Bikenurse

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T15:47:00.002-05:00

Well, winter and indoor training season is upon us and I've been back on my bike for about a month. I did another round of power testing yesterday and it was up from a month ago but not by much. This may be because I'm sick right now with a chest cold or it could just be because I'm slow. Anyway, being sick sucks. Christmas is tomorrow and I have to work but it shouldn't be too bad. After work I'm going to have dinner with Sheree. Next weekend is Stacey's wedding and then only one more week til my January Florida trip. Then this winter should really begin to fly.

Morgantown MonsterCross APCXS #2 & #3

2011-10-18T10:28:00.001-04:00

OK, I know my blog posts have been slow and infrequent this year and that's because that is how my riding has been. I've been riding on a regular basis but real "training" has been at an all time low. I think with all of my travel last fall and the CX season running late into the year it just didn't leave much time for an off season and recovery. Now I'm riding slow but enjoying CX season. I have some pretty big plans in the works for next season that I'll make known soon but until then I'm going to enjoy the rest of this season and off season on whatever fitness I have left.

Anyway. The weekend in Morgantown was a blast. Good times with good friends. I have never done one of J.R. Petsko's races before but I must say the course was a blast and organization was great.

I didn't really do very well. I finished 11th on Saturday and 14th on Sunday. I did, however have a really good time.

Back to the Future

2011-09-10T15:13:00.001-04:00

I really wanted to try something new this year. Just doing races based on how much I enjoyed them in the past. It seems too common that I have been doing races to meet some goal or criteria and not doing the races that are the fondest in my memory and I have done for a long time. So.........on this note I'll be headed back to the Tour de Strongland road race tomorrow. I really like this race. It has the competition of a big race but a small race feel about it. I can't wait.

CX racing and Tour De Latonka

2011-09-09T15:21:00.003-04:00

Last weekend was a busy one. I started by driving 4.5 hours after work Friday to get to Steve's In-law's house so I could use that as a staging point for the weekend's racing.
Saturday was the first CX race of the year. It was super hot(95 degrees and sunny). I ended up finishing 8th and Steve finished 7th. Hanna finished 6th in the women's race. Kirk was in the Super Master's race and finished in 15th place. It was a good time and I felt good on most of the course. It was really tough through the single track section and the sand pit. Steve did really well in those sections. I was disappointed by how much I faded in the second half of the race. I guess I gotta start training again.

how I felt after each day of racing

Sunday was the Tour De Latonka and it was, once again, killer. I felt really good for the first 5/6th of the race and was leading going into the final two mountain stages. Then I bonked and would have crumbled and given up the lead but Skip waited for me and let me keep yellow. It was a great time and I can't wait to do it again. It seems like a really good way to kick start a cyclocross training program. Hopefully I'll be stronger headed forward from here on out.

Church Creek 40K ITT #1

2011-07-07T19:04:00.000-04:00

I'll keep this short and sweet since it's 2 weeks late anyway. The drive to the race was uneventful. Warmup went well but it was really hot. This race is kind of unique in that you have to ride 5 miles from registration/warmup area to the start of the race. I made it to the start line just a few minutes early and felt good at the start. Very good, in fact. I started out way too fast averaging over 30 MPH for the first 6 miles. There was a tailwind during that period but it was still way too hard. After that I settled down into a nice rhythm but the damage was already done. At about the 10 mile mark I was really starting to feel the effects of my fast start and from the half way point I was just trying to hold on for an OK finish. I ended up getting my second wind at around mile 22 and put in a nice push to the finish. Final time was +-55:30 and good enough for second place. Still in 1st place for the Mid Atlantic Time Trial Series but hopefully I can make a stronger showing at the next race.

Carlisle 40k ITT- 6/19/11

2011-06-28T08:22:00.000-04:00

I had big plans for this weekend. I was planning on going to Pittsburgh to race at the track on Friday and then travel to Erie to race at Presque Isle on Sunday. After a series of events that included: 1)most of my teammates going to Colorado and 2)I decided it just wasn't worth driving that far on my birthday weekend, I decided to stay close to home and race in Carlisle so I only had to drive 7 miles to the race start. I made every mistake possible leading into this race:

1)Didn't ride the day before the race
2) Didn't ride 2 of 3 days prior to the race(Thursday and Saturday)
3) Drove 7 hours the day before the race and then sat around for 6 hours at a family reunion
4)Didn't drink enough the day before the race(start of dehydration)
5)Ate bad mayonnaise at the family reunion and got diarrhea (continued dehydration)
6) ran out of Breathe Right strips
7)Ate breakfast 2 hours before race start
8) Arrived at race start 1 hour early(instead of 2 hours early like normal)

The race was pretty uneventful. The wind was blowing in an odd direction. It usually blows from west to east providing a tailwind for the return leg of the race but it was blowing the opposite way this day making for a killer return.
I ended up winning with a time of 55:10 but it is my worst time ever on this course. I was able to get my 2011 Sub 1 hour t-shirt but that's about all.

2011 PA State ITT

2011-06-17T17:48:00.003-04:00

Podium Pic

The weather was kinda iffy on the drive to the race. Half of the time I wasn't sure if it was raining or if it was just really dense fog. Upon arriving at the race venue the fog had lifted but the sky still looked like it might rain at any minute.
I felt good during my warm-up but from about 3 minutes into the race I could tell something wasn't right. I wasn't able to put out the power that I was normally able to and I my legs just felt heavy. At that point I made a decision to abandon my power meter readings and just ride as hard as I could and try to hold on for a good finish. The course was fast and flat. There were no real turns to speak of. At one point on the way out to the turn around point I was passed really closely by a large truck and it blew me off of the road and into the berm. I had to use my CX skills to keep pedaling and look for a low point in the lip to hop back onto the road surface.
After alot of suffering I finally thought I was close to the finish and then the organizers decided to make the course longer than advertised to make it just a little more painful. It ended up being over half of a mile longer than it was supposed to be. I hurt so much after the race that even cooling down was difficult. I was very excited about the win (and my mini medal)

results

2011 Philadelphia Amature TT

2011-06-05T22:31:00.002-04:00

This was a short painful 8 mile time trial along the Schuylkill River. There was little wind and the weather was warm and sunny but not hot. It was a great day for the event. My Dad was with me at this race which doesn't happen very often so that was nice. I ended up winning Cat 3 with a time of 17:05 @ 28.4mph. The best part was that my power output is really where it needs to be with the State ITT coming up next week.

C-130 Hercules Time Trial

2011-05-08T19:56:00.000-04:00

Riding out of a C-130 Hercules sounds cool. It should be easy enough, right? Well it is certain that the rear ramps on these cargo planes were not designed for bicycles. Every rider who entered the airplane while I was waiting in line said exactly the same thing, "is this thing safe for bicycle wheels?"

The ramp started descending at a nice grade and then around the midpoint the angle became really sharp and caused most of the riders to have visions of taco'd wheels. The Officials were giving instructions to all of the riders to just take one pedal stroke off of the airplane and then coast until you are completely on the ground.

The first 7/10ths of a mile was a very technical and only about 6 feet wide. Add to that the tail/cross wind leading from the Air Force museum to the highway and it was a very sketchy start @ 30mph.
As soon as I got to the highway I turned into the headwind. The course was all head/cross wind from there until the turnaround. It was all completely flat so shifting was at a minimum. It was kinda like a trainer ride with turns added.
After the turnaround it was super fast. I managed to hit 35.5mph at one point with the gusty tailwind. I was keeping a pretty good pace and starting to make my last ditch effort to the finish when all of a sudden the finish tent came into view(0.8 miles too early).
I must say I really enjoyed the 22mile TT format. The last 3 miles of a 40K TT are just too much, IMHO, so I think we should just stick with this;)

After the race we hit the museum while waiting for the results. As you can see here Team Ag3r was realy "flying" on this day.

Finally came news that results were going to be awhile and medals for all but the juniors did not arrive on time. With this news in hand we decided to head home and await for finishing news via email. I ended up winning the Cat 3 race by over 2 minutes and took the lead in the Mid Atlantic Time Trial Series (MATTS).

Pictures of the finishing medal will follow when it arrives.

2011 Dismal Dash #1

2011-03-14T22:01:00.000-04:00

Unlike any of the past years' races this year the Dismal Dash was warm, sunny, and lacking any significant amount of wind. This was my first race of 2011 and this year I decided to change up my warm-up routine a little bit so I lengthened it to 30 minutes and made it a little harder than before. My hope was that this would better prepare my legs for the destruction that they were about to experience.
I started the race easier than normal to try to ease my way into it. All seemed to be going well with a slight head/cross wind for the first 4 miles. That was great because it meant that the last 4 miles was a tail wind and at that point I was dieing and was readily accepting any help available.
The nicer weather(and possibly me being a bit stronger this year) allowed me to cut 3 minutes off of my time from last year and finish in 3rd place in the Cat1/2/3 and 3rd Overall.

(I was number 278, 2 additional times were added to this list bumping me into third place)

Not all sunshine and happiness

2011-02-11T19:43:00.000-05:00

So I'm in FL again visiting my parents and avoiding winter. I've been enjoying my time away and the weather has been really nice. Until today. Today was unseasonably cold and wet. Today I rode for two and a half hours in 58 degrees and rain. The Weather Channel said it was going to get nice it just never did. Oh well, at least I was able to get outside for a couple of hours. The weather is supposed to be warm and sunny for the rest of my trip so one day of cool and wet isn't so bad. Only 30 days until my first TT on 2011, I can't wait!

It's been a trying few days and no chance to ride my bike:(

2011-02-03T18:51:00.000-05:00

It is now Thursday evening and I haven't ridden my bike since Tuesday. No big deal except it that riding my bike is my major mechanism for relieving stress and I've had plenty of it in the past two days.
On Tuesday night I stayed at my brother's house because Wednesday morning I was supposed to take him to the oral surgeon to have 6 teeth removed. His appointment was canceled because there was a major ice storm and the office didn't have electricity. I came home and was making the most of a mostly wasted day. I went to get a shower so I could get ready and go out to eat when I heard a pounding at the door. I ignored it and a few seconds later there it was again. I turned off the shower and grabbed a towel and that is when I heard the yelling, "Mt. Holly Springs Police! Come to the door!" I heard the yelling as I exited the bathroom to the sight of a policeman standing at the bottom of the steps with a tazer pointed at my face.
He asked me(half naked and surprised) for my ID and told me that someone had called the police because they saw my door hanging open and hadn't noticed anyone around for the previous couple days. So...........long story short I got it straightened out and I was headed back to the shower.
I get back into the shower and turn the nob, no water. I get out and try the sink, no water there either. At this point I panic because I know that there is water running somewhere and I don't yet know where that is. Turns out that a fitting in the basement had blown off and water was being pumped directly in from the well into my basement. After looking for a shutoff valve for several minutes, while the basement flooded further, I flipped the breaker switch to turn off the pump in the well. I stopped the water but the basement was a disaster.
Let the clean up begin! Lots of wet/dry vacuuming, a dehumidifier and a couple fans will do the trick.
Thursday morning I called Roto Rooter at 8am to see how long it would take to get someone out to my house. They made the appointment from 1-3pm and told me there was no way I could make an appointment for later in the day. I was there waiting at 1pm and I was still waiting at 3pm. At 3:15 I called told the Roto Rooter Dispatcher that I hadn't even heard from anyone yet and she told me she'd get right on it and my house would be next on the list and that she would personally call me and let me know when that was going be and who would be coming. An hour later she called back and told me they were a 30 minutes away. An hour after that the guy finally showed up and was here for about 3 minutes before he told me he didn't have the parts and had to run to Home Depot to get them. When he arrived back it took a whole 15 minutes to do the repair and allow the glue to dry and I now have running water again! Hooray!
$420 and 25 hours later and other than some slightly damp carpet and a disaster of a house things are back to normal:(
BTW, if anyone needs to borrow a nice new wet/dry vac just let me know.
*(none of my bikes were injured or in any way harmed by the aforementioned events)

Pond Skating

2011-01-28T17:17:00.000-05:00

I got to go ice skating and play some pond hockey today after work. Cross training can be exciting:) Still can't wait for warm weather and racing!

