Trainer here I come...

That time of year when I'll be bitching about the weather a lot. Here's the current weather map fo the area...looks like a trainer day today! There are supposed to be a couple more winter storms hitting our area between now and Christmas...

PowerTap & Garmin 705

I upgraded my PowerTap hubs to be compatible with the Garmin 705. Now I have everything I ever needed and more at my fingertips! The best part is I can lose my PowerTap computer and only use the Garmin now...no more having 2 computers on my bike. I have way more information about any ride than I know what to do with!

Talk about a shift in weather. Monday we set record Highs (in the mid 60's) and sunny. Right now I'm looking outside at the snow covered lawns and houses and the temperature is in the low 30s. We are supposed to get storms on both Friday and Sunday. Looks like I'm going to become intimate friends with my trainer this week.

Vacation is Over!

I haven’t posted in a while; I was in SoCal for the past 2 weeks (LA down to San Diego). It was 16 days straight without being on the bike! It was a nice break, but the weather in San Diego really made me wish I was riding. I was happy to only have gained ~4 pounds.

Here are my statistics from the vacation;

Amusement Parks Visited (not much else to do with 5 ½ & 3 year olds)
- 4 days at Disney Land
- 2 days at Lego Land
- 2 days at Sea World
- 1 day at San Diego Zoo
- 1 day at San Diego Wild Life Park

Brew Pubs/Beer related;
- 2 days at the Pizza Port Strong Ale Festival (over 100 beers over 8% abv on tap!)
- 8 Brew Pubs
- 3 bottle shops (gotta keep the Hotel room stocked)
- 1 special beer release event at a Brewery attended
- Sampled/drank over 87 new beers (well, new to me anyway)

I got out on the bike yesterday for a couple hours and I felt every mile. Now I know how my cousin feels when he rides; fat and out of shape!

Is It January?

Our weather seems to think so. Below is picture of what I woke up to on Friday. Looks like a trainer day. Saturday was almost another trainer day. I say almost because it was in the mid-20s with winds between 25-35mph! That's a wind chill in the low teens. I had my bike on the trainer and walked up with my shorts and I said to myself, suck it up and get on outside. I tell you, that ride was cold as Hell and really had me saying to myself, 'so, I'm doing this because I enjoy it?'. Today's (Sunday's) weather seemed like a heat wave. It was in the low 30's for my 55mile ride. At least the winds died down and the sun was out.

Since my form is gone and its cold outside, maybe I should get out to Hawaii to beat up on my cousin...

Almost hit the pavement...

It was an interesting day today to say the least. I woke up and it was pouring rain. The forecast was for storms all day. Lucky for me, the weather broke at 11:30am and I decided to get out on the wet roads (especially since it was 70 degrees – tomorrow’s low is supposed to be in the low 30’s and highs of only 50). Half way into my ride, I approached a rail road crossing and thought I slowed down enough to get across without any problems. I was wrong. I almost (and I mean almost) went down. I unclipped both my feet landed on my top tube but managed to keep from going down. The closest to crashing since, well since I last crashed. I had trouble clipping in and below is a picture of why. I must have broken the cleat when I unclipped and stuck out both legs to keep my balance. I had to limp home without being able to fully use my left leg to pedal (which kinda sucked as there was more climbing getting back home).

Rain, Sick Again, and back on the Trainer

It has been an interesting last week and a half. Its either been raining or I've been sick. I found out last Wednesday that I have Strep Throat (which would explain that sore throat that's been lasting a while, those white spots and that little fever that affected my previous weekend's riding). I started antibiotics last Wednesday and finally am feeling better! I thought that last cold that lasted over 2 weeks would be it for a while - wishful thinking. At least I 'planned' getting sick at the best time; early in the off season. I did manage to get out on the road for 2.5hrs on Sunday.

I also had to ride on the trainer last week. In addition to being sick, it was raining all week. It's confirmed, I still really hate the trainer even if the training in more specific and allows me to stick to the day's workouts (started Muscle Tension intervals).

I Almost...

...sat on the trainer today! It was in the low 40's with wind gusts over 25mph and rain in the area. I brought my bike up and was about to put it on the CompuTrainer and said screw this and went outside. Thankfully I avoided the rain, but the cold and wind fully let me know that winter is on the way. Time to go out and buy some new warm riding gear.

Disclaimer: I do not own the above brand of trainer

Snow!!!!

I'm looking outside my window right now and I'm seeing snow flakes mixed in with the rain! Damn that sucks...

On the Road Again with Bigfoot...

I finally kicked that damn cold and got a good week or riding in! Sunday I had a normalized power of 230 for a 3-hour ride (yeah, I know, way too high for this time of year). It felt good the first week off the bike, and then the following week and a half I was really missing it! Now I have to get used to riding in the cooler weather. It was in the low 40s to start Sunday’s ride (today, the car read 33 degrees on the way to work). I had to turn my heat on in the house for the first time this season.

On Saturday, a bunch of us got together to do a Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Vertical. Bigfoot is Barley Wine style beer (9.6% and made for aging!). We tasted 15 different vintages: 1990, 1994, 1995, and 1997-2008. It was very interesting to see how this beer aged over the time. The 1994 really stood out. There really wasn’t a bad year and I put the peak at about 6 years old. Did I mention, I was a little buzzed after drinking my set!

