Cipollini is my new favorite ex-pro.

This is hilarious.

Modifying my balaclava

Balaclavas all seem to have the same problem. It doesn't matter how well vented they are, your exhaled breath has nowhere to go but up into your sunglasses, fogging them up. Recently, I got a new balaclava from Cannondale. It's brand new, and not even available on their website yet. I got it from a rep, and it retails for either $40 or $50. So I thought "It must be good".  The big difference, mainly, is that the part that covers your face is a flap of sorts, so you can easily tuck it under your chin if you want some fresh air on your face, etc. The flap looks to be well vented, and everything fits my face well. HOWEVER...just like the $10 balaclava that I have from Target...it fogs my glasses.

If you've ever watched a surgeon, or a doctor performing a procedure, even though they are wearing masks their glasses are fog-free. I get a new N95 mask from work every year at my annual physical, so I've got a few lying around. They have a thin metal strip covered by a piece of foam padding that you "mold" around the bridge of your nose that prevents your exhalation from going up into your eyes. I figured that was the answer to my problems.

So here's what I did: I cut the metal strip out of the N95 mask (along with the foam padding), and glued it to my brand new (expensive) balaclava using a hot glue gun. You'll see in the last picture how well the mask part molds to my nose/face now. I rode for 2.5 hrs today in 35 degrees, and had no problems with fogging. I actually had to move the flap down for portions of the ride because my face was getting hot! What a change that was!

^ There's the metal strip that I cut out of the N95 mask

^ There it is sitting on the nose area of my balaclava, before I glued it

^ And with the foam glued over top of it now

^ The finished product.

It's December already?

Here we are, with Christmas right around the corner. The weather has finally changed from the mild temperatures of Fall to the bone chilling winds of Winter.
Ugh.
Winter.
My least favorite season of the year. There's no color in the landscape, the sun rarely comes out, and it's windy every day. That means it's trainer time. I've needed a new trainer for a while now, and finally, the finances lined up so that I could splurge for something nice. At the shop, we carry Kurt and Cyclops trainers, so I picked up the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine (fluid) trainer. What a difference from my old, $88 magnetic trainer. I knew it would be quieter (which is nice for watching movies), but I had no idea how much nicer a trainer with a big flywheel would be. For fear of getting too nerdy about it, I'll just say that it definitely feels more "road-realistic". I've managed a couple workouts on it, when I've either been too busy to get out and ride outside, or if it's just been too cold or windy. Next, I'll need to find one of my old tires that works well with it. The tire that I used today has about 3,000 miles on it, and is totally flat in the middle from last year's indoor sessions. It kept slipping, and was pretty annoying.

So far, looking forward to next year, it looks like I'll be racing most (if not, all) of Pro-Am's events in Pennsylvania. Currently, they're running a package deal on their races. Here's a link to the .pdf file that contains the mail-in form. I did a couple of their races last year and had a good time.

With that said, I'll leave you with a Jens Voight fact: (once you click on the link, keep clicking the picture to get additional facts about the toughest man in the peloton)
"Jens Voight no longer has a shadow, because he attacked it repeatedly until it climbed into the Saxo Bank team car, claiming a stomach ailment and retired."

Looking back on this year

Ahhhhhhhhh. Here I sit, after a 2 month "off season", thinking back about how this year went. My first year in competitive cycling, and I feel like so much has happened. I went from finishing OFF THE BACK, dead last...to dominating my class at the Can-Am Police and Fire Games for 4 days. I raced everything from long, hilly road races, criteriums, circuit races, time trials, and sprints. I've learned that solo efforts rarely work, and I don't like assholes that don't do any work in a break away group. I also learned that I don't make excuses, and I can't stand the guys that do. Here's a news flash: if you didn't win, it's because the other guy was stronger, smarter, or his tactics worked better than yours that day. 'Nuff said. I love the feel and sound of carbon fiber, and I'm not much for "old school" or nostalgia. I also love the sound of a cowbell as I race past.

Most of July and August were spent in a great deal of pain in my hips. Many people called it an IT band issue. However, IT stretches didn't help. I discovered the magic of an ice bath late in the season, thanks to a friend at work, which brought a lot of relief after workouts, but I was still having problems sitting for long periods. For a while, I even thought I was having problems with my glutes.One night, my wife was giving me a deep tissue massage to the back of my legs, and she hit the painful spot precisely. She made the comment, "Y'know, that muscle is right next to your sacrum." That night, I Google'd "Sacrum muscle cycling pain" and found something called the Piriformis muscle, and Piriformis syndrome. To make a long story short, it is a very common issue in cycling, and there's some great stretches to fix it, which helped immediately. So now that I have it under control, I'm ready to start laying down some base miles for the winter.

Recently, I've been riding very lightly on the road, doing a little mountain biking, and even some work at the BMX track. Riding bikes is so much fun, that it gets hard to limit it to just one discipline sometimes. I'm looking forward to racing next season, and I'll probably focus on crit's, as it seemed to be what I did the best in.

Can-Am Games: Road Race

The 43 mile Road Race was held on the last day of competition for us. I figured it was going to be tough. I was really starting to get stiff from the 3 previous days of competing, and this was going to be the most grueling. Not only that, some of the competitors had skipped the Street Sprints the day before, so I figured they were going to be more rested. The course was on a loop that was about 14 miles or so long, with mostly rolling hills. Except for one hill...it climbed about 200 feet within about a half mile. Even before the race started, there were talks throughout the parking lot of people setting up their attacks for that hill. There were also a couple of nice, long straight-aways, so I was hopeful that the wind wasn't too strong.