Flat tires in Florida

2011-01-18T18:35:00.000-05:00

I don't want to make it sound like I'm complaining, because I'm not trying to, but the roads in FL have so much garbage lying alongside of them. It's crazy! I've gotten 3 flat tires in the 10 days that I've been here. One of them was from a finishing nail straight through my tire. The other two were just from random crap poking holes in my tires. I only got one flat tire on the road all of 2010.

I've taken action and now I have Continental Gatorskin tires on the way and I'll be replacing the tire liners also just to be safe. We'll see in February if any of these new safeguards work.

Tour de Cape 5k

2011-01-15T16:50:00.001-05:00

Although I'm not a runner by any means I was really disappointed in my effort at the Carlisle YMCA 5k TurkeyTrot on Thanksgiving so i made it a goal to do this race to atone for my effort.
The morning temperature was cool but sunny, about 48 degrees when my sister, Lisa, and I left for the run. The temperature did go up very much before it was time to run so it was still a bit chilly when we started. The first mile felt like it went by quickly but it ended up taking 6:58 because of all of the start of the race pack I had to struggle to get though. As we continued on the course we had another half mile to the turn around and then it was back along the same route plus another 0.2 miles to the finish. Once I made the turn around I realized that the wind had been at my back and was now smacking me squarely in the face. The sun was also in my face now which made no difference in my time but was really annoying. I ended up passing a few people on the return trip and I didn't get passed by anyone. I was sprinting with one other kid at the end but after I had used him for pacing for the last mile I decided it would be bad form to pass him on the line so I let him go. Probably meant more to him anyway.

Lisa ended up finishing 2nd in the 20-24 year age group!

I ended up 1st place 25-29(age group), 13th place overall and didn't get beat by any girls. I was kinda disappointed in my time(21:28) but I've only been running once a week since Thanksgiving so it wasn't too bad.
Race Splits:
Mile 1: 6:58
Mile 2: 7:00(13.38)
Mile 3.2: 7:50(21:28)
Placing at turnaround: 18th place
Finish place: 13th place

New Year's Day 2011!

2011-01-02T09:20:00.000-05:00

It was a nice day to get out for the first ride of 2011 with temps in the mid 40s, sun and not much wind. It was also my first ride outside in over 7 weeks. It was just nice to get out and go for a ride with my dad who has been here for a month freezing. Luckily during this ride he was kept warm by sporting my shiny, new Ag3r team winter jacket.

Restart and Rebuild

2010-12-23T11:26:00.000-05:00

So I just finished a ride on the trainer and went to input my ride data into an online training log that I've been using for years. On a whim I decided to click on the link that displays the entire months ride data on a calendar. Much to my horror I was confronted with the fact that today(the 23rd of December) was only my 8th ride this month. Following this I selected the link to display the previous months information and saw that I only rode 11 time the entire month on November. On the positive side of things I have been running so at least I've been staying active but with riding this little I am having a real identity crisis. I pride myself on riding long and often but life and holidays and cold weather have been getting in the way. I guess it's time to start rebuilding now. Oh what fun it is to ride.......................

What a year!

2010-12-12T16:55:00.000-05:00

2010 has been quite a year for biking. I've done a ton or racing but my blogging about the races and bike maintenance have really suffered. I started racing in January because I was trying to get in a race every month. Everything was going according to plan until I managed to wreck my car off of the road while traveling to the December race and my goal was cut short. I work the rest of the weekends this month so I won't be making it to any unless a miracle occurs. It has been a really good year. Thanks to all who have helped it happen.

Murrysville CX

2010-11-17T19:30:00.000-05:00

What a great weekend! Not only did I get to do an awesome CX race but I also got to help build the course the day before and most importantly; I got to spend the weekend with the Maher family and go to Casey's 13th birthday party. It was a great weekend that ended too soon. It was great to be racing in western PA and see all of my old friends.

Cincy UCI#3 Friday

2010-10-08T22:04:00.001-04:00

It was a beautiful day out. Hot and dry! It also happened to be my worst day in a race EVER. I went into the race already knowing that I was out of my league. It was a Cat 2/3 race and the only reason I was even a Cat3 was because I upgraded specifically for this weekend so I could have a better race time. It would allow me to be cleaned up and rested when the PRO race kicked off. Then the race started; I had repeated asthma attacks the entire race. I think it was breathing all of the dust that threw my lungs for a loop. I ended up getting pulled just before I got lapped by the leader. It was still a really good time and I enjoyed it. Racing again tomorrow and Sunday. Weather is looking like hotter than today and sunny. Hopefully my lungs hold out.

Another early end to my season?

2010-09-17T18:39:00.000-04:00

20 minutes into a relatively easy CX practice I decided to (try to) bunny hop a curb and ended up flipping over my handle bars. At first it appeared nothing was wrong but that appearance soon ended when I remounted my bike and found I couldn't even hold my right shift lever without excruciating pain. End of CX practice.
I packed up (with one hand) and drove home. I immediately iced my hand and took some Motrin to try and control the swelling. What really scared me was that the last time my hand felt like this was after I crashed in February and it continued to hurt until June:( I talked with my Mom and she convinced me to go to the hospital to get checked out. I was there and got and X-ray in no time at all. After some waiting for the doctor to read the X-ray I got the good(?) news, not broken. I had no fractures but it was still killing me. I was splinted and told to consult an orthopedic doctor if it didn't stop hurting in 5 days.
My hand felt good in the splint because it was unable to make any of the movements that caused it pain. It wasn't until hours later when I took the splint off to readjust it that I realized that my hand pain still hadn't gone down.
This morning I took the splint off to check the swelling and readjust it again and was pleased to find the swelling had gone down quite a bit, most of the pain was gone except when grasping things and my range of motion had returned to normal.
Hopefully after a week of resting it and using the splint I'll be ready to race next Sunday but only time will tell.

Nittany Lion 'Cross

2010-09-11T17:41:00.001-04:00

120 people in a Cat4 CX race? That's crazy! I started 1/3 of the way back the pack so there really was no sprint from the line. More like a steady roll out. For the first 2 laps I was steadily picking off riders and improving my placing. For the next 3 laps I pretty much held my position without passing or being passed. In the middle of the final lap(in 15th place) I hit a large hole and my right shifter slid down the handlebar pulling my rear brake tight and making my bike unridable. I ran almost half of the course to get to the pit and then grabbed my other bike and sprinted to the finish. While running I fell from 15th to 33rd. 'CrossFail

Notice anything wrong with this picture? NO GLOVES! Ask Zach how that worked out for him?

Devil's Backbone 2010

2010-09-04T22:49:00.001-04:00

It was an awesome event. 67 miles and 6700ft elevation gain on a mix of pavement dirt and gravel. It was a lot of fun and the ice cream afterwords made it all worth it. Here are the results(if you care)

CX time? and 2011 Specialized S-Works Road Shoes

2010-08-15T18:53:00.006-04:00

I got my new shoes from Specialized. I cracked my old ones in a wreck early in the season and by the time I realized it my size was sold out for the year. So I had to wait for the 2011 models and boy am I glad I did. I got the limited edition neon yellow and they are awesome.

Today I did my first cyclocross practice of the year(and ever). Of course as soon as someone said cyclocross our recent drought was broken and the rain let loose. It was good just to get out on the CX bike and ride around a park. I spent about an hour working on barriers. Much more work is needed but not all in one day.
My new bike was pretty nice also. I really like Sram for CX use. Just in case you were wondering. I designed the paint job on my new bike and did the prep work. Stevie B. did the actual painting. I think it looks pretty good so far. Still needs decals of some kind.

Friday Night at the Track: 25 mile TT

2010-08-04T21:04:00.003-04:00

I put in a 57:59 at the 25 mile TT at the Washington Bvld. Track. Normally this would be nothing special but I did it Mercx style. It wasn't a record or anything like that but I was proud of it considering my road position looks kind of like a sail boat.

P-Town Time Trial

2010-07-11T20:03:00.001-04:00

Bad roads and bad luck
The bad luck started early when I was on my way to the start line and fell over because I couldn't get unclipped from left pedal. I managed to scratch my bike in two places and scratch my crankset also. Bad Roads- Next the race started and everything seemed to be going well enough except the roads were terrible. People talk about the bad road conditions of western PA but they've got nothing on Delaware. These roads were graded, had pot holes and we must have crossed 6 sets of train tracks. Which brings me back to the bad luck. About 12 minutes into the race I came up to one of the many railroad crossings with a stopped train sitting there. We waited there while a group of 15 riders or so congregated. Then it was a mass start for the second part of the time trial. I just continued to ride hard and put down the best ride I could and see what happened. The USAC officials had no way of knowing who waited at the train or for how long so they just gave everyone their real times. I ended up finishing the flat time trial in 38 minutes and some seconds at 23.?? mph. Looking at the results I'd have to call that a very poor effort. I really don't know who to blame for all of this nor do I really want to blame anyone. I just feel that all of this could have been avoided with better planning. From picking more well maintained roads with less railroad crossings to finding the train schedule and planning accordingly(I'm told they did this and the railroad was going to hold this train until later in the day). Oh well, now I have a reason to never go back to Delaware(as if I needed a reason).

Friday Night at the Track 15 mile TT

2010-07-04T08:26:00.011-04:00

Lots of pictures, not much content

Weekend in the dirt

2010-06-28T05:10:00.004-04:00

Saturday MTB Race
Richie and I showed up at Yellow Creek Saturday morning. It was just about perfect weather for a race. Sunny and temps in the 70s. The race started of at a good pace and things seemed to be going well. About 2 miles in I had a bobble and 5 guys came past me(including Richie). I worked the rest of the race to pull them back. For a while I was stuck behind a 3 man group because I can barely ride a Mt bike let alone pass on single track. Eventually I got to a short uphill double track section and I made the pass and continued in that position for the rest of the race. It was a fun day to play in the dirt. I ended up in 14th place and Richie was just in front of me finishing in 12th place.
Sunday at Raystown
Early on Sunday morning I set out of the trails at Raystown lake. Originally I had planned to ride all 32miles of trail but had to cut my ride in half because I needed to get home. These trails are a blast to ride even though they are not challenging in any way. There are no climbs to speak of just lots of short ups and downs. The trails are sorted like ski trails from blue rectangles to black diamonds. The only real difference in the difficulty lever is the amount of elevation change. Definitely worth the trip but it may only be a one time experience.

