Many folks outside of the cycling world don't quite understand that in order to prepare for the NEXT year of bicycle racing the preparation for it begins several months in advance. A common term associated with this is "base training". The common analogy I like to use is that you wouldn't start building the biggest, baddest, sturdiest home without first laying a foundation built to last forever. So that in a nutshell is what's going on with me.
I've continued with Ken for coaching services. I believe in his plan and I really enjoy working with him. The plan was to kick back up in October with the strength work and base building routine...getting miles in. One interesting thing about sticking with the same coach from year to year is that I get to see the improvements year over year at specifics points now. The philosophy, plan and approach is consistent, so gauging where I am at now compared to last year is pretty motivating.
The one big change going into this off-season was the addition of Powercranks (PC's). Needless to say, I've spent a lot of time riding my bike setup with the Powercranks. My time hasn't been focused exclusively on riding the PC's either. I'm still sprinkling in rides on the regular cranks (lots of force work) along with time on the Time Trial bike. It's a good mix to keep things fresh. I know there are many naysayers out there regarding the use of PC's, but from a personal perspective, I have never felt as strong on the bike at this point in the year as ever before. Is it due to the influence of the PC's? I don't know. But to this day, I've yet to meet anyone that trains with them that isn't FAST. Time will tell, but so far so good.
I recently picked up a Kindle and ordered a book titled, "The Rider" by Tim Krabbe. It's awesome! If you are racer, you HAVE to read this book. It's beautifully written and filled with wonderful monologues throughout the book. They really hit home. Highly entertaining. I couldn't stop reading it.
We're gearing up for the Christmas holiday at the homestead. Hope I don't put on 10 pounds! Damn, it sure goes on faster than it comes off.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
The Frenchman to the Rescue & CC TT
This little guy rocked it on SAT:
But back to the Frenchman. We have this gentleman on the team, Francois Bru. He caught the cycling bug last year. He's the most energetic, organized, good-natured, hard-working and analytical rider I've ever known, and he LOVES time trials. It has been fun hanging out with Francois and his wife Valerie after some TT's earlier this year.
I've been giving Francois some grief lately - telling him to just relax and have fun with it. Well, thank god he didn't decide to change his ways this SAT! I pull what I think is my skinsuit out of my bag and it's actually just my long sleeve jersey. WTF! I look at Harrell and don't even bother asking him if he has an extra kit...like I'd fit in a small. Now Custer isn't giving up his YAH kit! (BTW- huge breakthrough performance by Custer!) What the hell am I going to do? Who the hell brings extra kits to a time trial?
WAIT! There is Francois. "Hey, Francois! You don't by chance have an extra kit do you?" I didn't really expect a yes, but in Francois fashion he responds with his french accent, "Of course, I bring extra of everything!" He tosses me his bib shorts and jersey. I'm now ready to roll! Whoosh...that was close. I'm not exactly sure what I would have done otherwise. The VALUE OF TEAMMATES showing up for races!
I really appreciate ABRT for putting on this TT, but man, this course has my number. I just haven't figured out how to attack it. I've been on death's door my first 3 attempts about 8k from the line. Not good! There's just no easy day on that course, regardless of how flat it is. Thankfully, I held it together enough to win the MABRA Cat 3 TT Championship which I'm happy about. This win was just icing on the cake after Millersburg.
And then we hit the most insane traffic ever on the way home...wow, that was a really long day of travel for ~55min of racing. Well worth it though.
Oh, yeah. As if one 40k TT isn't enough, we decided to go down to the VA Champs on SUN earlier this week. More on that one later...
But back to the Frenchman. We have this gentleman on the team, Francois Bru. He caught the cycling bug last year. He's the most energetic, organized, good-natured, hard-working and analytical rider I've ever known, and he LOVES time trials. It has been fun hanging out with Francois and his wife Valerie after some TT's earlier this year.
I've been giving Francois some grief lately - telling him to just relax and have fun with it. Well, thank god he didn't decide to change his ways this SAT! I pull what I think is my skinsuit out of my bag and it's actually just my long sleeve jersey. WTF! I look at Harrell and don't even bother asking him if he has an extra kit...like I'd fit in a small. Now Custer isn't giving up his YAH kit! (BTW- huge breakthrough performance by Custer!) What the hell am I going to do? Who the hell brings extra kits to a time trial?
WAIT! There is Francois. "Hey, Francois! You don't by chance have an extra kit do you?" I didn't really expect a yes, but in Francois fashion he responds with his french accent, "Of course, I bring extra of everything!" He tosses me his bib shorts and jersey. I'm now ready to roll! Whoosh...that was close. I'm not exactly sure what I would have done otherwise. The VALUE OF TEAMMATES showing up for races!
I really appreciate ABRT for putting on this TT, but man, this course has my number. I just haven't figured out how to attack it. I've been on death's door my first 3 attempts about 8k from the line. Not good! There's just no easy day on that course, regardless of how flat it is. Thankfully, I held it together enough to win the MABRA Cat 3 TT Championship which I'm happy about. This win was just icing on the cake after Millersburg.
And then we hit the most insane traffic ever on the way home...wow, that was a really long day of travel for ~55min of racing. Well worth it though.
Oh, yeah. As if one 40k TT isn't enough, we decided to go down to the VA Champs on SUN earlier this week. More on that one later...
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Tour de Millersburg 2010 Road Race part II
Here we are, about to embark on the great adventure for all of the marbles, GC victory. Mother nature came out swinging, too, with a little added verocity...rain. Beautiful!
I won't lie here. It's a pretty damn cool feeling to wear the Yellow jersey and get a call up before the start of the race. As expected, this pretty much puts a target on your back, but it's an exhilarating feeling. You definitely have a certain sense of added motivation and pride to back up the fact that you are the leader of the race. I got a tiny taste of what it must feel like for a pro in a big stage race. Ok, that's an exaggeration. But today, I got my opportunity to *pretend* for a few hours I was "El Patron" of the peleton (tongue-in-cheek). And I had some soldiers ready to watch my back.
The road course is fast for sure. For the most part, the roads are wicked smooth with one small exception. I had no idea how fast we were going or avg speed of the race since my meter stopped working beforehand, but getting away was going to be hard.
