sprinkler turned on creating a hazardous corner with riders, including myself, slipping sideways. After a few cautious laps race volunteer Paul Gertler, who races masters 55+, was able to get the water diverted and squeegee the road dry. High speed cornering resumed.
With 20 minutes remaining 3 riders broke clear. I don't remember the pace ever slowing down when they went so those guys were smoking.
I followed a single rider attack in the final 10 minutes. We got a gap on the field but it didn't stick as I led the field around for a lap before falling back a bit setting up for the final few frantic laps that were to come. I had the inside line on the 3rd corner and made up a few spots as a rider lost his line and swung wide slowing down those behind him. I made a few more spots up on the next straightaway and never lost position finishing 14th.
On the warm down lap it was pretty cool experience. The crowd was cheering and clapping and we got standing ovations from the patrons seated at outdoor restaurants.
Not sure how the last couple of races will be but this was definitely a highlight for me this year.

The irony of the situation was that I didn't realize the prize list went to 15th and left with only the adrenaline rush that comes from such an effort.

So glad not to ride tonight

I was running late this morning so I drove to the Air Force base, parked my car and rode to work. I was planning on getting some miles in after work.
The plan was good til about 6:15pm when hell broke loose and the clouds opened up to drecnh it out. I ended up getting a ride to my truck from Victor, a coworker. the road were rivers. I had only seen stuff like this on reality TV. You know, the film footage where the car tries to cross a flooding creek and gets swept downstream with the driver left clinging to a signpost waiting for help.
The most amazing sight was trying to get to my truck on base. The road leading into the base was a river flowing outward. We got close before Victor's car stalled in the high water. Eventually I ended up taking off my shoes and wading through the gate and getting a lift to my truck.
As usually happens, it never really rained at my house. Only a bit of spit.

it'll be interesting what the results of this flooding will be.

Ahhhh

Well it's been hot here lately. In the 90s. I think Cheyenne will set a new record high this weekend. It gets cooler at night but even with fans in the windows if just cools it down to bearable.
Then an idea struck me across the forehead. My Airstream has an air conditioner, I've never tried it off of my outdoor outlet.
Ba-Da-Bing! AC!
it may be Ok outside but inside it's definitely cold. I knew I this trailer would be useful even when not on the road.
Tonight I'll sleep in air conditioned bliss. (oh, and the dogs will too)

Tomorrow is the Fed Center race and Sunday is Bannock criterium. Temps for my race time are expected to be 100.
Yee Haw. time to swipe one of those Pearl Izumi ice vests that Garmin-Chipotle use to cool the riders before races.

Hello to all my visitors!

Thanks to the wonder of web tracking I'm able to see when my family, friends, teammates, and others that have stumbled onto my writings. Sometimes it's all racing related, sometimes it's travel related and sometimes I just want to vent my frustrations.

So thanks and hello to those that I believe to be behind the blog hits (feel free to correct me)

to Mishawaka Indiana (my sister Michele)

to Warner Robins Georgia (my sister Chris)

to Chicago Illinois (my brother Pat who I talked through a shifter overhaul on the the phone)

to Denver Colorado (I think that the tracker must be off 'cause I think it should read Evergreen Colorado representing my teammated CF)

to Broomfield Colorado (my teammate (and brother from another mother (Brad) and father of the sticker adorners on my frame)

to Fort Collins Colorado (those Rio Grande riders that will soon be tearing up the scene, if Skins allows it)

To Missoula Montana (my ex brother in arms, that will soon move to the Springs, Kevin P)

and to Port Jervis New York (post a response so I know who you are. I'm betting on a fellow Airstreamer)

Hope y'all like my attempts at WWW exposure.

B

Hot racing at Leaning Tree

Hot as in heat. It was in the upper 90's during my first race today. I spent most of the last 2 days ensuring that I would be well hydrated for my 2 midday races. With the heat I didn't feel much like racing but it all changed at the start. I rode well but due to my lack of longer interval training I was unable to catch the winning breakaway. I held on and won the field sprint for 9th. It was a very nice sprint if I do say so myself. A little over an hour later I lined up for the Pro-1-2 race with the intention of staying sheltered in the middle and finishing. I found myself spending a lot of energy going flat out trying to stay on a wheel midway back so I moved up toward the front. At first it was easier because I was able to match the accelerations when they happened. But after a while I realized that less riders in front of me meant riding harder in the wind. After 35 minutes I decided to drop out. I found out later that a lot of riders dropped out before I did so I felt pretty good about it. All this doubling up is giving me some good training leading up to the final month of racing. I will be taking it a bit easy this week as I'm not racing next weekend. Time to go out and enjoy some miles without pressure.

Lap Dog

I finally was able to get a "race" photo that was clear and in focus. Here's Axel and I enjoying a moment while watching the womens race.