Summer Presque Isle TT

2010-06-28T05:09:00.002-04:00

It was a really nice day. I had stone legs. Finished 3rd. Not much else to say. It was good to see everyone out that day.

2010 PA State TT Championship

2010-06-12T15:50:00.005-04:00

Steve M. and Henry came over today for the race.

I did my best and my best wasn't good enough.

It's hard to look at average power on a up and down course like the one at Clark's Valley because the course rarely allows you any time at one specific power before you have to change completely. Knowing this I just rode as fast as I thought I could sustain for the duration. In the end I was extremely happy to lower my PR for the course by roughly 45 seconds. Unfortunately it was only good enough for second place.

Philadelphia Amateur TT

2010-06-06T09:03:00.003-04:00

It was a short 8 mile, flat, out and back TT. Ever so slightly up hill on the way out but with a small head wind on the way back made both ways about even. I extended my trainer warm up from 20 minutes to 30 minutes and really felt good. The weather was beautiful and a perfect day to put down a fast time.
I started out fast putting out alot of effort but I felt good. At the turn around my average power was at a new high but I was still feeling really good so thought I might just be able to hang on to the end. I was OK until about 6.5 miles and then the pain in my legs really started. The last 1.5 miles were agony and afterwords I felt like vomiting for the next hour so I knew I put out my hardest effort.
I ended up losing Cat 3 by 15 seconds. I take solice in knowing that my training is going well and I'm hoping to peak in 2 weeks. I hit a new high for average power and found that a longer warm up may benefit me. All seems to be On schedule.
As for Steve...............................He told me that he dropped his chain at the start line and then got some early cyclocross practice when he put his chain back on and got a running mount on his TT bike. As if that wasn't disappointing enough the timers lost Steve's time. After his name wasn't listed in the finish sheet he asked them about it. They told him they didn't have a time recorded for his number. Then moments later a new time for his number appeared on the finish sheet but it was far slower (15-25%) than Steve's actual time that he had recorded on his Garmin bike computer.
On a positive note 2nd place in Cat 3 was good for $50 so we got to stop to eat on the way home and I had money for the turnpike(easy come, easy go)

Also, this was my first race that I got to travel to in my new Honda Fit. It was great and super easy to load. Unfortunately once fully loaded with gear, trainers 3 people, a canopy, and 2 TT bikes on the back the gas mileage for the trip dropped from the 35mpg that I was getting to only 27mpg for the this trip:(

Carlisle TT

2010-05-02T15:19:00.003-04:00

Mike, Steve B. and I showed up to race in Carlisle on Sunday. Mike opted for the 20k option while Steve and I went for the 40k.

Mike was trying to show us how real men race and arrived at the start line on his road bike with clip-on aerobars. He really threw down and even with his minimalist aero setup finished with a time of 30:50

Steve and I did the 40k. Steve did his first sub 1hour 40k and finished in 58:12.

I ended up with a 54:05. Not a PR by a long shot but on an imperfect day I'll take it. It was warm and really humid. Not a "fast" day but at least it wasn't cold.

Next up for Mike and I was the South Mountain hill climb. Steve had to go home to do homework and continue on with "Real Life". The hill climb is where I think I really messed up. We started out at a really comfortable pace and I was sitting 4th in line and I believe Mike was on my wheel. After the first, flat 2 miles of the race we hit the climb and as soon as we did Mike dropped his chain. He was able to sprint back on but that effort was too much and caused him to fall back from there. I was still in the front group of 5 and going at a steady and comfortable pace. We continued like this for about 20 minutes of the race until the group surged. I didn't stay with the group because I was worried that my TT effort earlier in the day might cause me to crack in spectacular fashion if I tried to match their pace. So I setteled into my own rhythm and continued on. I eventually caught one of the 4 riders who rode away from me earlier.
I think if I had pushed the pace of the original group of 5 to where I was more comfortable then they may have not been able to surge and I may have fared better. Also, I didn't realize how close to the finish we were when I decided to go into conservation mode. I think I may have been able to stay with them if I had and then who knows how a sprint might have worked out. I guess we will never know. One thing that I do know is that I messed up and missed an opportunity. Oh well, live and learn.

Spring 2010 Presque Isle TT

2010-04-26T22:22:00.006-04:00

If a picture is worth a thousand words than this post says alot. I'll try to get some kind of race report up in the next day or two. Until then enjoy these.

NJ Rte 29 35k ITT

2010-04-13T21:01:00.003-04:00

Sunday was a supremely nice day for a TT. It started really early (@3:45am) for the 3 hour drive to NJ. I was the driver for the first part of the trip but I had my sister, Lisa, take over the driving for the last 30 minutes so I could catch a power nap. We were at the race with plenty of time for me to spend goofing off beforehand because Steve's start time was an hour before mine. This worked out nicely because I was able to spend some time talking to Skip R. about his RR DQ from the day before.

Steve got his required looooooong warm up completed with plenty of time to spare and then commenced to crush the dreams of many of the Cat4s who showed up at the race.

I started off fast but I was able to limit my first few minutes and avoided spiking my power output to try and save something for end of the race. I ended up setting new high points for power and beat my time from last year at this event. This shows me that things are well on track for the race in Erie (at least that's what I think it means)

I ended up 1st Cat3 and 2nd Overall. I really got destroyed by the guy who one:) Oh well, better luck next time.

Dismal Dash 2010

2010-03-14T20:19:00.002-04:00

Steve and I went to Suffolk, VA today to do the Dismal Dash 40k ITT. It was my first race with a power meter so I was looking forward to seeing if it would help or hinder me. It was an eye opening experience to say the least.
Steve went off first (on his brand new TT bike which will not have it's official unveiling until the Presque Isle TT in April). He was set to start over 1 hour ahead of me so I didn't even have to start getting ready until he took off. He was lucky to ride earlier because the conditions got worse as the day went on. He made it to the finish just as I was lining up for my start.
I started as usual trying not to go out too hard at the beginning to avoid blowing up before the finish. The Power Meter(PM) really helped here so that I limited my power output during the first few minutes of the event. There was a head wind on the way out to the turn around so my goal was to hammer the first half of the course and then try to limp home for the return trip with the wind at my back. With the help of my PM I did just that but I ended up hammering the first half just a little too hard which caused me to limp just a little too much on the return trip. I ended up having a full on asthma attack at the 35 minute mark, just after the turn around. After the asthma attack was subsiding just a bit the inside of my thighs started to get that twinge. You know the one I'm talking about, the one right on the verge of cramping. I was able to spin lightly for a few minutes and it eventually passed. I ended up wheezing the whole way through the finish line until I could get my inhaler.

Steve ended up finishing 5th in his first race as a Cat4 only two days after his upgrade and even more impressive is that he was riding a bike that he has only had since early this week.
I ended up finishing 5th overall and 2nd Cat2. Not too bad for the first race of the season. I can tell I definitely need to get some linger TT rides in outside now that we have some nice weather. I could really feel it on the return trip (the asthma and cramping problems didn't help too much either). I'm really looking forward to dissecting my performance looking at the power file later tonight.

Race for Humanity Road Race

2010-02-13T22:48:00.002-05:00

I did my first road race of the season today (part of it anyway). It was scheduled for 68 miles but I only made it 7.5. This is the point that I wrecked while going downhill at somewhere close to 30mph. I'm kinda messed up as is my bike. Tomorrow is a planned day off the bike for a trip to Busch Gardens Tampa but I promise I'll be back riding on Monday. The good news is I was hanging in pretty well in the men's combined Pro/1/2/3 field before my crash. This is odd for me since usually during road races I attack off the back soon after the race begins. So I did manage to fine some encouragement in this mess.

AG3R Winter training camp in Florida

2010-01-12T21:11:00.002-05:00

So I guess it's just me but that's still the name I'm gonna stick with. I got here yesterday evening and didn't do anything but go to sleep. Today was spent eating pancakes (all you can eat from IHOP), shopping for a new car (to make it easier to get me and my gear to and from races) and going for a short ride in the warm and sunny weather that Southern Florida has to offer.

Do it now!

2009-12-27T22:07:00.001-05:00

Get on your bike and ride!

Thankful for 2009, looking forward to 2010

2009-12-23T21:32:00.003-05:00

Cycling is a never ending pursuit. After my last round of power testing (highest power yet) I was still disappointed because I thought I could have/should have done better. This led me realize that, now more than ever, it's all about the journey and not the destination. Even though we're always dreaming of bigger and better there is so much to be thankful for right now.

2009 was a great journey:
some of the moments that stick in my mind
Tour de Latonka
52:37 40k ITT
4th place ITT in VA with food poisoning
1st place ITT in PA
Riding a 40k ITT at the oval in a torrential downpour
doing an MTB race the next day and beating Dirty Mike in an off road race for the first time ever
my best time ever in Ironcross
riding to Ohio with Steve and JohnieB for a cross race in Akron
All of the great/cold/muddy times had with team mates at cross races this fall
Winning the Tour of Lancaster TT
The list could go on, it was a great year for racing and spending time with teammates, new and old

Plans are already underway to make 2010 the best year yet and I can't wait.

Super Hottness Simpkins Aero Brakes

2009-12-03T22:25:00.005-05:00

These brakes are supposed to save between 3-5 watts as opposed to regular brakes. I don't know if they do but they sure look cool and work well.

Training, all mixxed up

2009-11-17T16:27:00.002-05:00

I've been trying some new things with my indoor trainer season this year. (the indoor trainer season started earlier than normal due to my shoulder injury) For the last week or so I've had a rough time completing my workouts at the prescribed wattage output. Then today after another workout in which I was unable to meet the correct power I set out to figure out why. Then I found it was a very simple problem with my math. When I was figuring out the power output for my steady state intervals I figured out my workout range 10 watts too high. Now 10 watts isn't much but it changes the workout completely. Hopefully now things can get back on track. I was just working too hard during the intervals and not allowing myself enough time to recover before the next hard set.

Rethinking winter training

2009-11-03T17:29:00.002-05:00

I guess it's not winter yet but since I hurt my shoulder I've been advised to stay inside and ride on the trainer (and I have for the last month).
Now, if you know me and talk to me then it is inevitable that the subject of "bikes" comes up often. I often talk about bikes and about the fact that I spend alot of time riding and training. Yet it seems like even though I talk with friends often about training theory all of the time I rarely ever talk with them about specific intervals they do, when they do them and how long they rest between them. I haven't had many of these particular conversations until lately with Dirty Mike. Once I started my winter training early this year he asked me "What workouts do you do on the trainer?" I told him about the one workout I do everyday, all winter, for the last 3 seasons. Then he asked "Why? I've never heard of anyone doing anything like that."
"Because I read about it in an article about it once. I think it was in Bicycling Magazine," I said.

Then I started my quest to find out where I had read it and why I did it. I reread much of what I have read in the past and some new things. I even bought Carmichael's new book. What I found was what I had thought originally. I was essentially doing steady state intervals at lactate threshold-LT (as described in just about everything Carmichael writes) which are effective for raising LT but not much good for increasing max power. I found that even though this method of training was pretty good for increasing TT power it probably isn't ideal. So now the difficult part begins. What should I be doing instead?