Once we got started, the first lap went by about how I figured. There were a few early "moves" to try to separate the group, and some trial-and-error tactics that people were doing to see what the field was going to respond to, etc. I have to admit that the big hill didn't pose nearly as much of a problem as I thought it was going to for me. Dennis and I worked together off and on, and positioned ourselves in the front group. On the second lap, the hill still wasn't much of a problem, but Dennis and I knew that one of the other groups were saving an attack for the final lap on that hill. We stayed in the front group, but then there was a solo breakaway that went up the road. Luckily, that rider wasn't in our category, so we didn't even bother to try to organize a chase. At the beginning of lap 3, we approached "The Big Hill". We knew this was when the big attack from one of the other riders was going to happen. Dennis looked at me and said, "This is gonna hurt". I chuckled, and agreed...but I had no idea how right he was. Halfway up the hill, the attack came, and a few riders accelerated to stay with it. At the time, my heart rate was low, and I was feeling good, so I pressed hard on the pedals to try to go with them. When I did, it felt like a lightning bolt struck my left leg and went from my groin, all the way to my ankle!! It was the worst pain I'd ever felt on the bike. I almost came to a stand-still halfway up the hill. I thought I was going to have to get off my bike, as the entire group passed me. As Dennis came by, he asked if I was alright, but there was nothing he could do to help. I thought I was done, for sure. I looked back, and saw the support van coming up the hill. I knew that if I wanted to stay with the leaders, I'd have to make it up the hill before the van did. I slowly moved my leg around with the pedals, and the pain slowly subsided. I managed to catch back up to the group by the top of the hill, where I could draft and take a little break for a while. Thankfully, it was just a temporary problem!

As we came into the final few miles, I looked around the group and began to calculate my final strategy. I knew that in an all-out sprint for the line, there weren't many riders in the group that I could beat.  I also knew that most (if not all) of the other riders in my group were NOT in my class, which meant that I already had a good chance at placing well in the standings. Since most of the guys in the group were in Dennis' class, I knew I had an opportunity to be a good teammate and support him and try to launch him for the sprint. With about a mile and a half or so to go, I positioned myself at second wheel, letting the guy in front of me pull me along for a few minutes. With a little less than a mile left to go, I looked back and locked eyes with Dennis. Then, I put my head down and rocketed to the front. Once I was sure that Dennis had come with me, I just kept hammering. I was now committed, to go 100% and lead him out for the sprint. My legs were numb, and I couldn't breathe! I glanced down at my computer, and I was pulling at almost 32mph, and 188bpm!!! Just as I was ready to sit up, Dennis took off around me..in an all-out sprint for the line. I yelled as loud as I could, "GO DENNIS!! GO! GO! GO!" As I fell back through the group, I looked up and noticed that he had a few bike lengths lead over the rest of the bunch. Once I realized that he was going to cross the finish line first, I began to celebrate with my arms in the air, yelling at the top of my lungs! It was a perfectly executed team move, and it worked flawlessly. We had both done our jobs, and it payed off BIGTIME! We both earned gold medals in our classes for our performances, and so had Ramon earlier. It was a great ending to a great week of racing!

Can-Am Police and Fire Games 2010: Street Sprints

I had no idea what to expect for the street sprints. I'd never done it before, and I'm not usually much of a sprinter. The event consisted of a 500m section of road that had "lanes" set up for 300m. After that, the entire road was open for you to use for the final 200m, which meant that you were pretty much getting up to speed for the first section, then using strategy for the second part where you could draft, or try to breakaway, etc. There would be 3 heats for points for the overall win.
It was hot. The temp gauge on my truck said 96 degrees, and there were reports of 85% humidity. I was disappointed to learn that we had several "no shows" in my category, which meant that there was only 2 of us competing against each other. However my competitor just happened to mention during conversation that he was a Cat 2 USAC racer! Psychological warfare, maybe, but it may have worked to his disadvantage. I told myself that I would have to work my hardest and exert 110% effort to stay competitive against him. Which is exactly what I did.
Lining up in the starting gates, we were side-by-side when the first whistle blew. Off we went! At the end of the lanes, I purposely hesitated for a moment, letting him pull ahead of me. I tucked in behind him, drafting for about 100m. on the final 100m, I launched around him and sprinted hard for the win. I was excited...I had just out sprinted a Cat 2 in an event that I'd never done before! On the way back to the starting gates, he stated that he was disappointed because he didn't realize that we could draft each other, etc. I thought, "It's not my fault that you didn't take advantage of the same race strategy that I did..." however, when we lined up for our second heat, I figured that I didn't want him to say that I only won because I was sneaky. So, I figured that I would pace myself coming down the lanes, and then stay beside him until he was ready to turn up the heat, and try to out-sprint him man-to-man. At the whistle, down the lanes we went again. I did exactly what I wanted to do; I stayed beside him, and when he stood up to sprint, I hammered for the finish line beat him again!!! My heart rate went into the 180's as I crossed the finish line. This time, on the way back to the starting gates, my competitor was complaining again. "That sucked" he said, "I dropped my chain when we stood up to sprint." I could see where this was going. I'd beaten him twice and he'd complained, and had an excuse each time. Okay, I thought, we're going to settle this man-to-man. When we got back to the starting gates, he was loudly chatting with a friend of his, complaining about his supposed mechanical problem (which I never saw or heard, by the way). When he was finished with his conversation, I quietly said, "I'll tell you what...this time, when they blow the whistle, you and me go at it...100% drag race. No drafting, or bullshit. We'll just go ALL OUT for the finish line." "OK", he said. We lined back up in the gates, and I knew that this was it...I'd have to throw everything I have left into the pedals, because this time he's coming with it. The whistle blew. I slammed my strength into the pedals and down the lane I went. I had tunnel vision: all I could focus on was the end of my lane, and beyond that: the finish line. At the end of the lane, he was about a half bike length ahead of me. With about 150m to go, I stood up and went as hard as I could, holding NOTHING back. I saw myself start to pass him, so I tried EVEN HARDER! As I approached the finish line, I was a few lengths in front of him, and I saw him sit up...but I just kept hammering!! I had  beaten him fair-and-square...head to head. Another Gold medal!
Dennis and Ramon both earned silver in their events, keeping the ball rolling for CRFP Cycling, with medals in every event!

