Two Wheels and Other Things

Bike - BMC SL01 51-35 (q-rings) x 11-21  Ksyrium SL wheels

Course - Carnation Circuit.  I forget how many laps and I forgot to start my computer.  Duuur :-).  Almost dead flat, awful farm roads (which actually made the race exciting) and some sketchy riders.

Ride food - 2 bottles of water, bag of shot blocks (thanks Brad!)

Breakfast - 1 large bottle of exceed, bagel cream cheese and turkey

For those of you who read regularly, you know I’m out of shape.  WAY out of shape.  I ended last season at 140 pounds and weighed in last night at 169.5.  My goal lately has just been to FINISH a race since I took those two months off and really I haven’t had much luck.

From the second we started racing I felt the best I ever have.  It took every ounce of mental energy NOT to try for the sprint points halfway through.  I stayed pretty much at the front the whole time but on the last lap got caught up with a few folks in turn 3, almost put in the ditch with Ed Ewing but was able to move up at 1k.  Turn 4 came and went and I was still in the race but decided not to sprint.  Who sprints for last?  Looked behind me and saw 20-25 riders and new I was back.

Best part?  I could have gone harder. DAMN! All of the team (especially the new TPR team!) did very well.  I have probably the best teammates around.  Supportive, successful and great friends.  Great work today guys!

Best race of the year. Too bad it was the last of the season :-)

Some of you have emailed me asking how Dustin is. For those who don’t know and are living under a rock, D-man broke a couple fingers in a tumble last weekend down in the Portland crit.

Did I say tumble? Really he’s lucky nothing else broke according to this video…

You can see Greg get a little roughed up too and Tony zooms on through.

Anyway, Dustin had surgery and is now wearing a mitten in 90 degree weather.

Dustin, I owe you a shot of water with a lemon.

:-)

Great race, just wished I had been in better shape for it :-)

I had 2 close calls… one of them is here-

Thanks to Bill Cooper from Second Ascent for the video.

The other happend on the same corner and a Wines guy went down RIGHT in front of me. Luckily I was able to ride over the top of him (sorry!) and ended up in the bar’s eating area on the side walk.

Great crowd, perfect course and big props to my teammates for laying the smack down. Always in the action always pushing the pace and making everyone hurt Greg walked away with second third place and we put 2 or 3 more in the top 10. Brad hit the pavement (with his GOOD wheels!)with a lap to go in perfect position, feel pretty bad for him. Hell win LWV3 though, that’s all I’m sayin’

Great job to the suppoprting shop Ubrdo. Those guys were fantastic!

Saturday we packed up Dustin’s and my car and rolled to Gig Harbor fore the LWV #2/ Gig Harbor Circuit Race.  Greg was planning to go back to back with the masters A/B and then the Cat 3 race.  Well, turns out he WON the Masters A/B race so the pressure was on to put him at the line in the 3’s.

One thing I have learned over the course of this year is that there are a lot of strong threes.  Speeds are up overall, more folks are coming out and throwing down some serious power.  At the same time though it seems that (1) there are a lot of whiny bitches racing now as well as (2) people just can’t handle their damn bike.

Listen, people are going to bump into you, it’s a fact of life.  Teams are going to block and not drag the pack up to their guy in the break.  DON’T sit there and shout, go around and make the race. There is a lot of bitching out there and it really needs to stop.  You just look like a fool.

Anyway-

My race ended on the second lap while Brad and I were at the front hoping Greg  would get a little more distance on the pack.  As folks tried to come around us, I put a serious push to stay in the front 10 and then SNAP…  My chain flew off my bike and I racked my “man package” on the top tube as well as popping my hip a good one.  Man it hurt but I was able to keep everything upright. It was now a long walk back to the car.

So Greg caught the right break and ended up getting third and Brad, Dustin and Aaron all placed within the top 15.  Great finish for all except me of course.  Par for the season I guess.

Italian and former Giro winner Damiano Cunego went down hard 23k into the rolling 18th stage of the Tour de France and pulled a superman on chip-seal. 

 Although Cunego hasn’t had the tour a lot of people had predicted (including me, I put him on the podium) I can’t help but admire him as he pushed on through what must have been a butt-load of pain. 

“It’s a miracle I finished this stage,” said the Lampre rider, who came over the finish line with blood dripping from a wound under his chin and injuries to his chest and thorax.

Mad props to his teammates for sticking with him and helping him finish-

More of the story over at VeloNews.

Pictures from Graham Watson.

We like the pain.

Now.  Go Ride.

