Topsport stage race

Entered a stage race in Copperopolis this past weekend and got to do lots of racing in fantastic weather. Had a couple of team-mates and my son Pascal join me in a nearby cabin that a friend was nice enough to let us use for the weekend.

Saturday morning was the Circuit race. The course was pretty awesome - roads were brand new and smooooth. We started by heading out of the downtown area to some rolling hills to a 180...ya i don't like 180's so much so it went from an awesome course to great. Didn't have any trouble staying with the pack and stayed in the top third of the race. Without team-mates I was sitting in and hoping to have good position in the final lap. After returning from the rolling hills we snaked through town in a right, left, right, left, right double corkscrew that worried me at first but realized after getting my lean on through these corners that I was racing with an experienced bunch and was able to easily follow smooth lines throughout...

Okay bell lap and I was mid pack. We were strung out going through town but everything bunched up as we came to the small climb. Decided I needed to move up and went to the front - there i was once again at the front surrounded by teams trying to get move after move off but nothing was sticking. I rotated through and took a pull, then drifted back and jumped in 15th or so wheel. We hit the 180 and I'm wondering if the pace will be so high going to the finish I would lose contact...never happened.

As we inched closer and closer to the finish the surging started and my weakest racing trait started to shine. I was getting pushed all over the place trying to hold my position. Decided to burn some matches and jumped into the wind to sprint to the front. Good move but a bit early I got near the front only to be engulfed and pushed backwards again. Someone was moving fast up the right side so i jumped on his wheel hoping for a tow up...when a AV guy that had blown his wad (hopefully working for his team) comes through the pack like an anchor right into me and my hopeful lead out man. We both have to grab brakes and dodge left and right to avoid running this guy over. I yell out a few choice words (not at him per say but at the situation) get around him but I had lost 20 spots and it was ramping up to the finish.

Maybe 600 yards to go I stuck my nose in the wind considering a jump up the right to salvage my finish...but there were cones that funneled the finish over and I would have put myself in a dangerous position with a charging pack and me with no where to go. I sat up at that point for 27th. Legs were there and it was a fun safe ride. Only got yelled at once so that was a plus =o)

Okay the TT was next...now for some reason I thought I would do okay in this event. Was hoping for a top15. Funny thing is I have not practiced my TT at all this year and well ya...so I had a couple of hours before my start so I hung out with Pascal and got the bike ready.

Out to the TT course and waited in line - noticed Roman Kilun with Healthnet was number 30 (I was 29) greeeeeat. They get me started and the wind is coming from all directions. Road was a bumpy mess that had me all over the road. John my team-mate lent me his PT for the TT and I couldn't settle into what I had hoped to avg. Course had some rollers and short power climbs that made settling in tough for me.

Roman passed me shortly before the turn around and I hit the 180 (yes another freaking 180) going way to fast and had to skid to a stop to make the turn...o ya prob should have shifted into an easier gear also! Grabbed the shifter and yanked hard enough to shift 5 or so shifts at once...bike was not happy CRRUUUUUNCH as the derailleur attempted to do my bidding with me watching Roman get smaller into the distance with snot and sweat running down my face. Only then did I notice the head wind - it was howling and making me suffer...i was either going to hard or not hard enough.

Few times I thought there we go I'm feeling like I'm getting in some sort of rhythm only to look at the power tap and see I was putting out a paltry 280watts...FAIL. Was having a hard time keeping it above 300 and the wind was relentless. Calmed down a bit and finished the course in 37th position bleh!

Back to the truck and I needed a beer! Might have had 4 or so and they were tall boys! Thx to John for gladly driving us back to the cabin!

Back at the cabin we got cleaned up and hit the market for some BBQ. This evening was the highlight of my weekend. John mentioned he enjoyed cooking and if we did the shopping he would do the cooking! Done and Done. Me and Wendy easily spent way too much money on all the fixings. Tbones-2 bottles of good wine-greens, potatoes it was a feast. John did a great job grilling and cooking and we ate, and ate and SLEPT

Road Race - 93 mile RR on much of the same course as Copperopolis. This turned out to be a long day in the saddle. First lap we get going and its pretty quiet. I am sitting near the back just watching the race unfold and getting the feel for the camel back base layer I was wearing...caught a little good natured ribbing for wearing it but I new 60+ miles in the neutral feed zones would be ugly and I wanted no part of it. So i had 2 bottles worth of water snug against my back.

