I am official

Ok, so I lied about Cherokee being the last mtb race. I did another local race at Waverly Park this past sunday. It was a really great day out and just couldn't help but go out and have some fun. Its a climbier course which really suits me, and I ended up finishing eighth, and shelled some folks along the way.

Now back to more important business at hand. Last week's cross practice, in a word, throwdown. I showed up a little late, and the rest of the crew was on a warmup lap. I joined in and we gathered up to decide on the efforts. 4 laps with rotating leaders, and pretty high pace. I was one of the four leaders, which included Curtis Tolson, Marcus Moran, and a Calistoga roadie. Curtis is a former trackie, has stars and stripes, and is in general a crazy strong rider. I was stoked to gap him on my lap that I led, and just put a hurt on him. The rest of the pack was not happy with the pace we set, but its time to train.

So, all in all, I led two out of the eight laps, but never was further back than fourth. So I really didn't get any break the whole time. My legs felt super strong, and my handling skills are there. My dismount and remount skills have also magically showed up almost better than I left them. Each lap I was up front, I would gap the field by around 5 to 6 seconds! I am thrilled with how things are going training wise, and that doesn't even include what happened that morning.


Mary Catherine and I have been working to get our own Cross and MTB team going for a while. She has been gathering us sponsors for most of the summer and now we have finally landed our presenting sponsor. Chrysalis Ventures is a venture capitalist group based here in Louisville that is all about taking really small companies or companies in their infancy and making them grow. Its a great opportunity for us both, and we will soon be rocking some super sweet blue and white kits. I love blue.

This also makes it easier for us to get sponsors now that we have a promoter, so I can't wait to see what happens. Its just really exciting stuff, and it hasn't really soaked in yet.

Skills practice is tomorrow, I may try to make that, but Wednesday is when I show up to throw down.

Building Time

I just returned from a trip back home to do race support for Mary's dad, and still managed to get in all of my riding for the weekend. It was a great time and her dad had a really good time, and it was fun to turn the tables and put the attention on him.

I was scheduled to get 3 hours in each day, and had a great ride sat afternoon from my home to Mary's, which is about a 45 minute drive away, and I made great time and made it in 1:40. Sunday I was just doing a greenway ride, over to the race course and around town before the start of the race, and boy was I in for a surprise. About a mile and a half of the greenway was completely torn up and destroyed. Gravel, loose dirt, and hardpack were the flavours of the afternoon. It was the first real rough road test for my new road bike, and it was a champ. Nice and smooth over the nasty stuff and fast over the loose dirt. All that did was make me even more excited for cross season.

I just got my Cat 2 upgrade last night, and it comes with equal parts nervousness and excitement. I feel like I can be a strong regional competitor, but I am pretty nervous to see what happens on a national level. Last year, I fared really well at the USGP's here in Louisville, but it was the Cat 4 race, and there was a lot of regional competition. I've also secured sponsors for this year, and I am getting a lot of help and support. That makes me feel like I have some weight on my shoulders, but a manageable weight.

Though, last week I found the place I need to be in for races. Its a place where I am mentally, and when I am there, I race well. Its not an anger, though I may look angry, its more of a raging hunger to just bury myself and just throw down. I found it during an interval session last week, out on a new road, and it just took over. I spun back to the apartment, feeling really, really good, and knew that I need to be in that place. So, I put out this warning now, when I get a little growlly, and get a lot more focused, I'm not trying to be rude, I am just in my Race Place.

This week is the second week of really building for cross, I have two hard days back to back during the week, and then the accompanying rest days. That way I will be ready for those back to back UCI Weekends. I am hoping for a really good cross practice this Wed, so I can see how I compare to everyone right now.

Alas, time to go to work.

Its time to begin...

Well I have been completely ignoring this for months now, but now I turn all of my focus back to what I initially started this for - cross.

I just did my last MTB race of the season yesterday, 90 degrees and humid, not exactly my kind of weather. But it was good to get it over with, now I can just specifically train for cross. I started working with a local coach who is a cross nut himself, so that I can prepare for it. It has been a pretty frustrating mountain season with a plethora of flats, mechanicals, and just plain bad luck. How often does a pair of shoes fail you in a race? Man that race sucked.

I am back at the Cycler's Cafe work-wise, its ok, really nice bikes, burritos, all the things that I liked about it before, but also all the things I didn't like too. But I'll leave it at that and just suck it up until I have my own shop.


My girlfriend/manager/sponsorship coordinator, has been awesome at setting me up with some really good sponsors for this cross season. We are in the process of setting up our own team as well. For the first time, I will have my own program, the way I want it, and can actually benefit from sponsors, instead of just my team director. So far I'm set up getting forks, stems, and seatposts from Alpha Q, tires from Kenda, Honey Stinger stuff, and we are signing with a wheel company next week. My friend Rob from Portland has stepped up to build our race bikes this season as well. He built my road bike for me earlier this summer and it is just awesome.