Longmont Crit

Suffering is how I would describe the day.
I haven't felt this tired from putting it all out in a race in a long time.
let's start from the morning
I woke up very early (for me) at 5:30am to prepare my coffee, eat some breakfast, and watch some Tour de France action.
I loaded up the dogs and left for the race a little after 6. Mind you, I almost never rise before 7am.
Zoomed on down to Longmont for the 22nd annual criterium.
It's one of my favorites courses and is shaped like an L with 6 corners.
First race up was the 35+ race. I've been showing some good form for no apparent reason and liked my chances at a good finish in this race. The absence of one of the major teams really made for a different race. With the exception of RMCEF their was no real team to control the race. I stayed up near the front for most of the race. I was feeling pretty good and with 5 laps to go, when the pace quickened, I was ready. Unfortunately, with 2 laps to go I was boxed out, fell pretty far back and had to fight my way back to the front just in time for the finish. I ended up 11th , my teammates did well, Larry finished in front of me at 7th, TR, DK, and Carter finished right behind me not far back. No one was involved in a crash, unlike last week which claimed the bikes and skin of DK and, my brother from another mother, Brad.
I felt pretty wasted after this race. Much more so than last weekends race. So my decision to race a second, Faster, race needed some serious thinking.
I rode around a bit and decided why not. It'll be good training.
The senior Pro 1-2 race was also a Colorado State Championships race. Hopefully I can last 30 minutes again like last week, I thought.
The race started out very smooth and seemingly not very fast. But it heated up a bit when the attacks to form a breakaway started reeling off. I found myself sitting comfortably somewhere in the middle to the back of the peloton. I quickly ran out of liquids because, after all, I was only going to be out here for a short while. I bummed a half empty bottle from an ex teammate and refueled. I had gone 30 minutes so far and was not feeling bad. 60 minutes in and I was still feeling great. At this point I was happy with my ride. If I dropped now it was no big deal. At 70 minutes, 15 minutes to go I was feeling tired and dehydrated. Every lap through the start finish I started to look for the 5 laps to go signal. The refs must have been sleeping at one point because the sign read 11 minutes to go and I thought, great only 6 more laps. But on the next lap it stilled showed 11 minutes. Damn, this is killing me. Finally 5 laps to go came and we were all together. This is when the pace turned hot and my legs started showing the wear of over 2 hours of racing. I finally popped off the back at 3 laps to go, did one more lap on my own and then called it a day. I rolled to my teammates tent and collapsed. I was spent. I had rode 67 miles including warmup at an average speed of over 25 mph for the day. After a few beers compliments of Left Hand Brewery's beer garden and a couple of enormous cinnamin rolls from a local cafe I headed back home. Mission completed, time to recover for next weeks races.

Le Tour

I, like many cycling aficionados, suffer from Letouritis during the month of July. Indicative symptoms are

1. Increased time spent watching Versus.
2. More time spent surfing CyclingNews.com and VeloNews online.
3. Less attentive at work during early morning Live online feeds.
4. Talking about seeing a rider on clearly a non sponsors bike/wheels/components.
5. Talking about seeing a rider on the newest, not yet released for public components.
6. Being late for work because of a finish you just had to see on live TV.

Did I leave something out?

Niwot Criterium, Whoo Hoo!

I'm feeling pretty good after 1 race and 30 minutes of another. No cramps or tight muscles, just as much power as my legs could put out and no more.
In the 35+ race I rode well and even though it rained a bit I never succumbed to the crashes that started littering the field. I found myself hoping the rain would never stop as it was keeping me in the race well positioned because I was taking lines through the corners that others were not so confident on in the wet. Unfortunately the rain stopped and the road dried up making for a fast last 5 laps. I ended up running out of steam on the last lap and finished 18th. Not bad but it could have been better.
I ended up doing the Pro 1-2 race for an extra effort to help speed along my 2nd half season fitness. I hung pretty tough for having already raced once, eventually dropping off the back with another rider with whom I traded pulls with before pulling myself out before the lead moto caught us. 30 minutes of intensity, about 15 more than I was hoping for.

This is my favorite time of the season with all my favorite races. Next week is Longmont, another good race. It even has a beer garden.

unbelievable recovery

Only 2 weeks ago I suffered an injury that at the time was set to derail the rest of my cycling season.
Initially told that I would be off the bike for 4-6 weeks, I prepared myself for the worse. After a week in a sling I was told by the orthopedist that I shold heal fine with time and to try and get as much movement back as was pain allowable. That day, without thinking, I jumped on a bike to verify a customers complaint of poor shifting.
Whoa, I'm riding a bike I thought.
So last Sunday I tested the shoulder on the bike. First on the indoor trainer (OK no pain) and then outside. A little weak but no real pain after 2 hours.
I decided that the weekends stage race, at least the road race, was doable and proceeded to get some more miles in to fully get the shoulder ready for the race.
What started out as not being able to raise my arm above my shoulder pain free on Monday turned into a mostly pain free shoulder by this weekend. Why the improvement? I can't say.