We were diverted through a nasty dirt - pothole section and the pace immediately picks up...bouncing and pinging and arms vibrating as we flew through this nasty section of the course...I must have witnessed 5-6 guys nail these potholes and pinch flat. Another +1 for tubulars. we get through the nastiness and I know going over this 4 more times would not be fun. Right about this time my brake pads start squeeeeeling every time I hit the brakes. God it was so annoying...i had tried to buy swiss yellow tops at the bike shop but they didn't carry any so i got the dura-ace carbon specific pads for damn near twice as much which were now so noisy i was getting pretty embarrassed. Stupid fucking brake pads, stupid fucking bike shop! Arrrgh. So the front was a high pitched whine and the rear a low pitched rumble...gawd I felt like such a fred. I started drifting off the back a bit so i wouldn't have to brake as much...also found that feathering the brakes was not possible so i tried to come down hard on the brakes to avoid the noise (more on this later)

Going into the last lap and I'm tired, legs hurt and hell my whole body hurts from this bouncy ass course. We hit a portion of the course that had a cross wind and the pack lined out and guttered except for the revolving echelon up front that was drilling it. I was able to come around 3-4 guys before i couldn't close the gaps any longer. DAMN - watched the group hit the next corner and bunch back up. That was pretty much it - i caught a few other guys that got dropped and headed back to the start/parking lot. About 3 miles out my rear tire goes flat...seems all the hard braking I did to avoid the noise caused me to skid and wear right through my tubular. I was done and done - decided F it and rode my flat tire back to the car putting as much of the weight as possible on the front tire.

all stage raced out I was eager to get cleaned up, packed up and head home.

hump day!

Well it's Wed...almost done with the week. I'm heading out to Copperopolis for a stage race this weekend with a few team-mates.

Last weekend was bad diet wise for me...i not only fell off the wagon but did a swan dive belly flop into the no no food list. I must have eaten a whole box (family size) of frosted flakes, stole my 2 year old candy and only reluctantly returned it when my wife noticed and started yelling at me, ate a bottle of goobers in one sitting!

I blame my buddy Tony, all your damn fault ordering pizza on my visit with cheesy bread and beer. That opened the flood gates and I did not look back until Monday morning...I knew I couldn't hide from the Withings scale and weighed in on Tues at 175...damn 5 lbs in a weekend.

But I'm back on track and eating well and feeling pretty good actually. Going to try and rest up for this weekends races as opposed to last weekend where I went OTF at a local training ride for the last lap...cool to win the training ride but ya its a training ride WTF! Racing season is now ON so i will start the high end work and see where it takes me.

Rode the TT bike in today and it felt great, seemed able to pedal at full power in full TT mode (thanks Yoga!)

Last but not least a shout out to my loving wife...she lets me persue this crazy hobby with little more then jokes about our 5 dollar payouts and a T-shirt! Yes I ride my bike 20 hours a week hoping for a T-shirt...lub those shirts! Love you baby - looking forward to going to Napa with you for your Bday!

Bariani 30+123

Raced the Bariani 123 this Saturday and had the distinct pleasure of lining up with a solid group of racers from the BBC. Got pinned and lined up. Plan was to stay at the front but in my typical fashion i drifted to the back and got warmed up. 2nd lap i moved up to find the team-mates. The group was so big with tight restrictions on the center line that it was easy to sit in but fighting for position was not so easy. I found I had to try to be very conscience about moving up or I slid back fast.

There were 2 climbs on opposite ends of the course with the longer being the KOM. These were not too much trouble but it got the HR up. Right after the climb there was a fun cross wind section that really made work. The is where the race was won or lost (in my case)

Last lap Dylan and David offered to work to get me to the front but I declined not feeling well enough to take advantage of such a generous offer. Felt more like taking a worker bee position but really appreciated the offer.

Last lap - here we go. We hit a tailwind section and the far right side is WIDE open. David is close and on the outside so i give him a whistle and shoot to the front. And there i was on the front. Don't know about you but i love being on the front - fantastic. Specialized was up there doing there thing and going fast. I jumped in and took a few pulls because i was up there and well that's what you do at the front of a fast race. Hit the smaller of the climbs 2nd wheel and there was some surging as people came up both sides. Looking back I should of stayed on the gas going over the top, it was a dumb time to ease up.