Can-Am Police and Fire games 2010: Criterium

I was excited and nervous for the criterium race. All year, I've been racing crits well, but I knew there would be some strong guys at the Can-Am games. My best finish prior to the games was a 3rd place podium at the Grandview Grand Prix a few week prior. The good part about the crit at the games was that we'd gotten word that the organizers were combining some of the fields, but would still grade the finishers separately. This meant that Dennis and I could work together, but not compete against each other for medals, since we were in different categories.
The course was tight. It was a 1 mile loop, but turn 3 was a nasty little turn into a small alley, which also went up hill. If that wasn't bad enough, there was a concrete curb on one side and a concrete water drain on the other side! Dennis' advice was for us to be in front of the pack going into that turn, so we wouldn't get caught in the confusion of the group going into that turn. When the start whistle was blown, I went straight to the front of the race! (Dennis told me to go up front, but he didn't say how far , so I went as far as I could!!) We navigated all the turns well, learning our lines along the way. On lap 2, Dennis moved around me and let me draft a little. I think this was also his way of reeling me back in so that I didn't stay out front and blow up too early. On the third lap, we starting letting some of the other racers/teams do some of the work up front. Over the course of the entire race, Dennis and I stayed at the front of the race, taking our turns pulling, and not letting anybody get away. On the final lap, going into turn 3 (the nasty one), Dennis pulled off the perfect move, and put himself into first place going up the hill. At the final turn, he hit the gas and sprinted away for the win. Coming around turn 4, I had a few guys around me, so I did the same and sprinted hard for the line, beating them out for a Gold as well. Earlier in the evening, Ramon had earned silver in his class. It was another successful day for CRFP Cycling!

Can-Am Police and Fire Games 2010: TT

I'd never TT'd before, so I didn't really know what to expect. The day before the race, I had gone to preview the 9 mile course with my teammate Ramon. The course was mostly flat with a few rolling hill thrown in. My bike was prepped with clip-on style aero bars, and my seat was moved to the forward position. Instead of "holders" (somebody holding your bike, while you clipped into the pedals), we had metal gates to lean on. I entered the gate, got a few last minute words of advice from Ramon, and off I went! The last thing that Ramon said to me (in his Puerto Rican accent) was, "Remember...leave it all out on the course. Don't save ANYTHING for tomorrow, just concentrate on TODAY." Hammering down the first straightaway, I managed to keep the bike around 27mph for the first couple miles. After a few quick turns, it was onto the back side of the course, where the hills were. I was breathing heavy, and my heart rate was in the 170's, BUT my legs weren't going numb yet, so I kept pushing. I turned onto the final stretch, which was about a 1.5 mile long straightaway, where I dialed it up a little further. This is when I started to really feel the effort in my legs. I considered backing off the power a bit, when I remembered what Ramon said to me: "Don't save ANYTHING for tomorrow...", so I kicked it up even further! When I saw the finish line, I pushed my legs until I couldn't see straight anymore! After crossing the finish line, I couldn't help but laugh out loud at how much fun the TT was! I was laughing, hurting, and struggling to breath; all at the same time! It was incredibly enjoyable! I knew my time, but didn't get the results until the following day at the criterium. My effort had earned a Silver medal! My teammates, Ramon and Dennis, both earned Gold!

Grandview Grand Prix Criterium

On Saturday, 7/24, I took a 3rd place finish at the Grandview Grand Prix Criterium. From the start, I placed myself at the front of the pack, settling into a rhythm, around the top 5 throughout the technical course. With 2 laps to go, I followed an attack when 2 riders jumped off the front and separated from the field. I found myself isolated, just of the back of the leaders for half a lap, but picked up the chase group, and worked to reel the front of the race back in. In the bunch sprint for the line, I finished strong for a spot on the podium.

Tour of Tucker County Road Race 5/29/10

The Tour of Tucker County road race is listed by Velo News as one of the top ten hardest races in the country. It definitely lived up to it's legend. Over 34 miles, the course climbs about 5,000 vertical feet, and by the end I felt completely wasted.

A teammate and I rolled into the parking lot for registration about 2 hrs prior to the start of the race. After we picked up our packets, we pre-drove the course, and got back just in time to get dressed and fill our bottles. The hill leaving the registration area was deemed UNSAFE to ride down, so we had a neutral roll-out to a starting point. On the way down the hill, it was SO STEEP, that people's wheels were heating up enough to blow out their tires!! By the time we made it to the starting line, the Cat 4/5 wheel car was completely out of spare tubes and CO2 canisters!!