Well, I will keep this updated, mainly to keep track of myself, but I really need to keep track of my races and results.

Its pouring...

I'm still waiting to hear back from Bicycle Sport, but I'm entertaining an offer from a smaller shop that is a few years old. It would be a great opportunity to help build a shop up and turn it into a very professional and quality shop. We'll see how that goes.

For now though, its pouring. Not just any little spring rain, it is coming down in streams. I got a good ride in yesterday in some new territory. I have always been one to head west on rides. I'm not sure what it is, but it always seems my preferred direction. So I decided to buck the trend yesterday and headed east. I was just planning on an easy base ride, but it turned into a pretty tough ride. On the way out, I had a direct headwind of around 15, and that in itself was enough to make my legs feel it. But, I was soon rewarded with some great roads with twisting descents and steep climbs. Granted these climbs and descents are nothing in the profile of the Alps, but they are fun nonetheless. Surprisingly enough, these backroads were perfectly smooth and hardly traveled. This made for a very peaceful slog through the hills and wind. I made a turn for the Ohio River, and as I continued in its direction, I, once again was treated to some fun descents. I finished up my ride by doing a loop in Charlestown State Park. It too was devoid of traffic and had great roads. I had a great time on this ride, and it was great to get some good time in on the bike.

I have a lot of time right now to ride, but the weather doesn't want to cooperate. All I ask for is 35 and warmer and no rain. I suffered all winter long through snow, rain, and at times both. I feel like I've paid my dues in the most inclement of weather. I'm very happy with my fitness right now though. Its followed through, and I've been able to translate that into very fast training rides, and now I am ready to apply that to racing.

I did a crit last weekend, but it was marred by some bad tactics on my part, and the fact that I had no teammates. But anyways, I am finalising my schedule for the race season, and it looks as though I will have a slower summer than I'm used to. I've decided to cut back on my mountain season to focus on cross. I plan on doing my team's series, which is about 6 races, and then do about 3 or 4 Indiana series events.

Alright, hopefully the rain stops soon....

Well that was fast....

Well, its only been a couple weeks in, and I'm looking for a different job. Don't get me wrong, Cycler's Cafe is a cool place, and a great fixture in the cycling community. I just didn't feel like making burritos and sandwiches instead of wrenching on bikes. Its been a slow start up for those guys and I just wasn't getting the hours and the time working on bikes.

So, I parted ways yesterday on good terms, if I need to go back, but I have an interview with another great shop in Louisville. It, is unfortunately, a Trek dealer. I've never been a fan of Treks, but I guess we'll see. It seems to be a very detail and high end shop as well.

The past couple of days have been great training wise. Two days ago, I got a six and a half hour training ride in, with tons of climbing and descents. Then yesterday, I got another 3 hours in for recovery, with some intensity on climbs. I'm thrilled with my base so far, and I'm happy that I still have the tolerance for super high intensity too. Some of the climbs over the past couple days have challenged me to go up faster and faster. I am really thrilled with the start of my season, though I have yet to throw down and race. There is a crit this weekend, but I'm not sure that I want to hit that up.

Alright, well time for my interview, and hopefully I'll have pics up of our new kits this year.

A Couple Weeks in...

Well its been almost two weeks that I've been in my new town. The weather has been damn good compared to what I've been training in, though its too cold for most down here. Funny how that works. I've been able to get about 7 or 8 nice long rides in, and its great to be getting in the mileage and the quality miles. I mentioned in my last post about Cherokee Park; I've ridden there quite a bit, but I've branched out to include Seneca Park which is right next door. Its got a nice climb in it too, but I use it to loop back into Cherokee. With these two parks, and all the roads around there, I've been able to make great, entertaining, and challenging loops.

This past Monday, I had a great 4 hour ride that started off somewhat dry, and turned into and wet and windy funfest. I rode up into what are known as Floyd's Knobs. They rise up around 700-800 ft or so, and you can really pick and choose how you want to climb and descend. Leg-searing super steep climb, or would you like a nice long gradual rise to the top? The same goes for the descents. I chose a relatively middle range climb up, and rode the top for a while, until the rain really came down. The descent I chose is my favourite, its long, and sweeping, so its very fast. In the rain, it was a little sketchy. I made it down, and by that point, my legs were covered in grit and grime. I continued on south in to a town right on the Ohio River, I found some interesting roads, and good climbs and scenery. I also found some nice brick streets to play on as well. That ride ended with me being covered from head to toe in grime, and I loved every minute of it.

