The last few weeks have been all over the place. Picking up bits and pieces here and there of necessary items I'll need for the new direction my life is going in.
I've managed to pick up a coach as well. He's a really knowledgable guy, with some extremely strong and successful riders on his resume. I've got huge goals planned for next year, and I think he's exactly the kind of coach I need to get me there.
The next 6 months will be filled with insanely tough training and mental preparation for big time races that I have scheduled for next year. I'll be training in TX, Boulder, and possibly CA over the Winter-Spring. It'll be a good experience for me, and an amazing opportunity for long training.
As for now, I've got the Cat3 competition marked for the Page Valley RR and Crit this weekend. I'm looking forward to it, and I can hopefully grab that 1 upgrade point that I need for my Cat2.
The Sunday Crit will be my 50th race this season, and for once the season is actually starting to feel like its coming to an end.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Toona de Tour
I woke up at 4 in the morning on Saturday to the excruciating sound of my alarm. It was time to start the 3 and a half hour drive up to Altoona, PA for the big ol' Toona race that I always hear people talking about.
The drive down was beautiful. I was accompanied nearly the whole time by an almost surreal fog that covered the mountainous landscape of Southern PA. I hate to admit the carelessness of my driving but I couldn't resist the urge to snap a quick picture here and there of what laid right next to the road I was on.
When I got there I realized just how serious this race really was as I looked on at the line up for the Men's Pro1 Race. Bissel, Hincapie Development, Chemstar, Pure Black, and of course the legendary Tim Rugg. The field was absolutely stacked!
After I watched the Pro's ride off the line for the 90+ mile RR like it was the start of a crit, I got to talkin' with a few Cat3 and Cat2 rider's about the course. This is around the time when I realized just how serious my race was going to be. Something I really don't think my body was quite ready for after the week of training I had just had.
On Thursday I met up with Joe Dombrowski to do what I thought was going to be a long but slow and easy ride. 6 hours later in the 92 Degree Sun, with 9,000+ feet of climbing and 105 miles in my legs I was pretty much toast. That ride put me at 250 miles since my Mt. Weather ride on Monday.
With only one day to recover from the long week's riding, and hearing about the 70 miles of mega climbing that I was about to do in Stage 1, my goal went from a top ten finish to just not getting dropped.
The first climb up Blueknob Mountain shattered the field as expected. Guys dropped off left and right and a few got away. By the time I made it to the top there were 5 guys away and 11 of us in a chase. The second climb shattered our chase group, leaving 5 guys behind with 6 of us remaining in what I guess you could call was the remnants of the peloton. It stayed that way until we got to the line which I rolled past for 9th overall.
The Sunday Crit was fast. After finding out that it was too short to be used for upgrade points, my goals for the race changed. My main goal would be not to crash but I also wanted to put myself in a break or two, and also practice bridging up to a break just for the experience. The race went as I had anticipated.
I made sure to put myself up front on the final laps so as to reduce my chances of a possible crash. Unfortunately, there was one but thankfully I was not at all involved. Stupidly, I led the sprint out and rolled in for 7th but I didn't care because overall, I had fun, stayed upright, and got some good training in. I was also able to move myself up to 8th Overall GC with that finish, so I was definitely happy with that.
Although it was one of the toughest I've had yet, it was an awesome weekend of racing. However, oddly enough, my body felt 100% fresh yesterday and my legs were already giving me the green light to get back on the bike today. Being the energetic youngster that I am, I took them up on the challenge. Oh to be young ay? :)
The drive down was beautiful. I was accompanied nearly the whole time by an almost surreal fog that covered the mountainous landscape of Southern PA. I hate to admit the carelessness of my driving but I couldn't resist the urge to snap a quick picture here and there of what laid right next to the road I was on.
When I got there I realized just how serious this race really was as I looked on at the line up for the Men's Pro1 Race. Bissel, Hincapie Development, Chemstar, Pure Black, and of course the legendary Tim Rugg. The field was absolutely stacked!
After I watched the Pro's ride off the line for the 90+ mile RR like it was the start of a crit, I got to talkin' with a few Cat3 and Cat2 rider's about the course. This is around the time when I realized just how serious my race was going to be. Something I really don't think my body was quite ready for after the week of training I had just had.
On Thursday I met up with Joe Dombrowski to do what I thought was going to be a long but slow and easy ride. 6 hours later in the 92 Degree Sun, with 9,000+ feet of climbing and 105 miles in my legs I was pretty much toast. That ride put me at 250 miles since my Mt. Weather ride on Monday.
With only one day to recover from the long week's riding, and hearing about the 70 miles of mega climbing that I was about to do in Stage 1, my goal went from a top ten finish to just not getting dropped.
The first climb up Blueknob Mountain shattered the field as expected. Guys dropped off left and right and a few got away. By the time I made it to the top there were 5 guys away and 11 of us in a chase. The second climb shattered our chase group, leaving 5 guys behind with 6 of us remaining in what I guess you could call was the remnants of the peloton. It stayed that way until we got to the line which I rolled past for 9th overall.
The Sunday Crit was fast. After finding out that it was too short to be used for upgrade points, my goals for the race changed. My main goal would be not to crash but I also wanted to put myself in a break or two, and also practice bridging up to a break just for the experience. The race went as I had anticipated.