I think it was on the first lap (17 miles) as the peleton was cruising along, I may have mentioned to Drew Armstrong (NCVC) as everyone appeared to be following the yellow line rule that it's always a strange feeling to have the whole road. It just doesn't feel natural. It took a good 10 miles or so before the field started making use of it in earnest.
I had a very basic strategy for the race:
A. STAY SAFE
B. Conserve - I had plenty of horses at my beckon call to do the dirty work if needed
C. Leave nothing to chance. Absolutely must beat the guys sitting 2, 3 & 4.
D. None of the guys top 5 in GC must be allowed to get away. We'd let others go. Other teams had to do the work to bring back moves.
Honestly, the first two loops were pretty uneventful. Yes, it was raining but I didn't think it was all that bad. Heck, I never even would have known if it had stopped because the water spray from wheels was never ending. I kept having to spit and remind myself to keep my damn mouth shut.
I was tucked in behind or very near my main Lieutenant, Nicholas, for most of the first two laps. I'd just roll with ebbs and flows of the bunch, never panicking if position was lost or trying to move up irrationally. There were attacks here or there but everyone was still way too fresh. It was like a pack of wolves chasing after rabbits. I had a constant eye searching for the contenders, but as I quickly assessed early on, so did my teammates. Damn, so much as a sneeze by a GC guy quickly garnered attention from the team. They were doing so well that it was almost bad for me. It was too easy to just unplug. I had to keep telling myself to pay attention. Good problems though.
It wasn't until the third and final loop where the race was going to provide some exciting drama. And holy sh!t was it a spectacle to behold.
Here's what I remember. It all happened SO fast but I do have a few vivid memories etched in my mind. I was near the front, maybe top 10-15. The speed was high and we were rounding a small curve in the road. I hear some commotion to my right. Like a dog, my sixth sense is acutely aroused. Then BLAMO! I "think" Nicholas was just slightly ahead of me on my right. I recall his bike being taken out from under him and all I see are his legs parallel in the air. SOMEHOW, I managed to barely miss him on the right and then a dude right in front of me just slides out for no apparent reason (he was in front of the freaking wreck for heaven's sake). I feel like I'm walking a tightrope at this point. I felt something slam into my left ankle as I go by but I'm able to hold it together. Holy crap! I think I was the very last rider to make it through before the HUGE pileup started. Jason Hall (Coppi) said he was right on my wheel, and sadly, he didn't fair so well, cracked frame and banged knees. I quickly integrated with the leaders but I did take one quick glance back and noticed what appeared to be a MOUND of riders in the road. CRAZY!
After I reintegrated, I was trying to assess who was there. In a strange twist, nobody really attacked right after the episode. I think everyone was still in a bit of awe at the enormity of it all. It was like everyone took a big deep breath and thanked the big man above. It wouldn't last for long.
After a brief period, I saw Andrew. As we rolled along together, I said to him, "Ok, Nicholas is out, so you are my guy." Andrew gave me the nod, enough said. I had total faith in him. I parked myself near the front and took inventory. Meurig (QCW sitting 2nd) present, Jameson (C3 sitting 3rd) not present, Wareham (Thru-it-all sitting 4th)present. Ok. Back to protecting GC.
I see a DVR rider up the road. I notice Ben Reynolds and Drew Armstrong attack along with a few other guys all of which aren't a threat to me on GC. Cool. I let Andrew know to let it go. And then out of nowhere I see Rusty charging up the left side. Down in the drops...fire in his eyes. I start yelling at him, "Rusty, let it go, let it go!" about 4 times before he stops foaming at the mouth and sits up. Only until after the race did I find out that Rusty had managed to catch back on after slaughtering himself to reattach. Awesome! I was very happy to see him.
So, the break now has 5 riders and is gradually stretching it out...5s..10s...20s. They are still in sight for most of the final lap, but it quickly becomes evident that the GC guys aren't going to help bring it back. It wasn't until afterward that I found out that Meurig had a teammate up the road, too. A somewhat ideal situation for me. At one point, I even mentioned to a guy who was asking me who was up there that I was happy with the break. If they didn't have a guy in it, his team needed to bring it back.
We hit the final stretch of road into town and a few riders tried to put in some big solo efforts but it was too late. As we were coming up the last gradual incline before hitting the flat/downhill descent into town, the next explosion occurred.
I'm not sure what precisely happened since I was hugging the yellow line, but all of the sudden there is a big pileup about 8 riders from the front right in the middle. I swerve off into the other lane and jump hard to reach the 6-7 riders up front. I see Andrew dropping off the back of that bunch to help me. As I'm storming up I start screaming, "GO, ANDREW, GO!" as loud as I can. The adrenaline was rushing through my veins. This was the last straw. It was on.
Andrew figured it out quick. We came up on the small group, came around and he just started unleashing hell. Kevin (DVR) had snuck on his wheel so I was sitting third wheel. After pulling all out for about 1.5 miles, Andrew takes the hard right hand downhill corner first. He's giving it everything he has left. As we get close to the traffic circle chicane, Andrew pulls off. I notice Kevin letting up and sliding left. I have no idea who is behind me and I never looked back to find out at any point.
I put in a seated surge right before the chicane coming through first. I took the turn rather gingerly, but I absolutely didn't want to slide out here of all places! After I knew I was through, I jumped out of the saddle and gave it everything I had. I remember Custer telling me that he tries to "break" his bike when he sprints. Well, that's exactly what I was trying to do. Those last ~250 meter felt like an eternity. I made it to the line and didn't see anyone come around...whew! 6th place, and most important, the GC win! (I've got some video I will add later)
VIDEO (catches the start and then finish with break of 5 then the field (what's left):
A huge rush of emotions hit me at that point. I was totally gassed from the effort but I felt on top of the world. It's amazing how quickly you can go from total fatigue to feeling like you haven't even raced when you win. The TEAM did it!
I can't express my gratitude enough to the team for standing behind me the entire event. It was an extremely special race and I will cherish the memories forever.