Dead Dog stage race
I rode the road race and finished exactly where I did last year, about 15 minutes down on the leaders. Not being a climber I was happy with it.
The Criterium went better and I finished 8th. Time to work on the upper end power, so I can do better in the upcoming races.
At the time trial I borrowed a teammates TT bike and turned in a decent time for having not been doing any tt races this year.
Next weekend Niwot Criterium

Touch my truck again and I'll f'n kill you

I will limit my anger to this short post. Someone keyed my new truck Friday at the bike shop. I'll put money on it that it was one of the teen f#%koffs that "work" there.
There is a chance that it wasn't (0.5%), but I doubt it.

I'm seriously considering another job move and letting the service shop sink and deal with the lack of a manager. Within the month I'll make a decision to move on or not. I've worked too long around competent individuals and this is my only regret to employment outside the military.

on a better note, I'll try to get some miles on the road tomorrow.

Due to injury, I sped up the proposed purchase of a new vehicle. Unable to ride I had to rely on automotive transportation to get around. My Tacoma was a manual transmission. Not ideal when I'm not sure when I'll be able to use my right arm.


A few phone calls and a heckuva deal later I was driving down the road in my new Tundra.

Very sweet!

Sore and alive

Well looking back on my accident I can be thankfull that it wasn't worse. My body would have been draged off the trail by a mtn lion and no one would have found my body.

I'm looking forward to the Ortho/MRI visit to make sure all is well for a speedy recovery.

in the meantime here are a couple of pics pre accident

for those of you wondering, the Stumpy got off with a chewed up grip and brake lever, no other apparent damages.

Lucky bastard.

Season Over

Today marked a dramatic turn-around in my cycling season. Through my own fault of not turning the "Brain" setting on my Stumpjumper 3 clicks off of the full firm setting I was thrown hard to the ground on a steep downhill section. I had run this section 5 times prior with no problems. Having the setting full firm made my bike handle likje a bucking bronco on the dirt berms that are set up to prevent 4wheelers from climbing the hill.

End result was a non correctable launch off the 3rd berm upside down. I landed on my right shoulder hard enough and painfully enough to believe that I had broken my collar bone.

After a 3/4 mile walk I encountered Gary and his 3 dogs that graciously assisited me. Not only did he drive me to the ER, but he also gave my dogs water as they awaited my return to the trailer. I was very lucky, as I was way back from help and no cell phone, to have crossed paths with Gary.

He runs the taxidermy shop in Cheyenne if you ever need some work done.

The doctor at the ER after looking at the x-rays informed me that I had endured a grade 2 shoulder separation.
I was looking at 4-6 weeks off the bike. End of season.
He's a cyclist himself and told me most cyclists take only 4 weeks due too their high level of fitness and health.
I was only dabbling into the purchase of a new Tundra (automatic trans, more power to tow, and huge rebate) but now it may be a neccessity.

Stay tuned for updates, I still need to see an orthopedic specialist and have an MRI to ensure there is no damage that needs surgury.

Weekend getaways

I'm off again in the Airstream for another weekend of relaxation and riding. Till the regular racing season resumes I'm enjoying these days.
If I can find where I placed my camera I may even take some pics of the washed and waxed 'Stream.

Yes Carter, the Lakers will lose.

Cubs on Fire and Lakers suck

Chicago Cubs are ripping it this year. Go Cubs! (are you happy sis?)

And as an avowed Kobe/Laker Hater, Go Celtics!

Wind was at 30mph with gusts in the 40s out of the west while I was riding home this evening. I think I got up to 14 mph on a steep downhill.