I made sure to put myself up front on the final laps so as to reduce my chances of a possible crash. Unfortunately, there was one but thankfully I was not at all involved. Stupidly, I led the sprint out and rolled in for 7th but I didn't care because overall, I had fun, stayed upright, and got some good training in. I was also able to move myself up to 8th Overall GC with that finish, so I was definitely happy with that.
Although it was one of the toughest I've had yet, it was an awesome weekend of racing. However, oddly enough, my body felt 100% fresh yesterday and my legs were already giving me the green light to get back on the bike today. Being the energetic youngster that I am, I took them up on the challenge. Oh to be young ay? :)
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Whoa! Thats A Rule?
Well, Tour of Washington County was...interesting, to say the least. My weekend started off with the Kick-Off Crit on Friday in Downtown Hagerstown, MD. I didn't know what to expect going into it. After just 3 days of riding prior to this race, my legs were no where near race-ready. So, at the start I was really just hoping to not get dropped and get some good time mixed in with the pack.
I did a lot better than I expected. A break of 3 got away and pulled off a deserving win while I pulled out of the field sprint in 5th for an 8th overall. It was a good start for sure. I made some money and got some of the racing-edge mentality back.
The highlight of the weekend was Stage 1, the RR. The pace was tough at times, but every time we would climb I felt completely on top of my game. I was feeling really good with a mile to go, and luckily I had a great teammate, Patrick, who was feeling just as good. He let me know that he was going to be leading me out for the sprint up the final climb and he did, perfectly.
I had to apologize to him in the end though, because I didn't come out on top as I should have. The wrong choice of gear for the hill-sprint finish left me with too big of gear to push and I got passed at the very end by .2 seconds. After 16 days of being off the bike though, I think 2nd is a pretty good way to start the racing up again.
The surprise of the weekend came on Sunday, 30 minutes before the final stage Criterium, when I was told that I needed to go see the officials before I could race. I got to the officials tent and found out that I had been DQ'd from the entire stage race. The reason was cited as "coaching a rider across the line" in the TT.
What ended up happening was I got a flat halfway through my TT effort. After a 15 minute wait for the SRAM wheel car, the Cat4's had begun their TT's. On my way back I pulled up along side a young GamJams rider who looked like he was hurting bad. I started to yell at him, motivating him up every hill and into a bigger gear on the flats and downhill sections. I was helping him out and I was attempting to be kind.
After crossing the line he shook my hand and thanked me greatly for the extra mental push I gave him. However, the officials were not as happy, and they dealt with it accordingly. Its unfortunate I wasn't able to race that Crit. My form was really coming around and I was looking for a strong finish for that final stage. Lesson learned though, another eventful learning experience to put in the books.
I did a lot better than I expected. A break of 3 got away and pulled off a deserving win while I pulled out of the field sprint in 5th for an 8th overall. It was a good start for sure. I made some money and got some of the racing-edge mentality back.
The highlight of the weekend was Stage 1, the RR. The pace was tough at times, but every time we would climb I felt completely on top of my game. I was feeling really good with a mile to go, and luckily I had a great teammate, Patrick, who was feeling just as good. He let me know that he was going to be leading me out for the sprint up the final climb and he did, perfectly.
I had to apologize to him in the end though, because I didn't come out on top as I should have. The wrong choice of gear for the hill-sprint finish left me with too big of gear to push and I got passed at the very end by .2 seconds. After 16 days of being off the bike though, I think 2nd is a pretty good way to start the racing up again.
The surprise of the weekend came on Sunday, 30 minutes before the final stage Criterium, when I was told that I needed to go see the officials before I could race. I got to the officials tent and found out that I had been DQ'd from the entire stage race. The reason was cited as "coaching a rider across the line" in the TT.
What ended up happening was I got a flat halfway through my TT effort. After a 15 minute wait for the SRAM wheel car, the Cat4's had begun their TT's. On my way back I pulled up along side a young GamJams rider who looked like he was hurting bad. I started to yell at him, motivating him up every hill and into a bigger gear on the flats and downhill sections. I was helping him out and I was attempting to be kind.
After crossing the line he shook my hand and thanked me greatly for the extra mental push I gave him. However, the officials were not as happy, and they dealt with it accordingly. Its unfortunate I wasn't able to race that Crit. My form was really coming around and I was looking for a strong finish for that final stage. Lesson learned though, another eventful learning experience to put in the books.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
As Washington County Looms
Its been 18 days since I met with the pavement at the Tour of Somerville. 14 of those days were spent off the bike. That leaves the last 2 days training on a new bike with unfamiliar speedplay, unfamiliar shifting and the weakest feeling body I've ever had.
So, that gives me a solid 3 days of training (including today), after two full weeks of nothing, to get prepped for Tour of Washington County. Not the most ideal preparation for 3 straight days of racing, but I'll have to deal with it.
My goals for the weekend consist of racking up enough points for my Cat2 upgrade and getting back into the GamJams Cat3 Cup Leader's Jersey for the stage races on Saturday and Sunday. I'll need a strong result in the Washington County Kick-Off Crit tomorrow to be able to wear the jersey throughout the stage race. It'll be interesting to see how my body reacts over the next few days.
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