Sorry M.M. but everyone knows the new 3's, 6's and 9's are smokin'!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
East Canyon
First things first... this is only a race... I need to put this one in perspective because it still burns... in the past few weeks we have seen guys go down hard with injuries that will side line them for a while. As well as other serious health issues that have hit a local cycling icon, and another's child... that is what really matters... Godspeed in a fast recovery to each.
Frustation, with a capital F... that's it in a nutshell- cut to one simple turnaround... at the turnaround... legs fresh, able and ready, I got boxed to the inside as the 35's and 45's merged into one big cluster... a group of about eight 35's got out and drilled it to grande gapage, while a few of us were trying to negotiate through the 45 pack... to which a violent effort off of the 45's (which isn't easy with Schaeffer and Armstrong pushing the pace) then to continue on with long hard pulls couldn't quite get us back on the train... game over but, not without a fight...
The highlight was, by launching off the front of the 45's to chase down the ocho amigo's, we got to ride next to Louis " Cancellera's bro separted at birth" Riel for a bit...he was TTing off the front of the 45's forever (every one was cheering him on as we checked out the 56X9 he was pushing into the headwind), also got to play cat and mouse with some of the 45+ chasers who ended up trying to bring back the lead group, lead out by Mr. Shaeffer, Zimbelman and the Claw, who were none other than Armstrong and the "Good Doctor" Longe... read on for the fun stuff...
At one point on the last flat section me and my Mazda Posse where side by side with Armstrong and the Doc, two synchronized pace lines one 35+ and one 45+... tyring desperately to bring back each lead group respectively, hoping we might catch on, if they end up doing the 1k dosey-do infront of us... the funny thing is one of the dropped 35+ riders who we caught (no name will be mentioned) decided that the rules didn't apply to him and was sucking wheel to the 45+ wheel chase group of Armstrong and Doc, like a hungry calf suckling momma's teet when we caught them... only to continue doing so even though Doc was telling him to stop time and again... and on top of this, we were watching him in amazement separated horizontally by two feet to the left... it gets better, if we passed the 45's he would suck our wheels and vice versa, switching back and forth... at the end, after I did long pull number 107, wheelsucker went flying by me to take the line, fortunately Porterlicious passed him... cuz I certainly couldn't, being that I spent my last bullet 30 pulls before... the entire episode was kind of sureal, like "hey guys I"m cheating, see! Check it out-and just wait until I pip you at the line"... I guess if you choose to ride like that, it's best to do it with gusto and gleen pride in a job well done! Compared to the turn around fiasco this really didn't matter that much to me, and to a certain extent it was kind of entertaining, it broke the monotany for sure, but I will say this... is it really worth it for 8th or 9th or whatever position? In the big scheme of things it's simply not that important, and it's certainly a quick way not to be invited to Lagoon for the next birthday bash with chocolate cake and noise makers...
Oh well, but I did really get to see two great races from just about every vantage point througout the race, I might not ever get to see that again... it was I was watching all the action on the tele with a beer in hand, of course minus the beer...
Frustation, with a capital F... that's it in a nutshell- cut to one simple turnaround... at the turnaround... legs fresh, able and ready, I got boxed to the inside as the 35's and 45's merged into one big cluster... a group of about eight 35's got out and drilled it to grande gapage, while a few of us were trying to negotiate through the 45 pack... to which a violent effort off of the 45's (which isn't easy with Schaeffer and Armstrong pushing the pace) then to continue on with long hard pulls couldn't quite get us back on the train... game over but, not without a fight...
The highlight was, by launching off the front of the 45's to chase down the ocho amigo's, we got to ride next to Louis " Cancellera's bro separted at birth" Riel for a bit...he was TTing off the front of the 45's forever (every one was cheering him on as we checked out the 56X9 he was pushing into the headwind), also got to play cat and mouse with some of the 45+ chasers who ended up trying to bring back the lead group, lead out by Mr. Shaeffer, Zimbelman and the Claw, who were none other than Armstrong and the "Good Doctor" Longe... read on for the fun stuff...