River Horse Honey Bunches of Ants

Even though I was sick, I headed over to the Kennett Square Brew Fest last weekend. I had the pleasure of trying on of the most unique beers I've had (at least ingredients wise). Here is the description;

• Leo introduced the rest of the River Horse staff to one of his hometown favorites, cooked black ants. Mama sends them from Mexico where they are only able to be collected for about 9 weeks a year during the rainy season. The black leaf eating ant is considered a delicacy, traditionally used as a wedding gift with the belief that they are an aphrodisiac. Their light woody flavor and rumored libido enhancing qualities are equally represented in this Burnt Sugar Ale for a less than conventional brew.

Yumm, beer with Black Ants. Now if only I can get a hold of the beer made with pooh coffee;

• Mikkeller has created a special edition of their flagship beer Beer Geek Breakfast for the Copenhagen Beer Festival every year. This version is a different recipe and it is brewed with the famous vietnamese coffee ca phe chon, that has travelled trough the intestinal system of a weasel.

Sick as a Dog...

This picture says it all! As soon as the season ended, I came down with a nasty cold that just doesn't want to let go. I thought I was getting better last weekend, but yesterday and today, I'm twice as bad off than last week! At least it is after the season, but I'm really itching to get back on the bike (coming on 2 weeks now).

PowerTap is now selling their upgrade to make their hubs compatible withe the Garmin 705! I just ordered one yesterday and can't wait to get it. They send you an updated (pictured above) that upgrades/updates the PowerTap. You are then requested to send the updater back for a 'special' gift (how about refunding some of the $100).

The Season is Officially Over for Me

The race season is officially over for me! What better way to end it than do a Time Trial (yep, I still suck at these). 21.7 miles and relatively flat. I finished 2nd in the Cat 3 field. I’ll give you a hint on how many people where in the Cat 3 field…I didn’t beat anyone. I had one of my worst times on the out leg. I heard some other racers say the air felt heavy for some reason. I know it was cold at the start. Driving to the TT, my car had 42 degrees! Last Sunday it was in the upper 80s and humid.

The race season by the numbers…

I competed in 48 races. I made the decision to only do races that I wanted to and those that fit my strengths better. With this in mind, thought I would do less than last year. I was surprised that last year I did 48 races as well. Gone are the days that I’ll do ~60 races in a year! Here is the number of races broken down by month;

March 4 races
April 5 races
May 9 races
June 7 races
July 11 races
August 8 races
September 4 races

I managed to get 16 top tens; my best year for top tens in a long time. I think the only other year I did better, was when I got over 25 top tens. This was the year that got enough points to upgrade to a Cat 2. I had my upgrade letter typed up, sealed, and ready to send (back in the old days you had to snail mail your upgrade request to the district rep). I was going to send in my request after I got back from Superweek. Right before I got back, Trish told me she was pregnant with Alex…goodbye Cat 2 dreams! Big difference from last year – I only had 5 top tens in the same number of races.

Time to rest and enjoy some longer easier rides. I know in about 2 weeks, I’ll be eagerly counting down the days until next year’s racing start!

Last Road Race of the Season

At the last minute, I rearranged my last weekend planned racing schedule. I was monitoring the Master’s State Time Trial registration and thought I had until Friday 12:30pm to sign up. Guess what? The pre-registration only dead line was at Friday 12:30am. No big deal as the course was way too hilly for me anyway and I probably subconsciously didn’t sign up on purpose. Only pain in the ass was I put my TT bars on my bike for nothing! I also changed plans and raced in a 44 mile, 35+ circuit race on Sunday vs. a crit.

There were 3 of us in the circuit race. As a team, we were pretty aggressive and covered every move that went up the road. Tom was able to get into the break/split that eventually stayed away. I took 2nd in the ensuing field sprint, but really didn’t care since all the spots were up the road. With 1 lap to go, I told Mike I wasn’t going to sprint. Of course I found myself up front on Mike’s wheel and sprinted for the last time of the 2008 season.

Someone in the race had a helmet camera on. It was pointed backwards and took pictures every 3 seconds. Below are a couple that I’m in. Check out some of the other photos on his site at http://www.hussey.smugmug.com/gallery/5978676_uXP4F#373263683_zBfF3

Hurricane Wreaks my Weekend Plans!

The remnants of Hurricane Hanna messed up all my plans for racing last weekend. They cancelled the Phillipsburg Crit on Thursday. That left me with thinking about doing a TT on Sunday. On Friday, the TT got postponed. The TT was set to go off on Sunday but the fear was there would be too much debris on the roads. That left me with plan C, a hilly ass Road Race. The only good thing about the RR is it was ~ 40 minutes from home. I usually don’t bother showing up to a race where the flyer says there is a 1.5km climb in it and then some rollers. What was I supposed to do? Not race (yeah right). The rains and winds didn't start until late Saturday so at least I got a ride in outside on Saturday!