After getting cleaned up, we all headed over to Wayne's for beer, wings and coffee. I was buying whatever the heck the gang wanted to eat or drink. A small thank you for all the hard work.
We also donated the left over winnings ($100) to the Wounded Warrior Project.
Final Results posted HERE
I definitely plan on having the Yellow Jersey professionally mounted and framed. I'm gonna put that sucker in the pain cave for future motivation. And THANK YOU KENNETH LUNDGREN for guiding me this year. Your planning, guidance and constant reminders that I'd be ready to put together a storybook performance was brilliant.
I would also be in complete remiss if I didn't pay special thanks to my wife and her little brother for the incredible fan support and assistance throughout the weekend! I'm incredibly lucky to have her unyielding support!
I won't lie here. It's a pretty damn cool feeling to wear the Yellow jersey and get a call up before the start of the race. As expected, this pretty much puts a target on your back, but it's an exhilarating feeling. You definitely have a certain sense of added motivation and pride to back up the fact that you are the leader of the race. I got a tiny taste of what it must feel like for a pro in a big stage race. Ok, that's an exaggeration. But today, I got my opportunity to *pretend* for a few hours I was "El Patron" of the peleton (tongue-in-cheek). And I had some soldiers ready to watch my back.
The road course is fast for sure. For the most part, the roads are wicked smooth with one small exception. I had no idea how fast we were going or avg speed of the race since my meter stopped working beforehand, but getting away was going to be hard.
I think it was on the first lap (17 miles) as the peleton was cruising along, I may have mentioned to Drew Armstrong (NCVC) as everyone appeared to be following the yellow line rule that it's always a strange feeling to have the whole road. It just doesn't feel natural. It took a good 10 miles or so before the field started making use of it in earnest.
I had a very basic strategy for the race:
A. STAY SAFE
B. Conserve - I had plenty of horses at my beckon call to do the dirty work if needed
C. Leave nothing to chance. Absolutely must beat the guys sitting 2, 3 & 4.
D. None of the guys top 5 in GC must be allowed to get away. We'd let others go. Other teams had to do the work to bring back moves.
Honestly, the first two loops were pretty uneventful. Yes, it was raining but I didn't think it was all that bad. Heck, I never even would have known if it had stopped because the water spray from wheels was never ending. I kept having to spit and remind myself to keep my damn mouth shut.
I was tucked in behind or very near my main Lieutenant, Nicholas, for most of the first two laps. I'd just roll with ebbs and flows of the bunch, never panicking if position was lost or trying to move up irrationally. There were attacks here or there but everyone was still way too fresh. It was like a pack of wolves chasing after rabbits. I had a constant eye searching for the contenders, but as I quickly assessed early on, so did my teammates. Damn, so much as a sneeze by a GC guy quickly garnered attention from the team. They were doing so well that it was almost bad for me. It was too easy to just unplug. I had to keep telling myself to pay attention. Good problems though.
It wasn't until the third and final loop where the race was going to provide some exciting drama. And holy sh!t was it a spectacle to behold.
Here's what I remember. It all happened SO fast but I do have a few vivid memories etched in my mind. I was near the front, maybe top 10-15. The speed was high and we were rounding a small curve in the road. I hear some commotion to my right. Like a dog, my sixth sense is acutely aroused. Then BLAMO! I "think" Nicholas was just slightly ahead of me on my right. I recall his bike being taken out from under him and all I see are his legs parallel in the air. SOMEHOW, I managed to barely miss him on the right and then a dude right in front of me just slides out for no apparent reason (he was in front of the freaking wreck for heaven's sake). I feel like I'm walking a tightrope at this point. I felt something slam into my left ankle as I go by but I'm able to hold it together. Holy crap! I think I was the very last rider to make it through before the HUGE pileup started. Jason Hall (Coppi) said he was right on my wheel, and sadly, he didn't fair so well, cracked frame and banged knees. I quickly integrated with the leaders but I did take one quick glance back and noticed what appeared to be a MOUND of riders in the road. CRAZY!
After I reintegrated, I was trying to assess who was there. In a strange twist, nobody really attacked right after the episode. I think everyone was still in a bit of awe at the enormity of it all. It was like everyone took a big deep breath and thanked the big man above. It wouldn't last for long.
After a brief period, I saw Andrew. As we rolled along together, I said to him, "Ok, Nicholas is out, so you are my guy." Andrew gave me the nod, enough said. I had total faith in him. I parked myself near the front and took inventory. Meurig (QCW sitting 2nd) present, Jameson (C3 sitting 3rd) not present, Wareham (Thru-it-all sitting 4th)present. Ok. Back to protecting GC.
I see a DVR rider up the road. I notice Ben Reynolds and Drew Armstrong attack along with a few other guys all of which aren't a threat to me on GC. Cool. I let Andrew know to let it go. And then out of nowhere I see Rusty charging up the left side. Down in the drops...fire in his eyes. I start yelling at him, "Rusty, let it go, let it go!" about 4 times before he stops foaming at the mouth and sits up. Only until after the race did I find out that Rusty had managed to catch back on after slaughtering himself to reattach. Awesome! I was very happy to see him.
So, the break now has 5 riders and is gradually stretching it out...5s..10s...20s. They are still in sight for most of the final lap, but it quickly becomes evident that the GC guys aren't going to help bring it back. It wasn't until afterward that I found out that Meurig had a teammate up the road, too. A somewhat ideal situation for me. At one point, I even mentioned to a guy who was asking me who was up there that I was happy with the break. If they didn't have a guy in it, his team needed to bring it back.
We hit the final stretch of road into town and a few riders tried to put in some big solo efforts but it was too late. As we were coming up the last gradual incline before hitting the flat/downhill descent into town, the next explosion occurred.
I'm not sure what precisely happened since I was hugging the yellow line, but all of the sudden there is a big pileup about 8 riders from the front right in the middle. I swerve off into the other lane and jump hard to reach the 6-7 riders up front. I see Andrew dropping off the back of that bunch to help me. As I'm storming up I start screaming, "GO, ANDREW, GO!" as loud as I can. The adrenaline was rushing through my veins. This was the last straw. It was on.