2010 Specialized S-Works shoes

2009-10-31T18:07:00.004-04:00

Long story short, I love these shoes. I had a pair of the S-works shoes a few years ago and didn't like them very much because although they were comfortable they made my feet fall asleep and I switched back to my trusty Shimano shoes fairly quickly. I think part of the reason I like these new shoes is because they are supremely comfortable like the old ones but they are more adjustable because of the 2 ratchet devices on the shoes this year. Also, these shoes are extremely light. You might say, "who cares if the shoes are light?" Well, in a world were people are willing to spend upwards of $1500 to save that much weight in a set of wheels it actually makes these shoes seem like a bargain. It's no wonder these shoes are showing up all over the pro peleton with some pros even defying their teams shoe contracts to wear them.
Pros:
1:Supremely comfortable
2:Super light weight (450 grams for the pair vs 650 grams for my old Shimano shoes)
3:Very secure ratcheting mechanism and much easier to adjust on the fly than traditional straps or Velcro. (the 2010 model features a ratchet that blows everything else out of the water)
4:These shoes look much better in person than the pictures show (much to my delight because I thought they were ugly from all of the photos I had seen)

Cons:
1:None so far:)

My Halloween Socks

I can't believe it's Halloween, I've got these socks and I'm have to work so I can't do a cyclocross race with them. This is ridiculous!

I did my T-max interval testing this afternoon and wore these socks to celebrate. Then I went to Taco Bell to get my free black taco (like trick or treating for kids of all ages)

Final race weekend of 2009

2009-10-27T19:16:00.009-04:00

2 days, 4 races, 8 hours driving, unlimited amounts of fun!

Saturday's race was a mud fest. It was cold and wet and muddy. I decided to do the cat. 4 race and 3/4 race. The cat. 4 race came first. I started out well and got off to a pretty good start but then, of course, I had an asthma attack three quarters of a lap into the race. From there it was all I could do to hang on til the finish. I ended up 8th finishing just behind Dirty Mike. It was good enough to score some nice socks, a Camelbak bottle, a bike light and some candy:)
Next came the 3/4 race and I couldn't get clipped in at the start. I ended up just riding it out and finished 27th. My lungs felt awful and I wanted to quit but I gutted it out.

Sunday started with a trip to Duncan Donuts on the race to the Raccoon Twp. for another 2 race day. The weather was significantly better than on Saturday and less muddy so I decided to run my Kenda small block 8 cross tires. It was a huge mistake. Once the corners started to get muddy and ripped up the mud completely filled the tread on my tires and turned them into slicks. Slowly making my way through I ended up finishing in 3rd just behind Steve (he had a great race) too bad we couldn't quite catch the leader.
In the 3/4 race Henry, Steve and I decided to just ride at the back of the pack and parade around the course together and heckle the hecklers. It was a great way to show support and end the season.

I almost forgot to mention something. It turns out that the reason I was having problems getting clipped in all weekend was that one of the clips had broken off of my right pedal making it only have 2 engagement points instead of four:(

Ironcross VII weekend

2009-10-12T21:28:00.004-04:00

Ironcross lite was a complete bust. It started well enough and I was mid pack and felt fine for the first lap and a half. Then a disaster occurred. Todd S. had just passed me heading into the single track section of the course and then the guy infront of him came to a screeching halt right before a large log that we were all going to attempt to bunny hop. (At this point I would like to point out that I had bunny hopped the log successfully on the first lap) Todd had to just about stop and so did I. With no momentum I had no chance of clearing the log but tried anyway. I ended up doing a spectacular somersault and landing on my left shoulder. End of race, much pain, bad sensations. I decided the best idea would be to go home ice my shoulder and take an anti-inflammatory.

Day 2: Ironcross VII
I decided to go harder than it was possible for me to maintain so I could make it cleanly though the traditional cyclocross course and get into a good strong group for the first road section of the course. Although this was a good idea and allowed me to sit in on some sections but also forced me to work harder than I was comfortable on the hills and kicked off an asthma attack that lasted roughly the first 55 minutes of the race. Eventually I fell into a good rhythm where I was not pushing too hard or going too easy. I lost some time in the single track sections but not too much. I was in front of some people that always beat me so I knew I must be having a good day. It took Betsy Shogren until mile 53 to pass me. That was a great place for her to pass because it was right before a pretty technical downhill section and I was able to follow her line which I'm sure saved me a ton of time. The course went on like it always does. It was a perfect fall day. Cold in the morning but cool and sunny during the race. I ended up finishing in 4:43:08, in 71th place overall and 39 in Male >40. More importantly I averaged 0.6 MPH and 18 minutes and 5 seconds faster than I was last year.

Steve came over for the race and he has plenty of his own stories to tell. We're already making plans for next season including a better/faster way to spread our stories. More details will be coming over the winter months. Let me leave you with one thought: CORE everyday!

Dream bike

2009-10-03T22:50:00.002-04:00

Dream bike

Dream bike with SRM!

At least for now. I'm sure something better will come along before too long.

Ohio/Pittsburgh Cross weekend

2009-09-29T20:34:00.010-04:00

Friday night Steve, JohnnyBrison and I went to Ohio to Duane's house to for the Cross race on Saturday. Steve did a great job and had a great race finishing 3rd in the "C" race. As soon as his race ended the skies let loose a downpour that lasted my whole race. Soon after starting the rain made everything super slick. After raining for a while the course became ride-able again and didn't even get muddy and slippery. There was one lightning bolt 25 minutes into the race and it was over that fast. I ended up finishing 10th but I felt good and think I could have done better if it had gone on.

Sunday morning we got up early and headed to Pittsburgh for the Month of Mud race. A slight miscalculation had us arriving there about 4.5 hours before our race. There were 6 of us. Henry, Mike, Richy, Ray, Steve and I. I was told it had been raining there for 2 days prior to the race so the course instantly turned to mud when the first pre-riding began. The course got further ripped up during the elite race. Our race began in a slight drizzle the stopped just after the race start but the damage was already done. The course was all but unrideable. It was more like stopping at each corner and then seeing how fast you could spring to the next one. I think everyone in the race managed to have a spectacular crash at some point. I ended up finishing 8th on the day through a battle of attrition and being a superior runner.

Overall it was a great weekend. I got lots of bruises and scratches and my shoulder is killing me. I can't wait for Ironcross weekend to do it all over again. I have an MRI on Friday to check my shoulder the I landed on while warming up for Saturday's race but assuming it comes back OK I'll be back asap.

Labor Day weekend, 7springs 24 hour race, and I'm working

2009-09-05T18:31:00.003-04:00

Once again it's a beautiful Labor Day weekend and the 7springs race is going on and of course I'm working all weekend. The only time I was able to make it to this race it was raining and 40* (as seen above). Last year I had the weekend off and I went to the State ITT race instead (that was dumb of me)

Devil's Backbone Mountain Cross (like Ironcross but better)

2009-08-31T21:03:00.005-04:00

Let me start by stating that things did not go well. I was sick and in no condition to race but that was OK because the event promoter was clear that this was not a race, it was a ride. That went out the window when J. Bishop and some other local cat1/2 guys showed up. Being that I was just recovering from a miserable cold I was on a mission to Ride with Steve B. and just try to enjoy a bike ride on 62 miles of back-country gravel roads. Steve agreed with this idea because he wanted to destress from his week of tests at IUP. The ride started off with a killer hill (Steve told me it was 2000 ft elevation gain in 2 miles but I don't have a GPS so how would I know but it was tough). This first hill was all on a paved road. Upon reaching the top the road turned to gravel and we were treated to a hair raising descent that left several riders thrown into the woods and at least one with a broken frame. We managed our way through 23 miles of gravel and then the almost unthinkable happened. Steve's pedal stripped completely out of his crankset. Try as we might there was no fixing this one. With no way to continue Steve had to stop and I decided to abandon with him so he wouldn't be stuck waiting around for hours for me to finish. We got a ride back to the start area and got cleaned up.
The day ended in disappointment because we didn't get to finish but it was still alot of fun. I'm going back next year to try and race this thing. It was like Ironcross but better. Don't ask me to explain that statement because I don't think I can other than saying I'd rather do huge climbs on gravel roads than moderate climbs on single track. The two races have alot in common and one is great practice for the other. I can't wait for Ironcross(coming next month) and I can wait to give Devil's Backbone another try. Next time I'm in it to win it;)

Racing into shape

2009-08-18T22:15:00.002-04:00

The phrase "racing into shape" just never made much sense to me when used to describe how Grand Tour riders would show up for the event slightly under trained and get faster over the course of the event.
Well,.................I guess I was wrong. This summer I've done more racing than ever before between weekend races, Tuesday night races in Shippensburg, and Thursday night time trials with YBR. Throw in a few more YBR/Ship/South Mountain smackdown races and I've been racing about 3 times a week all summer. It's great because on days when I don't race I don't have to worry about intervals because I'm just doing recovery rides.
The only reason I'm thinking about this is because after a killer Tour de LaTonka over the weekend and a hard ride with Sean yesterday I was going to take today off to get caught up with some stuff around the house. I ended up deciding at the last minute to go to the Shippensburg race and ended up winning the sprint even though I thought I was too tired and should have stayed home. Just goes to show you how much I really don't know. Suprise, Suprise!

YBR TT new PR tonight

2009-08-06T21:24:00.003-04:00

I set a new PR tonight at the YBR Thursday night TT. 23:01, almost started and U23 club. Conditions were perfect and I think I could have done it if I had a cassette with an 11 tooth cassette because there were parts of the course that I just ran out of gears:( Looks like I may be getting faster after all. Hopefully the good times will continue.
Ironcross VII is quickly approaching! Registration opened Saturday and it'll be here before we know it. So clear the weekend of October 10-11 and get ready for a party at my place. Also, it's time to get your cross bike to the shop for any work that needs done and don't wait until the last minute. The first cross race of the season was last weekend in NJ so it'll soon be in full swing:)

Tour of Lancaster Day 2, TT and Crit

2009-08-04T22:18:00.006-04:00

Day 2 started with a 10 mile ITT on a mostly flat course. It was a torrential downpour and I'm sure it affected the final results. Some riders got lucky and no rain, some (like me) got intermittent rain, and some got hurricane like rain and winds.
I ended up winning my TT and so did Steve. On the back stretch I went off of the road once just because I wasn't really paying attention. Then on the return on Snake Rd I almost wrecked in the first corner because I was carrying too much speed. That really was a difficult road in the rain (lots of turns).
Things started to dry out for the Cat 5 crit and Steve managed to stay safe in the pack for a good finish and 5th place on GC.
I was really tired and wanted to go home but decided to stay and do the crit simply because I had already paid for it and the weather was getting really nice so the course was completely dry. I'm glad I stayed. I hovered around the back of the group for the first half of the race and then moved up to about the front 1/3 of the group. From there things were status quo until the bell lap (that's when all Hell broke loose). We took the first left hand turn3 wide and I was on the outside line. The inside guy didn't hold his line causing the middle guy to jerk his front wheel to avoid him. This sent the middle guy towards me but I was leaned hard into my turn and I wasn't moving for anyone. He ended up smashing his face off of my shoulder and then wrecking. I got bumped a little off of my line and I was skirting the edge of the road so rather than trying to save it and catching the edge of the road and possibly wrecking I decided to do some cyclocross action through the field and then rejoin the group. Problem with this was that it relegated me to the back of the pack and with only 1/2 lap to go I just sat in and rode to the finish. Then on the final corner there was one final wreck involving a couple riders in the top 5-10 positions. Who says the front is always the safe place to be? I went looking for the guy who wrecked into me to make sure he was OK but I couldn't find him so apparently he got up and walked away.
I ended up tied for 10th place on GC. Only 2 points from 8th place (and in the money). Who knows, if I hadn't been bumped off the course and to the back of the pack on the final lap I may have got those points. I would have only needed a 18th place finish for 2 points. Oh well, it was a great time and I learned alot.