the weekend

While some teammates were out doing the Colorado State Time Trial championships I was pre-riding the Laramie Enduro course.
I towed the Silver Bullet up to the summit at about 8700 feet Friday night and setup for the early 8am ride start (early for me as on weekends I usually get the sleep that I miss during the week).
I powered up the trailer for AC using my truck converter to enjoy some TV before heading off to sleep. I need to find a 1000 or 2000 Honda generator in the future.
Day broke and I let the pups out for their morning romp while I enjoyed breakfast and ESPN radio.
It was chilly but calm and I suited up for 30 miles of fun.
I met the others at the Tie City trailhead after riding about 20 minutes of warmup. There were about 40 riders of varying abilities and rides. Full suspensions, rigid and suspended single speeds, and many 29ers.
The fitter/faster riders is where I fell in and we quickly separated ourselves from the others in a group of 10 or so before we held up at the first turn onto a single track (Windy-Windy trail) through a closed fence. This went on for most of the ride. The faster riders separating themselves from the rest. I somehow found myself always at or near the front. Able to stay with whoever was on the front be it climbs or single track. At one stop I mentioned that I hoped to finish the race in 7 hours and another rider who said he did it in just over 7 hours said that the way I was riding I would have no problem. I hope he's right.
I finished the ride Saturday with a ride up the arduous Headquarters Trail finish. Definitely a section that will be hard after 65 miles or so of race. I'll be using my cyclocross skills on the really rocky sections to not lose time.
After making it back to the 'stream. I let the dogs out while I relaxed. I had rode fairly hard (actually really hard for me) and was dead tired.
I got in touch with my teammates that rode the State TT to see if we would have a jersey to show off to our sponsors but no such luck. The categories we race in are so competetive that if you win you are sure to have a good run at Nationals if you choose to go there.
I may have a go at it next year when I get the new bike but we'll see.
Sunday: 2nd half of the Enduro pre-ride and also a baby shower/party for my teammate KOB. I had already planned on the pre-ride weeks before the party that I had excused myself. that and the price of gas just to drive down to Evergreen would have been a present in itself to show up.
I slept 12 hours the night before and was still tired. I got up at 6 and had breakfast, fed the dogs, and waited for daylight to warm the area. It had rained for about 6 hours the previous afternoon/night. It was still damp outside but the worst item was the wind. It was whipping. I hadn't seen this on the weather forecast. It was so bad that the trailer was rocking and the dog crates had blown into the truck and a few yards past. I was in no mood to rush out into the 40 degree temps with 30 degree windchills to ride the 2nd half of the course that included at least 1 high water crossing (there were 2 up to the chamois and many other lesser crossings)
I went back to sleep and eventually slept until 10:30. I must have been dead tired.
I think I should do this more often on non race weekends. It allows me to unwind/relax more than I thought possible.
I eventually rode the course backward to the start of the days ride to hear the stories of the return riders. Tales of frozen feet and water up to the chamois were the norm. Eventually I rode back the 8 miles that me and the dogs rode out and crashed at the 'stream again.
I made it back home where the grass had grown another couple of inches and were awaiting shortness by lawnmower. A couple of hours later and not nearly enough grass cut (I should really buy a riding lawnmower) I headed inside to watch the Cubs defeat the Dodgers and the Celtics pull out another home win.
Back to work to earn the $ for a Honda generator.

rain for 2 days, really

A day of rain coupled with a strained knee ligament (the product of sprint intervals and not enough post ride stretching) has allowed me a day or 2 of no pedaling. But with bikes piled to the ceiling at work waiting for tune-ups and what not I've had no room to enjoy it. My acreage should be plenty green when this weathe is all over.

Dirt Weekend

2 days of riding the Stumpjumper on parts of the Enduro course in preparation for the pain to come. 70 miles and tons of climbing over 2 days have left me feeling strangely... stronger. after day one I was really tired and sore. but after day 2 I felt great, just a little tired. I even took a sprint around the A loop of single track at Curt Gowdy state park on a S-Works Epic compliments of Specialized bikes demo unit. That bike performed like a true race horse and even though I was tired, I easily rode my fastest lap ever for the 5 mile loop. I usually never rave about a bike much as I generally think of them as tools to reach the finish line. Some are stiffer, some are lighter, and some ride smoother than others. I really don't think it matters much as long as you are properly sized to the bike and you like the ride. I think this is the first bike I ever rode in which I was raving for minutes after getting off of it. I am so stoked that I have a job that allows me to get the best equipment in the sport I love at cost or below. I can't wait til January so I can get an '09 S-Works Epic. Time to start selling all the other bikes in preparation.

Night riding

I rode 1.5 hours tonight in the fog. With my Night Rider TriNewt headlamp there were no worries. It's so bright that cars dim their lights now for me.
I find it humorous when a car waits before pulling onto the road when I'm approaching because he thinks that I am a motorcycle or car.
It's 480 lumens on the high mode which I rarely use because it if so bright. The SPecialized rep was telling me today about a new Light in Motion light that puts out over 700 lumens in a lighter package. If I can get it for a good discount price I'll be adding this to my lighting arsenal for riding trails at night.

Memorial day weekend

Loaded up the Bambi Thursday for an early Friday afternoon departure from work. I ended up working an hour longer than I wanted and got on the road at 2pm head for Buffalo Creek (en route thru Denver traffic). Stopping for gas at the Flying J before crossing into Colorado I was stuck behind some yahoo that must have been filling 100 gal side tanks of diesel before having to pay by cash at the register causing a longer delay.

This was my view for 20 minutes

Nice view huh?

150 miles later I arrived at the group campground. Not a bad drive after the gas line wait.

Being early I was able to setup near Chuck, the organizer of the weekend's camper. This put me near the keg.

Setting up the Stream I had endless encounters with the others already there on wanting to tour the living quarters. I left the door open intentionally for the rest of the arrivals to check out Bambi. I felt like an Airstream rep showing off all the features. Everyone loved it.

There where plenty of other dogs and dog lovers to keep Nikki and Axel occupied. They also got to run the trails as we did parts of the Colorado Trail and Gashouse trail to keep them in energetic check.