Andrew figured it out quick. We came up on the small group, came around and he just started unleashing hell. Kevin (DVR) had snuck on his wheel so I was sitting third wheel. After pulling all out for about 1.5 miles, Andrew takes the hard right hand downhill corner first. He's giving it everything he has left. As we get close to the traffic circle chicane, Andrew pulls off. I notice Kevin letting up and sliding left. I have no idea who is behind me and I never looked back to find out at any point.
I put in a seated surge right before the chicane coming through first. I took the turn rather gingerly, but I absolutely didn't want to slide out here of all places! After I knew I was through, I jumped out of the saddle and gave it everything I had. I remember Custer telling me that he tries to "break" his bike when he sprints. Well, that's exactly what I was trying to do. Those last ~250 meter felt like an eternity. I made it to the line and didn't see anyone come around...whew! 6th place, and most important, the GC win! (I've got some video I will add later)
VIDEO (catches the start and then finish with break of 5 then the field (what's left):
Tour de Millersburg Road Race 2010 Start-Finish from Peter Warner on Vimeo.
A huge rush of emotions hit me at that point. I was totally gassed from the effort but I felt on top of the world. It's amazing how quickly you can go from total fatigue to feeling like you haven't even raced when you win. The TEAM did it!
I can't express my gratitude enough to the team for standing behind me the entire event. It was an extremely special race and I will cherish the memories forever.
After getting cleaned up, we all headed over to Wayne's for beer, wings and coffee. I was buying whatever the heck the gang wanted to eat or drink. A small thank you for all the hard work.
We also donated the left over winnings ($100) to the Wounded Warrior Project.
Final Results posted HERE
I definitely plan on having the Yellow Jersey professionally mounted and framed. I'm gonna put that sucker in the pain cave for future motivation. And THANK YOU KENNETH LUNDGREN for guiding me this year. Your planning, guidance and constant reminders that I'd be ready to put together a storybook performance was brilliant.
I would also be in complete remiss if I didn't pay special thanks to my wife and her little brother for the incredible fan support and assistance throughout the weekend! I'm incredibly lucky to have her unyielding support!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Tour de Millersburg 2010
About midway through the season, Ken and I talked and we decided that Tour de Millersburg was getting a big old bulls eye on my race calendar. The one thing I really enjoy in being coached by Ken is the periodization we go through during the year. Going out and trying (thinking) you can win every race you enter just isn't realistic. You can't have great form all year long. It leads to massive burnout and the inability to attain a true peak in fitness. I've put total faith in the plan from day 1 (October 1) and followed my marching orders. I KNEW I was going to be on some special form for this race.
I did the race last year and had a blast. But this isn't just a race; IT'S AN EVENT! The entire community goes above and beyond to support the race and racer's. Really, I've never been a part of something like it. A smattering of emails between teammates and my coach throughout the week had me fired up to pull off something special.
Saturday morning was the first event. A hair under 10 mile Time Trial. I REALLY wanted to win this. I wanted that Yellow Jersey. I knew there was some stiff competition and it was going to take a near perfect ride to pull this off. I got in a perfect warmup. Got to the line ready to roll...er..sort of fumbled the start (see video below- good lesson on how NOT to start) but once I got rolling, the power was there and after about 5 mins I knew this was going to be a special ride. I just kept it pegged until the turnaround. Looked down at the time and knew I was faster than last year. I hammered the return and just emptied the tank the last two minutes. 20:15. Ended up 2nd. Close, but I needed that damn jersey and I wanted it bad.
The crit started at 12:30 so we had a little downtime to chill out. It was fun hanging out with teammates and friends, just shooting the bull. The team got together and we hashed out a strategy. I need to make special mention here because the entire weekend wouldn't have resulted in the outcome it did without the devoted and motivated support from my teammate's; Nicholas, Rusty, Joe, Chris and Andrew. Everyone played their designated role to perfection to assist me with my GC aspirations. In a competitive stage race, it takes a team to win the GC. To be real though, you need to throw in a little bit of luck, too.
I get a callup for the crit so I get to stage right on the front. I wanted no part of being anywhere but the front for the first few laps with 97 guys towing the line. Right from the whistle I go hard. First through turn 1 and just stay on it. Crap, I'm actually off the front a few meters but the legs felt great so I went with it. I wanted to be safe for a bit longer. I scared my teammates a bit there, sorry about that! And then I hit a hiccup (see luck above). I flatted on lap 3, but thankfully, I was right next to the wheelpit. Jumped in, got the wheel changed and the ref told me I can go back in where I was at in the field. Cool. He told me I could jump back in at the front. Got going, grabbed Nicholas' wheel and pretty much stayed tucked in at the front the rest of the race. Nicholas was doing great work keeping me up there. I just kept repeating to myself every time we went up the climbing portion that I was going to murder this section on the last lap. Andrew was riding super strong as well. He'd make guest appearances here and there. A C3 rider snuck off the front and ended up getting about a 30s gap. Impressive.
With ~5 to go the attacks started. I saw Kevin (DVR) go with another guy, but I thought it was a little too far out. Kevin is strong as a bull and I didn't know who the other rider was that was with him, but the field started chomping at the bit. It was brought back after a few laps and then two others went. Hmmm, I still didn't think it had legs since they did get a gap but it wasn't growing. I reattached to Nicholas' wheel with 2 to go. Nicholas roared up the climb on the backside passing the two off the front. I looked back and saw the field strung out and that we had a small gap. I yelled at Nicholas, "We got a gap..GO,GO,GO." Nicholas just slammed it down the backside, through the S/F and through turn 1 and 2. I knew I had two guys on my wheel that I had to get rid of on the climb. I jumped right after the soft left turn leading to the uphill. Out of the saddle, all out effort. My lungs and legs were about to explode. I just told myself to get the hell to the top of the hill without anyone else. As I neared the top, I looked back and saw I had gapped them, and they were looking back for the field. I knew I had them at that point. BUT, wait, the C3 rider was now in sight! He was going backwards at the top of the climb. But once I hit the downhill I realized there was no catching him at this speed. I hit the final turn hard, looked back and was able to coast in for 2nd. Hats off to the C3 rider. Great ride. But most importantly, I now had the YELLOW JERSEY! The winner of the TT took 5th so I had a small 4pt GC lead on him with a few other guys not far behind. The RR was going to be a battle for sure.