I line up for the 40+ start and the officials say, at the top there is a KOM sprint. Shit. What the Hell am I doing at a race not only with hills, but a KOM! The was 7 laps of a 10km circuit for a total of 70km. My goal was to make it to the top of the climbs with the pack for the 1st two laps. Guess what? I made my goal and was just gapped off at the top of the second climb on the second lap. I chased like Hell, but 20 feet became 50 feet became 100 feet and so on! I solo for a couple laps and a group of 3 riders catch up to me. I do a few laps with them and that’s that. I guess I’m happy that I made my goal and got a good work out in. Maybe for next year I should work on my climbing (or not).

The Streak Ends...

Going into last weekend's races, I managed to grab 5 top 10's in a row. That streak ended!

I don't know why I raced on Sunday. I've said this before and will say it again, I won't be coming back to that race! Sure the roads are in rough shape, but it is a Crit course and that doesn't really bother me. What really bothers me, is that the Cat 3 race was only 12 miles long! That's what, Cat 5 distance? Races this short, to me, means the promoter is more concerned with getting as many fields as possible to rake in the cash!

Sunday I raced in the 35+ race at Basking Ridge. Another short race; only 15 miles. I like this course though. 1 mile in length with 5 turns including a chicane and a power hill. Unfortunately, the P/1/2/3 field was just before ours and paid out $2,000. That means the 35+ race was stacked with those guys doubling up. I was in the front the 1st 5 laps and even tried to get in a break, but that was it. I went back and played tail gunner for the rest of the race.

I love this coming Saturday's course, but the prediction is for the remnants of Hurricane Hanna should be hitting us. Heavy rain and gusty winds. I heard anywhere from 5 inches of rain with 60 mph gusts...

Pics from Last Weekend

Some pictures from last weekend's races. The first two are from Sunday's 40+ and the last two are from Saturday's Cat 3/4 race.

Beer and Racing

This weekend there were 2 races held outside of the Allentown Brew Works. How can you go wrong with racing in front of a Brew Pub! They did a great job of closing down a 1 mile crit course in the middle of a busy town (especially on a Saturday). I was expecting a pancake flat crit but there was a power rise on the back side (and everyone knows how I hate anything that even slightly goes up). Typical 4 corner rectangle with a nice straight, slightly downhill, lead-in to the finish.

Saturday was the Cat 3/4 race. 25 laps for 25 miles. I actually didn’t feel that bad on the rise. Sure, I had to sit in the middle or back of the field to make it, but I held in there. I was in about 20th spot coming out of the final turn. Luckily it was a down hill sprint and I had my 11. I go as hard as I can for as long as I can and just kept passing people. I started on the very left, had to wiggle my way into the middle and finally swung right. I ended up in 7th place. Not bad for the position I had in the last turn. Faster sprint as my computer had ~41 mph.

Sunday was the Masters 40+. I tried to stay up front to make and splits but you know the story. I drifted to the back and he split happens immediately. 7 guys up the road and get a shit load of time on us. I took 2nd our field for 9th overall.

After Sunday’s race, I sat outside the brewpub and had a few beers. Nothing like sitting in 90 degree weather drinking a 9% Belgian Tripel and then a 7% Grand Cru!

It’s been one of the best months for top 10s for me; 5 straight and all in the month of August. Hopefully I can keep that up until the end of the season!

Counting my Lucky Stars...

Saturday’s race was nearly my most ‘costly’ race ever. It was a typical crit course with some rough spots. The racecourse corresponded with a huge festival/fair. Turn 1 and 2 were located at the far end of the fair and everyone would stop and watch as the race came by. I guess all the jarring around caused my Garmin mount to have some issues (and honestly, I don’t think I had the zip ties on correctly). Coming around turn 2, I felt something hit my leg and go skidding off into the huge crowd watching. At first I thought it was my water bottle. About a ½ lap later, I looked down and saw my Garmin 705 missing. My heart really jumped! Too late to stop racing and look for it and I figured some kid has it now.

The second after crossing the finish line, I went to the spot where the Garmin flew into the crowd. There was a policeman stationed there to make sure no one wandered onto the course. I asked him if he saw something fly out of the pack. He told me my Garmin hit him on the foot and he initially thought his cell phone had fallen. He also said he took it up to the officials where I promptly claimed it back. There were just some minor scratches on one side and the protective door on the back was missing (Garmin is sending me out a free replacement for the missing door). Other than that, it works just fine.

I’m still counting my lucky stars…

Crazy 8s

Yesterday I raced the 40+ in Burlington NJ. 4 corner course that was ~1.2 miles in length. They shortened the course this year and thankfully the roads where a little smoother too! Not much to say other than I let someone push their way in front of me in the final stretch which caused me to lose my teammates wheel. When I looked up past him, I noticed he opened up a 5+ bike length gap. Game over. Why force your way into a sprint and then pull that crap! I ended up in 8th.

Today I did the Cat 3 at the US Bicycling Hall of Fame Crit. Same course as early this year. When I did this race earlier in the season, I had some 'problems' on the power hill and ended up in the 20s. Today I felt great on the hill. I even got into a break with 10 laps to go. I thought it looked good as it was just me and 2 other riders from the same team (and they had teammates in the field). We were caught with 5 laps to go. After the race, I heard that their own teammates pulled them back (nice). When we were caught, I tried to stay at the front as best I could. I ended up 8th (7th in the field sprint). My 2nd 8th place in 2 days...

Yep, I still Hate TTs!