Saturday, after the girls group ride, Matt (a Skins teammate and my inviter in this shindig) and I took off for a ride on the Colorado trail. We went from the camp to the wilderness boundary, back to camp, to the parking area at the highway, and back to camp. Somewhere around 30 miles of single track and lots (LOTS) of climbing.

Matt is a climbing phenom. He came close to a stage win at the Tour of the Gila this year and was the highest placed Skins rider at the Dead Dog road race last year.

I don't try to compete with him when the road turns up. For the most part this is what I saw.

It was usually on singletrack but you get the picture.

\On Sunday, Matt, his wife Kat, friends Joe and ?, and I headed out and rode the course for next weeks mountain bike time trial race that would be held there.

It will be a fairly entertaining (and hard) course and I would love to do it if I wasn't committed to a friends B-Day party that day.

Here is a pic of Kat and friend behind Matt, Joe and I.

Fun stuff came to an end when I had to pack up and head back home.

Work was calling for Monday.

Matt's family accomodations

Tornados!

You may have seen TWC, CNN, or a major networks news talking about the bad weather that hit northern Colorado and southeastern Wyoming. Many tornadoes and funnel clouds later I (my dogs, cats, and property too) can breath a sigh of relief. We were missed. Others nearby were not so lucky.
ride obn

Wheels of Thunder/ Coal Miners Classic

after a week of hardly any riding due to weather and other stuff I had a weekend of races. I lasted only 42 minutes of a 60 min race on Saturday. It was to be expected. Then with much thought I decided to race Sunday even if I get shelled off the back early (a costly race given that it's $30 and gas is $3.65 and it's 200 miles round trip)
I did better than expected even though I couldn't hold a position near the front of the race for more than 1/4 a lap and even thought about dropping 20 minutes into the 60 minute affair. I had a last lap adrenaline surge that found me move up to 4th wheel through the first corner that I maintained til just before the last corner. I finished 13th which was 9th in the field sprint to the line as there was a breakaway that finished right before us. Not bad for not being in prime form yet.

To maintain the intesity it may be hard as there are no races that I'm planning on doing in the next 6 weeks
31 May Hugo: Drive all that way (410 milesround trip) for an 80 mile training race? I don’t think so
1 June City Park: 7:30 start time for Masters? Maybe the Pro-1-2 painfest at 12:30
7&8 June State TT and a Hill Climb? Nope good luck to the rest of the team
14&15 June Glenwood Springs: If I can get time off to travel I would like to do these otherwise another dead weekend
21&22 Rist Canyon RR and Hill Climb: Probably not unless my power to weight ratio is >4
and 6 weeks later…
28&29 Dead Dog SR: FINALLY this race I will do

Then July at last. Almost a race every weekend for me.
Bring on July!!

Celebrity status

I'm driving into work and I get a phone call. It's a friend telling me I looked good in the newspaper.
"Oh yeah, I was wondering when that was going to run. Where's it posted?"
"On the front page, large photo of you and a wheel"
Great, I'd better get a copy so I can prepare for the ribbing I'm going to recieve.

The day before I was entertaining the news/camera man while working away on some bikes. The paper was going to run an article on the the high price of gas driving people to seek alternative modes of transportation.
I had no idea when this was going to show. I thought maybe next week or the weekend.

Throughout the day at work people would come in and say things like "I saw you in the paper" "sign any autographs copies yet" "you represented the shop well"
and my favorite "you're that guy in the paper"

I didn't think Cheyenne was that small that I'd see that kind of reaction, guess I was wrong.

From what I can tell about the photo, I think I won the stare down match between the wheel and me.

Ouch!

Working late hours means you have to train when you can. Tonight meant an hour training ride on the Mtn bike with the new lighting system. I decided to get the dogs out for a few miles first. this meant riding a loop that we normally do in the daylight. Unfortunatly I decided to change the loop up without telling the dogs. Approaching an inersection at near 20mph I decided to go straight. I remember a blur as Nikki streaked into my lighting area. Next thing was me rolling on the ground after I hit my head and hip. So much for an evening ride. Riding home on adrenaline, I made it home where I assessed damages.
Abbrasions to the left hip, lump on the back of my head, arm sore and back a bit sore but sure to be worse tomorrow.
Oh, and the bike suffered a scratch on the pedal cap and grip. Otherwise no worse for wear.

time to heal

Snow on Saturday

It's Saturday. It's one of the days I get to spend all day doing whatever I want.

I wanted to hit the trails on my new Stumpjumper.

It's 30 degreees, 30 mph winds, and it's SNOWING.

Tomorrow is going to be in the upper 60's. I'll have to go to bed early and wake up early to enjoy the weather.

Bikes and Maintenance

Work has been busy. I like it but it has its drawbacks. Long hours, minimal break time, arriving home in the dark with a dead headlamp having switched to the backup, emergency, single LED light that is kept in my pocket.

The positives. Working at a job I enjoy, helping other cyclists make purchases based on actual user experiences, and employee discounts.