Nicholas' charge with 2 to go was a PERFECT setup for me. I needed it to be fast and hard before I went. For him to get the separation from the field was unbelievable. And as far as teammates supporting a GC rider, Rusty did something very cagey. When he saw me flat, he drifted back in the field thinking he could help me move up when I got back in. Thankfully, I didn't have to start at the back, but it pretty much destroyed his race because the accordion effect was just insane at the back of the field. Extremely smart racing though. It's the little things and details that all add up throughout a stage race that make a difference.
Here's the video Igda shot:
And here are video's Ben Reynolds (focusedcycling.com) took with his badass helmet cam:
We had a fun dinner at Wayne's (highly recommend this place..thanks Grayson for the tip) with Jenn Rist, Igda and Emi. I even had a few beers just to relax. We got to bed rather early, but honestly, I didn't sleep all that great and woke up at 5:00 a.m. Oh well. I was amped to get this Road Race going.
Oh boy, what's this? As I went out to put the bikes on the car, it started raining. Great! Well, sort of. Seriously, I race way better in cooler weather. I suffer in the heat. The nastier the better but not necessarily with 90+ guys who haven't had any results so far and all think they can win the road race. Yikes!
I didn't really get much of a warm-up in, but the legs felt super good. I'd use the first 5-10 miles of the race to warm-up. We all wrote the numbers of the GC threats on our arms. All I needed to do was stay out of trouble and let the fellas mark any threatening moves. I could sense everyone was excited and motivated to work as a team. I casually mentioned to a few other rider's that weren't a threat in overtaking me on GC that we wouldn't chase a break as long as it didn't have any of the top 5 GC riders. All I needed to focus on was beating the top 5 guys sitting on GC to the line in order to secure the overall.
stay tuned for RR report. I'll just say now that it was a wild adventure for sure...
I did the race last year and had a blast. But this isn't just a race; IT'S AN EVENT! The entire community goes above and beyond to support the race and racer's. Really, I've never been a part of something like it. A smattering of emails between teammates and my coach throughout the week had me fired up to pull off something special.
Saturday morning was the first event. A hair under 10 mile Time Trial. I REALLY wanted to win this. I wanted that Yellow Jersey. I knew there was some stiff competition and it was going to take a near perfect ride to pull this off. I got in a perfect warmup. Got to the line ready to roll...er..sort of fumbled the start (see video below- good lesson on how NOT to start) but once I got rolling, the power was there and after about 5 mins I knew this was going to be a special ride. I just kept it pegged until the turnaround. Looked down at the time and knew I was faster than last year. I hammered the return and just emptied the tank the last two minutes. 20:15. Ended up 2nd. Close, but I needed that damn jersey and I wanted it bad.
Millersburg TT start from Peter Warner on Vimeo.
The crit started at 12:30 so we had a little downtime to chill out. It was fun hanging out with teammates and friends, just shooting the bull. The team got together and we hashed out a strategy. I need to make special mention here because the entire weekend wouldn't have resulted in the outcome it did without the devoted and motivated support from my teammate's; Nicholas, Rusty, Joe, Chris and Andrew. Everyone played their designated role to perfection to assist me with my GC aspirations. In a competitive stage race, it takes a team to win the GC. To be real though, you need to throw in a little bit of luck, too.
I get a callup for the crit so I get to stage right on the front. I wanted no part of being anywhere but the front for the first few laps with 97 guys towing the line. Right from the whistle I go hard. First through turn 1 and just stay on it. Crap, I'm actually off the front a few meters but the legs felt great so I went with it. I wanted to be safe for a bit longer. I scared my teammates a bit there, sorry about that! And then I hit a hiccup (see luck above). I flatted on lap 3, but thankfully, I was right next to the wheelpit. Jumped in, got the wheel changed and the ref told me I can go back in where I was at in the field. Cool. He told me I could jump back in at the front. Got going, grabbed Nicholas' wheel and pretty much stayed tucked in at the front the rest of the race. Nicholas was doing great work keeping me up there. I just kept repeating to myself every time we went up the climbing portion that I was going to murder this section on the last lap. Andrew was riding super strong as well. He'd make guest appearances here and there. A C3 rider snuck off the front and ended up getting about a 30s gap. Impressive.
With ~5 to go the attacks started. I saw Kevin (DVR) go with another guy, but I thought it was a little too far out. Kevin is strong as a bull and I didn't know who the other rider was that was with him, but the field started chomping at the bit. It was brought back after a few laps and then two others went. Hmmm, I still didn't think it had legs since they did get a gap but it wasn't growing. I reattached to Nicholas' wheel with 2 to go. Nicholas roared up the climb on the backside passing the two off the front. I looked back and saw the field strung out and that we had a small gap. I yelled at Nicholas, "We got a gap..GO,GO,GO." Nicholas just slammed it down the backside, through the S/F and through turn 1 and 2. I knew I had two guys on my wheel that I had to get rid of on the climb. I jumped right after the soft left turn leading to the uphill. Out of the saddle, all out effort. My lungs and legs were about to explode. I just told myself to get the hell to the top of the hill without anyone else. As I neared the top, I looked back and saw I had gapped them, and they were looking back for the field. I knew I had them at that point. BUT, wait, the C3 rider was now in sight! He was going backwards at the top of the climb. But once I hit the downhill I realized there was no catching him at this speed. I hit the final turn hard, looked back and was able to coast in for 2nd. Hats off to the C3 rider. Great ride. But most importantly, I now had the YELLOW JERSEY! The winner of the TT took 5th so I had a small 4pt GC lead on him with a few other guys not far behind. The RR was going to be a battle for sure.
Nicholas' charge with 2 to go was a PERFECT setup for me. I needed it to be fast and hard before I went. For him to get the separation from the field was unbelievable. And as far as teammates supporting a GC rider, Rusty did something very cagey. When he saw me flat, he drifted back in the field thinking he could help me move up when I got back in. Thankfully, I didn't have to start at the back, but it pretty much destroyed his race because the accordion effect was just insane at the back of the field. Extremely smart racing though. It's the little things and details that all add up throughout a stage race that make a difference.