Thanks to Steve for coming over to race with me.
Very special thanks to Hanna (Steve's wife) for coming to cheer and for taking some wonderful photos.

Tour de Lancaster RR

2009-08-01T19:30:00.003-04:00

It was 5 10 mile laps. 1 climb of significance per lap. 50 starters. My goal: not to get shelled out the back:). The race started out pretty easy and a few riders broke away. I'm in this thing for the whole weekend and not just the RR so I decided to stay in the pack and not do anything crazy. Things started to heat up a little and the speed picked up but a strange thing happened. I was still with the group and actually feeling pretty good. The fourth lap started really fast and when we hit the climb I had to go hard just to stay with the group and I was the last person to make the junction and not get dropped (another plus). Another group of riders broke away on that lap and I spent the rest of my lap working my way back to the front. I finally got near the front when we arrived on the flat section prior to the big climb for the final time. I was talking with a guy from one of the larger teams at the race and we decided that there were already too many people off the front to pick up all of the points from the stage so a group of us decided since there was no time cut off and no points to be gained we would just soft pedal it to the finish and prepare to come out fighting again on Sunday at the TT. Steve Brewer was also at the race and finished 16th place in the cat. 5 race, Great Job! I ended up finishing 34th position. I could have done better if I had killed myself to the finish but still wouldn't have got any points. I'm happy I was able to ride with the pack and not get shelled as I normally do so I am making progression. Now we'll just have to wait and see how Sunday goes with a morning TT and afternoon crit scheduled.

Bad day on my bike but it didn't last very long

2009-07-25T21:57:00.003-04:00

I was planning a 40-50 mile ride with lots of hills in sunny 88 degree weather. It was gonna be a great ride. 7 miles in I hear sudden hissing and then flat. My front tire is flat but I'm undeterred. I fixed the flat and I was getting ready to go again and flat again. Not my fault, bad/cheap tube came prepunctured:( Left me sitting beside the road calling for the neutral support vehicle
(aka: corolla with my brother at the wheel) to come pick me up. Lucky for me he was home and willing to come get me:)
I'll try to do better tomorrow.

My dream bike is finally here

2009-07-23T21:56:00.005-04:00

Today after months of procrastination I finally built up my dream bike, well almost. Last weekend I decided that since I will be riding my Florida bike for a while longer I should build it up with the usable parts from by Six13. So that was my mission for today. It was a pretty easy switch out since I wasn't changing most of the stuff. First I removed the rear deraileur pulleys from my destroyed DA deraileur on my Six13 and transplanted them onto the 9 speed ultegra deraileur that I have on my FL bike. Next I transplanted the handlebar/stem/shifters in their entirty from the Six13 to the FL bike. Finally I switched the Easton wheelset on my FL bike with the Ksyrium SL wheelset from my cross bike. Now I have my Cannondale Caad7 frameset built up with DA 10 shifters, 9 speed RD with 10 speed pulleys, 105 9 speed FD, and of course Cdale Hollowgram crankset and Ksyrium SL wheels. This is truely my dream bike. I'll add the SRM in the coming days and it will truely be a killer machine.

Oh yeah, I also stole the headset from my Six13 and replaced the Campy Hiddenset that came on the frame and was now completely trashed.

Amazing ride, amazing bike.

I can't wait to pick up a BB30 caad9 and Supersix later this year:)

Two Race Weekend

2009-07-19T21:54:00.004-04:00

Friday night was the we toed the line for the 25 mile Washington Blvd track TT. The sky turned black several minutes before the start and the rain started to fall several minutes later. I felt surprisingly good, having only ridden my TT bike twice since the state ITT 3 weeks ago. I thought the track record was within my grasp but ended up falling 4 seconds short with a time of 0:54:25. The worst part of this was that I thought the record was 0:54:3? so I thought I may have beaten it by several seconds. Maybe next time. It won't be this year because I have to work the next time this TT is happening in a few weeks:(
Saturday was the Shannock Valley MTB race. I have a real soft spot for this race. Mostly because strength is placed at a premium and MTB skills are a distant second place. I showed up late at the start line and had to line up at the far back of the field (Bruce and Sheila) can attest to this. The race started out on a road section before hitting the first climb which always seems to go on forever. Between the two of these I was able to pick my way through most of the field and enter the single track in 22-25 place. I passed a couple more riders in the first section of single track and on the next up hill section. Then I held my position for a long time with no one passing me and only one guy on a single speed in front of me (he seemed to never get closer or further away). Later on in the race I was finally passed by one guy but I stuck close to his wheel and over took him on the final uphill section and then blew him away on the final downhill section of single track and then the short road section to the finish. I knew I had to pass him because at one of the final checkpoints the guy was telling everyone what position they were in and I was in 21st position so I had to kill my self to make that final pass to break the top 20. It's possible that I could have caught the guy infront of me (single speed guy) on the final road section but I thought it would be wrong to pass him at that point after he beat me up the entire course with only one gear. If the state ever starts to pay me again I may start a fund to buy some of these single speed guys bikes with gears. That can't be fun:) I ended up in 20th position overall and 6th in my age group.

A special thanks to , my great friend, Rich Seevers for letting me crash at his place for the weekend and cooking me lunch today:) Hopefully he will soon have to change his name from Afib Rider back to Rocket Rich and finally be able to train and race again.

Any can train...........

2009-07-12T05:03:00.002-04:00

"Anyone can train when they feel like it, champions train when they don't." This is how I felt yesterday. I wanted to stay home and sleep but decided to get out for a ride anyway. I thought I'd feel better within a mile or so after leaving home and I did. Hopefully today will feel better:)

Who needs two 65 inch TVs anyhow?

2009-07-04T11:30:00.005-04:00

I've been asked this question many times and the answer is "ME".
"Why?" You ask.
Because when one of them decides to blow a picture tube virtually making itself into an instant radio the day before the opening time trial of the Tour de France you need to have a back up.

Happy 4th of July!

Just returned from my ride and getting ready to watch the TdF. I was absolutely flying today. Sunny and 76* will do that for me. 46 miles at 19.5mph on my road bike. It wasn't flat either. It was through the hills of Michaux over to Shippensburg and back. A good hard ride on a georgous day. Happy Birthday America:)

2009 PA 40k ITT Championships

2009-06-30T14:44:00.006-04:00

Sunday was the 2009 state TT championships. A date that I've had targeted since the end of last summer when I finished second in last year's edition of the race. Henry and Steve B. came over the evening before and we went to eat at Panera bread. When we got back to my place Henry and Steve were busy making last minute cassette changes and we still had to look up directions to the race but still ended up getting into bed at a decent hour at about 11 o'clock. Sunday morning we had to leave at 6:45am so for a race day that is like sleeping in. At the race we met up with Steve M. and Skip who decided to make the drive from Pittsburgh that morning. Everything was going smoothly until I went to put my disc wheel on and noticed that the hub had come loose and the entire wheel could move back and forth about 1/4 inch while in the drop outs allowing it to rub the brake pads with each pedal stroke (maybe this is what slowed me down most in VA). Anyway, 10 seconds and an allen wrench later and that problem was solved. My warm up felt great and I was off the trainer and ready to roll at 9:11am (10 minutes til my start time). Put on my glasses and helmet and head to the start line. I get there with about 5 minutes til take off. Time to take a final drink (I didn't take any water with me) drop my jersey and line up. It's a good thing they were sending us out at minute intervals this year because the official at the start line had more instructions than I have ever experienced before so he needed the whole 55 seconds to fit them all in before the 5 second count down. I start out and start down the initial false flat. I feel like I'm going slow but I just focus on keeping my cadence up and hammering. I was trying to keep my cadence high so I wouldn't burn myself out on the uphill sections on the first half of the course and have something left for the return trip.
I felt really good the entire race (which probably means I should have gone faster) and I even waved at Henry when I passed him. He was about 3 miles into his race when I was 3 miles from the finish. I flew through the finish because I wasn't sure of where it was and I didn't slow down until I realized I was back at the start which was just around the next corner before a major intersection. I felt like I had ridden well but I still wasn't very confident in my ride until someone actually came over to my car and told me to get over to the awards presentation because I had won and they were calling my name. We headed over and sure enough I had won the Cat 3. Steve M. won the Cat 5 and Steve B. pulled out a bronze medal in Cat 5 after not even wanting to enter the 40k event because he said it was too long for him (sandbagger). Goal accomplished! Now I just want to thank everyone who helped me get here and everyone who will help me move on in the future. (tears welling up and starting to sob) You have all been great and I love you all but I'm keeping the medal and I won't share it:)

Great balls of fire (VA state ITT)

2009-06-21T18:53:00.004-04:00

(this was the only welcome I revieved in VA and by later in the day all I could think about was getting as far from here as possible)

My journey to the VA state ITT started at around 11am on Saturday morning when I left Mt. Holly Springs for VA. With no lunch in my belly I started to get the rumbles in my tummy at around 3 so I decided to stop and get something to eat and being the type of guy who hates to waste time and loves to multitask I decided to fill up on gas at the same time. Now I'm sure there are many places where you can get gas and some good food at the same time but I chose 7-11. Now for the food part, I picked the last 2 roller dogs that have been rolling for God knows how long (Mistake #1). The rest of my trip was uneventful and pleasant enough. I arrived in VA just before 4pm and got checked into my hotel. After unloading my car I decided to go for a small ride to stretch my legs and see the TT course. I got dressed and started down the road. It was only 2 miles to the course and completely flat. So I rode the course armed with 2 bottles for my 25 mile ride since it was 97* outside. On my return to the hotel (3 miles to go) I started to get the rumbles in my tummy again but these were a different kind. These were the kind of rumbles that tell you that you've eaten something that you shouldn't have and you need to get to a bathroom or else. I hurried back to the hotel and scurried through the lobby, up the stairs, and down the hall with my bike in tow to get to my room to relieve the "situation". Great now I'm nauseated, probably dehydrated, and I have a 40k in less than 18 hours. Force myself to eat dinner and get to bed relatively early. Maybe a good night's sleep will fix this mess.

Up in the morning and feel fine. I had a good breakfast at the hotel and it was off to the race. I get registered and get everything ready, maybe it's going to be OK after all. I get on my trainer for my normal warm up routine and my legs feel dead. Every movement is so difficult. "Maybe this will pass", I think to myself. I get off the trainer and to the start line in pretty good time for my start.