At one point on the last flat section me and my Mazda Posse where side by side with Armstrong and the Doc, two synchronized pace lines one 35+ and one 45+... tyring desperately to bring back each lead group respectively, hoping we might catch on, if they end up doing the 1k dosey-do infront of us... the funny thing is one of the dropped 35+ riders who we caught (no name will be mentioned) decided that the rules didn't apply to him and was sucking wheel to the 45+ wheel chase group of Armstrong and Doc, like a hungry calf suckling momma's teet when we caught them... only to continue doing so even though Doc was telling him to stop time and again... and on top of this, we were watching him in amazement separated horizontally by two feet to the left... it gets better, if we passed the 45's he would suck our wheels and vice versa, switching back and forth... at the end, after I did long pull number 107, wheelsucker went flying by me to take the line, fortunately Porterlicious passed him... cuz I certainly couldn't, being that I spent my last bullet 30 pulls before... the entire episode was kind of sureal, like "hey guys I"m cheating, see! Check it out-and just wait until I pip you at the line"... I guess if you choose to ride like that, it's best to do it with gusto and gleen pride in a job well done! Compared to the turn around fiasco this really didn't matter that much to me, and to a certain extent it was kind of entertaining, it broke the monotany for sure, but I will say this... is it really worth it for 8th or 9th or whatever position? In the big scheme of things it's simply not that important, and it's certainly a quick way not to be invited to Lagoon for the next birthday bash with chocolate cake and noise makers...
Oh well, but I did really get to see two great races from just about every vantage point througout the race, I might not ever get to see that again... it was I was watching all the action on the tele with a beer in hand, of course minus the beer...
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Be safe out there...
This should help, but it's not very aero...
This guy actually made this for his daughter for her prom dress...
This guy actually made this for his daughter for her prom dress...
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The psych and pfizz of cycling...
Great job to Ski Utah, Jeremy Smith and the officials for a great race... The TT was really rad with those crazy roller coasters...
Hope Mr Garage is fairing well, he's tough, when I rode by he had blood all over him yet was walking around I wasn't sure if it was real, since I was somewhat delerious at that point... apparently the Hoov did a literal flip over him, yet he and his bike were ok to continue on but Mr Polka Dot had a knee the size of a grapefruit, get well fast my man...
The plan was to put someone out on a break on Stagio uno with 15 miles left, that guy wasn't me. But, within seconds at mile 2 into the race it just seemed right, so I figured I would be the sacrificial lamb for the sake of the team... I pegged it to a HR of 175+ and unfortunately had to keep it there for the entire race to keep my speed up enough to hold off the pack... So this was new, I have been on breaks that have stuck with 2 or 3 guys, but none solo... my expectations weren't high to say the least... so I tried not to think (which I am rather good at I'm told) and just focused on running through inspirational race stuff in my head, like Cooke, Schaeffer, Riel, Porter,Treasure and the Skarpohl sticking long solo attacks in races I was in... that's it, nothing more, keep it simple... and big thanks to all the officials, for their support at each turn around telling me I could do it, and P-man, Hoov and the rest of the team for the cheers, these little things kept me going for sure... my body rebelled after 58 or 59 miles, teammates Andre and Scott caught me at 3k to go and pulled me to 1k until I told them to go hard, because I couldn't hang on any longer and we were only 45 seconds ahead of the field... afterwards I felt like I got hit by a truck, a big truck... I knew I blew my load and wondered how I was ever going to do a TT feeling like this in a few hours.
All my teammates and friends were great and did everything they could to work on my brain, with Scottie finally throwing me the comment of the year right before I took off on the roller coaster, and it worked, I prob did the best I could considering...