Yesterday was a super slow day at the shop, so I took off early and headed to Iroquois Park. Its another huge park on the Southwest side of town. I did a circuit race there last year, and really enjoyed the course. I'm not sure of the distance of the main loop, but it rolls and has a couple twisty climbs and descents. The best part about Cherokee is the really long ascent to the top. Its just off of the main loop, and gradually rises up to the top, and then there is a loop around the top that would make for an excellent hilltop crit. From up there, you have views of the entire city in every direction. You can also see the forest on the south part of town that really has climbs in it. I'll be making it out there in the next week or two.

All in all, this move has proven to be a really positive one for me. The riding is just plain awesome compared to what I have back home, and the community really supports it. Riding in Cherokee, on a colder, and windy day, there were at least 30-40 cyclists out there. I think that the community supports overall recreation, because while thats a pretty good number of bikes; the number of runners and walkers dwarfs that.

I'm looking at a house to rent, and one of the best things about it, it is in a neighbourhood that has ALL brick alleys, and a bunch of long streets. Now these aren't your nice smooth driveways that people have, these are old, rough, broken, cobbles that really require some focus. I can't wait to play on those.

My New Spot

Within about 12 hours of returning from Ashland, I set out to my new town of Louisville, KY. Its a move I'm making to be with my girlfriend, to get away from Fort Wayne, IN, and to be in, as I see it, the 'cross capital of the midwest. Its not uncommon for the Wednesday night 'cross training rides to have 60 or 70 riders. Its also got great training grounds for road and mountain stuff too. I discovered Cherokee Park yesterday. It is a massive park east of Downtown, and right across the street from my new shop. Its called the Cycler's Cafe and it is a pretty cool little place. Great burritos, good coffee, and great bikes. Its tailored to established cyclists, and is a great environment for any cyclist to be in and around cycling culture. We sell BMC, Felt, Kona, and Santa Cruz for the most part, but Orbeas are also on the menu. I've started this week, and its really a nice change from my old shop, Summit City bikes in Fort Wayne. There it was not about culture, but just making money. The staff at Summit are some of the best bike dudes I know, but it is ruined by the owner. Well enough of that.



Back to Cherokee Park, it has a nice rolling scenic loop with offshoots that can link back up to the main loop in any way you want. There are a few steep climbs off of it, and a bunch of nice long gradual climbs. My favourite climb is Maple Ln, its kinda rough, narrow, and is bordered on one side by rock faces, and on the other by a small river, and woods. There are also some fun little descents as well. The best so far is coming down a road to the dog park. It is great smooth road with big sweeping right, a switchback to the left and then a tight switch back onto the scenic loop. According to the guys at the shop, there is also about 15 miles of singletrack in the park too!

Well, I think that this will be a great move for me, and I can't wait to get an apartment lined up.
But I may be flying different colours for the road and mountain season down here. We'll see what happens.

Ashland

Well, Ashland was once again a fabulous place. I flew in to Portland, and made the scenic drive down to Ashland on the Sunday before class, and it was simply awe-inspiring. Keep in mind that I really hadn't seen sun for weeks, and there it was, beaming down for the whole trip. Driving through the mountains just made me want to steal someones bike and climb all around me.

When I made it to the hostel, everything just felt great. I was in a place where the pace is identical to my own, and all was well. We had pretty good weather the whole week, it would rain a bit in the mornings, but would clear up in the afternoons. I was lucky enough to borrow a bike from one of the instructors (Thanks Steve) to spin about on for the week. It was a nice little fixie that really tested my leg strength on some of the hills leading to the mountains surrounding the town. It was the most I'd been on any fixie for a while, and made me remember why I spent so much time on them a couple years ago.





Well, this trip really can't be summed up in words, so I'll have pictures to post from some of my rides. But it was genuinely a great trip, and thanks to the graciousness of a few friends, I had a bike, and I had a place to stay in The Republic of Portland on the way home.

Winter in Indiana

So this past week, I got two good rides in before the weather turned absolutely frigid. My training week started with trainer and roller rides, and then finally got outside. My first ride, I managed to get about 3 miles away from home, and with my training tubies, managed to flat both of them. I had some Pitstop, so i sorta got them sealed up to roll home. I managed to get about a mile, before the walking ensued. Well that took up about an hour of my time. I tossed on another set of wheels and headed out. I got a good 3 hour low intensity ride in with some different territory than I usually ride. It was definitely a mood booster to make it outside, I hate inside days.

Now for Friday. This was to be a glorious ride. I set out northbound and hit my favourite strip of brick street in town, and made my way up into the Northeast part of our county. Up there it gets nice and rolly, and there are some good overall routes. I turned west and stopped at one of my favourite cafes' for some soup to warm up a bit. That was about 3 hours into it, and I planned to be home in an hour or so. Unfortunately, well for some, a lot of the paved roads have been flooded over in the area I needed to go through. I was one of those folks who took pleasure in that. Mainly because of the "forced detours." I had a blast ripping down muddy, rock strewn roads, and I felt like Johan Museeuw was chasing me down. It was great. Its been a little while since road riding has brought a smile to my face, and it took riding through the mud to make it happen. So, all of the detours added up to about 13 miles, and about 10 of those were basically mud roads. So my 4 hour ride turned into a solid 5 hour, Roubaix-style fun fest.