It's been over a year since I did my last TT and I had this shiny new TT helmet waiting to be broken in, so I decided to do a 16km TT. Flat course (false flats at the most) so at least I won't suffer on any hills! I had 2 goals; beat my best time and not finish last. I completed both goals and finished 7th in the 1/2/3 field (I won't tell you how many were in the field, but I'll give you a hint; I wasn't last). This just reconfirms that I suck at Time Trials. Honestly, even though I'm no good at them, I do enjoy doing the flat ones and believe they are great workouts...

More SW Pictures

I know you wanted to see more pictures of me racing, so here they are (all from the Kenosha race at Superweek);

SW Photos

Some good pics of me at Superweek...

I'm Back!

I’m back from Superweek! The drive back yesterday was, thankfully, uneventful. It only took me 12 hours this time (that includes 2 pit stops and a little time lost for construction). I hit Chicago at 6:30am local time; no traffic and no time lost. Long drives like these make me thankful I have satellite radio.

They aren’t kidding when they call these ‘Elite’ Masters races. My body feels like it has been run over by a MAC truck. Once again, we had ex-Olympians and ex-National TT champions in our fields. The fields, from what I can remember, where bigger than last year (but that could just be my old age setting in). We had 50 – 70 racers every day; not bad for a Masters 40+ race! My average placing was in the 30’s. My best placing was 33rd. A little disappointing, as I wanted to get in the money at least once. A break of various sizes got away every day and the racing was on the very aggressive side.

The majority of the racers were Cat 2’s with a handful of Cat 1’s. Looking at a couple of the results;

7/22 – Cedarsburg Crit. This was the hardest crit of the series. The race started with over 60 racers and by the 2nd lap, less than 25 where left up front. This race was either up hill or down hill. Needless to say, I was not one of the racers up front. I was placed 35th (7th place Cat 3). The 1st placed Cat 3 was in 15th place.

7/26 – Downer Grove Crit (all categories for the 1st time raced on the same course as the Pro’s). This one was roughly shaped like a Triangle. We must have dropped at least a third of the field. 16 x Cat 3’s placed (I was the 8th placed Cat 3 for 33rd overall). There were 23 placed Cat 2’s and 8 placed Cat 1s.

Superweek - Made it Out!

I drove out to Milwaukee yesterday to race in the 40+ (Cat 1/2/3 only) series at Superweek. I’ve been coming out to do at least a week of racing, if not more, for the last 8 out of 9 years. If one is ambitious enough, they can race in 16 straight days. For some reason, I love making the trip and enjoy racing in this series. I guess it goes back to my first year coming out. I was a Cat 4 and was impressed with the way they treated every field, the quality of the competition and just had a ton of fun racing. The second year I came out, I was a Cat 3 and won a 70 mile hilly Road Race further endearing me to the series. I’ve made the trip with teammates. I’ve met new friends and have even stayed with their families. I’ve come out by myself; just like last year, I’m solo this year. I even found out Trish was pregnant with Alex while I was at Superweek. Another bonus is there are a lot of good brewpubs in the area!

I left my house at 5am and planned on hitting Chicago before ‘rush’ hour. It took me just under 10.5 hours to Chicago (~750 miles) which was ~2:30pm local time. No matter what time you hit Chicago you will sit in traffic. I only lost about 1 hour sitting still; very frustrating after sitting in the car so long and only having a short distance left. Unfortunately, there is no way around Chicago. I stop by a beer store to stock up and then headed to the Hotel to check-in. Total time to Hotel room was ~13 hours (not too bad considering the traffic and beer stop). Distance was 850 miles. I only stopped twice on the way to fill up with gas and run in for a pit stop. That packed cooler with sandwiches and drinks really came in handy. I view any stoppage on the way as a ‘waste’ of time.

It was a pretty uneventful ride over. I was only almost run off the road once by a truck driver who was reading something while driving. Somewhere in the middle of Ohio, a construction pickup quickly pulled over to the right up ahead. The working looked left and ran across the road. Problem was, he ran in front of me and the car that was on my right. We both had to lock up our brakes to avoid making him road kill. Idiot worker…this was not even in a construction zone.
Racing starts today and looking outside it’s raining. Timing wise, I may get lucky and the rain my stop by noon. If not, I’ll just be careful and keep my mind on the Brew Pubs I plan on hitting afterwards…

Mullica Road Race

Today I raced in the Cat 3 only field at the Ronde Van Mullica in NJ. Usually this race finishes in a downhill sprint. This year, the direction was not only reversed, but it was on a different course. If you look at the course below, you can see the long drag (at least 3 miles) to the slightly up hill finish. We raced 50 miles; 5 x 10 mile loops.

Usually in races this long, I'm not too worried about early breaks getting up the road. Guess what happened today? 7 riders break just after the 1st lap. They eventually shed 2 riders, but 5 stayed away for the rest of the race. I tried a few times to help bring it back, but with no team mates and no one pulling through after my turn, I give up and wait for the sprint. I get seriously boxed in the middle of the pack with 200m to go. I break, slide out to the left and re-start my sprint. I pass a crap load of racers and end up 4th in the pack for 9th overall (and they paid 10 deep).

Ignore the 'square' by the start finish line; that's where I warmed up and cooled down.

