The Long Road

We all know the transition from one season to the next can be rough. The cold hampers ones motivation. The time off from racing can extend more then was intended and become an issue. There is the shorter daylight hours which demand one look at the wind trainer longer then a passing "you suck" thought and consider mounting the iron maiden. Soo lets see ....too long resting, too cold, and shorter days coupled with multi family events where the contest is to overfeed the most. One can easily understand why it is possible for someone to lose focus.
The upside of this, break in the cycle, is possibly better relations with loved ones and a more well deserved paycheck. Hypotheticals. I also believe this is a good time to decide on how your goals as a cyclist compare with the goals of the bunch you have linked up with over the past year or season (or whatever length of time really) .
If something feels forced it probably is. For example. I was interested in a new team to ride for in 2009 and The Bike Rack ( the shop not the team) seemed to be an appropriate business to try to strike up an arrangement with. I sent a letter stating goals and results and my desire to captain an elite team basicly...or try to begin one. I was unaware ,at the time, that the shop did not run the team and that they would be a seperate entity to deal with. (the team) Soo even though the shop was down,.. there was still the club which came off with a less then stoked perspective. I was circumnavigating usual routes and toes were stepped on I guess. Or whatever. My perspective ? Just trying to piece together something. theirs ? who is this clown.
Lets leave behind 2008 nostalgia and onto 2009 before thats in the past too. (as most readers realize I did race on the Bike Racks team last year so a treaty was drawn for a minute) Its December 2009 and almost over.( I did garner some NRC results..or procritseries points .. ) The DVR team is undecided. They have entangling red tape which is hard to see over. The shop is being patient but the idea is for me to push them. (the club to decide on something) At this point I am frustrated because the feeling of a forced relationship has not dissippated but rather grown. The two promising newly upgraded cat twos on the team/club went onto another squad and more help.
The bottom line here is help. We all need help. There is nothing wrong with asking for help. Unless you circumnavigate the powers that be.
( I will dig around for a good pic for this post..no promises but taking suggestions) Haymarket is booked. I have no idea where the restructuring of harley has led but it seems to still exist. (not an option 4 me) Jared suggested Richmond Pro but that is far away and seems like much volunteer time if possible. Kelly..? umm not sure but Baltimore aint close for training rides neither. Rick Norton is a hammer and he would be good to ride with again. ( Pedro, Nima, Rick, and me raced together on Evolution) Maybe Bear Dog llc will have to be a club and get sponsors who are positive 100 percent where their interests lie. I cant understand any reason why a team/club would want to isolate themselves to a certain category realm unless they are simply clandestine or reclusive. Spitefull could never be the case.

Is It War or Am I Just a Pussycat

Ok,...first before I do the cross post I wanna post a comment or two on another issue...poaching riders from other teams. The Battley guys are losing juice from one sponsor and reforming under another money endorser....cool good for em...They are a large group with overall dominance in the road racing scene here and also a player in national scale events. Not a surprise they got another sponsor. But one annoyance is my hearing of their trying to dislodge our up n comers who have proved their abilities and moved to 2 status. Now the Speculators have crossed lines and made offers ..or so I have heard. This is annoying to me. This core of riders does not need any more on their side. LAME. If these two teammates of mine on the Bike Rack, or just one moves, then thats on them and the pull can be strong. But, it seems early in the game for this miniscule roster to be pecked at by the powers that be.I have not pressed for facts but I am not impressed if this is true...Trying to build a small elite squad is tuff in such an environment.
Small ventilation process there. Ok Granogue...Faster pussycat!!!...Well..I dunno ? I was givin it all she had Scotty ! The Granogue cyclocross event was a new one on me. I was in the middle of the bunch at the start. I knew this to be foreboding with 100 plus entries participating. That I was there at all was good because the google directions were off ..no doubt . I was pinned and overdressed..stressed and anxious to get it over with....really. I saw very little enthusiasm in me at the idea of slogging in mud. There I was though.Pop and its off. Sprint sppeed hurtling towards rain and pain. I give way often in these few intial turns in the mud. Not good but tryin to meter the pain and not hit the trough below. Sortin and thinnin of the race ensues and I am losing ground...not very in shape and movement restricted by surplus gear...LAME. I was wishing for more gears for spinning and much more tread ...you know like a mountain bike...really. Right soo that insight out of the way...I was dropping like Herbie the Love Bug on a bad day. The mud weighed the bike down like carrying an eighty pound bag of sand but more cumbersome over steep mud . slicing the incline with my feet angled for vertical traction. At this point are you wondering if I am still describing a supposedly semi road racing event..Like it might have some bearing if you race on the road as a cat one ? In other words I should not be a cat two in cross or this event was unusual in its vast sea of torment or both I dunno.The wisdom of wearing less dawned on me...but vaseline and shorts in weather like that...44 degrees with rain and wind , seeemed like madness. OK, so I wore too much and I paid the price for this overdressing mistake. Up this really steep climb with a tower atop it like trying to seige a fort, I was being really bogged down by my rain gear...and shades and rain coat. At the start this other rider asked me if I was really going to race in my pants..I said I was not feeling well already and didnt want pneumonia.Later into the race I uderstood his curiosity as I said screw it. I want these dead weight pants off and so I stopped and rid myself of them. This cost me the few competitors left I was against as they went by. I went up that tower climb and the descent from that height is tuff as hell. An off camber rutted steep drop. Where the spectators line up with beer like vikings and hoot and howl at the fallen. Racers who hit the deck and raise thunder with their attempts at glory. mud laden..slipping and sliding down and continuing on persued by the jests and roar of the gallery. Nice.
later the first, second, and third place guys went by at around the same time as my rear deraileur went up into the back wheels spokes. I was done for the day with twisted metal to carry back to the car. Fun Stuff.
I spent a long time in the heated truck awed by guys with hatch back open as a sort of awning and showering with water from containers. I was like ...?/@!no way crazy. Cold beer maybe but more cold water and all the time still exposed...OK soo no arctic polar bear here...sorry.
I did go spectate though and also got some great chicken noodle soup that was real thick. Another booth/tent was the Dogfish one. The free samples were like 8oz of dogfish ale..60 min but you could choose.. pretty sweet. So to watch Ryan Trebon and his boy on Kona Brad Wicks roll away ( or slide ...run...maneuver) each with a huge gap pretty quick, was impressive. Trebon was away from Wicks and Wicks was away from the chase groups by far, respectively. The field was staggered in chase . Bunches of twos, threes, and larger went by. Jared Nieters and his teammate in the front groups close to top ten. Last I saw of jared he was near tenth position and looked to be in good shape. His Junior teammate having been passed by Nieters eventually and J Nieters was on the move. Serious attrition factor here. experience a must. Dave fuentes was in my race or the elite 123 35/45 plus field and he did much better then me, but no idea how he fared. He had on a skinsuit from the bike Lane...maybe some cross help from them. Good for him he is a nice guy who obviously gets huge results on the road . Has not done bad in cross either. Ryan Dewald was in the Harley kit. Doing well in his UCI elite mens event.holdin like twentieth and seemed to be having fun as he always does. cool dude. Anyway ...good stuff out there and Kudos to all participants, Volunteers, and even the mud,...THANKS
MUCH RESPECT to those who can rock in this mayhem. Photos will be adde dsoon to this post but gotta figger it out...camera to computer and so on...