As somepoint someone came around and moved over pretty quickly into my front wheel...there was contact and I started leaning into the wheel as I began to tip over...the wheel cleared and I was able to stay upright yeehaw but that was close. Specialized dude yelled at me a bit to pay attention - looking back he was right im in charge of my front wheel - might have been starting to get tired.

We take the final right and its a narrow long death march to the KOM climb. Im sitting top 10-15ish maybe and try to stay near the front. By the time we hit the climb im probably 25th spot but am working to get up that hill. I'm not really sliding back but there are surging riders going up both sides. One of them being Neil.

Before the turn to the crosswind section there is a crash and I see a puff of smoke, seems a Specialized rider went down. Get around that and hit the cross wind section only have my legs say ya your not gonna power through this and catch those 20+ guys ahead of you thundering down the road. Great race. First time this year I actually attempted to stick my nose in the finish and had good positioning near the end so im happy. But the legs will be punished for running out of watts.

Neil finished a strong 7th

loving California right now!

Wow what a great week. Weather is in the 70's (time to stock up on sunscreen) and I enjoyed a solid week of riding. Wife is happy, kids are healthy and I am going to get my race on with 5 team-mates this Saturday.

Tim and Myself dominated the GA ride yesterday and well ya - Shake & Bake baby (know the reference?) going to copy the details from an email I typed up yesterday between buddies that frequent the ride.

Have alot of uuuugh yard work to do. Going to try and get a good chunk done this weekend. Max is happy he got a bath, a long walk and new bedding yesterday. Good dog!

Im going to bury my legs tomorrow and earn the right to drink a six pack of the good stuff when i get home!

Yoga - becoming a big fan. I don't have the focus to stretch as needed and found myself putting it off over and over...then everything starts to hurt. Back, Neck, Shoulders, Hamstrings etc. So i signed up for a membership at Planet Granite. The monthly fee is a bit steep but this is what keeps me going. I'm too cheap to pay & NOT go.

So the first time I went I was pretty blown away by how hard it is. I was sweating like a dog and all my muscles were quivering and shaking just trying to hold a pose that is used for resting (downward facing dog) wow! I may not be able to do this...fwd a month and everything is much easier. I don't find myself being corrected near as much and really enjoy the deep stretching Yoga brings. Also starting to get used to the babble the teachers emit during class...lots of hippy energy, flow, release, yamagamadanga doo. Thought maybe i could sneak in some headphones but now I like it...the continual drone helps me relax even though I have no idea what there talking about.

Went 3 times this week and feel GREAT. Am actually a bit sad I can't go today. Bit of ribbing from the guys but its all good. Oh and yesterday i puked in my mouth a little to look up to see a big girl bent over right in front of me aaaaiiiiyeeeee my eyes. I will never be able to un-see that image. Cottage cheese thighs and all.

Nerds R us: Me and Pascal went to the Optometrist yesterday. We are both near sighted (sorry Pascal I think you got that from me) and now both have glasses on order. I'm excited to actually be able to see clearly but am not looking forward to lugging around glasses...again. I think the lady that was selling us the frames works commission because she was pushing the no scratch bleh +95, no glare bleh +95 bleh, custom sunglasses for sports. The total came up to 460.00 not including Pascals frames. Um ya i don't think so - cut out all the crap but the essentials and got the price down to 160.00 for both me and the boy. Better but I could see the disapointment on the ladies face. Sorry lady

Oh and I hit 170 this morning

First bleh blog of many

Tim aka Mooseracer has inspired me to blog - funny while riding my bike way to much, thought after thought races through my mind...and I think I should start blogging all this random crap. Well now as I sit in front of my blog its all a blank. :homer:

Don't plan on sharing my blog with too many "peeps" as I am guessing it will only expose the truth about my limited education and less then intelligent pondering. Simpleton am I

So today's bleh is about smells. I'm really digging to get under 170 for this crazy hobby bike racing...weighed in at 172 on Tues so I'm starving myself to make the grade. Lots of water - oatmeal for breakfast and lunch. And lots of greens. Oh how I yearn for a 6 dollar bacon guacamole burger.

Riding into work I come across a lot of different smells. BBQ, Chocolate, Chronic, Exhaust, Perfume...the food smells hurt when I'm riding on a near empty stomach. Today a roach coach came flying by me reeking of what I believed to be bacon...I almost followed it into the parking lot to 1. scream at the driver for almost killing me in the apex of a turn and 2. buy anything with bacon in it. With my head down and teeth clenched I kept pedaling. 170, 170, 170