Here's the video Igda shot:
Millersburg Crit 3/4 2010 from Peter Warner on Vimeo.
And here are video's Ben Reynolds (focusedcycling.com) took with his badass helmet cam:
2010 Tour of Millersburg Criterium Cat 3/4 Part 1 from Ben Reynolds on Vimeo.
2010 Tour of Millersburg Criterium Cat 3/4 Part 2 from Ben Reynolds on Vimeo.
We had a fun dinner at Wayne's (highly recommend this place..thanks Grayson for the tip) with Jenn Rist, Igda and Emi. I even had a few beers just to relax. We got to bed rather early, but honestly, I didn't sleep all that great and woke up at 5:00 a.m. Oh well. I was amped to get this Road Race going.
Oh boy, what's this? As I went out to put the bikes on the car, it started raining. Great! Well, sort of. Seriously, I race way better in cooler weather. I suffer in the heat. The nastier the better but not necessarily with 90+ guys who haven't had any results so far and all think they can win the road race. Yikes!
I didn't really get much of a warm-up in, but the legs felt super good. I'd use the first 5-10 miles of the race to warm-up. We all wrote the numbers of the GC threats on our arms. All I needed to do was stay out of trouble and let the fellas mark any threatening moves. I could sense everyone was excited and motivated to work as a team. I casually mentioned to a few other rider's that weren't a threat in overtaking me on GC that we wouldn't chase a break as long as it didn't have any of the top 5 GC riders. All I needed to focus on was beating the top 5 guys sitting on GC to the line in order to secure the overall.
stay tuned for RR report. I'll just say now that it was a wild adventure for sure...
Thursday, July 1, 2010
TDF is on the horizon...can't wait to see it play out
Great clip of rider interviews:
What do you love about the Tour?
What do you love about the Tour?
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Race weekend recap
No results, but a FUN weekend of racing for me.
Poolesville was a first for me and I really enjoyed it. I grew up having a long gravel driveway at the homestead so the gravel section didn’t really freak me out. Strangely, it brought back a lot of memories of riding my little bike during my youth. My brother’s and I used to have skid contests in the pea gravel circle which went around in front of our house. We’d measure whose skid was the longest. Lots of memories.
The day just wasn’t my day. I never felt absolutely horrible, but I never felt great either. I was due for some rest and it just so happened that the preceding week fell in line for that to happen. I was either going to feel superb or I was going to be a bit flat. Well, flat it was.
So, I pretty much just worked enough to stay with the chasing group, but I just couldn’t do more to help with the number of guy’s working to bring the break back. In a strange way, I felt pretty bad about my lack of enthusiasm to help, but it just wasn’t happening for me. I managed to stay upright and finish the race with a lackluster 19th placing. Afterward, I was a little down, but on reflection it was still a fun day to be out racing. This is supposed to be fun after all.
There was one hair raising moment during our last or second to last time through the gravel section when some guy (not a racer) was riding his bike down the gravel section. I was on the front in right tire track and Matt Braughler was on the front in the left tire track. We both started yelling at the guy to get off the road, Matt more so since he was barreling toward. I think he got over just in time, but holy cow that could have been horrendous. I remember us looking at each afterward and exchanging a few comments like, “What the f—k was that?!!!”
I was a little surprised to feel pretty good when I woke up Sunday. Igda and Leo were going to travel down with me to Leonardtown Maryland for the 35+ crit race at 12:15. This was a great race (with the exception of some kids or adults that decided it would be great to put tacks down on the course throughout the day.) There were some awful crashes caused by this it appears. A real shame that tarnished this event.
The hosting town and setting was pretty much ideal, a downtown setting with a lot of charm. Plenty of room for roaming around and viewing the race with café’s lining the start/finish straight. An MC giving blow by blow details on each race with loudspeakers mounted on the electrical poles around the town square. The weather was perfect, too.
I made sure to get in a good warm up before this one as this is pretty technical course and I’m sure everyone knew it would be fast from the get go. The legs felt alive today, unlike before Poolseville, so I was hoping for some redemption. It was great to see Harrell lining up with me as well. Really, it’s just way more fun to have teammates in the race.
I got lined up right at the front. Had a perfect clip in at the gun and was positioned perfectly going in to turn 1 when blamo…a ride punctured (see tack note above) and slid out. The poor fellow in front of me endoed right over his bike and landed right on his head. Somehow I managed to grab a handful of brakes and veer off the road without going down. Not good. The Kelly rider went down hard. I motioned to the moto ref to get someone down here. You just never know with head injuries. Thankfully, everyone walked away ok.
So, roll around to the S/F line and now I’m at the very back for the restart which was about 10-15mins afterward. The plan now became to move up as fast as possible without using huge matches to do it. Well, that is pretty much what I did for the first 7 laps. Being out of the top 10-15 riders going through the first turn sort of sucked. It was always a hard dig to stay in contact. Our race ended up being shortened a bit and we were told to pay close attention to the lap counter. After that, I just settled in. In typical crit fashion, there were plenty of attacks, hard pulls, regrouping, etc. The field was being whittled down slowly but surely. Nobody was getting much room off the front, but you could sense the chases were getting a little slower to respond over time. I guess I was doing a pretty good job of just staying invisible. I knew I’d have one good hard move in me, so I was just trying to find the right moment.
The challenging turn 1- 120 degree right after a short downhill:
At 3 to go, there was a prime. I just moved up a bit b/c I thought there would be lull after this. At 2 to go, the pace stayed hot through turn 1 naturally, but everyone fanned out after the little rise. Something clicked and I decided to attack. I looked back after 15 secs and I was solo with a pretty healthy gap. I just tried to drill it as hard as I could and pray I could hold it to the line. SO CLOSE. I got caught just after the final corner with about 100m to go. Just rolled in after I was caught...exhausted. It was pretty exhilarating laying it all out there. Just came up a little short this time. It was nice to hear a few rider's compliment me on the move afterward. Adding some excitement to the race is sometimes more fun than the result. I have no regrets. I guess sometimes you can’t be afraid to lose in order to win.