I'm off and going well. I passed my 30 second man and 1 minute man only 6 minutes into the race. I must really be flying (and they must be really slow). I continue to chase and pick up people til the turnaround and I'm feeling pretty good. I make the turn and within 30 seconds I get passed. "What is this? This is crazy. How is it possible that this guy is passing me?" I keep hammering and keep him in sight the rest of the race but he is pulling away. With 8 miles to go both legs start to cramp simultaneously and now this is difficult. With 5 miles to go I feel even more pain and the first thing that pops into my head is Jerry Lee Louis singing "Great balls of fire" and that's not a good thing to be think with 5 miles left to race with your legs already cramping. The rest of the race is a blur of pain/suffering/dehydration induced delirium. I ended up finishing 4th with a time of 0:55:53 but I wasn't even close to 3rd. Now it's time to try and recover this week and try to be firing on all cylinders at the PA state ITT next Sunday. I'm officially off 7-11 roller dogs for good.*

*if all of this just sounds like the ramblings of a madman it's because I have a million thoughts running through my head right now and wanted to put just a few of them out there for others to enjoy/make fun of.

*Update: 4th cat. 3, 7th overall. If I had been a cat. 1-2 I would have placed better:)

Tuesday night Yellow Breeches TT

2009-06-16T21:33:00.002-04:00

Today was my second attempt at the Yellow Breeches Racing weeknight TT. Since the first one I have moved into my new home and now I'm only 4 miles from the TT start. It's nice to be able to ride to the start and home again afterword. The first time I did this race I finished in 23:??(about 19). My goal is to someday do it in under 23 minutes. Tonight was not the night. Every thing started well enough but when I got to the turnaround point I made my turn about 1/4 mile too early because someone had placed a traffic cone there to mark something on the road. I saw an orange cone and just turned. I didn't even think that it was the wrong one until I was headed the wrong way and the guy that I had just passed seconds earlier was yelling at me asking me where I was going. I thought about throwing in the towel and just soft pedaling back to the start and home but I decided to turn around again and go to the correct turn around and try to finish strong. This being one of my last really hard intervals in preparation for the PA state TT next weekend. I ended up with a time of 24:05. Not really that bad since I lost a bunch with two extra turnarounds, some extra distance added between the turnarounds before I figured out that I had screwed up, and some lost time when I was coasting and trying to decide if I should bag it and go home or turn around and finish hard. If the weather holds the plan is to do this again on Thursday so maybe I'll get a clean run and be able to take another shot at sub-23.

Philadelphia Amature TT

2009-06-08T22:41:00.004-04:00

(I'm in the money)

After waking up at 3am I still managed to get 1st place Cat. 3 and 5th place overall. It was a beautiful day and a great venue. Super smooth blacktop and completely closed to traffic. The only part of the course that kind of sucked was the expansion joints in the road 1/2 mile into the course and then again 1/2 mile to the finish. There were 3 of them and they were huge. Enough to make me loose my bottle. Not that it mattered on a course this short or at this particular temp but still. This was the most professional amature TT I've ever seen. The timing system was great and they had a spotter calling the upcoming riders # ahead to the finish so they had your time and finish place on the clock as you were approaching. This would have been great except that I didn't get to see mine because I ended up passing my 1 1/2 minute man in the finishing chute so his time was up on the clock and I never did get to see mine. The weather couldn't have been any better, sunny and 70 degrees at race time with very little wind. It was a really nice race but driving 2.5 hours at 3am to race 8.6 miles is crazy.

Resting is over, now back to work

2009-05-27T23:26:00.002-04:00

I had a relatively easy week last week which was only planned because between the weather and travel I didn't have much time.

Anyway, today I was doing 1omin TT intervals with 10min rest in between. 10 minutes isn't all that long but sure can be painful if done correctly. Good times, hopefully this will all pay off.

I'll try to post some pictures eventually because I realize this blog really sucks if all you have to look at is what I write. A new Camera battery is on the way.

"Happy Birthday Bruce" Ride!

2009-05-24T22:20:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday Bruce! I realize it's a bit late but I was just at the party today so it seems appropriate. We did a 2-3 hour MTB ride and it was my first chance to get out on my new 29er that I just picked up from Probikes on Saturday. It was a fun ride with perfect weather. I was amazed at how the big wheels just seemed to roll over things easier than the 26ers. This was also my first ride on a hard tail which made things interesting. I'll do a better review once I get some more miles in. I did manage one spectacular crash on a flat and easy section to cut both of my knees open.

Yellow Breeches "Ironmasters" TT tonight

2009-05-21T15:23:00.003-04:00

I'm doing the Yellow Breeches Racing Ironmasters TT tonight for the first time. It'll be a good TT so use as a fitness gauge because it's only 5 miles from the house I'm buying. I'm not sure of the distance or what kind of terrain is covered but from what I have seen of the results it should take around 23-25 minutes and at that amount of time it should be really painful if done correctly, I'm looking forward to it. Results and pictures to come later tonight or tomorrow.

Here are the Results!

new helmet decals

2009-05-20T22:07:00.002-04:00

After a lengthy wait it's finally done.

Road bike out of commission

2009-05-17T20:06:00.006-04:00

Well, now my road bike is out of commission for the the foreseeable future. I was planning on buying a new one anyway but I was gonna keep this one so I could have two. I've come to the conclusion that you should always have two road bikes just in case something like this happens. Unfortunately my new bike is not here yet so I'm left without a ride. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise because I'll be getting a lot more time on my TT bike since it's my only choice.

Thanks to the friendly folks at Probikes I also have a new Cannondale F29er 1 waiting for me in Pittsburgh. I might be able to get down there to pick it up this weekend and get a ride in if everything goes right.

10 miles from home and walking

2009-05-15T17:50:00.004-04:00

I was just out for what I thought what was going to be a 60 mile ride and that all changed in a heartbeat. I was accelerating away from a stop light when I heard a snap and then my rear wheel locked up. I came to a sudden stop and made my way to the side of the road and looked down. What I saw was a horror. My derailleur was twisted in my spokes and my chain was still intact but one link had one half snapped off. At first I thought my derailleur hanger had snapped and unleashed the carnage that I was looking at but it appears to still be intact, rather it looks like the derailleur was ripped straight out of it, removing all of the threading. So now what? I have my super multi-tool that I thought could end this kind of madness. I can use it to fix any problem my bike could possibly have. It may not be the best fix but at least I can make it home. That's not the case when you can't even get the rear wheel to turn because it's tangled with a derailleur and chain. Oh well, 10 miles from home and walking. About an hour and 4 miles later some guy out cutting his grass saw me and offered me a ride home which I gladly accepted. I now have blood blisters on both of my feet and I'm tired, too tired to even look at my bike and try to figure out what I need to do next. What a mess!

Windy day and dead birds

2009-05-14T16:38:00.002-04:00

The two things really have nothing to do with each other. Yesterday when I was riding and noticed that birds in South Central PA must be the dumbest birds in the world. There are more dead birds laying along the road than I have ever seen in my life. I was just doing my normal ride and watched a bird sitting on the road take flight as a Ford Explorer approached. Instead of flying out of the way it just flew straight in the same direction as the road and got smacked. Dead bird.

Then today came the windy part. The wind was just completely crazy. My attempt at an easy ride was ruined. It was all I could do to stay upright and it ever seemed to get any easier.

Shippensburg Tuesday night race

2009-05-12T21:35:00.002-04:00

It may not be a "real" race but it sure is fun. It's a road race so, of course, I get dropped. I can stay in about half way and then I just die. Maybe if I stick with it someday I won't get dropped. It sure does hurt so it must be making me stronger:)

Weekend off

2009-05-10T22:36:00.003-04:00

Saturday was my first easy day in quite some time. I did an easy ride from my apartment in Mechanicsburg to Shippensburg. Then I did a TT on the South Mountain Hill Climb course. It took 1 min longer than when I did it with the group but I was 30 watts stronger than after having done a 40k in the morning. Then I rode back to Mechanicsburg with the wind at my back the whole way:). It was a nice easy 82 miles with 7 tough miles right in the middle.

Sunday I went to Rocky Ridge County Park near York, PA for a Trek bike demo. Now I wouldn't dare buy a Trek since our wonderful bike shop sponsor (Pittsburgh Pro Bikes) sells Cannondale, Specialized, Giant, Seven, Independent Fabrications and Delta 7. So, you may ask, what was my reason for being there? I wanted to test some new full suspension designs and finally try some big wheels. First I rode the GF Superfly and I got to see what all of the fuss about 29 inch wheels is all about. It just seemed to roll over roots, rocks, or anything else that may get in my way. Coming from me that is a major revelation since I'm hardly what you would call a good mt. biker. Next I rode another GF 29er but this time it was a full suspension model. In my opinion it was complete overkill. It was a nice bike but felt kind of like riding a down hill bike on a cross country corse. Between the big wheels and the 4 inches of rear travel it was just too much. Finally, my last ride of the day was on a Trek TopFuel 9.8. The Trek rep had told me that it was the bike that he thought I would appreciate the most coming from a road background and was he ever right. It was really a rocket ship. It felt like riding a road bike over double track and then made rocks and roots disappear while staying grounded enough to allow me to continue pedaling at full speed while never loosing traction. One of their big selling points for this bike was something called BB90. It's sort of like a copy cat of Cannondale's BB30 design but without all of the benefits. It does narrow the Q-factor but doesn't enlarge the spindle size to stiffen things up. The narrow Q-factor felt really good on a MTB and I can't wait to try a Cannondale with a BB30 crank. Now I just need to try and decide if I want a new Scalpel or F29er 1. Decisions, decisions............life can be so difficult.

Sorry that there aren't any pics from this weekend but my camera battery was dead and I didn't find out until I was already on my ride Saturday.

Also one last thing. One of the largest dfferences I noticed with all of the MTBs today was that the forks were so much less stiff than the Lefty. Since Cannondale was my first and only "real" MTB I had never experienced this before but the forks on the Trek and GFs felt like they wanted to wash out on every corner, thankfully it never happened but a bad sensation all the same.

Long rides and time to recharge

2009-05-09T08:40:00.002-04:00

After quite a bit of traveling for the last 2 months this weekend I'll be doing some long rides around home and recharging my batteries for a push towards the PA state championship TT. This weekend the weekend should be nice and since my mother is in FL I won't be able to see her on Mother's day anyway.

Pedal Efficiency study

2009-05-07T21:56:00.005-04:00

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to take part in a VO2 max study and Pedal Efficiency study. What I learned is that I'm moderately fit and I don't fit into any real model as far as pedal efficiency. Turns out that the trainer rides I do all winter long have my body equally efficient(or inefficient) while riding at a wide range of pedal rates.

