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Monday, July 26, 2010

The Heat

Since my last post there has been a lot going on but not a lot of energy to spare writing about it. The oppressive heat is legitimately draining, physically and mentally. So my time has been spent at work, training and not much else. However, here's a quick recap.

The Tour of the Valley went great! I was feeling good and excited about my first stage race with the pro sqad. I'll spare you the entire race recap but you can find it at the revamped team Web site, teammountainkhakis.com. To summarize, Joey, Matt and Oscar crushed the entire race and we made lots of money. However, I took a lot more than money back from Ohio.

My time trial performance seemed lacking on paper but my wattage was actually quite good. Not having a TT bike hurt me in the end but no matter, I was ready to work. The road race was on a fairly rolling course with a couple hills. Having three guys in the top four overall, it was up to us to control the race. That meant a lot of time on the front for me and Will. I have to say I rode better than I had anticipated. I did a lot of work, was able to suffer through the climb both times after leading out the guys into the bottom of it and when we hit the finishing circuits I was still in the very select front group. I was fairly spent on the circuits but my job was done. I wanted to have a big ride in the crit but it wasn't quite as good as I had hoped. I covered as many moves as possible in an effort to keep the pre-race plan intact but wasn't able to control the race quite like I wanted. I did manage to work my way up to 20th overall. Not bad considering I did so while being 100% focused on working for the team and spending a lot of time on the front. In fact, I didn't even realize it until Joey told me after we had left so they had to mail the check.


Tour of the Valley TT

It was also a great experience to room with Matt Cooke. Matt has ridden for some of the biggest teams in the country including Navigators and Health Net and his experience showed, on and off the bike. Being a professional bike racer in about so much more than what you see in a race. You have to be a complete professional at all times. It's a business and learning how to conduct yourself off the bike is almost as important and pushing the pedals hard... almost. Also, a big thanks to Jim Behrens for all the amazing support throughout the week. We all had a great time and he took so much weight off our shoulders. He is a true enthusiast and it's refreshing to be around someone who so purely loves bike racing.


Tour of the Valley Crit

After the successful Ohio trip I was ready for some French Broad action but numerous logistical matters led to only going up for the crit. Long story short, tried to get in a break but nothing was going, started pouring rain, felt good but was swarmed before the sprint and had the door shut on me in the final strait, 12th. I felt like rode good and had the sprint to win but should have been more aggressive after I was swarmed.

Oh, the other revelation of the past couple weeks. According to the coach, I'm a sprinter. After finally having reliable power data the sprint legs are looking good. I'll have to admit, the sprint has been feeling good lately. If nothing else, there has been a boost in confidence which never hurts. Hopefully I can pull the trigger on a good sprint the next couple weeks and come up with the goods. With Elk Grove and Crossroads right around the corner there shouldn't be a shortage of opportunities so keep your fingers crossed. With no job and the prospect of having to secure a ride for next year the pressure to perform has been taken up a notch. It's about to get interesting.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

I Knew There Was A Turn Up Here Somewhere.


The last few weeks have been up and down. I’ve been training hard and feeling good. The wounds are healing nicely and I’m pleased with where my form is at. You always wish you could be stronger and hopefully I’m still on the upswing. Having said that, I’m in the best shape of my life right now and I’m really excited about this weekend. I’ll be at the Tour of the Valley in Ohio racing with the pro team. It’s a great opportunity to step it up and show that I can be a factor. We’re sending a strong team and any result other than the win will be a disappointment. So the pressure’s on and I have a feeling Ohio’s about to get a taste of old school fury.
The down came when I learned that the owner of the shop I work at was closing it down. So in about a month I’ll be sans job. It’s a bummer because it was a good situation. I more or less made my own schedule and had an amazing boss. I already miss T-bag’s antics and worldly advice. I feel like another speed dial number might have just been spoken for. While the shop closing wasn’t a total shock, it did force me to start thinking about what’s next. I feel like the best way to go about it was to start with what I know for sure and fill in the blanks. The one thing that I do know is that I want to give the bike another year. I’ve worked so hard and come this far, it would be stupid to give up just when I’m getting close. Plus, I love racing my bike. So that’s the easy part, now to fill in the blanks. I remember facing this dilemma last year and I think I have to face it in much the same way. Finish up the year on the road, see what happens with teams for next season and go from there. Until then, I just need to ride hard, try to get results and keep my eyes open for opportunities.
So looking into the immediate future, there’s a lot of work to be done on the road. Ohio this weekend, French Broad the next and then I should be flying for Elk Grove and Crossroads. There is $16,500 up for the two amateur races at Elk Grove and lots of prize money + no job= Elk Grove here we come. In any case, it should be a good opener for crossroads where I hope to have some good performances.
I don’t know where the next turn will lead, but I’m sure it will be taken on a bike seat. Time to Saddle Up.