Saturday was a little different. The weather was turning, so the temps were dropping and the winds picked up a bit. It was supposed to be a little group ride with my team director and a few other folks. Well, he couldn't escape the floodwaters, so it turned into a four man fight with the wind. It was the most miserable 3 hour ride I've had in a couple years. I pulled for most of the way out, and at the turnaround, the other guys shifted into their big rings, and just left me. They sat on my wheel for almost 2 hours, and instead of just gradually picking up the pace with the tailwind, they dropped me. They had time for food on my wheel, they drank, they had the whole way to recover. I had no time. This just reaffirms my position on group rides. To train effectively, you must think about yourself as the only one that matters. Making it back was not fun, I had cross winds, and dropping temps, and by the time I was able to eat, I had already bonked. This ride was just miserable. But afterwards, I was able to feast on a delicious veggie burrito, that raised my spirits a bit.

As I mentioned before, I have a training camp in about a month, and I'm beginning to dread its approach. I want to ride in the mountains, but that also means that I'm riding with people that don't get it. They don't understand the aspects of cycling style and class. They don't understand that you don't make a teammate was themselves on a training ride. They don't drop them on the turnaround either.

I'm sick of riding with some of these folks that don't understand:

• that you don't use white bar tape before Memorial Day
• you don't show up with Nashbar or Performance stuff
  
• you don't rock pro team kits on training rides

Its just frustrating, because there are only a few folks around here who do get it. Such as the proper attire; Cycling cap under the helmet, matching bar tape and saddle, proper embrocation, bikes that are clean and ready to go, matching team kit and gloves, and just a sense of class. These are the people that know who Roger de Vlaeminck, Coppi, and VDB are.

Alright, enough of that rant, for now, I'm inside for the next few days because of single digits and negative windchills. Hopefully I get all my stuff for my embrocation so I can start on that.

Readying for the year..

Hello folks,
I'm starting this as a way for me to keep track of myself, and for a way for our teams sponsors to check up on me.

This past cross season marked my first full season of cross, and just like a lot of people; I'm hooked. So in turn, I'm cutting back my mountain bike racing, moving to Louisville, KY (Cross capital of the midwest), and focusing all of my resources on the upcoming season. I'm still just a Cat 3, but I should be a Cat 2 after the first couple races of the season. This past season I had a few pretty good showings, but most of it was a learning experience.

USGP Louisville Cat 4- 2nd Place Both Days
Indiana State Championships Cat 2/3- 1st
DRT Consulting Cat2/3 Hamiltion Park - 1st

Those were my best results, but really don't show how well my year went. I had the fitness, and the skills to place high in Cat 2/3 races, but I lacked some of the patience that i needed. A few of my downfalls were some crashes where I was trying to push too hard instead of waiting for the right time to attack. But my season ending race was the last race of the USGP series in Portland. Everyone has heard about how crappy it was out there, and I managed to get crashed out in the first slight bend. I was sitting around 12th and some dude came in on me from the inside and just careened right into me. The result was that I rolled my front tubi and slid on my back at 20plus. I was done, I was pissed, and I was hurt. Luckily I hadn't gone out there strictly for the race. For the two weeks after, I spent in the awesome town of Ashland. Its a little Euro town dropped in the middle of a small mountain range. There are miles and miles of trails and fireroads that keep you entertained, and then road miles too. Its a super progressive, cultural town, and it felt like every town in my opinion should. I only wish i could stay.

I got great training in there, with climbing from 1800 feet to around 6000 about 4 times a week. Most of my training intensity came from my frustration at being crashed out of the USGP by some random guy. So in turn, my fitness has continued even now. I've been throwing down on training rides, and I've got some great 4 hour rides in the Floyds Knobs in S. Indiana.



This week marks my fourth full week of training since the new year, and I'm trying to find my first peak for the season. This past year I started with a couple of spring road races, but we'll see what happens. I only wish we had true "Spring Classics", cobblestones, dirt road races, something more interesting than a flat road race or four corner crit. My team (DRT Consulting) has our first training camp in Fontana, NC in March, and I really want to throw down on the climbs. It should be interesting to see how my fitness has continued.


I'm heading to the beautiful town of Ashland, Oregon in two weeks to get DT and suspension certified, and can't wait to ride out there again. The way it sounds, there is a good amount of snow there, so maybe xc skiing is a more likely option.