New TT PR

2009-04-28T21:01:00.004-04:00

Sunday was the Carlisle 40k ITT. Nice warm day with a head wind on the first 20k and a really nice tail wind on the trip home. I set a new PR of 0:52:37 almost 2 minutes better than my previous best. It was good enough for 1st place in Cat 3 and 3rd place overall. I only lost to 2 cat 1-2 guys so I can't be too upset but winning is always more fun.
Second race of the day was a 7 mile uphill time trial that was started as a mass start. The first two miles were flat and at a fairly easy pace. That let me hide my legs that were still fried from the morning 40k. As soon as the race headed uphill someone jumped. He had fresh legs since this guy wasn't at the 40k. One other guy jumped on his wheel and I followed. There were only 3 of us and I thought I may have more left than I thought. This feeling didn't last long because as soon as I sat down after my acceleration I knew I was dead in the water. From there on out I went at my own pace and struggled but ended up finishing 10th place. My time in the morning race was enough that it would have given me the win if this had been scored as a stage race.

Tuesday racing in Shippensburg

Today I did the Tuesday training race in Shippensburg. It was painful as all of my experiences with road racing seem to be and my legs were still tired from Sunday. It was a good workout and now I just have to take it easy until Saturday's race in Virginia.

On a side note, I went to Pittsburgh Probikes on Saturday with Rich. That is one awsome store and I was highly impressed to say the least. As you can see above, I had a chance to sport my new Probikes shirt at the race on Sunday.

My extended weekend of riding and racing

2009-04-16T19:53:00.005-04:00

Friday was 75* and sunny and I was headed for the hills along the border between VA and WV. I was riding to Reddish Knob, which is a 8-10 mile climb that dead ends at the top in a parking lot. Great way to spend a day.
Saturday was the running of the First Annual Bridgewater, VA to Love, VA Century(Made up by me, for me). This ride may happen more or less than yearly but since it's my ride that's what I'm calling it for now. This happened to be the coolest day of the weekend with intermittent mist and barely any sun.
This is my version of taking Ag3r to new heights:)

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day. Other than Easter it also happened to be the running of Paris-Roubaix and therefore in Harrisonburg, VA it means Harris-Roubaix. Harris-Roubaix is 3 laps of a 16 mile course, 12 miles of which is gravel roads. My race started out well with me following the first attack of the race and then making my own attack leading up to and starting the first climb. After a split in the race, I got caught on the wrong side of, I was charging hard with one other guy trying to catch the lead group. All seemed to be going well until we crested the second hill on a gravel section and I flatted. I stopped to fix my tire and then started again and got my second flat less than 1/2 mile later. At this point I threw in the towel and rode slowly to the to the finish line and the post race pot luck dinner. Then when I was getting ready to go back to my car someone pointed out that my handlebar was snapped. It must have happened when I dropped my bike to the ground at the finish line. Upon removing my handlebar tape I found that all that trainer time this winter led to a large salt build up which was weakening aluminum. Luckily it didn't snap during a ride:-)

In short it was a great extended weekend of riding in western VA.

New Ag3r flophouse

2009-04-07T21:46:00.002-04:00

After May 15 it will be official but I bought a new house. It's less than 5 miles from the start line for IronCross and less than 5 miles from the start line for the Carlisle tt series course. Just let me know if your going to be in the area and need a place to stay. Great riding, both road and mtb, right out my front door.

New TT position and New Catlike Aero Chrono Plus

2009-03-30T21:12:00.002-04:00

My helmet arrived today from Scotland today so I thought I'd post some pics of the helmet and position pics that someone might enjoy.

New Jersey 36k ITT

2009-03-29T15:00:00.006-04:00

(pics will be added when/if I can get some)

48* and misty. It was about as flat as a course of that length could possibly be. This race is an interesting on because instead of a true 36k ITT it is actually 2 18k ITTs. At the end of the first half there is a finish line because on this road they can't stop traffic to allow a turnaround. After you cross the first finish line you line back up in the order that you crossed and they restart you back towards the next finish line at 30 second intervals.
My race started badly because I wasn't clipped into my left peddle at that start line and then I had trouble getting clipped in because I had accidentally walked though some mud in the parking area. It took about a quarter mile to get clipped in but then everything was working fine. I got into a rhythm and felt pretty good. Apparently I had bumped my cadence sensor when I put my disc wheel on because it wasn't showing any reading but I still had my speed and time display. I felt good and was happy that I didn't have any asthma related "issues" when I made it to the turn around.
Wow, that break in the middle of an ITT sure is nice. I makes me think that maybe this should be common protocol. Anyway, I had more trouble getting clipped in when I started the second half of the race. After that short break I felt much better on the return trip. It makes me rethink my whole warm up strategy (harder warm up from now on). I was feeling strong and all was going OK when I saw the 5k sign and I picked my effort up a bit for the last push to the finish. Next up was 3k and a little harder. Finally 1k and I was sprinting from the aero position. I was really hurting and was pretty sure my finish time would be pretty good but the finish line wasn't coming nearly fast enough. Afterwords I found out that the 5k, 3k and 1k to go road markings were painted on the road in 2008 and the finish line had been moved roughly 0.5 miles down the road this year. This made for a really painful 1k that ended up being 1.1 miles but it probably improved my time by starting my final push from further out so I'm OK with it. I truly had nothing, and I mean nothing, left at the end so all is right with the world. I ended up winning the overall in 0:57:41. My fastest race ever:)
48* and misting is a nice, although cool, temperature to race in but afterwords I was absolutely freezing. It took almost an hour after I was cleaned up and dried off before I started to warm up:) I guess winning warms your soul but does nothing for the rest of your body.

*Almost forgot to say "Thank you Rich" for letting me borrow his TT helmet:)

Lake Ontelaunee TT

2009-03-16T20:56:00.002-04:00

My first race of the 2009 season was this past Saturday. A 10 mile TT seems like just the right way to start off the season. Just long enough to cause a significant amount of pain but still short enough to be able to go full speed even with mediocre early season fitness. It was a fun course and I really enjoyed it. It was a hilly course for a TT. I don't know if there was any flat ground in the entire 10 miles. Even though it was a bumpy course there was only one section where I felt like I was spinning out my largest gear (54x12). I wish I had put on a cassette with an 11 tooth cog for that section. I could have made the 3 seconds difference that I ended up loosing by.
Well, I guess I spilled the beans, I lost. I had a pretty good race but the cold weather was really messing with my breathing. I was having trouble the entire race after the first 2 minutes but it peaked 2 miles from the finish. I felt someone was sitting on my chest. I ended up winning my category and breaking the prior course record but I got beat by a master's racer. In the end it ended up being alot of fun for an early season race and I ended up winning my registration back plus $2 so it didn't cost anything. Also, I managed to get some USCF points to help in my quest for complete domination of the rankings this year and to improve on my final rank from last year of #19. I have kicked my training into high gear now with T Max Intervals. These things hurt but hopefully it will be worth it. With longer days and warmer weather on the horizon this should be interesting.

Lactate intervals

2009-03-08T22:46:00.002-04:00

I finally made the switch from steady state intervals to lactate intervals. Also made it outside for a few rides this week. Other than that not very much exciting happening here. I can't wait to get some racing in.

New bike alert

2009-02-28T14:45:00.001-05:00

I have a new bike on the way. It won't be here for a couple weeks and I probably won't get to do my first race of the year on it but only time will tell.

Back riding indoors since being back from FL

2009-02-28T00:41:00.002-05:00

It's been all indoors riding since getting back from FL last week. That's OK I guess it is still February after all. It's just hard to remember that after riding in 80 degrees for 2 weeks. First race of my season is in 2 weeks (4/14/09) in Reading, PA. With the new USAC policy on rankings by total number of points like what the UCI has done forever I need to do all of the TTs that I can fit into my schedule. Although this system sort of sucks for those of us who work some weekends and don't make it to as many races as we might like.

2009-02-19T09:26:00.002-05:00

Just finished up with my last ride in FL before heading back to Mechanicsburg later today. It was a set 8 minute TT intervals with 2 minutes recovery between them and then a final 6 mile TT interval to finish it off. FL was fun but riding in PA is much better and less flat.

18 mile TT test

2009-02-18T23:13:00.002-05:00

I did my first 18 mile all out effort of the year yesterday. The first 12 miles of it were into the wind and the final 6 was with the wind at my back. I'm not gonna lie, it hurt, alot. I don't know if I was fast or not but that wasn't really the point of this exercise. Just wanted to get that feel back. In the words of Greg Lemond, "It never hurts any less, you just go faster"

Greetings from sunny Florida!

2009-02-16T14:18:00.005-05:00

Unlike the rest of my teammates who have been riding in the cold of winter and across frozen lakes and such I have spent the last 3 weeks in Southern Florida. I've been putting in some pretty big miles (by my standards, not Sam's) and I've finally got back on my TT bike. It seems to take a while after being off my TT bike for so long but things are finally starting to feel "right" again.It was really windy on my ride today and I got pretty beat up but considering it was also 74 degrees and sunny who am I to complain.
Been doing some cross training also................not really but I was forced to go so I figure I may as well make it sound like I was training. Don't worry, I rode 52 miles later that day when I got home

Sunny in Florida

2009-02-03T13:02:00.002-05:00

Well, it may be sunny but it really isn't that warm. It's been as warm as 75 degrees on the cloudy/rainy day but today it is finally sunny and it's only 60 degrees. Oh well, it's nice to be outside riding again. I was on my TT bike yesterday, for the first time since Labor Day weekend, for a 50 mile cruise. It does feel strange after being off of it for so long. I'm glad I was on my TT bike because the wind was crazy.

bike-fit shoe wedges

2009-01-20T18:55:00.002-05:00

I just got a set of shoe wedges from Bike Fit Systems. They are little plastic wedges that fit between your shoe and cleats. The idea is that most people apply perfectly flat pressure to the pedals (much like over or under-pronators in running) except these things cant the ball of your foot instead of the heel. They recommend installing two shims under each cleat and then add or subtract wedges overtime until you get to the point when your knees wobble back and forth as little as possible. I already had some expeirence with this idea because I used to have a pair of Specialized shoes that had this feature built in but I think the wedges are a better idea because it allows for adjustment. I found that I need 2 wedges on my left foot andn 3 wedges on my right foot. It really is amazing how much more comfortable this makes pedaling. They make claims of power gains. I don't know about increased power but increased comfort is gaurenteed.

4 hour trainer ride!

2009-01-13T13:08:00.003-05:00

5 bottles of water, 4 hours of DVRed TV shows, 3 energy bars, 2 soaked jerseys, and 1 rearranged living room is just the recipe for a four hour trainer ride. As I told Henry on our New Year's day ride I started by dong my normal power testing routine and then just kept going for the rest of the 4 hours. The good news is my 20 minute power is up 8%. It was also my highest 20 minute power output ever indoors. Things seem to be going in the right direction. Maybe taking a month off was a good thing. So my 4 hour journey started off well and then got monotonous. Hopefully it'll help in the spring but my death stare (below) should tell the rest of the story of my experience.

2009-01-03T23:50:00.001-05:00

I was out for a couple hours today. It is amazing how much warmer 30 degrees can feel after doing a 20 degree ride on New Year's Day. It was cold and windy but it sure beats work.