4th of July Racing

It was a busy weekend of racing for me!

Friday I did the US Bicycling Hall of Frame 'Crit'. The flyer stated this was a .9 mile flat criterium with small grades. Yeah right; not only wasn't it flat, it was 1.5 miles long. The course was 3/4 of the way up hill into a 40 mph downhill into a chicane into the finish and repeat. Not what I expected (you know me and flat courses!). I had more of an issue breathing though. The air was thick and I just couldn't catch my breath. I finished, but off the main pack.

Saturday I raced the Emrick Blvd crit (40+ field). What a difference a day makes! I felt great and did a lot of work trying to get in breaks, etc. Of course the break that stayed went up the road as I came back to 'rest'. I ended up taking 4th in the field sprint but out of the top 10.

Power file from Emrick Crit

Sunday I raced a circuit race with, for me, a decent sized hill. I was going to do a flatter Cat 3 crit, but Mike wanted to do the circuit race so I met him there for the 40+ race. I was happy to finish and feel good even though my legs were very sore from the previous couple of days.

Vegas Baby!

I headed out to Las Vegas last week. Trish had a tech conference to attend so I had a 'cheap' place to stay. It was a nice break (I didn't ride the bike or even work out). My typical day;

1. Wake up and eat breakfast with Trish
2. Sign up for a Texas Holdem tournament
3. Go back to the room and become slug-like until 10:00am when the tournament started
4. Play in tournament
5. Head to the $1 / $2 ante No Limit cash table after the tournament
6. After 8 hours of playing poker, go out to eat with Trish
7. Repeat the next day

I didn't do too bad either. I finished 2nd and 4th in the two Holdem tournaments I entered. I also won on the cash tables each day. By the end of the week, I was over $1,500 up! I drank way too much on Tuesday and really paid of it all day Wednesday...

I got back from Vegas last Friday, so I was rested for yesterday's race. It was your typical 4 corner crit. Nice and flat (false flat at the most). I raced in the 40+. I'm surprised at how well I felt; not tired or flat from not riding in a week. A break got up the road and I tried to get across a little too late. I came within ~5 seconds of catching but just couldn't do it. I took the field sprint for 12th overall.

Today is my Birthday and Trish gave me the Garmin 705! PowerTAP also recently anounced they will have a field upgrade available soon to be compatible with the 705. All the data you could ever want to look at! For those that know me, I get lost stepping out the front door, so I'm really excited to really go exploring on the bike and not have to worry about getting lost.

It's Hot!!!

In typical Philadelphia weather fashion, we had no time to acclimate to the warm weather. Today was the 1st time it reached over 90 and humid. At race time it was upper 90's (my car thermometer read 100 degrees). Usually we get some upper 90s and humidity by this time, but not this year. For yesterday's ride, it was 66 degrees and I was actually a little chilly. What a difference a day makes! I had trouble breathing in the heat and humidity. I feel sorry for the Pro's racing in Philadelphia tomorrow as they too have had no time to acclimate.

I did the 35+ at the Watermelon Crit today. Anyone placing in the money usually gets a watermelon or some other type of bake goods. In the past few years, I've won a watermelon, coconuts, a pot of flowers and a cherry pie. Not much to report other than Mark Light rolled off the front (must have been 1/2 way through or earlier in the race). He didn't attack, he just kind of rolled off. No one chased and he was gone. At some point I was on the wrong side of a split. It took me going to my max to make contact with the pack. Tom bridges to another rider who was in front of us and they hold the pack off the last 3 or so laps. Tom takes 2nd overall.

Walt tries to lead me out but I get gapped in the 2nd to last turn. I go to the max again to try and get to his wheel. In hindsight, I should have floated back and let the other teams take me back up. I'm kinda wasted by the last turn and get passed by 4 riders and take 8th overall. I really hate racing in the heat, it really messes with my asthma...

Racer's Worst Nightmare!!!

Check this photo out from a race held in Mexico. Apparently the driver was drunk, feel asleep, and plowed into a bike race (I'm assuming this is real as I grabbed the photo off of CNN). Once racer died in the accident (looking at the photo, I'm surprised no one else died). I hope they give the driver the death sentence!

Habitat Circuit Race

Today was our club's race; the Habitat for Humanity Circuit Race held in the Norristown Farm Park. Held on a 2.25 mile circuit with a 'moderate' sized hill to the finish (really, it was not flat like yesterday). There's also a 90 degree turn into a very narrow bridge on the backside; no more than 2 aside can fit through and if you aren't in the top 3, you will come to a near stop. Cat 3 only field with 52 racers. We did 16 laps.

I won't bore anyone with my meaningless recap as I really didn't do shit but hang on and finish (17th overall). There was however, one very interesting event that occurred that I've never seen before in a bike race. On the first lap at the fastest point in the race (we were going over 30mph) I look to my right and see a deer running along side us. I kept thinking, 'please don't freak out deer, please don't freak out deer'. I look at Eric who was right next to me and tell him this will be trouble and can get very ugly. I took another look at the deer and he makes a right turn and heads right at me. He just missed me but not the rider behind me. When I look back, it looks like the entire field is either on the pavement or going off into the grass. I was in ~15th place and was the last one who made it past the kamikaze deer.