After waiting over a week for my new Stumjumper to arrive I found out that the order had been canceled by the higher ups due to the fact that there were less than 10 available in the US. Once we found that out I started to look at the Trek Fuel 9.5 ( a sweet ride with full XTR). It only took one call from the general manager to say that I was going to go with a Trek since the Specialized wasn't available to get the regional sales manager involved and release a bike to me. Not just any bike, but one of only 200 produced in a special edition "raw" paint scheme. It must be only available to UK and foreign markets for the most part because that is where I found pics of it. Raw nude carbon frame with gold accents

I've been told by our Specialized rep that it is much nicer looking than the standard issued color. From what I can tell I will not see another bike in this color in the states.

This morning I sent off my order to Night Rider for their TriNewt lighting system. With all the darkness riding I've been doing I can easily justify the expense (employee discount helps). At almost 500 lumens I hope to make those cars that refuse to dim their lights pay the price. I'll be able to ride trails with the dogs at night also with this level of lighting.

My brother Pat in Chicago dealt with my over phone maintenance of his Mtn Bike that wasn't shifting. after about an hour on the phone I thinks he's got it. I'll find out the first time he goes out for a ride or reads this blog.

first weekend in may

Got through a weekend of good weather and no races cleaning house.
I started my Saturday early, 6:30am, when I found out that Nikki couldn't control her bladder while lying on the bed. After stripping off all my linens and comforter covers and throwing them in the wash I went back to bed and slept until 9:30. After breakfast I spent some time putting up a new ceiling fan to replace an ugly chandelier light that was hanging in the area that would be the dining area if I ever wanted it to be. Set up sprinklers for the dry grass and trees and Got out the Specialized Stumpjumper Test Bike that I took from the shop since my bike hadn't arrived yet. I tired the dogs out with a fast hour ride. That was my Saturday.
Sunday was cleanup day for all the stuff that had been accumulating over the past 2 weeks on my counters and bedroom floor. But not before I had loaded the dogs up and drove up the road to Curt Gowdy state park for some mtn biking with the test bike. This time it was a fast 2 hours on single track and climbs tiring the dogs and me out. Then it was back to town to gas up and return the bike as I would be commuting by bike most of the week and it's kinda hard to carry a bike on my shoulders while riding 20 miles. Got back home and cleaned up the rest of the house.
Now it's time for bed and the start of another week of work.

Primus Mootry crit

Another early season (or is this mid season for me?) race held in an office park between Boulder and Longmont. I had much better hopes for this race since it's been a month since I returned to altitude and it was basically as flat and wide open as they come. I was the lone Skins racer as some of my teammates opted to double up and race 45+ and 3s.

The weather was cool enough that I decided to race in knee and arm warmers. It would later warm up to 70 after my race.

I started out well feeling better than I have in a while. There were a few early moves but nothing stuck until halfway through the 50 minute race 2 riders went clear. 2 laps later Bob Dahl of team Excel Sports attacks and gets a Mob rider to go with him. They bridge up and I waited to see what the reaction from the field would be. After seeing no movement I hit the afterburners to try to bridge up solo. I came close, within a couple of seconds, before my lack of intensity training kicked in and I fell back to the field. I lasted 2 laps in no man’s land. It was a good effort and I got lots of cheers which really helped out in the end when I was really hurting to catch the leaders. The Mob riders effectively shut down the race behind. None of the other riders had teammates and really profited from this generosity. I sat in and waited for the final few laps debating to attack again with 1.5 laps left but someone beat me to it. Good thing I didn’t go as we caught and passed him before the line. In fact we almost caught the leaders as they had slowed significantly in a game of cat and mouse. I was mid pack when I passed the last corner but was able to find the right wheel to pull me past most of the field to finish 17th.

My teammates in the cat 3 race did well with some interesting happenings.

TR broke a spoke and made an illegal pitstop at his car to change a wheel and in his haste he forgot to close the quick release skewer. His rear wheel basically fell out when I picked up his bike to move it after the race. Thank goodness he didn't sprint all out, he might have taken the whole field out.

CF and some other riders were taken out in the final kilometer by some young'n riding stupidly. He ended up with a taco for a wheel.

KOB was back up to prime form as was DK who unfortunately led the field around the last corner which was 350 meters too soon.

Garrett, a day after having to shoot pics at the Nuggets/Lakers game the night before, raced the 35+ cat 4 race and finished in the pack.

all in all a fairly good day for the crew.

My next race is in 2 weeks.

Snow still?!?

Woke up today to blowing snow. Will this ever stop?

It warmed up to 43 today so at least it disappeared and allowed me to get in a quick outdoor spin with the dogs. I had to have them burn off some energy after I found they had caught a bunny to play with. Unfortunately the bunny did not last as long as a dog chew toy. Poor bunny, next time stay away from my bushes and flowers.