Yep, I'm in pain (Thanks again Jenn for taking and sharing these photos):
Poolesville was a first for me and I really enjoyed it. I grew up having a long gravel driveway at the homestead so the gravel section didn’t really freak me out. Strangely, it brought back a lot of memories of riding my little bike during my youth. My brother’s and I used to have skid contests in the pea gravel circle which went around in front of our house. We’d measure whose skid was the longest. Lots of memories.
The day just wasn’t my day. I never felt absolutely horrible, but I never felt great either. I was due for some rest and it just so happened that the preceding week fell in line for that to happen. I was either going to feel superb or I was going to be a bit flat. Well, flat it was.
So, I pretty much just worked enough to stay with the chasing group, but I just couldn’t do more to help with the number of guy’s working to bring the break back. In a strange way, I felt pretty bad about my lack of enthusiasm to help, but it just wasn’t happening for me. I managed to stay upright and finish the race with a lackluster 19th placing. Afterward, I was a little down, but on reflection it was still a fun day to be out racing. This is supposed to be fun after all.
There was one hair raising moment during our last or second to last time through the gravel section when some guy (not a racer) was riding his bike down the gravel section. I was on the front in right tire track and Matt Braughler was on the front in the left tire track. We both started yelling at the guy to get off the road, Matt more so since he was barreling toward. I think he got over just in time, but holy cow that could have been horrendous. I remember us looking at each afterward and exchanging a few comments like, “What the f—k was that?!!!”
I was a little surprised to feel pretty good when I woke up Sunday. Igda and Leo were going to travel down with me to Leonardtown Maryland for the 35+ crit race at 12:15. This was a great race (with the exception of some kids or adults that decided it would be great to put tacks down on the course throughout the day.) There were some awful crashes caused by this it appears. A real shame that tarnished this event.
The hosting town and setting was pretty much ideal, a downtown setting with a lot of charm. Plenty of room for roaming around and viewing the race with café’s lining the start/finish straight. An MC giving blow by blow details on each race with loudspeakers mounted on the electrical poles around the town square. The weather was perfect, too.
I made sure to get in a good warm up before this one as this is pretty technical course and I’m sure everyone knew it would be fast from the get go. The legs felt alive today, unlike before Poolseville, so I was hoping for some redemption. It was great to see Harrell lining up with me as well. Really, it’s just way more fun to have teammates in the race.
I got lined up right at the front. Had a perfect clip in at the gun and was positioned perfectly going in to turn 1 when blamo…a ride punctured (see tack note above) and slid out. The poor fellow in front of me endoed right over his bike and landed right on his head. Somehow I managed to grab a handful of brakes and veer off the road without going down. Not good. The Kelly rider went down hard. I motioned to the moto ref to get someone down here. You just never know with head injuries. Thankfully, everyone walked away ok.
So, roll around to the S/F line and now I’m at the very back for the restart which was about 10-15mins afterward. The plan now became to move up as fast as possible without using huge matches to do it. Well, that is pretty much what I did for the first 7 laps. Being out of the top 10-15 riders going through the first turn sort of sucked. It was always a hard dig to stay in contact. Our race ended up being shortened a bit and we were told to pay close attention to the lap counter. After that, I just settled in. In typical crit fashion, there were plenty of attacks, hard pulls, regrouping, etc. The field was being whittled down slowly but surely. Nobody was getting much room off the front, but you could sense the chases were getting a little slower to respond over time. I guess I was doing a pretty good job of just staying invisible. I knew I’d have one good hard move in me, so I was just trying to find the right moment.
The challenging turn 1- 120 degree right after a short downhill:
At 3 to go, there was a prime. I just moved up a bit b/c I thought there would be lull after this. At 2 to go, the pace stayed hot through turn 1 naturally, but everyone fanned out after the little rise. Something clicked and I decided to attack. I looked back after 15 secs and I was solo with a pretty healthy gap. I just tried to drill it as hard as I could and pray I could hold it to the line. SO CLOSE. I got caught just after the final corner with about 100m to go. Just rolled in after I was caught...exhausted. It was pretty exhilarating laying it all out there. Just came up a little short this time. It was nice to hear a few rider's compliment me on the move afterward. Adding some excitement to the race is sometimes more fun than the result. I have no regrets. I guess sometimes you can’t be afraid to lose in order to win.
Yep, I'm in pain (Thanks again Jenn for taking and sharing these photos):
Monday, May 3, 2010
Bunny Hop Criterium
On Sunday, was the Bunny Hop criterium race. I chundered the finish but it was a fun race. Jim took 5th which was awesome. A teammate shot some great video of the race.
2010 Bunny Hop M1234 35+ - full from Brian on Vimeo.
Murad Road Race
In lieu of a race report, I thought I'd post a few videos which partially sums up our road race on Saturday for entertainment purposes...
Although it was unfortunate that our horse at one point had a rider on it before it decided it didn't really care for about 60 guys riding in a pack by it. I'm glad the rider was ok. Strange day indeed...
Although it was unfortunate that our horse at one point had a rider on it before it decided it didn't really care for about 60 guys riding in a pack by it. I'm glad the rider was ok. Strange day indeed...
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Spring racing continues
Welp, it's been a busy last few weekends. No time to really recap all of the races, but it's been a lot fun. Our team is coming together and we're starting to race really well together.
As always, Igda has been a trooper going to the races with me. It's actually pretty boring for her in between races, but I'm really glad she comes along for the support. Leo's made a few trips, too. Oh, yeah, my Cat 3 upgrade just come through yesterday. It means I can keep racing with faster and faster dudes.
Here's some pics and a short video of the finish from Tyson's. I was pretty happy with the 8th place here:
Igda's good friend, Sumita came to hang out and watch her first cycling race.
This past weekend I had two races on Saturday at Chantilly Crit. Finished 11th in M35+ race which was super fast, hard and fun.
Last 3 laps video:
The afternoon race was the M35+ 3/4. Our team executed perfectly the entire race. Since I had a teammate up the road my job was pretty easy, just mark wheels. It worked out and I ended third while my teammate secured 2nd out of the two man break.