The race started pretty uneventfully, and we made our way towards the hills. Ryan (teammate) and I stayed somewhere around the front 1/3 of the field. About 3 miles in, we reached the first major hill. From bottom to top, the hill was about 7.5 miles long. I thought Ryan had popped about 1/4 of the way up the hill, so I decided to maintain my pace, and lead a small chase group up the hill. A few miles up the hill, Ryan came flying past me, pulling me and the rest of my group the rest of the way up!! Once atop the first mountain, Ryan and I worked together, pulling a group of 8 about 20 miles through the race. It was frustrating at times, that nobody else was willing to come up and share the workload....but such is racing, I suppose.

Everything went well for us through the rolling section of the course, including a kick-ass downhill that lasted for a mile or so (I love carving through high-speed turns!!). We stayed strong, and led all the way to the final, 4 mile climb to the finish. On that hill, we saw a max grade of 34%, and sustained nearly 20% for almost a mile. The hill was brutal. In fact, it was obscene. At one point, I actually saw 2.7mph on my speedometer. Needless to say, I was cooked at the top. Ryan finished just in front of me (I think he waited for me...), so we took 26th and 27th place.

I was a little disappointed in my performance. I had hoped to finish a little stronger than I did. I think I'm going to take a few weeks, and train aerobically. I may be overtraining during my rides a little bit. Maybe next time, I can find a race with a few less hills!

Smoketown Airport Criterium

5/15/10 - I raced in the Smoketown Airport Criterium, in Lancaster County, PA. I entered the Cat 4/5 field, and it was the first time that I hadn't raced strictly Cat 5. We started out on a neutral lap around the runways, being paced by a nice, shiny red corvette. For the lap being "neutral", I can say that it's the closest I've ever been to being taken out by another rider. Some idiot came across 3 other riders, and basically "body checked" me in the middle of the turn. I have no idea how we managed to stay upright. I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but that's why you're supposed to "hold your line" in a turn...
Once the neutral lap was finished, the racing was underway, and was fast! There was an "S" turn at the beginning of the back side of the runway, on the fast side of the loop, then we went all the way to the end of the runway into a sharp, 180 degree curve, then back up the other side to the other 180 degree turn, completing the loop. On the backside of the runway, we'd get up to about 30-35 mph, then slow for the turn. The bike that I'm currently riding (Kestrel Talon) handled the corner's better than I'd expected, so I was usually able to hold a decent amount of speed into, and coming out of the turns. Coming up the front straight away was WINDY (15mph winds), so as long as I could come out of the turn well, we'd bunch up into a tight pack and head up to the top turn. The racing was fast and fun, and as usual there were small attacks here and there, and jocky-ing for position. My only rule for myself, was to not get caught moving backwards through the field, like I felt in my last crit (at RIR), when I found myself off the back, and in the wind by myself. Everything worked well, and I feel like I conserved energy where I could. Towards the end of the race, with about 5 laps to go, the field started to split apart. I found myself strung out, somewhere behind the main group, but with about 7 other bikes around me. I took it upon myself to talk it up a bit with the other riders, and organized a chase group to reel the peloton back in. This worked extremely well, and within 3 laps, we had latched back on, passing several riders along the way and finished just behind the main group. The picture above is me leading the chase group, going out to catch the main field.
Overall, I finished 36th (out of 75) in the mixed field, but took 9th place for Cat 5. I'm very pleased with that performance. Each race this year has gone a little better each time. My next race is the Tour of Tucker County in 2 weeks, which is billed as one of the top 10 hardest races in the country. It has several sustained climbs over several miles. I'll make sure to blog about it after the race.

Oakley Customer Service Issue

Recently, I'd been shopping for new sunglasses. I've worn Oakley sunglasses almost exclusively since 1994. The optics, fit, and styles have been unrivaled, in my opinion. I've currently been rocking my Half Jackets for about 5 years, and last year I bought a new set of XLJ lenses for them (previous frames include Frogskins,
M Frames, Fives, Minutes, Twentys, and Square Wires). I've always been 100% satisfied. I've also always bought from various retail locations.

This time, while shopping around, I surfed a few different manufacturer's websites. Other brands that caught my eye were Rudy Project and Smith. My stipulations for my purchase this year were simple: I wanted full frame coverage (I'm not happy with my Half Jackets for cycling), they had to have rubber nose pieces (to prevent sliding down my face while in the drops), and they had to look good. When I went to Oakley's website, the new Straight Jackets (white chrome with red iridium lenses) immediately caught my eye. As soon as I had a chance, I stopped by, or called every sunglasses store I could think of, trying to find them. At the very least, I tried on different frames to see which ones fit my narrow face. NOBODY had the white chrome Straight Jackets. Finally, stopping by a retail store in the mall, I KNEW that the Straight Jacket frames fit me well, and decided to place an order directly through Oakley via their website.