Power testing today

2008-12-16T11:08:00.003-05:00

Power testing is a good thing, a really good thing. OTOH, it also has drawbacks. #1, it hurts to complete the test. If you are doing it correctly and going all out it should hurt. #2, if everything is working out correctly and your numbers are higher you have to increase your daily training goals which also hurts. I wish there was an easier way to get faster. If anyone has any ideas let me know, I'm open to easier solutions.
So how did my test go? Well, I'm 3% stronger today than I was 1 month ago last time I tested. I guess that is pretty good since I got sick for a week and could barely eat or drink anything for that time. I've been using the same winter training program for the last 3 years so my gains are pretty predictable. I have read an article about a new type of intervals that I'm planning on starting later in the off season that should be helpful when it's time for really hard intervals closer to the start of race season.
I've found that I'm a strange breed of person, for may reasons. The one I'm talking about today is because I'm one of the few people who actually enjoy riding inside on the trainer. It allows me to combine two of my favorite things, riding a bike and watching TV. Anyway, I enjoy it and I'm not afraid to say it;-)

winter updates are slow

2008-12-13T08:34:00.002-05:00

I guess it's about time for an update. Nothing really exciting happening right now. Mostly indoor training which is going well. I was sick last week and that really sucked. I had a huge ulcer in the back of my throat and I lived on pudding for about 5 days. My throat is still healing but now I can eat normal food and I'm felling better. I've really started feeling better on the bike. I was finally able to get outside for a ride yesterday and I'll be outside again today. I'm really looking forward to going to Florida in February for some warmer extended outdoor sessions.

the snow is here

2008-11-22T10:34:00.002-05:00

I got my first dose of snow yesterday and now I've committed myself to moving back to VA next spring/summer. I hate snow, at least I hate driving in it. I'd love to do a cyclocross race in it but I think this weekend was my last weekend to give it a shot and since I'm not racing it's looking like it may have to be another year. Today was my first 2 hour trainer ride. It was truly a trying task. Being on the trainer for 2 hours is a killer both physically and mentally. Even with the TV to watch and a fan blowing on me it seems like a long time. Florida in February seems like a long time away but maybe I'll make it down there in January for some out long outdoor training;-)

2009 season starts now

2008-11-13T20:16:00.003-05:00

My 2009 season started today with a one hour trainer ride after a month off of the bike. That was a long time off after going more than two years without missing back to back days on the bike.
So today I was back on the trainer in my parent's basement, the same place where I started my odyssey to try and become a bike racer 5 years ago. For the last two years I've spent the winter doing power based, steady state workouts on the trainer and it has worked out pretty well but this year I'm going to try to add some shorter and more intense intervals to my plan to try and make 2009 a break through year. I'm not even sure what definition I want to use for "break through" but in the coming weeks I'll jot down some ideas and let everyone know how things are progressing. It's good to be back;-)

Ironcross VI

2008-10-14T19:10:00.008-04:00

In every race there is a story to be told. No one does this better than my teammate Dirty Mike. I, on the other hand, will just tell it like it is.
My race weekend started on Thursday afternoon when I got off work. This is because I was of Friday-Sunday so I had plenty of time to enjoy the Ironcross race weekend. Things started off on a bad note on Thursday evening when I broke a mirror in my bathroom. Jump ahead to Saturday when I showed up for Ironcross Lite. I went to the registration table to pick up my packet and I was handed #13. Now I'm not superstitious but this was just ridiculous. I really didn't have huge expectations for this race because mass start races and racing off road isn't really a strong point for me and cyclocross has both. I've done cyclocross races before but it never fails to surprise me just how fast these races start. I had a pretty good start and was mid field and starting to settle into a rhythm. It was an awesome course complete with 4 log jumps and a pumpkin orange Cannondale death spiral to go along with the normal cyclocross stuff like barriers and a sand pit. After a few laps and managing to clear all of the logs and not face plant I somehow managed to pinch flat my rear tire when I was sitting my bike down after carrying it over a set of barriers. RACE OVER! That quick I was done. I thought to myself, "this is disappointing but I guess I'll just save my energy for tomorrow." So I went into recovery mode to prepare to put my best foot forward for Ironcross VI on Sunday.
Saturday evening Dirty Mike, Doug Milliken and I went to Olive Garden for dinner and then watched Transition 2: 'Cross the Pond to get pumped up for the next days race. Then it was off to bed early.
Sunday wake up time was 06:00am. Breakfast for me was pancakes. Dirty Mike opted for waffles (I think he was trying to gain some Belgain 'cross magic). Time to head to the race!
The race was staged so that the first group were the past winners of the event and the winners of the Ironcross Lite races. Then came all of the the races who thought they could finish in less than 5 hours. Next it was the races with an approximate finish time of 5-6 hours and the final group were racers with an approximate finish time of >6 hours. The crazy thing about this race is that even though it was >62 miles long it started just as fast as the Ironcross Lite race the day before. I was in a good place at the start and stayed close to DM through the cross course and onto the first section of trail. Then we started up the first big hill and I, of course, crumbled. I stayed steady and caught back up to DM's group on the hill but another acceleration left me in their wake. Then Doug caught me and we joined up and started a paceline to try and catch DM's group and were making good progress when Doug went down in some loose gravel on a tight turn on the downhill road section. I slowed down but he yelled that he was OK and told me to push on. I did but it wasn't long before Doug and a paceline of about 10 strong guys (many of whom were in DM's group and flatted on the first hill/trail) came blowing by me and I was unable to hang on on the series of hills we were on and then once again I was all by myself. I hit the first section of downhill of single track where I was subsequently passed by what seemed like half of the race. I stopped once during the single track and once later on to lend my pump or a tube to racers who had neglected to prepare for the course. Which brings me to my next image of how disappointed I was when I came across DM walking down a hill with a flat tubular clincher tire and no replacement. We refilled it with a CO2 and the tire sealed for a minute but went flat pretty quickly. He told me he was going to walk back to the last checkpoint and I was on my own again but this time it was until the end. I ran out of water soon after passing the final checkpoint and little did I know I still had an hour to ride. I was in pretty bad shape by the end but managed to finish in 5:01:xx. I missed my goal time of no worse than a 5 hour finish but would have made it if I didn't stop to help a few people so I'm OK with it. I arrived at the finish line a few minutes after DM. We had some burittos and coke, then jumped into the lake to cool off and clean up before the drive home. It was a fun day but only now am I realizing how disappointed I am with not being able to do well in mass start races. I'm now starting my month awake from biking. I'm looking for a coach for to work with next season that can help me with this problem. If anyone has any suggestions let me know.

IronMike's Ironcross Death March II

2008-09-29T20:49:00.011-04:00

This was m second attempt at IronMike's Ironcross Death March. On the first attempt 3 years ago I had my pedal cross threaded and fell off around 45 minutes into the ride. I was hoping that this time around would go better. Mike had been spending time over the prior 2 weeks planning a course that would closely mimic the actual Ironcross course and hopefully be just a little bit harder.
He did an exquisite job right down to the minor details. There was a little paved road, lots of gravel roads, washed out mud/gravel descents, an awesome excursion onto a new trail sponsored by the folks at TMR. Mike was even nice enough to throw in a nice muddy, wash out "run up", similar to the climbs "Insult" and "Injury" (the two killer power-line climbs in Ironcross) and not only did we get to ride it, when we got done trudging to the top we immediately rode back to the bottom made 3 left turns and did it again just to accurately match Ironcross.
Mike asked me at the beginning of the ride if I considered us to be friends. Of course I answered "yes." Then he said "I hope you still say that at the end of the day." It was an awesome day and great ride. It was one of those epic rides that you talk about for years and everyone wonders how you can remember such miniscule details about a seemingly meaningless training ride. I'm sorry more people couldn't make it out to ride with us. The ride ended up lasting 4.5 hours and included less than 10 feet of flat ground (I think). I just want to take one last second to thank Mike again for planning such a great ride. Great ride, great fun! Now I'm Fast Like Pancakes for Ironcross.

Peanut Butter Festival

2008-09-18T23:03:00.011-04:00

Now I realized going in that I haven't been riding my MTB. I mean even less than normal so I was ready to go in with absolutely no technical skills but that is OK since there are none (or next to none) required for this wide open course. I was thinking my fitness could carry me through for a decent finish and that is right when m fitness failed. I do believe that this could be classified as my worst race ever. Even after my 10 hour cramping experience at the Wilderness 101. I had an asthma attack and got lost in this race. I don't understand why it is but when I get on a MT bike it just feels like all of the power is sucked right out of my legs. Oh well, I guess there is always next year. It was cool that Sam got the race win, Rich got third in his age group, and although I'm not completely sure I think I managed to win the "male nurse" category. It was painful and my worst race ever but I'll be back next year.

I was actually pretty happy about how I did on the MTB parts of the course like stream crossings and logs. I didn't have to put a foot down on any of them which is a major accomplishment for me. However not being able to breathe will quickly put an end to chances of doing well in any bike race

And now it's time to reveal............................................................................................................

Ironcross Weaponry

atleast until I save up the $$ for my dream bike

2nd place, State TT championships

2008-09-03T21:25:00.006-04:00

During the winter I was sitting in Indiana Cycling and Fitness talking to Rich on a cold snowy day and I told him, "This year I'm actually going to train hard and not just ride a bunch of junk miles." Problem is that is the exact thing I told him last winter and it never happened. Fast forward 9 months and I'm in my top condition and totally prepared for this race. I actually did train this year but how would it all play out. I had a good warm up and I felt ready. I started out into a slight head wind and I could see it reflected in my time. I was 15 seconds slower to the turnaround than when Rich and I had done this course in July. I was really hurting but I guess that's good because it means I was going hard enough. I may even have gone out too hard. On the way back I managed to make up some time and I ended up finishing 30 seconds faster than the TT in July on the same course. I was happy with my time but now came the long wait to see how it compared to the others. Long story short it was good enough (only good enough) for second place. I guess training with a purpose really does pay off. I just like to say thank you to everyone who has helped get me started into racing and all of the knowledge you all have shared. I'd gladly split my metal with all of you but the thing is so small it looks more like a key chain.(Medal shown here larger than actual size)

Nicest looking bike ever!

2008-08-30T21:48:00.003-04:00

It's not that great of a picture but I got my hands on the new 2009 Cannondale catalog today and their new cross bike is beautiful. The back is lightning white, the front is patriot blue, it has race red highlights and decals, and the whole thing is high gloss. It's way too pretty to be a cross bike but I love it. If anyone at Cannondale reads this and wants to donate a frameset or a complete bike to me I'll need a size 54 and will do everything in my power to make a good showing on the bike.
Ladies and Gentleman here it is, the Amazing, Exploding Stem. It's adjustable so you have to tighten it enough so the pivot point won't move. The problem is that in trying to do that I had to make it so tight that the bolt snapped in half. I did the same thing to one of the bolts that attaches the faceplate. I guess it's back to the drawing board for this stem design and to the garbage can with this stem.

Giant preview: 2009 TCX

2008-08-28T00:42:00.003-04:00

Well, mine will be red instead of blue but the new Hydroformed frame and 1 1/4-1 1/8 headtube looks impressive.

Back on the bike

2008-08-26T21:29:00.002-04:00

I was back on the bike today after 2 days off. Sunday I didn't have time to ride between church and work. Then I had to work overtime Sunday night so all I did on Monday was sleep until it was time to go back to work. So today I was back on the bike and it felt great. I did a long ride at a pretty mellow race. This week I'll be tapering for he State Championship ITT this weekend. So it's just a few hard efforts and lots of easy riding.