Video of the last 3 laps crossing start/finish:
Teammate taking 2nd:
Coming to the line for 3rd:
On Sunday, I raced a crit up in Columbia MD. Fun to be out racing, but not a fan of the course. Finished a luckluster 17th, but my teammate took 5th, so a good day for the team!
photos courtesy of Jim Wilson. He takes incredible race photos and generously shares them(thank you!)
As always, Igda has been a trooper going to the races with me. It's actually pretty boring for her in between races, but I'm really glad she comes along for the support. Leo's made a few trips, too. Oh, yeah, my Cat 3 upgrade just come through yesterday. It means I can keep racing with faster and faster dudes.
Here's some pics and a short video of the finish from Tyson's. I was pretty happy with the 8th place here:
Tyson Corner M35+ Finish from Brian on Vimeo.
Igda's good friend, Sumita came to hang out and watch her first cycling race.
This past weekend I had two races on Saturday at Chantilly Crit. Finished 11th in M35+ race which was super fast, hard and fun.
Last 3 laps video:
M1234 35+ RGS Title - last 3 laps from Brian on Vimeo.
The afternoon race was the M35+ 3/4. Our team executed perfectly the entire race. Since I had a teammate up the road my job was pretty easy, just mark wheels. It worked out and I ended third while my teammate secured 2nd out of the two man break.
Video of the last 3 laps crossing start/finish:
RGS Title cat 34 35+, last 3 laps from Brian on Vimeo.
Teammate taking 2nd:
Coming to the line for 3rd:
On Sunday, I raced a crit up in Columbia MD. Fun to be out racing, but not a fan of the course. Finished a luckluster 17th, but my teammate took 5th, so a good day for the team!
photos courtesy of Jim Wilson. He takes incredible race photos and generously shares them(thank you!)
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
First Road Race of the season
This past Sunday was the "real" kickoff to the 2010 racing season starting with the Jefferson Cup Road Race in Charlottesville, VA. The race carries with it a tremendous reputation in our little mid-atlantic cycling world. It's what some refer to as a "monument" event. A spring classic.
Winning bike races is tough, regardless of your category. Victories are few and far between for many cyclists. When you do win, there's nothing sweeter.
Well, I won my race on Sunday at Jeff Cup! An unbelievable feeling! I raced the Masters 35+ which started on at 2:30 p.m. on a chilly, wet day. Igda and Leo made the trip with me which made it even more special. She's put up with a lot of crap due to my training, so it was great to have her with me to celebrate.
I won't bore you with all of the gory details so I'll just give you the highlights. I jumped hard up the little climb on lap 4 to bridge up to a Dave Kirkpatrick (GamJams) and just stayed on the gas. 3 guys bridged up, Stephen Robinson (Coppi), Michael Runnals (JVS/Casey) and another guy who didn't last long with us. That's all she wrote. Four strong riders completely dedicated to sticking the break and an un-organized peleton in crappy weather...game over.
When we made the final turn, the Dave K took a hard pull. I took a good pull and then Stephen pulled through. I jumped on his wheel and was a little worried with Michael right on my wheel. He was riding really strong. Side note: Michael and I went 1-2 last year in the cat 5 race. He beat me! We didn't realize it until after the race when we were chatting. Stephen generously sacrificed his chance of winning by setting a solid pace from 1k to 200m. Right after the 200m sign I could see the finish tent. What the hell? Let’s do this!!! I jumped from Stephen’s wheel and went. Michael couldn’t close the gap or come around me. THE WIN!
Really exhilarating to say the least! Igda missed the finish to boot!
Congrats and thanks for working hard to everyone in the break! It's rare to get everyone in a break fully committed.
My prizes (coveted chocolate bunny, engrave cup and a medal):
Amazing way to start the year. Hopefully, I didn't use up all of my positive racing karma at the first road race of the year!
Winning bike races is tough, regardless of your category. Victories are few and far between for many cyclists. When you do win, there's nothing sweeter.
Well, I won my race on Sunday at Jeff Cup! An unbelievable feeling! I raced the Masters 35+ which started on at 2:30 p.m. on a chilly, wet day. Igda and Leo made the trip with me which made it even more special. She's put up with a lot of crap due to my training, so it was great to have her with me to celebrate.
I won't bore you with all of the gory details so I'll just give you the highlights. I jumped hard up the little climb on lap 4 to bridge up to a Dave Kirkpatrick (GamJams) and just stayed on the gas. 3 guys bridged up, Stephen Robinson (Coppi), Michael Runnals (JVS/Casey) and another guy who didn't last long with us. That's all she wrote. Four strong riders completely dedicated to sticking the break and an un-organized peleton in crappy weather...game over.
When we made the final turn, the Dave K took a hard pull. I took a good pull and then Stephen pulled through. I jumped on his wheel and was a little worried with Michael right on my wheel. He was riding really strong. Side note: Michael and I went 1-2 last year in the cat 5 race. He beat me! We didn't realize it until after the race when we were chatting. Stephen generously sacrificed his chance of winning by setting a solid pace from 1k to 200m. Right after the 200m sign I could see the finish tent. What the hell? Let’s do this!!! I jumped from Stephen’s wheel and went. Michael couldn’t close the gap or come around me. THE WIN!
Really exhilarating to say the least! Igda missed the finish to boot!
Congrats and thanks for working hard to everyone in the break! It's rare to get everyone in a break fully committed.
My prizes (coveted chocolate bunny, engrave cup and a medal):
Amazing way to start the year. Hopefully, I didn't use up all of my positive racing karma at the first road race of the year!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Igda's big surprise b-day party
With the help from a few of Igda's great friend's planning the big surprise b-day at Landini Bros in Old Town, we had a great time. Igda was completely caught off-guard and surprised. It was a ton of fun!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Unusually Large Snowstorm...
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Unusually Large Snowstorm | ||||
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Monday, February 8, 2010
Yowza - Another crazy storm
I figured I'd share the story with some photos. All is well. Just a quite weekend at home enjoying being snowed in.
Stella & Ry would be proud- I made some Jambalaya Saturday:
Stella & Ry would be proud- I made some Jambalaya Saturday:
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