I ordered late last Wednesday night. I payed extra shipping fees for 2nd Day Air via UPS. The order processed, and I got a confirmation email in the wee hours of Thursday morning. I used UPS' website to estimate my delivery. It showed that as long as the order shipped on Thurs., I should have my awesome, new sunglasses in my hands by the end of Saturday. Friday, I tracked my package via UPS, which showed that my package had been RESCHEDULED for a delivery date of Tuesday. DEFINITELY not the 2 day shipping that I had paid for. On Monday (today), I called Oakley customer service and explained to them my disappointment. The rep. explained to me that this was normal and, in fact, exactly what I had ordered. She explained that UPS does not deliver on Saturdays, and that even though my package shipped Friday (why didn't it ship Thursday...I ordered Wednesday?), Friday and Monday would be my transit days, and Tuesday was my delivery date. While I was on the phone, I went to UPS' website and explained to her that UPS originally showed my delivery date of Saturday, but later was updated and rescheduled to Tuesday. She still insisted it is the correct ship time.

I'm a rather non-confrontational person these days, so I didn't want to argue with her. Is it too much to expect my shipping costs to be refunded? Is this really how Oakley wants to do business? I wonder if I'd decided on the Rudy Project glasses, would their customer service say the same thing? I know the ship time doesn't seem like a monumental crisis, but I specifically paid for faster shipping, and didn't get it. I think Oakley can afford to refund my extra $9...after all, I paid $160 for the sunglasses.

Mt. Joy Road Race Recap

Today was a pretty short race. It was a little over 20 miles on a course with some nice, rolling hills. We did 4 laps, and gained about 2300 feet of climbing. With the exception of the 19% grade in the middle of the course, it really wasn't that bad. Since I've done rather poorly so far this year (38th and 31st), I figured I'd change my strategy. Previous to today, I was putting forth a pretty big effort right off the starting line, and blowing up a little over 10 miles in. Today, I figured I'd hold back a little, and try to stay comfortable in the pack, while making the other guys work for me.

When I got out of my truck this morning, it was only 42 degrees, and the wind felt every bit of 20 mph. Last week, I started writing my itinerary down on paper, so that I wouldn't forget to do things...like eat and warm up! I did this again today, and it worked well. After I warmed up on the trainer for 30 mins, I headed to the starting line, where we promptly waited around for 15 mins! Ugh! Finally, we got under way and started on the first lap. I stayed almost exactly in the center of the pack the entire first lap...and felt GREAT. Some guy jumped off the front and kept going. We only caught a glimpse of him when we began the second lap. He was gone. Lap 2 had some good accelerations and attacks, but again, I didn't want to respond with a counter-attack, I just wanted to sit in a draft (out of the wind), and conserve energy. This time, on the hills, the front half of the group accelerated, so I made sure I stayed with them (including the 19% grade!). By the end of the second lap, I was still feeling pretty good, so I moved up into the top 6, and hung out for a mile or so. The wind was pretty rough, and it seemed like the guys up front had the same idea as me, so people actually started to shuffle back into the pack, and I found myself out front. I pulled for about a half mile, then moved back into the pack myself. I didn't want to blow up in the middle of the third lap. A couple miles later, on the big hills, is when the major attacks started. I jumped with the front bunch, and stayed with them throughout the third lap, but once we started lap 4 (final lap), I could feel my legs started to pump up, so I backed off a little. The last thing I wanted to do at this point, was to get dropped so close to the end...especially since I had been so good about sticking to my strategy up to this point. There was a big attack in the hills this last time, and I didn't have the legs to go with it, so I kept my heart rate down, and picked up the next guy coming by. We worked together until the end, almost catching the lead group by the finish line. He sprinted better than I did at the end, so he finished 15th, and I finished 16th.  I'm definitely pleased with the results.

My next race is either going to be 2 or 4 weeks away. I haven't decided which. I'm going to train like a madman between now and then, though. I think I'm going to focus on intervals, as it's what I've been missing for a while.

Overall, today's plan worked. I didn't try to get out front right off the bat. I kept myself from blowing up too early, and sat back, but didn't let the front of the race get away from me. It was a pretty good end to a day that looked like the cold and wind was going to be a problem.

Morgantown Road Race (APRRS #1)

Today's race was another tough one. 4500 feet of climbing, with CRAZY winds. Immediately after the start, I jumped up front and stayed in 5th place for about 12 miles or so. This was a mistake. The entire time I was up there, my HR was around 180. Way too high. On the second climb, I couldn't keep it up anymore, and got dropped off the back of the pack, which is where I stayed. My legs were so dead, that on one of the climbs, I looked down and realized that I was going 4 mph! At least I can say that I finished the race, under my own power. I know, it's not as glorious as staying head-to-head with the competition, but after I realized that I wasn't going to finish with the group, it basically became a survival game. The wind was so strong, that I almost got blown sideways off my bike at the top of one of the mountains. I hate wind.

Next weekend's race looks a little easier. It's on a circuit, and less than half the length. I just need to learn to ride my own race, and not worry about trying to keep up with some of the other guys.

My training has changed dramatically, but is going extremely well. After getting DEMOLISHED at the first race of the season, I backed off of my training plan. It was becoming too cumbersome and a little too structured for my schedule right  now. Instead, I've decided to focus on simply riding as many miles as I can, and when I'm out, I concentrate on 2 things: FORM and POWER. I try to ride as hard as I can while maintaining my best form. If I go anaerobic while attacking a short hill, so be it. It's interval training, right?? When I'm on the flats, I work myself into a tempo and just put power to the pedals. Aside from that, I just try to go as fast as I can, for as long as I can. It seems to be working well so far.

Today, I started working a part time side job at a local bike shop: Eastern Panhandle Bicycles. They carry Specialized, Fuji, and Cannondale. They're also working on putting on a race/points series, and a team. It's a great shop, that seems to be run correctly. Should be a good time.