Stage 3 we had numbers on our side, and we used it... I was on a break with Chuck from Wyoming and did no work because I didn't want to overtake my teammates for the GC. So the whole time I just tried to keep him motivated letting him know that he could stick it and I would'nt contest him that guy has a lot of heart for sure... Well Mark Larson who was a horse, and Hanseen (we'll get back to him later) reeled him in with a great effort with one lap to go... then Scott attacked right off the front several times, Mark had more in his tank and attacked a couple of times, Andre then attacked hard, and I being fresh attacked for longer digs several times , always with Hanseen locked on... we could not break Hanseen, he was so super catlike fast catching any and all accelerations, more so than anyone else... at 1k to go I went hard to the outside, Hanseen had to work to reel me in and did with 900m to go, I kept on surging, Hanseen was right there, then Andre and Scott squeeked by with Hanseen on their wheels... I gotta tell you Hanseen was a beast, he would not break and was there at the end contesting, what a total stud.
and that is what I am talking about, when everybody brings their "A" game they motivate and raise the expectations of the group, individuals raise their game more, the group gets better as a whole and more competitive outside our little area. For me this race was a lot more in the head than in the body, and I can thank all the aforementioned guys before and during this race for the inspiration to perserve and improve... thanks, cause in the end it's really just you against you regardless of whatever circumstance you find yourself in...so to Hanseen, that's my cycling take on Zeitgeist...
Hope Mr Garage is fairing well, he's tough, when I rode by he had blood all over him yet was walking around I wasn't sure if it was real, since I was somewhat delerious at that point... apparently the Hoov did a literal flip over him, yet he and his bike were ok to continue on but Mr Polka Dot had a knee the size of a grapefruit, get well fast my man...
The plan was to put someone out on a break on Stagio uno with 15 miles left, that guy wasn't me. But, within seconds at mile 2 into the race it just seemed right, so I figured I would be the sacrificial lamb for the sake of the team... I pegged it to a HR of 175+ and unfortunately had to keep it there for the entire race to keep my speed up enough to hold off the pack... So this was new, I have been on breaks that have stuck with 2 or 3 guys, but none solo... my expectations weren't high to say the least... so I tried not to think (which I am rather good at I'm told) and just focused on running through inspirational race stuff in my head, like Cooke, Schaeffer, Riel, Porter,Treasure and the Skarpohl sticking long solo attacks in races I was in... that's it, nothing more, keep it simple... and big thanks to all the officials, for their support at each turn around telling me I could do it, and P-man, Hoov and the rest of the team for the cheers, these little things kept me going for sure... my body rebelled after 58 or 59 miles, teammates Andre and Scott caught me at 3k to go and pulled me to 1k until I told them to go hard, because I couldn't hang on any longer and we were only 45 seconds ahead of the field... afterwards I felt like I got hit by a truck, a big truck... I knew I blew my load and wondered how I was ever going to do a TT feeling like this in a few hours.
All my teammates and friends were great and did everything they could to work on my brain, with Scottie finally throwing me the comment of the year right before I took off on the roller coaster, and it worked, I prob did the best I could considering...
Stage 3 we had numbers on our side, and we used it... I was on a break with Chuck from Wyoming and did no work because I didn't want to overtake my teammates for the GC. So the whole time I just tried to keep him motivated letting him know that he could stick it and I would'nt contest him that guy has a lot of heart for sure... Well Mark Larson who was a horse, and Hanseen (we'll get back to him later) reeled him in with a great effort with one lap to go... then Scott attacked right off the front several times, Mark had more in his tank and attacked a couple of times, Andre then attacked hard, and I being fresh attacked for longer digs several times , always with Hanseen locked on... we could not break Hanseen, he was so super catlike fast catching any and all accelerations, more so than anyone else... at 1k to go I went hard to the outside, Hanseen had to work to reel me in and did with 900m to go, I kept on surging, Hanseen was right there, then Andre and Scott squeeked by with Hanseen on their wheels... I gotta tell you Hanseen was a beast, he would not break and was there at the end contesting, what a total stud.
and that is what I am talking about, when everybody brings their "A" game they motivate and raise the expectations of the group, individuals raise their game more, the group gets better as a whole and more competitive outside our little area. For me this race was a lot more in the head than in the body, and I can thank all the aforementioned guys before and during this race for the inspiration to perserve and improve... thanks, cause in the end it's really just you against you regardless of whatever circumstance you find yourself in...so to Hanseen, that's my cycling take on Zeitgeist...