My new Stumpjumper hasn't arrived yet but I did grab a new bike from the shop. It's an '07 Specialized Sirrus Sport that had been sitting on the floor. I've been trying to sell this to people as the ultimate commuter (which it is), but even with a discounted price for last years stock no takers. It's a aluminum road bike with carbon fork and seat stays and a flat bar like a mtn bike. Handles like a bike messenger bike in NYC. It's a blast to ride. I'll try the work commute on it Monday. Pictures as soon as I find my camera.
Tomorrow is a pancake flat criterium. I hope to feel better about myself after that race.

Work and racing

In the last post I mentioned a follow up to Sunday's race, after a busy week of work I forgot that I hadn't posted anything.

The AST criterium in Golden Colorado was a blast. Got together with most of my team and flashed some Skins power. Unfortunately, my power was short lived (re-aclimation phase) and my teammates were unable to bring down a top 10 finish. Afterwards we had our Team Photographer, Mark Woolcot, shoot our team shots. We then headed out to our various assignments that we had volunteered for as co sponsor of the race. Some of us even had a go at a second race (me included) and did well (I got shelled after 3 laps of the Pro race).

Monday I arrived at work to find about 2 dozen repairs awaiting me. As service manager you would think that I would have someone there to assist me. Well I do for about 3 hours when the youths get out of school. I'm not complaining, I like the challenge. Although I am looking forward to when I pick up another day mechanic late May. One of the busiest days so far was this Friday. I went into work at 9:30am and left @ 7:30pm. I didn't have one break, it was fun.

I'm on my way to owning a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Pro Carbon compliments of the employee purchasing program at the bike shop. This will replace the '04 Epic that I sold tonight.

I've already commited my entry into the Laramie Enduro to break it in at a race setting.

It occurs the same week as the Salida Omnium that I won 2 years ago when I raced as a 35+ cat 4 rider. I have no intentions of racing that race in the open 35+ category until I grow wings on my back.

Tomorrow (or is it today) I'm headed down to Boulder to ride with the team up to Ward.

Sounds Fun

L8r

Work, snow, and altitude

3 days after returning from my trip I landed a job as the service manager at a local bike shop. This was the type of job I was looking for - fun, challenging, and a change of pace. I'm once again a productive member of society.
Then last Sunday was my first race back at altitude. It did not go too well as I was dropped early and fought my way alone for most of the race.
Now it seems my last name must be Jones because since I have returned with my shiny new trailer 2 of my nieghbors have gone out and bought new travel trailers (not Airstreams though)
in the 2 weeks that I have been back I believe it has snowed 6 or more of those days.
Tomorrow I'll post today's race results in Golden CO

Home again

After travelling almost 5000 miles with a trailer and a few hundred more miles of sidetrips with the truck I returned last Saturday. If I had known what kind of weather was on the horizon I would have just stayed at my parents house in Indiana.

The day after my return greeted me with this white stuff that I had all but forgotton about.

Time to think about moving south

More Georgia racing

10 miles from my sisters house was the "EPIC PERRY-ROUBAIX - Georgia Cup Series 7" in Perry Georgia.

I skipped the morning time trial in favor of the circuit and road race. It wasn't a stage race so time didn't matter. I got in a nice warmup ride to the course. My sister Chris, husband Shack, niece Katie, and a few of the local riders I had been riding with including Felix - a rider I new from my days in Germany. No pressure at all on me to do well :-). Race was 20 laps of a 1.35 mile loop. Pace was fairly civilized because of the TT many of the riders had done less than 3 hours earlier. I took a flier off the front to chase down a lone rider early on just to stretch my legs before sitting in and waiting. With no teammates there was no need to react to any of the attacks. There where others willing to do the work. I was focused on the final sprint to the finish and would save my legs for then. 2 riders ended up crossing the line before the field (1 guy, a track rider took off with 4 to go and soloed to a win) I was able to grab wheels near the front for a leadout coming around the final turn. Unfortunately the rider in front of me pulled off with 300 meters to go leaving me with a clear road into a headwind to the finish. I was nipped by 2 other riders at the line fiinishing 5th overall, 2nd 40+. This meant a podium spot for me.

Sunday Was the "Epic Perry-Roubaix" road race. It's styled like many of the early season races in the US after the Paris-Roubaix race in France which consists of cobblestone and dirt sections that are really nasty when it rains as in this YouTube video.