After the race, I found out the peleton actually killed the deer by hitting it, running it over, etc. That's some crazy ass thing to happen during a race. I've been in races where dogs have taken out the pack, but a full out sprinting deer is a new one to me!

Millport Road Race

Today was the Millport Road Race (really a circuit as each lap was 2.75 miles long). The race flyer states 'Fast, fun short circuit on excellent roads with minimal climbing. A sprinters dream!'. With that setup, I was excited to go until I saw on the flyer, 145 feet of climbing per lap. The 40+ did 11 laps which worked out to 1,595ft of climbing. I'm sorry, in my book that is not a flat race! I would have agreed if the flyer stated 'small, rolling hills'.

Here is the profile I threw together.

Another smaller field that I would guess was between 40 - 50 racers. I looked who lined up and made a mental note on who I have to mark and watch. In the 3rd lap, I watched each of the riders I wanted to mark ride up the road. Short hesitation with a lack of concentration and instantly your race is over. At least I felt better when I see one of the districts best sprinters coming back from the break. A few riders bridge (or at least escape our autobus as everyone was way out of site). I roll in the field in 6th place for 18th overall.

PSU Harrisburg Criterium

Mike came into town and we headed out to race in the PSU Harrisburg Criterium 40+. This being the 4th day in row I have raced (and some hard and fast races), my legs were feeling a little flat. Description of the course;

Gently rolling 2.3-km circuit; start is straight and flat, then transitions into a short right-sweeping downhill and a right-hand turn; the backstretch is a long gradual uphill, then flat into the second right-hand turn; flat into the next right-hand turn and through the rear campus parking lot; slight left, slight right as you pass through the resident housing and into a small rise approaching the finish line; the finish is flat and straight.

All I can say is this was one hard ass race. I kept thinking to myself several times that I was on the edge and was about to get popped, but managed to hang on. Some other real strong racers said they thought today's race was fast and hard too (which made me fell a little better about how I was feeling!). A break of 3 get up the road and Mike takes 8th overall and I take 9th. I got a little too anxious and went with a small surge on the hill then was passed by 4 or 5 guys towards the top and managed to pass and hang onto 6th in the field. Mike just beat me by what must have been just an inch or so (he's lucky he attacked the hill, or I would have had him for sure!).

Bound Brook Criterium

Sunday was the Bound Brook Crit. I raced in the Cat 3/4 field which filled up with 75 racers. This is a pancake flat course. They changed the start/finish line; last year it was after the chicane. The course is over a mile long and we raced 20 miles (18 laps). This race is always fast. Not only is it flat, there is a long ass straight and wide open section on the back side. Several breaks where tried but none stuck. I make my way into the top 10 right before the 2nd to last turn. Some big ass Red Rocket rider comes screaming past a bunch of us on the last turn completely cutting us off. Damn it, another good finish wasted. If I would have seen him coming, I would have put him into the curb. I ended up 14th (I guess not too bad for a full field, but still very disappointed). We finished with a 27mph average which isn't too shabby.

Bicycling Hall of Fame Super Saturday Criterium

Today was the Bicycling Hall of Fame Super Saturday Criterium in Somerville, NJ (say that 5 times fast!). Cat 3 only field, 20 miles, raced on a 4 corner course with a power hill before turn 4. Even though I have done well at this course in the past, it really doesn't play to my strengths (for those counting, you can use that as excuse #1).

Condensed report...after 25 laps of pedal pedal, turn, pedal pedal turn, pedal pedal turn and power up a hill, pedal pedal turn, and repeat, it came down to a sprint finish. Some breaks where tried, but none stuck. With my allergies and asthma, this time of year is really hit or miss for me (excuse #2). I tried to move up but just couldn't dig deep as I had problems breathing. On today's course, I really couldn't 'fake' it up that hill and finished in the middle of the pack.

Looking over my power files, I averaged about 20 watts more today than yesterday but yesterday seemed so much harder. Yesterday, my heart rate average was 178 (my max is 190). That average was 50 minutes at 94% (no wonder it seemed hard). There was no real place to recover yesterday...today you could catch your breath on the down hill and back stretch.

On tap for tomorrow; Bound Brook Crit. This will be pancake flat (just the way I like them!).

Manville Crit

Tonight kicked off the Memorial Day weekend races with the Manville Crit. 20 mile Cat 3/4 race held on a ~1k rectangle. There is a power hill on the back side that starts sapping your legs after 20+ laps (we raced 35 laps). Decent sized field (I'd guess between 50 -60). In the past few years. about 1/2 the field gets shelled and this year was no different. I make sure I stay up front for the 1st half to make sure I make the selection. With under 10 laps to go, I do a quick count and there are ~30 left and I'm starting to like my odds. 3 riders get up the road. I start moving up with 3 laps. On the last lap, one of the lead riders crashes in turn 2. I get caught up by a couple riders who unsuccessfully try to avoid the down rider and race over.

The rider who crashed was a Junior who just built up a nice new carbon bike. The bike frame was completely trashed. Why would you race on a bike the day after you built it?

1 race down this weekend and 3 to go!