It's been a couple weeks since I wrote anything here. My riding has been amazing since my last race. In the past 2 weeks, I've ridden with teammates, friends, and even a Cat1 Pro. My next race is the Morgantown Road Race (APRRS #1) on 4/3. On the same day, a teammate of mine is heading South to do the Boone Roubaix in North Carolina. Hopefully we come back with some good results for the team. I know I'll be much more ready for this race than I was for the last one.

Today, we did about 40 miles in and around Washington DC, which was awesome! We FLEW down Macarthur Blvd, we kinda chilled through Georgetown (including riding past the steps where they filmed the famous scene in "The Exorcist"), then dodged some traffic in Southwest. Hopefully by next week, Hains Point will dry up a little bit, and the afternoon rides will commence. Supposedly it's a total drop-fest. Sweet.

Training, Training, Training

Well, after getting my ass dropped in the first race of the year, my training has come back into full swing. I have ridden more in the past week, than I did all winter. This week alone, I climbed around 13,000'. Today a few of us rode through the mountains of Berkeley County, WV. This was a great ride for me. Twice this week, I've had the opportunity to ride with people much better than me, which has been awesome. Today's ride included a Cat 1 Pro who made us all look silly, but was still fun to ride with. Hopefully, I can keep this trend going, and be well enough ready for my next race in April.

Race Report: Team Nature's Path Criterium @ Richmond International Raceway

Subtitle: Criterium Racing Can SUCK IT

Let me start by saying that for the past 2 months, the winter weather here has been terrible. If it wasn't laying down 2 feet of snow, we had 25mph winds. In the immortal words of Lewis Black, "It has been an utter dogshit winter." Going into today's race, I knew I wasn't physiologically prepared. Since December, I've been on my bike maybe 5 times. My hopes were that everybody else was in the same boat that I was in. Here's what happened:

I met my friend Poon (yes, that's his name) early this morning, and headed down to the race track. I was excited to be racing on a bicycle at RIR, where NASCAR races are held. Arriving at the event totally lived up to my expectations. We got to drive through the tunnel, into the infield, and walk right out onto the track. Very cool. When we arrived, the women's class was underway, so we stood and watched them until they were finished. Next up were the juniors, ranging in age from 8yrs. to 18yrs. We watched them take off, then headed back to the truck to get dressed. Obviously, I didn't judge my time well. By the time I got fully dressed, put my bike on the trainer, and inflated the tires, I only had about 5 minutes to warm up. This was a pretty big error. Ideally, I wanted at least 30 minutes. Next, we lined up at the start and got underway. Let me say here, that the wind was atrocious. However, since the track is shaped in an oval, we went about 30mph on one side, and around 15-20mph on the other! This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, though, because it meant that anybody trying to break away would just get caught once we turned into the wind. For the first few laps, I found myself on the inside of the track, which made it nearly impossible to make any significant passes. I passed a handful, but ended up getting passed by the same few once we slowed down in the wind. It was like an accordian: we would spread out, then bunch up, then spread out, then bunch up. About half way through the race, I had worked my way to the outside, and made a pretty good jump to the front, finding myself looking at second place. I knew that once we turned into the wind, I'd be in trouble without anyone to draft in front of me, so I worked my way back into the pack. All in all, things went well throughout most of the race. There was great communication in the group, and I didn't notice any rude or obnoxious riding. With 3 laps to go, I wasn't paying attention, and fell off the back of a fast break away. Somebody (wayyyyyy strong) jumped from the back, all the way to the front, and kept going. The rest of the field followed. "No problem", I thought, "I'll just catch back up when they slow down, when they hit the wind." Well, the problem was, that they NEVER slowed down!! Once I came around the turn, and saw the group pulling away, I made an all-out effort for about 30 seconds, before realizing that I wasn't making any progress in the wind, and the group was steadily disappearing. Oops. A pretty rookie mistake, to get caught not paying attention, and get dropped that quickly.

You can imagine how the remaining couple laps went. Since I had lost the back of the peloton, I had nobody to help me work through the wind and it wasn't long before my lungs couldn't keep up with my legs. At that point, I just told myself that I WOULD NOT QUIT, and that if nothing else, I was going to finish this race on my own. Which is exactly what I did. Dead last. I suppose the silver lining in this story is that by being as far back as I had gotten by the finish, I missed being in the massive crash at the end, which sent 3 riders to the hospital via ambulance. I can finally say that I finished a bike race without crashing! (I crashed in my last 2 XC mountain bike races, and flatted in my first road race last fall.)

Lessons learned:

1. Train, train, train. I was ill-prepared, and I knew it.

2. Nutrition. In the excitement, I had forgotten to eat some simple carbs prior to starting the race. Breakfast wasn't sufficient, either, and was about 4 hrs prior to my start. I had also forgotten to take my dose of Sport Legs, which is a supplement that buffers lactic acid.

3. Allow enough time to warm up. Duh.

4. Pay attention. Although all breaks are not important, when the entire field jumps...I'll go with them, and quickly!

Wow, it's been a crazy winter so far...

With back-to-back blizzards only a week apart, plus another 20" of snow prior to that...and countless days with 20+mph winds, I'm estimating that my training is about 6 weeks behind. I've tried to stay somewhat in shape on the trainer and rollers, but honestly, some days it's pure torture. Yesterday was the first day I've ridden outdoors in about 3 weeks.