Haines Point and Clara Barton rides (thrs.)

I have not been on the Haines Point noon ride in a while and today I got a chance to do it. The ride had the usual suspects and some unrecognizables as well. The basic layout was the same with Chuck pedaling away after the sprint section and a couple going with him until the race bridges or doesnt,..but yeah Hutchison is always the power that the rest attempt to thwart..normally unsuccesfully. Twice I went away with the Ca. Harley rider (Chuck) and we drilled it till caught. The second time I was away with him he bridges the back of a station wagon and starts to draft the car. We were Hammerin' till the car pulled away thankfully. Caught again though. The field was strong. Well the ride gets done and Harry (dont know last name) mentions theres another ride leaving and we should go. We roll out with maybe eight or nine heading to Clara Barton via Rock Creek , Whitehurst and Canal rd. One rider being the mayor and his brother, I believe.(both of their bikes had Fenty on the top tube..I want mine to have my name but I will settle for it simply functioning properly though) But this means theres a moto officer in tow..pretty cool bc we did some strolling at intersections and all was simpatico..So onto Clara and the pace was no joke. The ride gets to McArthur and we head further and lose a couple in the process. We climb Old Anglers and I try to be chill on the hill but Adrien Fenty and two others start to get away,...I am like sorry Harry the gloves are off. I jam it into gear and bridge The Mayor but two others have gone further up. I take a nice pull and close it some and then El Executive leader comes through and takes a strong pull...Im like damn this dude can ride his bicycle for rizzle. We come VERY close to pulling the 145 pounders in but 172(me) waited too long and I felt the pain ..oww. Soo.. at the top the chief says lets drop into the park (great falls md. side) this surprised me since this means more climbing but down we went. Back up my legs were feeling this second ride taking its toll. I rode with Mr. Fenty and the same two clawed away and we sorta clawed em back. OK the ride went to beach dr from there(River rd.) via some back roads and so on. The pace in the park was no stroll and up the climb on Ross dr. I swear the Mayor was trying to drop yours truly but I hung in there and stayed on. The bottom line is dont picture the ride as I did which was some sorta goofing chatting chillin pace as opposed to the reality which was come along but bring your race face.

Monday blahs

I dont know. Is it the heat. Is it my recent and inexplicable swollen eyelid( sounds strange but I visit the eye doctor tomorrow,...fun ! ) Possibly it is the lame ass results in the last two races..though I know I have done zero riding lately soo ...I dont know. Maybe I just want to let out a big public WAAAA oh also Easton rear wheel bearings have been making soo much noise I simply didnt really try yesterday ( Page Valley )because I couldnt handle the thought of listening to my bike for 63 more miles ( or more comments from annoyed/concerned riders)....Mechanicals this year have been over the top compared to other seasons. Anyway, I hope alls well with everyone and that this read hasnt been too painfull. public whine officially concluded. WAAA ok now its official.

