Tour of KC

No cat 4 race on Friday so i raced Saturday and Sunday.

Both days were brutally hot and humid, although the sun was behind a cloud on Sunday.

The Tuesday prior i had a great ride with Pot Pie. Went for around 2.5 hrs and i felt like i could sprint out of the saddle the entire ride. Took Wednesday off, rode very slow for 45 min on Thursday and sat on the couch Friday. Showed up kind of late to the race on Saturday and then lined up in the back. Couldn't get clipped in and then was really at the back. Not the ideal race prep.

we had about 50 riders and the course is hard. Not a big rectangle where you can just sit in and assume you will stay with the main group.

On lap 3 or 4 i looked up and about 10 of the guys in front of me were in various stages of being dropped. It was a scary sight. i jumped around to try and catch back up with the group but it was tough going. i dont have much strength plus the longest strait section of the course was a head wind. Shawn from Big D helped  and together the two of us almost made it back, as in we were about 25 meters away... then i blew up. Then i quit. i raced for 13 minutes. I should of kept racing but i was pissed.

Pot Pie had an amazing race and took 3rd. I believe thats his best finish on a road bike. Two other guys were off the front solo and his group that sprinted for 3rd was only about 8 guys.

Hard course.

Sunday

Got in a much better warm up today. only 35 minutes but it was a quality 35 minutes, plus i knew my effort yesterday, however short, would help me be ready for today.

I started towards the back but as soon as we went i started moving up. i was feeling good right away. A good warm up is key for me. For the last half of the race i was never outside the top 25 and usually in the top 15. That was good because the race was sketchy. with 2 to go i was 2nd wheel but starting to get a little winded. Everyone jammed the first turn on the last lap but i got thru fast around the outside and was sitting about 5th. Then on the back side i didn't have the extra gear necessary and went from 5th to 24th by the time i crossed the finish line.

That seems to be my story this year. I'm a 4 speed in a 5 speed race.

Still time to change it, though.

X took 2nd in the 3/4 race on Sunday. She pretty much sprinted for the last 1/2 lap to catch the solo girl who had been in second. It was good catch a glimpse of the old X back in action.

good weekend

"It's a think piece...

...about a mid level band struggling with their own limitations in the harsh face of stardom."

As said by Philip Seymour Hoffman playing Lester Bangs in the movie Almost Famous.



I feel like this quote describes me and my bike racing career, except im not in a band, im a mid level cat 4 racer. And im certainly not facing stardom. You get the idea.

See you at Tour of Lawrence!



"Do you take drugs?"

"No."

"Smart Kid."

Tulsa Tough

Raced cat 4 on Saturday and Sunday.

Had a blast.

Day 1.

This is my 5th year of racing but i've probably raced less so far this year than any other year except my first. X and i started looking for a house in Feb and we bought one in May and moved in shortly there after. That takes up a lot of time.

But i've been determined to ride throughout all that.

I will ride my bike.

And thank god for that because when the race official mentioned, as i was on the start line for Saturdays race, that we would be racing for 55 minutes... i did a double take. 55 minutes!?!? That's long for a cat 4 crit. Plus there are a 100 guys in this race.

I was worried but in the back of my mind i knew i had been riding consistently since Jan 1. That has to count for something. Plus, and this has turned into a big plus recently, i've gotten a lot smarter at racing. I still make stupid mistakes but less frequently.

Perhaps the smartest thing i did all day was line up on the front row. They were forcing all 100 riders to stage and enter the course thru one gate about 3 ft wide. Instead of doing that i lifted my bike over the barrier then hopped over. It worked and i easily rolled to the front row.

I felt like crap all race and knew the most i could hope for was a pack finish. I almost quit around minute 25 but felt a little better after i got thru that bad spell. Later a crash forced me to hop the curb and ride the grass for a second and that really winded me. All race i was totally focused on being out of the wind and riding as smoothly as possible. i never put in any effort that i didn't have to. Not glamorous but it's what i had to do. A few times a gap would open up but i just kept it steady, hoping the group would slow or i could use a corner to catch bath on. That was kind of fun, trying to keep it just under the red but clawing for every last bit.

With one lap to go i got dropped. maybe i could have really pushed and finished with the group but i was at the very end of the pack and was already satisfied with my race. plus i personally witnessed three crashes and i didn't want anything to do with that.

finished 42nd, 42 seconds behind the winner.

drank some beers at the sound pony, great spot.

Day 2

got a 2nd row starting spot but took forever to clip in and was at least halfway down as we hit the hill. i'll blame that on new pedals. Proceeded to pass guys every time up the hill and slowly improve my positioning throughout the race. i was climbing pretty well. Missing that pedal was killer because the acceleration around the last corner was hard and im sure it was much easier up front. At one point i crested the hill just in front of Pot Pie, that was reassuring since he is riding way stronger than me.

climbing is my least worst cycling skill and it was on full display today.