Circuito de Evesham

I always liked this course, especially when they run it counter clockwise. The small power hill into the last 90 degree turn usually weeds out some riders that shouldn't be up front during the sprint. Today was a Cat 3 only race and Tom, Eric and myself lined up at the start. 27 laps for ~27 miles.

The first 15 minutes was rather fast (~28mph average). We did a good job of covering anything that looked dangerous. I remember thinking at these speeds, a break usually doesn't stay away. Things settle in and I decide to mark a couple more breaks but to mainly stay up front and conserve and hope for a field sprint. Sure enough, it looks like it is coming down to a sprint. I try to stay in the top 10 for the last 4 laps. With 3/4 of a lap to go I find myself in ~15th with Tom in front of me. I yell to Tom to take me up front and he does it very nicely. I wanted to slot in to 3rd spot or so and yell at Tom, 'that's good for now, wait up'. Tom thought I said to go harder and he takes off and gets a gap on the field. We catch Tom right before the hill and I get caught up a minor swarm and have to quickly hit my brakes. I restart my sprint right after the turn and pick off most of the riders that passed me in the surge. I end up in 6th place. I ran out of real estate (which just showed what I already knew, I had to start my sprint way to late). Even though this was a decent result, I still felt like I wasted a great chance as I was firing on all cylinders.

PowerTAP file from today. The race is from minute 45:00 - ~1:48:00.

They posted the results from yesterday. I ended up in 18th and Mike was 26th. I was happy to have not only finished but finish in mid-pack.

Union Grove

Mike came into town and we headed out and raced in the 40+ at the Union Grove Road Race. The course has a few rolling hills and is just under 5 miles in length. We did 7 laps. I usually avoid races with any hills in it, but since Mike wanted to do this, I skipped the flat crit in DE. A couple other races who know me, saw me in the parking lot and asked what I was doing there! I did this race last year and finished 2nd to last. I was popped off the the field with about 2 miles to go, so my goal this time was to not get dropped.

Not much to report as I went to the back to just conserve and finish. I was surprised that I felt as good as I did and kinda regretted not moving up or doing anything! A couple small groups get up the road with a couple laps to go for a total of 9 riders up the road. The last hill starts ~1km from the finish (it's actually not that hard of a hill as it isn't that steep at the bottom, has a 'break' in the middle, and then has a shorter steeper section). I was in last spot in the field as we rounded the bend up the hill. At this point I was happy to finish in the pack but kinda of pissed at myself for not even trying to move up. I decided to sprint anyway and passed half the field for 9th in the field and 18th overall. Mike ended up in 26th (not bad considering this is only his second race of the year and he's only been 'training' for the last month.

Rodale Park

Today's race was held at the Rodale Park course. This is the bike trail that is located right across from the Trexlertown Velodrome; 1 mile in length with a power hill and no 90 degree turns (you get very dizzy with all the twists and turns). 25 laps for 25 miles. Decent size field in the Cat 3/4 race (but too many hairy legs and guts that hit the top tube for my liking).

I decide to try and stay in the top 20 the whole race to stay out of trouble. Every time I would find my self in mid-pack, I would sprint up to the top part of the pack. I got in some breaks all brought back. With 2 laps to go, about 8 racers get a 100m-150m lead. Looks dangerous. Me and one other racer bridge and as soon as we get there, they all sit up (and we were still at least 50m clear of the field). Shit I think, I'm toast. I give it my all to stay in the top 15 when 2 racers get a nice size gap. With 1 lap to go, I find myself out of the top 20 spots. Shit, I sprint on the hill and force my way into 4th in line. The field starts the sprint and unfortunately we catch the 2 riders about 100m from the line. I say unfortunately, because they sit up and come flying back at us like they are standing still. One comes right at me and starts taking me to the left. I have to hit my breaks (50m from the line in full sprint). A bunch of guys pass me and now I have to restart my sprint and swerve around as many as I can. I end up in 9th. I feel I would have finished higher if either the break stayed away or the riders just gutted it out and not 'stop' trying with 100m to go and get in my f'ing way.

At least I felt that snap that was lacking yesterday.

Here is my PowerTap file. The numbers are very simliar to yesterday with average power of 220 and Normalized Power of 262 with an average MPH of 25.8mph. Today seemed harder though (maybe because of some of the work I did or the wind).

Bethlehem Crit

I really hate this time of year. I'm probably in the best form I have been in for years but my allergies are the same as they have ever been. I was hacking and coughing up a lung all day. The pollen is so thick you can cut it with a knife. The kind of pollen were you black car looks green. This was actually the first race of the year I had to hit the rescue inhaler before the start of the race (I guess that is my excuse).

Today's race was a typical 4 corner crit with a power hill right before turn 4. 30 laps for ~25 miles. Nice thing about today, it was a Cat 3 only race (no racing with the Cat 4s or Cat 1/2s!). One of the local teams had at least 10 guys in today's race so you know what was going to happen (you just hope you were in that break!). I tried to get in some breaks early and they didn't stick. A few guys get up the road I tried to bridge and failed (damn lungs). As soon as I get back to the pack, about 8 more guys go up the road. God damn it, I hate it when that happens. They stay away. That's at least 9-10 guys up the road, so essentially race over. Why bother to even try at this point, may as well save it for tomorrow. 2 guys even lapped us (we were going slow as the average for my entire race was only 24.5 mph). During the field sprint, I really didn't try, I just wanted to stay up front and out of trouble and rolled in ~4th or so.