Lost River Rocked

There was fun 4 everyone and more nature then one could shake a stick at. I was late and got some warm up but not enough for the attack pace set early,...I was like whatever,...hills are tuff and to go soo fast soo early will pop many and I will just reel in the dropped guys and create a strong chase ,...which sorta worked out but the race stopped for us one lap short,...but the gap was big and who knows..fun stuff and free west Va rocks for the yard patio or aquarium yes poaching rocks did not happen...? soo the race was tuff,.. i was dropped in first lap and Rugg crashed ,..lame soo the Rugg bridged me and another rider pretty fast ,like a lap later. after dropping chain/over bar incident,....hate when this occurs..(.at least Rugg was safe on a climb with less speed and danger then messenger days when a droppped chain could mean death)The group was established in our individual contribution capacities...ie climbers climbed , descenders went down faster and time trialers went hard on everywhere and so on... Rugg, Paul Lingerman NCVC, Ramone Benitez Immediate, Brian Fouche ABRT and another in yellow( Dallas sponsor ?) worked well together We all had good times I believe. Thx to all who helped make it happen,..NICE

IRON HILL POST

THE Iron Hill Twilight Criterium is a an awesome race. It is in West Chester Pa. and the course is pretty wide and fast. The start for this year had a 250 $ prime on the first lap which Evan Fader got. Next lap was 100 $ which Evan got. Nice,..CHA CHING He went on further a few more and when he was caught Russ Langley went for the counter and was gone ..(.apparently)as I was about two thirds of the race further back. He went and Tom Soladay went in persuit after him ,Dave Fuentes and others in tow...about seven guys broke and started a chase. Soo in the field I was riding ok and the pace was tough, but things were going ok, and then the non drive crank loosened up and I was riding with one crank arm on my shoe but not the bike ,....lame ( it was a process of sense of movement to definite loose crank then off completely...) went to pit just before cut off and jumped in with like 7 to go. The front was easy to obtain and I held my spot pretty well but the laps began to take their toll and I was not as active to the front in the last three but I got thirtieth and last in the money which was cool since I have seen too many just out of the money results this year. Herculian riding on the part of the Muscle Langley and also fantaastic prime hunting Mr. Fader,...so for now see ya. ( i got 50 $ for 30th btw) OH right how did Russ fare ? He got third ...his incredible effort could only be topped by T.o. Solladay MT Khaki second place and the badass Luca Damiana on Colavitas uber powerhouse...( hope nothings misspelled..)but really! see ya..

Poolesville and Reston weekend

This weekend, the two events which are pretty popular, went off very well. The Maryland road race was sorta small in attendance. No DC velo numbers and not many Immediate team riders evident. Small field but strong riders were there and Harley had a solid group. The Richmond pro Guys were out there also. Maybe 45 starters 55 ? not sure,..Race goes off and after a couple laps the 123 event at poolesville has been greatly reduced. There was some attacking at the usual spot at the top of the hill after exiting the gravel section..and this attacking by Harley created the selection. Many malfunctions, flats, and crashes also dropped the numbers. My crank arm was loose and I was doing the biopace thing. Jose went solo and Richmond had the numbers with three remaining in the whittled field to respond but instead he vanished on the herizon. Russ goes a lap later and this jump was bridged by , at first, two more than three more and the remaining chase group gets soo splintered up and discumbobulated that suddenly the race is hell...its me and two guys that failed to get across and we were driving it to change that. Me Steve Black NCVC and Steve Gordon DLP caught in the wrong place with a thirty second gap from the seven ahead with 1 more ( Jose ) up ahead of them,...Soo we dont reconnect and eventually NCVC attacks a couple times and succeeds to get away and mr Gordan drops me and goes with Mr Black up the road. I had a delightfull last lap riding solo and really appreciating my carbon Easton cranks which were swinging multiple directions simultaneously..annoying but something I should have addressed prior to that sat. rode in and got some applause from team riders. eleventh place and red lantern ,...moto right behind me 4 ten miles pulling the caravan.
Reston I was with new cranks and new pedals too. The clip in was terrible at start soo I went way back from gun. I got back up to front but not fun. I was persuing much and chasing more then I wanted to. I eased off a degree from chasing and let the race determine the races results.. or sumpin...soo I held position nicely thru event and towards end Jay moglia was near me and he was helpfull at two to go in that he prodded me some to stay closer to the front. Bell lap and I was in good position maybe 6 th. Around descent up small rise and two corners to go three Richmond Pros swing by and this I should have fought off more..into the last turn third Rich. pro skitters rear wheel barely staying upright. He recovers remarkably fast and I was not forced too much to slow or swing around though and The Sprint was long and I was pushing too hard a gear..it felt like an eternity and not sure how I wasnt passed by more then Mason haymes ( hope spelled it right..Natures trail or sumpin) soo yeah he passed me on the straight fast and I got ninth...Jay placed 10 th and rode a fine race he did. I am not disappointed with my spot and I am moving the right direction.