Last week's race was canceled due to weather (no surprise there), but this week's race is still a go. It's the Richmond International Raceway Criterium put on by Team Nature's Path. It is on a 3/4 mi. car track, and should be fast and smooth. I'm definitely looking forward to it.

Well, we got about 8" of fresh snow on the ground...again. It's been a difficult year to try to train outside. The next snow storm is due to arrive in another 2 days as well. It's getting pretty cumbersome to train indoors, but with the race season kicking off in 2 weeks, I'll have to try to stay focused...

Lots of wind and climbing

Yesterday's ride was crazy. There were sustained wind speeds of 31mph, with gusts up to 38mph. We rode for 2 hours, only managing 25 miles. To be fair, we did climb 2 mountains, for a total of 3316' of climbing. At one point, it was all I could do to maintain a little over 8mph on a flat.

With all the climbing, I discovered that my new double setup (standard 53x39 crankset with 12-25 cassette) actually works ok. I was able to keep up with a friend who was climbing on a compact setup with a 12-27 cassette. I think my muscles are beginning to adapt to the heavier pedaling, but at this point I believe I'm having a cadence issue. My average cadence yesterday was 65!! Last year, most of my rides were averaging between 85-90. I may switch to a 12-27 cassette if I can find one cheap.

The past week has been great for finally getting back outdoors. I thoroughly tired myself out today, after working a 24 hr shift, being awake since 0100,  getting off at 0700, then coming home to ride for 2.5 hrs at 0830. I did EM (endurance miles), which for me is a sustained HR of 154, with 50 min. of a "race simulation" pace. Tomorrow calls for a recovery ride, which is good,  since it's going to be POURING rain. I'll just jump on the rollers for an hour or so. I have to say that this build period is difficult. The end of December, and the beginning of January were such bad weather that it effectively set me behind schedule about a month. I'm going to see how the rest of this month goes, before deciding whether to add the month back into my training plan.

Basic Exercise Physiology....In My Own Words

It seems lately that I've been explaining to others many of the things I have learned over the last 2 years. First, I read a few books with the intent of being successful with XC mountain bike racing, then I read books with triathlons in mind. After having shoulder surgery, I decided to pour most of my free time into learning to become the best competitive road cyclist that I could be. This, coupled with my fascination for science, has led to somewhat of an obsession with exercise/athletic physiology for me. So, with that said, here's what I have to share:

Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Performance

Most athletes know the terms aerobic and anaerobic. Most of them can probably even tell you that aerobic exercises require the use of oxygen, and anaerobic exercises don't use oxygen. But what does this really mean? It's simple. Most people associate the word oxygen with the act of breathing. Respiration. Moving air in and out of your lungs. For the sake of this discussion, let's say that we're talking about things that happen at the cellular level...that is, metabolic respiration. Moving oxygen in and out of your cells. During metabolism (another word that we've all heard), substances inside our bodies are being "broken down" into things that we can use as energy/fuel. I like the term fuel, as it implies that my body is about to do some work! So, just remember that when we are aerobic, our cells are able to use oxygen to help metabolize substances (mainly glucose) to provide fuel for our muscles to keep contracting (working). When we go anaerobic, the switch is flipped, and we begin using something called phosphocreatine (which is stored in the muscles), instead of oxygen, to make the fuel for our muscles. As far as this discussion goes, that's all you need to know about the terms aerobic and anaerobic.

The Heart Rate Discussion

When you ride your bike, the harder you pedal...the harder you breathe, right? Why? The answer, again, is simple. Your muscles are contracting harder/faster, which uses more fuel. In order to produce that fuel at the rate that you're asking (aerobically speaking, of course), you require more oxygen (remember....breathing at the cellular level). Your lungs take in more air, and the oxygen is filtered out and moves further into your body eventually making it to your cells. (Yes, I know there's more happening, but this is a simple discussion, remember?) Since it takes blood (specifically, hemoglobin) to transport the oxygen to your lungs, your heart beats faster to get it there. This is why heart rate provides a relatively good measure of the amount of work that your body is doing at the cellular level, in order to keep your muscles working.

So...how do I use heart rate to train/race smarter? (I thought you'd never ask!)

1. When our cells are working at a low-aerobic rate...consuming a relatively low amount of oxygen, athletically speaking...the primary fuel source is fat. So, in theory, you could ride until you had no more fat content in or around your muscles...0% body fat! (This isn't true, but for now, let's pretend it is). From an athletic performance standpoint, at this low heart rate, your body needs little more than oxygen and fat to keep going (maybe some fluids...!)

2. If we raise the level of intensity a bit, and perform at say...a high-aerobic rate...we begin to require more oxygen - and a different fuel source. Our bodies are looking to "sugar" for energy. Our muscles store about 90 minutes worth of usable glycogen as fuel. So, again, in theory...if we didn't consume any more sugar during exercise, at this level of intensity we could only perform for an hour and a half.

3. When you perform a massive amount of work on the bike, such as a "quick jump" or sprint, or a bold attack, etc...those are circumstances when you have the ability to truly go anaerobic (finally!). When you do this, you're breathing super heavy, aren't you? At this point, your cells are trying to make fuel faster than your body can supply oxygen for the amount of work that you're doing. To speak technically again for a moment, your body turns to ATP and creatine for fuel. You only have enough to maintain this monstrous performance for about 8-10 seconds!