Here is my PowerTap file from the race. For some reason my Heart Rate monitor didn't pick up. The race starts at ~56:00 and obviously ends at ~1:53:00. For kinda dicking around, my average power was 218 and my Normalized Power was 262.

On may way out the door for today's race, the FedEx truck pulls up. They dropped off my other PowerTap Wireless wheel! Now I have both of my PowerTap wheels upgraded to wireless and can still afford to race.

No racing this weekend...

No race report for this weekend. Several things conspired against me to make sure I didn't race. I was treating today's race as an 'A' race and really looking forward to it. I had an easy week and tapered to make sure I was in peak shape too. Long story short, I thought today's race started earlier than it did and it ended up conflicting with a family function - there's that family thing getting in the way of racing!

Belleville Course

I was a little bored today, so here is the Tour de Belleville course.

Tour de Belleville

It was in the mid to upper 70s and sunny all week long, so guess what happened for this weekend? You got it; at the start of this morning's race, it was in the mid to upper 40s and pouring rain. I haven't raced in so many rain races in one year, ever (and it is still April!). Today wasn't an 'A' race on my schedule and my progressively hard workout schedule my coach has me on had me completely dead, flat and tired. Not a good sign as I line up - cold, wet, and my legs feeling flat. Funny how sometimes this is when you do your best!

I did the 35+ race at the Tour de Belleville race today (it was combined field of 35+ & 45+, but picked separately for different prize list). Interesting course; ~1.5 miles long, up a rise into a 180 turn back down the rise into a 90 degree right, 90 degree left and a 90 degree left ~200m to the finish line. The rise really isn't to my strong points, so I decide to stay at the back and just make sure I'm with anything and any 'splits'. Lucky me it comes down to a sprint finish. 2 Liberty cyclists wind it up and I get behind them. We dive around the last corner and I'm in 3rd (a car had snuck out on the course and we dove inside while the car was on the outside - if that car decided to come inside, it would have been ugly). I pass both Liberty riders with ~100m left and hang on for the WIN. My first win in a couple of years, so it feels nice to cross the line first (especially since I wasn't planning a peak or tapering for this race!). Not knowing who was racing for the 35+ and who was racing for the 45+, it was nice to win the whole thing and there was no question where I finished. I really owe my coach for getting me into the best shape I've been in for years (thanks Jason!!!).

Mike was supposed to come out for his 1st race of the year but there was a mix up with the car rental agency and he didn't make it. I know he could have done well in the masters and probably could have won the Cat 4 race (we really need to get him upgraded to a Cat 3). I opt out of doubling up for the Cat 3/4 race as I was wet and cold and didn't feel like sitting around an hour to it was held.

To celebrate, I cracked open a bottle of North Coast Old Stock Ale. This is their Barley Wine aged in Brandy Barrels and clocks in at over 14% alcohol content. It was very tasty and I wish I had more of these hard to get beers!

As I was leaving for my ride yesterday, the FedEx truck pulled up with my upgraded ZIPP PowerTap wireless wheel. A little too late to get a cassette and tire on it so I had to wait until today to take it out. It works great! It was nice to get all those wires off the bike (Ben owes me some style points now).

Below is a picture from last weekend's Cherry Blossom race;

Weekend Races

Cherry Blossom (Saturday)

This race was held on the Branch Brook short course. 2.2 mile, dead flat circuit with only one 90 degree turn. Usually tailor made to my racing style.

Not much to say about this race other than I completely blew it. My legs felt a little flat and allowed myself to get in very poor position for the finish. Found myself at the very front with way too far to go in way too much head wind. A shit load of riders passed me at 50m and I must have finished in the top 20. I say must have, because when I checked the results on the Internet the next day, I'm not even listed! Either they got my # wrong and gave my placing to someone else or the camera did not catch me. No big deal, as who really gives a shit about 20th place anyway...

Lower Providence (Sunday)

Four of us line up for the 40+ at the Lower Providence Crit on Sunday (Joe, Walt, Tom, and me). All I can say is this race was all about the wind. The wind must have been blowing steady at 20 mph or greater. It was a cross wind finish with a direct head wind after the first turn.

The plan was to try and get Walt up the road or set up Joe for the sprint. Three riders get off relatively early. We try to bring them back. We actually got pretty close and then they gained more time. Another break gets away from the field and Tom is in it. They get a decent gap on the field so we are content to let them go. We actively cover everything. Both groups stay away. Tom takes 6th on the day.

I decided to take off with 2 laps to go. I'll either hold it (yeah right) or get caught. This will let Joe and Walt do no work in the field and allow them to be fresh for the sprint or allow them to counter. Guess what, I actually held it for 2 laps. That's a first for me. Granted, there was a bunch up the road so the field was probably not too eager to chase anything, but that didn't make the pain any less! Looking at my power file after the race, this is one of my higher power outputs and higher heart rate average in a long time.

When Trish went to check the results, my name wasn't listed. That's 2 days in a row. They had me as 714 when I was 717 and marked as DNF (how can they miss a solo rider coming in between the break and the field!). They fixed today's result (but 2 days in a row, come on!).