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Marek
I called the UCA Crit number yesterday and Nicole, Marek's wife answered.
Most racers probably know by now that Marek had a stroke. Man that hits home. I mean he is not old, and he is certainly not out of shape, and I don't see him chain smokin' Camel unfiltered cig's at the crits... so what gives?
Marek may not know this, but I owe a lot to him. I decided last year that I would like to try announcing Cyclo-Cross and Sadaharaohran said "give it a shot." I showed up for my first gig at RMR and Marek already had the C flight going. He had the mic, was announcing alone and needless to say was awesome... I, on the other hand, was just a tad bit better than stupendouly horrible. But, he kept on jumping in and giving me tips... by the end of the day I was alright... Not once did he even remotely make me feel like the chump I was, he just kept on adding great commentary that was pretty damn entertaining.
This year, it appears as if, not only with the crits, but also for the TT's, we are gaining even more momentum with larger fields in comparison to years past. Pretty impressive when you consider the weather hasn't really co-operated... No doubt Marek's guiding hand has had a lot to do with it. He's a pretty even keeled dude who has his act together to make sure the races go smoothly from start to finish. This is due to not only his enthusiasm for the sport, but also his keen business acumen.
At this time Marek's physical recovery is going quite well and has even made it out of SICU back to his casa on the bench. Nicole told me that he does enjoy visitor's and it will definately help speed his recovery. So let's all give back a little bit to a guy that helps make our training a lot more enjoyable...
So the Hornet is raising a full necked ice cold Grolsch for you brother Shon, I will visit early next week. And even more importanly you should know that everyone I have spoken to, all have you in their prayer's for a speedy and full recovery. We want to see your smiling face again soon, and I need you to hold me back at the TT's to keep my start legal, my track stands are lame at best!!!
Godspeed.
Most racers probably know by now that Marek had a stroke. Man that hits home. I mean he is not old, and he is certainly not out of shape, and I don't see him chain smokin' Camel unfiltered cig's at the crits... so what gives?
Marek may not know this, but I owe a lot to him. I decided last year that I would like to try announcing Cyclo-Cross and Sadaharaohran said "give it a shot." I showed up for my first gig at RMR and Marek already had the C flight going. He had the mic, was announcing alone and needless to say was awesome... I, on the other hand, was just a tad bit better than stupendouly horrible. But, he kept on jumping in and giving me tips... by the end of the day I was alright... Not once did he even remotely make me feel like the chump I was, he just kept on adding great commentary that was pretty damn entertaining.
This year, it appears as if, not only with the crits, but also for the TT's, we are gaining even more momentum with larger fields in comparison to years past. Pretty impressive when you consider the weather hasn't really co-operated... No doubt Marek's guiding hand has had a lot to do with it. He's a pretty even keeled dude who has his act together to make sure the races go smoothly from start to finish. This is due to not only his enthusiasm for the sport, but also his keen business acumen.
At this time Marek's physical recovery is going quite well and has even made it out of SICU back to his casa on the bench. Nicole told me that he does enjoy visitor's and it will definately help speed his recovery. So let's all give back a little bit to a guy that helps make our training a lot more enjoyable...
So the Hornet is raising a full necked ice cold Grolsch for you brother Shon, I will visit early next week. And even more importanly you should know that everyone I have spoken to, all have you in their prayer's for a speedy and full recovery. We want to see your smiling face again soon, and I need you to hold me back at the TT's to keep my start legal, my track stands are lame at best!!!
Godspeed.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
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