Sometimes people talk about "Lactate Threshold". Lactate is a waste product that occurs as your cells make fuel. It's removed during normal blood circulation, much the same way that oxygen is delivered to the cells. Eventually, it makes it's way through the kidneys and is eliminated from the body via urine. Lactate Threshold (LT) is the point at which lactate is being produced faster than it can be removed from the muscles. The result is that rubbery, burning sensation during intense exercise (sprinting, attacks, heavy weightlifting, etc), eventually leading to the inability to work any longer. This can also be measured as a level of heart rate. There are numerous field tests that you can do to determine this number. Joe Friel and Chris Carmichael both have fantastic ways of doing this (in my opinion). Both of those authors also provide methodology for determining the proper "heart rate zones" in which to train, in order to achieve certain desired results.

Note: Reaching lactate threshold and eventually developing the inability to work is NOT "bonking". Bonking signifies running out of fuel.

Now that you understand that, you can begin to realize some of the things that are important for endurance athletes to remember. Refueling the fuel tank before it gets empty, staying out of the anaerobic zone as long as possible, lowering your work effort when you have the chance to conserve fuel storage, to name a few.

Since I've been perfectly clear up to this point, let me confuse you a little...

Using heart rate as a training method is hugely beneficial. In response to endurance (aerobic) training, your body makes changes in order to be more efficient in using the extra oxygen. That's the most non-technical way to say it. Those changes don't occur overnight. They take some time. Also, some changes are heart rate specific. For example, mitochondria production and increased capillary beds are aerobic changes, that happen in lower heart zones. In contrast, lactate threshold training obviously cannot be done at low heart rates. I'll refrain from posting the zones and how to obtain them for now.

..........So there you have it. A simple explanation of some basic exercise physiology. Of course, this is just the tip of the iceburg, there is as much information out there, as you're willing to go find. Please, feel free to leave any comments or questions about anything I've said. As always, I appreciate the "wave"!

*Here is the same writing, in PDF form.*

Well, the weather finally cleared (although, it was still pretty chilly for a few days), so I got some outdoor rides in. The only problem is, that I was stricken with bad luck! My second day out last week, I flatted twice, and ended up riding back to the car on my rim, as I was out of tubes. Then, my third day out, I ended up hurting my lower back. This is no doubt due to my attempt to adjust my riding position to be a little lower on the bars, but I've spent the last 3 days in pain. I'm going to readjust and try to get out again today.

Uh-Oh...

The weather finally let me ride outside today (barely). It was still sub-30 degrees with the windchill. This is the first time I've ridden my new double chainring setup outdoors. I'm worried that I may have chosen the wrong gearing. I completely got my ass kicked. Hopefully, it was just the 13 mph winds that were making things so difficult. There's a few other factors that may have influenced a poor performance, but the hills seemed pretty tough. I'll head out again tomorrow to see if I have different results.

Here's my current setup:

Chainring: 53x39
Cassette: 12-25

If the hills prove to be too much for my gearing, the easiest thing to do will be to get a new cassette...maybe 12-28. I'll update more tomorrow.

There she is....

Well, there's the beast. Hard to believe it's shed 4 lbs. from it since about 6 months ago! The only way to go lighter would be to change frames, and THAT'S not going to happen any time soon. The only thing not currently on the bike is the new brake pads for the carbon wheels. I'd like a new stem, too, but that can wait.

Bike is ready to go!

Tonight, I got my bike fitted with my new Ultegra 6700 (Hollowtech II), double setup. It only took one extra trip to the bike shop, when I realized that I had previously ordered the wrong size derailleur clamp. So I'll be running a 53x39 up front, and 12-25 in the back. We'll see how well my legs hold up on the hills of West Virginia in the Spring!

Also, last night I attempted to glue my first tubular tire. This did not go well. I ended up taking the tire off the rim, and starting over. I'm working on stripping all the glue off the rim (including the old glue from the original owner), so that I can have a smooth surface for gluing next time. Why can't anything be easy??

My first official race license/race season

Yesterday, I officially purchased my first USAC license. Is it weird that it feels good to be an actual Cat 5? I'll list my tentative race schedule below. The Tradezone series starts 2/14, and I'm sure it will be freeeeezing, but I'm eager to start earning some upgrade points.

2/14 Tradezone series #1
2/21 Tradezone series #2
2/28 Tradezone series #3
3/7   Tradezone series #4
3/15 Tradezone series #5
3/20 Vint Hill Classic #1
3/28 Tradezone series #6
4/3   Morgantown Road Race (APRRS #1)
4/10 Tour of Walkersville
4/24 New Martinsville Road Race (APRRS #2)
5/1   Murad Road Race
5/15 Poolesville Road Race
5/21 Iron Mike TT
6/5   Tour of Tucker County (APRRS #4)
6/19 Washington County Stage Race
6/20 Washington County Stage Race
7/3  Barbour de Tour (APRRS #5)
7/11 Capital Criterium
7/17 Giro di Coppi Road Race
7/24 Lost River Road Race
8/14 Highway to Heaven/Hill Climb Championships
8/16-8/20 CAN-AM Police/Fire Games
8/21 Appalachia Visited Road Race (APRRS #6)
9/11 Rockville Twilight Crit

I would like to be most competitive in the APRRS (Appalachian Road Race Series), as it will likely be the most difficult, and is also in West Virginia, so it sorta has that "hometown" feel to it...even though most races are 2-3 hrs away. The rest of the season, with exception of the CAN-AM games, is mainly for move-up points and experience.