A quick note on climbing cry baby hill: it's totally awesome. Even though we're slow cat 4's there is still a decent crowd, music blaring, water spraying, people yelling.... it's unlike any other climb (or race) I've ever done. And you do the climb like 15 times! Just thinking about it now puts a smile on my face. I had a bunch of folks cheering for me, that helps.

With 3 laps to go i was sitting around 20th and feeling okay. Then on the last lap i made a stupid mistake and let a gap open up as we approached the hill. I decided to drop both my bottles for weight (one was an insulated bottle filled with ice water that i was pouring on my neck every lap, felt great) and i was too casual about it because thats when the gap opened up. I hit the hill fast and tried to big ring the whole thing to make up for it but i kind of blew up at the top and lost any chance of catching the back end of the pack. i bet a lot of folks big ring the whole thing but at the moment im a spinner, not a masher. I did out sprint two dudes who took a horrible line around the final corner but also got out sprinted by another straggler at the line.

Finished 29th. 12 seconds behind the leaders.

This was my 4th attempt at this race and my first finish.

Tulsa tough is very very fun.

I'm still here, but i've moved.

X and i moved into a house. Just like Ferris Bueller's parents in Ferris Buelle's Day Off... we bought it.

I would post pictures except the cord that goes from the camera to the computer is in a box somewhere. It's a great house.

X and i are going to race Tulsa Tough this weekend. The last race we did was the crit at Tall Grass so by the time i take the start line Saturday in Tulsa it will have been 33 days since my last race. I have been riding a fair amount so im not that nervous. We'll see soon enough if i should be.

It woudl be great if the legs are there because i want to have some fun this weekend. It would also be great to finally finish that Sunday race.

2010 - dropped after mechanical (would have been dropped regardless)
2011 - mechanical
2012 - crashed out
2013 - ?

i'll try to find that cord.

Catching up post 5 of a lot... Bone Bender Mountain Bike Race

Thank god i attended that pirate race, one because it totally blew my mind to how much fun you can have but also because it got me a little practice for Bone Bender. I needed it.

My Mountain bike has been neglected lately.

(This all happened back on April 14, 2013)

The weather was perfect for mountain biking as i drove out to Lawrence and upon pulling into the parking lot it was de ja vu. It seemed just like last year. Which was a good thing. Got the chance to catch up with some good folks and pretty soon it was time to line up. Up to this point i had done a good amount of line rides (almost none on my mtb bike, which i would soon discover was a bad Bone Bender training plan) so i was feeling confident.

They say go and we go.

The start is fast and fun. we tool around on some pavement and in some fields to get the 200 plus people sorted out and after five to ten minutes we hit the single track. I was far enough towards the front that i ran into very little stop and go traffic. After 15 minutes of single track it was smooth sailing.

30 minutes in i was thinking "your doing great, the pace is fast but you seem to be within yourself". 10 minutes later a little voice was in the back of my head was saying "engine approaching overheating". Still, those first 45 minutes were really fun. i was riding close to Birch and Douglas so it was just like a ride in the woods with your friends.

Unfortunately the race was 3 hours, not 45 minutes, and at about minute 46 i started to go a lot slower. Now i'm going to give an excuse.

Excuse: I rode too hard for too long the day before.

There, i said it.

I'm sure riding practically zero mountain bike trails in preparation for a three hour mountain bike race on what are the hardest trails i've ever done had absolutely nothing to do with my mediocre performance and it was all do to my effort the day before.

So i struggled for the rest of the race and for the last hour (maybe the longest hour of my life) i walked numerous technical sections because i felt like i could seriously hurt myself if i didn't. The cramps were bad.

I believe i finished 15th in my age group. Cant remember how many of us there were. In the human category i totally got my a** kicked.

but it really didnt bother me much. Hanging out after the race was great. drank a couple strong beers, caught up wiht friends, ate some donuts, talked some trash.

Life is good.

(Photo courtesy of Roger.)

Catching up post 4 of a lot... Night Time Pirate Mountain Bike Race

Before i start i'd just like to mention that as i type this, on May 2nd, it's snowing.

crazy.

Anyway...

The pirate race took place back in late March, on a much nicer day than today. Some times things are just meant to be.

This is the "catching up" post i've been looking forward to the most. Some events transcend awesome and take you to a place you never knew existed, this was one of those events.

Okay, that might be a bit of exaggeration but this race was f*cking sweet!

I could easily get too wordy on this one so i'll exercise restraint and give this short re-cap before letting the pictures tell the real story:

Bicycles and the people who ride them are totally kick ass and the Pirate and his crew are leading the way.

(p.s. even through i dont have photographic evidence, i totally rode that narrow plank / bridge on 3 of the 4 laps. For someone who doesn't ride his mountain bike too much i'm pretty proud of that.)