Home - Seward race - home  48 miles

Bike - BMC SL01 51-35 qrings x 11-21 ksyrium SL wheels

Ride Food - 1 bottle of water, 1 bottle of exceed, 1 bag of shot blocks

Today was a lot of fun and I felt pretty good, good enough even to go for the last prime but got dusted within the last 10 meters. My lungs are coming back and so are the legs so I think I’m ready for Sunday at the Des Moines Crit.  I was cramping up a bit on the way home but I think it was lack of food/ water.  I should have brought a large bottle with me.

 

Friday Night - Rosanna and I headed over to watch Friday night racing at the velodrome. Where else better to watch than the beer garden? We brought a little dinner and the lawn chairs and enjoyed a few hours of racing. I loaded pictures into the Jet City Velo Flickr linked on the side.

Saturday - Ro and I went out for a nice and easy spin on what turned out to be a pretty nice day. it was overcast but warm as we headed out east to Kirkland, stopping there for a few drinks downtown and then turned around. I felt good being back on the bike after being sick. Everytime I pushed myself though my coughing fits came on but I’m sure that was good though because I really need to get this crap out of my lungs. Nice 30 miles, did a few sprints and opened up the legs for my upcoming race on Sunday. When we got home we headed out for Lunch and ice cream at Husky Deli down the road from our house in West Seattle. I had an amazing Grilled chicken Ceaser Pita. On our way back we stopped off at the nursery and looked at the plants as we plan on changing the blah landscaping of our front and back yard. Dinner was at Chandlers Crab House on Lake Union with Evan and Tara. Fantastic time and great food capped off with a surprise visit by Two Buck Chuck (who played at our wedding) and they sang our first dance song for us “Crimson and Clover” It was awesome.

Sunday - Race day. 6 of us drove down to Boston Harbor in Olympia for the State Championship Circuit Race, Greg, Dustin, Tony, Brad, Jeff and myself. I had a great race here last year, Tony Brad and I pretty much owned it so I was looking forward to having a lot more teammates. Unfortunately my lungs just couldn’t take it. after two laps of us shooting off the front and attacking every chance we could get I was overwhelmed by my chest build up and couldnt breathe well. I started feeling dizzy and went from 3 wheel to mid pack to the back at the hill leading to the 1k sign. We had a guy in every break, and it worked netting us a 3rd place from Jeff Dunn in the three man break away with Dustin sprinting in for fourth, Brad 9th and Tony 10th. Fantastic day of racing even though I had to pull out. I knew I wouldn’t feel 100% but I am so happy we did so well as a team.

Tonight was my first race since Longbranch and my first crit in a month and a half. Boy I felt it.

Bike - BMC SL01 51-35 q-rings x 11-21 Ksyrium SSC SL wheels

Ride food - bottle of Exceed and 2 shot blocks

Seward Park - 25 laps

The first 10 laps were perfect, I was comfortable, up front and right on Dan H who I wanted to shadow as long as I could because I knew I wasn’t in shape I just wanted to see how long I could stay at the front of the pack. The first Prime hurt and then Dave did back to back to back primes. I was starting to hurt and not in the good way. My hamstrings started balling up and I felt my lower back start giving out and I knew I didn’t have much left. With 6 to go I pulled out and stretched my back and leg and jumped back in with 3 to go. I really wish I could have gone the whole race but it wasn’t good pain, I couldn’t have ridden through it. It was super to see all of the Byrne kits in the field!

After I got home Rosanna and I went to the batting cage and hit a few rounds and then played catch until the sun went down. It was nice to actually go outside! The weather lately has really sucked and I was getting a little stir crazy, this was what we both needed. I also found out that Rosanna and I still have our swings. I actually had a few flashbacks from when I was a kid. Dad and I out in the backyard tossing the ball, Me hitting grounders to Rosanna… it felt just awesome.

Thanks babe, I had a great time. :-)

In two weeks we will all make the drive down to our State Capitol, Olympia for one of (in my mind) THE toughest crit courses we do all year.  Lots of corners, varying grade, narrow back streets and usually a lot of bodies.  It’s fast, excitinf, brutal and pretty dangerous if it rains.

Last years weather was fantastic and I was feeeling super strong.  Tony B and I started well, stayed at the front and on the first Prime lap I was hoping to tow T-man to the line but took the VERY inside line on the last turn and nailed not just my pedal but the entire crank on the ground, lifting me up and flipping the bike 180 degrees.  I took out a guy from wines and Recycled and just missed getting run over.

So starts the pain fest.

I spent the ENTIRE race trying to get back on.I caught a group that fell off the back, worked with them for a lap or so and they would dissapear behind me.  I think the closest I got was about 50 meters until they were primed again and then I just couldnt make it up to them.

I know EXACTLY when this picture was taken and the feeling in my stomach that I wasn’t goin to make was growing.  up until this point I really thought I could do it.

Two things I took home with me on that day.

• Always, always, always take a lap.  you go down, you get a lap.
• When the body says no and the mind says yes, listen to the mind.