I started the day with another 10 mile warmup ride to the course feeling pretty good. The overnight thunderstorms had left some moisture still on the road and I was wondering how the dirt section would be. The course is 12.4 miles with 2 bothersome climbs back to back coming within the first 2 miles after the start. The “Roubaix” part is the 2 miles of slippy, softening mud/dirt road that comes at about 5 miles (this was my favorite part). Well the race started fast at over 30 mph approaching the first climb. My legs were not feeling spry but the pace slackened to a manageable pace on the climb. The pace picked back up after the climbs, and on the dirt I rode 3rd wheel. In fact every lap through the dirt I rode at the front, partly to lessen the amount of mud on my face but mostly because I kept having visions of mid 80’s Paris – Roubaix with the music of John Tesh running through my mind powering me on.
8 riders attacked at the start of the second lap and the way my legs were feeling, I was not going to join them on their assault of the hills. The race pretty much got shut down then with 2 strong teams represented in the break. So for the next 4 laps to the finish (except for a half lap where a couple of jacka$$es jumped in the passing break from the cat 3 field and we ended up going full tilt in pursuit to slap them around for their wrongdoing) it was a fast training ride. My legs started cramping with a lap and ¾ left and my whole lower body was burning with pain from various muscle aches. I even entertained thoughts of dropping out but decided to give it one last go on the climbs and if I cramp then it’s over. Somehow I made it through the climbs and was able to shift all focus to the final 1km run into the finish to win the field sprint.

With a long 1km straight away to the finish I again made it up near the front and chose a wheel that looked best. Speed was winding up again and I was sure I had the right position this time. But with 300 meters that rider died and once again I was in no mans land. “Oh crap, not again”, I thought as I opened it up. I couldn’t even keep it going hard out of the saddle and sat down and continued to pour on everything I had fully expecting to be passed.

I wasn’t.

It felt good, even though I wasn’t first I had still beaten out the rest.

I was 9th overall and was the 6th 40+ Master rider.

and unlike Colorado racing, I took home $75

Rain and sickness

It was just a matter of time before I succumbed to a cold, stuffy head, cough, runny nose feeling. It's been going on since late Tuesday. After a 2.5 hour ride yesterday I'm glad that is is raining today. Hopefully I can regain some semblance of form for next weekend. This cold is killing me.

Pedal Harder

Got through the opening weekend of Georgia racing without a scatch.
Loaded up the dogs, my sister Chris, and my niece Katie for the drive south to Albany where we stayed at the Parks at Chehaw. A quiet park with a wild animal zoo that was designed by Jim Fowler (TVs Wild Animal Kingdom). Too bad there was no time for the zoo.

Albany Georgia 1-2 March
First race was a prologue TT of 3.6km containing 8 corners through a downtown circuit. I wish I could have pre-ridden the course because I almost hit the 3rd turn barriers because I was going too fast. This of course probably caused me to brake a little more than I needed to on some of the subsequent corners before I regained confidence. Not fast enough as I finished 14th some 30 seconds back.

Second race was a 45minute +3laps criterium 3 hours later. It was a figure 8 course with uphills into the wind. Team One/Memorial Health with 6 riders put on heavy pressure with attacks and counterattacks trying to get their riders free of the peloton. The breakaways were always shutdown after a lap and after a while the attacks ceased with just the normal accelerations on the hill to try and shed riders. With 3 laps to go I was sitting in up near the front, just where I wanted to be for the final lap. In Colorado the pace would be blistering and it would be near impossible to move up. Hearing the bell signifying 1 lap remaining I was feeling good. Then a kink was thrown in the cog. The riders slowed up after the first corner allowing everyone to move up on both sides of me. To say I was pissed was an understatement. I spent the next 2 corners riding all out, even cutting across the sidewalk at one point. I was unable to jump on the back of the Team One leadout train as we turned the 6th corner and ended up 15th.
Sunday was a 97Km road race. It was fast at times but nothing I couldn't handle. With less than 12 miles to go it looked like a serious threat up the road a ways with 2 riders, 1 from Team One/Memorial Health. The gap was growing. Banking on his teammates to shut down any chase I launched solo from the pack in pursuit of the 2 riders. I was feeling good and settled into a good rhythm closing the gap pretty well before we approached the first of 2 hills which put me in trouble. I had already caught one rider and he was struggling to keep my wheel so he was of no help. We were eventually swept up by the field and shortly thereafter so was the lone rider. About 5 miles I had held off the pack. I felt pretty good about that. The thing I found most frustrating was the riders that would sit in the front of the field with no teammate in the breakaway and not lend chase. “Move the F over!” I think I pissed off a few riders in the final miles because of the names I was calling some of the riders. Oh well, I call it like I see it. What part of pedal harder don’t you understand? I mean, why are you sitting up letting 6 riders roll off the front when you have nothing in there? The gap was never closed down and the field officially finished 12 seconds back. If there had been no gap I would have finished 9th overall. Instead the revised results show me at 11th after applying the time bonuses they forgot to initially put in.

Oh, and get this there were only 2 portajohns at the road race start for 300 riders, they are the ones used by the soccer fields. Toilet paper ran out in the first 15 minutes. I never saw the portaJs at the crit, lucky for them there were plenty around the start of the marathon that ran the same day.

To Quote my teammate Brad, these guys practice "Southern Charm" riding. Alerting others as to the approacing potholes, "braking" or "slowing", letting other riders back move back into the sheltered strung out lineup instead of forcing them to the back of the pack.

I can deal without all the "nice guy" etiquette, this is stuff you rarely here in Colorado.

Check out the retro Look colors on this turtle